 Mae'r ddech amgoed�farchiadau yng Nghymru. Felly the next item of business is First Minister's Questions. I call Douglas Ross. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. The First Minister could apparently not bear to watch the SNP leader's debate this week. But her ears must have been burning as the candidates torched her record in government. I would like to be helpful to the First Minister, so let me recap some of the things that were said. I'm quite happy to continue if you are, Presiding Officer. If you're content to continue, Mr Ross, we will try to... I'm very happy to continue, Mr Ross, we will try to... I'm very happy to continue, Mr Ross, we will try to... I'm very happy to continue, Mr Ross, we will try to... They can endure them while I direct my comments to the First Minister. So let's be absolutely clear. I can be helpful to the First Minister if people can hear, but maybe we can't, Presiding Officer. So we've tried, we've tried. We have tried, Mr Ross. We will suspend briefly. Thank you. We will resume. Please begin at the beginning, Mr Ross. Thank you, Presiding Officer. John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon seem to be enjoying the start of my questions. So I think I'll repeat it because I was just saying, apparently the First Minister couldn't bear to watch this week's SNP leaders debate, but her ears must have been burning as the candidates torched the SNP's record in government. So let me be helpful to Nicola Sturgeon as I tried to do an updater on what was said. Her finance secretary, Kate Forbes, said this about Scotland. The trains never run on time, the police service is stretched to breaking point, there's record high waiting times in the NHS. Does the First Minister applaud? As we do on this side of the chamber, her finance secretary's honest assessment of this SNP's record in government. First Minister. Well, well, of course I didn't unfortunately catch the leaders debate the other night because I was on my way back from a wonderful visit to the inspirational Glasgow Women's Library, a fabulous place that I would recommend to anybody across the chamber. For my part, of course, the only verdict on my Government that really matters is the verdict from the people we serve, the people of Scotland. That verdict has been pretty clear over the eight years of my leadership, winning no fewer than eight elections. Let me perhaps remind Douglas Ross, trying, as I always do, to be helpful to him why that might be the case, because under this Government we've seen a 20 per cent increase in NHS staff, the highest number of doctors and nurses proportionately anywhere in the UK. We've seen a doubling of the NHS budget. We've seen the best-performing A&Es anywhere in the UK for the last seven years, the only part of the UK with no NHS strikes and the highest paid workforce anywhere on these islands. A significant reduction in hospital infections, £10,000 nurse bursaries at a time when the Tories in England scrapped nurse bursaries. Scrap prescription charges take away parking charges at NHS hospitals, leading the way on public health measures. Presiding Officer, I can see you're looking at me as scans. That's just the NHS. I look forward to getting on to other topics later in this session. Douglas Ross. If the First Minister really did miss the first TV debate, there's another one tonight. I'm just really worried that 30 minutes isn't going to be long enough for the candidates to trash her record. Last week, I said that there seems to be two Kate Forbes, one with a terrible record in government and one who says that this Government has a terrible record, but now the finance secretary is in an even bigger gull. She can't decide if she's in government or if she's in opposition. Just listen to that statement from Kate Forbes again. The current finance secretary said that the current SNP Government leaves trains that never run on time, the police service stretched to breaking point and record high waiting times in our NHS. That's a quote sorted for every Scottish Conservative leaflet going forward, and there's even more material that we can use. Kate Forbes said that more of the same is not a manifesto, it's an acceptance of mediocrity. The First Minister might expect to hear that from me, but did she really expect to hear that from her own finance secretary? I am very, very aware that for Douglas Ross, mediocrity, of course, is a dizzy height that he's never come close to achieving. There's also confusion whatsoever about where Douglas Ross is in terms of government or opposition. He's in opposition now, and he's going to remain in opposition for a long, long time to come. Helpfully—and he has been very helpful today, I'm most appreciative—he's taken me into other subject matters, so briefly, Presiding Officer. He talked about crime, so let's talk about the record of my Government, endorsed eight times in eight years under my leadership by the Scottish people. Crime down by more than 48 per cent, violent crime alone down by 48 per cent, automatic early release— Excuse me, First Minister, let's have one speaker at a time, please. Automatic early release ended, of course, opposed by the Scottish Conservatives. We see re-offending rates among the lowest ever. The highest number of police officers is in at any time during previous Scottish administrations higher proportionately than any other part of the UK, and it strengthened the law on domestic abuse. Then there's transport, ScotRail, in public ownership, lower fares on average than where the Tories are in power, £11 billion of investment