 We will now move on to First Minister's Questions. Question 1, Ruth Davidson. To ask the First Minister what engagement she has planned for the rest of the day. First Minister. First Minister, today is world aid day. Let me begin by saying that it is First Minister that I am determined to play my part in on-going efforts to challenge the stigma and myths associated with HIV. Later today, I will have engagements to take forward the Government's programme for Scotland. Ruth Davidson. Ruth Davidson. I associate myself and my party with the statement that was made by the First Minister regarding world age day. Does the First Minister have complete confidence in our education agencies? Well, as Ruth Davidson is aware, we are undertaking a governance review. Our education agencies bring real strengths and benefits to Scottish education and to the curriculum for excellence, Ond we are asking right now some fundamental questions about school education, and the best way to empower schools to improve. That is why we launched the governance review, which is looking at the roles not just of the main agencies, but also local government and of the Scottish Government. It is part of a wider set of reforms that we believe are needed in light of real and legitimate concerns that emerged last year from the SSLN findings. We're absolutely determined to raise standards for all and close the attainment gap for our poorest pupils and the reforms we're undertaking to the roles and functions of the different parts of the school system will be a crucial part in achieving that. The First Minister says that fundamental questions need to be asked about those agencies and I think it's hard to disagree with that, but she might want to reflect, just for a second, on who's actually been in charge for the last ten years. Over the last few days, the Parliament's education committee and education experts have begun to shine a light on that record. For example, it emerged yesterday that teachers are swamped with no fewer than 20,000 pages of guidance for curriculum for excellence. Parents' groups have pointed out that those documents are, and I quote, totally inaccessible to the average mum or dad. Worse of all, expert evidence has revealed that parents and teachers have no way of knowing if curriculum for excellence is even working or not, as Professor Lindsay Patterson put it this week, that failure is a dereliction of duty. Someone has to be held responsible for this failure, First Minister. Who should it be? First Minister. First, I don't accept the characterisation as failure, but for the avoidance of any doubt, I'm responsible for taking forward this Government's commitment when it comes to education, with, of course, the Deputy First Minister, the Education Secretary. In terms of the guidance that Ruth Davidson refers to, that is guidance that has built up over many, many years. One of the priorities that the Deputy First Minister has been working on is simplifying the whole landscape around education and reducing the unnecessary bureaucracy that teachers work with. I think that the efforts that he has been making have been broadly welcomed by the teaching profession. In terms of the wider thrust of Ruth Davidson's questions, I think that we were right to put in place curriculum for excellence, and I think that curriculum for excellence in its development had, broadly speaking, cross-party support. However, I am absolutely determined to ensure that, as we go forward, we are able to measure the success of our education system, and we're also able to highlight where things are not working as we would like. That's why we have published the national improvement framework. That's why we will start to publish more data about school performance than has ever been published before. I think that that is a sign of how seriously we take this issue and our determination to improve standards for all in Scottish education. Ruth Davidson. We keep hearing from the SNP about Jam tomorrow, but that's from a Government that's spent 10 years failing to sort out endemic failures in Scottish education. First Minister, the Scottish Qualifications Authority has a very important job of running our children's exams. At the Education Committee last week, those were just some of the views that were expressed by MSPs. The SQA exists in a parallel universe—that was Johann Lamont. There were in danger of sinking in a sea of jargon—that was Richard Lochhead. The MSPs have seldom come across evidence that is so compelling in its concerns from Liz Smith, and Tavish Scott, who ended up asking, please do not scare me anymore—a criticism and a loss of confidence from right across the chamber. I am absolutely sure that SQA staff are attempting to do the very best that they can in pretty trying circumstances, but my question to the Government is how have you allowed this to happen on your watch? I am sorry if that disappoints members. I do not think that I am prepared to make not scaring Tavish Scott a key priority of Scottish Government policy in education or any other matter. Ruth Davidson does a disservice to the work that is going on in education. The governance review is intended to take a critical look at the whole governance of Scottish education, not just agencies such as Education Scotland and the SQA, but also the role of local government and the role of the Scottish Government. I