 That concludes General Questions. The next Item of Business is First Minister's Questions. At question 1. I call Douglas Ross. I welcome the decisive action announced by our new Prime Minister... ..to halt rising energy bills. You have to look at it properly before that vital support will save families £1,000... ..on their bills, on top of the £37 billion of help that has already been announced. ac rwy'n gwybod i chi'n gwybod eich dweud o'r meyser yma i gael cyfnodd arall i gael gweithgwydau ac ymddangos i'r llwydd. Prifysgwrs, ystod wrth fynd i'w gweithwyr yn gyfnodd 560 miliwn cyfnodd o'r cyflwynd. Mae'r cysyllt yn cyfrwyngau mynd i gael cyfnodd o'r cyflwynd. Maid gwybod ddatblygu ddiwedd o ddiweddol heddiw sy'n ffordd o'r feris o'r ddiweddol ar gyfer cyffredinol yma? Rwyf, mae'n imwy ym CCF, 250 miliwn cyfan y byddai cyfnod i ddag y crisiau cyfnod yn gyfan. Fy Lywodraeth y Prifysgol, rwyf wedyn mwy o'r dдаeth o gaelio cyffredinol ar d ressen cyfnod ynghyd ti sy冷ennu fydd yn deiladau i'r ddaftyr, gallwn i'n unig, ac mae'n oeddennig o'r hefyd. Felly, wrth hynny'n cymwyntio, cyfeirio'n gweithio'n byw pethau ar gyfer y gwahanol i hyn o ceisio'n gweithio'r beluesoedd? Yr gwaith fydd yn gyntaf ar gyfer 2,000 lb, rydw i'n gweithio'n gweithio'n 2,500 lb, £4,000. Rydyn nhw penderfyniadau yn ei dddangos a, dyma i ddaint, sef gaywch i hyn oedd y ddwyllgor gael y safbwrdd. Of course, dweud hynny a gydigog yma, rwy'n rhoi bod y cyfrifwyr ymgyrchi Fallog i dda hon. Diolch yn ddodol iawn i ddweud hynny. Yn ôl Llinn, Rwyf ni'n duch chi i bod i fynd i gydigog yma, ac yn oeddaeth i gyfrifwyr llefawr eich gymryd dros y cyfrifwyr i ddweud hyn. Felly, oedd oedd na hwnna bod, os yw ynw, o ran oedden nhw'nadd politique aír o'r plant mewn achos byddai gyda'r profiot pan oedd yn gilydd eu cyfnod ar wneud oherwydd gan y hollegio ddaeth eu cyfnod. 2. Rwy'n cael ei chaeloedd lawer o arddedd y rhan oedd mae Llywodraeth yn cael ei cyfnod ar y taxidledig a'r blynyddoedd o'r byddai a Chanwysaidd. Rydyn ni, rydyn ni yn ôl meddwl llawer선wyr secter y awdd-fair yw pwyll sydd cwyliau. Theyllwyr wrth hynny, fe fy fawr, iawn i'w ddechrau ar gael arddig o'ch gofal y rhan o'r cy.​ Rhyw gweithio ar hyn, rheswm y gall, ei chynnwys ar gyfer ôl yn cael unrhyw un pwyntasol lle i fan hyn yn ni pwysig ydym eich rhan arnyntio. The other thing that we need to see the new Prime Minister do is increase funding for devolved administrations so that we can support public services and public sector workers. Rydw i ddigon i'n gweithio'r ffordd y ffordd i ddweud yn Ffergison's shipyard, ac allwch fynd y dweud bydd y bydd gweithio'r ffordd ar hyn o piecesg wedi llewgau. Rydym yn cychwyn i ddweud, ac, wrth gwrs, rydym yn ei clywed i ddweud i'n oed i'n ffordd i ddweud, ac mae ychydig addysg. Felly, mae'n gweithio. Mae swinom yn rhai, a Nicola Sturgeon yn gweithio'r wistng 250 million million pounds of taxpayer's money when that money is needed right now to help our services, because if her government hadn't wasted a quarter of a billion pounds trying and failing to build ferries, that money could have been used elsewhere in the SNP's budget. Those failures leave islanders without lifeline services and they take money away from the front line spending that we need here in Scotland. We know that nearly 50 million pounds of emergency Covid support went to fix these ferries instead of going to the businesses who needed it. An internal analysis by the ferry operator Semal has indicated that the number and the severity of the issues and faults with these ships means that it will be difficult for the vessels to achieve acceptance by Semal and enter into service. What plans does the First Minister have in place if, as experts fear maybe the case, these vessels never become fit to sail and more money needs to be diverted away from the cost of living crisis to make up for these failures? What Douglas Ross has just said about Covid money being directed to Ferguson's is simply not true and he should take the opportunity to reflect on that and withdraw that. That misunderstanding came from the name of a particular budget line. It did not reflect how money had been allocated. Although, if I am wrong on this, media sources have already corrected that, so perhaps Douglas Ross wants to reflect further on that. Secondly, on the issues around ferries, I have made clear on many occasions my regret at the cost overrun of that. That is why it is so important that we continue to focus on completing the ferries. Even if we took Douglas Ross at his word about £250 million, which of course would not be in one year, that would still leave the rest of the £1.7 billion that her budget has been eroded by because of inflation soaring out of control under this UK Government. It would still leave us with the £700 million that we have had to allocate on budgeted for higher pay deals because of the soaring inflation being presided over by this UK Government. We will continue to take the hard decisions to get support to where it is needed most. Of course, one of the pressures on all construction projects right now is inflation, which this UK Government is failing to get under control. However, we