 We now move to First Minister's Questions, question 1, Kezia Al-Aqdiel. To ask the First Minister what engagements she has planned for the rest of the day. First Minister. Engagements to take forward the Government's ambitious programme for Scotland. Kezia Al-Aqdiel. Earlier this month, one of Scotland's most successful businessmen looked to First Minister in the eye and told her to put the referendum behind her. Viw y buserauara став allu'r dda nhw'n fynd i'w peopleiau ituiooli i Nicola Sturgeon a rhaid iddeith deuxième, oedd agoreddעu, os meglio iddyn nhw'n ltal- challenged Orthog than drosu ni'n dod i'r dwbl daw. Felly dywedradd mwy ffordd a sicrhau y brodoedd mor rwy arw hefyd. Rex jurisdictions bugs give rwyf Allan roi'n fathwyngol ffudio nhad iddyn nhw eu gynlluniaeth yn mwy o ddigon nhw. Felly mae'n fathwyngol i ddod wrth byw r Siarad Fyllteidwch. Felly mae'n fathwyngol i ddodw'r rent yng nghymru, wneud i chi fod ni dda nhw i ddweud bod y bynnag ysgolion. Felly nid i gyd am Murdoedd yma, bydd ei ddweud hynny o thangos ar gyferwyr weithi gyda'r rent gyda'r parlymyniad yn rhyw meowg. First, the Tory attack on trade union rights. It would be better for employment law to rest with this Parliament, and secondly, the Tory assault on the incomes of working people. It would be better for decisions on social security to be taken in this Parliament. Y Llywodraeth a Llywodraeth a Llywodraeth a Llywodraeth yn y Conservatives had managed to persuade more than just 9 per cent of the Scottish population that their vow on more powers had been delivered. We wouldn't be seeing support for independence increasing in the polls. There have been 24 polls in the last 12 months. Every single one of them has shown support for independence higher than it was a year ago tomorrow. Maybe Kezia Dugdale would be better advised to ask herself why that's the case. Kezia Dugdale, Ms Dugdale. She wants the SNP to get a second chance to ask that referendum question. Today the question I want to ask is about those kids who don't even get a first chance under her government. We know that kids from poorer backgrounds start primary school with language skills a whole year behind their better off classmates. After eight years of this SNP Government, over 6,000 children in Scotland today leave primary school unable to read properly. Can the First Minister tell us how many more kids do we need to see without the basic skills that they need before that triggers radical action? When it comes to the judgment on the performance of this Government, I'm quite happy to rely on the judgment of the Scottish people. I would remind Kezia Dugdale that poll after poll after poll right now puts support for this Government in the low 50s and support for her party in the low 20s. In terms of raising standards of literacy and numeracy in our education system, I could not have been clearer about the priority that I and this Government attach to that. That's why we've launched the Read, Write, Count campaign. That's why we have established the £100 million attainment fund, already channeling extra resources to more than 300 primary schools in the most deprived parts of the country. When it comes to education, when it comes to health, when it comes to justice and getting crime levels down to a 41-year low, I'll leave Labour to coin a phrase from Kezia Dugdale, cap from the sidelines. I'll go on with delivering the action that the people of Scotland need and deserve. Kezia Dugdale, the First Minister mentions the polls. Let's talk about the polls. She might be popular in them, but her record on education isn't. Just one in three people in Scotland think that your record on education is up to scratch. If you're proud of that, great. But don't expect any congratulations from me. You can turn in the back, benches will clap you, but just one in three people think that you've got a good record when it comes to education. Here's the thing, Presiding Officer. This is the First Minister who promised us not so long ago that the referendum was a once-in-a-generation event. Now she has a shopping list of material changes that she thinks would justify another referendum. Instead of using the full force of government to make a difference to the lives of young Scots, the SNP wants us to go through the sector all over again. In Scotland today, you are twice as likely to get an A in your hires if you go to private school than if you go to state school. We know that a young person from a rich background is twice as likely to go on to higher education as someone from a poor background. She's had eight years, so when will the First Minister deliver a material change in the number of poorer children going to higher education? The First Minister clearly couldn't decide today whether she wanted to ask about education or independence. Maybe she should have followed the example of her new leader and asked the audience what she should have asked about today. Let me take some of her points in turn. She mentioned opinion polls. She'll be familiar with the recent Ipsos Moray opinion polls that showed that whether it was on health, education or justice, support for the policies of this Government were streets ahead of support for the policies of the Labour Party. I've answered the question on improving standards of literacy and numeracy. Clearly