 That was helpful to keep on my question, so we turn now to First Minister's question. 1. Ruth Davidson In recent weeks we have been reminded again how stretched hospitals are right across the UK as they seek to cope with demand. Once again, we thank doctors and nurses for all that they do. Can the First Minister confirm today, within the number of hospitals and beds in Scotland that has gone up or down over the past five years? As Ruth Davidson, I suspect is fully aware, in line with the position in all parts of the UK, as the pattern of hospital attendancies and the nature of treatment that people get has changed. The number of acute beds has changed in line with that. Not just across the UK but across the western world, we will see acute beds decline as more care is carried out on a day-case basis or indeed more care delivered in the community. However, our responsibility is to make sure that we have the right number of beds and, of course, the health secretary and officials monitor that on an on-going basis. In relation to the pressures that we have seen in our health service over the winter period so far and in particular over the festive period, I again put on record my thanks to those who are working extremely hard on the front line of our health service. We have seen an unprecedented increase in demand in recent weeks. The health secretary set out some of the figures earlier this week in her statement. They include a 40 per cent increase in calls to the ambulance service, a doubling of calls to NHS 24, a 10 per cent increase in A&E attendancies over the festive fortnight, a 20 per cent increase in the week before Christmas. Of course, in addition to increased volumes of attendance at A&E, we are seeing more people present with more severe illness. Much of that increased demand has been down to an increase in flu rates over this winter. It was reported last week that, in the seven days up to Hugmanay, flu rates were more than double the same period last year. I can advise the chamber that figures for the first week in January are about to be published probably just about now by Health Protection Scotland, and they show a further doubling of flu rates in Scotland. Last week, it was 46 per 100,000. That has gone up to 107 per 100,000. That is four times the level of flu in this week last year. In spite of all of that, thanks to interplanning, thanks to the efforts of our NHS staff, our NHS is coping admirably. We continue to see, even at the height of the pressures, almost eight out of 10 people attending A&E being dealt with within four hours. Of course, we have not required to sanction a blanket cancellation of planned operations, as has been seen elsewhere in the UK. All of us owe an enormous debt of gratitude to those in the NHS. Ruth Davidson The First Minister seemed unable to give the figures that I asked for, so the figures are these. Five years ago, there were more than 23,000 hospital beds in Scotland, and now there are nearly 2,000 fewer. We know the Government's rationale for that. They say that more care should be delivered outside of hospitals, closer to people's homes in social care. It is a laudable aim, but if it is going to work, there needs to be places available for patients in the community. Can the First Minister answer me this? Has the number of social care places for elderly patients in Scotland increased or been cut in the past five years? First, for example, we have around 700 more intermediate care beds in our NHS now as part of the process of shifting the balance of care. In terms of acute beds, just to go back to that particular point, during the winter, including this winter, we have seen hundreds of additional winter surge beds as part of the planning for increased capacity. In terms of social care, again, as Ruth Davidson is very well aware, this Government, although I do not stand here and say that all is perfect, we all have work to do. We all face pressures particularly during these winter periods. However, this Government, in many respects, when it comes to social care, is ahead of any other part of the UK. We have seen over the past two or financial years now significant sums of money transferred from the NHS into social care to support that shift in the balance of care. Earlier this week, we saw the health secretary in England being given responsibility for social care for the first time. As England now, presumably, is looking to integrate health and social care, something that this Government has already done. Yes, there is pressure on services. Our NHS, in common with health services in many different parts of not just the UK, but the world, is undergoing a transition as it adapts to the needs of an ageing population. Part of that is transferring care from the acute service into the community. This Government has already done a lot of work and will continue to do so. Ruth Davidson I often ask the First Minister about health and social care in Scotland as she often answers me about the situation in England. I think that people in Scotland want to hear about what is happening in Scotland. However, if she does want to bring England into the chamber, she should be aware that the number of beds in Scotland are being cut at nearly double the rate than the number of Englands in hospital. The number of elderly social care beds in England has gone up over five years, and, under her tenure, they have gone down in Scotland. Both the number of hospital beds