in rail infrastructure. The M74 completed the Aberdeen bypass, built the Queensferry crossing, built the highest investment in active travel of any UK nation. I could go on, Presiding Officer, and I'm happy to do so later on. Douglas Ross. Well, if the First Minister did continue that record in Government on transport, it would be the A9 delay, the A96 delay, ferries that are rusting in the docks, not serving the island communities that they're there for, but the First Minister seems to think that if she doesn't mention Kate Forbes, if she pretends she didn't watch it, these comments didn't occur. This was a Scottish Government minister, someone currently serving under Nicola Sturgeon, tearing apart this record in Government, and if Nicola Sturgeon won't focus on Kate Forbes, we know that one of our closest allies will. A current Cabinet colleague of Kate Forbes said that Kate Forbes is trashing the record of the SNP Government, but Kate Forbes has voted for every single SNP policy. She's backed every single SNP referendum demand and every one of the SNP budgets. She's the finance secretary, she writes the budgets, and Kate Forbes was Nicola Sturgeon's right-hand woman, handpicked by the First Minister to rise rapidly up through the ranks. When promoting Kate Forbes in February 2020, the First Minister said this in the chamber, Kate Forbes has a forensic grasp of detail. On this Government's record, she's got the detail bang on the money, hasn't she? Of course, three of those colleagues of mine vying to be my successor, vying to have the joy of First Minister's questions every Thursday at 12 o'clock, all of them either are or have been members of my Government. Of course, they all share in the success of the Government that I am proud to lead. I am, of course, by my own choice now an outgoing leader, but I want to be serious for a minute here. Nobody needs a running commentary from me, certainly nobody needs a running commentary from Douglas Ross on anything, but that is another matter. Nobody needs a running commentary from me, but if I was to offer advice firstly to those vying to succeed me, it would be this. Of course, the internal process is really important, but while it might not feel it right now, it is actually the relatively easy part. Being First Minister is hard, it's tough, it is a massive responsibility. Whoever emerges in the position of First Minister and is standing here three weeks today has one overriding task. It is to govern and it is to serve in a way that inspires the people of Scotland to keep placing trust in us, just as it has done consistently since 2007 and just as it has done eight times over the eight years of my leadership. That is what matters, because without that trust nothing else is possible. Finally, to my opponents, perhaps a word to the wise as well. I can't grudge you at watching the first SNP leadership election in 20 years, because we have had lots of Tory and Labour leaderships to enjoy over those years, but here is that word to the wise. For as long as you are using virtually all of your airtime in talking about the SNP, because you have nothing positive to offer, then fundamentally the problem is not ours, Presiding Officer, the problem is yours, because you are destined to stay exactly where you are right now in opposition. Douglas Ross, if only the SNP candidates had something positive to offer, rather than fighting with each other, that Kate Forbes has been so honest about the SNP's record in government, that just this morning, Mary Black, the SNP's Deputy Westminster leader, said that SNP could split over this contest. Nicola Sturgeon has divided Scotland and now her departure is dividing the SNP. Yet, while the SNP goes through this civil war, the real priorities of Scotland are being ignored. This divided and distracted party is failing to give Scots the health service they deserve. The current health secretary is mumbling while I am speaking about his portfolio area, so let's go through what has been said this week. BMA Scotland told us that nearly half of junior doctors are thinking of quitting. On Monday, an investigation reported that one in five people in Scotland have been forced to go private for health treatment. There are 773,000 Scots on an NHS waiting list just now. Ten patients a month are travelling to Lithuania for treatment, travelling from Scotland to Lithuania for treatment. First Minister, when you said that people should focus on governing and serving, shouldn't the SNP leadership candidates focus on the crisis in our NHS, not the crisis in their party? First Minister, I think that it's gone to the NHS in a second. Every single one of the SNP politicians that has been mentioned by Douglas Ross today has more popular and public approval than he does. Douglas Ross, I think, is the least popular elected leader in Scotland today. My advice to him was intended to be helpful. Perhaps if he spent a bit more time looking in the mirror and reflecting on the reasons for his parties and his personal unpopularity in a bit less time thinking about the SNP, he might not be in the dire straits that he is in right now. Of course, our NHS faces significant challenges, but of course the numbers of self-funding private care in Scotland are lower, significantly lower than they are in Tory run England or Labour run Wales. We are now seeing considerable reductions, whether it is in outpatience or inpatience in the longest waits, because we are focusing on NHS recovery. It is because we are focusing on NHS recovery that no NHS workers have been forced on to strike action in Scotland and, in our facts, in terms of agenda for change, the highest paid workers anywhere in the UK. That is the focus on the NHS we have and will continue to have for as long as we are in government. 