 Thank you. That concludes General Questions. We turn now to First Ministers' Questions. Question number one, Jackson Carlaw. Presiding Officer, the First Minister made assurances in the 27th of September in response to questions from Ruth Davidson that everyone in Scotland would get the vaccination they need on time to protect against winter flu. Why are so many people still waiting? First Minister? The vaccination programme is well under way. The vaccination programme is going well. There are adequate supplies of vaccine in Scotland overall. I know from my experience as health secretary that during the vaccination season you will often see localised supply issues, which are very quickly dealt with because of the arrangements that we have in place to ensure that. If there are particular cases or issues that Jackson Carlaw wants to draw to my attention, I and the health secretary will look into them, but this programme is going well. I would also like to take the opportunity yet again to underline how important the flu vaccination programme is. I hope that all of us would take the opportunity to encourage those ineligible groups who are not yet vaccinated to take the opportunity of vaccination. I thank the First Minister for that. That is the underlying thrust of the questions that I am asking. The First Minister will be aware of the issue because we are receiving correspondence from people telling us the problems that they are experiencing. I was contacted by one individual this week who informed me that their elderly mother, aged 85, had still not had her job jab. Indeed, she still has not got a date for it. We are also being informed by GP clinics that many patients are having to wait potentially now until next month when the flu season takes hold. I remind the chamber in Scotland that you actually have to be over 75 to get the new ATIV vaccine this winter, not 65 as elsewhere in the UK. How can it be acceptable that, even under the Scottish Government's regime of restricted access, it is being delayed to elderly patients who need it now? I will come on to the questions directly in a moment about localised supply issues that Jackson Carlaw might be hearing about in Scotland. There is nothing compared to the wide-scale concerns that have been communicated by GPs and others in England. There is not a restricted access to flu vaccine in Scotland. We have followed the recommendations of the JCVI, which is the expert group. There are different forms of the vaccine available in Scotland and they are made available in an appropriate way. On supply, those are important issues, so let me set out quite clearly the situation in Scotland. We ordered more vaccine this flu season than we did last flu season. However, as I said, every single year, without failing, I know that from my experience as health secretary, there will be local mismatches between supply and demand for a variety of different reasons. To address that, Health Protection Scotland co-ordinates a national group. It includes the Scottish Government and NHS procurement, and that helps to smooth any local supply issues for GPs within the overall volume of stock that is held in Scotland. The group, during the season, meets daily to support the NHS boards and GP practices. Yes, it has observed that this year there appears to have been a higher early demand in some GP practices for the vaccine for under 65s, and that is a good thing that we should encourage. However, demand is managed within the overall national supply. That is one of the real benefits of having a national approach to that. GP practices in England are pretty much left to their own devices, and that is when real problems kick in. If Jackson Carlaw is getting any communication from any patient who has a local supply issue, if he draws that to the attention of the cabinet secretary, we can ensure that that is resolved and resolved very quickly. However, as we established when Ruth Davidson last raised this, the manufacturers of ATIV made clear that those parts of the United Kingdom that put in their order early got the full supply. The only reason that we are restricting it to people aged over 75 in Scotland is because NHS Scotland did not. Two months after the First Minister told us the programme that had started, let's see how it's going, the latest figures in vaccine update that was published last week showed that only 39 per cent of people aged over 65 had been vaccinated compared to 45 per cent at this same point last year. If the First Minister wants to compare it with England, the figure of people under the age of 65 who have been vaccinated there is not 39 per cent, it's 51.7 per cent, so drawing comparisons with problems that she identifies there, I don't think, helps. However, patients are waiting and want to know when they will be able to get vaccinated. According to the Government's own advice to register GPs, ATIV vaccinations should be registered by November, so can the First Minister confirm at the very least whether or not all over 75-year-olds will get the vaccine before the end of this month? The First Minister There is sufficient supplies of the ATIV vaccine, which is for the over 75s, that has been procured to vaccinate all over 75s in Scotland, so that assurance, I hope, is one that will be accepted by Jackson Carlaw. The issue in terms of extending that vaccine to under 65s was that we could not get a guarantee from the supplier that we would have sufficient stocks delivered on time for the start of the flu season, so if we had taken a decision to extend that to the under 65s, we would have been leaving them potentially to very late in the flu season and that would not have delivered the protection that we want people to have. That's why we have taken responsible and