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Far from duplicating any processes, it would bring to the system the coherence that all the experts talked about in their evidence to this committee and that Ken Muir mentioned in his report. I keep referring to that report, but I think that most people around the table will accept that it has been pivotal to this discussion.

I think that this move would allow us to do what we really need to do: reform the functions, ensure that the accreditation function is separated from the SQA—or qualifications Scotland, which the bill would set up—and bring the curriculum to the forefront of things. We know the situation with assessment just now. Indeed, one of the reasons for Professor Hayward’s review is the fact that a lot of the teaching that goes on in schools is driven by exams. The member has heard evidence to that effect.

The curriculum has to be driven by what young people in Scotland will need in the future to contribute to society in whatever way they wish as adults. That will require the curriculum not to be driven by exams; in fact, exams will have to work very differently to how they work just now. I think that my suite of amendments would ensure that.

I realise that I am straying into arguments that I will be making in respect of the later groupings on curriculum Scotland, but we have to accept that, as countless reports have said, the structures are not right. We know that the distance between front-line professionals and Government decision making is quite big, and the ground between is cluttered. My amendments try to give the Government a suite of options to bring more coherence to the system, and I would like to think that we could find some support for them at this stage.

I will conclude—you will be pleased to hear, convener—by saying that amendments 115, 116, 118, 122 to 124, 126, 127, 132 to 134, 137, 139 and 206, all of which have been lodged and spoken to by Willie Rennie and all of which I support, are consequential to the options presented in amendments 291, 295 and the other amendments in the group. I encourage members across the committee to accept that there are several options in front of us for doing what we know pupils, staff, trade unions and experts want us to do—to separate the accreditation function from the SQA and qualifications Scotland in order to restore trust in the system.

I whole-heartedly agree with the member. In this circumstance, the interest is important and, where there is a conflict, it must be managed. The point that I made to the cabinet secretary earlier is that trade union representatives are well versed in understanding that, but the interest that they represent is crucial and should not be lost. That is why I have lodged the amendment in this group.

As we have discussed, a trade union seat on the board gives teachers and lecturers a formal route to shaping decisions and addressing concerns with the education system. It provides a pathway for them to share their professional expertise with those governing the country’s qualifications, demonstrates and strengthens democratic accountability and reflects Scotland’s commitment to public services, the workforce and fair work.

Amendment 217 stipulates that a representative of a trade union that represents staff of qualifications Scotland can be on the board. This is the amendment that we have previously discussed and on which we had interaction with regard to the ability of a board member who is a member of staff to manage that conflict. I have set out quite extensively why I think that the matter can be managed and why it should progress.

Amendment 218 stipulates that the board should include a representative with knowledge of or expertise in business, industry or skills development. I think that I am right in saying that the cabinet secretary said that she would be prepared to improve or change the amendment—the wording as it stands is excellent—to bring it to something that the Government could support. My interest in making sure that the qualifications system is fit for the future, including for business, industry and skills, is such that I feel strongly about having such a provision in the bill and I welcome the Government’s offer to work together on that at stage 3.

Amendment 220 creates the option for the board to co-opt members for a period of four years, which is crucial, not only because of some of the circumstances that we have debated at length in the chamber and in committee, but because of the pace of change in education. I was lucky enough to be elected to the Parliament and to serve on the committee a few years ago, and the landscape has changed even since then. For example, the role played by artificial intelligence in schools and examinations—and, indeed, across society—has changed, so the ability to co-opt members will be really important. It is not an unusual ability for a board to have, and I am pleased that the Government is supportive of amendment 220. That is important.

I would have intervened when the Government was discussing amendment 53, but I was trying to keep up with the other numbers and the support or otherwise that the Government was indicating. I lodged a late manuscript amendment to amendment 53; I did so yesterday, which I admit was quite late in the day, but it was the first working day after I had met the cabinet secretary last Thursday to discuss in detail the Government amendments. That is why the manuscript amendment was late, and I do understand why the convener thought it not appropriate to select it.

Nevertheless, I believe that such an amendment could strengthen the Government’s amendment. As opposed to consulting when qualifications Scotland sees fit, my amendment would have said that it should just consult. It is important that the qualifications body consults, and I ask the Government to reflect on that at this point and to consider whether we could work together to strengthen the amendment at stage 3.

That covers all my amendments in the group.

Thank you, convener. I was a bit premature when I intervened earlier—I should have said good morning to the cabinet secretary. Thank you for appearing before us, cabinet secretary.

I am quite disappointed that, on one of the most contested aspects of this version of the Government’s bill, the cabinet secretary has set out that the Government is not prepared to accept any amendments other than its own. That is not in the spirit of how I thought the cabinet secretary was engaging in this process, nor is it what the people who gave evidence to the committee would have been expecting. Indeed, some other committee members have surprised me slightly by their approach, too.