will continue to focus on making sure that the ferries are now completed on the revised budget and on the revised timeline. Douglas Ross muted a pause here, because, of course, the First Minister did her usual thing to blame Westminster for everything but not address the question that I put. Mr Ross, I will not have members shouting at one another from a sedentary position. Please just resist the temptation. Mr Ross. I hope that the Deputy First Minister does resist that temptation, although he seems to do it quite a lot, because he does not want to hear what members are saying. The First Minister's answer was all about what the UK Government has done wrong. Nothing about what Seymal is saying about these ships may never enter service. All that money, hundreds of millions of pounds that could be wasted. Today, the First Minister's former right-hand man, the disgraced Derek Mackay, appeared before a Scottish Parliament committee to discuss the ferries scandal, a scandal that has hit Scottish public finances and where we still do not know why the Government made the disastrous call that it did. At the public audit committee today, the ex-finance minister outlined what he believes went wrong with his contracts before we understand he was smuggled out of this building by Parliament officials. Does the First Minister agree with all the evidence that Derek Mackay gave today? I have not had the opportunity to look at all the evidence that Derek Mackay gave to the committee. I am sure that I will take the opportunity to do that as soon as I am able to. I am sure that Douglas Ross will come back and ask me more about that. Douglas Ross keeps quoting Seymal and saying that Seymal's view is that the ferries will never be in service. Let me quote the chief executive of Seymal, Kevin Hobbs, just in June. I am quoting directly here. There is not much now that is standing in the way of both of them being delivered. There are a lot of detractors out there saying rather spurious things about them, but we have always had a view that both would be finished. I would not suggest that the detractors out there saying rather spurious things was a reference to Douglas Ross. Others, of course, may reach that conclusion. Question number two, Anna Sarwar. I like it that Seymal has said that the number and the severity of faults may lead to the fact that these ships never sail. If the First Minister does not want to hear it, that is fine, but that is coming from Seymal. However, it seems that she does not like to hear a lot of things. It is amazing, just amazing how often Nicola Sturgeon has never seen or never heard anything that is potentially a difficult question. However, we know that there was significant evidence given by Derek Mackay today. During the First Minister's recent run at the Edinburgh fringe, she said that the disastrous ferry contracts were not a scandal. This is where we saw the First Minister during the summer, and she said that the ferry contracts were not a scandal. Her words at the Edinburgh fringe were, well, I will wait for the SNP to be quiet, because I think that it is important that everyone hears this. The First Minister's words were that this has not been a scandal with the ferries. It is a situation, a situation, £250 million up in smoke, nothing to show for it. If that is not a scandal, I do not know what it is. Today, even disgraced Derek Mackay accepted that the purchase of the ferries was catastrophic. That is the bit that maybe Nicola Sturgeon did not see today. Her former loyal lieutenant admitted how awful this mistake was, even though it further ruins his already trashed reputation. Why cannot Nicola Sturgeon admit that this is a downright scandal that is taking hundreds of millions of pounds away from tackling the cost of living crisis that we are facing here in Scotland right now? First Minister, I am happy to answer any questions on this. I have answered many questions on this, and I have made my views very clear on this, but Douglas Ross does not like it when he quotes Seamall, and I quote the chief executive saying the exact opposite, so perhaps he should be less selective in that. On the wider issues, Douglas Ross has stood up here and I think it is quite staggering and says that there is nothing to show for the investment in Ferguson's shipyard. I do not know about a Conservative, but I think that almost 400 jobs does not equate to nothing to show. We value people's jobs and we take action wherever we can to protect people's jobs, and that is perhaps the difference between this Government and the Conservatives. We will continue to focus on the job at hand. That is what people expect of us, and I will happily answer any questions for as long as Douglas Ross wants to ask questions on this issue. I suspect that Douglas Ross's choice of topic today is more a reflection on his own difficulties than anything else. After all, it is not me that started this new parliamentary term with one MSP standing down from his front bench and another MSP quitting Parliament altogether, so perhaps he has not got his own troubles to seek. The cost of living crisis is a national emergency, therefore