 Sw judging, that concludes topical questions. The next scheduled item of business is a statement by Angus Robertson on benefits of independence. Yesterday afternoon, significant news that should have been announced in this chamber as a matter of courtesy and respect to the Parliament, was reported by national media, trailing a media event this morning. Long-established good-practice guidance on announcements by the Scottish Government says that announcements by government on matters of importance should not enter the public domain before or without being communicated to the parliament, where the subject matter relates to matters on which members of the public would have a clear interest. There is a strong expectation that the ministerial statement would be scheduled with appropriate notice. Where that ministerial statement has been programmed, the details of the statement should not fel y gwbl i gyda'r digwydd wrth y penodol yr ynfodol. Mae ein rhan fydd yn gyfosibol y byddiol y Government i awdurdodd yr effeithio i gyrraedd hwnnw, ac mae ynghylch â'i gyd无 i edrych bod hynny mae y parlymon yn cymdeithasol. Mae'r ddweud y parlymon yn fawr. Mae gyrraedd wrth ymgylchedd hynny i gael eu canol oherwydd neu i gylem y resolutionol. Gweithgaredd yn llawer i gael ei amser yn ohonnod er mwy fydd yn ymgylchedd. A oeddiwydd ar yr cyfodol y mae'r parlymon ym ni gwrs, yw ddod yn ei fodf doncgol pan iawn drwos na ni'n gwleislu.imathef 있는 gael護iadol er mai oedd yn mwy teimlo i gwrs dros y griad chosenr ac yn onri. Younghef men, rwyo gynnig hi araf gydych chi euelpereidiol nawr, fel phlingoedd, aanken y bydd yn y teimleasedig a ch21yrsaethを un' siade gallaiativas dissolve'n beth eraill hefyd yn cael," yn hyny o wneud Arwnd rysrwstnych a'r time o'r iawn i'r tleidyfo dda i gywethezwyr Gw codesiaethol am awgwr dweud? Mae cyfnod ar gyfer y Minister. Mae'r Llywodraeth yn fwy началu a ddifudiant ar y tynnu ym ddych chi ddim yn angen y fewn yw gweld. Rwy'r bwlwg canwch ar fy gyddiadau ysgolffynnol, oedd, sy'n gwneud o wybod yn iddangos Llywodraeth o'r cyffredin Cleir. Ry'n push-eig, eich dal yn eithaf i'r eistedd gweithwyr cyffredin? perhaps even an illegal, while cat referendum, as Nicola Sturgeon suggested earlier, is the wrong priority at the worst possible time. The people of Scotland want the focus to be on the huge challenges facing us. We want the focus of this Government to be on creating better jobs and opportunities. We want the focus to be on improving public services. Instead, this SNP Government just offers more distraction, disruption and division. In the middle of a global cost of living crisis, the SNP are diverting resources and public money away from the front line. Nicola Sturgeon pushes her obsession with separation by asking why not Scotland. So let me ask a better question. Why not improve Scotland now? Why not use the powers of this Parliament that we have right now to improve the lives of the people of Scotland? Why not create better Scottish jobs now? Why not restore Scottish schools now? Why not tackle Scotland's drug death shame now? Why not build a ferry in Scotland now? This Government is obsessed with independence when it should be obsessed with delivering for Scotland now. So can I ask the Government just one thing? Please give it a rest and focus on the priorities that people across Scotland have now. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Clearly it's an inconvenient truth for the Conservative benches that 72 of 129 members elected by the people of Scotland last year were elected on a manifesto commitment to deliver an independence referendum during this parliamentary term. That independence-supporting majority is larger than at any previous Holyrood election. For anyone who believes in parliamentary democracy, which I assume is all 129 members of this place, that should not be shrugged off as an inconvenient fact to be ignored. It should instead be taken as a democratic instruction from the people of Scotland. Those on the opposition benches are there because they were rejected by the people of Scotland on their anti-independence ticket. This Government was elected because we are committed to the people having their say. The paper provides a crucial context for the rest of the independence prospectus. I note that Douglas Ross did not have a single question relating to the document that was released today. I commend it to the Parliament, colleagues and I look forward to debating the independence referendum, which we intend to take place next year following the express wishes of the people of Scotland who have elected a majority of MSPs to this place to hold such an independence referendum. Before I move on to take a question from Sarah Boyack, can I ask any members who wish to ask a question to please press their request to speak buttons now? I call on Sarah Boyack. This is clearly going to be the first of several last-minute announcements where the First Minister makes the press announcement, then the cabinet secretary comes to the chamber so we can ask him questions about a lengthy report just published. Has the cabinet secretary not appreciated the irony of launching a report that talks about the importance of doing better a week after his statement on this year's census failures, which he was in charge of but has yet to take responsibility for? With hundreds of thousands of Scots being forced to choose between heating and eating, surely we need to build recovery? Surely, surely, Presiding Officer? We are not going to get very far this