appropriate decisions. Of course, the vaccine that is available for under 65s is an effective vaccine and any suggestions to the contrary are completely and utterly wrong. In terms of uptake rates, of course, it is the uptake at the end of the flu season that matters, and that is what we should all look at. We all encourage people to go and get vaccinated. It is not the case that there are large numbers of patients waiting for the vaccine. If there are local supply issues, I have set out the arrangements that are in place to resolve those. Anybody, any member of the chamber who knows any constituent or any member of the public who has an issue in their local area, should immediately draw that to the attention of the health secretary so that that can be resolved. That is an effective and robust programme. I appeal to every member of the chamber, including Jackson Carlaw, not to inadvertently undermine public confidence in that programme, because that would be the worst thing any of us could do. Jackson Carlaw? I want everyone who should be getting vaccinated to go and get vaccinated. What I am concerned about is that having said that only 75-year-olds could receive 80 IV, there are people aged 85 and over who are still waiting to receive it, and your advice says that they must have it by the end of the month. I want a more categoric assurance that they will get it, rather than just saying that I think that there are sufficient supplies available for them to do so. This is not the first time that we have raised concerns about this winter's flu vaccination. There are already questions as to why the Scottish Government's procurement of the new vaccine did not happen sooner and why people aged over 65 and 75 in Scotland cannot get it. It was not the advice that they should not, as the First Minister suggests. Now there are these fresh questions about whether all age groups will get it in time. I am raising this matter today because this is now a major concern to constituents of MSPs right across the chamber. We are entering the flu season and I raise it to get the reassurance from the First Minister that NHS Scotland will ensure that everyone who needs it receives the vaccine without further delay. Will the First Minister give that reassurance to everybody who is watching just now? Yes, I will give that reassurance. For Jackson Carlaw's information, the final consignment of the 80 IV vaccine was delivered to GP practices from the week commencing 12 November. That is exactly the same delivery schedule that has happened for that vaccine elsewhere in the UK. If there are any individual issues, if they are brought to our attention, we will ensure that the arrangements that are in place are activated in order to resolve those. I say this gently in all sincerity. His points about the procurement—there is, because this is a serious issue about public confidence in a public health programme. The issues about the procurement process are quite simply wrong. The issues about supply of 80 IV was not to do with the timing of the Scottish Government's procurement programme. It was to do with the fact that the manufacturers could not guarantee enough supply early enough in the flu season to give us confidence that under 65s could all be covered in time with the vaccine. Instead of taking a risk, if we had gone for the vaccine for the under 65s, we would have taken a gamble on whether we could get it to everybody. Instead of that, we decided for this year to use a perfectly effective vaccine for the under 65s to ensure that they could all be vaccinated safely within the appropriate timescale. The programme is robust, effective and appropriate, and it is incumbent on all of us to raise not to undermine public confidence in it. Richard Leonard On Monday of this week, the vice president of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, Graham Houston, warned that some smaller councils are at a cliff edge. Just yesterday, in this Parliament, the education convener of Glasgow City Council admitted that local Government had been hit with a greater level of budgetary cut than many other areas. First Minister, are the senior councillors from your own party wrong? First Minister, I was told that people in the national health service, that people in the education system, of course, are feeling the constraints of the squeeze and spending that this Government and this Parliament has been subject to because of spending decisions taken at UK Government level. We have talked many times over past months and years about the real-term cuts to the Scottish Government budget. Nevertheless, we have taken responsible budgetary decisions to raise income tax in a progressive way to deliver more revenue for public services and, within that, to give a very fair settlement to local government in this financial year. In this financial year, there are real terms increases in the revenue budget of local councils. Does that make it easy for them? Of course it doesn't, but it demonstrates that this Government is taking the appropriate action to protect local services. That stands in stark contrast to elsewhere in the UK, where we have seen swinging cuts to local councils in England and in Wales, where Richard Leonard's party is in power. He does not, like me, say this. The local government budget did not increase in real terms this year, it was simply a 0.2 per cent cash increase. We have taken the right decisions, and yet again from Richard Leonard, it is a case that we should follow what he says, not what his party actually does in power. Richard Leonard. Presiding Officer, this is Scottish First Minister's questions last time I checked. The First Minister can talk about responsible budgets and fair settlements all that she wants. It is SNP councillors