 Mae'r cwestiadau yn gw chiclydaeth olu a felly mae'n privilegiad gyda maes i hy irrigation initiative droi hwn i gestech chi i hynny i hynny a'iio graff, ac mae eich r hissig ynوم yn olygu gorau cyfle ynghylch. That is why the Scottish Government has recently established the new strategic board to better align the work of our enterprise and skills agencies. Something that, in many aspects, I seem to recall was opposed by other parties in the chamber. We want to make sure that, through that strategic board, which is ably chaired by Nora Srn, give pensar on game, athen we get maximum impact and value for the around £2 billion every year that we spend on enterprises and skills. Let me come to the point on economic growth though, because it's quite interesting. I suspect Ruth Davidson as being partly prompted in her questioning today by yesterday's Fraser of Alンドor Institute report. I'm sure that she's paid a very close attention because Ruth Davidson, for the past number of months now, has hitched her wagon to c classical os peth yn gyntafol at iddy heeftas yn unig awr ddaeth yn ddigon pneumon kr Frame neu aexcarelwyr ar yng Ng. Llyr Pittsburgh ddigon P risky ac mae hanesrach a'r draeth ag hyffordd e smoking i celys o ddod i maes яwayl yn'n y gafalsu i draeth yng ng mulach rhai cy imposent i gyrsiau a' pubuod nyfiadau maker bendig yn ddigon pneumon rhywfoliad yn ddigon operates o gafalen mghall hwnae gyda fannig yn gwybodaeth ynglyn f lanedd ond wrth ddyfodol ni'n cael ei wneud â'r ddweud o'i gydag o'r ddechrau, a'u gwaith yn ddiwrnod, ond yn ddweud o'r ddweud, nid yw'r ddweud o'i ddweud o'r ddweud o'r ddweud, ond ond mae'n cael ei gydag o'i ddweud o'r ddweud o'i ddweud o'r ddweud. Ond yma'n gweinidol gysylltu. Rhyf sy'n mynd i ddweud o'r ddweud, ac mae'n gweinidol i ddweud i chi ddweud, ond mae'n gweinidol i ddweud, First Ministerw Author has no credibility on the economy for as long as she supports a hard Brexit. She can't lecture others on economic growth when she is supporting a policy that all of the experts say will hit growth in this country by more than £2,000 per person."estraw of the 사람이 is zero. Ruth Davidson, ddelytiw y First Minister yn ddodd ar y Frazier Ballender Institute a'r cymdeithas yng nghymru i'r Gwrsgawr. Fy roi'r prydysgafodd honno, rwy'n ddodd, rwy'n ddodd, rwy'n ddodd i'n ddodd i'n ddodd i'n ddodd i'r gyrsgawr oedd y plan i'r economi. Fy rwy'n ddodd i'n gwrsgawr, rwy'n digyntu, rwy'n ddysgu'r economi, rwy'n ddysgu'r plan. Fy rwy'n ddodd i'r ein cyfan ar roi, ir smallestrtedig, y bekanntadau whenodoedd, y cyfnodau maenigol, siadprosidau hydrol abordau. Fy rwy'n ddodd, treatment o gyrsgawr, rwy'n ddodd blodd a gannigau cyfnodau, ar gyfer niad sortedig, hay flane rooftop yn y grid dyniai a gyrsgawr eraill i hason. Fy rwy'n amser Knowys, gan y Twde, i'r gweld ddodd y cyfan ddyญ a'r ystajffί a ddodd ar мы Buzzg Country at €32 local authorities i unrhyw dddangas glenderau hynny—£18,000—a ystafelladau f États fraisir Calender Institute. Diolch i ddim yn 2007. Y Llyfrgell Llyfrgell yn ystafelladau ystafelladau a cyntafolololion. 10 anni ar ddigwydd hwnny, mae i gynnyddias i ddim yn llawer. Fe ystafelladau'nser hynny efallai, mae unrhyw ddim yn yn glwg i ddim yn ni. Oh! Ruth Davidson yw rydw i'w belln, yn fwy oherwydd Sarah North-Gil pattern o gangrwp o'r Brothers Wins. That is the case. Ruth Davidson lists a number of strategies, such as women and enterprise, for example, that are extremely important. For example, we know that if women were to start businesses in Scotland at the same rate as men, it would be worth billions of pounds to our economy. Ruth Davidson will stand up in her next question to me and list the ones she wants the Scottish Government to scrap. I would be very keen to hear her answer to that question. The strategic board, of course, is all about making sure that all of that work is aligned. I think that no resenia chairing that board will do a very, very good job in there already hard at work. Ruth Davidson wants to quote from the Fraser of Allander institute. Let me quote some more from that report. Scotland has a strong and prosperous economy, page 4. Scotland has clear economic strengths, page 24. Scotland's labour market has held up well despite a challenging environment, page 16. Also on that page, unemployment remains low by historical standards. Page 4 again, Scottish exports have grown relatively strongly in 2017. Of course, as I said, the Fraser of Allander projections for growth for Scotland are higher next year in the year after than the OBRs are for the UK, which seems to haul Ruth Davidson's argument entirely below the water line. Let me finally come back to what is possibly the most important quote in the report, which again is on page 4 if Ruth Davidson wants to look it up. It is this one. As I said and I know that Ruth Davidson does not like hearing this, it is particularly relevant today because it says this. Brexit remains the biggest challenge on the horizon. As long as Ruth Davidson is supporting a policy that is going to damage growth in the economy, she has no credibility, so perhaps she wants to, the next time she gets her feet in a few seconds time, tell us will she go back to her old position of supporting membership of the European Union? If she will