It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Paisley—for the first time, I think. The Government are committed to ensuring that all pupils have a solid grounding in maths and science, encouraging greater participation throughout their school careers to grow future numbers of engineers, research scientists, and technology experts. Improving mathematical knowledge at all levels is likely to deliver significant returns in terms of labour market skills, individual success, increased productivity, and economic benefit. The Government recognise growing demand for STEM alumni and must ensure everyone has the opportunity to pursue these careers regardless of background. The Department spends over £100 million on teaching for mastery, delivered by 40 maths hubs, improving teaching quality in primary schools and beyond. Results from trends in international mathematics and science study showed that year 5 and year 9 pupils continued to perform above international averages in maths and science, with a significant improvement in maths for year 5 pupils. The Government would like more students studying core maths qualifications designed for sixth-formers not studying A-level maths but wishing to continue maths study, preparing them for university and employment demands. In post-16 education, the Department funds programmes such as the advanced maths support programme to expand maths curriculum offerings. For science, funding includes the Stimulating Physics Network to increase rates of progression to physics A-level among girls and Isaac Physics programme to attract more students from under-represented backgrounds into higher education in physics. The Government aim for all pupils to be competent and digitally literate, introducing coding in primary curriculums with computer science as one of the fastest growing GCSE subjects between 2013 and 2019. Research funding includes an additional £124 million committed to mathematical sciences research across UKRI's portfolio without ring-fencing specific budgets to single priorities. The Department ensures schools have access to highly skilled teachers, attracting the brightest individuals through substantial incentives for teaching high-demand subjects.