 Before we move to the first question, could I invite the First Minister to make a few remarks following the tragic events in Christchurch in New Zealand? Thank you, Presiding Officer. I do want to begin today with heartfelt condolences to the people of New Zealand after last week's appalling terrorist attack in Christchurch. I hope that people in New Zealand can take some comfort from the knowledge that people across the world stand in solidarity with them. Mae ge forums in New Zealand settings has been felt deeply here in Scotland, as in other countries and perhaps especially in our Muslim community. Last week, Scotland arranged reassurance patrols and visits to mosques, and to other places of worship. I visited Glasgow Central mosques on Friday with the Justice Secretary. The Prime Minister of New Zealand has said that nations around the world are now engaged in a global fight against far right racist ac ieddwyd adill yn rhan o'r cymdeithas. Rydyn ni wedi ei chlas yw'r cyfreidgofeyd ond yn gawr daeth i ddarparu i ferch. Rwy'n credu hynny ymddyngol i amser ac rwy'n credu i palau i ddymisiau oherwydd sy'n digerio'r cynghach gan byddoedd. Rydyn ni wedi bod oedd gweddwyd drws ymddearith o'r cwerthbeth o'r cyfrannod have ar y blynedd. Rwy'n credu i cyfan hynny eich cyfrannod ac i'r cyfrannod a'r cyfrannod o'r cyfrannod i sicr Felly dd因為'r llwyddiadau i gyrwm llwyddiadau ac i'r ffrinddiadau sy'n gwneud i'r blaes i ymryddiadau i mwyafol i'r nifer, o'i gyrwm oedd maesol yn Sgotland.�esaf Menner ysgol Ardangol i gyn ju sydd a fei rydyn ni i'n gwneud i gyrwm llwyddiadau i'r Fywrdd yn defnyddio, maen nhw i Gwyrddiadau i'r fwbeaddedig mewn eu hunachachau i'r gyfafodol yn ddiolch chi. Felly, sydd i wedi i gyrwm Ieb mor gwerthu'n gwiriau'r gweithio a fyddai cwestiwch yn dweud hynny ddim yn ardal. Oes, mae'r ddechrau ddweud cyffredinol yn gweithio'n ddefnydd effectsau drugs i wella meddwl ac mae'n ddeliriaeth drugs yn fwynau i ddinod. Byddai'n dewis i ddweud y dweud bod hynny ar gyflwyno ddechrau oherwydd sprwp oedd y ddweud Does the First Minister believe that the strategies have been a success or a failure? First Minister, these are challenging issues, and I readily concede that any Government has to remain open to fresh thinking and new ideas. On the issue of drugs death, the situation is not one that any of us would consider to be acceptable. As I said in the chamber last week, many of the people who have died have lived with alcohol and drug use for a long time. They have become more vulnerable as they grow older as a result of their complex health and social needs. What is more encouraging—although I am not overstating this point—is that the last report showed fewer deaths in the under-25 population. Recent reports also highlight the following heroin use, particularly in the under-25 population. Work is under way, as I am sure Jackson Carlaw is aware, in both Dundee and Glasgow, to consider what more can be done to tackle drug deaths. Of course, that work will be of relevance across Scotland, and we want to see the outcomes of that work before considering what further action we should be taking. I thank the First Minister for that. We all want to help to sort this crisis, but the first step is surely to admit that the current policy is not working as it should. Regrettably, it has been a failure. Here is an example of that. We know that rehabilitation services and prisons can be vital to turning around people's lives. Yet, as my colleague Adam Tomkins has discovered in recent days, in one of our biggest prisons, Barlinnie, a successful voluntarily funded recovery project, a cafe where people can go and get their lives back on track is now facing closure. How can it be right that we are prioritising spending millions of the pounds that we spend on methadone programmes? Successful projects like that are otherwise put at risk. First Minister. First Minister, I say to Jackson Carlaw and Adam Tomkins that just the secretary has received a letter on this issue, and that will be responded to in due course. It is important to advise the chamber that the Scottish Government has not previously funded recovery cafes, but we provide funding for what is called the Scottish Recovery Consortium. Of course, the Scottish Prison Service adopts a therapeutic approach in dealing with the issues of addiction and provides support for those with addiction problems in their care. The new alcohol and drug strategy highlights the importance of recovery communities and the need for them to be at the very heart of any proposals. They also help to reduce stigma because they provide a visible face of recovery, as well as insights into addiction and harm. Through our sustained funding of the Scottish Recovery Consortium, we will continue to do what we can to support the growth of recovery communities across the country. Of course, we will give consideration to the points that have been made in Adam Tomkins's letter. Jackson Carlaw. Yes. In this mix of approaches, my question was not intended as a criticism, but just a few miles from Parliament is Castle Craig hospital near West Linton, a drug rehabilitation centre with capacity for residential drug rehab patients, visited recently by our health spokesman Miles Briggs. They told him that Castle Craig is not receiving NHS referrals and is now mostly being kept going by patients who are being referred from the Netherlands for treatment. Is not the First Minister like me concerned that Dutch patients are getting better