:00:00. > :00:00.Scotland's schools hit a 15-year low, recording
:00:00. > :00:26.their worst ever performance in an international survey.
:00:27. > :00:31.Scotland's Education Secretary admits the country's education
:00:32. > :00:34.rankings make "uncomfortable reading".
:00:35. > :00:37.So why have our standards slipped so far?
:00:38. > :00:41.And it's been described as Scotland's most
:00:42. > :00:44.But will it take more than Government intervention
:00:45. > :00:57.The Scottish Education Secretary John Swinney had no choice
:00:58. > :00:59.but to admit the figures make "uncomfortable reading".
:01:00. > :01:02.A survey by the Programme For International Student Assessment
:01:03. > :01:05.found that performance in the three core subjects of maths, reading
:01:06. > :01:09.And it's led Mr Swinney to call for a "radical reform"
:01:10. > :01:22.The Programme for International Student Assessment run by the OECD
:01:23. > :01:27.every two years assesses the skills of 15-year-olds in 72 countries in
:01:28. > :01:30.reading, maths and science. The results of the most recent
:01:31. > :01:35.assessment undertaken two years ago on March 2015 were published this
:01:36. > :01:39.morning. The figures for Scotland do not make comfortable reading. But
:01:40. > :01:44.they do reinforce the need for reforms to our school system that
:01:45. > :01:48.are now underway. While the shoulder Scottish scorers as someone to the
:01:49. > :01:53.OECD average in all areas tested, be sure that compared to 2012 hour
:01:54. > :01:57.performance and signed in reading has fallen. In science and maths we
:01:58. > :02:01.are now below the levels at which we performed in 2006 and more countries
:02:02. > :02:08.have outperformed Scotland and all three areas than at any time since
:02:09. > :02:11.Pisa began. The results show that closing the poverty attainment gap
:02:12. > :02:15.is a complex challenge which is not unique to Scotland. The welcome
:02:16. > :02:17.improvements in the performance of young people from deprived
:02:18. > :02:23.backgrounds that we saw in the previous results between 2009 and
:02:24. > :02:28.2012 have been maintained. However, there is still a gap between pupils
:02:29. > :02:32.between the beast and most disadvantaged backgrounds, around
:02:33. > :02:36.three years the mugwort of schooling according to the OECD. In its report
:02:37. > :02:39.published this time last year, it said that the Curriculum for
:02:40. > :02:43.Excellence was an important reform and was the right approach for
:02:44. > :02:46.Scotland. The OECD said that we had got the design right but that we
:02:47. > :02:50.needed to take further steps to secure the benefits of this new
:02:51. > :02:54.approach in all parts of the country. The Government's plans for
:02:55. > :02:59.reform were set out in the delivery plan, delivering excellence and
:03:00. > :03:03.equality in education, published in the month of June following the
:03:04. > :03:06.national education summit. This programme is bold, ambitious and
:03:07. > :03:12.imparts controversial. But we must be clear, reform is required. This
:03:13. > :03:18.data reinforces the case for radical change that the government is
:03:19. > :03:21.determined to pursue. Not only are now below the OECD average in the
:03:22. > :03:26.three measurements when we were above and beyond 2006, but the most
:03:27. > :03:30.recent trends in the last set of Pisa result in 2012 tell us that
:03:31. > :03:36.Scotland is actually heading backwards in two measurements. With
:03:37. > :03:39.the Cabinet Secretary access the statistics published today are a
:03:40. > :03:44.damning indictment of the SNP's education policies in the schools
:03:45. > :03:50.and rookie accept the equality question, the effect of delivery of
:03:51. > :03:54.the curriculum of excellence? Women has the OECD to consider the
:03:55. > :03:58.approach to the implementation of CSE and its effect on Scottish
:03:59. > :04:01.education, I have put on make-up their view and it was that the
:04:02. > :04:03.Curriculum for Excellence was the correct reform to be undertaken.
