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Seòmar agus comataidhean

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 20 August 2025
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Displaying 1714 contributions

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Education, Children and Young People Committee

Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 2 March 2022

Michael Marra

I strongly agree with that.

I will put a similar question to the representative from COSLA. My experience of the process is in my local authority in Dundee, in a recent consultation prior to the pandemic on merging two secondary schools. The local authority did not get the answer that it wanted, so it ran the consultation again to get that answer. My concern with the measure in the bill is about precedent. Even though it might be reasonable to agree to the emergency legislation, if we agree to it, there could be a kind of seeping situation and we could end up with no physical meetings. Does COSLA still believe that we should have physical meetings to maximise engagement, as the EIS has said?

Education, Children and Young People Committee

Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 2 March 2022

Michael Marra

The idea that Fergus Ewing is expounding that the pandemic was not predicted is completely wrong. Pandemics were predicted globally by many experts. They are high on risk registers internationally. We had pandemic planning activity in Scotland that was ignored by the Scottish Government and when the review that is being undertaken reports, we will get a better idea of that.

John Edward mentioned the comparison with England. Are the witnesses aware of any other international comparisons that we might look at where the response was better? I am fairly critical of the Government response in England, Wales and Scotland. Is there an international example of a legislative framework for emergency response that you are aware of that the committee and the Parliament should look at? Is there a better framework that will help us get the response correct next time?

Education, Children and Young People Committee

Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 2 March 2022

Michael Marra

I will come to Megan Farr on that issue in a moment.

The Scottish Government’s policy is that every child should have access to a digital device and the connectivity to enable its use, but I believe that that will not be provided until the end of this session of Parliament. Would the lack of provision post a real risk were there to be another mutation that lead to further school closures?

Education, Children and Young People Committee

Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 2 March 2022

Michael Marra

Does Megan Farr have any comment?

Education, Children and Young People Committee

Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 2 March 2022

Michael Marra

That would be my point. It would be better if we were looking at the bill in a broader sense, when we can understand the impact of the pandemic, and that we do it properly. We must not legislate in haste and repent at leisure.

Education, Children and Young People Committee

Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 2 March 2022

Michael Marra

I have a slight reflection to make on that issue. I do not believe that that is tangential at all; it is absolutely critical to our understanding of some of the unintended consequences of legislation, whether that be emergency legislation or properly scrutinised legislation. It would be remiss of the committee not to make urgent representations to the justice minister, given the evidence that we have heard today about the increase from, roughly, 40 per cent to 80 per cent in the number of young people sitting in prison without trial or recourse to justice. That is totally unacceptable, and something must be done about it immediately.

I welcome the focus on rights, including the right to education. You may have heard in the previous panel discussion about the risks in the short term of further mutations in and strains of the virus, which might result in further school closures. I want to get your reflections about what some of the consequences of that might be. There was discussion about digital access. We know that such access is far from widespread at the moment and that there are still challenges in that regard. Will Liam Fowley reflect on that?

Education, Children and Young People Committee

Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 2 March 2022

Michael Marra

I have a brief final word, convener. Should the bill include a guarantee about educational access for young people, should there be school closures?

Education, Children and Young People Committee

Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 2 March 2022

Michael Marra

There are too many of those.

Education, Children and Young People Committee

Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 2 March 2022

Michael Marra

I have a brief supplementary question for Paul Little and Alastair Sim. I was quite intrigued by what Paul Little said. What did not happen in the past two years that the Government wanted to happen? If it is asking for more power to direct, what were the things that did not happen? What is the problem that the Government is trying to solve with the bill?

Education, Children and Young People Committee

Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 2 March 2022

Michael Marra

Did you not feel at any point that the Government or ministers were asking you and your colleagues in universities to do something, and the universities were just saying, “No, we cannot do it”—perhaps the bill seeks to take more power to the centre to compel you? Do you not recall conversations along those lines?