access to this Scottish rehabilitation project here in Scotland than Scots locally in need of the same support and treatment? I am very happy to look into that specific example. We want people to have access to rehabilitation services in a broad range of rehabilitation services. We are providing as the Scottish Government £70 million in this financial year to help to reduce the harms caused by alcohol and drugs. That includes an additional £20 million for drug and alcohol services, which are allocated to support new approaches so that we are responding in a much more joined-up and person-centred way. That kind of investment is important. It is also important—again, I am not trying to make a party political point here about a very serious issue—that it is important that we are prepared to take forward innovative and evidence-based new approaches, even if at first they can seem to be very challenging, particularly for public opinion. That is why we supported the principles behind Glasgow's proposals for a medically supervised, safer drug consumption facility and heroin assisted treatment in the city. It is important that we work with health and social care partnerships on new approaches as well as making sure that we are investing in rehabilitation. I hope that that is something that the Conservatives will think about giving us support on, because we need to persuade the UK Government to do what is required. I respect the First Minister's approach on that. It is something that we have looked at. Unfortunately, it is that one policy, one that we fundamentally disagree with, and we think that the policy should be to get people clean of drugs, not to provide opportunities where they can take them. Scottish Conservatives have set out a clear plan to help to tackle Scotland's growing drug crisis. Getting first-time offenders into treatment, directing more money into rehabilitation programmes run by third sector bodies and, at the same time, at least reviewing the failed methadone programme. We are not, let's admit it, overrun at the moment in politics by issues around which we can form any kind of consensus. On that one vital issue, would the First Minister commit today to working across this chamber, because we will, to improve the drug strategy for the next 10 years so that we do cut drug threats, we do cut drug addiction and we come down hard on those peddling misery across our communities? Can I reiterate my willingness to work across the chamber? I have said a couple of my responses today that I will consider the points that Jackson Carlaw has raised and I give that assurance again. I would ask for that in return. I am slightly concerned at the almost knee-jerk way that Jackson Carlaw ruled out the fresh thinking around safer drug consumption facilities. If we are genuinely to try to find a consensus, we have to be open to new thinking and sometimes that will be very tough and very, very challenging. I would appeal to Jackson Carlaw perhaps to reconsider his opposition to that, just as he is asking me to be open minded to any proposals that he makes. We will continue to make sure that we have the right strategies in place to deal with what we all accept is a challenging and complex issue. That involves taking a very hard line against those who supply drugs. We saw figures earlier this week about police seizures of drugs. It definitely involves support, particularly rehabilitation support for those who are addicted to drugs. Thirdly, it involves being open to new ideas and new thinking. If we can all agree broadly around that, perhaps we can build a consensus that allows us in Scotland to tackle what we all agree is unacceptable and we want to see a considerably improved situation. I hope that we have Jackson Carlaw and the Conservative support on that. Can I add the deep felt condolences of the Scottish Labour Party to the family and friends of all those who lost their lives in the terror attack in Christchurch last Friday and to offer our support for practical action to defeat racism and hatred wherever it occurs? To ask the First Minister why there is a staffing crisis in the NHS. There is not a staffing crisis in the national health service. There are record numbers of people working in the national health service. In fact, I can tell Richard Leonard that staffing levels in NHS Scotland are now at a record high and are up by more than 13,600 since 2006, just before the Government took office. The number of consultants is up by 51 per cent, qualified nurses and midwives up by 8 per cent. There is higher NHS staffing per head in Scotland than there is in NHS England. Our NHS staff, of course, work under considerable pressure, and we are grateful to them for the job that we do. We will continue to invest in our NHS to ensure record numbers of staff so that they can continue to deliver the excellent services that they do. This week, the Parliament's Health and Sport Committee, following the tragic events at the Queen Elizabeth University hospital, began its inquiry into infection control standards. New figures released to Scottish Labour this week revealed that the number of domestic staff that is cleaners employed at the Queen Elizabeth University hospital is falling. In March 2018, 464 cleaners were employed at the hospital, but according to latest figures, that number has dropped to 440. First Minister, why, at the very point when it is facing a rise in infection outbreaks, is Scotland's biggest hospital employing fewer people on the