2. Anna Sarwar week after week I have asked the First Minister about the NHS and week after week she has defended the indefensible and asked patients to accept the unacceptable. Members of her own government accept that the NHS is in crisis. Kate Forbes has said that more of the same will not cut it and she has called out Humza Yousaf for delivering record waiting times. After nearly 16 years in government, the performance of our NHS is the worst it has ever been. It needs a serious plan to fix it. Does the First Minister agree that continuity, mediocrity and incompetence will not cut it? Continued focus on the part of whoever is First Minister on delivering for the people of Scotland and retaining the trust of the people of Scotland, as I said earlier on, is the priority and should be the priority of whoever is standing here in just three weeks' time. Let me talk specifically about the NHS though, because the NHS in Scotland, in England, in Wales and Northern Ireland, across much of the world is facing challenges largely because of the pandemic that has afflicted all of us over the past three years. Because of the recovery plan, because of the record investment that we are putting into the NHS, the record number of staffs, we are now seeing progress in that recovery. Take waits for outpatients. The numbers experiencing waits of over a year down almost 9 per cent in the last quarter. Numbers waiting over two years down 50 per cent in the last quarter down 60 per cent since the peak. We are seeing similar reductions in inpatients and reductions in those waiting for diagnostic tests as well. We are seeing the numbers being seen in our NHS going up. Is that tough? Yes. It is toughest of all for those working in our NHS, but it is our focus on the NHS that is seeing those improvements and will continue to do so. Incompetence has serious consequences. Dr Chris Adams, one of Scotland's leading paediatric surgeons, says that his patients are suffering because of a lack of staff and he has had enough. Crucially, he says that it is not due to Covid. One of Dr Adams' patients is Harvey Martin. Harvey is nine years old. He suffers from neurofibromatosis, which is a genetic condition that causes tumours to grow on the nervous system. In August last year, he was told that he needed urgent surgery within four weeks to correct a curve in his spine. Seven months on, he is still waiting. The curve is now harming his internal organs and he is left in excruciating pain, a nine-year-old in excruciating pain for seven months. This is a serious consequence of incompetence. His mum Natalie told me yesterday that she cannot watch her child in pain any longer. She is looking at private options and will fundraise for Harvey's treatment. First Minister, why are children having to wait so long for urgent treatment? And why are families having to contemplate pain to relieve their child's pain? No parent should contemplate that. Obviously, other than the details Anna Sarwar has shared with me just now, I do not know the details of Harvey's case but I will look into that and respond more fully. I have heard concerns that have been expressed by Dr Chris Adams and all those concerns have been investigated by NHS Lothian. Those are general nots, as I understand it, in relation to Harvey's case in particular. They have been investigated by NHS Lothian but I have this morning in fact asked officials to ensure that we have more external assurance to satisfy ourselves that there is no substance to those concerns. The NHS, as all of us know, is facing significant challenges. It is largely down to Covid. Yes, there were pressures that predated Covid but in most countries the pressures on health services are down to Covid. That is why we are focusing on the investment, the recruitment and the reform to help tackle those challenges. Anna Sarwar cited Dr Adams' comments in relation to staff. We have record numbers of staff in our NHS today. Staffing is up since this Government took office by 22 per cent. We have higher staffing per head than NHS England. We have higher numbers of nurses and midwives and doctors than in the health services in other parts of the UK. We will continue to focus hard each and every day on supporting our NHS so that it is delivering for all patients every day, including children like Harvey. However, as I say, I will look further into the specifics of Harvey's case and respond either to Anna Sarwar or directly to Harvey's family in due course. Anna Sarwar, I think that it is important to repeat two things. One, Dr Adams says that this is not due to Covid. The First Minister is hiding behind Covid. Secondly, incompetence has serious consequences. Incompetence might be funny in an SNP leadership debate, but incompetence in government means people losing their lives right now across Scotland. Across Scotland, thousands of people are opting to pay for treatment because they cannot wait for the NHS. Research by the BBC shows that one in five people say that they or a family member have paid for medical treatment. One in five, and NHS staff like Dr Adams, are speaking out about waiting times because of the risk to their patients' lives. Shamefully, other clinicians were gagged by Lothian and Greater Glasgow and Clyde health boards from speaking out publicly because they know that there is a crisis. Thousands of operations cancelled. The worst