 good morning. The first item of business today is general questions and we'll start with question number one from Tavish Scott. Thank you, Presiding Officer, to ask the Scottish Government whether an Ireland's impact assessment was carried out when it removed the water and sewage charges exemption for charitable bodies such as public community halls. Minister Mali Guja. No Ireland's impact assessment was carried out as that wasn't required when the scheme was renewed in 2015. ac mae'r holl y blwysgawr yn cael ei llywodraeth y lleol iawn y ddechrau yng Nghymru wedi'i gweithio'r parodau ddiwylliannol a'r hyn o'n ôl i chi gydag i chi ddechrau'r rhain. Davish Scott Mae ddevish yddechrau yn mynd brifftol, ac mae'r ffordd cyodedd yng Nghymru yn gweithio ddull aeth ei ddechrau seudau gwheiladau inni yn y gwybod a'i ddullach yn cyfnodol a schnwyddiadau i neud credu iawn i pubiau. Does she understand therefore that removing the water relief is costing some shetland halls £2,000 a year and could close the doors for these essential community buildings? Therefore, will the Government conduct an island impact assessment and reinstate this very necessary rates exemption? Thank you. I completely understand the concerns that the member raises there. I would say that in terms of community impact assessment, there are provisions within the Islands Act 2018, but the provisions relating to the implementation of the island community's impact assessments haven't yet been commenced. However, when those provisions do commence, we could consider a retrospective impact assessment if we receive that qualifying request from a local authority. I hope that that answers his questions, but if he does require any further information than that, I'm sure that the cabinet secretary would welcome a discussion with him. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it had with Police Scotland regarding the reported list of flags that could be a criminal offence to fly. That is an operational matter for Police Scotland, which has confirmed that the list of flags was produced to assist officers in differentiating between legitimate flags and those that include illegal images such as symbols of prescribed terrorist organisations. Police Scotland has clearly confirmed that, in the absence of other associated criminal behaviour, it is not illegal to fly any national flag in its unaltered state. I thank the cabinet secretary for his response to the cabinet secretary. We are aware that some of those flags are the national flag of Ireland and even the Vatican City, Israeli flag and Palestinian flags also. Perhaps the cabinet secretary could speak to Police Scotland and provide details of who created the flags and the rationale that he has already mentioned behind it, particularly because it says in the minutes that I have received that it is inferred that if those flags are flown or displayed in a provocative manner, I would like to know who defines provocative would be subject to section 38 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing Act. I will try to give some reassurance to the member. I also have the guidance in front of me and the flags that she referenced in a question. They come under the heading and I will read it out directly from the guidance, quote unquote, flags that do not in themselves constitute criminality. The document and the flags contained within, of course, are very much prepared by Police Scotland and Police Scotland to try to give some further reassurance. When she asked the question about provocative and who is that to judge, it is very much within the laws and the statute. I think that she would recognise that, for example, any threatening gestures or so on and so forth could lead to some criminal offences under the appropriate pieces of legislation. However, if she has any further questions, I am more than happy to provide Sandra White with details on Police Scotland who she can correspond with direct. James Kelly Thank you, Presiding Officer. It is simply unacceptable that flags that demonstrate religious and political beliefs should be restricted in a breach of civil liberties. It is outrageous that the Vatican flag can be considered one that might get somebody criminalised. Can the cabinet secretary make clear to Police Scotland that, as lawmakers of the Scottish Parliament, we find deeply offensive and unacceptable that such flags are listed and that people's civil liberties have been breached? I do my best to give James Kelly the benefit of the doubt that he has not read the guidance in detail. The guidance says—and I repeat once again, as I did in my previous answer—that flying the Vatican flag in its unaltered state—and that is important—in its unaltered state, the original Vatican flag flying that would not be criminal in itself. Police Scotland have said that and are happy for me to say that. There are particular offences, there are particular actions that could make that an offence, as in altering that flag. It would be the same with any other national flag. He and I both know of being attendees at football matches that we have seen flags that have been altered, potentially with those organisations that are prescribed under the terrorism act. As I say, national flags such as the Vatican flag being flown unaltered in its unaltered state would not in itself be a criminal offence, and I hope that I can give that reassurance to James Kelly and others, too. 3. Murdo Fraser To ask the Scottish Government what effort it is making to improve international transport connectivity. Improving Scotland's international air connectivity is one of the Government's top priorities, and it will help to build stronger business links and provide a real boost to our tourism industry. Our support has helped Scotland's airport to secure new routes to other parts of the UK, Europe, the Middle East, North America and China, including Emirates' new service from Edinburgh to Dubai. The Scottish Government will continue to promote Scotland as a destination that can sustain more direct air services and better global hub connectivity, and we will work with Scotland's airports to achieve those objectives. On international ferry links, the Scottish Government will welcome international