not go back to that, will she go back to her old position of retaining membership of the single market? If she does not, as I say again, she has zero credibility on the economy. Ruth Davidson, the truth of it is clear that if strategies and press releases were enough to grow the Scottish economy, we would be steaming ahead by now. However, as it is, we are trapped in an SNP slowly. I know that the First Minister likes to point the finger at Brexit for everything. She has done it twice already today. How can she explain this? Not only is growth for Scotland running at a third of that of the UK, but small business confidence in Scotland is at minus 18, whereas in the rest of the UK it is at plus six, which is a 24-point gap. Let me ask the First Minister this. She blames Brexit for everything. Might it not just conceivably be possible that our problems lie slightly closer to home? I can understand why Ruth Davidson wants to ignore the fact that I have pointed out twice that the economic growth projections in the Fraser of Hattlander Institute report for next year and the year after are actually higher for Scotland than the OBRs are for the rest of the UK. I am not sure whether Ruth Davidson is prepared to lay the reasons for that at the door of Theresa May, but she wants to ignore the elephant in the room that is Brexit. I am going to remind her of some of the figures. It is simply not credible to come here and say that you are really concerned about economic growth when you know, as Ruth Davidson does, what the figures show that the impact of Brexit is going to be. If we fall back in WTO trading rules, we know that that will hit our economy to the tune of more than £2,000 per person. That is 8.5 per cent hit to our GDP. A free trade agreement with the EU would reduce growth by 6.1 per cent, which is £1,600 per person. EAA membership, the least damaging option, would still hit growth by 2.7 per cent, which is £700 per person. Does Ruth Davidson want to tell us which of those options does she support? All of them hit growth in our economy. It is the Tories that are taking us out of the EU, and as long as that is the case, they have no credibility coming here to talk about economic growth, and everybody out there knows it. Ruth Davidson. Years where we stand, Scotland is economically underperforming now. She says that Brexit is to blame, but there is still a year to go. We have had 10 years wasted under an SNP Government, and this is their record. The lowest rate of business growth in the UK, productivity in Scotland at the lowest level in eight years, and for the next three years, the weakest projected economic growth of any country, not just in the OECD but in the EU. Isn't it time that she stops simply blaming Brexit and looks to herself to get Scotland's economy moving? First Minister. Let's look at Scotland's performance. I won't repeat for a fourth time the points about growth in the Fraser of Allander Institute report. Perhaps Ruth Davidson, when she gets the chance, can go and read it. Let's look at some of the other aspects of growth. Productivity growth is higher in Scotland over the last decade than in the rest of the UK. International goods exports are figures from just the last year, growing at a faster rate than any other part of the UK. 19 per cent. Unemployment is close to a record low. For something that has been living out of the last 13 months, unemployment in Scotland has either been lower than or the same as it has been in the rest of the UK. We have got youth employment at a higher rate than the rest of the UK. We have got female employment at a higher rate than the rest of the UK. Scotland's economy is strong and we are determined to make it even stronger. However, we do that against the challenge of ideologically obsessed Tory Brexiteers who want to rip our country out of the EU against our will. That is the reality. 2. Richard Leonard Three years ago, the First Minister told the Daily Record newspaper that education was her top priority. She said, and I will quote her, that over the next months and years, making sure that the Scottish education system becomes genuinely one of the best in the world will be a driving and defining priority of my Government. How does the prospect of Scotland's teachers taking industrial action because of this Government's mishandling of their pay and workload help with that aim? The First Minister Well, clearly it wouldn't, which is why we don't want to be in that situation, which is why we became the first Government anywhere in the UK. Generally, when you take the NHS out of the equation, it is still the only Government anywhere in the UK, including the Welsh Government in Wales, that has lifted the 1 per cent public sector pay cap. Of course, negotiations about pay are under way. In the case of teachers, those are tripartite negotiations that involve the unions, councils as employers and, of course, the Government. The Government is involved in those negotiations. They will continue, I hope, constructively. I hope that we get to an end result here that avoids the scenario that Richard Leonard has outlined and that our teachers get a decent pay rise that they deserve. We can all go on with the rest of our work, very detailed work in raising attainment in