 Felly, gydag ar gwrthwm ni'n gwirio i ffaneu'r gwelligion hwnnw i'r ddweud hynny nhw'n ddweud hynny. Efallai i ymdindig i ddweud hynny ymddindig i ddweud hynny nhw'n ddweud hynny nhw'n ddweud hynny nhw nhw achos i gael y ffasgrwp ymdindig i ddweud hynny. Rydw i chi'n gael ei gael i ddweud hynny nhw, ddweud hynny nhw, Paul Grys, bwyll Services to Rwynt Argymûr, The great news this morning for people in Recife. Excellent news for those during cystic fibrosis and first-class announcements. There is better news, though, if you are hoping to attend the Sick Kid's hospital. Formally proposed in 2008, originally scheduled to be opened by 2013, the Sick Kid's Hospital has repeatedly delayed. Four health secretaries, blunders and cost overruns. However, it is only yesterday that the Scottish Government mawr i'r bodi'n cael ei wneud nid i'r anghytau panfusionnau i ddaach oherwydd deso. First Minister, mae hynny'n gweld na fyddo'r birchfeyddol? First of all, mae fydd mwyaf i ddwygen i ddwygenol ddangos, Sir Paul Gries, o'r trefewis i Ysgrifffordd yn ystod yn cyflym. Mae mae'n ddwygell o'r ddwygen i ddwygell unigol oherwydd 200 mlyniadu o fe mwy fwy oherwydd i ddwygwyr hefyd. Ofrbwych, mae'n ddwyges. Ie siarad o hynny yn gweld i ddwygol. I welcome the news this morning that Babcock has been selected as the preferred bidder for the five type 31 frigates. That is good news for Recife and I hope that it will also be good news for the wider supply chain across Scotland. The Scottish Government will certainly be working hard to make sure that that is the case. Lastly, because it has also been mentioned, I take the opportunity to welcome the fact that the Scottish Government has now reached an agreement with the manufacture of two cystic fibrosas drugs to make sure that they are available now to patients. We are the first UK nation to do so, and I think that that is news that will be warmly welcomed not just across this chamber but across the country. Turning to the situation at the Edinburgh Sick Kids hospital, can I make abundantly clear today that the situation is unacceptable? To say that I and the health secretary are angry about this situation would be an understatement and I know that anger is shared by patients and staff. The focus of the Scottish Government is on putting this right. Firstly, and the health secretary made this very clear at the start of the summer, that we will not allow the hospital to open until we are satisfied about patient safety. Secondly, the health secretary instructed work to firstly establish the work that requires to be done to bring the hospital up to specification and secondly to establish the reason for the problem with the critical care ventilation system. Both of those reports were published yesterday. I think that the health secretary has met or is meeting with Opposition spokespeople today. In respect of the project, we have escalated our oversight to level 4, which means that there will be closer scrutiny and oversight. There is an absolute focus in making sure that those problems are rectified. I think that that is what the public, patients and staff would expect to see from the Scottish Government. Jackson Carlaw. First Minister, anger is all very well, but you did not need to be a high-ranking Government minister to know that there were major problems with this vital project going back years. You only had to read a newspaper. We have had a Scottish Government with its head buried in the sand, so let me ask a specific question. In November last year, independent assessors made crystal clear that the hospital could not be made operational. So deep with the problems, staff were emailed and told that they could not even be given a completion date. Did not that ring alarm bells? First Minister. Can I just be very clear to Jackson Carlaw? There were a number of issues identified and indeed publicly reported before July 2019. Those are the reasons why the hospital was already late in opening. In fact, the KPGMP report provides a comprehensive summary of those issues. The issue that has resulted in the delay that the health secretary confirmed to Parliament yesterday is an issue relating to the critical care ventilation system that only came to light at the start of July this year. Jackson Carlaw is telling me that he knew about that before. Perhaps the question is why he did not bring that to anybody else's attention, because I did not know about it and the health secretary did not know about that. That is the issue that has prevented the hospital opening now, and that is the issue that the health secretary is focused on ensuring is rectified. We will continue to focus on that work as the health secretary set out in her statement to Parliament yesterday. Jackson Carlaw. That was a newspin and project management shift there, I must say. At the six kids hospital is just 10 minutes drive from where we all are now, yet it seems that four successive health ministers chose either not to know or simply failed to ask about the full extent of the problems faced until way, way too late. The truth is that when it comes to this project, confusion reigned. For example, in June, the health secretary was confident enough about the project to tell MSPs in this chamber that everything was on track, and yet just a week later the health board told her that