front line whose job it is to keep that hospital clean and safe? First Minister. I'm sure that Richard Leonard will have heard the health secretary already address this issue publicly. It is an issue that has been raised with the way to Glasgow and Clyde health board. It is absolutely imperative that all health boards in all hospitals ensure appropriate numbers of domestic and cleaning staff. Of course, it is for health boards to consider the configuration of staffing, as Richard Leonard will know, and those of us who represent Glasgow constituencies know particularly well. There has been a significant change in the configuration of Glasgow hospitals over the past number of years, and the overall staffing numbers will undoubtedly reflect that. The last point that I would make is that we will continue to raise issues directly with health boards to make sure that they are addressed where that is necessary, but not with standing the very serious incidents that we have seen at the Queen Elizabeth hospital, and we have discussed them on many occasions in this chamber before. I welcome the health committee's inquiry into those issues. Overall, in Scottish hospitals, infection rates are down considerably. I think that I heard, as I can see Jackie Baillie in the chamber just now, when her and I used to regularly have exchanges about the levels of CDIF in our hospitals after the tragic incident at the Vale of Leven. CDIF, MRSA infections generally are down in some cases by more than 80 per cent. So, let's tackle issues where they arise. Richard Leonard is right to raise these issues, but let's not lose sight of the good work that has been done in our NHS to reduce infection and to put a real focus on patient safety. Richard Leonard Well, Presiding Officer, I should also make it clear that this is not unique to one hospital. It is replicated right across NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. There are fewer domestics, fewer porters, fewer laundry and linen staff compared to last year. First Minister, it's clear that we have a staffing crisis in our health service, and it's not confined to consultants, nurses and midwives. It's facility staff, it's domestics, it's catering workers, it's porters and it's laundry staff too, all workers without whom no hospital can operate. So, we know that there is a parliamentary inquiry, and reviews are being carried out by the health board and by the Government. But this is serious and it's urgent, and the public and those under pressure staff need a commitment today that this reduction in these vital front-line jobs is reversed as soon as possible. Is the First Minister prepared today to give them that commitment? We will continue, as I said earlier, to work with health boards, including Greater Glasgow and Clyde, to make sure that they have appropriate staffing levels across all specialties within the NHS. That is important. I repeat what I have already said. There are record numbers of staff working in a national health service. Richard Leonard says that these issues are urgent, and I couldn't agree more. I know how devastating infection outbreaks are in hospitals, principally for patients and their families, but also for the staff who work in our hospitals. That is why the healthcare environment inspectorate report that was commissioned and instructed by the health secretary into the Queen Elizabeth has already reported, and the recommendations that have been made have already been accepted by the health board and are being implemented. So, whatever disagreements we have and whatever legitimate points—and the early legitimate points that Richard Leonard raises—I do not think that anybody could doubt the seriousness of this Government and the seriousness of the health service when it comes to tackling infections in our hospitals. Overall, the figures say that things are going in the right direction, but that does not take away from the need to tackle serious incidents when they arise, and we will continue to do exactly that. Liam Kerr, to be followed by Alasdair Allan, will return to some constituency supplementaries. Very grateful, Presiding Officer. Cove harbour fishing community is suffering. First, their landing was bought and closed by a private landlord. They went to court and won the public rights of access but faced significant legal costs. Several boats were then destroyed in a fire, and now the landlord has closed access to the beach. They have written several times to the cabinet secretary, Fergus Ewing, requesting a meeting, even if it is in Holyrood, to discuss their rights and their future, but to no avail. Will the First Minister ask the cabinet secretary to meet them and not risk ignoring a community facing the loss of their livelihoods? Of course, we want to do everything we possibly can to help any community experiencing difficulties. I am not aware beyond what the member has just said of the content of the correspondence to Fergus Ewing, but I am happy to give an undertaking to look into that. If Fergus Ewing thinks that his help to the Scottish Government can offer, certainly to meet those affected. Alasdair Allan, to be followed by Jackie Baillie. Earlier this week, Off Gem announced that it was minded to reject proposals for a 600 megawatt transmission link to the Western Isles, instead saying that it would support a much reduced 450 megawatt link. That has been met with extreme disappointment in my constituency, as it will severely constrain capacity for future community