I welcome that we have finally seen action from the UK Government, but I do not believe that it goes far enough. Let's be clear that this is not a freeze. Energy prices will still be going up for households across the country, and there is not enough support for businesses and charities, and there is no meaningful windfall tax, meaning households and businesses will pay in the long term not companies who are making record profits. Moving to the action that the Scottish Government can take, I welcome the commitment to a rent freeze and a winter eviction ban. That is long overdue, but I think that it needs to go further. When will the legislation be brought to Parliament? Given that the majority of social rents will rise on April 1, will she extend the freeze to cover this period? Will she commit to a review to the words at the end of the freeze with an option to extend if necessary, and to avoid a sharp hike when the freeze is lifted? Will she commit that a rent regulator will be in place in order to cap any future rises? The emergency legislation will be introduced very soon. We have not yet determined the date for that, but we need to introduce it soon because Parliament needs to act at pace to pass that. We want that legislation to be passed within three months so that the freeze that I announced was effective from that date. That will happen at pace, and I encourage all members to engage very constructively with the detail of that. As all members will be aware, it is important that we get legislation right to ensure that, if there are any legal challenges to it, it has the best possible chance ofwithstanding those. Secondly, I will commit to an on-going review of the emergency legislation. We have said very clearly that we intend the two proposals that I announced on Tuesday, the rent freeze and the moratorium on evictions to be in place until at least the end of March. We will review that regularly, and of course we will keep open the option of extending that further, depending on the wider situation. Lastly, I also said this on Tuesday, and those are by definition because they are emergency measures temporary. How temporary they prove to be will depend on the reviews that I have just spoken about, but they are intended to pave the way for longer-term reforms, to bring greater affordability to the rented sector, particularly to the private rented sector, and to give greater protections to tenants. The wider issues that Anna Sarwar has raised today will fully be taken into account in that longer-term work. I welcome that response from the First Minister. We will engage proactively with the legislation, and the sooner we can do that, taking into account the legal complexities, the better. We will continue to push for the freeze to cover 1 April, because that will give people certainty. We welcome the agreement to review with a view to extending as an option, and I would again push the First Minister on implementing a rent regulator so that we can make sure that there are not excessive increases when the freeze is finally lifted. Rent is not the only costs that are rising. We have been calling for a rent freeze since June, but we have also been calling for a reduction in rail fares since April. In the summer, the SNP published a document that outlined what actions European countries were taking in the face of the cost of living crisis. In that document, it included examples from Germany, Spain and Ireland, who have all cut rail fares. ScotRail is now in public ownership. The decision on rail fares is for this Government. Will the First Minister commit to Labour's plan for having rail fares that could save consumers up to £130 a month? Let me take two aspects of that issue. I intend to be constructive, and I would invite Labour to engage constructively on both of those points. We have confirmed, as I did on Tuesday, a freeze in ScotRail fares until the end of March. The Deputy First Minister said yesterday that we will be considering in the context of our emergency budget review extending that further. We will also consider in the context of that emergency budget review, not just on rail fares, but on a whole range of other areas where we can go further to help people with the cost of living crisis. However, it is important—not just important—it is inevitable and essential that it is done in the context of that budget review. I set out very starkly, as did the Deputy First Minister yesterday, the realities of our budget position. £1.7 billion less is worth than when we published it. Increasing pressures from public sector pay from the costs of housing Ukrainians—for example, which none of us grudge at all—we cannot raise taxes within a financial year. We cannot borrow for day-to-day spending, and all of our reserves are already allocated. If we want to spend more on anything, we have to find other places in our budget to take that from. That process started yesterday. I say in all sincerity to Anna Sarwar that we will consider in good faith any suggestion that is made, but any suggestion that involves more spending in this financial year has to come with a saving from elsewhere. I encourage Anna Sarwar