those assurances were unfounded. What and absolute shambles does that sound to the First Minister like joined up government? First Minister. First Lady, the previous issues that had been identified had been resolved, which is why the health secretary gave the comments that she gave to Parliament in June. The issue that has resulted in this delay did not come to light until the start of July. I did not know about that. The senior management in the health board, as far as I am aware, did not know about that, and the health secretary did not know about that. As soon as that came to light, the health secretary acted properly and appropriately. It would have been wrong to allow that hospital to open before assurances about patient safety could have been given. There has been substantial work done over the summer to make sure that any other issues have been identified. That was the subject of the National Services Scotland report that was published yesterday. There has been substantial work done now to set out a timescale for the rectification, particularly to the critical care ventilation system, to be carried out and a timescale to be laid out for the opening both of the Sick Kids hospital and of the Department for Clinical Neurosciences. That is the responsible action that the health secretary has taken. We will continue to make sure that that work is carried out so that the hospital does open. I deeply regret that the hospital will be opening extremely late. It is important that we make sure that every issue that has been identified is addressed so that, when it does open, it is safe for the patients who will use that hospital. That is all very well. Since January 2013, when the new Sick Kids was supposed to have opened, more than 300,000 children have been dinied access to the new hospital that they and their parents were entitled to expect in A&E alone. That is a saga for which nobody emerges well, not the health board, not the contractor and certainly not this Government. It is a saga that is altogether, sadly, too predictable. Ministerial assurances are given, completion dates put back, costs spiral out of control and, at the end of it all, it seems that absolutely nobody is held to account. First Minister, I think that the country thinks that for once, head should roll, don't you? First Minister. Well, the health secretary, of course, set out yesterday the work that will be done to establish issues of accountability within the health board. It is important that that is done in line with due process. The focus is on making sure that the rectification work is done, particularly in the critical care unit, although there were other aspects of work that the NSS report identified that will be taken forward in parallel. The health secretary also confirmed yesterday that I announced it in the programme for government last week that we will be setting up a new national body, a centre of excellence, to oversee in particular the construction and technical specification aspects of those new builds. The Scottish Government oversight traditionally looks at finances and the delivery timelines, so lessons absolutely have to be learned from this. I very much agree that this is a completely unacceptable situation, but our focus will remain patient safety, and that should be the priority of everybody who has anything to do with this project. Presiding Officer, I add my thanks and best wishes to Paul Grice. I've known him for longer than probably either of us would care to admit, but he's been a figure of great stability in this Parliament since its very inception—a source of wise counsel—and he will be a very hard act to follow, and we wish him well. In March of this year, my colleague Daniel Johnson asked the Cabinet Secretary for Health in this chamber and I quote, if the issues at the Edinburgh sick kids coupled with the issues at the Queen Elizabeth point to wider problems regarding hospital building and procurement in the national health service in Scotland. The cabinet secretary, with her customary disdain, replied, and I quote, I do not think that the issues point to wider problems and accused Daniel Johnson of being wide of the mark, but he wasn't, First Minister, was he? First Minister. Well, Richard Leonard is absolutely right to point out that there have been issues with the Queen Elizabeth and there are clearly problems now with the sick kids hospital. There have been other hospitals built without those issues, but the question here, of course, is about how we ensure appropriate oversight. That is why the announcement that I've just referred to about the establishment of a new body, which I would have hoped to something that Labour would welcome, to make sure that we are reflecting carefully on the issues that have arisen in these two hospitals. Our focus is very much on ensuring that the problem that was identified in early July around the ventilation system is put right. That has been the focus of the work done over the summer to get to the point that the health secretary announced yesterday. That focus will continue. That's what we owe to the patients and the staff of that hospital is to put those issues right and make sure that when it does open it is a safe hospital for the patients who will use it. Richard Leonard. Is the First Minister really telling the