projects and place projects from the Western Isles potentially at a disadvantage. What pressure can the Scottish Government bring on Off Gem and the UK Government to reconsider the short-sighted decision? We are absolutely committed to unlocking the vast renewables potential of our islands and the associated economic benefits for our island communities. We are very concerned at the uncertainty over the proposed connection from the Western Isles. The Scottish Government believes that, for the full renewables potential of the Western Isles to be realised, a larger link is required, so I very much agree with the sentiments of Alasdair Allan's question. We have made arguments to support this point directly to Off Gem, and we will continue to do so as we engage further with Off Gem with island stakeholders and with developers during the on-going consultation process. I can assure Alasdair Allan and the chamber that we will make absolutely every effort to secure the right outcome for the Western Isles. Jackie Baillie, to be followed by Miles Briggs. The First Minister will be aware that my constituent, Jagdras Singh Johal, has spent more than 500 days detained in prison in the Punjab. There have been accusations of torture and he has now faced his 77th pretrial preliminary hearing. His MP, Martin Doherty Hughes, is to be commended for pursuing the matter vigorously. Will the First Minister use her influence and speak to the foreign secretary and UK Government to urge them to provide support and assistance to Mr Johal and his family? I thank Jackie Baillie for raising the issue. I know that she has raised it previously. As she is right to say, the MP, Martin Doherty Hughes, has been assiduous in raising the rights and situation of his constituent. We have raised the issue and will continue to do so. The Deputy First Minister has raised it directly with Indian ministers on recent visits to India. He has raised it with the British High Commission and I believe, although I will double check this, that we have raised it directly with the Foreign Office and I am happy to undertake that we will do so again. I thank Jackie Baillie for raising the issue. In recent weeks, I have received contact from families across Scotland who are facing unacceptable waits for cleft surgery. Two years ago, we warned SNP ministers about the impact of the closure of the Edinburgh unit and centralisation of cleft services. This Parliament voted against the centralisation, but ministers pressed on against the will of this Parliament. One case highlighted to me just this week is a young man who has been waiting now two years for promised final surgery and is no way further forward in when he will receive this. Families are also telling me that they are looking to NHS England to receive this surgery. Can the First Minister apologise to families for these waits and what will she do to correct a mistake that this Government made? As I have said many times before in the chamber, I regret where any patient has to wait longer for treatment than we would want to be the case. On the issue of cleft surgery, the redesign of that service, as I recall, was on clinical grounds to make sure that a quality and safe service. If Miles Briggs would like to give further details of the constituents who are raising issues with him, the health secretary will look into those and correspond further with him once he has had the opportunity to do so. On behalf of the Scottish Greens, I join with others in expressing our shared concern for the bereaved and the injured following the far-right terrorist attack in New Zealand, but also our respect for the response that that country is showing, recommitting to the values of their inclusive society and refusing to placate the far right as far too many politicians around the world have done. Last night, in the midst of a crisis of our own making, the Prime Minister again refused to listen to reason and instead effectively told the public that Parliament is their enemy. Scotland needs the freedom to take a different direction, to leave behind this chaos and find our own way out of the crisis. That is why we need our independence. The First Minister told us that she would say something about her preferred timing within weeks. That was two months ago. Can I ask again when? First Minister? Firstly, can I agree with Patrick Harvie that the Prime Minister's comments last night were deeply irresponsible? I hope that, in time, she will reflect on that. However, her comments also failed to accept any of the responsibility that she bears for the mess that the UK is in right now. She wanted to blame everybody except herself, and yet I think that most people know that it was the Prime Minister who triggered article 50 without a plan. It was the Prime Minister who drew self-defeating contradictory lead lines that boxed her in from the start. It was the Prime Minister who called an unnecessary general election, who delayed the first vote on her deal and an attempt to run down the clock. It was the Prime Minister who failed to listen and change course after the first defeat of her deal and then again after the second. She must change course now before it is too late and she must bear responsibility for the mess that this country is in. On the issue of independence, the frustration that people feel right now at our country, Scotland's future, being determined by the DUP and a cabal of right-wing Tories, is understandable, and I absolutely share it. I said that I