any waiting times on record—over 5,500 nursing and midwifery vacancies—is 770,000 patients on an NHS waiting list, record-breaking levels of delayed discharge. That is a crisis of 16 years in the making because of SNP mismanagement of our NHS, and none of the candidates to replace Nicola Sturgeon are up to the job of fixing it, because surely the people who created the problem cannot be the ones to fix the problem. First Minister, just to be very clear, I specifically said in relation to Dr Adams, not specifically in relation to young Harvey's case, but generally the comments and the concerns that he has cited, I have asked for further external assurance to make sure that we have properly investigated those. Nobody is hiding behind anything. Anna Sarwar must be one of the only people—of course Douglas Ross is in this category—that steadfastly refuses to recognise the impact of Covid on the NHS. I have already referred to Dr Adams—I am not talking about Dr Adams—but, week after week, Anna Sarwar stands here and wants to pretend that Covid did not happen. Yes, there were pressures on our NHS before that, but everybody understands the significant exacerbation of Covid on the NHS. That is the case in Scotland, Wales, England and most other countries across Europe and the world. That is really important. I have said that many times and I think that it does a disservice to Anna Sarwar to suggest otherwise. No staff in the NHS are gagged. We have whistleblowing arrangements in our national health service when all staff who have concerns should feel able to come forward and make sure that they raise them. Finally, I have been in this post for more than eight years—as I have said once or twice already—to this day. I have taken the duty and the responsibility of this office seriously, as everybody would have the right to expect me to do every single day right through the very difficult days of Covid and every other day beside it. I will continue to do that for the remaining days that I am in office. I know that whoever stands here after me will also do that. Government is difficult. It is difficult in the best of times. These are not the best of times, but the people of Scotland are the ultimate arbiter of who is competent, who is doing the job well and who is not. They have put their trust in this Government consistently since 2007, eight times in the eight years of my leadership. The task of my successor is to make sure that they retain that trust. It is precious and it is essential to achieving anything. To ask the First Minister whether she will provide an update on the Scottish Government's progress towards reducing the number of people on hospital waiting lists and ending long waits for NHS treatment. Yes, I can. The total number of patients waiting over 18 months for a new outpatient appointment was down 27 per cent in a single quarter. The number is waiting over two years for in-patient and day cases was down 60 per cent over six months. The number seen in December 2022 was at the highest level since the pandemic began. The number of patients waiting for a diagnostic test was reduced by more than 7 per cent in the last quarter. That is down to the hard work of our front-line NHS staff to clear long waits that have been exacerbated by the pandemic. Of course, we need to go further and continue to grow capacity in our national health service, which is why we will be, for example, opening four new national treatment centres over the coming year. Figures from NHS Grampian show that two in-patients have waited more than five and a half years for treatment. In NHS Grampian, for orthopedic surgery alone, waiting times are 18 to 24 months, with more than 3,800 people on the waiting list. I have a constituent on that list who is in debilitating pain. It is impacting her physically, emotionally and financially. No meaningful progress has been made to reduce the number of people on waiting lists, as Kate Forbes has said. Now, Health Secretary Humzae Yousaf is more focused on the SNP succession plan than the NHS recovery plan. What does the First Minister have to say to my constituent and the thousands of other people suffering in pain on those waiting lists? What I will say to the member's constituent and to anyone who is on an NHS waiting list is that this Government will continue to focus on investment, recruitment and reform in our NHS to get those waiting lists and waiting times down. It is simply wrong and the facts do not bear it out that progress is not being made in reducing the longest waits. I have already set out the progress over recent months in reducing the longest waits, both for out-patient appointments and for in-patient appointments and for diagnostic tests. Is that progress yet good enough? No, it is not. The challenge in our NHS is significant, but we will continue with the investment, with the recruitment and with the reforms that are necessary to make sure that we deliver for all patients every day in our national health service. Earlier this week BBC Scotland revealed that 1 in 5 people had paid for private medical care in the past 12 months. Let's be clear that those are people on lengthy waiting lists and that they are so desperate for treatment that they are scraping together their savings to go private. The private healthcare information network tells us that the number of private operations has increased by 72 per cent and in 2021 alone 40 per cent of all hip and knee replacements were done privately. Even the health secretary's targets for ending the longest waits of over two years have all been missed, each