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Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 23 December 2024
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Displaying 1357 contributions

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Finance and Public Administration Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 5 March 2024

Michelle Thomson

I will watch that with interest.

My last point comes back to a question that I previously asked you about police pensions and the extent to which the increase in them—and, therefore, provision for them—came about a result of Covid-19. I thank you for your reply, in which I think you pointed out—and I am paraphrasing here—that that was not due to Covid-19 but was the result of the move from a final salary to a career average pension scheme. The legal challenge in that respect will also apply to other public sector professionals such as teachers, because they face the same issue, but the fact is that we have seen a difference with regard to the rate at which police officers are retiring. As a result, the change to the provision—compared with that of, say, teachers—was not necessarily entirely due to the change to the police’s pension arrangements, given that it did not equally apply to teachers. Do you have any reflections on that?

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Aggregates Tax and Devolved Taxes Administration (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 5 March 2024

Michelle Thomson

You are correctly introducing another complexity for the bill, but that is good because that is what we want to tease out. Have we got the data to draw on to arrive at some of these decisions? I am not sure what data your members will routinely gather and submit as part of the existing processes that tease out all the different areas that the Scottish Government will have.

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 5 March 2024

Michelle Thomson

Thank you.

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 5 March 2024

Michelle Thomson

I will finish by noting some of the examples that you have given and pointing out that such additional post-Covid sums were exceptional—I think that we all appreciate that. Now that, with the recent changes, we have a more bedded-down fiscal framework, we have actually baked in some of these inefficiencies, and we need to try to understand what they might look like.

I have one other question that follows on from that. In reality, to what extent will the complexities, uncertainties and inefficiencies in the Scottish and UK Governments’ fiscal framework be reflected in the fiscal framework that is developed for local councils through the Verity house agreement? In other words, will they, at an even deeper level than might have been the case before, be saying, “This is no use to us, because it doesn’t allow us to plan”? Do you expect that what you as a Government are dealing with will, in effect, be replicated in that way?

Education, Children and Young People Committee

Additional Support for Learning Inquiry

Meeting date: 28 February 2024

Michelle Thomson

I will pick up on the way in which I framed the question. In your written evidence, many of you present how Covid has led to more dysregulated behaviour, but I am interested in not just the increase but whether there are instances of certain behaviours or issues having become embedded. Depending on the learning stage or age that the child is at, putting in place mitigations to overcome that would be extremely difficult.

Education, Children and Young People Committee

Additional Support for Learning Inquiry

Meeting date: 28 February 2024

Michelle Thomson

I can see smiles from people who obviously want to come in. Dinah Aitken has caught my eye, and I can see that Deborah Best and Irene Stove are keen to come in, too.

Education, Children and Young People Committee

Additional Support for Learning Inquiry

Meeting date: 28 February 2024

Michelle Thomson

Deborah, I know that you have not had the chance to contribute yet. Good morning.

Education, Children and Young People Committee

Additional Support for Learning Inquiry

Meeting date: 28 February 2024

Michelle Thomson

Have we been able to capture what we now know, with hindsight, would have been the key intervention points at which behaviour tipped into dysregulation? Have we gained new insights into that? In other words, is that a positive from the pandemic? We knew before what the key points of intervention were. Are they still the same and have they simply been exacerbated, or do we have any new insights? That is what I am trying to get to.

Education, Children and Young People Committee

Additional Support for Learning Inquiry

Meeting date: 28 February 2024

Michelle Thomson

Good morning, panel. Irene Stove has led on to the issue that I want to raise, and I want to bring in other panel members on that. I am interested in the insights that were gained during the pandemic about how dysregulated behaviours became more apparent and increased. To what extent have they become embedded, particularly in children in the early years? You give a lot of information in your written evidence, but this is a chance to put that on the record.

I will go to Glenn Carter first.

Education, Children and Young People Committee

Additional Support for Learning Inquiry

Meeting date: 28 February 2024

Michelle Thomson

Suzi, do you want to come in? You reference the issue in your written evidence.