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When I asked the then Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, Shirley-Anne Somerville, about this in March, she recognised that

“a number of local authorities are facing challenges in planning for that substantial expansion of free school meals.”—[Official Report, 23 March 2023; c 66.]

Will the cabinet secretary outline what direct support is going where in the provision to councils to overcome such challenges? Has she given consideration to calls by organisations such as Aberlour, which asks Government to increase the eligibility threshold beyond the already promised extension to P6s and P7s in order to support low-income families?

I welcome this debate on a topic that is rarely discussed so openly in the Parliament, and I welcome some of the honest debate from members today.

I am sure that, for many, the opportunity to see these issues addressed at a national level will be refreshing, and I trust that we will continue to shine a light on these very serious matters in the weeks and months to come.

I know that many teachers and support staff have raised concerns with all of us about this very subject—as we have heard—and they are right to do so. Not enough is being done. I believe that councils would love to do a lot more to help if only they had the resources to do so, which is at the heart of the matter that we are discussing.

In fact, I have spoken to a number of teachers who have reported incidents in which they genuinely feared that that they or a pupil would be seriously harmed. What is really remarkable is that, in those cases, the teacher’s primary concern was the wellbeing of the pupil and what had led them to act in that way. That tells us a lot about the caring and professional workforce that we have.

In many such cases, the problem is rooted in emotional and mental health needs and a lack of provision for young people when they need it most. Much of that stems from the serious poverty and neglect that are evident in parts of our country, which are often hidden but are always there.

I am sure that many of you know that we have young people living lives that would be unimaginable to most of us and to most people in our constituencies and regions. That all contributes directly to worsening emotional, mental and physical health across the country.

I am sure that the cabinet secretary will agree that there is a crossover of briefs here. She does not need me to remind her that, currently, only 70 per cent of children and young people are seen within 18 weeks of a mental health referral, which is well short of the Government’s already modest target of 90 per cent. That is happening in a climate in which more than 10,000 children and young people were referred to child and adolescent mental health services in quarter 4 of 2022 alone. That equates to thousands of children who are waiting endlessly for referral, and even those who receive one are often waiting well beyond the point that they can bear.

I am sure that the cabinet secretary will recognise that the toll that such waiting times and lack of support are taking on young people is often intolerable. Teachers see the result of those difficulties day after day, yet, as we have said, selflessly, they continue to serve.

I am afraid to say that the Government is letting young people and the school workforces down, and a little bit of honesty is needed. The Government has failed to deliver on class sizes, teacher non-contact time, support for pupils with additional support needs and mental health support for young people. It has also failed to address harmful online content, continuing inequalities and cuts to youth services. Our teachers and young people deserve better. They need more action, with greater urgency, to address those challenges.

The cabinet secretary has said in the chamber that she is aware of how teachers feel. I am sure that she knows that teachers are overworked, overtired and, in many cases, lacking the necessary support staff to assist them in increasingly difficult classrooms.

Trade unions have been pointing out these issues for years, often with no significant response from the Government. Education unions and others have repeatedly raised how vulnerable many teachers and staff are to assault or worse.

I am sure that we are all genuinely fearful that the problem could go further if we do not take it more seriously. We know of some of the harrowing and sometimes tragic experiences that teachers face across the United Kingdom—some of those have been mentioned today. There is no room for complacency. We cannot assume that things that are happening in other parts of the UK will not happen in Scotland. We are facing a serious challenge and we must act now.

A summit is welcome, but it is not enough on its own. We need to ensure that the experiences that have been set out in the chamber today and by those with lived experience are listened to, but, more important, acted on.

Teachers are workers just like anyone else and they deserve the same level of respect and consideration that we would offer to anyone in a workplace and, indeed, to anyone in our family.

We need to raise awareness among parents and pupils that this is a real and prevailing situation that requires every effort from people across the board. For the situation to be considered in a meaningful way, we must engage pupils, parents and professionals.

I reiterate that it is welcome that we are having this debate, but it should have been on Government time. Although today’s debate is useful, it is important that the Government raises the topic again, as we are running out of time to act. I thank all members for their contributions.

Thank you. Laura Skaife-Knight, you are quite new in but does anything spring to mind?

Have any of you had information about when we might get some movement on the set-up of the system? Have you had anything through the health boards? You indicate that you have not.

My question is linked and is about socioeconomic factors and deprivation. Lynne Glen’s points were well made. Do you or other panel members want to highlight anything that we can consider when we think about how to help?

Gordon Jamieson, is there anything that you would like to add?

That is helpful—thank you.

Thank you for all the detailed information. My question might give you a chance to give us some homework. The Scottish Government has committed to the development of a national centre for remote and rural healthcare for Scotland. What might your aspirations for such a centre be?

The committee has also committed to trying to undertake an inquiry into remote and rural healthcare. Do you have anything that we should specifically direct it to? Please give us some work to do.

Is there anything that is particular to women and girls, or is the issue more general? Do some socioeconomic factors specifically affect women and girls?

That is helpful. Thank you very much.