1. To ask the Scottish Government what further action it is taking to close the attainment gap in Dundee, in light of the challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic. (S5O-04517)

Our focus on tackling the poverty-related attainment gap remains central to the Government’s agenda.

Dundee City Council has been allocated more than £11.6 million for 2020-21 via the Scottish attainment challenge, including pupil equity funding. In response to Covid-19, I have committed a further £135 million to support the return to school. Of that, Dundee will receive almost £1.5 million to recruit additional teachers and support staff. Dundee will also receive more than £760,000 to tackle digital exclusion.

Education Scotland attainment advisers will continue to work closely with Dundee to accelerate recovery and tackle the attainment gap.

I welcome those resources. More specifically, what actions is the Deputy First Minister taking to support care-experienced young people in Dundee, to break down the barriers that our most disadvantaged pupils face?

The focus of the attainment challenge is very much on meeting the needs of young people who are affected by a background of poverty. Schools will be focused increasingly on using pupil equity funding to meet the needs of care-experienced young people.

As part of the education recovery resources, we have made available resources to support the implementation of the promise, which was the commitment made through the independent care review to meet the needs of care-experienced young people. Those resources will, I hope, be taken forward in an approach based on the concept of holistic family support, to make sure that the best outcomes can be achieved for young people who face such disadvantage.

Prior to schools going back, Mr Swinney promised to produce an equity audit to ascertain the impact of school closure on the attainment gap and an action plan to address and mitigate that impact. When will we see them?

The equity audit will be developed as we see the experience that emerges from young people returning to school. One of the early indicators is that, as young people have returned to school, the number of referrals for assistance has increased. As a consequence—I expressed some anxieties about this to the Parliament’s Education and Skills Committee—it looks likely that young people will need further support.

Therefore, we will reflect on that practice as it informs the actions that we take forward. I will keep Parliament updated on the development of the equity audit and how it is reflected in the policy decisions that the Government makes.