:04:04. > :04:05.Well, joining me now to discuss the school performance
:04:06. > :04:06.figures released today is Professor Lindsay Paterson
:04:07. > :04:19.Good evening to you, Professor. Thank you for joining us. We heard
:04:20. > :04:23.that the numbers have fallen since the year 2000, since devilish in
:04:24. > :04:25.essentially. We will come to the Curriculum for Excellence any
:04:26. > :04:30.moment, but what has changed in terms of the structure of Scottish
:04:31. > :04:33.education in that time? -- since devilish in. One of the striking
:04:34. > :04:38.things about Scotland is that very little has changed in its structure
:04:39. > :04:41.converted to England. The main thing that this change in Scotland is the
:04:42. > :04:44.curriculum and we will come onto that any minute. Essentially,
:04:45. > :04:48.Scotland a decade and a half ago thought that it structure was fine,
:04:49. > :04:52.that there was nothing fundamental it had to change about the kinds of
:04:53. > :04:58.schools we have, the ways in which people move between schools from
:04:59. > :05:01.primary to secondary, for example, or indeed, by and large, the
:05:02. > :05:06.examinations etc. There have been reform but not fundamental change as
:05:07. > :05:11.there has been in other countries. Looking at the curriculum, the
:05:12. > :05:15.introduction for the Curriculum for Excellence, that was a major change,
:05:16. > :05:18.John Swinney has said that the OECD has said that is the right
:05:19. > :05:24.curriculum for Scotland, is that universally agreed? The Cabinet
:05:25. > :05:28.Secretary was being selective in his quotation from that report. The OECD
:05:29. > :05:31.said that according to the Aussie consensus in Scotland it was the
:05:32. > :05:34.correct change but crucially they also said that the Scottish
:05:35. > :05:38.Government had not produced the data that would allow an objective
:05:39. > :05:42.evaluation for Curriculum for Excellence. The OECD said that
:05:43. > :05:46.repeatedly in the report, the data had simply not been collected that
:05:47. > :05:49.would allow a proper evaluation in terms of Scottish detail. What we
:05:50. > :05:54.have now today is the closest we will ever get to an evaluation of
:05:55. > :05:58.this Curriculum for Excellence, we had put up before it was introduced
:05:59. > :06:03.and we have two waves of data after 2012 but above all the data from
:06:04. > :06:05.2015. In every respect, Scottish education is declining according to
:06:06. > :06:20.these measurements. Other things have changed, degrading thing
:06:21. > :06:22.that has changed in Scotland and not changed in England, where there has
:06:23. > :06:24.been no such decline, as the Curriculum for Excellence. So if
:06:25. > :06:27.that is not the explanation for the decline, the onus is on the
:06:28. > :06:29.government to explain what is the explanation for the decline. I
:06:30. > :06:32.cannot think of one. How do we make an assessment of its success? The
:06:33. > :06:35.final exam results, the numbers of children going to university? It
:06:36. > :06:40.surely has to be beyond this test that only looks at 15-year-olds. The
:06:41. > :06:47.strength of the Pisa test is that it is than to the high standards and
:06:48. > :06:50.has been improved since it was first introduced. It is a gold standard.