the Labour Party don't want to hear about the action that we're taking to drive up standards in education. We're also seeing more young people from our most deprived communities going to university. I don't think that it's high enough, which is why one of the first things that I did as First Minister was establishing the widening access commission. We'll get the interim report from that commission in the autumn and we'll start to deliver on its recommendations. The division in this chamber between this Government and the Opposition parties is this. They carp from the sidelines. They moan and they groan. This Government gets on with delivering for the people of this country. That answer sounded like it'd been emailed in by Alex from Strickham. Order. Let us hear Mr Dill. Where I agree with the First Minister is that Scotland has some of the most talented and ambitious young people in the world. Yet after eight years of the SNP Government, the odds remain stacked against thousands of children in Scotland. So what will it take for her Government to close the gap between the richest and the rest in our schools? What will it take for Nicola Sturgeon to wake up to the fact that thousands of children in Scotland leave school unable to read properly? What will it take for the Scottish Government to put the arguments of the past to side and focus on the future of our young people? People in Scotland deserve to know when will this First Minister stop campaigning for another referendum and start governing for a better Scotland? After eight years of this Government, we've got record higher and advanced higher passes. After eight years of this Government, we've got record school leaver destinations. After eight years of this Government, the percentage of young people from our most deprived areas going to university is improving, but we are determined to do even better. I'm proud of the record of this Government. I'll be proud to stand on the record of this Government, but I am ambitious for this country and I will always seek to do the best. I have to say to Kezia Dugdale that if she doesn't raise her own performance, she'll soon be going the same way as Jim from Eastwood. To carry on a theme, Dave from Chipping Norton wants me to ask the First Minister when she'll next meet the Prime Minister. I always knew that Ruth Davidson took all of her orders from Dave from Chipping Norton. Anyway, no plans in the near future to meet Dave. The First Minister and I disagree fundamentally about the renewal of our nuclear deterrent on the Clyde. While I may disagree with it, I respect her position. In recent days, her predecessor has raised the ridiculous prospect that Trident renewal could be a trigger for a second referendum on independence. Despite the fact that a decisive majority voted to remain in the UK last year, with Trident on the Clyde as part of that, and despite polls in recent days showing that most Scots favour a retention of our nuclear deterrent, we know that the First Minister won't give us any clarity on what her triggers for a future referendum are, but can she at least rule out this absurd proposal? As I've already said, I'll set out our position on a second referendum in our manifesto. I'll consider what circumstances might be appropriate to propose another referendum, but I can't understand why anybody would have any problem whatsoever from having this issue driven by democracy. If there is no evidence that people have changed their minds, of course I wouldn't be right to have another referendum, but if there is evidence that people are changing their minds, or if there is a significant change in circumstances, it would be wrong for any one party or any one politician to rule out a referendum. A bit like Kezia Dugdale, the real question that Ruth Davidson should be addressing is why is it that in every single one of the 24 polls conducted in the last 12 months support for independence is higher than it was on referendum day? I think that we are starting to see quite clearly that the desperation of the better together parties to have a referendum ruled out indefinitely is not because they respect democracy, it is because on this issue they increasingly fear democracy. I'm not sure that that takes us any further forward at all and before the referendum the First Minister was able to say because she promised the people of Scotland that it was going to be a once a generation event. And yet, just this week, we're being told that the triggers for a second referendum could be a defence policy that she doesn't like, an economic plan that she's opposed to, a devolution settlement that she disagrees with or even a new leader of the Labour Party that she doesn't think can win. In short, the trigger for another referendum seems to be any day of the week that's got a why at the end of it. So isn't it the truth that she is just scratching around trying to find any imaginable excuse to get the referendum rematch that the SNP so desperately wants? Well, you know what, I'm not prepared to take any lectures from a party that has broken its vow to deliver extensive new powers for this Parliament. Only 9 per cent of people in this country think that the vow has been fully delivered. Even Gordon Brown, the great architect of the vow, thinks that it's not being delivered by the Tory