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In relation to employment and the workplace, you could apply that same argument to Scots.

I will touch on another issue. There was a discussion about the economy earlier. One of the benefits that I know about from my constituency work is that young people who learn Gaelic also develop skills that help them to learn a number of other languages, which not only gives them the benefit of learning Gaelic but enables them to learn more languages, which in turn helps with their economic contribution and the opportunities available to them later on. In considering young people learning languages more widely, should education authorities prioritise Gaelic as a modern language over other modern languages, or not?

In our evidence, we heard feedback on higher education. Will the Government use the powers under the bill to improve the provision of Gaelic-medium further and higher education?

Absolutely.

Earlier, you spoke about the overall ambition. Do you think that the bill will support Gaelic-medium education pupils having wider opportunities to use Gaelic in their homes and communities? How will it increase what you described as the breadth and the depth of Gaelic?

No more questions from me, convener.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but my understanding is that, at the moment, a parent has a right to ask for Gaelic-medium education for their child, but there is not a right for it to be provided. In the evidence that we have heard, calls have been made for there to be a right to Gaelic-medium education. I am absolutely sympathetic to the ambition to establish such a right, but I think that, in legislating in this Parliament, we need to be increasingly mindful of the need to ensure that we create rights that can be realised. I pose that as an issue that needs to be considered when capacity is a challenge.

Good morning to you and all your officials, Deputy First Minister. I want to move to the area of Gaelic-medium education, which is covered in sections 11 to 25 in chapter 2 of the bill. We heard evidence about the challenges that parents who seek Gaelic-medium education face. I have Edinburgh’s GME primary school in my constituency and I used to work at Edinburgh’s GME secondary school before I was elected. Could, and should, the process for parents who seek Gaelic-medium education be simplified?

Does Graham Simpson agree that, as we discussed at stage 1, it is important to consider single-use item charges with regard to the particular circumstances of different items? For example, the charge on plastic bags was, from memory, more to do with the damaging effect of plastic bags as a pollutant in the natural environment—whether in rivers or woodland, or from wildlife choking on plastic. A disposable cup is a different item. For consumers, putting a reusable bag in their pocket is a different consideration from putting a reusable cup in their pocket. We would all do well to consider the circumstances of different items, rather than being wide-ranging in using the plastic bag charge as a justification for saying that charging would be beneficial when it comes to other single-use items.

As we heard in our stage 1 evidence, section 11 is intended to improve household recycling and household waste management and, through that, to improve the quality of the recyclate that is administered by our local authorities. That is a challenging exercise. We all know that contamination of recyclate not only frustrates the citizens who take the time to sort their recycling but means that local authorities do not get the reward of high-quality recycling and means that it is difficult for those who process the recyclate to do so effectively. I commend the Government for trying to improve the quality of recyclate and, therefore, deliver more recycling. However, we need to be careful in using punitive measures on households and individuals; the amendments in this group are helpful probing amendments in that regard.

On Sarah Boyack’s amendment 105, I will speak as a representative of a constituency that has a large amount of tenement housing. If you walk past the communal bins that serve the tenements in my constituency and lift the lids, as I do from time to time, you will see a high degree of contamination, much of which will have been perpetrated by passers-by, not by the tenement residents in the households that those communal bins serve. I seek reassurance from the Government that communal bins will be considered and that we will ensure that those who live in tenements are not unfairly penalised if passers-by contaminate their recyclate. Sarah Boyack’s probing amendment is helpful in that regard.

Amendment 118, in the name of Edward Mountain, reflects the evidence that we took at stage 1 on creating consistency in how recycling is done in the majority of Scotland. Perhaps the drafting can be improved ahead of stage 3, but the principle of having a consistent position across Scotland would be helpful in encouraging better recycling and less contamination and, through that—importantly—attracting more investment. There is a huge amount of commercial incentive to invest in recycling across the UK and beyond, and we want to attract that to Scotland. To do that, we need to reduce contamination and improve the recyclate. Consistency in terms of people knowing which bin to put what in would be helpful.

I thank the minister for taking my intervention; that is appreciated.

It has been helpful to hear your feedback on those matters. The nature of communal bins in tenement properties is that they will often serve more than one tenement block on a street. The fact that you have been able to outline that the guidance will take in feedback from specific local authorities for their area, and that a process of investigation will take place before any warning, let alone civil penalty, is served, reassures me. From what you have said that the guidance will entail, the power will only be used when a household or a number of households in a wider tenemental area have been identified as contaminating those communal bins.

Given the feedback from my constituents over the years, if people are identified as contaminating shared waste facilities on their street, other residents of the tenemental properties who want to see those bins used appropriately would support action being taken against those individuals who are contaminating the waste for a number of properties.