 I want to raise a point of order on a secure guidance on the potential misleading of Parliament by a minister. The national transition training fund was launched in October 2020 by the then minister Fiona Huzlop, who said that the initial £11 million phase of the fund will help up to 6,000 people by March 2021. That was targeted at unemployed people. In a debate in November last year, I had an exchange with Minister Jamie Hepburn on the fund and the Government's failure to meet its 6,000 target. That was based on a media report earlier in the year that Mr Hepburn said that 3,000 places have been awarded. In the debate, Mr Hepburn intervened on my point about the failure to meet the 6,000 target for strand 1 to correct his own claim, claiming that the number was now 9,000. However, in today's report of the national transition training fund, we discovered that the number for strand 1 was not 9,000 or 6,000 or even 3,000 but is actually 1,206. The minister claimed that the scheme was a success and had succeeded its target by 3,000 places, but it had fallen short by 4,800, failing 4,800 unemployed people in their time of need and potentially misleading the Parliament on its success. As is often the case with this Government, the talk is better than the action. Can the Presiding Officer set out what avenues there are for ministers to correct the record? I thank Mr Rennie for his contribution. I have not had a chance to see the report that the member is referring to. However, Mr Rennie will be aware that the chair is not responsible for the content of contributions made by members. However, the guidance on the official report correction mechanism sets out the steps that a member can take if they wish to request another member to make such a correction. I remind members of the Covid-related measures that are in place in the chamber and across the Holyrood campus and at face coverings should be worn. The first item of business is general questions. In order to get in as many people as possible, I would be grateful for short and succinct questions and responses. At question number one, I call Paul MacLennan. To ask the Scottish Government what support is available to maximise the growth opportunities for the renewables sector in East Lodian. The Scottish Government is maximising growth opportunities in the renewables sector in a number of ways, including through our national planning framework, which is currently under review funding and support for nexus to consider the industrialised decarbonisation of large-scale emitters, including East Lodian's tarmac. The £180 million emerging energy technology fund provides capital support to accelerate low-carbon infrastructure projects, the Scottish Government's community and renewable energy scheme and the £100 million capital green jobs fund, offering support to help businesses transition to a low-carbon economy. East Lodian has access to all those initiatives. Paul MacLennan. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. East Lodian is ideally placed to take advantage of the growth opportunities with existing grid connections at Cackenzie, Tornes and the proposed new East Link at Dunbar. Can he expand on the opportunities for the supply chain specifically in East Lodian? I agree that East Lodian is ideally placed to play a pivotal role in Scotland's energy transition. In particular, the SSE, Berwick Bank offshore windfarm, provides an opportunity to capitalise upon what is very significant economic benefits that East Lodian and Scotland could benefit from that. There is a range of work that we are taking forward, including the actions that we are taking to help to support businesses in their energy transition. I have no doubt that businesses based in East Lodian area will be able to benefit from that in the months and years ahead. East Lodian and its coastal areas are leading the way in renewables, but last month we found out that Tornes power station is to shut its doors two years earlier than planned. The SNP Green coalition has used the planning system to close down nuclear, and it is throwing the oil and gas sector under a bus. As we build renewable capacity, in what way is it making the south of Scotland dependent on volatile gas supplies from Russia, either just or a transition? The priority is to make sure that we decarbonise our economy, so we are not independent on imports of gas from other parts of the world. That is not just my view, it is the view of the UK Government, which is why it announced yesterday that it is increasing the rate at which the contract for difference programme will be taking forward and not to speed up decarbonisation. The approach that the Scottish Government has taken for a number of years now is why we are exhilarating investment in our renewable energy sector to ensure not only the security of supply here in Scotland, but to make sure that we also secure the economic benefits for those who live in the East Lodian area. 2. Megan Gallacher To ask the Scottish Government for what reasons school pupils have taken examinations in some subjects such as business or geography, will reportedly receive advanced notice of what content will or will not be assessed, while those taking other subjects such as chemistry will receive no advanced notice? Question papers for exams are different for each course as they assess different types of knowledge, understanding and skills. Accordingly, the revision support has been tailored to reflect this, as well as to complement the significant course modifications that have already been made this year. In some courses, learners may be advised that topics, contents or content will or will not be assessed in the exam, for others, as additional information has already been provided. It is not possible to take the same approach for courses where the exam will assess content from across the whole course or where the topics or content cannot be separated easily. For pupils receiving a study guide, they will need access to a laptop or device in order to fully prepare for their exams. The Scottish Government also promised internet connectivity, which is vital for pupils to access the online revision platform. I raised in the chamber last week that 80 per cent of school pupils still do not have a digital device, so can I ask the cabinet secretary again when will pupils finally receive a digital device? Will that be before the revision support is published in March? As has been made clear in the chamber a number of times, the Scottish Government has provided funding for 72,000 devices and 1,400 internet connectivity solutions to be distributed across Scotland. COSLA has reported that there are 122,000 devices that have been distributed, and we believe that that is an under-reporting of the issue. As has been made clear, as I said many times, the Scottish Government has a commitment to provide advice for each pupil by the end of the parliamentary term. We know that teachers have faced significant disruption to throughout this past year. How are the Scottish Government and its agencies supporting them to deliver the best outcomes possible for our learners? We absolutely take the wellbeing of our teachers very seriously, and since October 2020, we have invested £2 million specifically for supporter teacher wellbeing. Of course, we also have on top of the 1,400 teachers recruited during the pandemic. We have committed to bringing 3,500 teachers and 500 support staff into the system by the end of this parliamentary term. Once the effects of the pandemic are less direct, the increase in staff will support improvements in attainment. