 Thank you. That concludes General Questions. We will turn now to First Minister's Questions. Question number 1, Jackson Carlaw. In September, while publicly berating opposition critics, the education secretary privately commissioned his officials to probe the increasing failure rate in hires. Will the First Minister today publish their findings? First Minister. We will publish findings as and when we have them that this parliament should be aware of. Rwy'n credu i chi'n bwysig oherwydd, fel y First Minister yn ddamdlu i gyfwyrdau a Llywodraeth i'r Cymru o'r parlymynt yng Nghymru, oeddech chi'n mynd ddurwr 27 oedd y dylau gyda'r sgwafau ysgolion a'r ddweud i chi'n mynd i'n treidiau. Rydw i ddweud i chi'n mynd i chi'n y First Minister can be held responsible if the Tories are incapable of paying attention to what's going on in Parliament. Jackson Carlaw. As always, Presiding Officer, while it's not something I encourage, I always defend the right of people to express a view if they have the opportunity to do so. Sorry, I wasn't actually on my feet fast enough, I hadn't realised that was it from the First Minister, because I see that she obviously intends to begin this year in the same slippery fashion that she ended the last. It wasn't just conservatives, it seems to be the whole world that misunderstood what the cabinet secretary had to say. So just to take the spin-out of her answer, let's give the facts. In August last year, we learned that the number of students achieving A to C in hires had fallen. Mr Swinney promptly attacked us for daring to suggest this real something might be wrong with his handling of education. Then, over Christmas, we learned that he had at the same time asked his officials to find out what's going wrong. Yesterday in a letter to shadow education secretary Liz Smith, Mr Swinney declared that he doesn't need to explain himself to this Parliament because there's nothing new to say. That's what he had to say in his letter. I mean, I know education is no longer this Government's number one priority, but doesn't that smack of arrogance even to the First Minister? I gently suggest that perhaps Liz Smith should have a go at better explaining things to Jackson Carlaw, because Jackson Carlaw has stood up in this chamber and suggested, as the Tories have done over the recess, that John Swinney secretly commissioned an analysis of the 2019 exam results. John Swinney has pointed out the fact—I have done it again today—that he informed the Education and Skills Committee on 27 November that he had asked for such an analysis. I think that it is Jackson Carlaw that should reflect on the premise of the question that he is asking me today. Of course, the Deputy First Minister also informed the committee that, following the analysis, partners have been asked to look at further work to support learning and teaching through a number of actions. Of course, as that work progresses, the outcomes of it will be shared with the committee and with Parliament. It might be that reason that, as I understand it, although Jackson Carlaw can correct me if I am getting this wrong, the Tories withdrew their request for a parliamentary statement this week when that information had been pointed out to them. Wider performance, we know in Scottish education that, yes, there is more work to do, which is why it remains the top priority of this Government. We see attainment increasing, so the percentage of school leavers getting a level 5 qualification such as nationals has increased from 71 per cent when we took office to 85, almost 86 per cent now. Also the numbers getting a higher qualification has increased from less than half to now almost two thirds. Lastly, for the first time ever, we see more than 30 per cent of pupils achieving at least or more than five passes at a higher level, which is up from just over 20 per cent in 2009. We also, of course, see the attainment gap reducing. That is the progress that has been made in Scottish education. It is down to the hard work of teachers, pupils and parents across the country, and it is the progress that we will focus on continuing to make. Jackson Carlaw So, spin to the first question, denial to the second, spin and denial to the twin pillars of this Government. Of course, we all pay tribute to the teachers, to the students and to the parents who are working hard, but let's return to the issue at hand. The education secretary asked a fair question of his officials. What does the falling pass rate at higher tell us about the health of education in this country? Let me put that question to the First Minister today and give her the opportunity to explain. What does a drop in the pass rate tell us about education? What does a record low in PISA scores tell us about school performance? What does declining school subject choice tell us about her Government's record? I have just set out a range of statistics that reflect the real performance of Scottish education. I can understand why Jackson Carlaw chose not to listen to those because he does not suit the argument that he is making. However, let's not gloss over the issue at hand, which was of course the subject of his first question to me. He might want to call it spin, but he has stood up in this chamber and repeated an accusation against the deputy First Minister that was made during the recess, which is flatly wrong. I do not think that that is acceptable