falling in Scotland and the number of elderly social care places have fallen, too. The consequence is obvious. It means that hospitals get filled up. It means that thousands of elderly patients cannot be discharged because there is nowhere for them to go. It means that the cost of delayed discharge to the NHS in Scotland is more than £100 million per year. If there are fewer hospital beds and there are fewer social care places for the elderly, is it any surprise that we have a problem? The number of beds that are lost in our health service because of delayed discharge is down. The most recent published figures show that it is down 10 per cent over the past year. We do not have published figures yet for the festive period, but the information that we have, because we are monitoring it carefully, is that delayed discharge has further reduced over the festive period. That is delayed discharges are not the reasons for the pressures or an increase in delayed discharges, it is not the reason for the pressures that we are seeing in our hospitals. Ruth Davidson talks about the comparisons with England. I know that the Opposition does not like his making those comparisons, although he makes those comparisons when it suits them on plenty of other issues. The benchmark for success for this Government is the targets that we set ourselves, not what is happening elsewhere in the UK. However, when we have Opposition parties who come to this chamber and try to make out that somehow the pressures in our national health service are uniquely to do with mismanagement of the SNP Government, it is perfectly legitimate to compare the performance in Scotland with the performance in the parts of the UK where their parties are in power. I do not know whether Ruth Davidson has bothered to look at the news this morning, where clinicians in England are saying that they have run out of beds in the NHS. We have a responsibility to make sure that our NHS is performing, and that is what we support our front-line clinicians and our health boards to do. However, the fact of the matter is that Scotland's NHS, in spite of all those pressures—actually, the pressures that we have been facing over the past couple of weeks—are actually higher than they are in other parts of the UK. Flu levels are higher. There is more influenza A in Scotland than in other parts of the UK, which affects elderly people disproportionately, so the pressures are higher. Nevertheless, Scotland's NHS remains the best-performing NHS anywhere in the United Kingdom. It is about time that the Opposition recognised the achievements of those working so hard on the front line of our national health sector. Ruth Davidson Opposition leaders come to this chamber to ask the Scottish Government to take responsibility for the Scottish health service. Here is what doctors and nurses have been saying to us in the last fortnight. They are saying that people are waiting too long in A and E departments because there are no beds for them on wards and because many of those hospital beds are taken up by patients who are waiting for their social care arrangements. However, the Scottish National Party Government has cut both hospital beds and elderly social care places, so when something like a flu crisis hits, the system breaks down. We need a moratorium before the next crisis, so will the First Minister promise to stop cutting hospital beds until patients have somewhere to go? The hypocrisy of the Tories, when it comes to those issues at breathtaking, not only do they criticise things in terms of the changing pattern of care that are happening in Scotland but, presumably, the support when exactly the same things are happening where their party is in power in England. However, not only that, we have a situation. Just in a few weeks' time, we will again debate the budget for next year. Ruth Davidson and her colleagues will stand up in this chamber and they will ask us to deliver tax policies that introduce cuts to people at the top end of the income spectrum. Tax policies that if we were to follow would take £500 million out of the money that we have available to invest in our national health service. Does Ruth Davidson know what £500 million amounts to in terms of nurses? That is equivalent to 12,000 nurses that the Tories would remove from our national health service. We will continue to get on with the job of delivering healthcare for the people of Scotland, supporting our health services. They respond to the unprecedented demands that they are facing right now and are thanking and being grateful to those who are working so hard right across our country. We have heard apologies from the First Minister this week to the thousands of people who have experienced unacceptable delays for hospital treatment and who have waited hours in pain for ambulance crews to arrive. Apologies are welcome, but can the First Minister tell us and can she tell the people of Scotland what changes she will make to ensure that our NHS in Scotland will not be in the same position this time next year? The First Minister will continue to take the action that ensures that our national health service is the best-performing health service anywhere in the UK. I have already outlined the unprecedented pressures that our national health service is facing. I have given the figures for the first week in January on flu rates that are four times in that week what they were in the same week last year. It is not