Seòmar agus comataidhean

Thank you.

We have to ensure that they have that voice. The EIS always made it sound as if—

The evidence that we have taken—you have said this, too, cabinet secretary—is that the national bodies, and the SQA in particular, can seem too distant, and trust in the SQA has been eroded. Some witnesses have told the committee that they feel that this is just a rebranding exercise. It is almost as though this is the new improved SQA—like the Daz super-white challenge. Is there a difference between how it has worked and how it will work? How will it be better than what we currently have?

Thank you—and sorry, Jackie.

Luckily, this is the last question.

If it is possibly the last question, then I am not stealing anybody else’s.

My question is short but important. There is much talk of Gaelic in the bill, but no mention of British Sign Language. However, our predecessor committee considered legislation to give BSL equal status as a language. What are your thoughts on that?

I just have a quick question. The teacher trade unions were at the committee two weeks ago. In effect, they said that they should be running the show—

I am sorry, but I asked the trade unions about this, as well. Basically, they said that they should be running the show. When I put that to the parents groups, they got quite upset, because they said that they should have an input, too. If you are looking for an opinion from me, cabinet secretary, I will tell you that, in my time as a councillor and as an MSP, I have always found that parents are an important part of the conversation—

The question is: what do you think of that, then, cabinet secretary?

That is what I was thinking, based on the evidence. I have come to the conclusion that, if we had not legislated but had simply made changes, we would not have got the belief out there in the real world, among parents and everyone else, that things are going to be different.