would hope that all MSPs, those who expressed the views quoted by Ruth Davidson and indeed every member of this Parliament and interested members of the public, would take the opportunity, because there still is an opportunity, to give views to that review. Of course, it closes in the first week of January, and the Government will set out its intentions thereafter. At the heart of the governance review is our commitment to ensure that as much power and responsibility in education lies with teachers in schools, because that is a key part in our views. I would have thought that this is an opportunity for Ruth Davidson and her party to feed into the governance review. I am not sure whether they have done so yet, but if they have not done so, I would encourage them to do so. Ruth Davidson. I hear again the First Minister talking about all the things that she plans to do in the future. Frankly, we have heard about reviews, commissions and listening exercises before. The evidence before this Parliament points to a system that is broken. Let us spell out what the consequences are of 10 years of inaction from this Government. We have a stubbornly wide attainment gap that is not closing. We have numeracy standards that are falling. We have inspections at a five-year low. We have some teachers telling us that the exams that they are currently asking children to sit are the worst that they have ever seen. It is a generation of pupils that have been failed by the SNPs and teachers who are trying their best but are swamped by bureaucracy. The First Minister talks of a governance review, but it is clear that the issues are far more fundamental than just the area that that review tackles. My question is how many more pupils have to be failed before we get a routine branch review of everything and all of the changes that we actually need. First Minister. Let me touch on a few of the things that not surprisingly Ruth Davidson did not mention. The fact that over the last few years we have got record exam passes in Scotland, a credit to teachers and our young people. Let us also mention the fact that we have got a record number of young people going into positive destinations in Scotland, a credit to our teachers and to our young people. Let us also mention the fact that, yes, we have got an attainment gap that I have made very clear that we are determined to close, but we see signs of that already closing. Those are the positive things about education. It does not surprise me that Ruth Davidson wants to talk it down. As I said in my original answer, we are determined to ask the hard fundamental questions about how we make Scottish education better. That is why John Swinney has already taken steps to reduce the bureaucracy in our exam system, something that I would have thought Ruth Davidson would have welcomed. It is why we have established the governance review. It is why we are getting on in implementing the national improvement framework, so that shortly we will have more information to hold the Government and all parts of our education system to account about the performance of schools than we have ever had before. I think that those are the steps that parents around this country want to see us take, because we are determined that we will have a world-class education system, that we will have rising standards for all, and we will close that gap in attainment. Question 2, Kezia Dugdale. To ask the First Minister what engagement she has planned for the rest of the week. First Minister. Engagement is to take forward the Government's programme for Scotland. Kezia Dugdale. The treatment time guarantee will ensure that eligible patients start treatment within 12 weeks of the treatment being agreed. That is what we were told by Nicola Sturgeon when she introduced a legal right to treatment for patients. So can the First Minister tell us how many NHS patients were not seen within 12 weeks since this legal right was introduced in 2012? Well, since the legal right was introduced in 2012, there have been 53,257 who have waited longer than 12 weeks, but there have been 1,267,000 treated within 12 weeks. Waiting times are lower than they were when we took office, but we have worked to do because of rising demand in our health service. We continue to ensure that our health service has the investment and record numbers of staff so that we can continue to provide the best care and treatment for patients across the country. Kezia Dugdale. That is a legal guarantee to 53,000 people broken. In fact, over the last few months have been the worst on record. These are not just statistics. It is pensioners in need of a knee replacement having to wait for months or people waiting for eye surgery facing delay after delay. Each time I bring an individual case to this chamber, the First Minister promises to deal with it. It would take me centuries to work through each of these 53,000 cases. How bad do things have to get before she steps in to fix this mess? Kezia Dugdale talked about records when it came to waiting times. It is worth pointing out that, when this Government took office, there were only 85 per cent of patients treated within 18 weeks. Not only have we reduced waiting times from 18 weeks to 12 weeks, a higher percentage of patients are now being seen within that shorter waiting time. That is the progress that we are making. We also see record numbers of staff