possible when you face demands like that to completely eliminate the pressure on services. No health service can completely do that, but because of the plans that our health boards have put in place, supported by the £22 million of additional funding provided by the Government and, of course, enabled by the hard work of front-line NHS staff, we have a situation in which the average response time for emergency calls for the ambulance service, despite the 40 per cent increase in demand, is eight minutes. We have a situation in which almost eight out of 10 patients are still being dealt with within four hours. Isn't it important? Let me just address the point of the four-hour target. We often—and I am guilty of that myself sometimes—talk about that target being one to see patients. It is not just to see patients within four hours, it is to see, assess, treat and discharge or admit or transfer patients within four hours. Even at the height of these winter pressures, almost eight out of 10 patients have been dealt with within that target. Of course, in Scotland, unlike the situation south of the border, we have not sanctioned or had to sanction a blanket deferral of planned operations. Richard Leonard no doubt wants to say that all of what our NHS is facing right now is entirely down to bad planning by the Scottish Government. Here is another view. It is a view that was expressed yesterday in the Welsh Assembly by Labour's health secretary in Wales. It is simply to make sure that we are being consistent in how we approach those things. What he said is that the unprecedented spikes in demand that we have seen in recent weeks are not pressures that you can reasonably plan for. I actually disagree with that. I think that you can plan and because we have properly planned, we are in a position where, yes, there are pressures on our health service, but we are the best-performing health service anywhere in the UK, and those who are delivering that deserve our thanks. Well, there we are. The BMA has already said that it is fed up with this Government's spin, and patients in Scotland are fed up with it, too. Let me give you a real example from right here in Scotland over the last couple of weeks. Eight-year-old Tom Wilson of Newton Grange fell on New Year's Day and laid bleeding for three hours and a quarter waiting for an ambulance. His son called 999 seven times, only to be told that an ambulance was coming not from the Edinburgh royal infirmary, which was just 14 minutes away, but from Kelso. Mr Wilson then spent 13 hours on a trolley in a corridor in A&E before being admitted to a general ward. That's an 18-year-old man with underlying health conditions waiting more than 16 hours for treatment. Then, after four days, he was discharged. Despite a nurse telling him that he should be kept in hospital but needed the bed, what does the First Minister say to Mr Wilson? What I say to Mr Wilson is very simple. I say sorry to Mr Wilson if that was his experience of the health service. Earlier this week, the health secretary said in the chamber that we apologise unreservedly not just at winter but at any time of the year to any patient who waits longer than they should do for hospital treatment or doesn't get the standard of treatment that they have a right to expect. I do that again unequivocally today. I'm more than happy. In the health secretary, we were more than happy to look into the specifics of Mr Wilson's case if Richard Leonard wants to pass them to us. I'm not standing here saying, and we have not said at any stage that some patients are not waiting longer during these winter times than we would want them to wait. That is down to the fact that we are facing demand and increases in demand that are unprecedented. I won't repeat the figures, but anybody can see that when health services—it's the point that the Welsh Labour Health Secretary was making yesterday—those are unprecedented spikes in demand and you cannot eliminate the impact on services of that. However, because of the winter plans that we've put in place, because of the resources, because principally of the hard work of front-line NHS staff, we have a system that is coping admirably. I've given the statistics in terms of accident emergency and the wider situation in terms of planned operations, but that does not take away from the fact that we regret and apologise for anybody who does not get the standard of care that we would want them to get. I'm sure that you will say that it's got nothing to do with you or the SNP and blame Westminster. I've seen on the news your answer is, we are doing better than England. Is this a joke? Those are not my words, they are the words of Mr Wilson's son in a letter sent this week to the health secretary. First Minister, you've been found out by the people of Scotland. The doctors, the nurses, the ambulance crews, the patients and their families want to know what you are going to do to fix this mess that you have created in our NHS. First Minister. Firstly, nobody listening to the answer that I gave Richard Leonard about the situation of Mr Wilson would have concluded that I did anything other than take responsibility on the part of the Scottish Government for that. Interestingly, anybody who was listening to Jeremy Corbyn at Prime Minister's questions yesterday, when he was asked about the Welsh health service, his answer was that it was all the fault of Westminster cuts to the Scottish budget. The cuts to