afternoon, and unfortunately we are not going to be able to take all the members who really want to ask a question if I have to keep asking for a bit of quiet for the member who is speaking. Even where we disagree with one another, we all owe each other the courtesy and respect of hearing each other respectfully, Ms Boyack. With hundreds of thousands of Scots being forced to choose between heating and eating, surely we need to build recovery from the pandemic and fix the pressures that our NHS faces because of SNP mismanagement. Today's report outlines how we could be like other nations, but is it not true, cabinet secretary, that this Parliament could make similar decisions now on co-operative energy, but this SNP-Green Government decided not to follow the example of Nordic countries instead deciding to sell off our seabed? When the report says that an independent Scotland could not be transformed to match the success of the comparator countries overnight, given that we have been told that it would be Brexit times 10, will the cabinet secretary admit that it would make Brexit look like a walk in the park? Cabinet secretary? No, I do not agree with the Labour spokesperson. Independence is about the recovery of Scotland, the recovery of Scotland from Brexit, the recovery from Tory rule, the recovery from Boris Johnson and, at the heart of this, it is a question of democracy. What is sorely lacking, unsurprisingly, from the Conservatives but, disappointingly, from the Labour front bench, who has a long tradition of supporting Scottish democracy, is an acknowledgement, a basic acknowledgement, that an election was held last year and that candidates that supported a referendum taking place on Scotland's independence won the election and the Conservative party and the Labour party lost the election. Moving on to the substance of the issue, Scotland is not a region of a unitary state. We are a country in what the Welsh Labour Government calls a voluntary association of nations. We have a right to decide our own future. All of us should support that. As Democrats, we should endorse the fact that a referendum should take place. We will be on a different size of the argument, but please do not deny the people of Scotland their say, which is effectively what we were hearing from the Labour front bench this afternoon. Minister describes Scotland as a nation in waiting. We are exactly that. We are a nation in waiting. We are waiting for ambulances and cancer care, long Covid clinics and mental health appointments for our children. We are waiting for overdue ferries and replacement bus services, for cancelled trains, for progress on pupil attainment and the climate emergency. We are waiting for help with the biggest hit to household incomes since the end of rationing. We are tired of waiting. I ask the cabinet secretary why every single one of these priorities has now fallen behind the break-up of the United Kingdom in the queue for this Government's attention. Now we have all of the opposition parties lining up in their agreement of democracy denial. It is a sad day that illiberal anti-Democrats stand up and suggest that we should not go forward with a democratic vote about the future of the country. It is frankly shameful. We will be on different sides of the argument about Scotland's future, but please do not come here to the chamber and say that the people of Scotland cannot have their say when they have voted an election that they should be able to do just that. Michelle Thomson, to be followed by Murdo Fraser. Michelle Thomson says that change is made inevitable when parties fundamentally diverge based on their values. Does the cabinet secretary agree that it is important to contrast our vision based on democracy and ethical values with that of a UK failing state? In particular, does the cabinet secretary agree that today's news regarding the willingness of the UK to break international treaty obligations and domestically to shield dramatic levels of financial corruption is merely a glimpse of the folly of dependence, what independence is a harbinger of a very different and better future? I agree with Michelle Thomson that a better future is possible, and that is what we are steering towards. What has been published today is an analysis that compares the UK with all of our neighbouring states, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and Netherlands. They are our neighbouring countries. What do they all have in common? They are all wealthier, some significantly than the UK. The wealth gap is lower. The income inequality in those countries is lower. Poverty rates are lower. There are fewer children living in poverty. The comparative countries have higher social mobility. Most have a smaller gender pay gap. The comparative countries have a higher productivity than the UK. Gross expenditure on research and development is higher in most of the comparative countries, and business investment is higher too. That is the difference between the United Kingdom in 2021 and all of our neighbouring countries. The time is coming for us to embrace a better future. We will do that through a democratic vote for independence. We have an option. It is the status quo of a Brexit Britain under Boris Johnson or an independent Scotland run by the people who are actually elected by the people who live in this country. Have the Scottish Government law officers been asked to give an opinion of whether a referendum run without a section 30 agreement be lawful? Today's statement is about the