who are talking about cuts. The fact is that this Government has not only failed to stop Tory austerity, it has added to it and then imposed it on local councils and schools. Only three years ago, the First Minister claimed that education would be her top priority, but now the First Minister is getting letters from teachers like this one. This teacher's letter sent to the education secretary and the First Minister says that, because of cuts, teachers are forced to buy pens, pencils and books for their own pupils. The teacher poses a simple question, and she writes, that she would not expect a doctor to supply her patients with prescription medicines out of their own finances. What makes teaching different? What is the answer to that question? In spite of the £2 billion real terms cut to the Scottish Government budget, we will continue to take budgetary decisions that give fair settlements to local government, a real terms increase in revenue budgets for local councils this year. We have also taken steps to establish the pupil equity fund, which gets £120 million of resources every year directly into the hands of head teachers so that they can take the actions that they think are necessary to raise standards and close the attainment gap. I know how tough it is for teachers, for nurses, for police officers, for everybody across the public sector, and we will continue to take the appropriate budget decisions to protect local public services as far as we possibly can. When the draft budget for next year is published in this Parliament in just a couple of weeks' time, if Richard Leonard wants different decisions taken, he has to come forward not just to say where he wants more money spent but where he wants that money to be taken from. If he does that, then we can have a constructive discussion. That is another one of Scotland's teachers that the Scottish National Party Government is not listening to. The First Minister talks about attainment money, but that money is papering over the cracks in cuts in core budgets. The First Minister wants to be judged by her record in education, so let's examine that record. It's a record of austerity, which even SNP councillors now admit is going too far. It is a record of our teachers themselves having to buy pens, pencils and books for pupils because Scotland's schools are starved of cash. Little wonder that this week Scotland's teachers emphatically rejected the SNP's pay offer, and teachers, parents and pupils right across Scotland are asking, First Minister, how can education be your top priority with underfunded schools and undervalued teachers? Teachers are not undervalued. We highly value the work that teachers do. Of course, we will continue to negotiate in good faith with teachers for a fair pay increase, just as we successfully did with nurseries and other healthcare workers and, of course, with our police officers. As well as the real-terms increases in local council budgets delivered by the finance secretary in the last budget, we have seen spending on schools by local authorities increase in each of the last three years. That is a fact. We have also seen the pupil equity fund, which is delivering increased resources to schools, so we will continue to take the appropriate steps and make the appropriate decisions to support our teachers on the front line, just as we do our nurseries and other public sector workers. We have got a lot of interest in asking supplementaries today. The first is from Alasdair Allan to be brought by Maurice Golden. Presiding Officer, with the draft political declaration on the future UK-EU relationship now public, it is now becoming clear in constituencies like mine that once more fishing will be a bargaining chip in post-Brexit trade negotiations. Does the First Minister agree with me that, outside the EU, the UK seems determined to turn themselves into a minnow negotiating with a shark when it comes to quota and access? How does the First Minister feel the UK Government's red lines on fishing are working out for them? Does she think that it is time for Mr Mundell to consider his position again? This is a serious matter this morning. The political declaration that has been agreed between the UK Government and the European Commission this morning represents another Tory sell-out of Scottish fishermen. What we see is that the Scottish fishing industry will be used as a bargaining chip in wider trade talks. All I want to do, Presiding Officer, is to read out a couple of documents. Firstly, the letter that Scottish Tory MP sent to the Prime Minister just last week where it said, and I am quoting, we must be able to negotiate access and quota shares on an annual basis without any pre-existing arrangement being enforced. That means that access and quota shares cannot be included in the future economic partnership. That is the agreement that has been signed off this morning, paragraph 75. Within the context of the overall economic partnership, the parties should establish a new fisheries agreement on access to waters and quota shares. There is no mention of annual negotiations, which I happened to know that the UK Government was trying to secure and they failed. In terms of David Mundell's position, Presiding Officer, I would simply say that his position is a matter for him. However, if David Mundell is still in office by the end of today in light of this political declaration, he will have forfeited forever any last remaining scrap of principle or credibility that he had. Maurice Golden, we follow by Ross Greer. Thank you Presiding Officer. Three weeks ago, I raised the case of Cameron Barclay, a Renfrewshire pupil, forced to travel between three different schools in order to study. Due to safety concerns around the 45-minute cycle to