ferry services to Scotland. Those would have to operate on a commercially viable basis and would be for ferry operators to consider. We work closely with Scottish Enterprise, Visit Scotland and any ports, ferry operators and other partners that are potentially involved in new, commercially viable ferry routes to Europe. Murdo Fraser I thank the cabinet secretary for that response. Two weeks ago, the low-cost air carrier Norwegian announced that it was pulling out of its transatlantic flights from Edinburgh, citing the Scottish Government's failure to deliver a cut in air passenger taxes as the reason. We know that there are legal issues to be overcome around the devolution of APD, but the Treasury has signalled its willingness to work with the Scottish Government to try and overcome them. Is the Scottish Government still committed to a cut in air taxes? If so, when can we expect to see some progress on that before further routes are lost? Cabinet Secretary for Transport and the Islands The member raises an important point, and it was disappointing to see the flights withdraw from Edinburgh port in the past two weeks. The issue of ADT is a matter that has been being pursued by my ministerial colleague Derek Mackay for a considerable period of time now, and has raised the matter with the Treasury to address what is a defective tax in the way in which the power has been passed to the Scottish Government, and that matter has to be addressed. My colleague continues to pursue the Treasury to seek to have this matter addressed, and as soon as it is addressed, we will be in a position to take forward our policy, and that is to see a 50 per cent reduction in ADT and to have it completely removed when budgets are available. Of course, the UK Government could take action on the matter on 29 October, when the budget is going to be announced, and I hope that the member will be pressing the Chancellor to take action on ADT in the coming weeks. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve accessibility at railway stations. There are 359 stations and 254 of them are wheelchair accessible, 45 more than in 2007. Of the 105 remaining, 75 of those stations are inaccessible to both platforms, while 30 of them provide access to one platform. For inaccessible stations, ScotRail provides appropriate alternative transport for disabled passengers at no extra charge between the inaccessible station and the nearest or most convenient accessible station for their journey. Rail accessibility is a UK Government-reserved matter. The Department for Transport is currently considering the Scottish Government's proposal for accessibility funding and projects for the next five years. The Scottish Government remains committed to improving access at stations beyond the UK Government's programme. For example, the Scottish Government will fund accessibility work at Potlachry and Avymol stations as part of the Highland Mainline project. Jamie Greene I thank the cabinet secretary for that very informative response. As he said, a number of stations are completely inaccessible to disabled users. For example, Burnt Island and The Fife Circle, which sees 230,000 passengers a year, but is only available to disabled people on the northbound service, not the southbound service, at something that seems quite ludicrous. I appreciate that the real estate is on by Network Rail, but Network Rail is also part of the ScotRail alliance. If the cabinet secretary will press upon the alliance the need to continue to improve accessibility right across Scotland so that our rail network is truly open and accessible for as many users as possible. The access for all programme in order to improve accessibility at train stations is a matter for the Department of Transport at the UK Government, as it is a reserved area. We continue to work with them in order to look at where further improvements can be made. We are going through a programme of work with them at the present moment to identify other stations within the Scottish network that we believe they should provide resources for in order to improve accessibility. That work is due to be completed by 2019. I hope that the Department of Transport will listen to the recommendations and views of the Scottish Government in taking us forward, including issues relating to the station at Burnt Island. Where we have the opportunity through modernisation work, which has been taken forward by the Scottish Government, we are taking the opportunity to make accessibility improvements to stations where that can be achieved through the Scottish Government funding. However, it is certainly the case that the Department of Transport at the UK level has to take more action in order to deal with the backlog of stations that do not presently have adequate accessibility. I am glad to see Burnt Island's station being raised. As a Fife MSP, I would like to emphasise that it is a station that continues to have very poor accessibility. Is the cabinet secretary aware of the high percentage of stations across Fife that perform poorly in terms of accessibility? Does he agree that Fife should be a priority in any additional funds going forward? The important element in the funding of the station is for the Department of Transport to allocate funding that allows that work to be undertaken. What we have been undertaken in Transport Scotland is to identify stations where there are continuing accessibility matters that need to be addressed. That will include those in the Fife area that do not have adequate accessibility for individuals with a mobility issue in order to ensure that the UK Government is aware of that. What will then happen is that the UK Government will then determine which stations will then have access improvement work taken forward. That will be set out in 2019, but we are ensuring that the Department of Transport is very much aware of the concerns that we have around the range of stations in Scotland that need to have accessibility improvements carried out very quickly. To ask the Scottish Government when it lasted talks with the UK immigration minister. During the summer recess, both myself and the cabinet secretary for communities and local government had introductory meetings with the UK