our schools. I should point out to Richard Leonard. I didn't just say it three years ago in the daily record if he's been listening. He'll have heard me say it countless times since. Richard Leonard Presiding Officer, the fact is that, under this Government, teachers have seen their pay fall in value by 25 per cent in real terms. They have gone from being amongst the best paid teachers in the developed world to amongst the worst. They have seen three and a half thousand of their colleagues disappear from the classroom, and they are now teaching some of the biggest classes in the western world. Is it any wonder that so many teacher training places lie vacant? Is it any wonder that Scotland's teachers feel undervalued? Is it any wonder that they are saying, now is the time for action? First Minister, you cannot close the attainment gap between the richest and poorest children in our schools with underpaid and overworked teachers. I've spent a few mornings recently on the picket line outside Scotland's universities. I don't want to find myself on the picket line outside Scotland's schools, but if I have to, I will, because I value education and I value our teachers. First Minister, what are you going to do to ensure that you value our teachers? With my colleagues in the Scottish Government that have done, of course, is to lift the 1 per cent public sector pay gap. Now that provides the starting point for the negotiations, the tri-part negotiations that I have spoken about, but it is a bit rich, is it not, for Richard Leonard to come here and ask me, a perfectly entitled to ask me these questions, but when his own Labour colleagues in Wales have not done what this Government has done, they have not lifted the 1 per cent public sector pay gap. We have done that because, uniquely among the Governments across the UK, we recognise that that pay restraint cannot continue. That pay restraint was designed to save jobs during the recession, but we recognise that, with the rising cost of living, that is not sustainable. That is why we have taken the action of lifting the 1 per cent public sector pay gap. We will now go into negotiations, not just with teachers, but with the health service unions as well, making sure that our public sector workers are properly rewarded and that we get on with the job of improving the quality of our vital public services as well. That is what I am doing, and I will continue to get on with that job. Richard Leonard can go and spend his time in whatever way he sees fit. Richard Leonard First Minister, this is urgent. The pay review is due to conclude with the pay rise being implemented in April, which is this weekend. You sit at the negotiating table. Local authorities have had their budgets cut year on year. The only thing that can stop our schools from facing industrial action and our children's education from facing disruption is that the Scottish Government finally pays teachers what they are worth. If education really is your driving and defining priority, will you agree and will you fund a proper, fair pay rise for our teachers? First Minister First Lady, local government budgets are being increased in real terms in the coming financial year. I should remind Richard Leonard that he and his Labour colleagues voted against in the budget. Again, it is a bit rich to come here and talk about things and ask me to do things that him and his colleagues here in Scotland and elsewhere across the UK do when they have got the opportunity to do it. Real terms increases for councils. We are also, as we have talked about many times in this chamber, directing over the life of this Parliament £750 million through our attainment fund. Much of that money is going direct to head teachers to spend on measures to raise attainment. In terms of teachers pay, I make no apology for the fact that we will take forward those discussions in the proper way through the tripartite negotiation framework that is in place. As Richard Leonard rightly says, the Government is a part of that and we will take those negotiations forward in good faith. I would have thought, as a former trade union official, that he would welcome that commitment to on-going proper negotiation. I am grateful that you have allowed me to ask this question, Presiding Officer, in place of my colleague Alec Neill, who is unable to do so himself as he is at a funeral. Following yesterday's announcement that TOM and the Erdrake is to close, with the loss of more than 400 jobs, many of whom are from my constituency of Cope Ridge and Creson, can the First Minister outline what support she and the Scottish Government is providing to ensure that those jobs are saved? I was extremely concerned to learn the news that the TOM group that is limited has entered administration and I know that this will be an extremely difficult time for the employees of that company and their families and also for the local community affected by this decision. Scottish Enterprise has already contacted the administrators to understand whether it can provide any assistance. I noted remarks from the administrator regarding the potential to find a buyer for Alasdair Fleming Ltd in Kilmarnock, which might see the employees of that subsidiary transfer to new owners. In addition to working