Johnson High School, Cameron has been forced to drop advanced higher chemistry. His application to university and his future career plans are now in jeopardy. Does the First Minister believe that the education system has failed, Cameron? The First Minister I gave an undertaking to the member when he last raised it to raise this issue with Renfrewshire Council. That happened. I believe that Renfrewshire Council was going to look into that in light of the information that has been shared with me today. I will have my officials against speak to Renfrewshire Council and revert to the member in writing as soon as possible. Ross Greer, followed by James Kelly. Ross Greer, I thank you Presiding Officer. Hunterston nuclear power station in North Ayrshire has been found to have over 350 cracks in its reactor core. That is not the first time that serious safety concerns with the power station have been raised. It is not the first time that community field their safety concerns are being ignored. Will the Scottish Government support a full environmental impact assessment that is being conducted, which is required under the Espo convention that the UK is a signatory to? Will the Scottish Government commit to a full and substantial transition plan for the local community around Hunterston so that another community is not left behind by the inevitable closure of a power station? The First Minister is a very important issue of safety. It is essential that the strictest environmental safety and security requirements are met at all nuclear installations. We are, of course, aware of the situation at Hunterston B and, indeed, in regular contact with EDF, the Office for Nuclear Regulation and local stakeholders in the neighbouring communities, for whom, of course, this is a matter of concern. The ONR is not directly accountable to the Scottish Government, but we expect it to ensure that the nuclear industry maintains the highest standards. We understand that reactor 3 will remain offline while EDF works with the regulator to ensure that the longer-term safety case reflects the findings of the recent inspections. The ONR is clear that the reactor cannot be restarted until it is satisfied that it is safe to do so. We have also been very clear in our opposition as a Government to the building of new nuclear power plants in Scotland under current technologies. Our energy strategy sets out our priorities for the future energy system in Scotland. In terms of wider economic development, of course, we will continue to discuss with local communities the future economic development plans, particularly in this area, given the issues that have been raised. James Kelly, to be followed by Fulton MacGregor. Presiding Officer, it was revealed earlier this week that the Scottish Enterprise paid a grant of £0.5 million to the two sisters group in Cambus Llang on the guarantee that they kept their plant in Cambus Llang open until 2020. The plant closed earlier this year with a loss of 450 jobs and a devastating effect on the Cambus Llang community. That is totally unacceptable in kicking the teeth to the workers in the Cambus Llang area. Can the First Minister set out the steps that the Scottish Government will take to recover the £0.5 million? Will she commit to investing the £0.5 million in the Cambus Llang community in order to have some offset to the economic vandalism that is wrecked in the Cambus Llang community by the two sisters group? I thank James Kelly for raising the issue. As he and other members will be aware, all Scottish Enterprise grants have conditions attached to them, which are written into legally binding contracts with any company that receives grants. Scottish Enterprise must ensure that it is able to obtain repayment of grants where there has been a fundamental breach of the agreement. It is set out clearly in the offer letter that there are conditions attached to the grants and where those conditions are breached, the grant is repayable. Scottish Enterprise, I can tell the chamber, is actively in discussion with two sisters for the return of the grant for the Cambus Llang site. Of course, in due course, we will have discussions with the local community about future investment there. Fulton MacGregor, to be followed by Lee MacArthur. Thank you, Presiding Officer. The First Minister will be aware of the attack in the Coatbridge centre at the weekend that was vandalised with sectarian graffiti. There were also reports of vandalism on the same day at a nearby church and an Irish heritage centre in the town. Can the First Minister outline what action the Government is taking to combat sectarianism? Will she join me in condemning those incidents, and does she agree that attacking a war memorial, commemorating those from all faiths and none who lost their lives for our future, is totally unacceptable? I agree wholeheartedly with Fulton MacGregor and wholeheartedly condemn those disgraceful and despicable acts. There is no place in our society for any form of sectarianism, anti-Irish prejudice, racism or religious intolerance of any shape or form. We recently launched a consultation on our hate crime legislation, and I urge everyone to participate in it to help us to improve our legislation and to ensure that it is fit for purpose. The legislation alone will not rid any society of prejudice, which is why we have invested record sums since 2012 in work to tackle sectarianism, including funding the first national education resource on tackling sectarianism, which is freely available to all teachers. However, I am sure that the whole chamber will unite to condemn the disgraceful acts that Fulton MacGregor has outlined today. In January, the First Minister told me that it is deeply regrettable that if any person, particularly someone