people of Scotland that the answer to this abject failure in new hospital building is the creation of another public body as yet unnamed? The report that came out yesterday told us some important truths. Firstly, that the Scottish Government was on the programme board for this project. Frequent meetings were held between NHS Lothian and the Scottish Government in order to allow the cabinet secretary to be briefed. Yet the cabinet secretary told this chamber in March that it is excellent news that the board will take over the hospital from July and that patients will be in it from then. So we know who is wide of the mark now. Yesterday, the cabinet secretary for health was forced to come to this Parliament to admit that this major facility of strategic importance will not now open until autumn 2020. The cabinet secretary was wrong on her response that the hospital would open in July. Does the First Minister also accept that the cabinet secretary was wrong in dismissing the wider issues of hospital building and procurement? Nobody is dismissing any of those serious issues. In terms of the cabinet secretary's statement to Parliament in June, at that point, that was our firm expectation that the hospital would open in July. All of the issues that had previously been identified had been resolved and that was the information that the cabinet secretary and the Scottish Government had. An issue then came to light that had not previously been known to us. The KPMG report that was published yesterday sets out—in summary, it is a long and a technical report—that a particular document called the environmental matrix had in part the wrong specification for the ventilation system. That is something that the board should have picked up and the report sets out opportunities for that to have done, but it was not done. When that came to light in the start of July, the health secretary took the action that has been reported to this Parliament and set and trained the work that requires to be done to rectify that problem and ensure that the hospital opens safely. That is the responsible conduct of a health secretary, focused on making sure that patient safety is the overriding priority. Richard Leonard is a hospital that was already way over timetable. Does the First Minister not understand just how angry people are about this? We have a children's hospital in Edinburgh that cannot open its doors and we were reminded at the weekend that we have a hospital in Glasgow built by the same contractor that has been closing its doors to a children's cancer ward. Audit Scotland is saying that there needs to be a review of whole project contracting to help with preventative and reactive measures. We need to get to the bottom of this. We need full public transparency to restore public trust. What will it take for the First Minister to finally listen and deliver a full public inquiry into the abject failure of governance and government? The Scottish Government will continue to do the work and take the action to rectify the issue that has been identified at the sick kids in Edinburgh. That is the responsible thing to do. Richard Leonard said that I understand the anger. Yes, I absolutely do. I share the anger that patients and staff feel about this thoroughly unacceptable situation. The health board's responsibility was to ensure that this hospital was built to the right specification. In that respect, it has not discharged that responsibility and there are questions that still require to be asked in that respect. Our job now is to make sure that the work is done to rectify that, that that work is done as quickly as possible, that it is done to the requisite standards and that when that hospital opens, it is a safe environment for the patients who will use it. The Scottish Government will remain absolutely focused on discharging that responsibility. We have some constituency supplementaries. The first from John Mason to be followed by Alexander Stewart. Given the problems that have been around marches in Glasgow over the past two weekends, does the First Minister agree that Glasgow City Council has made the right decision by prohibiting marches this weekend? Yes, I think that the City Council has arrived at the right decision in not giving permission for the marches that were planned for this weekend. I believe, as I said last week, that the right to march is an important part of our democracy. Those who are abusing that right are putting it into jeopardy for others. It is also vital that the rights of the majority of law-abiding citizens are protected and given priority. Glasgow City Council has taken the right decision. Obviously, it takes those decisions in light of the advice that it receives from the police. I think that there are longer-term questions about whether there are changes required to the law, and we will continue to have that dialogue with Glasgow City Council. Alexander Stewart will be followed by Jackie Baillie. First Minister, like me, you are delighted that the news that five new types 31 frigates are to be built at Recife by a consortium led by Babcock. This contract will secure millions of pounds into my region of Mid Scotland Fife and guarantee hundreds of jobs. That once again goes to show the outstanding skills of the Scottish workforce and the strength of the United