positively where we can with the administrators, our partnership action for continuing employment pace team met yesterday with employees at the base in Erdrake. Arrangements are under way for a pace event to take place next Friday, 6 April, to which all employees will be invited. By providing skills development and employability support, pace aims to help anybody who is affected by redundancy to get back into work as quickly as possible. I can assure Fulton MacGregor and, of course, Alex Neil, who is the constituency member, that the Scottish Government will continue to take whatever action we can to support both the company and, crucially, the employees who are affected. John Scott The First Minister will be aware of NHS Ayrshire and Arran's projected year-end deficit of £23 million, caused by efficiency savings not being delivered and, more understandably, by winter pressures through December, January and February, and the need to provide bed space and local doctors to meet the highest demand rate in Scotland at that time. Notwithstanding the efficiency savings not being met, will she now support NHS Ayrshire and Arran's request for loan funding to cover that deficit or brokerage to use the technical term? As I understand it, that has already been discussed with NHS Ayrshire and Arran, and there is a commitment from the Government and principle to provide what we call brokerage support to deal with the situation that John Scott has outlined today. I am sure that the health secretary will be happy to update him as those discussions conclude. Jackie Baillie On the day that the First Minister was meeting the STUC to discuss fair work, SNP councillors in West Dunbartonshire were cutting jobs and cutting trade union facility time. If she agrees with the attack on trade unions and whether she believes that those actions fit with the fair work agenda that she so rightly promotes? Obviously, it is for local councils to take decisions that they consider appropriate, but I made very clear that, in that meeting, that particular case was raised by trade unions, rightly and understandably raised by trade unions, and I made very clear to them, as I will do publicly in this chamber today, my support for facility time and properly resourced facility time, not just because I think that that is right for trade unions, but it also helps employers, and it is good for good positive industrial relations. I saw that when I was health secretary in the health service, and I think that principle applies much more widely as well. I would consider cutting facility time to be a false economy by any employers, and I would encourage all employers, whether they are local authorities or any other public sector or indeed private sector employer, to see the value of facility time. Thank you, Presiding Officer. First Minister, on a visit to air today, the Prime Minister announced that the UK Government will formally begin talks with local partners for a new growth deal for Ayrshire. This is after considerable pressure applied by Cabinet Secretary Keith Brown and Patricia Gibson MP, who led a commons debate on the deal, on this Parliament's local government and communities committee. The deal is expected to significantly bolster Ayrshire's economy, create jobs and boost productivity. While welcoming this announcement, does she agree that we need a timetable for action that the Scottish Government and the three Ayrshire councils have sought since 2016, and which we did not get from the Prime Minister this morning? First Minister. That was very much. If a commitment to talk about an Ayrshire growth deal is enough for the Tories to cheer them, it shows that they do not have very much else to be cheerful about. I welcome the commitment as far as it goes, but I think that the time for talking is coming to an end. Is not it time for the Tory Government to put their money where their mouth is for Ayrshire? The Scottish Government is ready to do that. When will the Tories be ready to do that as well? We have at least matched every growth deal that has been announced so far. In some cases, we have more than matched those growth deals. I do not know why the Tories are dragging their feet over my home county of Ayrshire, but I hope that we can tie them down to a timetable and we can replace the warm words that we heard from the Prime Minister this morning with some cold hard cash from the Tories. That is what people in Ayrshire want. Last August, the First Minister finally committed to introducing road equivalent tariff on Northern Isle's ferry routes from the summer 2018, 10 years after it was introduced on west coast routes. As we approach the Easter weekend, however, there is still no sign of the cheaper ferry fares being introduced and, more worryingly still, not even a formal start date. Does the First Minister accept that this on-going lack of clarity is unhelpful, particularly for the island's vital tourism sector, which relies heavily on advanced bookings over the peak summer period? Will she commit to ensuring that a formal start date for the long overdue introduction of RET on routes serving Orkney and Shetland is announced before Parliament returns after the Easter recess? I agree with Liam McArthur about the potential of RET, and we have