who has a disability, feels that they are not getting the standard of transport system, they have a right to expect the following concerns that are raised by a wheelchair user in my constituency about her inability to access the freight vessel used to replace the MV Hamneville on the Strummus Scramster route during the refit period. Given that the island's minister has confirmed to me this week that, quote, a freight vessel will provide relief cover for freight traffic again next January, does the First Minister believe that the Government is fulfilling its responsibilities to my constituents in the delivery of this lifeline ferry service, or does she still deeply regret the standard of service being provided over the refit period? Well, I absolutely stand by the answer that I gave to Liam McArthur previously in this chamber. Accessibility to public transport and all public services is extremely important. I will undertake to look further into this issue, given the use of a freight vessel, what actions are being taken to ensure appropriate accessibility. I will ask the transport minister to write to Liam McArthur when I have had the opportunity to do so. We have had a great deal of discussion about the need to avoid a no-deal scenario, but it does not only apply to Brexit. It also applies to the Scottish Government's responsibility in the face of the legitimate demands from teachers to restore the lost value of their wages, which has been cut by nearly a quarter over the past decade. Last month, we might have expected a few thousand people to march for a fair pay settlement for teachers. We saw 30,000 people take to the streets in Glasgow. This week, the results of the pay-off are in. Three quarters of those who are eligible took part in the ballot, and the deal was rejected by an astonishing 98 per cent. None of us need a maths teacher to help us to understand those numbers. Can the First Minister recall any more overwhelming democratic mandate from any section of the Scottish workforce? I am grateful to Patrick Harvie for giving me the opportunity to address the issue. First, I will recap on the offer that was made through a combination of a basic pay award and progression. All teachers on the main grade scale were offered at least 5 per cent, with some receiving or offered rather up to 11 per cent, but I recognise that offer has been rejected. I respect that. As I said a moment ago, I recognise the strength of the feeling, so the Scottish Government and COSLA will go back to the table and we will continue to seek a reasonable agreement in good faith. Let me be very clear to teachers, to their families, to the wider Scottish public. I want to give the Deputy First Minister wants to see teachers get a good pay rise, one that recognises the vital and very difficult job that they do, one that recognises not just the current cost of living pressures but, as Patrick Harvie has said, starts also at a process of restoration of the lost ground that all public sector workers have suffered because of the years of pay restraint. This is a statement of simple fact that I hope that all members will recognise that pay awards have to be affordable, because if they are not affordable, they cannot be delivered. I would love to give teachers and all public sector workers a 10 per cent pay rise, but that is simply not affordable in a single year. What we need to do now, and the Scottish Government will play our full part in this, we need to come back to the table to agree a fair and affordable agreement in the same way that the Scottish Government has already done for nurses and other healthcare workers and police officers. The Scottish Government will proceed to do that in good faith, and I hope that we can, before too much longer, reach that fair and reasonable agreement. We all recognise that the Scottish Government does not act unilaterally on this, but it has a central role to play in the process, so it is reasonable that we ask what the Government's position is. I am glad that the First Minister respects the mandate that has been shown by that 98 per cent rejection of the deal. The only conclusion from that is that the deal no longer needs to be defended on its own terms. It is gone. It is not what is going to happen. We also know about the hard work and dedication that teachers up and down the country are putting in, often going way above and beyond a normal working week. We all want teaching to be an attractive rewarding profession where people feel valued for that hard work, but that is not happening now. Huge numbers of teachers feel overworked, underresourced and demeaned as they see the value of their salaries eroded year after year. We all want to avoid the prospect of strike action, and that would be the last resort for the teaching unions. However, if we accept that that offer that was made is dead and gone and rejected, the choice is now simple. Will the Scottish Government force the teaching profession, already angry people into industrial action that we should all be trying to avoid? Or will they work towards a realistic offer and give local councils the resources that they need to meet it? The choice is that simple. What is it going to be? We want to see a realistic offer made and accepted. As I said in my initial answer, I recognise and respect the fact that the offer that was made has been rejected, and it was rejected overwhelmingly. I am not standing here trying to say anything else. That is why we will go back to the table and continue good faith discussions. The Scottish Government does have a big part to play in this. We are part of the tripartite negotiating process that is in place. In fact, the Scottish Government had put additional money on the table to fund the offer that was made previously. We