 1. Ruth Davidson Does the First Minister accept that what she describes as a positive destination for young people when they leave school may in fact be no such thing? No, we want to see all of our young people going to not just positive destinations but meaningful destinations. That means further education, further training or a good and meaningful job. I heard Ruth Davidson talk at the weekend about the concept of lifelong apprenticeships. I'm not sure if she's aware that we already have lifelong apprenticeships in Scotland. There's no age limit on our modern apprenticeships. Of course, we are increasing the number just as we are increasing the reach of vocational education in our classrooms. We'll get on with doing the job of improving education early years, school education, further and higher education and the routes into work for all of our young people. Ruth Davidson I thank the First Minister for that answer, but my question quoted directly from IPPR Scotland, a well-respected think tank, which this week welcomes Scottish Conservative proposals to introduce a new skills participation age of 18. It warned that what the SNP Government calls positive destinations for young people are often no such thing and that in reality we're letting young people down right across Scotland, whereas Keir Bloomer, the architect of curriculum for excellence, said that the lever destination statistics are a fraud. Under the SNP Government, the proportion of pupils leaving school with no qualifications whatsoever is at the highest level since 2011, and many others are leaving school at 16 without going on to get the skills and education that they need to thrive in the modern world. I know that this is the First Minister's stated priority, so can she tell me what percentage of 16 to 19-year-olds are currently not in education or in any formal training? The First Minister There are 95 per cent of those who leave school after three months from leaving school are in work, training or study. I'm sorry to disagree with Ruth Davidson, but I don't consider a young person in further education or in higher education or doing a modern apprenticeship is not being doing something positive and meaningful. It's also the case that since 2014 we've reduced youth unemployment in this country by 40 per cent. We're seeing rising numbers staying on in school. There are more people staying on beyond 16 in school now than has ever been the case before. Of course, we're seeing record numbers going into positive destinations. In terms of school qualifications, I had this exchange a couple of weeks ago with Jackson Carlaw. We see a higher proportion of young people getting qualifications at level 5, 71 per cent in 2007, 86 per cent now, a higher percentage getting qualifications at level 6, 41 per cent in 2007, 62 per cent now and more young people leaving school with five or more hires. The problem with the analysis that Ruth Davidson brings to the chamber is that it's not borne out by the excellent results being achieved by young people the length and breadth of our country. I might have been away for six months but the format hasn't changed because the First Minister is once again answering a different question to the question that she was asked. The figure is one in five. Fully 20 per cent of our 16 to 19-year-olds are without any form of education or formal training, a figure that has been flatlining for years. I say that is simply wrong. We are not the only people who are talking about a skills participation age of 18. Indeed, it already works well in Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands. It had previously been proposed here in Scotland too, but when the SNP Government came to power, the idea was quietly dropped with no explanation ever given as to why. Does the First Minister believe that that was a mistake? I think that the policies that we are pursuing to make sure that more of our young people leave school with qualifications, more of our young people go into work, training or further study are the right policies to pursue and we will continue to do so. Just as an aside, I suspect that a lot of the people that Ruth Davidson, young people that Ruth Davidson has just cited there, have not been in study or training. They are young people who are in work. I go back to the statistics that I quoted earlier on. We have reduced youth unemployment in this country by 40 per cent in the last five years. We also see modern apprenticeships increasing. There are now foundation apprenticeships available at the vast majority of secondary schools across our country. That is also increasing. More of our young people are leaving school with qualifications, more of our young people are leaving school with vocational qualifications and more of our young people than ever before are going into good, positive and meaningful destinations. The attainment gap is also narrowing as well. We will continue to pursue and implement the policies that are delivering those results for young people all over our country. Ruth Davidson. Half the time that she complains, folk do not bring ideas to the chamber. Today, she is complaining that we do. That is a pretty serious proposal and there is no reason why it cannot command cross-party support. I believe that we could all agree that we are not doing nearly enough for young people who do not go to university and that politicians of all stripes need to up our game in our delivery for them. For all the time debating the powers of this place—we have seen the Government put another one on hold this week—education and training is an area where the chamber is able to act. It is able to act immediately. It is able to act without question. I ask the First Minister, does she accept the need for change now? When it comes to a skills participation age of 18, will she today give a commitment to act now? First Minister. A commitment that we will continue