:06:51. > :06:56.The great advantage of it is that it is done on a comparable basis for
:06:57. > :07:01.many countries. The problem relying only on Scottish exams is that there
:07:02. > :07:04.is the fear that the standard of exams have been changing in response
:07:05. > :07:07.to the changes to the curriculum and that other changes and going on that
:07:08. > :07:10.might possibly have meant that what we are expecting our students to
:07:11. > :07:14.them in school is actually beginning and when they have an objective
:07:15. > :07:20.external assessment like these Pisa tests which show that Scottish team
:07:21. > :07:22.according to the same test in other countries is declining, then we have
:07:23. > :07:25.to face up to the possibility that we are not asking enough of our
:07:26. > :07:28.15-year-olds, we should be challenging them more as they do in
:07:29. > :07:34.other countries and in other parts of the UK. One of the ideas for the
:07:35. > :07:38.Curriculum for Excellence was this more modern, holistic approach,
:07:39. > :07:41.teaching children to think for themselves rather than being
:07:42. > :07:43.prescriptive, feeding them information that they then
:07:44. > :07:50.essentially just regurgitate. If that feeling to happen? Clearly,
:07:51. > :07:53.according to these tests. The Curriculum for Excellence said that
:07:54. > :07:57.the things that would be teaching children are about real life skills
:07:58. > :08:02.as opposed to apparently allegedly arid academic knowledge. The whole
:08:03. > :08:05.point of the Pisa study is that it assesses real-life skills. It is
:08:06. > :08:09.clear that the real life skills of Scottish children are not doing
:08:10. > :08:12.particularly well. So perhaps in fact Curriculum for Excellence has
:08:13. > :08:16.the whole thing wrong. Perhaps the best way to prepare children for
:08:17. > :08:20.real life is to teach them quite traditional academic skills, ways of
:08:21. > :08:22.thinking, concepts that the traditional subjects that human
:08:23. > :08:29.beings have evolved over the centuries, perhaps that is the way
:08:30. > :08:31.to engage in real life, not a Rabo Mickey Mouse approach to cross
:08:32. > :08:37.curricular themes and other subjects that are beside the point at that
:08:38. > :08:41.age. Some have criticised it saying that teachers are unclear in the
:08:42. > :08:45.roll in all of this is and what they should actually be teaching
:08:46. > :08:48.children. There was the agreement 15 years ago that was meant to
:08:49. > :08:52.revolutionise teaching and improve their conditions, raised their pay
:08:53. > :08:55.and give them will clash in time. Where do you think teaching is
:08:56. > :09:00.currently sitting within this whole big debate and this effort to raise
:09:01. > :09:03.attainment? Teachers are the only way forward, you cannot change the
:09:04. > :09:06.system without working closely with teachers and the Scottish Government
:09:07. > :09:10.appreciates that and John Swinney has said that identity and that is
:09:11. > :09:14.commendable. The problem with Curriculum for Excellence is that it
:09:15. > :09:18.claimed to devolve responsibility for the curriculum to individual
:09:19. > :09:21.teachers in schools. Primary school teachers cannot be expected to
:09:22. > :09:24.reinvent the curriculum for themselves. Understandably they felt
:09:25. > :09:28.adrift as though they were not getting adequate help and support
:09:29. > :09:32.from the Centre for curriculum advisory bodies, for example. That
:09:33. > :09:35.is beginning to change but only very slowly and in the meantime teachers
:09:36. > :09:40.I think still feel that the whole thing has been imposed upon them and
:09:41. > :09:42.that expectations of teachers have got too unreasonable length and at
:09:43. > :09:47.the same time, they are being held responsible for the failures of
:09:48. > :09:51.children when they do not attain as highly as they should. There are
:09:52. > :09:56.regional variations as well, is there any solution do you think in
:09:57. > :10:00.trying to have a central answer to some of these issues, rather than
:10:01. > :10:02.leaving local authorities to sort these problems are themselves?
:10:03. > :10:07.Indeed. The reason for standardisation across the country
:10:08. > :10:10.is about Equal Opportunities Committee we want children to have
:10:11. > :10:14.access to the same curriculum, the same kind of quality of teaching and
:10:15. > :10:22.exams in one part of Scotland than in another part of Scotland. Two
:10:23. > :10:25.types of curriculum and could risk dividing Scotland and creating
:10:26. > :10:30.better opportunities in one place than in another. We have to be
:10:31. > :10:32.careful about going too far down the road of decentralisation.