and every one of them. Just a few months ago NHS board chief executives were discussing a two-tier system of healthcare in Scotland with some people paying for their care. Does the First Minister now accept that, in reality, under this SNP Government, the two-tier system is already here? No, I don't, but I do consider it unacceptable that any patient has to pay privately for treatment that they should be getting and want to get on the national health service. That is why we continue to focus in the ways that I have been speaking about in bringing down waiting times. We will continue with that focus, and I know that it will be a priority for whoever succeeds me as First Minister, as it has been a priority for me every day in this job. Jackie Baillie, the targets have not been missed. The targets on reducing long waits are being met, and we need to go further and will go further. Jackie Baillie, I know that this will get to howls of objection from the Labour benches, but Jackie Baillie herself is trying to suggest that the challenges in her national health service are uniquely down to the fact that Scotland has an SNP Government. Let me give the counter to that. She quoted the private health information network figures, so she will not mind me also quoting the private health information network figures for self-funded private care in the second quarter of 2022—the most recent figures—in Wales, where Labour is in office. Jackie Baillie wants to do the comparisons when it suits her. In Wales, where Labour is in office, self-funded private care, according to the private health information network, was 27 per cent higher than it is in Scotland, and not just that. The rate of increase in Wales for those who are opting to self-pay for private health care was 21 per cent higher in Wales than in Scotland. I am responsible—this Government is responsible for health in Scotland—but for those who want to suggest that the challenges in her national health service are uniquely down to an SNP Government. If they are Tories, they need to look at performance in England, and if they are Labour, they really need to look at performance in Wales. To ask the First Minister what impact the proposed pay settlement for teachers, if accepted, will have on other Scottish Government budgets. This is a very fair offer for teachers in very challenging circumstances. Indeed, it represents the best pay offer to teachers in more than 20 years. Delivering it, of course, will require the Scottish Government to make very hard financial choices, and therefore it will have an impact in other parts of the Scottish Government budget. However, it is necessary, and I believe that it is right, given the importance of resolving this dispute, which the Education Secretary has worked very hard to do, and in the interests of ensuring that young people's education is not further disrupted, and, of course, in the interests of valuing teachers who do such a good job in schools right across the country. Christine Grahame, I thank the First Minister for her reply. I declare as a former secondary teacher one of my former professions that I have high regard for it, and I do hope that settlement can be reached. What will the proposed pay settlement mean for teachers in Scotland, in particular in comparison with teachers in the rest of the UK? The best pay offer to teachers in more than 20 years will see the salaries of most teachers rise by more than £5,000 in April, if the new pay offer is accepted. The 28-month deal has a cumulative value of 14.6 per cent and would mean an overall increase of more than £6,100 over two years for the 70 per cent of classroom teachers at the top of their main grade scale. Teachers are among the best paid anywhere in the world. They move more quickly to the top of the pay scale than in any other OECD country. In terms of UK comparisons, new fully registered teachers in Scotland are the best paid anywhere in the UK. It is a fair deal, and I hope that it is accepted. The dispute is resolved. It is a great relief to everyone involved that the dispute finally looks like it is over, but is not this whole episode typical of what her Cabinet Secretary for Finance has called the mediocrity of Nicola Sturgeon's time as First Minister? Eight years of broken promises and neglect of Scottish education. Over a year of on-off negotiations, even to get to this point and damaging disruption, would she agree that Scotland's teachers, parents, children and young people deserve better? The hypocrisy here is utterly staggering because, yes, this has been a tough negotiation, but it is because the Scottish Government has been determined to find resolution with our partners in local government that we are where we are right now. Why is Stephen Kerr's approach here utterly hypocritical is because he is a Conservative, and when we look at the Conservative Government in England, we find a completely different approach. Here is what the Tory Secretary of State for Education said about teacher pay negotiations. That is not what government is there to do. Let me give the full quote. We do not negotiate pay, that is not what we are here to do. In this Government, we think that that is part of what we are here to do. Get round the table, agree fair pay deals for the NHS for teachers. That is one of the many reasons why the people of Scotland do continue to put their trust in this SNP Scottish Government. Michael Marra. The EIS ballot on this last gasp offer ends tomorrow. We all hope that this dispute can end because lost learning responsibility rests with this Government. Can