Government and maybe that is one of the reasons why we do see support for independence rising. And you know the contradiction here is this. If the Tories, if Labour, if the Liberals really believed in their heart of hearts that the people of Scotland were totally against independence, they'd be crying out for another referendum. The thing is, people know that the reason they want us to save them from rising support for independence is that they fear the verdict of the Scottish people. I'll put my judgment in the judgment of the Scottish people. It's about time the other party started as well. Do the First Minister appreciate the anger of people in my constituency about the obscene pay-outs to senior management at the former Coatbridge College, with the Auditor General telling the Public Audit Committee that this failure of governance was amongst the most serious that I have seen in my time in this role? What can the First Minister do about this situation and how can our Government ensure that this cannot happen again? Yes, I am appalled at the way in which decisions involving hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money were made by the college. These events took place before the colleges were reclassified by ONS and stronger financial controls came into effect. Nonetheless, Coatbridge College was required at the time to comply with the Scottish Funding Council guidance and it did not do so. Of course the rules have changed. Since April last year, colleges must seek prior approval from the SFC of both severance and settlement arrangements and there are now enhanced ministerial powers to intervene in such circumstances. I know that the Public Audit Committee wants to explore the issue further. The convener is prepared to exercise powers under the Scotland Act to compel any reluctant witnesses to co-operate and I think that that is entirely appropriate. As a Government, we will also look at whether more can be done in the future to avoid situations like this happening again. To ask the First Minister whether the timetable for the conclusion of the evidence-gathering process and public consultation regarding the moratorium on fracking and unconventional gas extraction will be published before the October recess. Ministers have already held meetings with representatives of environmental NGOs, community groups, industry bodies and local governments. Those meetings have helped us to prepare for the research and public consultation processes and, as a result, we have a robust and thorough research process planned. We have also agreed to have a wide-ranging and participative consultation process. I can confirm that the full timetable and research process is being finalised and will be published before the October recess. I thank the First Minister for that answer. I think that everybody wants to know how long the SNP's moratorium is going to last. Fracking has been on the Parliament's agenda since 2011. Don't the public deserve certainty and a right to know exactly what the Scottish Government's view is? Will your Government come to a decision on fracking before next year's elections so that local communities have the opportunity to influence that decision? Will you sign up the Scottish Labour's triple lock with a proper assessment of health, environment and climate risks, learn from experience in the rest of the UK and, crucially, community votes on proposals? As I have said, the full timetable for this process will be published before the October recess and Parliament will be able to scrutinise it at that time. The moratorium will last for as long as it takes for this Government to have all the information, the health information, the environmental information and the information from public consultation to allow us to take a decision. We are determined to lead a precautionary, careful, cautious, evidence-based approach to this. I think that that is what the people of Scotland want and it is what this Government will continue to do. I am looking at a list here of parliamentary questions on this topic from green members and others across the spectrum. I am sure that you will not want me to read them all out. There are more than a dozen of them. A few have been given holding answers or similar. Most remain unanswered for six or seven months. Doesn't Parliament and indeed the public deserve clarity on this question, particularly as we run up to the election next year? Doesn't the public have a right to know what the SNP intends to do, say yes or no about this issue? I thought that Patrick Harvie would have welcomed the clarity of a moratorium. There will be no fracking in Scotland until this Government and this Parliament is in receipt of all the relevant and necessary information to take an evidence-based decision. That is entirely the appropriate way to proceed on that. I do not know whether he agrees with his predecessor as co-convener of the Greens, Robin Harper, who says that he thinks that there are some circumstances in which fracking should go ahead. We are not prepared at this stage to say that, because we think that we need to have all the information to base an evidence-based judgment on. The Scottish Government's own expert scientific panel on unconventional gas extraction reported in July last year and stated its view that fracking could be