:10:33. > :10:35.Decentralisation in interpreting standard guidelines but these
:10:36. > :10:39.guidelines have to be standard for the system as a whole for the system
:10:40. > :10:40.to be fair. Professor Lindsay Paterson, thank you very much for
:10:41. > :10:45.joining us. MSPs learnt a new piece
:10:46. > :10:47.of jargon today. It means an environment that makes
:10:48. > :10:51.it easy to put on weight. And, it seems,
:10:52. > :10:52.Scotland is obesogenic. So one witness told
:10:53. > :10:54.the Health Committee at Holyrood that we're facing a "public health
:10:55. > :10:57.crisis" because we eat too much We'll hear some medical expertise
:10:58. > :11:17.on the issue in a moment. It is the season to be jolly. Time
:11:18. > :11:20.to eat, drink and be merry, celebrated at Christmas markets
:11:21. > :11:25.around the country, like this one in Glasgow. But today the Health
:11:26. > :11:30.Committee at Holyrood Howard obesity described as the most pressing
:11:31. > :11:35.public issue of our time. In 2015, more than a quarter of Scots are
:11:36. > :11:42.categorised as obese, although not many as big as this chap. In the
:11:43. > :11:48.same year, 65% of us were over weight. Between 1998 and now, the
:11:49. > :11:53.proportion of children overweight or obese has fluctuated between 20% and
:11:54. > :11:57.33% and MSPs on the Health Committee heard today that obesity is the
:11:58. > :12:02.biggest cause of preventable cancers after smoking. Over the next 20
:12:03. > :12:08.years across the UK they heard obesity could be responsible for
:12:09. > :12:12.700,000 preventable cancers. The changes that we see, particularly in
:12:13. > :12:15.smoking, did not happen because people decided not to smoke, they
:12:16. > :12:18.happen because we change the environment and the opportunities
:12:19. > :12:23.that people had to make healthier choices. At the moment, the
:12:24. > :12:28.unhealthy choice is the easy choice, there is a bit of jargon that we
:12:29. > :12:34.use, we talk about obesogenic. An environment where it makes it easy
:12:35. > :12:40.to overturn some calories and take too little physical exercise. We
:12:41. > :12:44.need to turn that on its head. In terms of regulation, I think there
:12:45. > :12:49.are tough choices, it is not easy to find a regulatory measurements to
:12:50. > :12:52.increase activity but it could be around that and there are tough
:12:53. > :12:56.political decisions such as restricting car access to town
:12:57. > :13:00.centres, pedestrianisation, increasing car parking charges,
:13:01. > :13:08.difficult and unpopular decisions to make. If we had a 1% drop in obesity
:13:09. > :13:11.each year we would have far fewer cases of cancer and we know that
:13:12. > :13:18.could save around ?40 million to the NHS. So, if Scotland facing an
:13:19. > :13:23.obesity crisis? Absolutely, the scale of the problem that we face in
:13:24. > :13:28.Scotland is significant and we need to redouble our efforts in which we
:13:29. > :13:33.try and tackle that, not just for the Q and is now in terms of the
:13:34. > :13:37.health benefits but also in the preventative sense that it allows us
:13:38. > :13:41.to stop the impact it is having on our health service and on public
:13:42. > :13:48.services in general. Absolutely, there is a significant problem which
:13:49. > :13:51.Scotland has to face. Back at Glasgow's Christmas market, there is
:13:52. > :14:02.food and drink everywhere and people who know what we ought to be doing,
:14:03. > :14:08.but it is not always easy. I am on a diet, cheese, I have given it up. I
:14:09. > :14:13.have lost weight. I was 30 stone and I was worried about my weight. I do
:14:14. > :14:16.try but it is not easy living in Scotland, especially with the
:14:17. > :14:21.weather, I think that has a lot to do with it. Lots of stodgy food. I
:14:22. > :14:26.tried to watch what I eat as much as I can but I quite enjoyed eating
:14:27. > :14:31.like everyone else. It is trying to pick a more healthy options. I am
:14:32. > :14:34.out walking with my grandson, that is increasing my exercise, it is
:14:35. > :14:40.good for me. Scotland has made tough decisions about smoking policy and
:14:41. > :14:42.alcohol pricing but can politicians really get this eating less and
:14:43. > :14:45.exercising more? Well, earlier this evening,
:14:46. > :14:48.I spoke to Naveed Sattar who's Professor of Metabolic Medicine
:14:49. > :14:56.at the University of Glasgow. Can Government actually change our
:14:57. > :15:02.lifestyle habits? Yes, they can. The way the
:15:03. > :15:07.Government interacts with the food industry and provides taxation on
:15:08. > :15:12.foods, a debatable topic, can lead us to eat healthier.