the First Minister assure young people in targeted constituencies such as our own that the SQA will make special provision to ensure that they get a fair chance of success? What will the Government do to ensure that all payments are in this month's pay run, the last of the financial year, to avoid tax and benefits chaos for many, many teachers? First Minister, I very much hope that we will see this pay offer accepted and that teachers will get the substantial increase to their salary that I believe they deserve. Education Scotland of course will continue to take steps as will the SQA as appropriate to ensure that pupils are properly supported. The approach of this Government, whether it is in the NHS, the wider local government workforce or the teaching profession, in very, very tough times where inflation is putting significant pressure on our budget is to get round the table to respect trade unions and to negotiate fair pay deals. If only that was happening in other parts of the UK in the way that it is happening in Scotland, we might all be in a much better position. To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to support homeowners seeking to reduce their energy bills. The Scottish Government has allocated £336 million to heat energy efficiency and fuel poverty measures this year. £119 million of that is targeted specifically at fuel poor households. We have also doubled the fuel insecurity fund and provided an additional £1.2 million to help advice services meet increasing demand. We are and will continue to do everything we can within our limited devolved powers, but of course the key levers here lie with the UK Government, so we will also continue to call upon the UK Government to protect those struggling with their energy bills. I urge anybody who is struggling to contact Home Energy Scotland, who can provide advice and support on how to manage energy costs. The current cost of living crisis has highlighted the benefits of improved energy efficiency in homes, an area where Scotland has sadly lagged behind for too long. The Scottish Government's existing proposals on home retrofitting for energy efficiency are, like the pledge to retrofit a million homes with heat pumps by 2030, long on ambition but short on detail. Every key question about how their goals are going to be achieved, from who pays to how they are going to have enough people with the skill to carry out the work, is still unclear. First Minister, these are Scottish government initiatives and goals, and however laudable and necessary these targets are, they are worthless without a route to achieve them. Does the First Minister accept that a detailed practical programme for implementation will be vital to delivering net zero homes, and if so, when are we likely to get sight of them? Of course, Grant Whittle rightly references the cost of living crisis. Let's remember that the cost of living crisis is largely created by an incompetent UK Tory Government. We will continue to take our responsibilities seriously, not just to helping people through what we all hope are short-term cost of living pressures, but to ensure that we are insulating and improving energy efficiency in our homes for the sake of the environment longer-term as well. As I said earlier on, we have already allocated more than £300 million to heat energy efficiency in fuel poverty measures in this year alone. That is being delivered through a package of support via some long-standing programmes that have already supported more than 150,000 households that are in or at risk of fuel poverty. We will continue those short-term and long-term plans to ensure that we are delivering for the people across Scotland. Households in my constituency and across Scotland expect to see their energy bills rise by over £1,000 from next month, eating up more than 13 per cent of the average Scots take-home pay. Will the First Minister urge the UK Chancellor to use next week's spring budget to halt this increase, which will have a devastating impact on so many of our constituencies, when our finances are already stretched to breaking point? Will she support the call from Age UK for an amnesty and prepayment meters, which are penalising some of the poorest people in our society even further? Yes, I agree with all of that. We will certainly take those steps. It is really important, and there have been some positive noises from the UK Government around this. I hope to see those realised and turned into concrete commitments in the UK budget next week. However, it is essential that the proposed increase to the energy price guarantee cap is cancelled. Failure to do that would mean an estimated increase of 120,000 Scottish households in fuel poverty, taking the estimated total to almost £1 million. I hope that we can all agree that that would be completely unacceptable and that it can be avoided if the UK Government so chooses. Thank you, Presiding Officer, to ask the First Minister in light of Scottish Apprenticeship week this week how the Scottish Government is supporting people into apprenticeships. I was delighted to visit city building in Glasgow earlier this week to launch Scottish Apprenticeship week and meet with some fantastic young people there who shared their own apprenticeship journeys with me. The Scottish Government is working with Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish Funding Council to maximise apprenticeship opportunities and ensure that employers wishing to take on an apprentice are supported to do so. The modern apprenticeship quarter 3 statistics show an increase of 7.1 