go into that in good faith and with a political will to find an agreement. I would make the comparisons with other groups of public sector workers, because all public sector workers have suffered what Patrick Harvie has outlined in terms of teachers, years of pay restraints leading to an erosion in their wages. We have given a commitment that we want to go in a journey of restoration, but we have to have pay awards that are affordable. I want them to be fair, and I want them to take public sector workers, including teachers, on that journey. I have a responsibility—the finance secretary has a responsibility—to make sure that we can fund the offers that are made. The 10 per cent, which I would love to give to teachers, nurses and everybody in the public sector, is not affordable and realistic within the current funding constraints. We need to get back round the table, which is happening, and come up with a fair offer, but one that is also realistic and affordable. I hope that everybody will support us as we try to do that. We have some further supplementaries. The first is from John Scott. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. The First Minister may be aware of the on-going incident at the Ailsa hospital at Ayr, where I understand that a nurse has been stabbed by a patient when the hospital is in lockdown in Jeane Freeman's constituency. Will the First Minister make certain that after this event is over, a full review is put in place to ensure the safety of staff who are working in NHS Ayrshire and Arran and elsewhere across Scotland? I was receiving reports about the incident just as I came into the chamber, so I do not yet have a full update. The health secretary has been able to advise me that our understanding—let me stress this—the first thing that I do when I leave the chamber will be to get a full update on this. The understanding is that injuries that are sustained by a nurse are not life-threatening injuries and that the police are fully involved in the incident. Obviously, the safety of staff and patients are of the utmost importance and will be driving everything that has been done. Given his constituency interests, I will make sure that the health secretary updates John Scott as soon as we have the information that we are keen to get as soon as we get out of the chamber. Given that the four-year-long Sandwood inquiry has just reported into possible police criminality in connection with the Lockerbie atrocity and concluded that there is no evidence of criminality, with a referral to the Crown Office and the likely conclusion, therefore, that the Crown will not pursue this case, does the First Minister agree with me that, if that is what happens, it is in the interests not only of the impact on the current application to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission by the McGraw family but in the interests of transparency that this report should be made public so that, 30 years on from this dreadful event, we may all move closer to a conclusion. The member will understand that the announcement yesterday by Chief Constable Ian Livingstone relates to an operational matter for Police Scotland. It would not be appropriate for me or the Scottish Government to comment on the outcome of that investigation nor seek to influence what matters may be published arising from the investigation. However, I am sure that Police Scotland will have noted what Christine Grahame has said in the chamber today. It is, of course, also important to remember that the independent Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission has statutory powers to obtain relevant documentation for the purposes of their investigations. Of course, how they seek to use such powers is entirely a matter for them. The last time Scotland's teachers were angry enough to go and strike, Margaret Thatcher was still Prime Minister, I was still a school teacher, the First Minister was a school pupil and some of the 98 per cent of current teachers who have just rejected the pay offer were not even born. That is how badly this Government has handled teachers' pay. The First Minister says that she wants to see this dispute resolved. Will she start by apologising for the misleading letter that was sent out jointly with COSLA, an attempt to undermine the negotiating machinery that infuriated those teachers who rejected the offer on the table? The letter was about providing information to teachers that it was not misleading and it certainly was not an attempt to undermine negotiating machinery. However, I hope that Iain Gray was listening to the answers that I gave to Patrick Harvie. We made an offer to teachers that we thought was a fair offer. It would have delivered a 5 per cent increase this year to all teachers on the main pay scale and up to 11 per cent for some teachers. I recognise and respect that that has been rejected. Our responsibility now is to get back round the table, which is what we are doing. Even Iain Gray has to accept surely, because surely Labour is not completely detached from reality, that we have to have pay awards that are affordable. We will, in good faith, seek to strike an agreement that is fair to teachers and that starts to restore the value of their pay, but one that we can fund from within the budgets that we have at our disposal. Why do I say that we do that in good faith? We have already come to those agreements. Nurses, other health workers and police officers are all in the same position in terms of erosion of pay, and we have come to agreements with each of those groups. I certainly hope that we can do the same with teachers and that we will do everything that we can to get to that fair outcome. I think that that is the reasonable way forward from here. Question 4, Bill Kidd. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that there have been more than 500 nuclear safety events at Faslain since 2006. I am very concerned to hear reports of a significant number of nuclear safety events at Faslain. That is a stark reminder of the potentially disastrous consequences of having weapons of mass destruction stationed in Scotland. Matters regarding the reporting of safety events remain reserved. However, I would fully expect the Ministry of Defence to investigate any such incident, no matter how minor, and to take forward any lessons learned following all of those incidents. The Scottish Government also expects the Ministry of Defence and the regulators to work together to keep safety standards to the highest level possible. Bill Kidd. I thank the First Minister for the response. As more than one of those 500 incidents had, according to the MOD, high potential for radioactive release to the environment, and the number of recorded incidents at Faslain has risen in recent years, it would take just one mistake to cause unthinkable harm to Scotland and her people for generations. In the short term, will the First Minister impress on UK ministers the need for urgent action to get Faslain in order so that they can protect public safety? Does she agree with me that it is high time Scotland becomes a nuclear weapons-free zone? The First Minister. Bill Kidd is right to raise these concerns. Each and every one of those more than 500 safety incidents could have had potentially disastrous consequences for people living in Scotland and further afield as well. We will continue to impress upon the Ministry of Defence and the appropriate regulators to do everything that they possibly can to ensure the highest possible standards of safety. Bill Kidd is absolutely right. We also have to get to the root of this issue. There should not be nuclear weapons on the Clyde, and the sooner Scotland is a nuclear weapons-free country, the better. This party and this Government will continue to argue strongly for exactly that. 5. Annie Wells Thank you. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to report that the number of children being treated for depression in Scotland has doubled in a decade. Everybody is working hard to reduce the stigma faced by those with mental health problems, and we welcome the fact that more people, including children and young people, are coming forward for treatment. Improving mental health services is a priority for the Scottish Government, which is why we have committed £250 million of new funding to mental health services, and that includes £100 million on services for children and young people. We have also established a children and young people's mental health task force, chaired by Dr Dame Denise Coyatt. The task force will develop a blueprint for how services and surrounding support can better meet the needs of children and young people. Annie Wells I thank the First Minister for her answer. Of course, there will always be a place for medication within mental health treatment, including that for children. However, many will be alarmed to see that such a sharp rise, particularly given that children and young people's 10s are being prescribed antidepressants. Will the First Minister outline what action the Scottish Government will take to focus on prevention, early intervention and social prescribing as a more sustainable method for mental health? The First Minister I understand and share the concerns about the statistics. I know that Annie Wells will appreciate and recognise the point that prescribing decisions are for clinicians. Clinicians must make the decisions that they think are in the best clinical interests of young people. That is an important point, but we all want to see fewer young people referred to specialist mental health services and fewer young people having to take medication for mental health problems because we want them to be better preventative services. That is the whole focus of the Denise Coya work. It is also the focus of the announcements that I made in the programme for government about employing more counsellors in schools and creating the new mental wellbeing service for young people in communities across Scotland. Those are important initiatives that we will now move to implement to make sure that we can shift the curve of mental health care and treatment much more towards prevention rather than treatment. That is the direction of travel that everybody wants to see us go in. To ask the First Minister whether the same funding that was provided last year to tackle rough sleeping as part of the recommendations of the homeless and rough sleeping action group will be provided this year. It is vital that we provide effective support to help people on the streets to keep safe. I am grateful to the front-line workers and a number of organisations who provide life-saving services to those sleeping rough day in and day out. To support those organisations, we have made available £600,000 for outreach activities in this financial year. £220,000 of that funding has provided follow-up support for people in the past six months and the remaining £388,000 will provide further national support for local initiatives over this winter. We know that many people sleeping rough have complex needs, so we will work in partnership with front-line organisations to ensure that the funding is targeted to support people into safe and warm accommodation quickly, while also supporting them into longer-term permanent housing solutions. Rough sleeping in our towns and cities is the hallmark of a failure in housing and social policy. The life expectancy of a rough sleeper is believed to be aged 43. It is a shocking statistic. I do welcome the funding that the First