Tough questions from future Newsnight presenters

Scottish Secretary Ian Murray's official 2024 Christmas card has been designed by 12-year-old Ukrainian girl Amelia Marchenko, whose family fled the conflict in her home country and now live in EdinburghScottish Secretary Ian Murray's official 2024 Christmas card has been designed by 12-year-old Ukrainian girl Amelia Marchenko, whose family fled the conflict in her home country and now live in Edinburgh
Scottish Secretary Ian Murray's official 2024 Christmas card has been designed by 12-year-old Ukrainian girl Amelia Marchenko, whose family fled the conflict in her home country and now live in Edinburgh
Last week, I was subjected to some hard questions from a group of tough interviewers. This wasn’t in the House of Commons or a TV studio. Instead, it was a Q&A session with P7s at Liberton Primary School, which I attended as part of their UK Parliament Week activities.

And judging by the quality of their questions I’m willing to bet there are some future Newsnight presenters among them. In all seriousness, I was really impressed with how engaged the class were, the thoughtfulness of their questions and the way they listened and considered each answer. Their teachers have done a great job.

Over recent months I’ve been popping into schools across the south of Edinburgh, from Gracemount to James Gillespie’s, to meet with staff and pupils and see how our local schools are getting on. It’s been a real delight. A particular highlight was going to see pupils from Preston Street Primary School sing Christmas songs to raise money for the excellent Social Bite homelessness charity. Their energy and sheer excitement was an absolute joy to see.

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I’ve also really been struck by the artistic talent of school pupils from across the south of Edinburgh. I had the impossibly hard task of selecting Christmas card designs for my annual official Christmas card. Designs were submitted by classes from 13 schools in the constituency.

It’s been valuable to speak to the staff, too. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the teachers across the south of Edinburgh and beyond who work so hard every day to give our children the best possible start in life.

But schools are facing challenges too. Educational attainment standards are slipping, and after years of underinvestment and mismanagement by the SNP, the education sector is under pressure. Last week’s Scottish Budget did little to remedy this.

While the UK Labour Government has invested £1 billion in special educational needs and disability support since the election (in England, as education is devolved), with a further £740 million announced last week, the Scottish Government has offered only £29m, equivalent to less than £1m per local authority area for additional support for learning provision in Scotland. This is a drop in the ocean compared to the scale of the support needed. This is yet another example of how the Scottish Government has squandered the extra £4.9bn provided to them in this financial year and next by the UK Labour Government in the autumn Budget.

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On childcare, the Scottish Government has been asleep at the wheel. A £23.6m increase in the early learning and childcare budget is good news, but there is no clarity in whether it is targeted towards supporting the 1140 hours of childcare or funding additional policy initiatives. This funding will be judged by whether it results in better outcomes for parents struggling to find services they can access.

It was yet another SNP budget for the election in 2026 and not for the needs of either our education system or the country. However, after my recent visits to local schools, I’m feeling optimistic about the outlook for our children. But they need more government support to make sure every child is equipped and supported to realise their full potential. The Scottish Government needs a proper plan to make sure every child gets the best start in life.

Ian Murray is Labour MP for Edinburgh South and Secretary of State for Scotland

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