seen that potential turning to reality in other parts of Scotland where that has already been introduced. I will ask Humza Yousaf to write to the member with an update on the timescale and the start date for that, and I am sure that he will be very willing to talk to the member further. I am sure that Liam McArthur will come back to this chamber if he is not satisfied with that answer, but I very much hope that he will be. Thank you. It is just a year until the UK Government proposes to take us out of Europe in defiance not only of the way that people in Scotland voted but of the facts about the country's best interests. As ever more information becomes public about the fundamentally compromised nature of the referendum process, it is hard to believe that the UK Government's Brexit extremists are not only unwilling to take seriously the questions about the legitimacy of the result, but are even prepared to use the sexuality of a whistleblower to discredit him. Will the First Minister commit not only to continuing to oppose the Brexit process in principle, but also, if that is done to us and we are dragged out of Europe to immediately campaign to get back in as a full member state? My views on membership of the European Union are any mystery. I oppose Brexit in principle. I do not want us to leave the EU, and I want to see Scotland continue to be a proud European nation. On some of the other aspects to Patrick Harvie's question, I think that many of the revelations and allegations that we have heard over the past couple of weeks are deeply and profoundly concerning. The outing of the whistleblower by a member of number 10 staff was utterly disgraceful and should be condemned by everybody. The Prime Minister's response to that was woefully inadequate. There have also been very serious questions raised in the past number of days about the conduct of the leave campaign. Clearly, I cannot answer those questions, but I think that those questions merit very serious and in-depth investigations. We are one year from the date when the UK is supposed to leave the European Union. What is utterly inexplicable and shameful is the fact that people today do not have any more detailed answers to the questions that they had about the future relationship with the European Union than they did on referendum day. That is largely because we have a deeply divided Tory party that is putting its ideological interests ahead of the interests of the country. For as long as that remains the case, the interests of not just Scotland but the whole UK are going to be deeply damaged. That will be the Tory legacy to Scotland and to the rest of the UK. I think that future generations will never ever forgive them for it. Patrick Harvie. The Greens will certainly continue to be committed to this country's European future. We are a European country and we will continue to be so, even if it takes time to get back in. However, the Scottish Government's Brexit legislation does at least include better inclusion than the UK legislation of environmental principles. The Scottish Government has said that it supports evidence-based policy, but the Scottish Government does not always like the consequences. One of the environmental resources that can clearly only be managed on a shared basis between countries is fish. Will the First Minister accept that without the common fisheries policy, we would not have cod left either in the sea or in the shops? Surely the Scottish Government must accept that, whether we are in or out of the European Union, that shared approach to a shared environmental resource will always be necessary. I think that Scottish fishermen over the past number of years have discharged their responsibilities to conservation, and they should be credited for doing that. Equally, I am on record—my party is on record—it was back in 2004 that an SNP MP introduced a member's bill in the House of Commons to try to argue that we should come out of the common fisheries policy. The common fisheries policy, even taking account of the points that Patrick Harvie makes, is not fair to Scottish fishermen. That is why I do not support it. More generally, I think that he is right to say that our continuity bill does give greater protection to, for example, the Charter of Fundamental Rights to environmental protections. Of course, it is possibly because the UK Government knows that the Scottish Government wants to continue to extend protections such that it is still trying that power grab to centralise those powers in Westminster rather than pass those powers exactly to where they belong, which is the Scottish Parliament. The First Minister will be aware of the importance of continuing access to seasonal migrant labour for soft-fruit farmers in my constituency and wider Scottish agriculture. On February 4, on a visit to Angus, Michael Gove promised farmers that there would be complete clarity around establishing a seasonal agriculture worker scheme by March. Here we are at the end of March and nothing. In the course of the last few days, we, by the Conservative chair of Westminster's rural affairs committee, accused the immigration minister of ffiddling while Rome burns over this issue. Does the First Minister share my deep concern at the impact of this graceful