the Scottish budget by Westminster, of course, are never recognised by the Labour Party here, but in terms of the health service, I take absolute responsibility for our health service, but that's also why I can point out that we have the best performing health service in the UK. I know that the Opposition does not like the comparisons and I make those comparisons not because my ambition is just to be a bit better than England or Wales, but when you have opposition politicians who, as Richard Leonard has just done, say that the pressures on our health service are just down to SNP management, then it is entirely legitimate to look at the parts of the UK where their parties are in power. I am not saying that our health service is perfect. When I was health secretary, I would never have said that. I would not say that now, but we have a health service that is performing better than any other part of the UK. That is because of the record of investment, because of the record numbers of staff, it is because of the planning that our health boards are doing, particularly during this winter period. We will continue to support them to do that so that they can continue to deliver for patients. I have a couple of constituency supplementaries. The first is from Gordon Lindhurst. The First Minister may be aware that a recent freedom of information request has shown that public counters at some of Edinburgh's police stations are shut or operate restricted hours more than they are open at the advertised times. My understanding, for example, is that Leith police station is supposed to operate from 7am until midnight seven days a week but was open as advertised on only 29 days between January and 22 September last year. I am sure that the First Minister would not wish to be dismissive of Leith's concerns about that, so can she explain whether this is an attempt to reduce the police estate by the back door in the face of public opposition and what reassurances can be given to those who still want face-to-face policing but find the local station closed when they need it? I would never dismiss the concerns of Leithers about police station opening hours or any other matter, but I have to say that I have spent most of this week listening to opposition politicians criticising the Scottish Government for supposedly interfering in the operational decisions of Police Scotland. However, here we are today with an Opposition member standing up, calling presumably on me and the Scottish Government to interfere in operational decisions that the police are taking about opening hours of police stations or does appear to me to be something of an inconsistency in that approach, but we will leave that to one side on the particular issue of the opening hours. I do not have the particular information that has been cited to me in front of me just now, but I will very happily look into that and I will either personally or ask the justice secretary to respond in writing to the points that Gordon Lindhurst has made. Johann Lamond Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. First Minister, it is hard enough after the festive season to return to work and study, but for bus users in Glasgow, this has been accompanied by a very unfestive hike in bus fares by First Bus Glasgow. Does the First Minister agree with me that those rises, including a 40 per cent rise for under-16s and a 10 per cent increase for the unemployed, are simply unacceptable? What plans does she or her minister have to discuss with First Bus the need to reverse those increases and will she now agree that there is a need for action to re-regulate buses, as called for by unions, community transport groups and the Scottish Co-operative Party, among others, to ensure that people get a better service, not unaffordable, fair increases? The First Minister Of course, in terms of regulation and legislation, the programme for government did announce plans for legislation in this session of Parliament to look at better partnership working and improvement of bus services. Relation to the specific issue that Johann Lamond raises, I am an MSP for part of the city of Glasgow. I share the concerns that have been expressed by my constituents and many across Scotland about increases in bus fares and the First Bus increase that was announced this week. We will certainly continue to discuss those matters on an on-going basis with bus companies. We will do that as a Government. I will make representations as a local MSP on the part of my constituents. Of course, individual bus operators have to reach their own decisions. The Scottish Government provides funding to support bus services across Scotland and to help to keep fares at affordable levels, and we will continue to take action to do so. First Minister, tomorrow, Maryhill job centre in my constituency will close its doors for the final time after being axed by the UK Government. That will have a damaging impact on many vulnerable families and communities. I represent not least of all due to longer journey times to job centres and costly rising bus fares, as we have just heard. The UK approach is deeply flawed and counterproductive. Does the First Minister agree with me that the service should support those and the job centre should support those to get back into work at the heart of our communities, such as Maryhill, not to rip them out of our communities? Will she pledge to do things differently should the power over such