Kingdom when orders of this nature are guaranteed and secured. Will the First Minister join with me in welcoming this boost to the Scottish economy? Yes, I do think that this is good news for the Scottish economy. I also think that it is a real tribute to the expertise of the workforce at Recife. I am not going to dwell on the fact that the promises that were made years ago in terms of the number of type 26 frigates were not kept, but this is good news. Our job now, and the finance secretary has spoken to Babcock this morning where he congratulated them and gave them the assurance that they had the full support of the Scottish Government. We need to work with them to make sure that the benefit, not just to Recife, although that is obviously significant, but the benefit to the whole Scottish supply chain is realised. Obviously, we hope that there may be benefits to Ferguson Marine in the course of this as well. We will continue to work with the company and the workforce to make sure that all of those benefits are realised. Jackie Baillie, to be followed by Andy Weyman. Can I thank the First Minister and Jeane Freeman for listening to cystic fibrosis campaigners like my constituent Kelly Gallacher and agreeing a deal with Vertex to make Ocambi and Simkevi free for all on the NHS? What arrangements are in place with health boards to ensure that patients receive medication quickly? We will make sure that the impact of this announcement today about the agreement between the Scottish Government and the manufacturers is fully reflected in the decisions that health boards take. I think that this is good news. This has not been an easy agreement to arrive at. There have been a number of complexities. I think that it is good news that we have arrived at. It is a five-year agreement that will allow data about the benefits of those drugs to be gathered as well. There may be lessons in this for our approach to other drugs as well, but I know that there will be cystic fibrosis patients and their families across the country today who are very relieved about that. I know that everybody will welcome what is exceptionally good news. First of all, on behalf of the Scottish Green Party, I too would like to congratulate Paul Grace on his 20 years of service and his good humour and wise counsel to us all. First Minister, you will be aware that there is a planned school climate strike next Friday, and you may also be aware that the City of Edinburgh Council has refused permission for the planned rally to use certain streets in the capital. Although such decisions are properly for the council, in light of media reports that young people may face arrest or be locked up, does she agree with me that this is nonsense, that no young person will face such action for exercising the rights to peaceful protest and that we should all reassure young people that they have the right to peaceful protest and that they should be encouraged and supported to exercise it? Two things. Issues around permission and roads are for the council. Obviously, issues around arrest and criminal justice are generally here. I am not talking in this particular instance or for the police, and it would be thoroughly inappropriate for me to comment on operational matters. However, generally speaking, in relation to the climate strikers, I have made very clear in the past my views—I think that they are views that accord very closely to Andy Wightman's. I think that it is very positive, very heartening, very uplifting to see the younger generation feel so passionate about climate change that they are prepared to protest and to make their views known in the way that they are. I would hope that all of us would listen to that and take account of what the younger generation is telling us. I know that this Government is, and I hope that Governments across the world do. I wish that those who are taking part in the protest next Friday are the very best. Last weekend, Kiko Milano in Aberdeen announced that it will close with the loss of all jobs. It was reported that that was partly down to the eye-watering business rates that are faced by businesses in our city. Will the First Minister heed the demands of businesses in Aberdeen and instruct her finance minister to review the rates regime or stand by while more Aberdeen businesses go under? Of course, in relation to the business rates regime, a number of changes have been taken forward in relation to individual decisions that are taken independently by the valuation system. We have one of, if not the most competitive, business rates regimes anywhere in the UK, and we will continue to look at how we support businesses in all parts of our country, particularly given the increasingly difficult circumstances that they face as a result of Brexit. I thank Paul Grice for his work and wish him well for the future too. I think that we are closer than ever in our efforts to stop Brexit, but the publication today of the yellow hammer paper lays bare the mass disruption to our way of life that would come with a no-deal Brexit. Yet that is one that Boris Johnson's Conservatives want to embrace. What is most shocking is that those horrors are the prediction of the Conservative Government itself, yet they still plough on. Can the First Minister tell us if any of the details laid out in the yellow