and I do not think that Jackson Carlaw should get away with that. I think that he should perhaps reflect on that and take the opportunity to apologise for it. We will continue to focus on the progress that is being made. If we look at this year's exam results, in fact, on the day that they were published, the deputy First Minister recognised that there had been a fall in the overall higher pass rate, although it remains very high. However, we saw generally a strong set of exam results with three quarters of candidates attaining a pass at higher grades A to C. Over a quarter of candidates achieving a grade A at higher, and we saw an increase in entries and pass rates across national 5, including a rise in passes for English and a rise in passes for maths. Coupled with the statistics that I gave them in my previous answer, I think that that is a performance that shows improvement. I want to see more improvement, which is why we will get on with the job at hand and leave Jackson Carlaw and the Tories floundering around making baseless accusations. Jackson Carlaw, so basically the deputy First Minister's position is, I'm just so misunderstood. So misunderstood, in fact, that journalists, students, teachers, parents, all misunderstood what he had to say previously. Presiding Officer, the issue here is really simple. Clearly there is something wrong with our education system. Parents know it, teachers know it, students know it and, in private, this education secretary knows it too. The problem is that when it comes to action we have a First Minister and education secretary more concerned with hiding their record than admitting to it or correcting it. First Minister, 2020 will be the year that this Government's diabolical domestic record and education will come home to roost. A year when we will see an SNP Government that will put its own survival on the light of events before the priorities of the people. Having promised five years ago that education would be her number one priority, is it not time to make it exactly that? The people got the opportunity to cast their verdict on the performance of this Government just a matter of weeks ago and I think that we all know how that ended up. Can I say to Jackson Carlaw that I say this really seriously? I think that the only people who have misunderstood are the Scottish Tories, and I am being charitable there. I think that what the Tories are doing is not misunderstanding but misrepresenting, and I think that that is what they should be apologising for. Jackson Carlaw says that the Deputy First Minister, myself, the Government is seeking to hide our record. Here is what the Deputy First Minister said on the day that the exam results were published. He said, and I am quoting, that there has been a fall in the overall pass rate. That does not strike me as trying to hide the matter. He then said that somehow the Deputy First Minister, having denied that fact, commissioned in secret an analysis of why the pass rate had fallen. What I have told him today, what the Deputy First Minister told Liz Smith earlier this week, is that he informed the Education and Skills Committee of that on 27 November. Perhaps it is the Scottish Conservatives that need to wake up and pay a bit more attention. This Government will get on the job with the job of improving performance in Scottish education, and perhaps Jackson Carlaw needs to think about making a less stuttering start to 2020. On 17 December, the Care Inspectorate served an improvement notice on South Lanarkshire Council's home care service for Hamilton, Larkhall and Blantyre. Inspectors found hardworking staff feeling overwhelmed, stressed and frustrated. Care users, anxious, frightened and stressed, and a service that was chaotic and disorganised. The council must make changes by the end of the month or face the real prospect of the Care Inspectorate cancelling their service registration. Does the First Minister accept that this situation is entirely without precedent in South Lanarkshire? Can she tell us what will happen to those of our most vulnerable people who depend on those vital home care services if the council's registration is cancelled? I expect the council and it is the council's responsibility to take the actions that have been recommended or instructed to it by the Care Inspectorate and to make sure that what Richard Leonard has outlined today does not happen. The reason why we have the Care Inspectorate is to make sure that we have the highest standards of care across the country, and it is important that that system works properly and robustly. The responsibility of the Government is to make sure that we work with councils in the provision of health and social care and that we do that in a much more integrated way than has been the case in the past. As best we can, within the resources that we have at our disposal, we properly fund local government services. That is why, in the budget for this financial year, local government budget saw a real-terms increase. We will continue to work with councils to make sure that they deliver services that elderly people and everybody else across the country have a right to expect. On 20 December, just three days after serving the improvement notice on the Hamilton service, the Care Inspectorate issued another report, this time into South Lanarkshire Council's home care service for Rutherglen and