matters be given to this Parliament? I agree very much with Bob Doris. I do not support the plans to close job centres in Glasgow again. I say that as somebody who represents part of the city of Glasgow and knows the importance of having those services accessible. Two people—in fact, earlier this week, a cross-party letter went to the new secretary of state for work in pensions, asking for reconsideration of that. As we tried to help people back into work, particularly those who have been some distance from the labour market, it is important that those services are available without people having to travel inordinate distances in order to access them. We, in the Scottish Government, as well as opposing measures like this, continue to do what we can to mitigate welfare cuts. As I have said before, the sooner we have comprehensive welfare powers in the hands of this Parliament, the better, because that means that we can take decisions that are in the interests of the country and decisions that are properly joined up in the interests of the people that we serve. Welcome to see both Governments attempting to respond to the growing concern about plastic pollution. The UK might be accused of kicking the issue into the long grass by talking about what it might achieve by 2042. The Scottish Government wants to highlight the issue of cotton buds, which, to be fair, is a much easier area where changes are already happening and alternative products are already in the shops. The issue is far more challenging than that and urgent, given that China is understandably unwilling to keep taking ever more of the west's plastic waste. People will not and should not accept simply building more incinerators around the country. Does the First Minister accept that, by framing the issue and talking about it merely as plastic litter, there is a risk that we are implying that it is all about consumer behaviour instead of placing responsibility firmly where it belongs, with the highly profitable businesses and industries that are the real source of the problem? Yes, I agree with that, although I say that it has to be both. I think that there is an obligation on and a real responsibility on the part of companies to get their own houses in order, in that respect. I would absolutely agree with Patrick Harvie. We also have to encourage consumers to look at changing their own behaviour, and I would certainly back efforts to do that. Governments also have to look at the levers that we have, whether they are on single-use plastic products or other actions to reduce the use of disposable plastic. I think that the Scottish Government has got a very good record here, through the action that we have already taken on plastic bag levy, for example. We have already announced our intention, which I know was welcomed by Patrick Harvie and the Greens to introduce a deposit return scheme for drinks containers. We have announced our intention to set up an expert group to look at other levy and actions that could be taken around other products, such as plastic straws. For example, in that respect, let me pay tribute to Kate Forbes, who I know has a question later in FMQs for the campaign that she has launched around straws. Of course, as Patrick Harvie says, the Environment Secretary today has announced our intention to ban plastic stem cotton buds. We are taking a range of action, and I think that that is the right approach. It is not about letting any particular interest off the hook. It is about companies, consumers and Governments, where, at my final point, I absolutely agree with Patrick Harvie that it is urgent, and it is more urgent than the 25-year timescale that the Prime Minister has set out today. Plastic pollution is utterly connected to our society's economic addiction to oil and gas. Fossil fuels and industrial chemicals are two sides of the same coin. This week, we learned that one oil industry voice wants to see decommissioned rigs simply dumped in the sea, millions of tonnes of industrial waste, while cotton buds make the headlines. Another fossil fuel company wants to take the Government to court for protecting Scotland from fracking. Both the UK and Scottish Governments like to claim credit for environmental action, but they also want ever-big attacks breaks for the very fossil fuel companies that are at the root of our environmental crisis. Is not it time to recognise that we can no longer invest our future in the fossil fuel industry and we should be joining instead the hundreds of cities, institutions and countries that are truly leading, such as New York, which this week confirmed that it is taking the fight to the fossil fuel industry with legal action and a programme of divestment? Will the First Minister accept that it is time to embrace a positive fossil fuel-free future for Scotland? First Minister. Firstly, we support appropriately our oil and gas sector because it is important to our economy. There are lots of jobs dependent on it, but I really do not think whatever—whether you agree or disagree with that—I genuinely do not think that it is fair to criticise the Scottish Government for lack of action in terms of support for renewable energy. If anything, we are a world leader in terms of the transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy. We set out in the programme for government, for example, on our ambition around electric and low-emission vehicles, even greater action in the longer term. As