hammer paper that was published this morning were new to the Scottish Government, and if so, what new measures she is putting in place to mitigate the damage? I think that the publication of the yellow hammer planning assumptions yesterday lays bare for the public the horrors of a no-deal Brexit, and it is shocking that it has taken so long for that information to be published. I very directly say to Willie Rennie in terms of yellow hammer planning assumptions what we have seen in the Scottish Government is what was published last night. The only difference that I can confirm is in the title of the document. The version that we had had the title base scenario rather than reasonable worst-case scenario, as appeared on the document that was published last night. It is for the UK Government to explain if there is any significance to that. We have been expecting an update of that document, which is dated 2 August. We have not yet received an update of it. We also received the papers for the Cabinet sub-committee meetings. We are invited to, so far though, since the new Government took office. That has only been four out of around 30. The Deputy First Minister has just come from one of those this morning. We also know that there is a series of mitigation plans lying behind those planning assumptions. In terms of our own work, we are planning on the basis of the yellow hammer assumptions, although we have been and continue to await the update of that, and we have a range of mitigation plans in place. We are currently considering what format of this information it will be most helpful to publish, and we intend to make a statement to Parliament about that as soon as possible. I thank the First Minister for that answer. This is affecting real people's lives right now. Anna Ruth Cockerham from St Andrews has a chronic condition. It is called functional neurological disorder. She takes control medication that can only be prescribed 28 days at a time. Any break in medication worsens her seizures and the pain can last for weeks. Her prescription is due at the end of October, and she is anxious about her health in the event of a no-deal Brexit. That is the real-life consequences of the Conservatives' cavalier approach to Brexit. Anna Ruth wants the Government to allow the prescriptions of these control drugs to be issued two weeks early to ensure that there is no break in the supply. Has the First Minister made arrangements for that to happen? I am happy to provide more specific information on that point. We are doing everything that we can to mitigate any impact on drugs and medicine supplies. Obviously, the key player in this is the UK Government, and to some extent we are dependent on the information flow that comes from the UK Government. However, we have a range of mitigation plans in place, and I will undertake not just to Willie Rennie but to Parliament generally to consider, as I said a moment ago, how we best publish this information, both about assumptions and mitigation plans that inform Parliament and the wider public. Willie Rennie is right to say that it is beggar's belief and is completely outrageous that we have a Government that is prepared to contemplate a scenario that, in its own planning assumptions, says could result in delays to the supply of medicine. The Yellow Hammer document that was published last night is very clear about the restrictions of stockpiling to mitigate against those impacts. I share Willie Rennie's deep concern about that. I share his anger that we are in this situation. I give an undertaking that the Scottish Government will do everything that we can to mitigate those impacts. However, I also have a duty to be frank with people that we will not be able to do everything to mitigate every impact of this. It is important over the next few weeks that we have that very frank dialogue with the Parliament and the wider public, as we help those members of the public to prepare as well as they possibly can. In advance of a major UK-wide conference tomorrow on the serious problem of knife violence and the fact that a five-year study in Edinburgh found that of sharp instruments used in homicides, 94 per cent were kitchen knives, would she agree with me that Scotland can be at the forefront of the campaign to replace sharp pointed knives that have been proven to have had significant penetrative capabilities with round-ended ones? Yes, I think that there is the potential for Scotland to be at the forefront of initiatives like that. Maureen Watt is right to raise that very important issue. Tackling violence from knife and indeed all forms of violence is a priority for this Government and indeed for any Government. Our approach to knife crime in particular is focused firmly on prevention and early intervention. Over the past decade, police recorded crimes of handling an offensive weapon have fallen and emergency admissions to hospitals have fallen. However, we recognise the devastating consequences that violence has on individuals, families and communities so that we know that much more needs to be done. That is why we continue to invest in no knives, better lives, the Scottish violence reduction unit and medics against violence. We are, as I said at the outset, very open to exploring any evidence showing that anti-stabin knives are an effective