opening publication in the series. Members, thank you. We will hear the cabinet secretary. Indeed, Presiding Officer. As the First Minister said earlier, this is the first in a series of publications. Further publications will follow in the series, which will cover the full range of issues, including how a referendum will take place in Scotland, and Murdo Fraser will just have to calm his jets. Cabinet Secretary, I am fairly sure that all members a year on from the election are aware of the fact that, if I have not called them to speak, they should not be speaking. I pretty much said everything that needs to be said to Murdo Fraser, but perhaps I can use the opportunity at the end of my answer to him to invite him, I hope as a fellow democrat, to agree with me that, given the people of Scotland have voted for a majority in this Parliament, that there should be a referendum, that he agrees that that should take place too. Christine Grahame, to be called by Paul O'Kane. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Eight years ago, in 2014, pensioners were told to vote no or they would lose their state pension. Does the cabinet secretary agree with me a pensioner, that Scotland's pensioners were one of the worst state pensions in Europe, and now, each losing £500 a year as the UK ditches the triple lock, we would indeed benefit from independence? The facts are there for all to see in terms of the level of pension in the comparisons with other countries who are significantly better off than pensioners are within the UK. The issue of pensions is something that will be explored in greater detail in one of the forthcoming papers as part of the series, but it is a statement of fact that pensioners in the UK are significantly worse off as part of the UK, and I look forward to them having a better future in an independence Scotland. Paul O'Kane, to be followed by Emma Roddick. Light on detail and heavy on cherry-picked examples, but the First Minister did confirm one thing today. She said, if we are in the single market and the rest of the UK is outside the single market, then yes, there are issues in terms of regulatory and customs requirements. The Government paints a rosy picture of trading bliss within the EU, but glosses over the barriers and challenges that lie in the way. The paper published today says next to nothing about the actual practicalities of independence, so will the cabinet secretary take the opportunity now to confirm to democratically elected members in this chamber, as the First Minister did and her answer to a journalist, that with independence there would be a hard border between Scotland and the rest of the UK, and what analysis has the Government done on the impact that this would have on Scotland's businesses, economy and wider public services? It is obviously news to the Labour party that a border is already being built because of the UK decision to leave the European Union. Border infrastructure is currently being built in Scotland to deal with trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. That is the fact of the situation. It is happening already. The issue of borders, which is a perfectly legitimate area of inquiry, is going to be in a future document at which stage, no doubt, at which stage—well, there is obviously great demand for these sessions. Thank you. We will hear the cabinet secretary. I look forward tremendously, despite the full outrage on the Tory benches. I look forward to being able to discuss all the areas as part of the prospectus and the run-up to the referendum, and in the same way I would like to extend my hand to colleagues on the Labour benches, as I have to colleagues on the Conservative benches, to find agreement on this one point if we are going to disagree on everything else. As Democrats, please, can we sign up to the fact that it is the people of Scotland who are sovereign? They voted to have a say on the subject, and that is exactly what they should have. It is an exciting moment in the challenging times that we are living through to be discussing the opportunities of Scottish independence. Does the cabinet secretary agree with me that the Scotland we see now offers hope for the positive, progressive vision of independence that we can pursue more fully with the full powers of independence, such as a social security system that treats people with dignity, fairness and respect, a sustainable and affordable housing system that is fit for the future, and an entrepreneurial economy that promotes world-leading standards in fair work and wellbeing? Well, I totally agree with Emma Roddick. To be able to deliver all of those things, we need to have the powers in this Parliament to be able to make the decisions about the ambitions that she has outlined, and that is exactly what this Government is committed to do. I hope that when we move past the full outrage that we have heard from the Opposition members whose parties lost the election on this issue, that we can actually move on to the substance of issues such as pensions and others. I look forward to us being able to debate that in the months ahead, and I look forward to moving on to the referendum campaign itself. It would be welcome if colleagues from the Opposition parties would be able to get up at any stage and be able to point a rosy or better picture of Scotland as part of the United Kingdom, as part of Boris Johnson's Brexit Britain. Liz Smith, to be followed by Kenneth Gibson. Well, let me try something that was said by Professor John Kaye, leading