Patrick Harvie has alluded to, we have taken the decision not to allow fracking in Scotland. I will not say too much more about that, given the announcement about a judicial review this week, but we are confident in the decision that we have taken there and in the process behind that decision. We will continue to lead by example. That is one of the issues that is important, not just for this generation but for generations to come. All of us have a responsibility to do the right thing, and this Government will continue to make sure that we do it. Question 4, Willie Rennie. I have listened carefully to what the First Minister has been saying, but the pressure faced by the NHS has been coming for years. It was largely predictable. The long waits at accident emergency units are in part because of failures elsewhere in the NHS. Failures in three fundamentals, in mental health, in social care and in primary care. Failures for which she is responsible. She was health secretary after all. Why is it that staff and patients like Mr Wilson who have to suffer today because of Nicola Sturgeon's failure to do her job over the past 10 years? For representative of the Liberal Democrats, the co-architects of austerity in this country to stand up and ask that question, it is frankly unbelievable and quite staggering hypocrisy. We have, through the actions that we have taken in the face of that austerity, ensured record investment in our national health service, including transferring more and more investment into social care and primary care. We have plans for that over this Parliament and mental health. This year, for the first time in the mental health budget, we will top £1 billion in Scotland. We have record numbers of staff in our national health service during a winter period, in which, despite what Willie Rennie says, the pressures on our health service are unprecedented. Flu levels right now are four times what they were this time last year. It is not possible to eliminate the impact on the service of that kind of increase in pressure, but because of the actions that we have taken in the face of the austerity imposed partly by his party, as I have said repeatedly in this chamber this afternoon, we have the best performing health service in the UK, and that is something that we should be proud of. Willie Rennie. The First Minister does really have got a brass neck. If those plans that she has just set out are the obvious answer, then why didn't she deliver them when she was health secretary? She can hide behind those plans. She can't hide behind the NHS in England or even in Wales, and she can't hide behind, just blindly thanking NHS staff over and over again. We are 800gps short, and that is her responsibility. 3,000 Scots are waiting for mental health treatment, and that is her responsibility. Today, 1,000 people are stuck in hospital because of the lack of home care. That is her responsibility. We are all proud of our NHS staff during the conditions created by Nicola Sturgeon, but tell me, is she really proud of what she has done to our NHS? First Minister. The service budget up under this Government to record levels. The number of people working in our health service up under this Government to record levels delayed discharge down over the past year. This health service in Scotland, despite the winter pressures that I readily acknowledge, puts not just in patients but in staff. The health service in Scotland is, and I will say it again, the best performing anywhere in the UK. That is down partly to policy, but that is down principally to the hard work of those right across our health service, and they deserve better and more gratitude, not just from this Government but from parties right across this chamber. We have a few more supplementaries. The first is from Christine Grahame. First Minister, we are aware of the recent BBC Scotland documentary exposing deficiencies in the efficacy of bankruptcy proceedings. Focusing, for example, on bankruptcy cheats, such as Morris Scott, the bankrupt behind Loch Leven 2 Ltd, which actually has planning applications for nine properties in Galashales in my constituency. Will the First Minister, given that Morris Scott left debts of £42 million, cocking a snook at all of us, and in particular his creditors and the trustee in bankruptcy, will the First Minister review the bankruptcy process, including an increase in inspection and monitoring of declaration of assets pre-bankruptcy and post-bankruptcy, the operation of bankruptcy restriction orders? I thank Christine Grahame for raising the issue. I, like many people, would have been concerned by some of the revelations in the recent BBC documentary. I can, given assurance that, in light of that, of course, this Government will look at aspects of bankruptcy legislation and regulation to see whether there are changes that we require to make. Christine Grahame has asked some very specific questions about particular aspects of the bankruptcy regime, and I will make sure that the relevant minister in due course responds to her in detail once we have had the opportunity to review those aspects. Neil Findlay. This month, the children's ward at St John's hospital will have been closed to inpatients out of hours for over 200 days. When will it reopen as a 24-7 service? It will reopen as soon as possible. It is, of course, a matter of regret that the situation has arisen. The situation is to ensure safety for patients, and