Cambuslang. It was another damning report. Inspectors highlighted practices that they said were unsafe for both service users and care staff. Care users and their families are entitled to hold those responsible for the mismanagement of care services to account. First Minister, it has been almost five years since the integration of health and social care, and still the system is not working. This week, Scotland's councils have warned that the Government's cuts have put their budgets at breaking point and put community services at risk. Will the First Minister accept that responsibility? Of course, it lies with councils such as SNP South Lanarkshire, but it also lies with the SNP Government as well. If Richard Leonard had listened to my previous answer, he would have heard me talk about the responsibility of councils and the responsibility of this Government, and our biggest responsibility is to work effectively in partnership. As I said earlier, the reason why we have a Care Inspectorate is to make sure that we have the highest standards of care across the country. It is right and proper that the Care Inspectorate looks at service provision and where it considers it appropriate and makes recommendations. The clear responsibility of any council is to respond to and address those recommendations. I would expect the SNP to do exactly that. On the responsibility of my Government, integration of health and social care is an important reform. It is helping to deliver improvements in the delivery of social care. We are investing significantly more in the way of resource into social care services, and we will continue to make that a priority. Within the confines of a budget that has been reduced over the past decade by a Conservative Government at Westminster, Richard Leonard and his colleagues appear to be content to allow making the big decisions about budgets in Scotland. We have delivered, in this financial year, a real-terms increase for local government budgets. Of course, local governments work under pressure. This Government financially works under pressure, but we will continue to work with local councils to make sure that delivery of local services is the priority and have the priority that they deserve. Richard Leonard. Let us fix on responsibility. The Government is responsible for quadrupling the cuts to local government over the course of the last 10 years. Cossillers' claims are backed up by Audit Scotland. They reported at the end of last year that 19 integration joint boards across Scotland required a financial bailout. Just over a year ago, we warned that acute pressures on social care services meant that they were reaching breaking point. Now we have care services in the Minister for Older People's constituency served with an improvement notice. First Minister, is not it time that Scotland had a Government that properly valued care services? Is not it time that Scotland had a Scottish care service properly resourced with consistent standards, compassion for staff and care users, one that meets their needs and respects their rights? First Minister. As I said to Jackson Carlaw, the people in Scotland have very recently had an opportunity to cast a verdict on the performance of this Government, and they did that, and we know the outcome of that. However, let us look in detail at local government funding. If we look at the time that this year's budget was set—if we take health out of the equation, because I think that all of us, even the Tories, although their policies do not match their rhetoric, accept that health should be protected—the Scottish Government's resource budget will be 7.8 per cent lower in real terms this year, compared to 2013-14. If we look at our funding to local government, we have managed to keep the pressure on local government beneath that figure, so we have in relative terms protected local government. Local government budgets have increased in recent years, but because of the deep austerity over the past decade, yes, there has been a reduction over that period of time in local government budgets, but it is less in Scotland than it is in Labour-controlled Wales. However, Labour does not like that. 6.2 per cent pressure in Scotland over the same period is 11.5 per cent in Labour-controlled Wales. In a very difficult financial circumstance, the Scottish National Party Government is doing more to protect local government than Labour has managed where it has the responsibility. That might help to explain why the people of Scotland cast the verdict that they did in December in the general election. We have a couple of constituency supplementaries to first from Alex Cole-Hamilton. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Last year, my constituent Malcolm Muirhead died after losing a stone and a half in a month whilst residing at the Drumbray care home run by City of Edinburgh Council. A social work report raised concerns that he was only being washed once a week in a sink. He had bloated, infected feet and overgrown nails. The home was closed to new admissions. This week, an unannounced visit by the care inspectorate found serious concerns about staff competence, about distribution of medication and treatment of residents. It will be deregistered in February if improvements are not made. Does the First Minister agree that this is symptomatic of a crisis in social care in our country and that our constituents have the right to expect a higher standard of care from public sector homes? I certainly agree in part with Alex Cole-Hamilton. I think that what he has described here is completely unacceptable. Yes, I believe that residents of care homes and their families have an absolute right to expect better standards than those that Alex Cole-Hamilton has outlined in the tragic case of Malcolm Muirhead. I do not agree—this is a disagreement that I will express here sincerely—that it is symptomatic to use his words of a wider crisis in social care. Social care is under pressure, as is healthcare, as are public services because of the austerity. Labour is shouting who's fault is that. The architects and the authors of austerity, which are the Tories at Westminster, previously helped by the Liberal Democrats, that's who's fault it is. Actually, it's to escape that, that I take a very different view on the future of this Parliament than other parties in this chamber. We will continue—as I have outlined in detail today, within a very constrained budget, we will continue to take the action that, as best we can, protects health and protects social care. That's what we have done and it is what we will continue to do. In October, I raised with the First Minister the case of my constituent who has been waiting on an operation. She has severe neurological pain, has been off work for a very long time and has to take 48 tablets a day to try to alleviate the agony that shoots through her head and face every few seconds. Falling my question, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport wrote to me saying that there is no suggestion of any kind that the delay to the new department of clinical neurosciences has anything to do with the case of your constituent. My constituent's case would be resolved by NHS Lothian. My constituent's case still has not been resolved by NHS Lothian. She remains in agony, has had her operation cancelled again and has been told by NHS Lothian officials again that this is due to the lack of staff and the lack of theatre space because of the sick kids' neurological centre debacle. Will the First Minister today take this opportunity to speak directly to my constituent who is watching this session and give her some hope that her living hell will end soon? As I always do readily when any individual does not get the standard of care that they have a right to expect on the NHS, I apologise to them and I will do that to your constituent today. As Neil Findlay has said, it was raised before the health secretary wrote to Neil Findlay. Neil Findlay clearly and his constituent clearly and understandably do not consider that the issue has been resolved. I will therefore ask the health secretary today to look again at this issue and to liaise with NHS Lothian and respond as quickly as possible to Neil Findlay once she has had an opportunity to do so. We will have a short suspension if the Parliament is suspended. We will resume First Minister's questions. Question 3, Patrick Harvie. The Government often quotes the work of Professor Philip Alston, the UN rapporteur on poverty and human rights. His report said that transport should be considered an essential service, equivalent to water and electricity, and that the Government should ensure that people living in rural areas are adequately served. We are a long way off that vision at the moment. Since devolution, bus fares have almost doubled, so it is no surprise that passenger numbers are down 15 per cent. Many of Scotland's communities are so poorly served that people feel that they have no choice but to drive, and the situation is getting worse, not better. We can change this. Scottish Green proposals to give councils the power to run local bus services and to improve reliability and fares were included in the recent transport bill. What practical help is the Scottish Government giving to our local councils to help them to use those powers? We have given local government those powers. It is for local government to decide how they want to use those powers, and on any other use of powers we will always be open to and willing to have a discussion with local government about how we can support them to do that. I very much want to see, and the Scottish Government very much wants to see, an increase in people using our bus services, not just in rural parts of the country, although that is particularly important, but across all parts of our country. That is why one of the key commitments in last year's programme for government was the £500 million investment in improving bus infrastructure, because often Patrick Harvie is right that the barrier is cost, but often the barrier is a lack of convenience and flexibility, so we want to improve that, and through the range of policies that we are undertaking, that is what we are determined to do. That £500 million on infrastructure is welcome, but it has spread over a very long period of time, and it is a fraction of what the Government is spending on new road capacity. We all know that transport in Scotland is unfair, unhealthy, costly and pushing carbon emissions up when they should be coming down. We urgently need to ensure that public transport is always the cheapest and most convenient option for people. With First Group moving out of its UK bus operations, there is a clear immediate opportunity across Scotland, including Glasgow and Aberdeen, to