:15:13. > :15:19.Unhealthy foods would be more expensive which would subsidise
:15:20. > :15:24.healthy foods. So people are directed to eating healthy foods.
:15:25. > :15:34.That is a huge ask because the food industry is not easy to interact
:15:35. > :15:39.with and legislation is something that meets lots of opposition. That
:15:40. > :15:45.is really the holy Grail. Unless we change our food policy and make
:15:46. > :15:50.healthy foods easier and cheaper, I do not see us making a big dent in
:15:51. > :15:57.the beastie statistics. Why is it so slow? The sugar soft
:15:58. > :16:01.drinks levy proposed has actually forced soft drinks companies to act
:16:02. > :16:07.before it has come to legislation, could the same be done for food high
:16:08. > :16:14.in fat and salt? Yes, but it is not as easy. Fact is
:16:15. > :16:20.in many different foods. How do you make those decisions, what Rawls do
:16:21. > :16:26.you make certain foods to be more expensive? The reality is it has to
:16:27. > :16:30.be some whether it is a total calorie count and if they are above
:16:31. > :16:37.a certain level they are given a higher tax or cost, but it can be
:16:38. > :16:45.done. It will be difficult, there is no easy fix. One of the easiest ways
:16:46. > :16:49.to make the difference is big labels showing total calorie content.
:16:50. > :16:56.People can understand what they are putting in their mouths. For
:16:57. > :17:01.example, if they think, 500 calories for a drink, maybe I should just
:17:02. > :17:09.have a cup of tea and a banana at 90 calories. Even that is difficult.
:17:10. > :17:14.Legislation probably prohibits putting total calorie content on
:17:15. > :17:17.many foods. We all have an individual
:17:18. > :17:24.responsibility, some of us have parental responsibilities to look at
:17:25. > :17:29.what we are eating and exercise. What is going wrong? The Government
:17:30. > :17:33.came up with a plan to tackle obesity six years ago, with two
:17:34. > :17:39.thirds of Scottish adults overweight and almost a third classed as obese.
:17:40. > :17:47.Where are we going wrong? The million-dollar question. The reality
:17:48. > :17:51.is most causes of obesity is the eating calories rather than less
:17:52. > :17:56.activity. Actually, it is difficult for people
:17:57. > :18:00.to regulate weight when there is an abundance of calories. It is easy to
:18:01. > :18:07.walk around the street and find rich, dense calories, and be seduced
:18:08. > :18:13.to taking a big cake not knowing how many calories it is. Easy to have a
:18:14. > :18:19.pack of crisps at night. Easy to have a bacon sandwich and not
:18:20. > :18:21.realise it is full of lots of saturated fat.
:18:22. > :18:29.There are too many calories in society. Many people of most of us
:18:30. > :18:33.are obese. We find it difficult not to resist the temptation because
:18:34. > :18:40.they are also very cheap. Is the perception of our own bodies
:18:41. > :18:44.changing? Is it more acceptable to be overweight?
:18:45. > :18:48.It probably is because more people in society are overweight. It
:18:49. > :18:53.doesn't feel so much different. But I have seen many patients in my
:18:54. > :18:58.clinic who are overweight, putting on weight at a rapid level and are
:18:59. > :19:04.not happy. They would rather be lighter. Being lighted means they
:19:05. > :19:10.can be more active, they are usually happier with their self body image,
:19:11. > :19:13.and that makes for a better workforce.
:19:14. > :19:17.We might say being overweight is not necessarily a big issue, it probably
:19:18. > :19:25.is, many would rather not be overweight. If we as a nation can
:19:26. > :19:29.help them make better health choices easier, if doctors can step up to
:19:30. > :19:34.the mark in the way we speak to our patients about lifestyle.