approach to tackling violent crime. Last week, the Government published the Children's Scotland Bill. Many respondents to the consultation, including two of my constituents here in the gallery today, asked for that there should be a presumption in law in favour of granting grandparents an automatic right of access to contact with their grandchildren. On three other occasions in this chamber, prior to the bill's publication, the Minister for Community Safety had advised that next steps in regards to this were being considered. Can the First Minister please advise for what reason this presumption was not included in the bill and will this Government ever introduce or consider such a presumption? First, I welcome Michelle Ballantyne's constituents to the chamber. I will first ask the relevant minister to write to her to give detail of the consideration of this particular provision that has been made and the reasons why it is not included in the bill. The second, perhaps more important point that I would make, which Michelle Ballantyne alluded to herself, is that the bill is at its very early stages. It is currently open for consultation. It will then go through the normal stage 1 process. It is open to individuals, to organisations, indeed to members of this Parliament, to bring forward suggestions for amendment, and there will be opportunity for the committee and Parliament as a whole to consider those. I would encourage Michelle Ballantyne's constituents, if they feel that they have evidence to bring to bear to this to take part in that consultation and that process. Next, next week, Scotland's whisky workers are taking unprecedented strike action to try and win a payoff for the meat's cost of living. Their employer, Diasio, is a large and important employer, plays a key part in Scotland's economy and has a strong reputation nationally and internationally. It also records the pre-tax profit of more than £4 billion and awarded a 30 per cent pay rise to its chief executive. Does the First Minister agree with me that that is a business that can well afford to give its workers at Shieldhall in Glasgow, leaving in Fife and distilleries all around Scotland a fair pay rise? Will she join me in calling on Diasio to get back around the table with the GMB and United Nations and find a fair resolution? First, I am aware of the dispute in general terms. Diasio Anasarwar has just alluded to as a private company. I am not aware of all the details of the dispute, but I hope that my commitment to fair work and fair treatment of workers is well known. I would absolutely join with Anasarwar in calling on Diasio to get back around the table with the trade unions, United Nations and GMB to find a fair resolution to this in the interests of their workforce. I ask the First Minister how the current suspension of the UK Parliament affects her Government and this Parliament's preparations for Brexit and why, if prorogation is unlawful, Westminster is not back to work. Firstly, in terms of the practical implications of the UK Parliament being suspended, I think that, particularly in light of the publication of the Yellow Hammer planning assumptions last night, it is vital that Parliament is there scrutinising and holding to account this Government. That would be a helpful process in terms of the Scottish Government's own planning to try to get as much information out of the UK Government as possible. The big question for the Prime Minister and the Government this morning is why, on earth, Parliament is still suspended. We had Scotland's highest civil court yesterday declaring the prorogation of Parliament as unlawful. Parliament should be back to work scrutinising this Government, because if any Government needed to scrutinising this UK Government, it certainly does. Yesterday, the Court of Session ruled that the First Minister acted unlawfully by proroging the UK Parliament. Yesterday, the Court of Session ruled that the Prime Minister acted unlawfully by proroging the UK Parliament. Regardless of whether we agree with any individual judgment, does the First Minister agree that it is outrageous that down-street sources seek to undermine the court, with a minister on TV implying that the judges were biased? Can the First Minister outline what action the Scottish Government will take to defend the judiciary from these outrageous and unfounded attacks? I am very glad that John Finnie clarified that it was the Prime Minister that was found by the Court of Session yesterday to have acted unlawfully. Yesterday's judgment is of huge constitutional significance. As I said yesterday, I said again today, I think that the political implications of it should be straightforward. Parliament should be back in session immediately. However, if that was not bad enough yesterday, what we heard directly and indirectly from key people or people within the Conservative Party attacking the independence and the integrity of the judiciary was absolutely disgraceful and shocking. I was glad to hear Jackson Carlaw and others on the Tory benches here defend the integrity and the independence of the judiciary. Whatever our views on individual judgments, our court system is a vital part of our democracy and the separation of powers. I think that it is not just wrong but deeply dangerous for politicians of any party