that is vital and important for all patients, but I think that all of us would accept that it is particularly important for children. So, as soon as the recruitment challenges have been addressed there and there are efforts underway right now to recruit into that ward, the ward will reopen. Of course, Neil Findlay previously used to say that our plan was to close this ward permanently. That was not the case. We are determined to make sure that this ward remains open to serve patients in West Lothian and look forward to it being open properly as soon as possible. Finance and Constitution Committee of this Parliament unanimously agreed that the EU withdrawal Bill in its current state is incompatible with the devolution settlement. The UK Government has failed to deliver on its promises to bring forward key amendments to the bill at report stage, which is deeply regrettable. It is a disgrace. It leaves Scotland's fate in the hands of the unelected and undemocratic House of Lords. Does the First Minister agree that now is the time for everyone in this chamber to unite in a simple message? Hands off Scotland's Parliament. The failure to bring forward amendments to the withdrawal bill at the report stage of the House of Commons is not just a disgrace, although it absolutely is a disgrace. It is in direct contradiction to the promise that the Secretary of State for Scotland made that those amendments would be brought forward to the House of Commons and not to the undemocratic, unelected House of Lords. That promise has been completely broken. There is no excuse. I heard Tory MPs during the week saying that it was unfortunate. It was due to the tight timescale. The Scottish Government and the Welsh Government jointly wrote the amendments that could have been lodged or supported by the UK Government. We need to see amendments without further delay, but not only any amendments, we need to see amendments that properly address the issue. Clause 11 of that bill is a power grab. That is the view of the cross-party committee of this Parliament. We will not recommend to approval of that bill unless Clause 11 and the other aspects that concern people across the chamber are properly addressed. We hope that we can still find agreement and that we will continue to work constructively in order to try to find agreement, but we have to prepare for that not being possible. That is why we have set out plans to bring forward, if necessary, our own continuity bill. However, it is absolutely disgraceful that, having launched that power grab on this Parliament, the Tories have then broken all of the promises that they have made so far about fixing it. Let's see that change sooner rather than later. To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government plans to reduce the use of single-use disposable plastics, such as plastic straws. We are determined to tackle the blight of plastic that does so much damage to our environment generally and to our oceans and beaches in particular. As I have already said in response to earlier questions, we have already outlined our intention to introduce a deposit return scheme. Today, the environment secretary has set out proposals to ban plastic straw stemmed cotton buds. As we committed to in our programme for government, we will appoint an expert panel to provide advice on further charges and other actions that we might take to reduce Scotland's use of single-use items, such as plastic straws. Let me again commend Kate Forbes for the campaign that she has launched. As the First Minister has already referenced, the UK Government's environmental plan in published this morning says that it will take 25 years to tackle avoidable plastic waste, including plastic straws. If Sunnyside and Ullipool primary school pupils can eliminate plastic straws in an entire village in a matter of months with their nays, straws and tall campaign, does the First Minister agree that the UK Government's target of 25 years lacks a bit of urgency, while plastic straws will continue to pollute our seas? First Minister. Firstly, let me commend and congratulate the pupils of Sunnyside primary school. I think that they set an example to all of us. I take the view—I said this to Patrick Harvie—that we do not have the luxury of 24 years and neither do our coastal communities, such as Ullipool, who are already taking local action. Blue Planet might have woken up the UK Government to the issue of plastics in our seas, but we have been alive to this issue for some time and have been leading the way in taking action. As I have already said, in the programme for government, we set out plans to develop a deposit return scheme. We have already introduced a more comprehensive carrier bag charge and we set out, in our circular economy strategy, how we can benefit economically from looking after the environment. On a couple of occasions now, we have announced today plans around plastic cotton buds. We will always look to work constructively with other Governments in the UK and beyond, but it is clearer than ever that decisions about our precious natural environment are best made here in Scotland because we are leading the way. Maurice Golden I declare interest with respect to my work at Zero Waste Scotland. I welcome the plans from the UK Government and the Scottish Government around problem plastics. However, last year, the SNP revealed that, over the next five years, it is forecasting a 12-fold increase in