:19:35. > :19:40.And the reasons why people over eat, there are psychological complexities
:19:41. > :19:45.to our relationship with food, are we looking enough at that, our
:19:46. > :19:55.people being referred for help? I wouldn't say problem eating, there
:19:56. > :20:01.is a simple issue, what you provide in front of you on the table, it has
:20:02. > :20:05.to be better. In Scotland, if you go down many streets, there is an
:20:06. > :20:12.abundance of fast food places, cheap calories. That is where the battle
:20:13. > :20:17.has to be tackled. Anything else is a distraction. Yes, education of
:20:18. > :20:22.kids, about cooking is important. Unless we change our food culture
:20:23. > :20:26.and what is available, we were tackled this in any great way.
:20:27. > :20:28.With me now to talk some more about today's news,
:20:29. > :20:31.I'm joined by the editor of The Big Issue, Paul McNamee.
:20:32. > :20:37.And the journalist and former MSP Dorothy Grace Elder.
:20:38. > :20:45.Good evening to you both. We start with the beastie discussed today
:20:46. > :20:51.before a Holyrood committee, Aileen Campbell warned this follows
:20:52. > :20:54.generations of over eating and under activity.
:20:55. > :20:59.This is what she had to say. Our response to the beastie cannot rely
:21:00. > :21:05.on if few projects. This is about reshaping the environment to make a
:21:06. > :21:12.healthier choice, a change to our ways.
:21:13. > :21:16.What do you think the problem is? Why are none of the messages so far
:21:17. > :21:21.getting through? Good luck with that, people have
:21:22. > :21:28.been trying it for almost 20 years. The Government has spent tens of
:21:29. > :21:34.millions on better education on health. And it hasn't worked. People
:21:35. > :21:38.do not like to be elected to especially by governments.
:21:39. > :21:45.What you need I think is to get right to the crux of the matter
:21:46. > :21:49.which is cutting fat and sugar in the manufacturing of many types of
:21:50. > :21:58.food. We know sugar is slipped into things. There is no clamp-down on
:21:59. > :22:02.that. That is what is most needed. You would have to run from here to
:22:03. > :22:07.Aberdeen to burn off enough calories regularly for it to work.
:22:08. > :22:13.The professor made the point it is about what we are eating primarily.
:22:14. > :22:20.Paul, is it the job of Government to step in and force companies to put
:22:21. > :22:23.less fat, salt and sugar in? Ultimately, companies are private
:22:24. > :22:27.corporations and they will make a decision based on where they feel
:22:28. > :22:30.there is demand and to serve their shareholders. We have such a weird
:22:31. > :22:39.relationship with food in this country. The biggest show in the
:22:40. > :22:42.whole of Britain is about getting flour and sugar and putting it
:22:43. > :22:48.together and stuffing your face and celebrating that. As long as that is
:22:49. > :22:55.the case, and also poverty plays a part. Cheap, processed food is
:22:56. > :22:59.available. It is much more readily available than good healthy
:23:00. > :23:04.vegetables. That is where people will turn. It does feel as though it
:23:05. > :23:08.is hectoring. If you don't have a lot of money you will find the
:23:09. > :23:14.cheapest you can get to meet the needs of your family. That has to be
:23:15. > :23:21.looked at. Exercise is something to do with it. That lets people off the
:23:22. > :23:28.hook saying it doesn't. It starts early. There is the school in
:23:29. > :23:34.Stirling with the run a mile a day for the pupils. When that becomes an
:23:35. > :23:37.institutionalised movement, you begin to feel about fitness and your
:23:38. > :23:42.body slightly differently, your mind works better, in relation with food
:23:43. > :23:45.will change. These things have to be looked at
:23:46. > :23:51.together. So long as something like a cough is
:23:52. > :24:00.tiptop and Woody does it, where are you going?
:24:01. > :24:03.I can't stand they cough. How do we celebrate our attitude to food? And
:24:04. > :24:09.blaming the weather and not being active enough.
:24:10. > :24:14.Every other television programme is about food, cooking. Of course, they
:24:15. > :24:20.are ladling in cream, sugar and butter because it tastes good.