to attack the independence of the judiciary. I think that it is incumbent on all of us to stand up for that. Richard Lyle Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the First Minister what support the Scottish Government is providing to people struggling to meet funeral costs. From next Monday, we will start providing funeral support payments. This will provide much-needed help with the cost of arranging a funeral for people on low-income benefits. As with all of the Scottish benefits, we have simplified the process and removed the barriers to applying. We have also made changes to eligibility so that around 40 per cent more people will be able to access the support that they would receive help under the predecessor United Kingdom Government scheme. The payment complements work already undertaken by the Government to tackle funeral poverty, including our guidance on funeral costs, which encourages providers to make the costs of their services more transparent and accessible. Richard Lyle I thank the First Minister for that answer and welcome what has been done. With this month marking the first anniversary of the Social Security Scotland, it is clear what a positive difference the Scottish Government has already made with new powers over Social Security, especially compared to the UK system that it placed. Although that is of course welcome, does the First Minister think that the Scottish Government will always be limited in what it can achieve when the majority of powers are still held in hands of an incompetent and uncaring Government at Westminster, which is entirely distracted by Brexit chaos? The First Minister Richard Lyle is absolutely correct. There are many people who are receiving financial support in Scotland that would not be receiving that support if the Scottish Government hadn't taken responsibility for those benefits. We are demonstrating day in and day out in practical and tangible terms the real value of having those powers lying in the hands of a democratically elected Scottish Parliament and not in the hands of a Westminster Government, particularly a Tory Westminster Government. I think that it is common sense to look at the experience of our delivery of benefits so far and come to the conclusion if you weren't already of that view, which I of course already was, that the sooner we have the entirety of welfare decisions in the hands of this Parliament and out of the hands of a Tory Westminster Government, the better for all of us. Alexander Burnett Can I thank the Presiding Officer and ask the First Minister when an action plan for delivery of residential services for drug and alcohol rehabilitation across a country will be provided in line with its drug and alcohol strategy? The First Minister We are currently engaging with stakeholders on the draft action plan with a view to publishing the finalised plan in October for the rights, respect and recovery strategy. That will include actions on residential rehabilitation and support the development of more effective services across Scotland. Clearly, the recent drugs death figure shows that we are facing a public health emergency, which is why we have also announced an additional £20 million over the next two years to support efforts across the country to bring those numbers down. Alexander Burnett Can I thank the First Minister for this announcement? I understand for including the actions called for by the Aberdeenshire drug and alcohol partnership. However, this was communicated to him yesterday by telephone and it would seem in response to my lodging of this question and being picked up by the press and journal. Can I ask the First Minister when her Government will start to tackle the issue proactively, rather than in reaction to bad headlines? The First Minister I am at genuine apologies. I am not entirely aware of the phone call that the member is referring to. I am very happy to look into that. However, the Government is dealing with this and responding to this proactively. We have acknowledged, I think rightly and I think that this is a view shared, that we face a public health emergency. We recognise that increased investment is necessary, which is why the £20 million that I referred to today was announced in the programme for government. However, we also recognise that we need to do things differently. We need to be open to new approaches, which is why, for example—and it is only one part of the overall solution here, not the whole story, which is one of the reasons why we continue to press the Home Office to either allow or devolve powers to the Scottish Government to enable us to allow the safe consumption facility that Glasgow is so keen to see, because experts say that that can make a difference. We will continue to make the investment and to be open to new approaches. I encourage everybody across the chamber to do likewise. That is something that we should absolutely be prepared to come together on and be determined to tackle. Shona Robison On those new approaches, can the First Minister say what communication the Scottish Government has had with the UK Government on the drug deaths crisis, including the use of supervised overdose prevention rooms to help to reduce drug deaths in Scotland? Does she believe that the approach of the UK Government reflects the spirit of