working in our health service, and we see record levels of investment in our health service. I know that Kezia Dugdale does not like me to point out that fact, but there is going to be more investment in our health service under this Government than there would have been in the unlikely event that Labour had won the election. Labour promised the lowest increase in health funding of any party represented in this chamber. That is the reality. We have rising demand for our health service. That is why we continue to invest to build up the capacity of our health service so that we can continue to ensure that more and more patients get seen within these shorter waiting times. Kezia Dugdale goes again, bringing up a 10-year-old record of a Labour Government and pointing it out in England. It just does not cut it with patience. It does not cut it. The First Minister likes to remind the chamber that she is going to spend £500 million more over the lifetime of this Parliament, but what she did not tell us is that Audit Scotland told us last month that she has to cut £500 million out of health budgets in this year alone through her health boards. That is a fact that she cannot avoid. In fact, it sums out the priorities of this Government. Whilst Labour Party activists were out campaigning with NHS staff and patients at the weekend to protect the NHS, the SNP were out talking about independence. It is no surprise that the SNP does not want to campaign on the NHS, because here is their record. Local services face enclosure, missed targets and a growing workforce crisis. Is not it the case that, under the SNP, the NHS is stuck in the waiting room, while the First Minister plots a second referendum? The reason I—Kezia Dugdale rightly asked about the performance of this Government, and when you are talking about the performance of this Government, it is perfectly reasonable to look at the situation that we inherited and the progress that has been made since. Kezia Dugdale wants to quote Audit Scotland. Here is what Audit Scotland said in its recent report. Overall, staff levels are at the highest level ever in NHS Scotland. When we took office, as I said, 85 per cent of patients in Scotland—this is quarter one 2007—85 per cent of patients in patients in day cases were being seen within 18 weeks at that time. Now there are almost 90 per cent of patients being seen within 12 weeks. The waiting time is shorter and the percentage of patients being seen within it is larger. That is progress in anybody's language, but it is not enough progress. That is why we are committed to continuing to increase investment, not by £500 million over this Parliament, but by £500 million more than inflation over this Parliament. Labour simply committed to inflationary increases for the national health service. More investment, more members of staff reforming our health service so that we get more investment into social care as well. Those are the actions that patients across the country want to see, and those are the actions that we will continue to take. On Monday evening, over 200 people attended a public meeting to express their opposition to the proposed closure of the Vale of Leven Maternity unit. One of those attendings said, and I quote, If the Cabinet Secretary for Health is not doing her job, then I am going to tell her and hold her to account. She has said that she is committed to the Vale. The problem is that we have got to make sure that she sticks to that. Those were the words of the SNP group leader on Westumbartonshire council. Does the First Minister agree with him? Will she make sure that the Cabinet Secretary for Health sticks to the vision for the Vale? The Government is committed to the vision for the Vale, and it is worth pointing out, I think, because people perhaps have longer memories than Labour would like them to have. If Labour had won the election in 2007, it is highly unlikely that the Vale of Leven hospital would even be open today. That is the reality. That Government, step 10, we saved the Vale of Leven hospital just as we saved accident emergency services at Monklands and at Eire. We will continue to stand up for local services, because that is what people expect of this Government. People know that it is not what they got when that lot were last in Government. Question 3, Willie Rennie. To ask the First Minister what issues have we discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet. Matters of importance to the people of Scotland? Even though her chancellor is in Scotland today to talk about Brexit with the First Minister, Ruth Davidson is obviously too embarrassed to raise it in here. In June, Ruth Davidson said that her priority was the EU single market. But this week, her five tests on Brexit adopt the language of Nigel Farage about rekindling trade with the British Empire instead. It is clear that they will sign up to anything on Brexit, no matter how bad the deal. It is a blank check Brexit. The Scottish Conservatives may have given up, but we have not. When the First Minister meets the chancellor today, will she make the case for a UK-wide Brexit deal referendum so that the public can have a say on the final Brexit deal? First Minister. First, I have to say to hear Willie Rennie talk about the benefits of referendums for a change in this chamber. I agree with the broad thrust of Willie Rennie's question. Increasingly, it