Seòmar agus comataidhean

You might not have anything to add, Mr Stewart, but given your experience with other non-Government bills, is the approach that is being taken by the Government consistent, or is it different with this one?

Thank you for your opening statement, which covered a lot of areas. Members will want to delve into those in more depth.

I think that you attended and observed all the committee’s public evidence sessions on the bill. What did you make of the evidence that we received? Is there anything that you would like to highlight or pick up on from the evidence that you heard?

The curriculum in Scotland is largely non-statutory. Why do you believe that the Parliament should put your proposals into legislation?

Do you believe that there is flexibility just now, or would you look to bring back amendments on that at stage 2 if the bill gets past stage 1?

That is helpful.

We have gone through all the members’ questions. Would you like to make any final comments to members on behalf of your bill?

Good morning and welcome to the 34th meeting in 2024 of the Education, Children and Young People Committee. We have received apologies from George Adam, so I welcome Clare Haughey, who is joining us in his place. As this is the first time that Clare is attending the committee in that capacity, our first item of business is to invite her to declare any relevant interests.

Finally, before we go to Jackie Dunbar, I have a question on finance. When the cost of a bill reaches a certain threshold, a financial resolution is required. If the Government introduces the legislation, it lodges that resolution. As a member with a non-Government bill, you cannot lodge that—it has to be lodged on your behalf by the Government.

You heard the questions that were put to the minister on that issue. What was your reaction to the minister’s response that, on the one hand, the Government was neutral on the bill, but that, on the other, it was not looking at lodging a financial resolution?

Are we seeing the same can-do approach from the Government? I thought that the solicitor from the Government pushed back on it quite a bit when they gave evidence. They said that there were no examples of such funding being used to support Government legislation in the past. I think that their concern would be about money being available in years X, Y and Z and then stopping. How do you respond to those comments?

This is not a question; it is just a comment. At Broomlee on Monday, we saw that groups had one member of staff from the outdoor centre and one teacher. I thought that that mix worked very well. The teacher was learning things to take back to the classroom, but the pupils were also getting the experience of someone from the centre.

Thank you very much.