bring those services back into public ownership, but it will not happen without clear proactive support from the Scottish Government. It is time to end the power of the private operators who cherry pick the profitable routes and instead build a public transport system that works for the public interest. Will the First Minister be bold and ensure that that happens across Scotland, urban and rural alike, so that all communities can be served by a quality integrated transport network that is fit for the 21st century? Of course, we have already taken important action in that regard. The Transport Scotland Act 2019, which Patrick Harvie referred to, has made important steps in the right direction, giving local government new powers. Alongside that, as I mentioned in my previous answer, we are going to deliver transformational long-term funding for better bus infrastructure. That is an addition, and this is an important point to the £260 million every year that we currently invest in bus services. However, I absolutely agree that we need to have a convenient, flexible, integrated bus service that is much easier and more convenient for people to use. The bus partnership fund will deliver that step change to improve the offer that buses can make to people. Patronage on our buses has been declining for a long, long time—for my entire lifetime and probably before that—from the 1960s. We need to turn that around by making sure that it is affordable, but also making sure that it is convenient and flexible for people to use. That is exactly what, through the legislation and the additional funding, we are determined and very focused on doing. The memorandum of understanding between Heathrow Airport and the Scottish Government supports 40 new long-haul flights, the growth of domestic flights and a £10 discount for every domestic passenger for 20 years. It is a plan for an expansion of the airline industry, and it is fully endorsed by the Scottish Government. Last May, the First Minister promised me that she would review the Scottish Government's support for Heathrow expansion, following the recommendations of the Committee on Climate Change. What was the outcome of that review? We are still reviewing policies right across the Government as part of the process of updating the climate change action plan. In fact, the Cabinet had a discussion on the climate change action plan and the progress that we are making towards that just this week. When we set that out across aviation and a whole range of the Government's responsibilities, we will set out what we need to do differently. On Heathrow, in particular—I should remind Willie Rennie that Heathrow last came to a vote in the House of Commons. SNP MPs did not vote for it, but we took the view as a Scottish Government, because we are not in control of the decision about a third runway at Heathrow. However, if it is going ahead, Scotland should seek to maximise economic impact and benefit from that. However, the climate emergency, the updated advice from the Committee on Climate Change, our responsibilities not just to meet but to exceed the obligations in the Paris agreement mean that we need to review all that. That is exactly what the Government is doing. We are doing that with a vigorously and a vigorously open mind. Some of what comes out of that will be challenging. I would bet my life right now that some, hopefully not on the basis of the tenor of his question today, Willie Rennie, but some in this chamber will oppose some of what we have to do to meet our climate change obligations. However, we are absolutely determined that having set those world-leading targets, we have to take the action now to ensure that we can meet them and lead the world by example. Thank you. We have some further supplementaries. The first is from... Oh, sorry, yes. Sorry, Mr Rennie. Willie Rennie. It is my fault, not Mr Rennie's fault, Mr Rennie. I know they do it. I know they do not want to hear it, Presiding Officer. We know why. This is months on, First Minister, and you are still reviewing the case of support for Heathrow expansion. Still reviewing it? This is urgent. This is a crisis right now. If our MPs have not supported it at Westminster, why is she still supporting Heathrow expansion here in Scotland? Climate change has brought Zambia to the brink of famine. Australia has been burning since September. The ice caps continue to melt, yet the First Minister continues to support Heathrow expansion when COP26 delegates come to Glasgow. Will the First Minister be able to look them in the eye and say that she is doing everything that she can on climate change? First Minister? Yes, that is the answer to that, but let me go back to a really important point here, because unless I am remembering this incorrectly, I do not think that I am, the Liberal Democrats voted for the new climate change act just a matter of weeks ago. That climate change act put a responsibility on the Scottish Government to bring forward an updated climate change plan within six months of draft, within six months of royal assent by the end of April. That is the process that we are going through right now, to make sure that we come forward with a comprehensive plan of action to meet the targets in that act. That is the right and responsible way for a Government determined to tackle climate change to behave. When we come forward with that plan, I hope that Willie Rennie will have the courage of his own convictions. His First Minister's questions, before he reminds me of that, rightly pose questions to me today, but I could equally ask Willie Rennie why, in light of the climate change crisis that we face, his party still opposes things like the workplace parking levy to try to get people out of the cars. All of us across this chamber and across society have big questions to ask of ourselves and to answer, and this Government will not be found wanting. I am not sure that the same can be said of the Opposition when it comes to the detail of this debate. Further supplementaries from Kenneth Gibson to be filled by Jackie Baillie. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Does the First Minister share my concern that amendment 9 passed at stage 2 of the non-domestic rates Scotland bill by Green, Tory and Labour MSPs, which abolishes uniformed non-domestic rates, will lead to the loss of over £300 million of rates relief to businesses across Scotland each and every year? Does she agree that Parliament should seek to reverse amendment 9 when we get to stage 3 of the bill, as advocated by the Scottish Retail Consortium, Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers, Federation of Small Businesses and many others? Yes, I strongly agree with that. I think that the amendment, which would, of course, remove uniform business rates, would make it virtually impossible for this Government to continue to provide the support that we currently provide to small businesses. Kenny Gibson has just outlined the breadth and depth of opposition to that amendment. I do not think that anybody in any party in this chamber can claim to be on the side of small businesses the length and breadth of our country if they do not vote to reverse this amendment at the next opportunity, and I hope that members across Parliament will reflect very seriously on that. Jackie Baillie to be filled by Ross Greer. The First Minister may be aware that Ulster, the retail workers union, was campaigning outside the Parliament today to end New Year's Day trading for large stores. Many retail workers in Scotland had to work on 1 January instead of spending time with their families. The Parliament already has legislation in place covering Christmas and New Year's Day trading, which would stop large stores from opening, but the New Year's Day provisions have not been implemented. Will the First Minister commit today to backing Ulster's calls, consult on New Year's Day trading and give shop workers the festive break that they deserve? I think that shop workers deserve a festive break, like the rest of us get the benefit of. I will commit today to looking very carefully at the Ulster campaign. I absolutely understand the motivations that are driving that campaign and to consider what further steps this Government can take to address some of those concerns. When I have had the opportunity to do so, I will be happy to ask the relevant minister to reply in detail to Jackie Baillie. Ross Greer to be filled by Gillian Martin. The First Minister has been critical of the American Government's escalation of military conflict with Iran, so I would like to ask if she has taken the one measure available to the Scottish Government to restrict that escalation. Has the Scottish Government taken any steps to restrict US military use of Presswick airport, which this Government owns on behalf of the Scottish public? Presswick airport, of course, operates commercially and at arms length from the Scottish Government. If it did not do so, we would not be able to keep it open in the way that we have. Of course, we expect Presswick airport to operate ethically as we do any company, and we will continue as a Government to speak up for international law, for human rights, whether in the context of Iran and the recent very worrying developments in Iran, or indeed, for that matter, in a wider context. Gillian Martin. Yesterday, the Parliament voted overwhelmingly to refuse consent to the UK Government's UK withdrawal bill in the EU. If Westminster now, as we expect, will press ahead and legislate in devolved areas without the consent of the Scottish Parliament, I would like to ask the First Minister what the implications for devolution settlement and our democracy are. The refusal of Parliament yesterday to the Westminster withdrawal agreement reflects the opposition—the strong opposition, of course, reaffirmed as recently as the general election in December—of the people of Scotland to Brexit. We have a situation now where the vast majority of people in Scotland do not want Brexit. The Parliament has refused to give its consent to the legislation facilitating Brexit. If we are in a situation in which Gillian Martin is right, sadly, to anticipate that the Westminster Government continues to ride roughshod over the views of this Parliament and the wider Scottish public, what it will be demonstrating is that the UK, as it is currently constituting, cannot accommodate the differing views of people in Scotland. The lesson that I take from that is that people in Scotland deserve the opportunity to choose a different future and to choose to become an independent country and protect our place within the European Union. 