economist and former adviser to the Scottish Government, who warned that an independent Scotland would start off with £180 billion of debt and be forced to borrow £20 billion annually to plug the huge black hole in public finances. Does the cabinet secretary seriously believe that saddling Scotland with this level of debt is either fiscally prudent or what businesses in Scotland really want? Cabinet Secretary, what Elizabeth Smith failed to mention is that the United Kingdom has had one of the biggest debts of any country in the European Union, so we'll take no lessons from the Conservative front bench. I think it is eminently better for us to be able to make decisions closer to home on all of the key issues. I invite Elizabeth Smith to have a look at the document, which rests on reputable high standards of statistics from the OECD and others. Why is it the case that all of our neighbouring countries are significantly better off than Scotland was in the United Kingdom? I know that it must be a very difficult read to be confronted with the facts, but the facts are the facts, and they show that it is our neighbouring countries that are significantly better off. I suggest that that is a much better future for Scotland rather than the United Kingdom and its mountain of debt. Kenneth Gibson, to be followed by Ross Greer. It's always better to make your own decisions and leave them to your next-door neighbour, and for unionists the time is never right. Does the cabinet secretary agree that from Australia to Canada to New Zealand to the United States, which had to fight for independence—not just vote for it—Scotland, like other independent nations, was flourished with the self-confidence, ideas and innovation independence inspires, able to harness our economy and natural resources working globally as an equal partner and a family of nations to deliver prosperity for all who live and work here? I do agree with Kenneth Gibson. Not only will we be one of the wealthiest countries to have become independent, we will have more institutions in place in the run-up to the forthcoming referendum than we had in the run-up to the 2014 referendum. I think that that will give a great many people who are open-minded about the prospects of voting yes, the assurance that they need to know that a Scotland, in charge of its own destiny, is significantly better than leaving it up to people that we haven't elected, incidentally a party that has not won a single election in Scotland since 1955 to make bad decisions on our behalf. I think that there is a better future in prospect. There will be different views about the merits of the case. What we should all agree, though, on is that we have elected a Government to deliver on a referendum. That's exactly what should happen. Ross Greer to be followed by Emma Harper. Thank you. Today's paper notes that inequality and poverty are lower across a number of countries comparable to Scotland. Given that organised workforces are the most powerful way to raise wages and thus lift families out of working poverty and the UK has some of the worst anti-worker and anti-union laws in Europe, does the cabinet secretary agree that independence gives us the opportunity to instead make Scotland one of the best countries in the world in which to work and to organise within your workplace? Cabinet secretary. Yes, it does and that's exactly what our neighbouring countries have done, but one of the interesting aspects of the research on this question is that there is not a fit all approach across the comparative countries across our neighbours. There are different models. Some might find closer to his political heart and some might be approaches that centre-right politicians would take a different view on and think that that's the right way to go for. What's interesting is that all of them across the piece, almost without exception in terms of the metrics, are better off. What appears to be key to all of their success is that they are able to make better decisions for themselves. Incidentally, with the exception of Switzerland, every single one of our comparative countries has in relatively recent historic memory been part of a wider union and decided that it is better for them to make decisions closer to home. They managed it and I'm sure will manage us as well. Independence will allow all decisions over every aspect of Scottish society to be put in the hands of the democratically elected Scottish Parliament. Can the cabinet secretary reaffirm that this will allow this Parliament to reverse the harms created by consecutive UK governments and to build a fairer and more inclusive Scotland which values human rights as well as the wellbeing of our citizens and that no government should deny the people of Scotland the right to take this decision? Cabinet secretary. Indeed it is, but it's much more than just about ameliorating harms. It is about making better decisions for the future. One of the things that's very close to my heart and should be to the majority in this chamber across the parties who believe that being within the European Union is where we should be, is that I look forward to the restoration of everybody's citizenship rights in this country as an EU citizen. There is absolutely no chance that either a UK Tory Government or even a Labour UK Government is going to see Scotland as part of the UK re-enter the European Union. The only way to do that is for Scotland to be an independent member state and us to rejoin the European Union and in all the conversations I've