would wait until the end of this phase of the Brexit negotiations before setting out my views on the way forward for Scotland, having done so this long. I think that it is reasonable to wait to see what clarity emerges in the next few days, even if I suspect that that will just be clarity that there will be no clarity, and then I will set out my views on the path forward. But there is no doubt, nobody can be in any doubt that change is needed. The last three years have shown that the status quo is broken. It cannot protect Scotland from the folly of Brexit and all that flows from that. Even the most ardent unionist must see that the way that we are governed now by Westminster is broken. The question is how do we fix that for the future, and there is no doubt in my mind that letting people in Scotland choose an independent future is the best way to do that? At every stage of this nightmare, this Parliament has tried to persuade the Prime Minister to change course. We have called for the narrow 2016 result and Scotland's remain vote to be respected. We have called for our place in the single market to be protected. We have called for the public to have the right of a final say and the chance to cancel the crisis. If the Prime Minister succeeds in closing off all the positive choices and the country finds itself being driven to the edge of the cliff next week, this time next week, if that happens, does the First Minister agree that MPs must be prepared finally to put the public interest first and be willing if all else fails to do what is necessary and revoke article 50? The First Minister Yes. Indeed, the SNP at Westminster and the Greens and the Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru issued a joint statement last night to that effect. SNP MPs will not vote for the Prime Minister's deal because it is a bad deal that will damage Scottish interests, and I do not think that any Scottish MP should vote for such a deal. Nor will we accept her framing that it is a choice between her deal and no deal. Just because she is not willing to contemplate the alternatives does not mean that there are not any alternatives. One of those alternatives, undoubtedly, is the revocation of article 50. If all else fails by this time next week, that is exactly, in my view, what MPs should do. Willie Rennie Can I associate myself and my party with the remarks of the First Minister about New Zealand? The events in that country were truly sickening. You would not think that we were in the middle of a national crisis if you just listened to the questions from the leaders of the Conservative and Labour parties. I have to say that the last thing that this country needs is more division in chaos with independence to compound the division in chaos of Brexit. The first duty of our Prime Minister is to keep the country safe. Yet, because of the cavalier choices of this Prime Minister, emergency measures under Operation Yellowhammer have been triggered. Medicines, food supply chains, transport, all at risk. Does the First Minister agree with me that no serious Prime Minister should ever threaten such catastrophic consequences, no matter how much she wants her policy to pass? Before I address that, can I just say to the first part of Willie Rennie's question there? The inconsistent Willie Rennie's position is this. He wants people across the UK to have the ability to escape Brexit through a second referendum, and I agree with him on that. However, if that does not prove to be possible, he thinks that Scotland should just grin and bear it and put up with the devastation of Brexit instead of Scotland having the choice to escape Brexit and have an independent future. That is a deeply inconsistent position for him to take, and I hope that he will reflect on it. On the issue of Yellowhammer, which is the emergency planning for a no-deal Brexit, I think that it is beyond comprehension that any Prime Minister could be knowingly allowing the country to be eight days, now around about 200 hours away from that possibility, of crashing out of the EU without a deal and requiring that emergency planning work to be done. I, yesterday, as I have done once a week for several weeks now, chaired a meeting of the Scottish Government's Resilience Committee looking at medicines supplies, food supplies, transport links in the event of a no-deal Brexit. It is outrageous that we are having to expend time, energy and resources in doing so. The Prime Minister really must, before any more time passes and before it is too late, change course, take no deal off the table completely, look at building a broader consensus rather than pandering to the hardliners in our own party, and, if necessary, dumping Brexit completely, that would be in the best interests of the country. The First Minister is wrong. The inconsistency is that, to believe that breaking up an economic partnership of 40 years will be chaotic, but breaking up one of 300 years will be a piece of cake. She is the inconsistent one. People are scunnered by this agonising Brexit process. Three years on, 200 hours left, is not it time for a common sense approach? Common sense, where we have a Prime Minister who takes a no-deal Brexit off the table instead of using it as a threat against her own citizens, where party leaders—all party leaders—can sit down and talk without the leader of the Opposition walking out because he does not like Chuka Amunah, where the Prime Minister reaches out to MPs in Parliament rather than insulting