is very difficult to distinguish between the Conservatives and UKIP and anybody in any doubt about that. I need only look this morning at what is reported to have been Theresa May's views on denying education to children living here from certain countries in certain circumstances. On the question of the single market, I am absolutely consistent in this. I think that the UK should stay in the single market. I do not believe that there is any mandate or any justification, economic, social, cultural justification for taking the UK out of the single market. I will make that point to Philip Hammond this afternoon, as I have made that point to the Prime Minister and to others in the UK Government. I hope that everybody in this chamber will get behind that position of the Scottish Government. Willie Rennie. If I can gently say that she did not quite answer my question, momentum is building for this Brexit deal referendum, so I hope in time that she will come to support it. I am interested in what else she might have to say to the Chancellor. Look at what we are facing. NHS boards are contending with unprecedented budget cuts. Councils are facing a £500 million funding crisis. No doubt she will bitterly complain to the Chancellor about that, and so she should. However, I want to know what else she is going to do herself, because this week she gained new income tax powers. I have a plan for a transformational investment of £500 million for education with a modest penny on income tax. Will the First Minister join me, or will she just bitterly point the finger at the Conservatives? I do not know whether Willie Rennie intended to turn First Minister's questions into a stand-up comedy routine, but he has perhaps succeeded on that front more than he succeeds normally. However, there are serious issues underlying Willie Rennie's question, and I should not glide over the fact that I agree with much of the thrust of his questions to me today, which is not something that I can say every week. This Government will set out our own budget plans in a couple of weeks' time, and the finance secretary will set out the budget to this Parliament. That is right and proper. We set out our income tax proposals in our manifesto, and I would remind Willie Rennie that we won the election on the strength of that manifesto. Willie Rennie is right. I will say very clearly to Philip Hammond this afternoon. Again, I hope that Willie Rennie and the Labour MSPs—and I am pretty sure that the Greens will back me on this—that it is not acceptable that the Scottish Government's budget will be reduced by £2.9 billion, 9 per cent in real terms by the end of this decade, compared to when the Conservatives took office. I hope that, with the exception of the Conservatives, everybody in this chamber would get behind me on that message. We were promised, were we not, in the EU referendum that our leave vote would deliver £350 million a week extra for the national health service. We heard from Philip Hammond last week not one single extra penny for the NHS or for social care. It was absolutely disgraceful. All we heard were more cuts and extra borrowing and a bleak outlook for living standards on the economy. That is the price of Tory Government at Westminster. The number of supplementaries is first from Rona Mackay. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Laked Cabinet letters suggest that the Home Office under Theresa May wanted children of illegal immigrants to go to the bottom of the list for school places. Is that a chilling insight into where an increasingly right-wing Tory Government wants to drag the UK? Unfortunately, I take a very simple view of this. I know that there are debates around immigration and some of those debates are legitimate issues that we have to engage with. The simple view that all of us should take on this is that children are children. When children are in this country, we should support them and ensure that they get access to education. I would hope that that is something everybody would agree with on basic grounds of morality and human rights. Graham Simpson Over the past six years, Scottish Government funding for councils has fallen by 8.4 per cent in real terms. That is a choice that this Government has made. Can the First Minister assure us that that trend will be reversed when the draft budget is published later this month? The First Minister We will set out our budget when the Finance Secretary stands up in the chamber on 15 December and outlines our plans for local government and other areas of our responsibility. On the issue of local government funding, we live in tough times. I recognise how tough it is and has been for local government. The Government, though, has treated local government fairly. The Accounts Commission report published this week showed that the decline in local government funding was broadly in line with the decline in the Scottish Government funding overall. There were also some interesting figures published this week that the member, given that he is a Tory member, might want to have a look at IFS figures publishing council-level figures across the UK, which found that cuts to local government funding—reductions in local government funding in Scotland and in Wales, for that matter—were smaller over the period it looked at than it had been in England. Perhaps the member should have a word with his own