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When it comes to health boards, for example, one of the things that was extremely impressive in the first wave of Covid was how well hospitals coped with the intense pressure at that time. I heard more than once that that was because doctors and other clinicians took charge of how wards were organised to look after people with Covid and those who did not have it but nonetheless had very serious issues. On schools, I heard that, because teachers were in charge of their schools instead of being at the behest of a lot of Government edicts, they got on better.

What I am interested in—and I think that you are, too—is whether, if that continues into the future, it will mean that our Governments will have to be less statist in their approach. Will they have to free up or perhaps devolve some areas to local authorities so that our Governments can get on with the business of governing? Instead of taking a bureaucratic, top-down and do-as-I-say approach, they can work on a free-thinking level. Am I correct in my interpretation of your view on that?

Yes.

Education has been prioritised as a big part of the recovery—certainly according to many of the witnesses who have attended the committee. That is quite a large chunk of money within the education and skills portfolio, so I am interested to know whether it is for the further and higher education budget. If I could get some information on that, I would be grateful.

Thank you.

Yes. I am interested in the strong commitment that the Scottish Government gave on extra medical places five years ago. It said that, in the intervening five-year period, we would have those extra 190 places in medical schools. I am interested in whether that £5.2 million is part of that commitment or is something new.

Yes, I would. I thank committee members for giving up their time to listen to what I have to say.

Most people around the table are aware that, during the 15 years that I have been in the Parliament, outdoor education has been a strong personal interest. As time has gone on, I have been struck by how much it means to many members across the political spectrum. You will know from recent members’ business debates and discussions that we have had on the subject that it is capturing the imagination.

In relation to the Covid situation, outdoor education and all the assets that it brings are vital to young people’s wellbeing. It is clear from what members have said in debates that there is an issue in relation to pressures on education and, especially, outdoor education centres.

I have convened the cross-party group on sport for some time. There is a distinction between sport and outdoor education, and one of the gaps in the Parliament is that we do not have a sufficiently discrete group on outdoor education. I spoke to various colleagues across the political spectrum when thinking about setting up the group, and they are very keen that I do so.

That is where we are. I did an informal consultation about it and spoke to a lot of people with whom I have considerable contact in the outdoor education world. We agreed that not only would it help the Parliament to engage with that increasingly important sector but it would help local authorities, schools and people who have a strong interest in the unmeasurable aspect of education, which I would defend as being the most important. We all feel passionately about that.

Those are the basic reasons for the group, convener. I set out its purpose in my paper.

That is correct.

That is very helpful indeed. On the reskilling issue, I have heard people such as Sandy Begbie talk about the young persons guarantee from the perspective that, although young people have particular issues at this time, many other issues involve the need to reskill people who have been in the economy, in a job, are perhaps still on furlough but are not necessarily going back to the job that was there before the pandemic. Can I press you a little on what priorities you feel need our attention when it comes to upskilling those who will probably find it very difficult to get back into the labour force?

I have two more questions. First, you mentioned the tourism sector. A lot of tourism bodies, particularly in Perthshire, tell me that it is difficult to get people to take up jobs that are there, because they do not actually want the jobs, which is different from not having the right skills. If we look at the statistics for employment and unemployment, we can see that a latent workforce is out there but, in many cases, those people do not want the particular jobs that are on offer, and that is different from the skills agenda. What is the Scottish Government doing to address that problem?

Thank you. My last question is about tax revenues. Obviously, we have heard from many witnesses to the committee that there are demographic issues in relation to Scotland’s ageing population, so the working population is being squeezed. With regard to the overall budget, where is the greatest possibility, from a Scottish perspective, for raising tax revenues that, in turn, would help with Government spending?

Cabinet secretary, you mentioned the programme for government in an answer to the convener. In your speech about the programme for government, when you talked about trying to encourage economic growth, you said that it is the Scottish Government’s mission

“to create the best conditions for entrepreneurs to seize the opportunities”—[Official Report, 2 June 2021; c 17.]

to increase production and innovation and to create jobs. Obviously, you will have seen statistics from the Scottish Fiscal Commission and, I am sure, will have had advice from your new council of economic advisers, which, I think, is providing some evidence about the period from July to the autumn. Obviously, you are not going to tell us the detail of the budget, and I would not expect that, but where are they trying to focus your attention when it comes to the priorities for that economic growth?