This issue really gets to the heart of why we are here and why we have this bill. To say that the bill has been a long time in coming is a bit of an understatement. The cabinet secretary has rightly pointed out that it predates her time in office, and it predates that of a previous cabinet secretary, too. In fact, it goes back to the current First Minister’s own bill, which did not succeed. It has been quite a long period of time, during which learners, staff in schools and staff in the SQA and all the other education bodies in Scotland have been left in limbo. Therefore, for the cabinet secretary to come here with an amendment that merely puts them into limbo for another two years is not, in my view, satisfactory.

The case for separating the accreditation function from qualifications Scotland has been made not just by people who have given evidence to the committee, but by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Professor Muir and, indeed, other Government advisers. However, the bill does not implement any meaningful reform in that regard, nor does it address some of the issues of credibility—or incredibility, if that is a better way to describe it—that have arisen as a result of some of the practices of the SQA, which my colleague Ross Greer has alluded to, not least the 2020 exam debacle, in which the poorest students were downgraded.

The profession, pupils and experts have all spoken with clarity on the matter. They have all said that the failure to separate the accreditation function makes the bill process a bit of a performative exercise and means that it stops short of meaningful reform. Allowing the new agency to mark its own homework would damage credibility. We need to restore credibility to the system, which is what my amendments and those in the name of Willie Rennie, which I support, would do.

The good thing about this group of amendments is that it gives the Government a lot of options, so it is disappointing for the Government to say that it will not pick any of those but will instead go with a two-year review. My amendment 291 would give Education Scotland the accreditation function, and amendment 357 is consequential to that. Amendment 292 would place a duty on Education Scotland to prepare and publish an annual report, in line with its having the accreditation function. As has previously been said, the purpose of those amendments is to provide the separation of functions that was suggested in Ken Muir’s report “Putting Learners at the Centre”.

If Jackie Dunbar lets me get to the end of what the amendment does, I will let her in then.

I think that amendment 295 presents opportunities arising from the extensive research carried out by a lot of the reviews, not just Ken Muir’s. I am thinking of, for example, the national conversation’s review of education and others. It could ensure that the expertise of subject specialists and the needs and views of young people are taken into account when the curriculum is being developed, and I think that placing the accreditation function with the new body would bring some really useful coherence to the system.

If curriculum Scotland had that function, it would kill two birds with one stone—for want of another way of describing it—and it is probably the most cost-effective way of doing everything suggested in Ken Muir’s “Putting Learners at the Centre” report. I also think that it would ensure that qualifications are developed and accredited in conjunction with the aspirations and ambitions of the national curriculum.

First, I apologise to my colleague Martin Whitfield, whose amendment 226 I overlooked in my opening remarks. I think that it is safe to say that it is a good amendment, for all the reasons that he set out, and I would support it.

I have listened carefully to what members have suggested. I will, therefore, seek to withdraw amendment 225, on the basis of what I think is an offer to work at stage 3 to address the issues that I highlighted with regard to ensuring that people with protected characteristics, people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and care-experienced people have been taken into account, and that due regard is paid to those groups.

I think that that speaks to the discussion between Willie Rennie and Martin Whitfield just now about the young person at the back of the room who has not necessarily been heard; my intention, through amendment 225, was to try to ensure that they are considered in that respect. On that basis, I am happy to withdraw amendment 225 at this point and bring it back with—I hope—the Government’s support.

Is it okay to do all the amendments now, convener?

I will not seek to move amendment 227 at this stage, not necessarily for the reasons that the Government and Ross Greer have set out in relation to the involvement of parents on the committee, but because of the point about broadening the definition and being more inclusive to include carers, as well as, presumably, parents and guardians of carers.

However, it is important that parents are represented, and by bringing the amendment back at stage 3 we could perhaps address the issue that Ross Greer highlighted. By that point, we will know what the situation is with the strategic advisory council, and the amendment would, at that stage, at least give us some provision—I do not want to say that it would be a fall-back, because I think that it is a really good amendment, and parents should be on the committee. Nevertheless, bringing back the amendment at stage 3 will allow for two things: it will enable me to tidy it up and include language around carers to be inclusive in that respect, and we will also, at that point, have a clearer picture of what is happening with the strategic advisory council.

I will, therefore, not seek to move amendment 227. The discussion between Willie Rennie and Martin Whitfield has been helpful and important, and there was a lot in that conversation to instruct how we do business in this Parliament.

I also support amendment 32. I would be keen to progress amendment 228, in my name, at this stage, so I will move it when we come to that point.

Amendment 225, by agreement, withdrawn.

Amendment 49 moved—[Jenny Gilruth].

It is clear that action needs to be taken. I would like to think that, were the whole Parliament to look at all the amendments, it would consider the Government’s amendment to be the least satisfactory of all the options. Given the Government’s concerns about the scope of the other options, I think that there is enough in the drafting.

