This week, the Scottish Government announced that it was unable to agree financial support to outdoor education centres. As a result, closures may well be inevitable. For many young people, breaks at such centres were often the only opportunity to enjoy life-enhancing experiences; the announcement could also result in loss of employment in rural areas, where jobs are at a premium.

Will the First Minister and her Government reconsider their stance and commit to investing in such facilities, which will help to ensure the health and mental wellbeing of young people during the Covid-19 crisis?

I absolutely agree on the value of outdoor education centres and the importance of the work that they do. It is regrettable that, because of public health advice, the overnight services that they are able to offer are still limited.

It is important to say, though, that many organisations with outdoor education centres are in the third sector, so they have been able to apply for support through the third sector resilience fund. Education centres can also access financial support through the United Kingdom Government’s job retention scheme, and we hope that that will be continued.

We will continue to work with the sector. We funded the Scottish Advisory Panel for Outdoor Education to develop guidance for schools and councils on day visits to outdoor centres—the guidance was published in mid-August, I think—because we are trying to work with the sector to maximise what it can do and what it can offer, which is of course a way of ensuring maximum income.

We absolutely understand the importance of outdoor education centres and we will continue to work with the sector to provide whatever support is possible.