Tory in action that is humming on Scottish agriculture? That is the point that the Tories look at their feet in the chamber, of course, or make lots of noise just to try to hide their deep embarrassment at what is happening. The lesson of at least the last year—perhaps Ruth Davidson might want to listen to this—is that we cannot trust a single word that Michael Gove says. When his pressure leases are co-authored by Ruth Davidson, we clearly cannot trust a single word that she says either. The fact of the matter is that the clarity that was promised by Michael Gove and others has not been delivered. We have no more clarity today than we did on referendum day or than we did on the day article 50 was triggered. That is disgraceful. It matters to people the length and breadth of this country. It matters to people in our rural economy. It matters to people in our financial services sector. It matters to people in our national health services. Instead of shouting abuse when people have the temerity to raise it in this chamber, the Tories in this chamber should be utterly ashamed of the position that their party has put this country into. Alison Johnstone A new footage of the sickening slaughter of mountain hares is reported by the BBC today has the fact that this evidence comes from well-regarded animal welfare groups finally convinced the Government that voluntary restraint is sadly lacking on too many Scottish shooting estates. When and with whom will the urgent meetings the Government now seeks take place and when will the Scottish Government introduce new legal protection for this fabulous iconic animal? I share Alison Johnstone's concern and anger, because it is evident in her voice that some of the images that we are seeing on our screens today are real public concern. We share the public concern about the iconic species of the Scottish mountains. Large-scale culling of mountain hares could put the conservation status at risk, and that is clearly unacceptable. I know that the pictures that Alison Johnstone refers to will be distressing to many people. Alison Johnstone asked who the meetings that the cabinet secretary has talked about will be with. Those meetings will take place with all relevant stakeholders, landowner groups, gamekeepers and environmental organisations. I want to be very clear today that the Government is exploring all available options to prevent mass culls of mountain hares. One of those options is legislation and a licensing scheme. What we are saying is not acceptable, and that is a very clear message that goes from the Government today. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on the role of food banks. My view is very simple. Nobody in a nation as rich as Scotland should have to use food banks, and we will continue to challenge UK Government welfare cuts that are pushing so many people into crisis and into dependency on food banks. We want to eradicate the need for emergency food support in Scotland. We have established a £1 million a year fair food fund. That fund supports people in dignified ways to reduce and remove reliance on emergency food. Last week, we announced a further £1 million over the next two years to support children who are facing food insecurity during school holidays. Of course, we should remember that notwithstanding our disgust that anybody has to rely on a food bank that, for some, is a lifeline, so we should also take the opportunity to thank both those who contribute to food banks as well as the many volunteers and staff that support them. Christine Grahame I thank the First Minister for her answer. First Minister, there are at least seven food banks in my constituency. One even gave out food to 471 children. While I am sure, as you have said, that we would all want to put in record our thanks to those who support them either as volunteers or contributing, is it not shameful that we should all say that they should not exist in the first place? Will the First Minister agree with me that this is a terrible indictment of failed Tory policies and, in particular, the benefits system exacerbated by the roll-out of universal credit, and there can be no greater indictment than to have children queuing for food parcels? The First Minister I absolutely agree with that. It is an indictment of austerity, and it is an indictment of Tory cuts to the social security safety net that should be a valued part of any decent society. People do not have to take my word for that. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has said that just the benefits freeze as the single biggest policy driver behind rising poverty, hitting families in and out of work, and it estimates that the UK Government's policies will leave the poorest third of... Ruth Davidson is chatting away there, so she might want to listen to this. The resolution foundation estimates that the UK Government's policies will leave the poorest third of households on average £745 a year worse off by the time we get to 2022. The resolution foundation also says that the coming year is set to be the second biggest single year of welfare cuts since the crisis. That is what is driving the Tory cuts, Tory cuts that are driving real people to food banks across our country. It is utterly disgraceful. We should aspire to have a country where no child and no family has to rely on food banks. That is why we will continue to do everything that we can through the funds that I have already mentioned, but it is also why we will continue to argue against those cuts. Of course, we will continue to argue for power over welfare to lie in this Parliament so that we can ensure dignity for the poorest people in our society. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that more than £400,000 was spent on consultants to oversee the British Transport Police merger. At the cost of integration that is identified by the Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland are, of course, small in comparison to the operational costs of transport policing. As is the case with any transformation, the service will require access to specialist skills and expertise if it is to deliver. The total cost of the contract of £400,000 is split equally between Police Scotland and the British Transport Police Authority, reflecting the partnership approach to integration. That amount also covers the total cost of the contract up to 1 April 2019. In securing those skills, we expect the service to demonstrate the best use of public funds with the necessary oversight being provided by the SPA. Liam Kerr. I thank the First Minister for that answer. That is not the only cost that is spiralling. Last week, the BTP authority board was told that another £700,000 could be spent on consultants in the next year, and that is just scoping. This morning, we see reports that there is a potential pensions black hole of £100 million. The British Transport Police Federation has proposed an alternative structure that respects the devolution of transport policing but avoids many of those problems. Is it time to back those plans? Just on the issue of pensions, it is important to point out again that the Scottish Government has made a very clear commitment to a triple lock guarantee that will protect jobs, pay and pensions for British Transport Police officers and staff transferring to Police Scotland. On integration, that is overseen by the joint programme board. The joint programme board has already made analysis that is leading to a re-evaluation of the timescale for the integration. That is right and proper that it continues to be overseen by that programme board, which involves the SPA, the British Transport Police Authority, the UK Government and the Scottish Government. Those decisions will continue to be taken properly in good order and we will continue to do everything that we can to engage with the staff that is affected as we proceed with this over the next few months. To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is taking to reassure and protect communities in response to the punish a Muslim campaign. I utterly condemn this disgusting so-called campaign and I do so in the strongest possible terms. I am sure that that sentiment is shared across this chamber. We must all stand together against such hate and we must be clear that in Scotland we will always challenge prejudice and discrimination. We are engaging with the UK Government, Police Scotland and the Muslim Council for Scotland to ensure the safety of our valued Muslim communities. Police Scotland and Scottish Government officials attended the second meeting of the cross-party group on tackling Islamophobia on Tuesday, when I know that the issue was discussed. We are also taking active steps to tackle prejudice and hate, as is outlined in my recent correspondence with Anas Sarwar. I thank the First Minister for that answer. Can I ask members to please imagine that you are a Muslim woman or a child and you are reading this. I emphasise women because there is a clear gender nature to racism and Islamophobia. Punish a Muslim. There will be rewards based on actions taken. Verbally abuse a Muslim, 10 points. Pull the headscarf of a Muslim woman, 25 points. Throw acid in the face of a Muslim, 50 points. Beat up a Muslim, 100 points. Torture a Muslim using electrocution, skinning or the use of a rack, 250 points. Butcher a Muslim using a gun, a knife, a vehicle or otherwise, 500 points. Burn a mosque, 1,000 points. Shocking, shameful and sickening. Will the First Minister and indeed this Parliament send a message to all our diverse communities that this is as much your country as anyone else's, that this is your home and that we stand with you, but we ask you please to go about your daily lives but be more vigilant to look out for each other and if you see anything or suspect anything to please report it to the police. A message to the haters, an attack on one Scot regardless of faith or race is an attack on all Scots and we will never let you win. In some ways I don't need to add to Anna Sarwar's comments because I think he has captured everything that needs to be said but just to be very clear that this message comes from me as strongly as it does from anybody else I'm going to add some comments. In many ways what Anna Sarwar has just read out there I find it very difficult to find words that are adequate to describe it or indeed to condemn it. It's sickening, it's appalling, it's disgusting, it's deeply disturbing, it's all of that and more but I feel that none of that really does justice