conducted safely in Scotland if properly regulated. We know that the Scottish Government ignores scientific advice on GM crops. We know that the position of the chief scientific adviser has been vacant since last year. It is not about time that the First Minister started listening to her scientists on this issue. I know that Murdo Fraser is gung-ho when it comes to fracking. In a sense, he is helping here to illustrate the sensible approach that the Government has taken. I have just had a question from somebody who wants me straight away to rule it out and now I have a question from Murdo Fraser who wants me to straight away rule it in. Neither approach would be justified, because we do not yet have the environmental, the health and the public consultation information to allow us to base a reasonable, precautionary, sensible judgment on. We will continue to take the sensible way forward in this and we will reach a view on this and Parliament will have full input into that when we have the evidence to base it on. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on the UK Government's trade union bill and its potential impact on employment in Scotland. The Government strongly opposes the trade union bill. It is a decony in piece of legislation and will undermine good industrial relations. It will also make it more difficult for employees to have their voice heard. The measures proposed are an ideologically driven attack on the rights of workers. We do not see any justification for such an excessive erosion of the rights of trade unions to fairly and reasonably represent their members. This bill has the potential to destabilise the progressive approach that we are taking in Scotland and we have written to the UK Government highlighting our opposition to the bill and we will do everything in our powers to minimise any impact that it might have once passed. I thank the First Minister for that answer and welcome her commitment to fight all the way on this bill. Will the Scottish Government seek an exemption for the Scottish public sector in relation to the UK Government's plans to end the current arrangements for check-off and facility time? Yes, we will. While the bill is still progressing through the House of Commons, we will take every opportunity to oppose it at every stage. We will also explicitly seek exemptions on the arrangements for check-off and facility time. Indeed, the Cabinet Secretary for Fair Work will raise the matter at a meeting that she has coming up with the UK skills minister. We will continue to do everything that we possibly can to oppose those plans in the strongest possible way. I would make one final point. I want to be in a position in this Parliament of being able to do more on the vital issues of just opposing Tory proposals. I would really like us in this Parliament to be in a position of having control over trade union and employment legislation to take a completely different approach. I would hope that one of the first actions of the new Labour leader will be to reverse Labour's opposition to the devolution of legislation over employment and trade union rights. Neil Findlay. Labour councils led by Glasgow, Westlothian, Falkirk and Fife will not co-operate with check-off and facility time provisions if the bill passes. Will the First Minister give a cast iron commitment for her Government to do exactly the same? The First Minister. I answered the question at a public meeting in Coatbridge the other night. There will be no co-operation from this Government in imposing draconian trade union legislation. Let's get real here. If we cannot stop a Tory Government passing this legislation then the real answer to this is to get the powers out of the hands of the Tories and into the hands of this Government. I will happily agree with Neil Findlay on this issue. I just wish he would agree with me that it would be far better to decide these things in this Parliament. Question 5, Jackie Baillie. To ask the First Minister when the Scottish Government will bring forward revised proposals for greater independence of the Scottish Fiscal Commission following the recent consultation. First Minister. As I confirmed in the programme for government, the Scottish Government will bring forward a Scottish Fiscal Commission Bill in the current parliamentary year. The Government recognises that it is critical to the effectiveness and credibility of the Scottish Fiscal Commission that it is both structurally and operationally independent of government and that it is seen to be so. We will ensure that the bill introduced to Parliament includes robust measures to protect the commission's independence. Jackie Baillie. First Minister will be aware, of course, that major new financial powers are coming to this Parliament and therefore it is increasingly important that there is independent and transparent scrutiny of the nation's finances. All respondents to the Government consultation on their proposed Fiscal Commission raised concerns about their lack of independence, pointing out that they cannot have a commission which both advises and scrutinises government. Will the First Minister put party interests to one side and actually take action over something that she has power over and adopt the high standards that the IMF set out to guarantee the independence of the