per cent in those starting an apprenticeship compared to the same period last year. Despite a context of the most turbulent economic and financial situation that most of us can remember, the Scottish budget for the forthcoming financial year delivers record investment in education and skills. We have kept the Skills Development Scotland budget broadly in line with last year, allowing it to fund both modern and foundation apprenticeships. On Monday, I visited River Clyde Homes' headquarters in Greenock to learn more about their apprenticeship programme. I heard directly from the apprentices how working for RCH has helped with their development and offered them opportunities. River Clyde Homes' investment in youth recruitment has also led to them being awarded platinum accreditation from investors and young people making them only one of 11 organisations in Scotland to achieve that accolade. The First Minister joined me in applauding RCH and its commitment to helping young people in my constituency into sustainable employment and hopes that their actions will inspire even more organisations to invest in apprenticeships. I certainly applaud the work done by River Clyde Homes and the award of platinum accreditation from investors and young people. It really is testament to their commitment to offering opportunities to young people. I hope that that inspires other organisations to invest in apprenticeships, which are a key way for employers to invest in their workforce, providing the skills that the economy needs now and in future. Almost 12,000 individuals between 16 and 24 took up the opportunity of a modern apprenticeship by the end of Q3 2022-23. Scotland's apprenticeships support young people and all ages into sustainable and rewarding careers and give individuals the opportunity to develop the skills that they need to succeed in their chosen career. I have said seven years ago that the Equality and Human Rights Commission identified that just 0.5 per cent of modern apprenticeships were going to young disabled people, despite their making up between 8 to 9 per cent of the target population at that time. Can I ask what progress has been made since then? Can I confirm that we remain very committed to helping to address the barriers to young disabled people in taking on an apprenticeship and figure show significant progress that has been made in this area since the study by the Equality and Human Rights Commission seven years ago that Graham Day has referred to? Skills Development Scotland provide enhanced funding contributions for disabled apprentices in training until age 29. The most recent statistics published by SDS on 14 February report that the disability rate for modern apprenticeship starts by the end of Q3 was 14.8 per cent, two percentage points higher than Q3 of the previous year. Just under 3,000 individuals had a known disability status, self-identified, an impairment, health condition or learning difficulty, which is a 23.5 per cent increase compared to the same point last year. There has been good progress but, of course, much more work still to be done. This week I met with winners of my Western Scotland apprenticeship awards. Apprentices spoke highly about the skills and opportunities gained and employers boasted about the value added to their company. The Scottish Training Federation says that, while demand for apprenticeships is strong, the funding just is not there. Will the First Minister commit to properly funding apprenticeships and back the STF's calls to increase the number of apprenticeships places to 27,000? I do not recall the Tories putting forward a proposal in the budget that was passed recently for more funding for apprenticeships. However, if we had taken their advice over the last few months to cut taxes for the richest people, we would have less money to spend on apprenticeships and everything else. We are investing strongly in modern apprenticeships. We have asked SDS to deliver at least 25,000 new apprenticeship starts in this financial year, and there are still some to be allocated. Apprenticeships is a really good news story. It is a good news story for the young people who are apprentices, people of all ages who are apprentices. It is a really good news story for the economy, because it is providing skills that we need for the future. That is more important than ever before, since Tories' Brexit has denied us many skills from elsewhere across Europe. We will now move to constituency and general supplementaries. I call Joe Fitzpatrick. Given the new proposals that we are seeing from the Tory Government this week in relation to their approach to refugees and asylum seekers, does the First Minister share my concern about how that will impact on our ability to meet our responsibilities under the United Nations Refugee Convention and the European Convention of Human Rights? Does she share my disgust at the spectacle of the leader of the UK Labour Party trying to outdo the Prime Minister on his anti-immigration rhetoric on matters through which the Scottish Government have responsibility? Let's be clear. The UK Government's illegal migration bill sets out a clear intention to remove the right to seek refugee protection in the United Kingdom. It is utterly shameful and amoral. I can still remember a day when Labour would have opposed it tooth and nail in principle, and not in the mealymouth way that it has been doing. Here is what the UN Refugee Agency said. It would be a clear breach of the Refugee Convention and would undermine a long-standing humanitarian tradition of which the British people