and certainly doesn't do justice to what I feel and I know all of us feel about that. I have as many of us do, I have many friends and constituents within the Muslim community so I know and I see first hand the impact that this kind of prejudice hate discrimination has on them and I feel so deeply for every single one of them and I do think it's very important for us to recognise that these are attacks directed at the Muslim community and none of us can pretend to know exactly how that feels but all of us should be absolutely clear when we say that these attacks on the Muslim community or on any individual Muslim we treat as attacks on all of us. This is for all our political divisions and debates, this is one Scotland and anybody who chooses to live here, no matter their faith, no matter the country they come from, this is their country, it is their home, we value them, we want them here and that is the message that should ring out from this Parliament. So whatever else devises us, let us be absolutely united in saying that those who perpetrate hate crime because that's what it is, hate crime of this nature will never ever be allowed to win because Scotland will stand united against them and it is that unity that will always prevail. Question 7, Ivan McKee. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Before I start, I'd just like to associate myself with the comments that was made by Anna Sarwar and the First Minister. To ask the First Minister what progress the Scottish Government is making on negotiations regarding devolved powers in the light of it being one year until the UK is scheduled to leave the EU. First Minister. I've been very clear that the Government cannot and will not recommend that the Scottish Parliament gives its consent to the EU withdrawal bill without changes being made to protect devolution. We've already set out to the UK Government the changes that could resolve this issue, but they are still insisting on the right to take control of devolved powers without the consent and, regardless of the views of this Parliament, we've repeatedly said that we are ready to agree UK-wide frameworks where those will be in the interests of Scotland, but those have to be agreed and not imposed. Last week, the Parliament overwhelmingly passed the Scottish continuity bill, which provides an alternative should an agreement not be reached with the UK Government on changes to the bill. However, we are continuing our discussions with the UK Government and we will continue to make every effort to reach a conclusion that respects the devolution settlement. Proper respect for the devolution settlement is absolutely a red line. I've said that before and I will continue to say it. Ivan McKee I welcome the document published today by the Government, outlining the concerns of real people on Brexit. Will the First Minister agree with me that a lot of those concerns could be met by staying in the single market and it's such a time for the UK Government to take seriously the proposals that have been made to keep the UK in the single market and the customs union rather than continuing to put the future of Scotland's interests at risk? The First Minister Yes, I agree. I want us to stay in the European Union. I couldn't be clearer about that, but if the UK is to leave the European Union, then there is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that the least worst option, if I can describe it in that way, is to remain within the single market and the customs union. All of the economic analysis shows that that is the least damaging option. I think that many of the other issues that people are worried about around freedom of movement and the impact on different sectors would also be a laid if we were staying in the single market and the customs union. I still hope that we can find consensus that unites us around that issue. What gives me hope is that Ruth Davidson used to believe it, because I think that the week after the referendum, she challenged me in this chamber to protect her membership of the single market. If she can find it within herself to stand up and be counted on that again, I would certainly welcome that. I know that there are voices within the Scottish Labour Party who just today are saying to Richard Leonard to stop supporting a Tory hard Brexit, that the wording is will he rise to the challenge. I think that some of his colleagues have said that future generations will not forgive those who stand idly by and watch the Tories do real economic damage to our country. I hope that Ruth Davidson rediscovers her former convictions and I hope that the voices in Scottish Labour calling for membership of the single market manage to turn Richard Leonard away from being a hard Brexit-year and into a more sensible position. If that happens, this Parliament can be united, and perhaps we can have greater influence on the direction of travel in the UK. My challenge goes out to those across this chamber to unite behind what is right for Scotland. Thank you, and that concludes First Minister's questions. We move on to members' business in the name of Jamie Halcro Johnston on Scottish apprenticeship week, and we'll just take a few moments for the member and other members and ministers to change seats.