Seòmar agus comataidhean

On education spend and its protection, other than free school meals, does the panel have any examples of ring-fenced or earmarked funds where the Government has not uprated its contribution in line with inflation?

We know about the situation with free school meals, which Kirsty Flanagan mentioned, and whether the ring fencing has kept up with that. I just wanted to find out whether there are other areas such as the one that has been mentioned.

On the back of that, to what degree is the SQA seeking a return to the achievement patterns that existed before the pandemic? Is the SQA seeking to do that, or is it looking to see new patterns emerge?

It does. Thank you.

Would the SQA be happy, at least initially, to return to the achievement patterns that were seen before the pandemic? I know that you are saying that you are not setting exact limits or rules, but were the patterns that existed before the pandemic good enough to want to go back to them?

Thank you, panel. I have a couple of quick questions—I do not think that they go very deep—on national 4 and advanced highers in local authority centres. Can the panel explain the rise in the number of entries at national 4 level?

Like most people, when I think of emissions, I think of transport—vehicles and suchlike. Most people do not think too much about emissions from buildings. A lot of buildings—the majority, I suppose—are not under the direct control of the Scottish Government. In what ways can the Scottish Government have an impact on addressing emissions from those buildings?

That includes the plans for any programmes under net zero and environmental sustainability being covered in the same way.

It was a narrow miss but a miss anyway. The latest analysis shows that emissions from transport and buildings increased during 2020-21. How will the use of that information impact plans for future infrastructure investment to tackle such problems?

To what extent, if any, have the issues around valuation of assets impacted on the ability of Scottish Canals to prepare a medium-term financial strategy? Will it be able to do that?