to engage on that part as well. I thank the First Minister for that answer. I think that we need to go further than a freeze. To be clear, getting more passengers on our railways actually potentially makes money for our railways. It also helps us to confront not just the cost of living crisis, but also the climate crisis, if we can change that pattern of behaviour, get people out of vehicles and into our railways. I would push the First Minister to be bolder and more ambitious, because that is not a time for timidity or for delay. Our emergency cost of living act included a rent freeze and a winter eviction ban, which we welcome. It also included having rail fares, capping bus fares, £100 water bill rebate, writing off school meal debts, topping up the Scottish welfare fund and establishing a business hardship fund to help to keep small businesses going. I know that the First Minister will say that the Scottish Government has to find the money. That is why I welcome an emergency budget review, but it has to be an open, genuine and transparent one. When recognising the national emergency, open up the books to all parties and let's have a Team Scotland approach to actually using the powers of this Parliament to confront the cost of living crisis and help people here in Scotland. We will engage on that basis, and I am sure that the Deputy First Minister will be happy to have open discussions with any party about how we meet the challenge. As long as the starting point for that discussion is accepting the reality, if we want to spend more on anything this year, as all of us, I think, do, that money has to be found elsewhere in our budget. On some of the things Anna Sarwar has suggested, we will consider everything in good faith, but take bus fare, for example. Around half of the Scottish population don't pay for bus travel already—nobody under 22 and nobody over 60—so that is a sign of how we are using the powers of this Parliament. In terms of increasing money, I know that Labour called for that to be in the tenant hardship fund, but we have doubled the fuel and security fund. We have committed to increasing the budget for discretionary housing payments. Of course, we are extending free school meals beyond any other Government in the UK. The Scottish child payment, once the extensions announced earlier this week take effect, will deliver £1,300 in support for every eligible child under the age of 16. Again, that does not exist anywhere else in the UK. We are using our powers and we will continue to do them. Let me share some reflections from somebody else, well-known to Anna Sarwar this week. This week's programme for government, announced by the First Minister, was a creative and coherent response to the poverty pandemic that we are all facing. Credit where it is due, the SNP is being upfront and on the front foot in explaining what is happening to the public finances. Those are comments from Kezia Dugdale, one of Anna Sarwar's predecessors as Scottish Labour leader. We now move to constituency and general supplementaries, and I call Christine Graham. First Minister, as you are aware, this is international as well as national suicide prevention week. Without scaremongering, inflationary pressures both domestic and business may very well push some folk to the brink. What measures can the Scottish Government take to help desperate people, for example, lasing with organisations such as the Samaritans who might commend for all they do? First Minister, I thank Christine Graham for raising an extremely important issue. The cost of living crisis, of course, coming so quickly on the back of the Covid crisis, is having an impact on the mental health of many people across the country. The Scottish Government will continue to do all we can working with third sector organisations like Samaritans who do such a fantastic job in this area, but also continuing to invest in mental health services. This is something that is going to continue to be a priority for the foreseeable future, and I am sure much beyond that. The First Minister will be aware of the worrying news of the possible closure of Rowan Glen yogurt factory in my constituency, with a potential loss of 50 jobs. That would be a hugely significant loss of jobs in the rural area and could result in the loss of a well-known and respected brand located in the heart of Scotland's milkfield. I appreciate that businesses across Scotland are facing extraordinary pressure, particularly with energy costs. However, given the importance of the dairy industry and, more widely, the food and drink sector to Galloway, will the First Minister assure the workforce and other stakeholders that our Government and its agencies are prepared to look at extraordinary solutions, think out of the box and be proactive in exploring every opportunity to give the loyal and skilled workforce the platform to continue production of their much-loved and valued products? I will give that assurance. That is the approach that we always take when businesses are in difficulty. I was certainly very concerned to hear that Dale Farm Group is holding a consultation over the proposed closure of the