Fiscal Commission? First Minister. The very highest standards will be guaranteed in this bill. The Fiscal Commission will be structurally, operationally and visibly independent of government and that is what people would have a right to expect. The responsibility for preparing tax forecasts that underpin our budget decisions should rightly rest with ministers because we are accountable to this Parliament. The detailed account of the forecasting approach that we take will be published, the Fiscal Commission independent evaluation of that report will be published and any changes that the Government makes in response to the Fiscal Commission will also be published, total and complete transparency. Of course, Jackie Baillie and other members should remember that the Fiscal Commission ultimately has the right right now and will continue to have it when it is on a statutory footing to disagree with the Government's forecast. Indeed, in the draft budget process for this year, the Fiscal Commission said that the forecast on non-domestic rates revenue was an, I quote, optimistic and the Deputy First Minister revised those forecasts down as a result. The Fiscal Commission will be independent, it will be demonstrably so and I hope that every member of the Parliament will welcome that. After much evidence, the entire finance committee concluded that the Scottish Fiscal Commission should carry out its own forecasts. What is the First Minister's personal view on that issue? I think that if Gavin Brown had been listening to my previous answer, he would have heard me talk about the importance of responsibility for forecasting resting with ministers who are accountable to Parliament but also talking about the transparency of the process that goes around that. The bill will be introduced, Parliament will have the full opportunity to scrutinise the bill, it will go through all the normal committee processes, members, as they are on any bill, will have the ability to bring amendments at committee stage and to the plenary sessions of this Parliament. What will emerge, I am confident, is a bill that will put the Fiscal Commission on a statutory footing, will secure its operational and structural independence and it will be clear for all to see that it is completely independent of government. Will the First Minister ensure that the commission has a full and inhibited role in assessing the fiscal framework if and when that is put in place? The Fiscal Commission will have an independent role to scrutinise and evaluate the approach that the Scottish Government takes to forecasting and to financial matters that fall within its remit. Of course, what we are seeking to do right now and I hope we will have Tavish Scott and every other member's support for this is to ensure that we get a fiscal framework to accompany the Scotland Bill that is fair to this Parliament because anything less than that would be completely unacceptable. Question 6, Rob Gibson. Thank you, Presiding Officer, to ask the First Minister what involvement the Scottish Government will have in the UN Sustainable Development Summit in 2015. Unfortunately, the Scottish Government will have no direct involvement in the UN summit in September, on the 25th to 27th of September, at which the Sustainable Development Goals will be formally agreed. The Scottish Government's request to travel to the UN with the UK delegation was declined by the Secretary of State for International Development. Rob Gibson. I thank the First Minister for that dismal answer from the point of view of Scotland. Order! Order! What's here, Mr Gibson? The UN Ordered from Westminster will prevent the Scottish Government from exercising our duties to pursue the UN covenant on economic, social and cultural rights, which is incorporated in the Scotland Act 1998. At this bars our ministers from taking part in the New York agenda concerning such topics as inequalities, land reform and climate change, though it's bad for Scotland and our basic and urgent needs cannot be met in these international talks with our input. First Minister. I think that the refusal by the UK Government to allow Scottish ministers to participate in the summit is disappointing. It's disappointing for the Government, I know that, but I think that it's disappointing for people across Scotland who attach such great significance to the matters that will be under discussion. In fact, I note that Bobby Anderson, who is chair of the Scotland Malawi Foundation, described the decision as a quote, politically driven and small minded. Not attending the summit inhibits our ability to share Scotland's experience on those matters, but it also inhibits our ability in turn to learn from other international practice and experience in it. I think that it deprives the UK Government of having our support and our contribution to them for the matters that will be discussed. I am disappointed about this and I don't think that it augurs well for some of these decisions in the future. One thing that I want to absolutely assure the chamber of this decision in no way will diminish the commitment of this Government to taking forward the new sustainable development goals. That ends First Minister's questions. We are now moving to members' business. Members who are leaving the chamber should do so quickly and quietly.