Tory MSP Liz Smith says the 2015 OECD report made plain just why investment in education is so important.

It also highlighted that while there were many good things in Scottish education there were barriers to harnessing them, Ms Smith adds.

She says it was surprising the government decided to remove Scotland from helpful international data, when the OECD had said there was not enough to measure progress.

Image source, bbc

The Tory MSP insists it is urgent that there is comprehnsive review of the CfE, not of its principles, but of its structures.

If this does not happen soon its whole raison d'être will be called into question, she adds.

Mr Gray says the increase in teacher numbers has been funded through attainment funding and they are only temporary contracts.

The government has left us with no way for us to judge them on their responsibility over education, he states.

The Labour MSP says the core problem is that spending per pupil has fallen since 2010-11.

He says there is less money, fewer teachers, more multi-level teaching and bigger classes.

The Scottish government's education policy is failing, he concludes.

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Iain Gray returns to Nicola Sturgeon's pledge that education would be her priority as first minister.

The Labour MSP says we are entitled to ask how that is going.

He tells the chamber more young people leave school with nothing at all.

The argument that more of them leave for positive destinations is not acceptable if that is to exploitative zero-hours work, Mr Gray argues.

He adds choices are narrowing now at higher level too and pass rates are falling, with fewer passes in critical subjects like modern languages.

Image source, PA

Changes are to be made to controversial assessments undertaken by children in primary one.

The assessments - branded tests by critics - are designed to measure literacy and numeracy.

Critics want them scrapped and campaigners have urged parents to withdraw their children from them.

The Scottish government said the assessments would be modified as a result of feedback from teachers. However, they will not be scrapped.

• Read more here
• Fife Council to scrap controversial P1 assessments
• Independent review ordered into P1 assessments
• What are P1 assessments really like?

Mr Swinney highlights the recent pay deal struck with teachers which will see an increase in wages.

He argues the public sector pay freeze had to be implemented because of austerity brought in by the coalition government in 2010.

The Scottish government is prepared to undertake a review of coordinated support plans, confirms the education secretary.

Pupils are achieving more and going onto better destinations that previously, he insists.

Image source, bbc

John Swinney begins by saying education is the central purpose of the Scottish government.

The education secretary also reiterates his support for the curriculum for excellence (CfE).

He welcomes the suggestion of an annual debate on education.

Pupil Equity Funding is releasing creativity in our schools Mr Swinney argues.

It reaches 95% of schools in Scotland, he adds, but concedes there has been issues with its distribution.

Mr Scott says it is unfortunate the "sensible approach" to decrease class sizes has been abandoned, he states.

The Lib Dem highlights issues with the recruitment of maths and English teachers.

There is no money for community and youth work staff he adds.

Curriculum for excellence is the right approach but the government has not succeeded in delivering what parents expect from this change, Mr Scott argues.

Most parents are none the wiser about why their five years olds are being tested in P1 he states.

Image source, Getty Images

Some Scottish schools have had to advertise multiple times in order to fill teaching posts, according to figures obtained by the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

Freedom of information requests submitted to all of Scotland's 32 local authorities found one post had been advertised as many as 14 times.

The responses also showed some open posts had had no applications.

Scottish ministers said teacher numbers were at their highest since 2010.

• Read more here.
• Scottish teacher training numbers increase

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Lib Dem MSP Tavish Scott begins by saying if the government wants to prove education is its priority it should instigate an annual debate on it.

Mr Scott adds once a year the education secretary should set out its approach and vision for education in Scotland and also, crucially, its funding.

He argues local government now believes there's a 'we know best' approach with the centrally run attainment fund.

The Lib Dem MSP points out the education committee has called for the reintroduction of an expanded Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy.

Image source, Getty Images

The Scottish Lib Dems will now lead a debate focusing on education.

Image source, Scottish Parliament

David Stewart gets to his feet to close for Labour and says behind every delay is a person suffering anxiety and distress.

The Labour MSP says let's try to achieve the legally binding 12 week treatment time guarantee.

Brian Whittle begins by pointing out there is a legally binding guarantee that has been broken more than 190,000 times.

The Tory MSP adds he does not think the government will hit the target by 2021 and is just kicking the can down the road.

Mental Health Minister Clare Haughey says the NHS delivers a first-class service and while there are improvements to be made, admirable work is done on a daily basis.

This government will continue to provide support to health boards to meet targets, including £54m for recruitment, retention and services, the minister says.

Alex Cole-Hamilton welcomes the apology from the health secretary and the remarks about health boards needing to provide patients with more realistic time estimates.

He says we need to take the bureaucratic systems of the NHS out of the dark age, highlighting a two month gap between a letter to a patient being dictated and it being typed up.

Image source, Getty/RIDOFRANZ

Nearly one in five people diagnosed with cancer is waiting more than two months for treatment, figures show.

NHS Scotland statistics revealed that 82.7% of patients received treatment within the 62-day target between October and December 2018.

Just one Scottish health board - NHS Lanarkshire - hit the Scottish government's 95% target.

The percentage of patients treated in the 62 days after referral was down 4.4% on the final quarter of 2017.

• Staff shortages fears over cancer plan
• Read more here

Green MSP Alison Johnstone expresses frustration that her amendment was not selected for this debate.

She argues that neither motion nor the other amendments set out both the problem and the solution her party would like to see.

The increasing complexity of illness is a challenge and Brexit will not help as pressure on staff increases, she says.

We need to make sure that staff do not feel like they have failed when they are working very hard, the Green MSP states.

She calls for honesty from the Scottish government on what healthcare can be provided based on staffing pressures and finances.

Image source, Scottish Parliament

Ms Lennon says health boards are not communicating well enough with patients.

The Labour MSP points out behind the figures are people in pain and distress while waiting for treatment.

She says long waiting times can have terrible consequences for the low paid, self-employed and those who are most vulnerable.

Ms Lennon says after her mum's cancer treatment she required another operation and had to wait 42 weeks for it.

She says her mum does not want an apology but she does not want other people to have to wait this long in the future.

Labour MSP Monica Lennon asks if the cabinet secretary's best response to this issue is to continue to breaking the law until 2021.

The law is not worth the paper it is written on, she states, adding that if anyone else broke the law to this extent there would be consequences.

Mental Health Minister Clare Haughey says at the time the legislation passed, the parliament accepted the law was not legally enforceable by legal action.

Mr Lennon says it is a "disgrace" that so many patients have been let down.

Mr Briggs calls for an end to excuse after excuse from the Scottish government.

The Tory MSP says perhaps the only area where some progress has been made has been in the increase of private healthcare.

He argues the waiting time improvement plan will actually decrease the number of day cases being seen.

There should be a national debate about the use of targets in the NHS, he concludes.