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Notwithstanding the point that we will all return to this discussion before stage 3, will the cabinet secretary set out how the Government will therefore implement the suggestions in the Muir review around creating a national body for the curriculum?

I am not sure that I accept that. I hope that that is not an indication that the stage 3 discussions that we all agreed to last week are now closed off from the Government.

My amendments in this group are about what we would expect in practice from qualifications Scotland in relation to how it will make decisions, who it will listen to and engage with, and what principles it will prioritise. The amendments strengthen the duties in the bill by ensuring that qualifications Scotland is not only delivering qualifications but also building a system that is relevant, accessible, future facing and rooted in collaboration, building on the previous amendments. My amendments also ensure that qualifications Scotland is not only keeping up with change but that it helps to drive it, and that it recognises the importance of economic trends, emerging industries and developments in learning.

All the amendments in this group create a qualifications system that serves the learner and the labour market, from renewables and digital to the care economy and beyond. I do not think that we can allow or afford for qualifications Scotland to work in isolation, as we have just discussed, and these amendments build bridges with key public agencies—including SFC, SDS and Education Scotland—to create the joined-up coherence in the system that, it has been suggested, it has lacked. Learners are navigating an increasingly complex educational and employment landscape and these amendments help to bring clarity and consistency.

My amendment 234 would require qualifications Scotland to have regard to education and training that reflect the current and future needs of Scotland’s economy. I and supporters of the amendment believe that it would ensure that qualifications, and thus learners, can contribute to Scotland’s future in relation to what we need not only in our public services but also for our economic resilience and workforce preparedness. It is essential to deliver Scotland’s qualifications system in a way that is future facing and that does not lag behind economic demand or risk leaving learners unprepared for the realities of the future.

My amendment 235 builds on that and would require qualifications Scotland to be aware of and up to date with developments in learning across the whole range of knowledge and skills required and tested by qualifications delivered by qualifications Scotland. We heard that Professors Muir, Donaldson and Priestley have all supported a dynamic learning culture; by requiring qualifications Scotland to be aware of and up to date with developments in learning across the range of knowledge and skills that are tested, I hope that we could achieve their aspirations. The amendment will also support on-going development and improvement of qualifications.

I am supportive of the cabinet secretary’s amendment 55.

My amendment 240 would make the system much more simplified and coherent, creating a system that is accessible for all learners.

Amendment 236, in the name of Stephen Kerr, largely tries to achieve something similar to what my amendments would achieve, and we would be supportive of it.

My amendment 237 would require qualifications Scotland to have regard to any recommendations made by the SFC and SDS when making decisions. It is, again, an attempt to provide coherence. The Parliament is currently considering two bills in relation to education; in fact, I think that it is probably a wee bit more than that. However, there are two bills within this landscape, including post-16 education. The amendment seeks to ensure that there is collaboration across the systems and that any recommendations from those bodies are picked up in qualifications Scotland. It is a strong amendment to ensure accountability and collaboration.

I recognise the work that the cabinet secretary has outlined, including bringing teachers in to do the work that is necessary. That is another reason to require qualifications Scotland to consult Education Scotland, because it has that enhanced provision. It is important that they collaborate with one another and that they do not have the wriggle room to decide when they think that they have paid that due regard and decided that it was not necessary to do it. That is my fear, which is why I believe that amendment 233 is important.

I do not intend to press amendment 232 or move amendment 234, but I will move amendment 233.

I welcome the Government’s support and understanding of the arguments that we have made today. I will move amendment 233 on that basis.

Amendment 232, by agreement, withdrawn.

Amendment 233 moved—[Pam Duncan-Glancy]—and agreed to.

Section 6, as amended, agreed to.

Section 7—Duties when exercising functions

Yes.

On the basis that the cabinet secretary has suggested that we work together at stage 3, I will not move the amendment.

Amendments 282 and 132 not moved.

Amendments 35 and 71 moved—[Ross Greer]—and agreed to.

Section 14, as amended, agreed to.

Section 15—Annual report of Qualifications Scotland

I think that we can all agree that this is a pretty defining moment in the work to reform Scotland’s education system. It is important that the committee and the Parliament approach all the decisions that we take about it very seriously. We have had much discussion on the amendments to the bill that explored how we can bring clarity and coherence to the system and create a system that is not driven by assessment and, instead, is driven by the curriculum and by what learners and employers need in the future.

My amendments in the group seek to address that point. As it stands, the bill fails to grasp what was said by the OECD, Professor Graham Donaldson, Professor Mark Priestley, Professor Kenneth Muir, the international council of education advisers and, most importantly, all Scotland’s teachers, which is that it is absolutely crucial that we do more to ensure that the curriculum and assessment functions work in a more suitable way for learners in Scotland. We were promised that the bill would do that sort of reform, but it was silent; Education Scotland’s functions are only being brought into the bill through amendment.