Minister talks about and the organisations that have used that well. I think that all the credit goes to them for treating rough sleepers on the street. However, I hope that the First Minister can commit to at least this level of funding for every year until we can eradicate rough sleeping and have a comprehensive strategy in place. Further to that, the First Minister looks at adopting the standard of no second night out and aims to ensure that there is a rapid response to new rough sleepers and that they are provided an offer that means that they do not have to sleep for a second night out in the hope that that might address their complex needs and prevent them from rough sleeping. Yes, that rapid response approach is at the heart of everything that we seek to do around tackling and eradicating rough sleeping. Accommodation, obviously, is the most important thing when somebody is sleeping rough. However, as Pauline McNeill knows, often the complex needs will mean that there are other issues that have to be addressed. The 2017-18 winter initiative was backed by £320,000. For this winter, as I said in my initial answer, we have set aside £380,000. Of course, that is part of the bigger fund that we set up—the £50 million tackling homelessness fund—to ensure that we can have the resources in place for targeted initiatives over the next few years. That is all about short-term actions, but it is part of putting that longer-term plan in place. One of the cornerstones of that longer-term plan is the commitment to housing first, which we have also committed additional funding to. Through the recommendations of the action group that we set up, we are taking action in the short, medium and long-term that will hopefully allow this Government, working with this Parliament and local councils and partners across the country to eradicate rough sleeping once and for all. I agree that people sleeping rough in our streets are not acceptable and that is not something that any civilised society should ever be happy to see. 7. Alex Cole-Hamilton To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government is promoting a vibrant newspaper industry. It is important that we have a vibrant newspaper industry in Scotland. That is why I was so very sorry to hear the news at the weekend that Johnson pressed the owners of the Scotsman and I newspaper. Of course, many local titles across the country had gone into administration. That news, I think, was a reflection of the fact that this is one of the toughest times that newspapers have ever experienced. Every democracy needs a strong free press, and it is important that we all support that. Of course, my thoughts are with the Johnson press employees, national and local, at what has been a worrying time for them. Alex Cole-Hamilton I am very grateful for that. The First Minister is absolutely right. Democracy cannot function without a strong and diverse press, with journalists free to challenge power. In a world of fake news, it is something that we must not allow to collapse. Current and former employees of Johnson press are understandably worried that their pensions are in doubt because of a group of owners and executives that have moved the business to a new legal entity, leaving their pension obligations behind. It looks like the new company is rinsing the pensions that should rightly belong to the people who work for them and leaving the taxpayer to carry the can. On Monday, the UK culture secretary, Jeremy Wright, told the House of Commons that action that he takes would be in consultation with the Scottish Government. When that happens, how does the First Minister propose to address the concerns about workers' pensions and support the continued publication of those much-loved titles? The First Minister I support the continued publication and hope to see the Scotsmen and the many local titles go from strength to strength in years to come. I share the concerns about pensions. We have seen examples in the past in different contexts of people losing pension entitlements when assets of a company are transferred wholesale to a new legal entity. None of us want to see that happen in this case. This is a reserved matter. Pensions are the responsibility of the UK part of the Scottish Government, although it is not within our responsibility. We will be happy to engage with the company to make sure that the interests of the employees are paramount. We will also work as closely as we can with the UK Government to encourage them to take steps, not just to prevent this happening in the case of Johnson Press but also to prevent that kind of thing happening in any situation of this kind. We would welcome the support of the Liberal Democrats and other parties across the chamber as we do so. Jackie Baillie I am sure that the First Minister would not want to intentionally mislead the chamber. She will be aware that nuclear events categorised as A to D, with A being the most serious and C and D being the least, with no actual exposure to risk. She will equally be aware that out of the 500 notifications that she referred to, two were in category A, both occurred in 2006 and 2007, and since then, Presiding Officer, safety has improved substantially. I am sure that the First Minister will want to set the record straight and praise the staff and trade unions at Faslane for constantly improving the culture of safety. I thank Ms Baillie. Ms Baillie has got her point on the record, which I assume was the point for making her mark, because it was not a point of order. That concludes First Minister's questions. I will now move on to members' business, but before we do so, in the name of Rachel Hamilton, we will have a short suspension to allow members and the public gallery to clear a short suspension.