had with a great many European politicians there is a significant appetite for Scotland becoming a member of the EU again and I look forward to that greatly. Stephen Carr to be followed by Oliver Mundell. This whole statement and this morning's media circus is a shameful deflection from the priorities of the people of Scotland. The SNP's agenda of separation is rarely, if ever stated as a priority by the Scottish people. The SNP likes to talk about anything other than the people's priorities. Today, my colleagues and I submitted a raft of urgent questions about issues impacting the everyday lives of the people of Scotland—health, education, transport, justice, net zero jobs—but no, here we are talking about the same old SNP obsession. So let me help the cabinet secretary. Will he apologise to this Parliament and the Prime Minister for the contempt that he and his boss and his Government have shown this Parliament today? Talk about deflection, Presiding Officer. I'm just asking myself whether the Stephen Carr that just asked that question is the Stephen Carr who ran in the Scottish Parliament elections last year in Falkirk West and came third. If that is the same Stephen Carr, I imagine it is. It's not the same Stephen Carr, it was another Stephen Carr that stood in Falkirk West. No, I do think it was Stephen Carr who was defeated in Falkirk West. Why this is relevant is that in that election Stephen Carr stood in that constituency asking for the votes of electors in opposition to a referendum, and he lost. The candidate standing for the Scottish National Party in that constituency won. I know that humility doesn't come easy to Stephen Carr. It doesn't, but perhaps as a fellow Democrat, he will acknowledge as an election loser that the people that won and the Government is in office was elected to deliver a referendum, and that is what should take place. Can I just confirm, Presiding Officer, that the cabinet secretary is not inferring in any way whatsoever that regionally elected members of this Parliament or in any way inferior to constituency members? If that is the case, he should apologise to each and every one of us. Thank you, Mr Greene. As that is not a point of order or a matter for the chair, I will move on to the next question, and I call Oliver Mundell to be followed by Jackie Dunbar. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I start by reminding members that I didn't come third, and I ask the cabinet secretary how this Government can give us a date for a preferred referendum, but not a date for closing the education attainment gap. What does he think that says about their priorities? I look forward to the proposed date for the independence referendum being confirmed in good time. It will be taking place in the autumn of next year, as it was outlined by the Government. That is what this Government has been elected to do, and that is what we are working towards. I would hope that Conservative members will impress on their UK colleagues. Given the great many quotes from many people, including I came across an interesting quote from Ruth Davidson on this very question, who said that if political parties get over the line and can make a coalition, make a majority, get the votes in Parliament, they will vote through a referendum. That is what democracy is all about. I hope that the Conservative members will still agree with that. Jackie Dunbar, to be followed by Gillian Martin. Some of the rhetoric that we have heard in this chamber would pay independence as a terrifying unprecedented journey and a terrible risk for Scotland, but can the cabinet secretary point out that this new paper so clearly lays out the many examples that we have here in northern Europe and across the wider world illustrating the simple fact that independence is normal for middle-sized, internationalist, progressive democracies such as our own? I totally agree, and I would just observe of the 10 compared to countries. Those are our neighbouring comparatively sized countries in northern Europe. Nine out of the 10 were previously in unions or governed neighbouring countries or governed by neighbouring countries. Not one single one of them has thought it a good idea to give up on their independence and return to being governed by a neighbouring country. It's good enough for them to govern themselves. It's more than that. It's much better than how we are governed as part of the UK. It's a great idea. The fact that they've all done it should give us inspiration and we should get on with it. I'm Julian Martin. Health and equality is in poor life expectancy and is exacerbated by a welfare system that punishes and sanctions. That is the view of subsequent and successive panellists in the health committee the last month. It's a Scottish social security and welfare system, one seismic opportunity for the people of an independent Scotland who have suffered by being dependent on our broken institutions of the UK for decades and don't these people deserve a chance to vote on their future? Yes, they do. Obviously, there is now a developing Scottish social security system. However, the majority of powers in terms of social security still rest with the UK Government. We've shown already that with limited powers we can do much. With independence we can do much more. An additional reason why we should have the referendum and why we should vote yes in that referendum will be transformational for people in this country. Thank you. That concludes the ministerial statement on benefits of independence.