Rowan Glen dairy factory in Newton, and I know that this will be a very difficult time for the company's staff and for their families. The people affected by the development are, of course, everybody's immediate priority. The Government will do everything in our power to help those affected, including through our PACE initiative. I can say that South of Scotland Enterprise has held discussions with the company this week and is working closely with them to investigate all areas of potential assistance so that it can provide help to try to mitigate the need for any job losses. I encourage the Dale Farm Group to explore all available options to secure the site's future and to redeploy any affected staff to help to minimise the impact on the workforce. I know that the Business Minister has spoken with local MSPs already and will take steps to ensure that they are kept updated. I am concerned about the E. coli outbreaks that we are experiencing in nurseries in Musselborough and my colleague Mark Wittfield raised concerns about the outbreaks in Haddington. In the guidance notes that they received, families were told that under the Public Health Act they were required to isolate, but the formal exclusion letter that they received 13 days later gave contradictory advice, so families have had no help despite their loss of earnings. What action is the Scottish Government taking in response to the outbreaks of E. coli and will it look to put in place a loss of earnings scheme to support those families who have borne the brunt of this day back home? I am very well aware of the E. coli outbreaks and share her concern about this public health Scotland. We will not only be monitoring the situation but also taking or advising all appropriate steps. In terms of the particular issue that she has raised about contradictory information, if she can make that available to my office or to the office of the health secretary, I am very happy to give an undertaking to look into that as quickly as possible and come back to her with more detail once I have had the opportunity to do so. Bill Kidd Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Yesterday, at Prime Minister's Questions, we heard Liz Truss advocating her belief that nuclear power and now fracking have a role in abating the energy crisis. I know that the commitment of the Tories to transformational changes needs to achieve net zero is way for thin, just as I know that the Scottish Government's position in these matters is clear, so can I therefore ask the First Minister what her response is to the Prime Minister's comments? First, let me take the opportunity to reaffirm the Scottish Government's position on fracking, and this is a devolved matter. Our position is unchanged. We do not intend to grant licences for fracking. We do not think that that is the solution to the crisis that is currently faced. In fact, let me quote someone else. No amount of shale gas would be enough to lower the European price. That is, of course, the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, speaking earlier this year. A similar position is unchanged on nuclear. We do not support new nuclear, certainly not with existing technology. The reality is that Scotland has vast potential in renewables. Offshore and onshore wind can already be generated more cheaply than gas fire power or nuclear power. That is where we need to focus our efforts, and that is exactly what the Scottish Government is going to do. Oliver Mundell Thank you, Presiding Officer. I would kindly ask the First Minister to not seek to politicise my family life, just as I would never seek to do so when it comes to hers. I have received reports from NHS whistleblowers in Dumfries and Galloway that paramedics attending a call-out in the past week were told having urgently requested a doctor as required under the mental health act that there was no on-call doctor available in the region. That comes on top of concerns being raised by unsafe staffing levels at DGRI and allegations of bullying. First Minister, this is completely unacceptable. My constituents are worried that NHS staff are sounding alarm bells. What steps can the Government take to make sure that our NHS is functioning safely and meeting basic health needs? The First Minister Firstly, on Oliver Mundell's first point, although I am not sure that there is any aspect of my life that the Tories would not seek to politicise if they thought they could, I genuinely wish him well and do that in all sincerity. On the very serious question that he has raised, the health service is operating under extreme pressure and the Government is acting to support the health service as it recovers from Covid. That applies to all aspects of healthcare from ambulance waiting times through to accident emergency, to outpatient and inpatient waiting times and seeking to support our staff in that process as well. On the specific serious issue that has been raised, if more detail can be provided to my office and to the health secretary, we will look into the specifics of that and reply to Oliver Mundell as soon as possible. Alex Rowley Thank you, Presiding Officer. The First Minister