 favourite, we now turn to topical questions and we start with question number one from Anas Sarwar. The cabinet secretary is serious about getting a basis of health shoulder. We will start with question number one from Anas Sarwar. The cabinet secretary is serious about getting a basis of health shoulder. I will start with first question number one from Anas Sarwar. I wouldn't say I don't know if I'm doing well in hospital, but I'll be walking through that. We will now turn to topical questions. We start with question number one from Anas Sarwar. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Can I start the year by being the biggest sick in the chamber, by wishing you a happy new year and also everyone else around the chamber? To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports of an increase in the number of people dying in hospital while waiting to be discharged because their care package had yet to be finalised? First I'd like to take the opportunity to thank all health and social care staff across Scotland for their hard work and dedication to the care of our old and vulnerable people over the winter period. I am saddened to hear of any patient dying while waiting to return home. No one should have to wait unnecessarily in hospital once they are fit for discharge. This is particularly important for people nearing the end of their life, as we know that most people would prefer to die at home or in a homely setting. That is why we have committed, within our health and social care delivery plan, to double the palliative end of life provision within the community by 2021. That will help to ensure that those nearing end of life will get the care that they need in the right place at the right time. I am also committed to eradicating delays and that is why we recently announced an additional £107 million to support sustainability in the care sector. That brings the NHS contribution to enhancing social care to around £500 million a year. My officials have been in regular contact with those partnerships, facing the most significant challenges. I am assured that they have seen a great deal of progress in the lead-up to and over the festive period, ensuring that people got home and also freeing up much-needed beds over the winter period. I will join the cabinet secretary in paying tribute to all our amazing NHS staff who go above and beyond to care for others. Freedom of Information requests from Scottish Labour reveal that, since the cabinet secretary made the commitment to eradicate delayed discharge, at least 683 patients in Scotland have died in hospital as a delayed discharge. Figures are expected to be much higher as some health boards were unable to reveal figures. Official figures also show that the NHS loses around 45,000 bed days a month due to delayed discharge. The cabinet secretary has repeated the promise to eradicate delayed discharge again today, but the reality is that this is yet another failure on her watch. A delayed discharge is identified as a hospital inpatient, judged clinically ready to leave hospital, who continues to occupy a bed beyond the ready for discharge date. Those patients may be ready to return home or be transferred to a care home. Given the clear pressures on social care, why does the cabinet secretary support a further cut of £327 million to local councils this year, a figure confirmed by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre Spice? Instead, why won't she commit to using the powers of this Parliament to stop the cuts? First of all, Audit Scotland has highlighted the progress that has been made with a 9 per cent year-on-year reduction in bed days associated with delays in 2015-16. Progress made, but I am, as I have said before in this chamber, the first to say that more progress has to be made, which is why, of course, it is important that all partnerships make tackling delayed discharge a key priority. That is why, of course, in the draft budget for 2017-18, there is a further £107 million allocated to be transferred from the NHS to integration authorities. That is in addition to the £250 million transfer in 2016-17, which is now baselined. When adding to that the £100 million integrated care fund and the £30 million delayed discharge funding that the NHS is contributing, that is around £500 million per year to support social care. I think that that is resources that is quite right in an integrated system to help to tackle delay and, of course, is in direct contrast to elsewhere where we have seen cuts to social care budgets and fewer people getting the help that they need. If all partnerships in Scotland were performing at the best rate of the top 25 per cent in tackling delay, many of which have got into single figures in the number of delays over three days, we would be able to halft the number of delays straight away. The challenge is to work with partnerships and my officials are doing that to make sure that all of them are doing the things that we know work to help to eradicate delay out of the system. The cabinet secretary says that she understands the seriousness of those figures and indeed the seriousness of delayed discharge, but the reality is that Audit Scotland gave a damning indictment of the state of the NHS under her watch. Although the rhetoric is rich today, it does not match the reality for so many individuals who are struggling as a result of social care cuts at councils the length and breadth of the country. Behind each statistic is an individual and their family that has been let down and failed. Almost 700 patients are going on to die in hospital as a delayed discharge since the cabinet secretary promised to eradicate it. That will