colleagues before he stands up in the chamber and talks to this Government about it when it is the cuts from his party to this Government that is causing so many of the problems. George Adam Ruth Davidson said before the EU referendum that the leave campaign was based on lies. After the EU referendum, she still said that she wanted to remain in the single market. She since sold out completely, demanding that the Scottish Government signs up for whatever hard right Tory Brexit Theresa May decides upon. How will the First Minister ensure Scotland is protected from the dishonest interest of Ruth Davidson's Tory party? The First Minister Ruth Davidson's shifting position on those matters shows that she is more interested in standing up for the Brexit years in the Tory party than she is in standing up for Scotland's interests. It is only two years ago that Ruth Davidson said that voting no would protect her place in Europe. She said a few months ago that she wanted Scotland in the UK to stay in the European Union. After the referendum, she said that she wanted Scotland to stay in the single market. Now she has sold out on that as well. I think that what we are learning over this period is that Ruth Davidson's position on those matters, as it is no doubt the case on many other things, is exactly what our bosses in London tell her that her position should be. Pauline McNeill Thank you, Presiding Officer. Franz Ferdinand, Stone Roses, Calvin Harris, Blur, Beyoncé are just some of the acts that have headlined tea in the park, Scotland's award-winning music festival. Sadly, they will not be a feature of this summer's live music programme. Will the First Minister join with me and recognise the huge contribution that DF concerts headed by Geoff Ellis has made to Scotland's vibrant live music scene? Not to mention the Scottish economy, but will she consider what the Scottish Government can do to overcome the problems faced by the organisers who say that there were many barriers leading to the cancellation of the event, and for that matter, any other organiser who wants to organise a live music festival? Scotland should maintain its track record and be a world-leading location for live music festivals. I hope that she agrees. First Minister I welcome Pauline McNeill's question. I know that she was not in the last Parliament, but she should maybe have a word with some of her colleagues about the attitude that she took when this Government did try to assist tea in the park to continue to be the success that it was. Can I pay tribute to the organisers of tea in the park? If it makes Pauline McNeill feel any better, I got some grief on Sunday from my 16-year-old nephew who went to tea in the park for the first time last year and was looking forward to going this year and is bitterly disappointed that he is not going to be going. Tea in the park, the organisers have set out why they have taken this decision. It is a break, not the termination of tea in the park, and I am sure that we all wish the festival every success in the future. It has been incredibly good for Scottish culture and for the Scottish economy, and I hope that we see it back before too much longer. Does the First Minister share my concerns on comments this week from Defence Secretary Michael Fallon that UK shipbuilding needs rebalancing, suggesting a risk to jobs in Scotland? What representations will the Scottish Government be making to the MOD to ensure that it keeps promises made to workers on the Clyde? We will continue to argue the case for Scottish shipbuilding. The Clyde yards, and I know this from my past constituency experience, are the best place in the whole of the UK to build ships. They have an expert and dedicated workforce as well as world-class facilities. We have seen the promises that were made to our shipyards in the independence referendum, which has watered down since then. The member is absolutely right to say that we cannot take for granted that the UK Government will look after the interests of our shipyards. We will have to continue to make the case, and this Government will certainly do that. I think that most people, most fair-minded people, will agree with the First Minister and condemn the failed austerity of the Tory Government. Given the devastating impact that that failed austerity is having on public services and communities up and down Scotland, will she not think again and look to use the powers of this Parliament to protect the most vulnerable in our communities? We will use the powers of this Parliament to protect public services and the most vulnerable in our communities. That is why, for example, we will take a different position to the Tory Government at Westminster over a tax cut for the 10 per cent highest earners in the country. We do not think that that is the right use of resources at this time. We also have to be mindful of the squeeze on people's living standards. We saw a report last week that we are about to see the longest period of wage stagnation in this country since the Second World War. That is what the Tory Government is inflicting on people the length and breadth of this country. We have to take a balanced view of protecting the vulnerable, as we have always done in our mitigation of welfare cuts, making sure that we protect our public services, which we are doing, for example, through our record investments in the national