immigration minister, Caroline Knox. During my meeting, I expressed the Scottish Government's deep concerns to her about UK policy on immigration, but while we hold profoundly different positions, I hope to work professionally and constructively with Ms Knox to ensure that the rights of EU citizens in Scotland are protected and that Scotland's needs on migration and population are met in future policy. Rona Mackay Does the minister agree with me that the fees charged to UK-born children of migrants who register as British citizens should be scrapped or drastically reduced? The current fee is £1,012, with £372 going on administrative costs and £640 profit for the Home Office. Is this not simply immoral profiteering? Rona Mackay It is clear that current UK immigration policy is simply not appropriate for Scotland. The current costs are prohibitively expensive, as has been articulated, preventing eligible children from applying for British citizenship. Indeed, Stuart MacDonald MP highlighted this very issue in a Westminster debate last month. The immigration system should be easy to access and focused on what a prospective migrant will contribute not on their ability to pay. Therefore, any fees and charges should be proportionate. People who choose to make their lives in Scotland are our friends and our neighbours. They strengthen our society and we welcome them. We need an immigration system that values their contribution to Scotland. That is fair and compassionate and puts people first. The Scottish Government will continue to argue for that in stark contrast and opposition to the UK Government's hostile environment policy. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of staff shortages on local fire services. Operational decisions, including the deployment of firefighters and other staff, are a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. SFRS staff play a vital role in protecting our communities and are continuing to deliver the high standard of services that are required to keep Scotland safe. In the budget for 2018-19, the Scottish Government increased the spending capacity of the SFRS by £15.5 million. That includes providing £5.5 million extra direct funding and ensuring that it keeps the £10 million in full from VAT costs to invest in transformation plans. We will continue to press the UK Government to return the £50 million paid to the HMRC since 2013 because Scotland is the only fire service in the UK to have paid this unfair Tory tax. Dean Lockhart, I thank the minister for that response. I would say that the SNP reformed the fire service in full knowledge of the financial implications of doing so. However, I would rather focus on the needs of my constituents in my region. Last week, I met the senior fire officer for the Stirling region following reports that the city's second fire appliance has been unavailable a number of times this year as a result of staff shortages. The team at Stirling Fire and Rescue is doing all that it can to address those issues, but notwithstanding what the minister has said, this will take time. What assurances can the minister give to people in the Stirling region that they will have adequate fire cover while those staff shortfalls are dealt with? Fire appliances can only be safely deployed if there is a full crew available. There can be instances where appliances are off the run when crewing levels fall short through either unplanned absences such as sick leave or planned activities such as crew training in specialist activities or new equipment. SFRS uses a variety of methods to ensure that a fully planned and safe level of coverage is maintained at all times. That includes offering overtime to cover short-time staff absences and bringing crews in from other fire stations. That is normal practice for any fire and rescue services. I reassure the member that there have been no instances where the SFRS did not respond to an incident without the appropriate level of resources. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to provide flexibility for recipients of universal credit. Since 4 October 2017, the Scottish Government has given people in Scotland the option to receive their universal credit payment monthly or twice monthly and to have any housing costs in their award paid directly to their landlord. That gives people more control and flexibility over how they manage their household budget in a way that best suits their particular circumstances. Let me be clear, though, that universal credit is an entirely reserved benefit and this is one that we have very limited flexibilities over. As our report published this week on the impact of the UK Government's welfare reform highlights, universal credit is causing hardship and deprivation and is not fit for purpose. Based on the evidence of impacts that we have seen in other areas of Scotland where universal credit has been introduced, I am very concerned that constituents of mine are going to face even further hardship. Does the Scottish Government agree with me that the UK Government should take heed of the evidence and listen to organisations supporting the most vulnerable people in society and halt this trambolic and fatally flawed system? Absolutely. We have repeatedly urged the UK Government to halt the roll-out of universal credit, as have many organisations, and we have been repeatedly refused. The UK Government chooses to ignore the mounting evidence of the sharp increase in food bank use and inverteurs in universal credit full service areas. A universal credit is being rolled out to Scotland's largest cities this year. I am also very concerned, as the member is, about the impact it will have. Cosle evidence shows that housing areas in full service areas are more than two and a half times the arrears for those on housing benefit. The Trussell Trust analysis shows that food bank demand increases in full service areas by 52 per cent in the year of our roll-out. Despite that and the other evidence, the UK Government is ignoring our calls. However, it is not too late for them to realise the impact of the damaging policy, which is undoubtedly driving people into debt and arrears and causing extreme anxiety and distress for many people across this country.