to act as we are doing. We will continue to take forward the policies in our schools, the policies on modern apprenticeships, the policies on foundation apprenticeships, the places at further education, the investments in free higher education, which will always remain with the SNP. As I said earlier to Ruth Davidson and said to her deputy a couple of weeks ago, the problem with her analysis is that it is not borne out by the results that our young people are getting in our education system and as they go on into work. We will consider ideas from wherever they come. To Ruth Davidson, if this idea is such a great one, why did she not bother mentioning it in this leaflet that she sent out to every voter across the country? Where she manages to mention independence 15 times, she manages to mention me 12 times. Thank you very much for the free publicity, but not a single idea, not a single policy, because the Tories do not have any. Presiding Officer, this week marks 20 years of the Scottish Parliament, 20 years when this Parliament has had full control over housing policy, and during that time the private rented sector in Scotland has trebled in size. We have seen the return of private landlordism and rents of sword whilst wages have stagnated. The Government's response is rent pressure zones, but Edinburgh City Council concluded that rent pressure zones are not fit for purpose. Does the First Minister agree? The private rented sector has increased. I know that from the experience of my own constituency, many members will know the same, but that is why we have introduced legislation to reform the private rented sector. For example, the policy that has just been announced for consultation south of the border, getting rid of no-fault evictions, is something that the Government has already done and implemented. Rent pressure zones were the way for them. We will continue to look at whether that is appropriate and satisfactory and where further action is required. We will consider taking that further action, but what we are also doing, which I have to point out, the last Labour Administration in the early days of the Scottish Parliament didn't do, is to invest in affordable social housing for rent as well. We are putting record sums into that and we are delivering record numbers of affordable and social housing. We have also made reforms that are getting rid of the right to buy as well. The Government's record on housing is a good one, and we will continue to make sure that we deliver the policies that people across the country need. Richard Leonard I think that the First Minister's calculator needs adjusting because Labour built 35,000 social houses when we were in power. Over the past 15 years, a private rented home has become the only housing option for an increasing number of families right across Scotland. Housing costs are eating into people's incomes and, year on year, rents are going up. The average rent for a two-bedroom home in Greater Glasgow has increased by over 30 per cent in the last decade. In Lothian, the increase is by over 40 per cent, and those increases are driving more and more families into poverty. Can the First Minister tell us how many children in Scotland in the private rented sector are now living in poverty? Children in Scotland, whether they are in the private rented sector or the social rented sector or in any sector are living in poverty, and largely the increases in poverty are down to the welfare cuts being imposed by a Tory Government that Richard Leonard still wants them to have the ability to do. In terms of the private rented sector, we have taken action already. The Private Housing Tenancy Scotland Act 2016, which was the most significant change in private renting in Scotland for 30 years, gives tenants greater security, greater stability and greater predictability. The new private residential tenancy landlords cannot evict a tenant simply because the tenancy reaches an end. That act provides a range of measures to help to tackle high rents, limiting rent increases to once in 12 months, enabling tenants to challenge unfair rent increases and providing local authorities with the power to designate an area as a rent pressure zone. Perhaps it is because of all that that the latest data from the Office of National Statistics shows that the increases in rent in Scotland across all private tenancies are lower than in England or in Labour-run Wales. We are taking the action that needs to be taken and we will continue to do so. Unlike Richard Leonard, we will also continue to oppose not just the Tory welfare policies that are driving people into poverty, but we will continue to oppose having those powers in the hands of the Tories in the first place. Richard Leonard will use the powers that he has. He might have a better case to make for having more of them. The First Minister talks about the latest data. According to the Scottish Government's own figures, the latest data is that more than 40 per cent of all children living in the private rented sector in Scotland are now living in poverty. That is 60,000 children. In Edinburgh, there is a particularly acute problem, which is why Dr Jim McCormack of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation recently concluded that, here and now, the single biggest challenge for Edinburgh is housing costs. The pathway to poverty reduction in Edinburgh has a lot to do with getting control of rents in the private rented sector. Next week, Labour will take the next step in the parliamentary process with our Mary Barber law. We think that private sector rent rises should be kept and controlled, so the First Minister has a choice. Will she take the side of rogue landlords and a broken housing market, or will she join with us, side with tenants, tackle poverty and back our Mary Barber bill? The First Minister will continue to do what we have done over the past few years, and