:24:21. > :24:24.Governments, Westminster in this case, because they acted in wartime,
:24:25. > :24:29.you are not getting enough sugar because we have had too many ships
:24:30. > :24:33.sunk, you are not getting enough flour, rationing. Of course
:24:34. > :24:38.governments can act. They are letting manufacturers get away with
:24:39. > :24:42.forcing a lot of people to eat trash. As you rightly say, people
:24:43. > :24:50.pick up what is cheapest, at the time.
:24:51. > :24:54.On the topic of Government, the Brexit case at the Supreme Court, an
:24:55. > :25:02.important case, how easy do you think this is the people to follow?
:25:03. > :25:06.It is ludicrously hard. But then that was expected. And everything
:25:07. > :25:11.has to be second-hand because like a lot of people, I started watching
:25:12. > :25:16.yesterday, listening to the arguments, it was so detailed and so
:25:17. > :25:21.dense that I was getting lost. It is hard to get to. I think the
:25:22. > :25:30.basic idea, does the Government have the right to act without asking MPs
:25:31. > :25:35.Tim make this decision, keep this in mind, this is what it is all about.
:25:36. > :25:44.Be prepared for this long, arcane dance that will get us to January.
:25:45. > :25:49.We will hear tomorrow's, Scotland's turn, that Holyrood should be
:25:50. > :25:52.consulted, when the emotion that might go?
:25:53. > :25:58.Of course it must be consulted. I don't know if we'll be. Theresa May
:25:59. > :26:03.saying I want a red, white and blue Brexit. In Scotland, a lot of people
:26:04. > :26:11.want you might take a tartan remain. We want remain. That is not being
:26:12. > :26:17.processed. We are being cut out entirely. So is Northern Ireland. We
:26:18. > :26:22.are reliant on the court to make a decision for us.
:26:23. > :26:25.You can argue parts of London -- parts of England are, London,
:26:26. > :26:29.Manchester. There are interesting cost usual
:26:30. > :26:34.questions on the role of Scotland. The devolved areas in Britain were
:26:35. > :26:38.set up through an act of Polmont and that is what this is about, should
:26:39. > :26:47.there be an act of Parliament? So, if there is a win here for the
:26:48. > :26:52.opposition to the Government, then where does that leave the devolved
:26:53. > :26:55.powers and what they can do and influence?
:26:56. > :26:59.It is fascinating and really difficult.
:27:00. > :27:04.It is cutting out democracy, though. That is why there is Brexit. This is
:27:05. > :27:07.the very worst situation we have had the decades.
:27:08. > :27:10.But that was the choice of the people.
:27:11. > :27:18.The majority. Let us quickly move on to the other big story, education,
:27:19. > :27:21.Scotland has slipped down the international league table, Dorothy,
:27:22. > :27:26.a surprise? Sort of. We have had too little
:27:27. > :27:31.stability in education in Scotland for years. We have had four
:27:32. > :27:35.different Education secretaries, John Swinney is the fourth, and
:27:36. > :27:41.fortunately for him. He only got into the job about six months ago.
:27:42. > :27:47.And we have had nine years before that. I think actually it was the
:27:48. > :27:52.Labour - Lib Dem coalition which started with this curriculum for
:27:53. > :27:57.excellence. The SNP has had a long time nevertheless to get things
:27:58. > :28:05.right. John Swinney was challenged today by umpteen people about the
:28:06. > :28:13.actual mess behind the scenes, which is a 20,000 sheets of paper
:28:14. > :28:17.instructions or guidance for poor teachers, that the teachers do not
:28:18. > :28:21.understand, and John Swinney admitted that, the teachers can't
:28:22. > :28:25.navigate it. What is the solution as they try
:28:26. > :28:30.to... Headteachers power and look to do
:28:31. > :28:34.the simple things right. Keep school libraries open. If kids are falling
:28:35. > :28:40.down on reading, provide a place for them to do it. Ultimately, stop
:28:41. > :28:45.overburdening teachers with the curriculum for excellence, the paper
:28:46. > :28:47.trail, it is so unnecessary. More classroom time.
:28:48. > :28:52.I'm back again tomorrow night, usual time.