health service, but also making sure that we are taking action to protect the living standards of people across our country who are struggling to make ends meet. John Mason To ask the First Minister in light of comments by the Secretary of State for Scotland what commitments the Scottish Government has received from the UK Government regarding the devolution of further powers. First Minister We have received no commitments at all from the UK Government regarding the devolution of further powers. We saw the comments made by the Secretary of State for Scotland at the weekend as a result of that. The finance secretary has written to the Secretary of State, asking him to explain exactly what powers he is referring to. We look forward to having a discussion on that. We await that answer, but I note that when asked about new powers for Scotland over agriculture and fishing, the DEFRA Minister told the House of Commons that these would be part of a UK-wide framework. That does not sound to me like new powers. Let me say that that would be simply unacceptable. We cannot allow Brexit to become a Westminster power grab and this Government will not stand back and let that happen. John Mason Her answer confirms my concerns, I have to say. We have had warm words about further devolution from David Mundell before. Does she share my concerns? She mentions agriculture and fisheries. Does she share my concerns that the UK Government has used fishing in the past as a bargaining chip and might well use it again? I think that that is a reasonable concern, because we know from official papers that previously UK Governments considered fishing to be, and I quote, expendable. They sacrificed the fishing industry in exchange for wider interests. I do not think that that betrayal will be forgotten by those in the fishing industry or in the north-east of Scotland more generally. I would take no comfort from the prospect of a UK-wide framework on fishing. The Parliament should have no doubts that this Government will do everything to protect and secure Scotland's interests and the discussions that lie ahead. That will include making sure that any powers coming back to Westminster from Europe do not stay in Westminster that, as far as possible, they come to Scotland. That is what people would want to see us argue for. Adam Tomkins The First Minister mentioned agriculture a few moments ago. Given the ffiasco of the SNP's mismanagement of cap payments in Scotland, there are many of us who worry about agriculture falling under the SNP's responsibility. Why would the First Minister prefer Scottish farming to be run by Brussels and not by this Parliament? Agriculture, of course, is within the Government's responsibilities. I think that what I heard from Adam Tomkins was exactly what John Mason was expressing concern over. I think that we are hearing the ground being prepared for that Westminster power grab that I spoke about. If there are powers coming back from Brussels to the UK, in areas of devolved competence that they should not stop at Westminster, they should come direct to this Government. I would hope that nobody in this Parliament would argue for anything different. Mike Rumbles As we know, agriculture has already fully devolved to the Scottish Government, although common agricultural policy farm payments worth hundreds of millions of pounds will be paid to Scottish farmers through to 2020. Once that ends, we should be free to design our own system of farm payments. Will the Scottish Government, as I have been asking the members of us a long time now, set up a specialist group now to design options that we want to see how our funding should be spent in Scotland post 2020? We will consider all options and we will talk to stakeholders in the agriculture industry and indeed in other industries that are affected by the Brexit vote. We have given commitments to our farming community in terms of cap payments over the next few years. There is a fundamental question that we have to settle first. I really hope that we have the support of Mike Rumbles and the Liberal Democrats, because we do not even have a commitment that Scotland's share of that funding will come to Scotland. Let us do those things in good order. As we fight those battles, because I fear that some of them will be quite tough battles, I hope that we will have the support of everybody across the chamber, including the Conservatives. I will repeat this. It will not be acceptable for powers to be taken away from this Parliament or funding that should lie with this Parliament to not be given to this Parliament and everybody in this chamber should resist those possibilities. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on the ability of the education agencies to deliver the curriculum for excellence. As I said earlier on, our education agencies bring strengths and benefits to education and to the curriculum for excellence. As I said in response to Ruth Davidson, we are asking some hard fundamental questions about school education and the best way to empower schools to improve. That is why we launched the governance review, which will look at the roles and responsibilities of those agencies and of local government and of the Scottish Government. That is the right way forward, and it is a key part of our efforts to raise attainment for all and to close the attainment gap. First Minister, at the education committee both last week and this week, there was an admission from SQA and from Education Scotland that significant issues have arisen about subject choice in S4, S5 and S6, with many parents and teachers expressing their concern that there has been a narrowing of the subject choice because of the structure of the curriculum for excellence. John Swinney acknowledged in a parliamentary answer that he gave on 9 June. What is the First Minister doing to address that concern, given the very serious implications for college, university and job applications? The issues of subject choice are largely determined at school level, but we want to make sure that all young people get access to the qualifications that they want to and are able to take to best equip them for the higher education and job opportunities that lie ahead. Of course, we will talk to and discuss any concerns around that with the SQA, with Education Scotland, with parents or any other part of the education system. As John Swinney has been doing around bureaucracy in schools, around the governance of our schools, around getting extra money into areas of greatest need to help us to raise attainment, we will respond positively to all those issues. While the governance review sets out to empower local communities and schools, as it has outlined by creating a clear national framework, it also sets out proposals to strengthen the middle. What role is envisaged for local authorities in doing so? The OECD review that was published this time last year recommended the strengthening of the middle, the tear of education governance that lies between national government and schools. That means, among other things, considering the role of local authorities and agencies in leading and supporting improvement, exactly what we have been talking about today. I agree with the OECD that increased collaboration and greater leadership in that middle tier is essential to support our ambition of raising standards and closing the attainment gap. That is exactly why the governance review has included the question of how, for example, school clusters should operate and how councils can collaborate regionally to improve school performance and education. Those are all live issues being looked at under the governance review, and I will repeat what I said earlier on. I would hope that all members with an interest in this area of policy contribute to that review, because the Government looks forward to taking its findings forward early in the new year. The First Minister has repeatedly prayed in aid today the Scottish Government schools governance review, but that governance review is about centralising control of schools and their budgets away from local authorities. Can she explain then how that will address the problem of the dysfunctionality of the SQA and of Education Scotland lead-bearing committee this week? That is one of the really depressing things about those debates. We have a consensus, albeit that we might have disagreements about how to do things. We have a consensus that we need to reform our education system to tackle some of those problems and drive up standards. We have published a governance review to have an open, honest, fundamental look at our school governance. At the heart of that review is a presumption—I think that it is on the first page—that that whole review has been taken forward on the basis of a presumption that roles and responsibilities lie at individual school level. It is about the opposite of centralisation. It is about decentralising power down to individual schools. I recognise that this is a priority area, not just for the Government but for parties across the chamber. Let us have a grown-up debate. Let us not just immediately indulge in default opposition and sloganeering around this. Let us have a grown-up debate about how to take our schools and our education system forward. To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is taking to address workforce issues in the NHS. We appreciate the achievements of all of our NHS Scotland staff in delivering safe, high-quality health and care services day in and day out to the people of Scotland. Staffing has increased to historically high levels with more than 11,000 additional staff since the Government took office, including more than 2,000 qualified nurses and midwives, and more than 1,500 more consultants. We are also producing a national health and social care workforce plan to discuss with staff how we ensure the right numbers and the right mix of skills across acute and community health services. That builds on the creation of our nursing and midwifery workforce planning tools, which have helped to drive increases in the nursing establishment. Despite the warm words that the First Minister has answered, after 10 years of this Government, the reality is in fact very different. Under this Government and this Health Secretary, 9 out of 10 nurses say that their workload is getting worse. 