will be aware of the Sunday Mail investigation showing that the use of private agency nursing in the NHS is spiralling out of control. Can the First Minister understand the frustration of hardworking and exhausted nurses when these same agencies put out recruitment adverts saying that they will pay nurses the rate that nurses deserve, meaning that they are much higher than NHS pay? Will the Scottish Government commit today to a fair pay for all NHS workers that we all clout for during Covid and who are holding their NHS together under significant pressure? The First Minister Thank you, Presiding Officer. First, spend on agency staff in the NHS is a tiny, tiny fraction of the overall NHS budget. Secondly, the majority of temporary staffing actually comes from the NHS staff bank. Those are NHS staff on NHS contracts at NHS rates of pay. In terms of NHS pay, I agree with the member, and I think that that is evidenced in the fact that agenda for change NHS staff in Scotland are already better paid than they are in other parts of the UK because we take so seriously our obligation to reward them properly. We are in extremely difficult financial times, and that has been set out very clearly to the chamber this week. NHS negotiations around pay are on-going, but just as was the case with other public sector workers, we want to ensure that our NHS staff get the fairest possible deal. I know that the health secretary takes that extremely seriously in those negotiations. 3. Gillian Mackay To ask the First Minister what further steps the Scottish Government will take to support tenants facing the cost of living crisis. The impacts of the cost of living crisis are being felt by all households and disproportionately impact people on the lowest incomes. Of course, that can include tenants. Therefore, as announced this week, we will introduce emergency legislation to deliver a moratorium on evictions and a rent freeze until at least 31 March next year. We are also extending the tenant grant fund and investing an additional £5 million in discretionary housing payments, increasing our total financial support to more than £88 million for housing support that mitigates UK Government policies such as the bedroom tax, the benefit cap and local housing allowance. This Parliament does not yet have the levers that we desperately need to respond fully to the cost of living crisis. Therefore, we will also continue to urge the UK Government to comprehensively and urgently take the actions that are needed to combat it. Gillian Mackay I thank the First Minister for that welcome response. Does she agree with me that the ambition that she outlined in the programme for government to introduce a rent freeze and a halt to evictions puts the Scottish Government far ahead of anywhere else in the UK in protecting tenants? That this commitment should rightly be seen as a central part of our far-reaching programme of reform outlined in the new deal for tenants, which is being led by my green colleague Patrick Harvie as Minister for Tenants Rights, and that our shared commitment shows the value of political co-operation in developing detailed, workable and robust protections for tenants. Yes, I do agree with all of that. It is a statement of fact that the announcement this week puts us on this issue, as on so many other issues, ahead of any other part of the UK. In fact, I saw the mayor of London City can comment on Tuesday that he wished he had the powers to do something similar. It is also an important commitment that will help to ease the cost pressures that people are facing. It is therefore very important in that context. I absolutely agree that there is an example of what can be achieved when parties come together constructively to work together in the interests of the people of Scotland. That is what the SNP and the Greens are doing. That is one very good example of many of that constructive joint working. Paul Johnson, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, told the BBC that the support package from the UK Government would mean that the majority of the money will go to better off people who use more energy and that it was very poorly targeted. I ask the First Minister what her views are on this assessment. Does she agree with me that nothing currently proposed by the Tories goes far enough to ameliorate the steepening crisis for people and businesses? Ms Whitham's question was not related wholly to the substantive question. I would be grateful if the First Minister could address it very briefly. I share the concerns that we have a new Prime Minister who does not think redistribution is important and that she does not think that there is anything unfair about giving more help to the better off than to the worst off. My main concern is that it is relevant to rents because that is relevant to the overall cost crisis in what has been announced today. It does not freeze energy bills. We need a proper freeze in energy bills, and I think that it is important to continue to press the UK Government to do that. When my living rent first raised the need for an emergency rent freeze with the First Minister back in April, the