are rightly proud. All of us, without exception, should be appalled that the Home Secretary has introduced such a bill. A bill that she knows does not comply with the Human Rights Act, a bill that adds to the damage already inflicted on the UK's reputation as a place of refuge, the UK's credibility with international partners and the ability to meet responsibilities under the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights. It is a bill that this Government does not support, will never support and nobody who has any concern for our fellow human beings should ever support such an appalling piece of draft legislation. Douglas Lumsden This weekend, the Parliament Rugby teams of Scotland and Ireland will play a match in memory of our former colleague and friend, David Hill, who sadly died playing in the same fixture last year. After the game, there will be a fundraising dinner to benefit two charities, Cardiac Risk in the Young and Murrayfield Injured Players Foundation. Will the First Minister join me in wishing both teams well and also acknowledge the strength and courage of David's parents, Roger and Sharon, who have been instrumental in organising this weekend's events so that some good can come from this awful tragedy? First Minister, can I associate myself wholeheartedly with those comments? I think that all of us still remember the sense of shock last year when we heard of David's sad passing. I had some communication at the time with David's parents, Roger and Sharon, and my thoughts remain with them at what I am sure is an incredibly difficult time for them. The fixture this weekend will be a fitting tribute to David. I wish both teams well and of course pay tribute to the charities that money is being raised to support. In this session of First Minister's Questions, where, rightly and properly in our democracy, we have had some robust exchanges, we remember somebody who gave a lot to our democracy in this Parliament. He is sadly missed by all of us across the chamber, particularly by his colleagues and the Conservative benches, but he was an example of what we should aspire to in public life and in politics. If it is the closing question today, it is a good one to remind us, Presiding Officer, of our common humanity, and to remember somebody that we all miss greatly. I will take one further question, Paul Sweeney. The First Minister will be aware of the plight of Morton's rolls on Drumchapol, where 250 workers responsible for creating an iconic Scottish brand now face an uncertain future. The past few days, investors have come forward, and I have put Government ministers in touch with them, and they are due to meet this afternoon. Whilst there is undoubtedly a deal to be done here, it will require the Government to do its bit to ensure that there is a sufficient level of capital investment and business support to make sure production can be restarted on a sustainable footing as soon as possible. I ask the First Minister today if she will commit her Government and its agencies to doing everything in their power to save Morton's, save those skilled jobs in a depressed area and ensure that this household name can prosper for decades to come. First Minister. Yes, I will give the commitment to doing everything possible to try to preserve Morton's rolls and the jobs of those who depend on it. I, like everybody else, was deeply concerned about the company's decision to cease trading last week in my pre-politics life. I used to work in Drumchapol. I know how important a company like this is to people there and to the sense of community. Of course, Morton's is an iconic Scottish brand. The Scottish Government, working with Glasgow City Council, will do everything that we possibly can to see whether there is a rescue package that allows the company to continue trading and to continue to make the contribution that it has made for some time to the community of Drumchapol. Thank you. That concludes First Minister's questions. Point of order, Murdo Fraser. I am grateful, Presiding Officer. Over the last number of weeks, we have been subject to increasingly tiresome interruptions from protesters in the public gallery. In a democratic society, we recognise that there is a right of peaceful protest, but it is very disruptive for those of us in the chamber, for other people who have come to watch proceedings in the public gallery and for those watching at home who tune in to see the First Minister and the Scottish Government being held to account. Will you, therefore, through your office and through the corporate body, look at the question of allocation of tickets to the public gallery? Are those individuals obtaining tickets directly or are they doing that through the offices of MSPs? What sanctions are being applied to those who are being disruptive? Are their names being taken and are they being prevented from coming back on another occasion? What other steps can be taken to try to address what is a weekly irritation to all members? I thank Mr Fraser for his point of order and I can assure him and all members that work is under way with regard to the disruption that the Parliament is experiencing and has done so over this last period of weeks. I have held discussions with the bureau, with the SPCB, with party leaders and members more widely. They are on-going. This issue will continue to be pursued and I will give members an update in due course. We will now move on to members' business in the name of Rawls Macall. There will be a short suspension until our members to leave the chamber and visitors to leave the gallery.