Seòmar agus comataidhean

I will leave it there for now, convener. Thank you.

Thank you, convener. I do not want to make a statement, but, in the light of the previous comments, it would be remiss of me not to refer to the fact that, for many people in rural areas, learning online is a positive but there are benefits from learning in person and with other people. I ask that the funding council and others be mindful of that, as it relates to my substantive question, which is about whether the funding council feels that enough support is going to rural education providers under the current model and whether the additional costs of delivering education in rural communities at higher and further education levels is fully reflected.

Could survivors be contacted under the provisions in the regulations that we are considering today?

Will the time that elapses between an error being identified and a payment being made be taken into consideration in deciding whether it had materially affected the claim?

That is helpful. For some individuals who might be impacted, it would be distressing for their claims to be revisited for what might, in their mind, be relatively minor errors. I understand that the Scottish Government and Redress Scotland have to satisfy themselves that things have been done properly, but a survivor might have a somewhat higher threshold with regard to errors, given that they would have to re-engage with the process. I simply ask that we be mindful of that.

Thank you, convener. I was just waiting to appear on the screen.

My question is about the situation in rural Scotland during the pandemic and whether the various witnesses feel that we got the balance right. Even in my constituency, there seemed to be a real mix. In some of the larger towns and settlements, there was lots of support and contact between young people and their schools, but that was not always the case in more rural and remote communities. Does any witness wish to reflect on that?

I wonder whether ADES might comment. How high up the priority list was that for directors of education across the country?

Have we got the resourcing balance right? I know that it is hard for you, being most familiar with Dundee, but do you think that the heads of education in the 32 local authorities recognise that the delivery of education, whether during a pandemic or in normal times, has different pressures and costs in rural communities?

That is helpful. Thank you.

I am happy to leave it there. I am aware that the witnesses do not have direct experience of more rural local authorities, but I was keen to raise the issue.