average rent in Scotland was £780. It now stands at £840. That is at least a 10 per cent increase in just five months. Labour proposed a rent freeze in June, but SNP and Green MSPs teamed up with the Tories to block that. Their political choice to unnecessarily delay support for a rent freeze led to further financial hardship for tenants. In fairness to tenants, will the First Minister explore backdating the rent freeze to June? First Minister, as has been well canvassed and rehearsed in this chamber, there were very real reasons why that amendment could not be supported. As I said to Anna Sarwar, I hope that it is something that everybody who wants to see this policy successfully implemented will accept. We need to make sure that it can withstand any legal challenge. It is also unlikely to be the case that that test would be met if legislation is applied retrospectively, and I think that that is an important point to take account of. However, can I make a final point, Presiding Officer, which would be to pay tribute to Mercedes Villalba for the work that she has done on this issue? I think that it has been important. I think that it is to her great credit, and I want to thank her for that, because we have taken account of many of the points that she has made in reaching the decision that we announced to Parliament earlier this week. To ask the First Minister, in light of the loss of life as a result of road traffic incidents on the A9 over the summer, on sections of the road that have not been dualled, what plans does the Scottish Government have to publish a timetable setting out when the dualling of the A9 and the A96 will be delivered? Can I express my sympathies to everyone who is affected by the loss of a loved one and to anyone who has been injured on our roads over the summer? Road safety is of paramount importance to this Government. Indeed, to everyone in our road safety framework is backed by £21 million of funding. Work is continuing on the A9. The section between Tomatin and Moy is currently in procurement, and it is expected that the construction contract will be awarded later this year. Design work is progressing on the rest of the programme with the statutory process well under way for seven of the remaining eight schemes. The evidence-based review on fully dualling the A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen will report by the end of this year, and we will take forward enhancements on that corridor that improves connectivity between surrounding towns, tackles congestion and addresses safety and environmental issues. Presiding Officer, I thank the First Minister for her answer and join with her in sending our thoughts to the families of those who have sadly lost their lives. I would emphasise that my constituents believe, they sincerely believe that more lives are lost on single carriageway sections because, unlike dual carriageways, there is no central reservation separating opposing flows of traffic, and hence the risk of head-on collisions is not reduced. Therefore, will the First Minister now provide reassurance and confidence to my constituents and also to the civil engineering sector by publishing revised and detailed timetables for delivery of our pledges, our long-standing pledges, on dualling of the A9 and of the A96, starting from Inverness to Aberdeen, including the near bypass, thereby helping to save lives in the future? First Minister, I won't repeat all of my first answer about the processes that are under way to deliver exactly that clarity. I certainly share Fergus Ewing's concerns in terms of safety, and indeed that is why safety is of such paramount importance to this Government. As he will know, procurement is a complex process in which there are many rules which must be adhered to, but I can assure him that the work to determine the most suitable procurement option on the A9 is on-going, and an update will be provided when that work is completed. Turning to the A96, Inverness to Nairn and the Nairn bypass, we need to complete the statutory approval process before setting a firm programme for delivery. However, we are continuing to progress the preparation stages with a view to completing that process as quickly as possible. Liam Kerr, the consultation referred to did not offer an option of dualling the A96 between Huntley and Aberdeen. First Minister, can the people in the north-east take it that this means dualling this stretch has been quietly dropped? First Minister, there is no change to what we set out in the Butehouse agreement. In terms of the processes that are under way on that, I have already given detail on that in response to my answers to Fergus Ewing. Question 5, Craig Hoy. Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of overtime in Scotland's NHS. Our health service is the largest employer in the country, with nearly 180,000 staff, many more than was the case when this Government took office. It paid overtime accounts for a tiny fraction of the total hours worked in our national health service. Like most organisations, health boards make limited use of paid overtime to help manage unplanned absences alongside the NHS staff bank. It can also be used to ensure that the care for patients is delivered. We are continuing to build on 10 consecutive years of increasing NHS staffing, and that is why we are investing £11 million over this Parliament for domestic and international recruitment. Craig Hoy. Last weekend, we discovered that hard-working NHS staff have put in 11 million hours of overtime in the last five years as a result of SNP workforce failures. They are burnt out and they are worn out, and the present situation is simply not sustainable. How can it be right that hard-pressed doctors and nurses are being forced to work millions of extra hours to make up for her failings in our NHS? It is worth noting what we are speaking about here in terms of the reported sum of money. It is less than 0.7 per cent of total NHS workforce spending. Of course it will be the case that staff work overtime. It will also be the case that health boards make use of agency and, to a greater extent, NHS bank staffing. In terms of the record of this Government, there are, I think, 28,000 more staff working in our NHS now than when we took office. We have higher staffing per head of population than in England, where the Conservatives, of course, are in power significantly higher. Of course, we have the best-paid staff anywhere in the UK, so we will continue to build on that progress and continue to support the staff who do such a fantastic job in our national health service. Pauline McNeill. To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government plans to take in the light of reported figures showing that sexual and violent crime in Scotland has risen significantly over the past five years. First Minister. Crime, including violent crime, has fallen under this Government. However, recently, there has been a rise in recorded sexual and violent crimes, and that may in part be because women are feeling now more confident to report such crimes to the police. We are taking forward a range of activity to reduce violence and challenge and behaviours and attitudes, which we know can lead to violence against women and girls. We have invested £18.5 million in specialist advocacy support for survivors of gender-based violence through the victim-centred approach fund and the delivering equally safe fund is providing £19 million per year to support projects focused on early intervention, prevention and support. Additionally, the criminal justice reform bill will further improve the experiences of victims in the justice system building on the recommendations of Lady Dorian. Pauline McNeill. I begin by welcoming the fact that the Scottish Government has made justice such an important part of the programme for government. I know that the First Minister agrees that underlying these horrendous figures is a huge societal and global problem of male violence against women in Scotland that we need to tackle with urgency. However, it is not helping victims who come forward. It is the length of time that it can take to come to court, in bearing in mind, as the First Minister has said, predominantly affecting women and children disproportionately. However, the Government recently extended time limits in the justice system in court cases. For example, in the preparation of the crown case for the High Court, it used to be 80 days, but it is now 260 days. Some victims of sexual assault and rape have been dropping cases because they cannot bear to wait the years that it sometimes takes to go to trial. As the First Minister, what can she do to make sure that, month on month, those delays are coming down as we go towards 2025? What kind of reassurance can the First Minister provide to victims of sexual crime that they will not have to wait years for justice? I know that Pauline McNeill accepts that. I agree entirely with the sentiment of her question. The trauma that anyone who is a victim of sexual crime or domestic abuse goes through is only compounded if there are delays in bringing the perpetrator to justice. There is a real seriousness of intent on the part of the Government. The question was what can we do? We need to ensure that the Crown Office is supported and resourced to tackle those backlogs and bring those waiting times down. We are determined to do that. I know that that is also extremely important to the Lord Advocate. I am sure that she would be willing to speak to Pauline McNeill and provide further information to MSPs about the work that has been done in the Crown Office to tackle those issues. If it is of interest, I will certainly convey that to the Lord Advocate. It is entirely up to her what information she chooses to share. I want to assure Pauline McNeill and the chamber and the wider public of how serious an issue we consider this to be and of the work that we will continue to do to deliver improvements. That concludes First Minister's questions. I will say at this point that I am aware that a statement has been made at Westminster on the health of Her Majesty the Queen. I will of course monitor developments and keep members updated over the course of the day, but I am sure that the thoughts of all in Parliament are with Her Majesty at this time.