them from behind a podium in number 10. Common sense, where we admit that Parliament is incapable of deciding, so we have a public vote to let the people decide. Is not it time for that common sense approach? First Minister. Yes, I agree with all of that. I think that people across the UK should have the opportunity to vote again, given everything that they now know that wasn't known in 2016, which is why I will be calling for that in London on Saturday, with many others, no doubt hundreds of thousands of others in London. I agree with everything that he said about the Prime Minister. I agree with him in his despair about the leader of the Labour Party and his childish behaviour last night when what we need to see is people coming together to find an alternative. Where I disagree with him is in his view that if all of what he has just called for fails, Scotland should just be powerless in the face of the disaster of Brexit. I oppose Brexit as he does, but there was nothing inevitable about the chaos of Brexit. That was down to those who proposed it having no idea what it looked like in reality and doing no planning for it. It did not have to be that way. Again, I would say to Willie Rennie that the inconsistency is him standing up here rightly, spelling out the disaster that Brexit will be, but then saying, if all else fails, Scotland just has to put up with it. Well, I do not think that Scotland has to put up with it and I do not think that Scotland should have to put up with it. If it comes to it, Scotland choosing independence is a much brighter future than the remaining part of Brexit Britain. We have some additional supplementaries, the first from Jenny Gilruth to be followed by Daniel Johnson. The Prime Minister last night claimed that the public have had enough. Today, a petition on the UK Parliament website calling for article 50 to be revoked is already well on the way to a million signatures. Support is growing so fast that the website crashed harder than the Prime Minister's credibility. Isn't it the case that if the Prime Minister believes that she has the people with her, she should have the courage to put that to the test and call for a people's vote? First Minister. Yes, I do. As I said, I thought the Prime Minister's statement last night was deeply regrettable. I think for her to be blaming everybody except herself, beggars' belief. Now is the time, I think, for people across parties to speak out. I mean, I watched last night one of the most powerful contributions that I've ever seen in the House of Commons. It's dominant grief, a moderate Tory—I think everybody would accept an honourable person—having the honesty to say that he was ashamed to be in the Conservative Party and the conduct of the Prime Minister made him want to weep. And yet we hear Scottish Conservatives continue to parrot the lines of the Prime Minister. I often wonder if Jackson Carlaw ever, in his quieter moments, thinks that it might be better for the country, indeed, for his own reputation, for him to actually say what I believe he probably thinks, that this is a mess. Carrying on, regardless, is a profound mistake. The Prime Minister must change course and she must do so now before it's too late. Daniel Johnson to be followed by Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. The First Minister will be aware that the British Retail Consortium annual crime survey was published today. It records that 115 shop workers were physically attacked at work every single day across the UK last year. As I estimate that the real problem can be much greater, I estimate that 34 retail workers are attacked every day in Scotland alone. My bill to protect shop workers is in the final stages of drafting. So can I ask the First Minister what she thinks needs to be done to tackle this growing problem? Will her Government work with me to look at what changes in the law may be needed to do so? Because everyone has the right to safety at work, whether they work in an office or on the shop floor. I thank Daniel Johnson for raising the issue and the results of the British Retail Consortium survey. It is a very powerful reminder that our shop workers do an essential job, but they do a job that is often dangerous to them and we all owe them a huge debt of gratitude. Yes, we will be happy to work with Daniel Johnson and others to look at what further protections we need to put in place. I note that he says that his own bill is in the final stages of drafting. We will look very carefully at that when it is published and be happy to consider that and discuss that with him. So, yes, we will be happy to try to build consensus. Mark McDonald On 1 April, employer contributions to NHS pension schemes will increase from 14.9 per cent to 20.9 per cent. Children's hospices across Scotland have estimated that the increased cost to them will be the equivalent to the salary of nine full-time nurses. UK Government has stated that charities and hospices are included in the funding provided to NHS England to cover costs of the increase, but Chads says that similar commitments have not yet been made to Scottish charities and hospices. Can I ask the First Minister if the Scottish Government will provide funding to help charities and hospice organisations to meet the cost increase and ensure that they do not have to divert money from the vital support services that they provide? The First Minister I thank Mark McDonald for raising the issue. He is right to do so. It is a concerning issue generally but in particular for hospices and charities. The Scottish Government has been in discussions with the BMA about how to best disperse additional funding to practices to meet the change and we will continue to do so. I will specifically ask the health secretary to look particularly at the issue of hospices and charities and to come back to Mark McDonald when she has had the opportunity to do so. Question 5, Christine Grahame. Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the First Minister, in light of the reported travel chaos on the border railway last weekend as a result of a number of train cancellations, whether the Scottish Government considers that the ScotRail franchise continues to be sustainable. First Minister. I am disappointed that passengers across a number of routes on the ScotRail network continue to be affected by train cancellations as a consequence of ScotRail's training backlog. Although there is evidence of some improvement in ScotRail's performance at a national level, this will do little to reassure passengers who attempted to travel on the border railway last Sunday and were faced with an unacceptable number of cancellations. That is why ScotRail's focus must remain on delivering a robust remedial plan, which puts passenger interests at the forefront of restoring performance levels. The remedial plan has been specifically designed to mitigate against train crew and train fleet challenges. I fully expect ScotRail to ensure that the plan is delivered to reaffirm passenger confidence in the railway. Christine Grahame I thank the First Minister for her answer, and there was indeed a service breakdown meltdown on Sunday on the border railway. It was a breakdown as well. The cancellations have continued since that. They have continued today. I heard the cabinet secretary talking about the remedial notice, and the second one served requires the plan to be delivered soon. The plan might be delivered, but that does not deliver trains. Plans do not drive trains. Is not it time that the Scottish Government told ScotRail Abilio that it is in the last chance saloon? I certainly think so, and so do my constituents. I would say to Christine Grahame that ScotRail should treat a remedial plan very much as a last chance saloon. That is the very nature of it. ScotRail has been left in no doubt that its recent levels of performance, particularly in the Borders in Fife, have been completely unacceptable. I have said as much in this chamber. I heard Michael Matheson say so a moment ago, when members like Annabelle Ewing were raising very legitimate and understandable concerns on behalf of their constituents. We have used contractual mechanisms contained within the franchise agreement to require the remedial plan, and ScotRail will publish its performance remedial plan on its website shortly. The commitments contained in the plan have been contracted as a remedial agreement. Of course, in the event that ScotRail does not achieve improved performance or fails to deliver on its contractual commitments, it does run the risk of the franchise being terminated early. Minister, I recently received a letter from a concerned Borders railway commuter. He says in his letter, and I quote, It has come to the point where there is genuine surprise that the train is running on time, as opposed to it being so frequently cancelled. He goes on to say, The negative effects of this are significant. There is a financial penalty imposed by the nursery as a result of collecting my daughter. There is also significant stress and anxiety because of the lateness to my work. Will the First Minister apologise on behalf of her transport secretary to the hundreds of commuters experiencing transport hell, and will she personally oversee the remedial plan that has been submitted by ScotRail, which will be published in the next few days? The transport secretary will oversee that. That is part of his responsibilities. Obviously, as First Minister, I will retain a very close interest in that as well. I have made it very clear—I do not think that I could make it clearer—that some of the recent performance levels of ScotRail have been completely unacceptable. That is particularly, but not exclusively, the case on the Borders Railway. I could stand here and talk about some of the reasons behind that in terms of train delivery, training requirements, not specifically in relation to the Borders Railway, but in relation, for example, to some of the issues that we have seen coming in and out of Edinburgh in the last couple of days to network rail failings. I am not going to do that because it is ScotRail's responsibility to make sure that they live up to their performance levels. That is why the remedial plan is so important and why ScotRail has to understand how serious the obligation is on them to deliver on the commitments that they make in it. Mark Ruskell Commuters are suffering poor rail services across Scotland and especially in Fife. Last year, the transport minister, Mr Yousaf, said in his chamber that there will be an upgrade in the rolling stock later in 2018 or early in 2019. Nevertheless, people in Fife should not have to wait for that to get an improvement in their service. Why is it now that Fife commuters are being told that it will be the end of 2019 at the very earliest before any improvements come through? Does the First Minister not believe that it is time for her to personally step in and take charge of the ScotRail crisis? I have made