1 in 3 nurses say that there is not enough of them to do their jobs properly. There has been a failure to properly workforce plan with nursing vacancies up, midwifery vacancies up, GP vacancies up, consultant vacancies up, waiting times up, number of failed standards up and private spend up to when will the First Minister wake up, take responsibility and act for our NHS. Annas Sarwar might like to ignore or pretend that the fact does not exist, but since this Government took office, there are 11,000 more people working in our NHS now than there were then. That includes more than 2,000 extra nurses. There are record numbers of staff working in our health service. Yes, they are working hard and they work under pressure because of the rising demand for health services, largely due to the ageing population. That is why we are not saying job done. We are continuing to invest more and more in our health service so that we can employ more staff, but also reform services so that we build up social care, primary care and mental health services in the community to take the pressure off our acute services. There is a lot of work still to be done around that. I would not say otherwise, but our health service is performing better in many key indicators than the health services in any other part of the UK. Let's get behind those working in our health service, get behind the investment plans of this Government, get behind the reform plans of this Government, because every time we bring forward a proposal for reform and our staff and colleagues oppose that proposal for reform. Labour has no idea the lowest level of funding promise of all parties, completely bereft of any positive contribution to make to this debate. As long as that remains the case, we will get on with doing the hard work for Scotland's patients. Emma Harper To ask the First Minister whether she will provide an update following her visit to Dublin. The purpose of the visit to Dublin was to build on the already strong economic, cultural and political links that exist between Scotland and Ireland. Following a meeting with the T-Shark in Dakenny at the British Irish Council last week, I met in Dublin with the president of Ireland, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Foreign Affairs to discuss continued co-operation on a range of issues. I also engaged with more than 120 Irish-based business chief executives at an event hosted by Ireland's National Business Confederation to stress that Scotland remains open for business and will continue to be an attractive place to invest. Finally, I had the privilege of addressing the Shanard, the upper house of the Irish Parliament to stress again the close links between Scotland and Ireland that I hope we will see flourish in the years to come. Emma Harper I thank the First Minister for that answer. Despite the howls of horror from Murdo Fraser and other Tories that Scotland would dare to engage directly with another country on matters of mutual interest, isn't it the case that closer Scottish Irish co-operation could create significant opportunities for both nations? Isn't it clear that other EU countries increasingly want to engage with an internationalist Scottish Government as the UK's Government's focus becomes more narrow and isolationist? The First Minister Most of the people that I spoke to in Ireland at the start of the week are horrified at the direction that the UK Government is taking. We have to remember that the Brexit vote did not just disregard the interests and views of people in Scotland, it also completely disregarded the implications of Brexit for the Irish peace process and the Good Friday agreement. There are very real issues of real concern to the people of Ireland that they are now faced with having to work through in order to deal with the negligence and the recklessness of a Tory Government that wasn't interested in those issues during the referendum campaign. It is important that, whether it is in Ireland or any other part of the European Union, we give a message on Scotland's behalf that Scotland is open and internationalist and outward looking that we want to work with other independent countries for the common good. Right now, the Westminster Government is giving the complete opposite message to that, which is why it is more important than it has ever been that we take Scotland's message to Europe and the world. Lewis MacDonald Thank you very much. For the avoidance of doubt, can the First Minister tell us if she had any formal discussions on Brexit with the Irish Government in Dublin this week? The First Minister I can say that Brexit featured in pretty much every single discussion that I had—government-wise, politician-wise, economy-wise in every other sense. The Irish Government, like other European Governments, is not formally negotiating with the UK or any part of the UK before the triggering of article 50. That is a position that is well-known, or certainly should be well-known, but it is important. It was recognised in Ireland, as it has been recognised in other countries that we have been speaking to. It is important that Scotland's position is understood that there is an awareness of the fact that in the UK we are not all right-wing Brexiteers, like the Conservative Government, that there are people who want to continue to build relationships and to work co-operatively with other countries across Europe. I will be proud to continue to send that message across Europe. I hope that, even if we do not get support from the Tories on that, we would get support from the Labour Benches as we do so. That concludes First Minister's questions. We will now move on to members' business. I would ask members—it is in the name of Ash Denham—to lead quietly, as possible. We will take a few moments to change seats.