that is to lead from the front in the changes that people in the private rented sector need. We will continue to do that. Child poverty rates are too high in Scotland, not just in the private rented sector but across our society. In Scotland, the child poverty rate is 22 per cent. That is far too high, but I should say that it is lower than the 26 per cent in Wales, where Labour right now is in government. It shows that Labour talks about all the things that they would do in government, but when they are in government, they somehow forget to do any of them. We will continue to take the action that keeps rent increases lower than in other parts of the UK that gets child poverty down. We will consider all proposals that come forward on their merit, but we will not wait for Labour, because if we waited for Labour over the past number of years, we would not have the changes that we already have and we would not have the record numbers of affordable and social housing that are now being delivered across Scotland, which stands in sharp contrast to the six council houses that were built under the last Labour government. There is a number of constituency supplementaries. The first is from John Scott, to be followed by Christine Grahame. John Scott. The First Minister will be aware of allegations of staff bullying at NHS Ayrshire and Arran hospitals, and I share those concerns raised by staff in the press. My concern is for patient safety and the safety of staff in a mental health context, not just in the radiology department, but across all staff in the hospitals, where regrettably my constituents have in the past made similar allegations of bullying as well. Today, the study report will be published into allegations of bullying in NHS Highland. Will the First Minister now consider a similar investigation into those concerns raised by staff in Ayrshire? First Minister, can I say that we take all allegations of bullying in the NHS extremely seriously, as you would expect us to do? Indeed, the health secretary will this afternoon make a statement to Parliament on the Sturrock review, which is a sign of how seriously we take those issues when they are raised with us. In terms of the NHS Ayrshire and Arran situation, the health board has advised that they are in contact with the society of radiographers and the chief executive offered to meet with the staff concerned. I understand that offer was declined, so arrangements are now in place to hear the grievance in accordance with the board policy. I think that it is important now that that internal grievance process is given the chance to conclude in line with employment law before there is any consideration of further action, but I will give an assurance that those issues are always taken extremely seriously by the Government. Christine Grahame, to be followed by Tavish Scott. First Minister, changes to parking policy at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh has meant that several of my constituents working there now have their staff parking permits under review, and if they are revoked because of shift work and travelling from rural areas, the option of public transport simply does not exist. Some may even have to give up their jobs there, apart from the current stress that they are undergoing. Notwithstanding, this is a private finance hospital, and the contract for parking is private. Is there a role for the Scottish Government, as those changes must surely affect the delivery of healthcare in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh? In terms of the change to policy that Christine Grahame raises, I thank her for raising this. I'll ask the health secretary to look into that and see whether there is any action that requires to be taken. We want staff working in our NHS to be able to park if they are required to do so at our hospitals in terms of the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. Of course, if that wasn't a PFI contract entered into under a previous administration, we'd be able to abolish car parking charges there, as we've done so already at NHS car parks across the country. However, I will undertake to ask Jeane Freeman to look into the specific issue that Christine Grahame raises and get back to her as soon as possible. Tavish Scott, to be followed by Jenny Marra. Thank you, Presiding Officer. The central nursery in Shetland will close in a month's time. The nursery has failed to recruit staff because the public sector is paying more and recruiting to fulfil the expansion of childcare. 20 families will be directly affected by the loss of the nursery run by Mary Jimison and her team. What can the First Minister do to ensure that wraparound care is provided, particularly for mums who want to stay in work at a time when this expansion is happening, so that private sector nurseries can stay open rather than forced to close? I am happy to ask Mary Todd, the childcare minister, to liaise with the member and, indeed, with Shetland Council about the particular issue that was raised about the nursery. Generally speaking, the expansion of early years and childcare is extremely important in the recruitment and funding part of the funding deal that we have reached with local authorities includes money to allow fair funding rates for private sector local authorities, so that fair wages can be paid there as well. Of course, we insist on the living wage being paid. It is important that, as well as the expansion, we do work with local authorities and local authorities to work with private and third sector providers to ensure that wraparound care that is important for parents. However, I will ask Mary Todd to look into the specific issues and then, after that, to come back to Tavish Scott in more detail. Presiding Officer, on Monday night next week, Dundee City Council will consider a very worrying report on attainment in our schools. At S3, Dundee's results are down