The amendments are not about adding complexity; they are about removing duplication, confusion and contradiction by creating a dedicated body to lead on the curriculum, as the stage 1 report and many experts have called for. This would be a coherent system that would ensure that the curriculum drives qualifications and not the other way around.

The purpose of specifying protected characteristics very specifically allows for an understanding and analysis of age and race. Both those aspects are defined as protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010.

I thank the cabinet secretary for her engagement with the amendments in this group, and in particular for the offer to work on some of them at stage 3. I will come to that as I go through my amendments.

The amendments in this section are very important. Suffice it to say that all the amendments to the bill are important, but these are about giving a voice on the board of an organisation not just so that we can guarantee that it has expertise on it, but so that we can get trust back into the centre of our qualifications structure.

Important decisions about the membership of qualifications Scotland need to be taken, with a variety of different interests at heart, and the amendments in my name in this group try to make sure that that happens. We have seen what happens when we do not have that; we can have a disconnected education and skills system if we do not have representatives who recognise what is needed for future skills as well as what is needed for school qualifications.

It is important that we have trade union representation—I intervened on the cabinet secretary earlier in that respect. It is crucial that we recognise the role of trade unions. This committee has spent a considerable time arguing for the trade unions of colleges to be represented on boards, and that has to extend to qualifications Scotland, too. I do not think that some of the amendments that the cabinet secretary has lodged do quite what I am trying to do, which is to give a direct voice to staff on boards. If qualifications are to be really meaningful, we have to ensure that they are relevant to the real world, too, and I have also lodged some amendments in relation to that.

My amendments 211 and 212 increase the size of qualifications Scotland’s board to between 10 and 12 people, which is really important. The amendments are direct alternatives to the cabinet secretary’s amendments 41 and 42; the cabinet secretary is looking to increase the number on the board to between 7 and 11, but my amendment creates a board of between 10 and 12, which is necessary to accommodate the broader representation that I have suggested in my amendments 216 and 218. By increasing the size of the board, I am ensuring that staff, education unions and industry leaders can contribute to the governance of qualifications Scotland without sacrificing expertise or limiting the diversity of the boards. A board of that size will ensure that the qualifications Scotland governance model is participative and responsive, and I am pleased that the cabinet secretary is prepared to support the proposal.

I am not sure that amendment 27, in Ross Greer’s name, is strong enough to guarantee any trade union representation on the boards; it also appears to—unintentionally, I imagine—exclude representatives of teachers and college staff. I believe that the amendments in my name provide a more balanced offer and give voice to teachers and staff in schools and colleges. I would be willing to work with the cabinet secretary and Ross Greer at stage 3 to find alternatives, if both were prepared to do so. I have been trying to keep on top of the numbers of the amendments that the cabinet secretary spoke to—I think that I heard her say that she would be prepared to consider the matter at stage 3, and I am hoping that Ross Greer might, too.

Amendment 213 requires Scottish ministers to consult the whole board of qualifications Scotland when making regulations. I am pleased that the cabinet secretary supports that, because it is really important. I take the cabinet secretary’s point that a chair would consult their board in ordinary circumstances—indeed, I am quite sure that they would—but we have seen some less than acceptable circumstances in the sphere that we are discussing, and anything that we can do to protect against such circumstances will be important. That is why amendment 213, in my name, has been lodged.

Amendment 214 requires one member of qualifications Scotland to undertake a qualifications Scotland qualification, replacing the requirement for a member to

“appear to have knowledge of the interests of persons undertaking a relevant qualification.”

I understand the point that the cabinet secretary has made and the amendment that Ross Greer has lodged on the matter. I think that this is really important, because people who are undertaking qualifications in real time can tell us exactly the sort of experience that they had during the history of qualification and exactly what is happening in schools and what support they are getting. They can also give us incredible insight into the ways in which assessment interacts with curriculum, which we know has been a concern in the past. That is why I feel quite strongly about that particular amendment.

Amendment 215 ensures that schoolteachers are represented on the qualifications Scotland board. I take the point about other teachers, such as college teachers, and the fact that, given the pre-emption in relation to her amendment 43, the cabinet secretary said that she would be prepared to bring the matter back at stage 3, supporting this amendment, which her own amendment pre-empts—I think that I have those numbers right. On that basis, providing that schoolteachers are represented on the board in a stage 3 amendment that we can agree on, I would be prepared to hold amendment 215 until stage 3.

Amendment 216 requires the board to contain a representative of a

“trade union operating in Scotland.”

I think that that ensures that the new board is informed by the voices of those with a stake in the delivery of the new qualifications in schools, colleges and other training facilities, not only by the voices of those who manage them. We need that, because previous reforms have not engaged appropriately with front-line educators. I spoke earlier about the distance between the front-line decisions and decision making and the clutter in the middle—indeed, I think that my colleague wants to comment on that.