be people's relatives and friends in this situation, where they were told that they were now clinically able to go home and ready for discharge. Would they believe that they were coming home to perhaps spend their final weeks and months at home with their own family, but instead trapped in hospital waiting for a care package perhaps for weeks and months on end, but they never came home at all but instead went on to lose their lives in hospital? Will the cabinet secretary take this opportunity to apologise to all families that are let down by delayed discharge and to make a commitment that she will fight to reverse the cuts to social care packages and budgets across the country? Of course, I recognise that behind each statistic is a person, which is why I said in my initial answer that I am saddened to hear of any patient dying while waiting to return home. No one should have to wait unnecessarily in hospital once they are fit for discharge, which is why we are putting £0.5 billion into tackling this issue, because it is one of the highest priorities for this Government and for me, as the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport. As I have said, progress is being made. Ten out of the 32 partnerships now have delayed discharge in single figures. That delays over three days in single figures. What we need to see are the other 22 partnerships following suit. We know what works and that is why, with the resources that have been given, we expect all partnerships to make sure that they are putting in place the services that we know that people not only can get home out of hospital in a timely fashion, but many of those services will prevent people going into hospital in the first place. Action being taken, some progress being made, the speed of that progress needs to increase, which is why we are putting in the resources that we are putting in. The cabinet secretary will also be aware that the most recently published figures show that delayed discharges cost the NHS £114 million in 2015-16 that approximates to £214 every single day. That is an utterly unacceptable loss of vital funding for our NHS. What will the cabinet secretary do to ensure that this kind of loss to NHS funding is not repeated this year and beyond? Of course, it is vitally important that all the resources in the NHS and our health and care partnerships are used to the best effect, which is why the resources that we have put into tackle delayed discharge are also focused on making sure that the bed capacity in our acute hospitals in our acute sector and our community hospitals are used for those patients who require to be in those beds and not for patients who are ready for discharge. As I said in my previous answer, progress is being made. Of course, the £500 million that we have put in is beginning to make a difference, but we need to see more progress. What I would say to the member is that that is in direct contrast to the situation in England where, for six consecutive years, we have seen cuts to local authority budgets. I would have thought that, given that the Labour Party in England has raised the same issue this week about Jeremy Hunt's stewardship of the national health service, where 26 per cent fewer people get the help that they need. I would reflect on the Red Cross's description of the NHS as facing a humanitarian crisis. We may have our issues and our challenges here in Scotland, but the Red Cross here in Scotland is not describing NHS Scotland in those terms. Our health and care staff do a tremendous job. The resources are in place. We know what works. I would just hope that, perhaps, the Opposition might get behind them in their work that they are doing over the festive period and beyond, rather than criticising as they do from the sidelines. Cabinet Secretary for Health and Care is aware that part of care packages often include physiotherapy, particularly for the elderly. She will be aware that NHS Ayrshinarn waiting times for physiotherapy are now extending from 42 to 48 weeks following the alleged laying off of staff. 48 weeks waiting times for physiotherapy is a little short of scandalous Cabinet Secretary—almost a year. What can she do about it to reduce the waiting times for physiotherapy for everyone in Ayrshinarn? John Scott makes an important point in making sure that people can not only get home in a timely fashion but, in many cases, avoid hospital admission. In the first place, the role of our allied health professionals, including physiotherapists, is vitally important. I recently met physiotherapists and heard at first hand the very important work that they are doing to keep people out of hospital and get them home in a timely fashion. I am clear about taking forward the plans through the health and care partnerships. The role of our physiotherapists is very important in doing that. That, as part of our national workforce plan, will be an important part of ensuring that we have the right professionals in the right place. Work is going on at the moment, and we will be consulting with professional bodies, including those who represent physiotherapists. We will need more physiotherapists as part of that workforce plan to do the very things that John Scott was talking about. I am very happy to keep John Scott informed about the work that we are going to be taking forward through the national workforce plan, particularly in relation to the growth of the physiotherapy workforce. Question 2, Gillian Martin. To ask the Scottish Government for its response to the IPPR report, Equipping Scotland for the Future. The report highlights many of the challenges that are identified within our economic and labour market