across every literacy and numeracy indicator and the attainment gap is closing, not because results are markedly better in our poorest communities but because attainment has declined rapidly among our most affluent pupils. Does the First Minister think that the problem could be the £3 million that SNP has taken out of Dundee education budget this year alone? The 160 teachers have taken out of our secondary schools since they came to power in the city. Their blanket policy across the city of limiting Dundee pupils to six qualifications in S4, teaching S4, S5 and S6 in the same classroom in some schools and the disappearance of some core subjects in some schools. Or what does the First Minister think the problem is, or the reasons are, and what is she going to do about it? The First Minister is right that Dundee City Council looks closely at its attainment figures and if there is action that it requires to take, it takes that action. In terms of the Scottish Government, we are providing additional funding to local authorities generally, but also additional funding specifically for attainment through the pupil equity fund, which schools and teachers, the length and breadth of the country, are using to good effect to close the attainment gap. We will continue to work with and support councils to make sure that the right action is taken, not just to raise attainment but to close the attainment gap as well. That applies to Dundee City Council, as it does to every council across the country. 3. Willie Rennie This week, the Scottish Government abandoned its plan to abolish air passenger duty. It said that it was not consistent with its climate change ambitions. Is the First Minister seriously telling us that she has only recently discovered that hundreds of extra flights are bad for climate change? Will the Government now ditch its support for the third runway at Heathrow? The First Minister I am sure that Willie Rennie did not forget to notice last week that we had a new report from the Committee on Climate Change that recommended increased targets on tackling emissions and reducing emissions. We, unlike any other Government so far in the UK, have accepted those recommendations, so that means that we have to look across the range of our policies to make sure that they align with that increased scale of ambition. The air departure tax is one of those policies. There is a case that can be made for that. I have made that case often in the past, but it does not any longer align with the ambition that we have to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. As I said in this chamber last week and as I said very openly, we will require to look at all of our policies across all areas of Scottish Government responsibility through that new lens of climate change. Whether it is the policy that Willie Rennie cites today or any other policy, that is the commitment that we are making. However, I put back the same challenge that I did last week to all the Opposition parties with the exception of the Greens in this chamber. When we come to discuss workplace parking over the next few weeks, are the Opposition parties going to look at that through the lens of climate change? Are they going to stick to their knee-jerk anti-climate opposition? Willie Rennie I think everyone will have noticed that the First Minister deliberately dodged my question. The question was about Heathrow and the third runway. The time for dithering, First Minister, is over. A third runway with hundreds of extra flights will not help climate change. I cannot understand why the Scottish Government chose the 20th anniversary of the Scottish Parliament to hand a raft of powers back to Westminster. When John Swinney handed back income tax powers, we thought that it was a one-off, but this week it was powers away on value-added tax. Of course, social security powers have been sent back for five years. We have had the shambles of the police merger, the law on waiting times broken, schools slipping down the international rankings and the failing railways. After 12 years in power, is it not true that she is handing back powers to Westminster because her Government is so incompetent that it just cannot cope? The First Minister If all that is true, imagine how frustrating it must be for Willie Rennie to know that we are still hot around 30 points ahead of his party in the opinion poll. For goodness sake, the fact of the matter is whether it is polls or whether it is real elections. People in Scotland know the achievements of this SNP Scottish Government, which is why they want us to continue in office. On powers for this Parliament, take welfare. It is because of our use of new powers that every carer across Scotland right now is getting an extra £450 a year. It is because of our use of new powers that low-income families are getting more help when they have a child or when that child goes to nursery or again when that child starts school. On the issue of VAT, what power exactly is being devolved to this Parliament over VAT? No power to set the rates or levels of VAT, just an assignment of revenues based on dodgy estimates. I have to ask Willie Rennie when you've got the Fraser of Allander Institute saying that this exposes the Scottish budget to unnecessary and unreasonable risk and is not a good way forward. Why on earth does the Scottish Liberal Democrats want to do that to the Scottish budget? If they keep taking positions like that, they'll keep languishing in the opinion polls. We're going to take a few supplementaries, the first from Neil Findlay to be followed by Jamie Greene. Neil Findlay. This week, I have been contacted by constituents who are victims of mesh but do not want to be named. They have raised with me the issue of women being directed to so-called centres of excellence in Edinburgh and Glasgow for treatment, where many have received partial mesh removal, producing very poor