To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will provide an update on how it is widening access to its educational services. (S6O-03548)

The education service is a key part of our public engagement strategy delivery and actively works to sustain and grow a wide reach of schools that use it. Our recent members’ feedback surveys reflected positive experiences, as well as the challenges that some schools are facing in travelling to Edinburgh.

As we have informed members previously, the subsidy review is part of the SPCB’s public engagement strategy. That is under a review that is due to conclude in the autumn. Any changes to the priorities of the education service would flow from that, given the important role that the service plays in its delivery.

Educational visits to Parliament provide pupils with a first-hand experience of the democratic process, and it is important for young people to witness the institutions that shape our country’s governance. Earlier this year, primary 5 pupils from Our Lady of Loretto primary school in Dalmuir, in my region, were denied that experience due to travel costs. Although Scottish schoolchildren can claim back 85 per cent of the travel expenses to visit their United Kingdom Parliament, the Scottish Parliament offers no financial assistance for travel. What consideration has the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body given to allowing a percentage of travel costs to be claimed back for school visits?

To give some context, in the school year that is just ending, the education service has supported more than 400 education establishments; welcomed 214 schools to Holyrood; visited 164 schools; and held online sessions for 59 schools. We have been in every constituency, with a good diversity of age ranges and education settings and reached into schools in areas of deprivation. We know the importance of the impact of visiting the Parliament, but travel is not the practical option or the highest priority for many schools, which is why we offer the digital and outreach services.

I hear, however, what the member has said about the UK Parliament, which the SPCB knows offers a travel subsidy based on distance from the building, starting at 30 miles. We are working with the UK Parliament to understand the impact that that subsidy has had on the profile of the schools that use the service. The policy intention that the SPCB will continue to address in the autumn is whether spending money on a travel subsidy will help to achieve our public engagement goals in the most effective way, in line with the Scotland Act 1998. We are still reviewing and considering the position.