my views clear and I will do so again. Those who are charged with and remunerated with the responsibility of running our railways are the ones who have to get it right. They have a responsibility to do so and to begin delivering the improvements that passengers want to see immediately. That is what the remedial plan will very much focus on. Of course, there is significant investment in our railways. There is a renewal of rolling stock. There is a lot of very positive work that I hope passengers start to get the benefit of very soon. ScotRail must address the reasons, at least those that are within its responsibility, behind its dip in performance. We expect them to do that and to do that very quickly. To ask the First Minister, in light of the parliamentary reports by both MSPs and MPs, what the Scottish Government's response is to the growing concerns about the effect of social media on the mental health of young people across Scotland? We welcomed the report that was published by the Public Audit Committee last week, which looked at the relationship between social media and mental health. The report made recommendations regarding the need for further research in this area, and next month we will publish initial research examining the links between unhealthy social media use and lower mental wellbeing, particularly in girls and young women. We are also committed to developing and publishing Scotland-specific advice on how young people can use social media in a healthy way, and that will be co-produced for young people and will be informed by the research that we will publish next month. Liz Smith, I thank the First Minister for that helpful answer. I am sure that the whole chamber can unite in its deep concern about the shocking statistics, which reveal that 60 per cent of 16 to 25-year-olds believe that social media places, and I quote, overwhelming pressure on their age group, and that mental health referrals have increased by 22 per cent since 2014. Just some of the facts, which, quite rightly, have led MSPs and MPs to state categorically that we all have a duty of care to protect vulnerable users. As well as the answer that the First Minister has just given me, could I ask her to give us some details about the timescale that she envisages for the implementation of the task force delivery plan? First Minister, I agree very much with the sentiments and the detail of Liz Smith's question. The internet and social media should be, and in many respects, is a force for good that we should embrace and welcome. It also puts considerable pressures on young people, particularly on young girls. Many of us will have young girls in our family, and I have a niece who is about to enter her teenage years. It is not difficult to see that pressure that is there, so we must make sure that our young people are equipped to deal with that properly. I have already referred to some of the research that we will publish and some of the work that will flow from that. In terms of the task force, it is taking forward a substantial programme of work. I will ask the Minister for Mental Health to write to Liz Smith with the precise timescales for the different delivery aspects of that work. All of that is important work to make sure that we are preventing mental health issues and then providing treatment as quickly as possible where that is required. Part of prevention is undoubtedly encouraging and supporting a healthy use of social media. The First Minister will be aware of the tragic death of a young 18-year-old girl in command last weekend, followed by the death of another youngster in Ayrshire only hours later. I understand that there are no suspicious circumstances involved, but there seem to be a growing number of young people across Ayrshire who are ending their lives as a result of suicide. Clearly, that is heartbreaking for the family and friends involved, but would the First Minister be able to offer some hope to youngsters and their families that services are there to help and that, if more can be done to help to end those awful tragedies, it will be done? I will not comment on individual cases beyond saying that my thoughts and condolences are with the families concerned. I know that East Ayrshire Council is already looking at those incidents with the national health service, and they will want to make sure that they are responding appropriately. We are absolutely—I think that that applies across the chamber—committed to ensuring that, as some of the challenges around mental health change and develop, our response does so as well. As I said before in the chamber, the system, as it has developed over many years, sees too many young people referred to specialist services because there are not the services in the community looking both at prevention and early intervention. Much of the investment that we have announced recently, many of the initiatives that we are implementing now are trying to redress that balance so that we have a focus on prevention, on early intervention, but also on making sure that the specialist services are there when young people need them. I hope and believe that this is a programme of work that has support widely across the chamber. Thank you very much, and that concludes First Minister's questions. We are going to move on shortly to members' business in the name of Christine Graham on men's sheds. We are just going to have a short suspension to allow members and ministers and the gallery to change seats. A short suspension.