5. George Adam Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the First Minister whether she will provide an update on the proposed Glasgow metro rail system that will connect Glasgow Airport to the rail network. Improving connectivity for the region is a priority of the Glasgow City region deal to which the Scottish Government has committed £500 million to the total £1.13 billion. We are committed to improving connectivity to Glasgow Airport in the 2019 programme for Government. We welcomed the Glasgow Connectivity Commission report and committee to consideration of a Glasgow metro as part of the second strategic transport project review. That review is the largest strategy in transport appraisal for a decade. Work on it is under way and it will make recommendations in early 2021 on transport interventions that are required to deliver the priorities and outcomes of the new national transport strategy. In addition to that, transport Scotland officials have already committed to working with the relevant local authorities to inform the on-going appraisal of the metro proposal. I thank the First Minister for an answer. The connectivity to Glasgow Airport has been debated for many years. The current proposal is the most ambitious yet and the best option to provide opportunities for the airport and Paisley. Does the First Minister support the case for a Glasgow metro stopping at the airport and Paisley Gilmour Street and agree that it will have significant benefits not only for the airport but for Paisley, Renfrewshire and the south-side of Glasgow? Yes, I have enormous sympathy with the case that the council is putting forward as the MSP for the south-side of Glasgow. That is one of the reasons why we have committed to working constructively with partners to consider those proposals and to consider them carefully and seriously. I absolutely recognise the potential that it has to enhance connectivity, including to the airport and to Paisley. That is why the programme for government committed to appraising the scheme in the strategic transport review. That is the right way to proceed. There will undoubtedly also be challenges, which is why it is important that we work closely with local authorities, which is what transport Scotland has committed to doing. Jamie Greene will be followed by Neil Bibby. I add my welcome to the fact that progress has been made on the issue, but can the First Minister provide one simple reassurance that her Government is entirely committed that, no matter what the end solution looks like, Glasgow airport will be connected to the city of Glasgow itself? I have already made my views pretty clear on the importance of good and better connectivity to Glasgow airport. I do not think that any responsible Government can stand here and say regardless of what the end solution looks like. We will go ahead and do something. It is absolutely vital that we go through proper processes. There has not yet been a full business appraisal of the business case that was made for the metro system. That is part of the work that still requires to be done. The Government's position in committing to appraising the scheme as part of the strategic transport review of Transport Scotland agreeing to work with the councils is the best way to take forward the case for this and collectively to consider how that can be delivered. It is important to say that, while we all and I certainly understand the merits of a proposal such as this, a potential investment of this scale must be subject to normal processes and, in particular, to normal statutory processes as well. Neil Bibby. First Minister, we have been here before, promises made and people let down. In 2009, the SNP Government cancelled the Glasgow airport rail link. In 2019, the SNP cancelled another Glasgow airport rail link. It now appears to have cancelled the personal rapid transit to Glasgow airport. When does the First Minister think that she will cancel this latest project? Again, I would say to Neil Bibby that throughout that period there have been many opportunities for the people of Glasgow to make their views known on the actions and performance of this Government. The outcome of that has not been particularly pleasant for the Scottish or the Glasgow Labour Party. This is a proposal that has been taken forward by councils in the region. That is the old purpose of the Glasgow city region deal, to ensure that those councils can decide on their priorities and to take them forward. This Government will support them as they do that. I have set out the ways in which we will support them. As we do so, we will continue to work hard to ensure that this Government and this party retain the confidence of the people of Glasgow that was demonstrated again just a few weeks ago. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's responses to reports that local authorities are having to spend millions of pounds from cash reserves in order to balance their budgets. My first response, of course, is to sympathise with local councils who, like this Government, are bearing the brunt of conservative austerity. Local authorities, of course, have a duty to set a balanced budget, and they have to decide how they do that. In 2019-20, the Scottish Government, for its part, provided local government with a settlement of £11.2 billion. Taking to get that in itself was a real-terms increase, but taking together with the flexibility around council tax, local authorities have had access to an additional £602 million, a real-terms funding increase of 3.8 per cent. It is up to individual local authorities to take their own final budgetary decisions on how to utilise this package of funding to deliver the positive outcomes that people across Scotland expect and deserve. All councils will consider properly the use of any cash reserves where they consider that it is prudent to do so. Alexander Stewart. I thank the First Minister for that response. The recent report from the Accounts Commission states that councils face increasing challenges in meeting changing and growing demands for services. Council income is straining to keep pace at a 7.6 per cent decline in real terms since 2013-14. The Scottish Government is piling on additional pressure to councils through priorities in education and home care, which is having a detrimental effect on their finances. First Minister, your Government has been in charge for 12 years, and during that time you have systematically eroded resources that are lifelined to local authorities. So when will you take responsibility to provide councils with the necessary funds that they deserve to support the communities that they represent? First Minister. Alexander Stewart. My apology, Stewart, is nothing if not brave. Local authorities are working under real pressure. That is because of the austerity that has been posed on this Government by Alexander Stewart's party. The Accounts Commission found that local government resource budgets had gone down by around 6 per cent in real terms since 2013. I think that that was the period that they were talking about. However, over that same period, the Scottish Government's budget was 7.8 per cent lower in real terms than it had been in 2013 as a direct result of Tory austerity. However, take that 6 per cent figure for local government in Scotland, which shows that in relative terms the Scottish Government has acted to protect local government. But what is the equivalent of that 6 per cent figure when we look at Tory-run England? I do not know whether Alexander Stewart wants to get up again and tell me on the assumption that he does not. The equivalent figure is 22.8 per cent. Real terms reduction in local government funding imposed on English local authorities by a Conservative Government. So I will take no lectures from the Tories when it comes to local government funding. Of course, my last point, if we followed the advice of the Scottish Conservatives and given tax cuts to the riches in our society, local government services would be struggling even more. I think that this is one of the many reasons that the Tories lost more than half their seats at the general election. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that 14,000 applicants missed out on a place at university last year. First Minister. UKAS data covering 2019 show that over 35,700 Scottish students were accepted to a UK university and 94 per cent of Scottish 18-year-olds who applied through UKAS received at least one offer of a place. That is actually the highest level since 2009. In 2017-18, there was a record high number of Scottish domiciled full-time first degree entrance to Scottish higher education institutions, which is an increase of nearly 16 per cent since 2006-07. Angry. It is the case that it has been three years since Audit Scotland told the Government that it has failed to raise the cap on numbers for Scottish domiciled students studying at Scottish universities in order to meet increased demand. Indeed, the number of would-be students missing out on university has almost doubled under the SNP. For those who get into university, funding has been cut by £700 per student. Will the First Minister commit to restore university funding and review the cap on university places to increase and widen access for students from all backgrounds? Perhaps I will repeat for In Gray's benefit the information that I gave him in my first answer. We have seen since 2006-07 a 16 per cent increase in Scottish domiciled full-time first degree entrance to Scottish higher education institutions. The 2019 figures that he has referred to today in terms of the third highest number of acceptances on record and the numbers not getting a place at university are at the lowest level since 2009. That is the record of this Government, because we are continuing to invest strongly in higher education and support to young people to go to university. In terms of student support, we have also raised the HE bursary income threshold from £19,000 to £21,000. We have increased bursary support for the poorest young students from £1,875 a year to £2,000 a year. We have increased bursary support for the poorest independent students in higher education. We have introduced the care-experienced bursary and removed the age cap on that. All within a budget that the Labour Party has sat by and watched, the Tories have the right to reduce over the past decade. Whether it is on health or education, within a constrained budget, the Government is doing the job of delivering the best we can for people across Scotland, which, again, is probably why people in Scotland express confidence in the Government when they will have the chance to do so. We will move on shortly to members' business in the name of Maurice Corry on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, but we will have a short suspension to allow the gallery to clear and members and ministers to change seats.