working together on that important issue? We received communication from the UK Government towards the end of last week confirming their current position on the safe consumption room proposal. I deeply regret that. I believe that we all have a duty to look at new approaches. I readily concede that this is not the only answer, but experts say that it is a significant part of the answer. Therefore, I call again on the Home Office to reconsider its position. Also, regrettably, the Home Office indicated that it would not be prepared to take part in the drug summit that we have said that we are going to convene in Glasgow. Again, I think that that is the wrong decision. I take the opportunity today to ask them to reconsider that. We should be coming together. I absolutely recognise the principal responsibility that lies on the shoulders of my Government, but drugs law is largely reserved. Therefore, we need the active co-operation of the UK Government to make sure that we have a fully holistic approach to that. I hope that they will think again about both aspects of that letter and come to different conclusions. I would note that, yet again, there is quite a lot of interest across the chamber in asking supplementaries on the issue, but we do not have enough time. There will be an opportunity to participate in a member's debate later in the week. I call question 6, Monica Lennon. Thank you, Presiding Officer. The member's business starts immediately after the FMQ, so please do not rush away. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reported concerns for patient and staff safety at the Queen Elizabeth University hospital. The safety and wellbeing of patients and staff at the Queen Elizabeth University hospital and, indeed, at all hospitals is the absolute priority. We welcome the input of NHS education for Scotland and the general medical council, who are part of an independent scrutiny regime across NHS Scotland with regard to doctors and training. I expect NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to work closely with those bodies to implement their recommendations in the GMC, and I know that has welcomed the progress that has been made so far. Following recent concerns, the health secretary commissioned an independent review of the process of procurement and delivery of the hospital and how it contributes to effective infection prevention. The co-chairs of that review made a call for evidence in June, and are currently assessing what has been received so far. Monica Lennon I thank the First Minister for her answer. The Heralds and Heralds on Sunday have reported that children with cancer have been hit by infections at the hospital. The kids cancer ward remained closed to new admissions. Safety faults at Edinburgh sick kids were caught hours before patients moved in, but the problems at the Queen Elizabeth University hospital only became public after it opened, and they are affecting some of Scotland's sickest children right now. Both hospitals were built by the same contractor. Can the First Minister vouch for the safety of children and other patients at the Queen Elizabeth is she satisfied, and will she apologise for the shocking feelings at this hospital? As I have said in this chamber before, I have no hesitation in apologising to any patient who does not get the treatment that they have a right to expect in our national health service. The vast majority, the overwhelming majority of patients do, but when the NHS falls short of the expected standards, there is a duty for lessons to be learned and for apologies to be made, and I have never hesitated in that. In terms of the safety of the Queen Elizabeth hospital, the Queen Elizabeth hospital provides some of the best healthcare anywhere in the world. It has some of the best healthcare staff. They provide exemplary care to patients day in and day out. Where issues arise and there are issues with infection, which are not unique infection, as we have debated in this chamber before, unfortunately, is a challenge for healthcare systems across the world. It is absolutely essential that the right actions are taken. Infection prevention is vital, infection control is vital and we expect health boards to put in place the right processes to keep patients in their hospitals safe. That is what everybody has a right to expect from our national health service. Thank you very much and that concludes First Minister's questions. Can I just add that in the 20 years that I have had the pleasure of knowing our clerk and chief executive, Sir Paul Grice, I have never known him at a loss for words. However, if I could just explain to members, to the gallery and to those following proceedings that, other than swearing in members, our officials are not allowed to take part in formal proceedings and so Paul cannot respond to any of those kind tributes that were paid to him this afternoon. There will be an event after Parliament this evening, which myself, other members of staff and members of Parliament will be able to talk about Paul's leadership role in building the reputation of this institution and he will be able to respond and unencumbered by office tell us what he really thinks of the members of this Parliament. On that note, I am going to suspend before we resume with members' positions. I short suspension.