and debilitating results. The belief is that clinicians at these centres do not have the required skillset to carry out full mesh removal using the latest techniques. One woman who is not my constituent, who has broken her anonymity, is Claire Desley, who will lose her bill and bladder if she doesn't get a full mesh removal within the next two months. Will the First Minister personally intervene in Claire's case to ensure that she gets the treatment that she deserves? Will she halt partial mesh removal at these centres until a full appraisal is carried out? I thank Neil Findlay for raising what we all agree is an important issue. I will obviously not clinically intervene in any individual's case, but I will undertake to have the health secretary look into the case that has been brought to Parliament today and to make sure that all possible is being done for that individual concerned. More generally, as Neil Findlay knows, the health secretary met a group of women. I think that that was facilitated or certainly attended by Neil Findlay. As a result of that, a group of medical directors and senior clinical managers are looking at a range of options to improve care and support. The group is considering the course of care for women who suffer complications and examining a whole range of issues that it met for the first time in early April. I can tell the chamber today that it will meet for a second time tomorrow, and that group will make recommendations to health board chief executives and aims to do so by the autumn of this year. That group will fully take into account the views that patients are expressing. The last thing that I would say to Neil Findlay is that I absolutely understand why some women will want to retain anonymity and privacy, but if there are any individual women that Neil Findlay is aware of who want to speak confidentially to the health secretary or to health officials, we will be very happy and keen to facilitate that on the assurance of protecting the privacy and anonymity of them. Visitors from China spend £36 million per year in Scotland. Last year, First Minister, you said that tourism is a vital part of Scotland's economy. Those figures demonstrate the growing significance of Chinese visitors. However, yesterday, we learned that Scotland's only direct route to the country has stopped taking bookings from this September, and the future of the route is now in doubt. Does the First Minister share my concern that the potential loss of this route will be a huge loss to the Scottish economy, to Scottish tourism and that the Government should do everything in its power to retain such routes? The Scottish Government works very hard with our airports to protect air routes. In terms of the Hainan service, we are disappointed that it has suspended its winter schedule. We hope that the service will return for the summer season when passenger numbers are likely to be higher, and we will work with the airport and the airline to secure that. Hainan obviously operates other services, and we hope that they will continue to do the Dublin and Edinburgh services. In terms of tourism, our tourism sector has been a real area of success in recent years. We know that it faces a number of challenges, and we will continue to work very closely with our tourism sector to support the continued sustainable growth of what is a Scottish economic success story. Bruce Crawford, to be filled by Maurice Corry. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Last week, Michael Gove told the Tory conference that he wanted the UK Government to get involved in devolved areas such as health and education in Scotland. He said that he wanted to change the rules to do that. Does the First Minister agree with me that, after 20 years of devolution, the Tory Government at Westminster should keep their grubby hands of the people of Scotland's Parliament? Yes, I do. When they do devolve powers, they should not send us faulty goods, as they have tried to do on VAT and ADT, and they should stop the creeping centralisation that we are seeing as a result of their Brexit chaos. This Parliament is better placed than a Tory Government or any UK Government to decide what is right for the people of Scotland. The sooner we see more powers in this Parliament, the sooner we see this Parliament as an independent Parliament, the better for everyone. Maurice Corry. Presiding Officer, for 50 years, generations of submariners, Majesty's Naval Base, Clyde and Feslain and my region, supported by their families, have borne the huge responsibility of protecting the UK. They have accepted the sacrifice and commitment inherent in this duty. Their professionalism has never wavered and they have delivered on their key tasks, often for many months at a time. Would the First Minister join me in recognising the professionalism, innovation, dedication and skills of thousands of people at Feslain and Coolport, who have supported and crewed our submarines for more than 350 patrols without a one-minute break for 50 years, and thank them, their families and veterans most sincerely for their dedication and support to the Royal Navy's submarine service and to our country's security? First Minister? Yes, I would. I take a very different view to the member on the future of nuclear weapons and the nuclear deterrent. I want to see Scotland and indeed the world be free of nuclear weapons, but that is no reflection whatsoever on the professionalism and the dedication of our service personnel. I would want to see Feslain in a nuclear-free Scotland continue as a naval base. I take this opportunity today to pay tribute to the dedication, the commitment and the professionalism, not just of submariners working in our services, but of all service personnel who work so hard to keep all of us safe. To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government considers that drug policy should be devolved