incineration capacity in Scotland. I am sure that the First Minister will agree that it is better to recycle valuable products such as plastics rather than burn them. Therefore, will the First Minister consider the introduction of a moratorium on any new incineration facilities in Scotland? I will ask Paul Wheelhouse, who is the relevant minister here, to respond to the issue about incineration. However, I agree with the points that the member has made. It is much better to try to avoid the use of plastics where we possibly can. That is very much the focus of our actions. However, where plastics are used, recycling should be a priority. That is very much at the heart of our circular economy strategy and some of the measures that I have outlined today. I hope that we can, if not on every particular aspect of this, on some of the key aspects of this, have quite a lot of consensus across the chamber about the actions that we need to take. Thank you, Presiding Officer. May I draw members to my register of interests and remind members that I own a small business? To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to improve small business confidence in light of reports suggesting that it is at a near record low. We are maintaining the expanded small business bonus scheme, removing the rates burden for 100,000 premises. As announced in the draft budget, we will continue to fund the most competitive business rates relief package anywhere in the UK. We are also delivering a record £2.4 billion investment in enterprise and skills, and we will invest £600 million in expanding broadband to 100 per cent of premises across the country. Of course, we are also on course to deliver the new South of Scotland enterprise agency as part of our plan to drive forward economic growth while supporting communities and resources in the area. Rachael Hamilton Before my supplementary question, I would like to take the opportunity to welcome pupils from Kelso High School to the chamber today. The Federation of Small Business, the Scottish policy convener Andy Willocks, said that their recent findings show a long-term optimism gap between a typical firm in Scotland and their counterparts elsewhere in the UK. If Scotland is to confound predictions of sluggish economic growth for the foreseeable future, then closing the gap should be a top priority. Will the First Minister listen to the concerns of small business and will she reverse the Government's tax plans to help small business confidence grow? I thought that we were not allowed to make comparisons between Scotland and England. I thought that that was not right. Let me get this right, okay? Just for clarity, Presiding Officer. Where Scotland is doing better than the rest of the UK, the Tories' position is we are not allowed to say that because comparisons are not legitimate. But where they say Scotland is not doing as well as the rest of the UK is absolutely fine to make those comparisons, is that really the rules that the Tories want to play by? Let me make two points on small businesses. First, as I have said, we are investing significant sums of money in supporting our small businesses. We recognise the concerns that our small businesses have about the economy generally, not just in Scotland but across the whole UK, which is why supporting the continuation of the small business bonus is the most important thing in terms of the small business federation. Secondly, if you speak to most businesses, small, medium or large right now, the top reason for the anxiety and the concerns that they will express are Brexit. That is why so many businesses are so concerned about the future and we have seen again this week the ineptitude at the heart of this Tory Government as they take this country closer and closer to the Brexit cliff edge. That is why, every time a Tory stands up in this chamber to talk about those kinds of issues, they should be deeply embarrassed of what their party at Westminster is preparing to do to the interests of this country. To ask the First Minister what her view is regarding recent comments by the Tory party, particularly Murdo Fraser MSP's criticism of her Government aid to small businesses. Does she agree with me that this is another example of Tory double standards? I tend not to take anything that Murdo Fraser says particularly seriously, maybe that is just me, but I have come to realise recently that not much he says is particularly serious. The double standards at the heart of the Tory party today have been on blated display for everybody calling for more money for our national health service while proposing tax policies that would drip £500 million out of Scotland's budget on top of the cuts that the Westminster Government is already making, telling us that we cannot compare Scotland's performance to the rest of the UK when we are doing better but we have been quite happy to do it on other occasions. Of course, getting up in this chamber and talking about the concerns of our business community while their party is imposing Brexit on Scotland, which is going to do untold damage to our businesses and to our economy generally. Every single one of those tories on all of those issues and on so many more, frankly, should be ashamed of themselves. Thank you, and that concludes First Minister's questions. We now move to members' business in the name of Tom Arthur on the Care or Positive Employer initiative. Just take a few moments for members to change