I should have said this earlier—forgive me, convener, for not doing so—but I thank the clerks and the legislation team for all the work that they have put in. A lot of work has gone into producing the amendments, and I thank them for that.

I hope that, if there is an opportunity at stage 3, the Parliament can come to a view on what it would prefer.

Amendment 295 would place the accreditation function into a new body, curriculum Scotland, which would be set up by amendment 293, which is in a later grouping. The cabinet secretary alluded to that. The creation of curriculum Scotland as a stand-alone body is probably my preferred option, because Ken Muir said in his report that we should set up an agency to comprise the current support and improvement functions of Education Scotland and the SQA’s accreditation regulation directorate. My amendments would do that.

The amendments in the later groups explain what I think the functions of that organisation could be, and I will save that discussion for later. However, there is scope for some regulation-making powers—I take the points that the cabinet secretary makes about potential consultation and scope.

The member makes a strong case, but can I clarify whether he intends to support our amendments on the representation of trade unions on the board?

As we have discussed this morning and during the committee’s consultation on the bill, it is recognised that our qualifications system must reflect the diversity among all of Scotland’s learners, including in relation to those who sit at the table. Amendment 225 would address how qualifications Scotland would listen to, learn from and work with people who will be most affected by its decisions.

We can probably all agree that people who are affected by such decisions have not always been listened to optimally and that we need to address that, so amendments in that regard will be incredibly important. Strong governance comes not from the boardroom alone but from inclusive structures that bring in the lived experience of learners, educators, parents and communities. That is why the committees and their structures that are set out in the bill are crucial and why it is important that we discuss who will be on those committees and how they will operate.

The amendments reflect a shared understanding that participation should be built into the fabric of the new agency—not just as a principle but as a practice—and that the diversity of everybody in the system should be reflected. If we are serious about equity and fairness in education, the way in which the new qualifications body will make decisions must be inclusive, transparent and collaborative. That principle is at the heart of the group of amendments that we are discussing. The amendments differ in their specific proposals, but I think that they are all united in a common goal, which is to strengthen the legitimacy and responsiveness of qualifications Scotland by embedding representation, accountability and consultation in its structures.

Amendment 225, in my name, would ensure that, when appointing members to its committees, qualifications Scotland “must have regard” to representing the interests of those with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, those from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds and those who are care experienced. The amendment speaks to some of the serious concerns about Scotland’s education system in recent years. It will ensure that the learners who most need the qualifications system to work for them and be responsive to their needs and those who are usually underrepresented—not just in relation to qualifications but in staff bodies like qualifications Scotland—are carefully considered when members are being appointed to committees.

Amendment 225 presents an opportunity for that expertise to be right at the centre of committees, and it speaks to the principle that there should be nothing about us without us when it comes to care-experienced people, people with protected characteristics and people with socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds—I have mentioned it previously, but there is probably merit in mentioning again that the group of people who have experienced socioeconomic disadvantage is feeling particularly let down, given what happened in 2020. That should be the case for all public bodies that we set up, and amendment 225 is an attempt to make sure that qualifications Scotland serves all Scotland’s learners.

Amendment 227 would require the learner interest committee to include a representative of the parents of children and young people who were undertaking a relevant qualifications Scotland qualifications. That would mean that qualifications Scotland would benefit from the expertise of parents, who, if I am honest, felt a bit out of the loop with the bill. The amendment would give them the opportunity to have their rightful seat at the table to shape and improve the work of qualifications Scotland.

I understand what my colleague Ross Greer is seeking to achieve with amendments 50 and 120. In some ways, they are a bit circular in relation to consultation, given all the different groups and committees that are listed. I know that he is trying to make sure that everything is collaborative, but I wonder whether the amendments might have overstretched. On amendment 120, students who take advanced highers or do apprenticeships should be engaged and represented on the committee, but I am not sure that the wording of the amendment would allow for that. I suspect that that is not deliberate.

Amendment 228 would require qualifications Scotland’s teacher and practitioner interest committee to include a number of representatives to ensure that the views of trade unions and key education stakeholders were heard on it, including

“one or more persons who are representatives of an education trade union operating in Scotland ... one or more persons with knowledge in the areas which are the subject of Qualifications Scotland qualifications ... one or more persons with knowledge of business and industry”

and

“a representative of the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland”.

I will take a moment to talk about that. Given the relationships between local authorities, the Government, schools and the education structures, it is really important that we make sure that there is that representation. The same goes for Colleges Scotland, the SFC, Skills Development Scotland and Universities Scotland, which all have an interest here. I appreciate that I have listed a lot of people, but a lot of people have a stake and an interest in the matter. All the organisations that are mentioned in amendment 228 have a stake in our education system succeeding, being on the front foot, being fleet of foot and being world leading again, so I encourage members to support my amendments in the group.

I move amendment 225.

In what way does the member think that parents should be engaged?