or amended. First Minister? Yes, we believe that there is a compelling case that the misuse of drugs act 1971 needs to be substantially amended so that action can be taken to help halt the emergency of drugs deaths. If the UK Government continues to refuse to allow Scotland to take innovative approaches to tackling drug deaths, such as establishing medically supervised drug consumption facilities, we call on them to devolve the powers to this Parliament so that we can do what is necessary. This week, the Scottish Affairs Committee began their inquiry into problem drug use to examine the issue, and the evidence that was submitted to the committee so far overwhelmingly supports the need for Scotland to be given additional powers in this area. Stuart McMillan Thank you, Presiding Officer, and I would like to thank the First Minister for that reply. I would also like to refer members to my register of interests. Despite the emergence of the UK Government still refuses to act, and in November every party in this Parliament accept the Tories, voted to call on the UK Government to change the law to allow safe consumption facilities or empower the Scottish Parliament to do so. Does the First Minister agree that further UK Government delay means further harm, further deaths for some of the most vulnerable people in Scotland? The First Minister Yes, I do. I think that there is a recognition across this Parliament, and I think that that is without exception that we need to look at different ways of tackling the drugs challenge and, in particular, reducing the number of people who lose their lives to drugs. However, as Jackson Callaw and I spoke about a few weeks ago, that means a willingness to look at different approaches and to be innovative. The Tories have called on the Government to do that, and we are willing to do that. However, I would again call on the Tories to drop the knee-jerk opposition to safe consumption facilities. Dr Andrew McCawley, who is a senior research fellow at Glasgow Caledonian University, has said just recently that Glasgow's case for a drug consumption room is arguably the most compelling Europe has seen. If it is the case that the UK Government will not act to do that, it should devolve the powers to allow this Parliament to do that as part of an overall approach to making sure that we take the innovative action to deal with what is a massive challenge for all of us. Miles Briggs I agree with the First Minister that there is a cross-party consensus that we need to see change on that. There are two things that the First Minister could do. First, an independent review of the methadone programme in Scotland, and secondly, a third sector-led review of recovery services. Will she commit to that today? We are already convening an expert group to examine exactly what changes either in practice or in the law could help to save lives and reduce harm. We are doing the kind of things that Miles Briggs is calling for us to do. Our mind is not closed to any suggestion that comes forward about how we can do that differently. My ask of others is not to close their minds. When we have health professionals and experts in this field saying that this is one of the most important things that we can do in Glasgow right now, it is unconscionable that we have a UK Government, despite admitting that they know the benefits that it might bring standing in the way of that. If we are going to have an open-minded approach to that, which I am certainly signed up to, that has to apply right across the board. Sadly, the Tories so far have been found completely lacking and wanting in this. Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking in light of recent analysis that suggests that a record number of Scottish shops closed in the first three months of the year. We are doing everything within our power to support all sectors of our economy, including retail. We have enhanced measures to support both new development and reuse of vacant property in town centres as part of a total rates-relief package of around £750 million. That includes the small business bonus scheme, which of course lifts over 100,000 properties out of business rates altogether. In addition to that, we have established a £50 million capital town centre fund to enable local authorities to stimulate and support a wide range of investments that encourage town centres to diversify. In 2017-18, there were more than 1,600 new starts in the retail modern apprenticeship framework. I thank the First Minister for that response. Is it not the case that the single most detrimental effect on our high streets are the crippling business rates, and in particular the large business supplement, which the Government is imposing on hardworking retailers? Some business owners in my own region have had to endure eye-watering increases, which are making both the cost and stress of operating premises unsustainable. What further action will the First Minister take to turn this tide? We will continue to support retail and our 10 centres, but that question is absolutely staggering in just how much it ignores about what is being done already. In Scotland, we have the most competitive business rates package anywhere in the UK. That involves the lowest business rates poundage in the UK, which ensures that more than 90 per cent of properties are charged a lower rate than they would be in England. We have the most generous package of reliefs, which, as I said a moment ago, is worth over £750 million. That includes the small business bonus, the unique in the UK business growth accelerator, the UK's first nursery relief and, of course, enhanced relief for broadband. We have also expanded the small business bonus scheme, lifting in total 100,000 premises out of business rates altogether. Following the Community Empowerment Act, councils now have the powers to go even further if they want to reduce rates further than