strategies. It has also formed part of the drivers for our decision to undertake the enterprise and skills agency review, which is currently proceeding in partnership with stakeholders and the relevant agencies. A skilled workforce will be a key component of a more successful and inclusive economy in the years ahead. That is why our labour market strategy sets out who will put fairness at the heart of our drive to build the economy and create jobs and remove barriers to worker. Recently published a second annual report on our youth employment strategy development and young workforce. It sets out the improvements being made in tandem with employers across the education system. We are continuing to invest in our successful modern apprenticeship programme and are currently on target to achieve 26,000 new starts in 2016-17 as part of our target of 30,000 new starts by the last eight-year of this parliamentary session. In our draft budget for 2017-18, we managed to establish an establishment of a new £10 million workforce development fund to support the skills development of those already in work. Gillian Martin. Minister, I will be aware that the report outlines that youth employment rate in Scotland has been consistently higher than in the UK and that youth employment in Scotland is now at its lowest level since 2001. Could you outline what factors he believes have contributed towards this and how that trend will be sustained or indeed improved on? Minister. Of course, there has been a concerted effort made by the administration to focus on the issue of youth unemployment. That was a particular issue of concern during the economic downturn. Of course, we were the first Government in the UK to establish a Minister for Youth Employment and underlining our focus on the matter. There have been a range of initiatives in place that support improvements such as community jobs Scotland that are delivered in tandem with the SCVO. There have been other initiatives such as Scotland's employer recruitment incentive. Of course, we have increased the number of modern apprenticeships that are available in the country. We will continue to develop those initiatives. We will continue to develop the young workforce agenda to help us to continue to progress to reducing youth unemployment by 40 per cent from 2014 levels by 2021. Gillian Martin The Scottish Government is committed to growing our economy with a focus on more jobs and fair work. I share that commitment. Can the minister outline how he is making work fair in Scotland? Gillian Martin I again, Presiding Officer, this is another important agenda for the Government. We support the work of the fair work convention. Fair work has ripped through our labour market strategy. Indeed, within that strategy, we set out that we will be providing funding for the fair work convention to roll out their fair work framework. We have the business pledge, which contains a number of fair work commitments, with 299 employers signed up to that pledge. We have support for the living wage. Of course, in the administration, we pay at least the living wage to all of our employees. We fund the poverty alliance for the accreditation scheme. We now have more than 700 employers accredited as living wage employers. That might help to explain why we have some 80 per cent of our workforce paid at least the living wage, the highest of the four UK nations in modern apprenticeships. We have an equality action plan to increase the numbers of those underrepresented in modern apprenticeships. Indeed, we have other initiatives such as the room and returners scheme, which we funded Equate Scotland to take forward this year. We will continue to do all we can to make sure that we have a fair work culture here in Scotland. Dean Lockhart As the minister will be aware, according to figures released just yesterday, Scotland has an unemployment rate of 5.3 per cent above the UK rate of 4.8 per cent for the whole of the UK. After 10 years of SNP government, does the minister really think that that under-performance is an acceptable position for the Scottish economy? Minister Clearly, I do not want to see continued improvements. What Mr Lockhart fails to set out in his question is that the unemployment rate decreased in the last year. That is welcome and we will continue to do all we can to bring that unemployment rate further down. Daniel Johnson One of the key points in the IPPR report is regarding technology change and automation. Indeed, some reports suggest that as much as 30 to 40 per cent of the workforce could be made obsolete through automation. Could the minister confirm what the Government's estimate of potential impact on Scotland is, over what sort of timeframe, and what is the Government's strategy with particular regard to the skills regime about how to deal with this and how to make sure that those who find their jobs may obsolete and find new work through reskilling? Daniel Johnson I would caution against his talking about obsolition at this stage, but I recognise the point that Mr Johnson makes when we refer back to the labour market strategy, where we explicitly recognise the potential impact of increased automation. I have been out and seen many employers over the course of some of where investment technology, contrary to expectations, has led to an increase in employment. I recognise that there is the potential to go the other way. That is why we have set out the area of concern in our labour market strategy and why we will continue to have a focus in this area. The next item of business is a debate in the name of Angela Constance on Scotland's place in the European Union. It will take two minutes to change seats.