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the provision of new ferries in light of the publication of the strategic transport project review 2. Minister Jenny Gilruth The Scottish Government has committed to investment of at least £580 million in ports and vessels to support and improve Scotland's ferry services over the five years to 2026. We have been working with partners to progress our fleet replacement programme, and last year we announced the decision to extend the highly vessel procurement being undertaken by Caledonian maritime assets limited to a second vessel. Bids from shipyards are now being evaluated. Our recent investment in the purchase of the MV Lough Friza and vessel cascades will bring benefits across the network to mull, sky and the outer hebrides. Further projects are under way, the small vessel replacement programme, new vessels for Dunoon and Kilcregan, further major vessel replacements for mull in south Uist and replacement freight ships for Orkney and Shetland. The Collier and Elandshire, the Western Isles Council, have this morning released a scathing statement lamenting the decades of under investment in ferries and calling for urgent action. That is a significant intervention by local authority whose residents rely heavily on the robustness of Scotland's ferry network. Will the minister meet with the Collier as a matter of urgency to discuss their concerns and will she apologise for the SNP's abject failure over the last 15 years to maintain a reliable ferry network for Scotland's island communities? Can I say to Donald Cameron, first of all, I'm not cited on the detail of the statement that he alludes to. Will I meet with the council in question? Yes, I'm more than happy to meet with that council. I will also point out that the 2021 budget included £19.2 million for local authority ferries, an increase of £7.7 million on last year. That ensures that local authorities are fully funded to operate their internal ferry services. On the question of whether I will engage with the local authority on the detail, I'm more than happy to do that. I think that it's hugely important that we have a ferry service that is fit for our island communities. I hope that, given that I'm relatively new to post, he will take the spirit of my offer here, with the intention that it is meant and felt with. I'm keen to meet with local authority partners on that, because it's so important that we get our ferry services right for our island communities. As the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress regarding free early learning and childcare provision for all one and two-year-olds? Minister Clare Haughey, latest census statistics show an increase to 13 per cent of all two-year-olds registered for the current funded ELC offer, up from 9 per cent in last year's statistics. Given the challenges of the pandemic, this is important progress, and I'm grateful to local partners and staff for all their efforts to deliver expanded funded ELC in difficult circumstances. We're learning from what we know about the barriers for families with young children to take up funding ELC, to inform how we develop our new commitment to all families with the one and two-year-old, starting with low-income households within this Parliament. Our vision is to develop an offer that will contribute to supporting the wellbeing of the whole family and help to deliver our mission to tackle child poverty and to implement the promise. We are starting our engagement with families, the early learning sector and academic experts to design how the new offer can best support children and families this year and will ensure that this early engagement informs the resource spending review process. Our nursery staff provides such an important and valuable service. As the roll-out for early learning and childcare has resulted in more children than before accessing early learning, would the minister be able to inform me what support is in place for the staff and management of both private and council nurseries to ensure that they can continue to provide a robust service? The early learning and childcare workforce is vital to providing high-quality funded childcare and we're committed to supporting the continued development of practitioners via our refreshed national induction resource. Scottish Government grant funding supports the childcare sector representative bodies who support and advocate for their members, while our core funding to local authorities ensures that they can support funded partners and public sector settings. We have also developed a wellbeing resource for all childcare practitioners and are supporting recruitment through our national recruitment campaign resources. Recent work with the Scottish Social Services Council to invite registrants to return to the workforce and the creation of thousands of additional training places across Scotland. 