that locally. We are doing more than any other Government anywhere else in the UK, and we will continue to do so. We would not be able to afford to do most of that, if we went along with the Tory suggestions to take more than £0.5 billion out of our budget to give tax cuts to the richest people in our country. Claudia Beamish To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the intergovernmental science policy platform on biodiversity and ecosystem services reports call for a transformative change. The First Minister I welcome this important report and the new evidence that it provides. We are already doing a great deal here in Scotland to address biodiversity loss through our biodiversity strategy. We will consider the report's findings carefully and look to ensure that our actions will produce the transformative change that is needed. The report is a significant step on the way to the 2020 conference of parties to the convention on biological diversity to be held in China, where world governments will agree their response to the new evidence. Scotland is playing an active role in this work, and I can tell the chamber that we have agreed with the convention that a conference that will contribute to developing the response will be held in Scotland early in 2020 in the lead-up to the China conference of the parties. Claudia Beamish I thank the First Minister for this answer, but this report is indeed a stark look at how we are letting down our natural world globally. Scotland faces the same challenges. One in 11 species in Scotland are at risk of extinction, and we need stronger laws and implementation. Biodiversity in our climate and environment emergency deserves the same collective focus and energy as our climate change does. Does the First Minister agree that it now seems extremely unlikely that we will meet our 2020 global biodiversity targets? Will the First Minister commit today to developing a long-term plan for action post 2020? I agree with Claudia Beamish in the general thrust of her question on the biodiversity targets. Scotland has more to do, like all countries have more to do. We are currently on track to achieve 7 out of the 20 targets that were agreed by the international community in 2010. Another 12 are progressing towards the target, but we need to step up our work to meet the deadline now. That is not good enough, but it compares favourably to the global picture where progress has only been made on four of the 20 targets. We recognise the additional work that all countries, including Scotland, have to do. We are committed—if we do this, we will be the first country anywhere to do this—to carry out a thorough analysis of what we are already doing, what more we need to do and what we need to do differently. By the end of this year, ministers will write to the environment committee with our initial assessment of that. I agree about the importance of that. I agree that it is as important as the challenge on climate change. As on climate change, I do not underestimate the difficulties and the complexities and the challenges, but as on climate change, I—and I am sure that all of us—want Scotland to be leading the way. Mark Ruskell The UN report highlights once again that our seas are under attack and beautiful habitats like our flameshell reefs risk extinction. One-fifth of Europe's coastline is in Scotland. Does the First Minister believe that just two fisheries protection vessels are enough to defend our coasts from vested interest intent on illegally plundering our marine protected areas? The First Minister That is something that we, as a Government, require to keep under review. I do believe that the resources that we have in terms of fisheries protection are appropriate, but like all issues like that, the Government has to look at on an on-going basis. The protection of our natural environment is such a priority that, just as on climate change, the obligation on all of us now is to look afresh at everything that we are doing and to make a decision, as we had to do on a difficult decision this week, and to decide whether we are living up to those obligations. As a Government, we are committed to doing that. I hope that we have not just the co-operation, but the whole-hearted support of parties across the chamber as we do so. Maurice Golden On 14 September 2016, I raised the need for a biodiversity baseline with the environment secretary in order to monitor the success of our efforts to protect Scotland's wildlife. Given the First Minister's answers, will she now recognise that a biodiversity baseline should be a priority? The First Minister If I go back one or two answers ago, what I said is that we are carrying out an analysis of what we are doing, where we need to do more and what we need to do differently. That is what we will report to the environment committee by the end of this year, providing the baseline that Maurice Golden is asking for. He is absolutely right that we need to know the baseline so that we can then monitor our performance against that. There are big challenges here for Scotland and for all countries. I think that we can take some pride and some confidence in the fact that we are already leading the way globally, but that is not enough. We need to, as we have done on climate change, raise the bar of global leadership and make sure that we are continuing to get over that much higher than anybody else. We are committed to doing that, and I look forward to having the support of members across the chamber as we do so. Kenneth Gibson Thank you very much, and that concludes First Minister's questions. We are going to move on shortly to members' business in the name of Kenneth Gibson on changes to pension credit that could cost mixed-age couples £7,320 annually. Before we do that, we are going to have a short suspension to allow the gallery, members and the minister to change sheets a short suspension.