5. Ruth Maguire To ask the Scottish Government what action it's taking to identify perpetrators of human trafficking and disrupt their activity. Human trafficking is a horrific abuse of human rights and there is absolutely no place for it in Scotland or elsewhere. Action to identify perpetrators of human trafficking and to disrupt their activity is led by Action Area 2 of the Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy. This group, chaired by Police Scotland's dedicated national human trafficking unit, worked collaboratively to maintain the profile of human trafficking throughout the pandemic, including the development and circulation of monthly briefings to draw together intelligence and information. Police Scotland continues to pursue and disrupt perpetrators of human trafficking and exploitation, including across national boundaries. Joint investigative teams have been developed with other European law enforcement agencies, including Romania. Websites that advertise sexual services are a major enabler of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation in Scotland and somewhere where, according to Police Scotland, crime groups hide in plain sight. Does the minister think that the current legislative framework in Scotland provides our law enforcement agencies with all the tools that they require to end this exploitation and bring perpetrators to justice? Police Scotland actively investigates all reports of online sexual exploitation and human trafficking legislation gives police and prosecutors powers to bring traffickers to justice. In addition, we have laws that make it an offence to procure for the purposes of prostitution and, including in an online context. Work to design a model to challenge men's demand for prostitution will consider whether those current laws need further modernisation or strengthening. Recognising that the regulation of internet and online service providers is reserved, we are liaising with the UK Government on its online safety bill, which will also form part of that consideration, as more details on that become available. Criminalising the purchase of sex would make Scotland an unwelcome place for traffickers. Can I ask what action the Scottish Government is taking using websites to identify people who have been trafficked and traffickers? Can I ask if they are going to take further action in this regard? We are taking further action in this regard. It is an ambition of this Government to create an environment in Scotland that makes Scotland a hostile place for human traffickers. Trafficking is an absolutely abhorrent crime. The member will know that there is a vast amount of work being undertaken by the Scottish Government on the model for Scotland that will seek to challenge men's demand for prostitution. As I have said, we have the UK Government's online safety bill that is coming forward. It is a developing situation. At the moment, it looks like there are some interesting developments in that for the part that the member has raised. However, this is something that the Government takes very seriously and there is on-going work in this area. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when it expects college and university students to be able to return to full-time, face-to-face learning. The guidance for the current academic year has been reviewed in collaboration with the sector, taking into account advice provided by the Covid-19 advisory subgroup on college universities. It is for institutions to determine an appropriate balance of in-person teaching where that focuses on the reduction in management of risk and a cautious approach to keep people safe. The First Minister announced that an update of the Scottish Government's strategic framework will be published shortly. Updated guidance for colleges, universities and community land development providers will, of course, be in line with this strategic framework. Liam McArthur Can I thank the minister for his response? Of course, recent relaxations and restrictions have allowed some normality for students after two years of disrupted learning. However, I have been contacted by students from my constituency who continue to experience largely online learning for science-based courses. Given nightclubs are open but some lecture halls remain closed, does the minister not accept that guidance on face-to-face learning on campus now urgently needs to catch up in the interests of students and their learning? The first thing that I would say is that I am hugely appreciative of the forbearance of our students across Scotland in playing their part in responding to minimising and mitigating against the spread of Covid-19. I understand the points that Mr McArthur has made. What I would do is reiterate the point that I have just made. All of our guidance is constantly kept under review. It is designed in the balance of ensuring that we respond to the various harms that we know exist through the response to Covid-19. That is the manage that we will have approached throughout and continue to approach this. To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to ensure that energy companies do not discriminate against island residents and smart meters in residential properties. The smart meeting programme is owned and led by the UK Government, while loft gem monitors suppliers and ensures that they comply with any regulatory obligations relating to the roll-out of smart meters. We will continue to press the UK Government on concerns raised regarding smart meter roll-out while using our new powers in consumer advocacy and advice to ensure that Scottish consumers voice is heard by energy companies regardless of meter type or location. Additionally, we will carry on working with bays of gem, smart energy, GB and the wider energy market to ensure that the views and needs of Scottish consumers are heard and taken into account in policy planning. I thank the cabinet secretary. My constituency already faces the worst levels of fuel poverty in the country. Difficulties in getting smart meters fitted is just one of the challenges that my constituents come up against. The UK's recent price cap hike will cause many energy bills in the western isles to rise potentially even higher than off gems, 54% increase from April. What can the Scottish Government do to press the UK Government to remedy what has just been inflicted on vulnerable people in the islands? Of course, those who live in rural areas, including in our island communities, are very often off grid and are at greater risk of fuel poverty. Smart meters can assist households in managing their bills, which is why we need to see much more effective roll-out in our rural areas in Scotland. In addition to that, given that there is a greater dependence on electricity supplying heating in our rural areas, the UK Government should look to remove the obligations that are placed on energy tariffs, which would help to reduce the cost of electricity as a source of heating. Alongside that, it should also look at extending and expanding the warm homes discount scheme, which could help to support tackling fuel poverty in the medium to longer term. Of course, the Scottish Government will set out in the budget later on this afternoon the measures that we will take to try to help to support families who are experiencing significant pressure due to marked rises in energy prices.