 Thank you. That concludes General Questions. The next item of business is First Minister's Questions. Question number 1, I call Douglas Ross. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I remind the chamber that my wife is a serving police officer. Serious failures in the SNP's centralisation of Police Scotland contributed to tragic deaths on the M9 in 2015. The deaths of Lamarabell and John Yule were a tragedy that the Government vowed would never happen again. Maen nhw, David Kennedy of the Scottish Police Federation said this, We might see more M9 cases appearing where people actually die. That's a harsh reality if there are not enough police officers. Under the SNP, police numbers have fallen by more than 700 since the creation of Police Scotland. How much lower will Humza Yousaf let them fall? First and foremost, my thoughts remain with the families of the Manabelle and John Yule, of course, affected by that tragic incident on the M9 in 2015. In relation to the fact around Police Scotland, let me just remind Douglas Ross of a few important facts. First and foremost, the SNP-led Scottish Government has increased police numbers since we came to power. They've increased by over 300. That means, of course, while we have increased police numbers, we have continued to see more officers per head in Scotland than in England and Wales. If we look at the numbers per 10,000 of the population, Scotland has 30 officers per 10,000 of the population compared to 25 in England and in Wales. Let me also address the point made by the Scottish Police Federation and Douglas Ross. We are investing in our police service. That's why we have invested £1.45 billion this financial year. That's an increase in the resource budget of £80 million. Let me remind Douglas Ross that the SNP-led Scottish Government has increased police numbers. It was his party in 2010 to 2019 that decreased police numbers in England by almost £19,000. Douglas Ross? It was a very simple question. How low will Humza Yousaf let the police officer numbers fall in Scotland? They have fallen by 700 since the creation of Police Scotland. He speaks about investing. The Scottish Police Federation said that if the Scottish Government properly funded the police, it wouldn't be bleak, but they are choosing not to, not my words, but the words of the Police Federation. At the recent Scottish Police Authority meeting, Police Scotland officers described the cuts that they need to make as a slash and burn. Deputy Chief Officer David Page said that it used to be every pound as a prisoner, now it's every penny. That's why Police Scotland has been forced to launch a pilot where many crimes won't be investigated. I've previously asked the First Minister to come clean about which crimes would be overlooked, and he refused to answer. So will he now finally publish the full list of crimes that Police Scotland won't investigate? Douglas Ross says that public services across Scotland are facing funding pressures. Of course they are, because of his party's economic mismanagement of the public finances. Of course an economic mismanagement are torpedoing of the economy that Douglas Ross demanded that we copy. Thank goodness we ignored him, much like the people of Scotland continue to ignore Douglas Ross day in and day out. On the substance of the issue in relation to Police Scotland, let me make it clear once again to Douglas Ross that under the SNP-led Scottish Government we have more bobbies on the beat compared to England in Wales. We have increased funding for Police Scotland by an additional 6.3 per cent in terms of the revenue. Of course what is important to people is ensuring that their communities are safe. That's why under the SNP-led Scottish Government recorded crime is at one of its lowest levels in almost half a century. 41 per cent decrease in recorded crime that we have seen since the SNP has been in government. So I'm not going to take lectures about the public finances from Douglas Ross when his party are the ones that have completely decimated this economy and decimated the public finances of this country. Douglas Ross has another very straightforward question that the First Minister should be able to answer but refuses to do so. It's not just police officer numbers that have been slashed. This is important because the First Minister just said that it's important that communities feel safe. We learned recently that SNP budget cuts mean that police will have to close up further 30 stations across Scotland. That's understandably causing a lot of concern in local communities who want to know if their police station is safe or not. Will Humzae Yousaf be upfront and honest with people today, right now, about policing in their local community and tell us which stations will be closed? First and foremost, this is not news of course that Police Scotland published a document around their estates in 2019 giving details of where, for example, they would seek to replace some of their estate that was being underused. The reason they have done that is because, for modern policing purposes, it can often make sense to co-locate with partner organisations in modern well-equipped accommodation. However, what people in Scotland are interested in is whether there are more bobbies on the beat under the SNP Government that absolutely are. In comparison to Conservative led England or Labour-run Wales, we have more officers per head. They want to know whether or not crime is reducing. Under the SNP Government, crime is at historically low levels in comparison to the last 50 years and 41 per cent down since we came into power in 2007. They also want to make sure that the police officers are being paid well. I am pleased to say that, because of a recent acceptance of a very fair offer to police officers, police officers of every single rank are better paid here in Scotland than they are paid in Conservative-led England. What I will say very clearly is that we will leave the operational decisions to Police Scotland, but people right across Scotland should be in no doubt whatsoever that their communities are safer because of our investment and the SNP's investment in Police Scotland. The First Minister flipped through his folder a lot there but could not find an answer, which seems to be the only thing constant in this session, because Hamza Yousaf is forcing Police Scotland to close dozens of stations but he will not say where. He is leaving them with no option but to stop investigating every crime but he will not say which crimes and he is forcing the police to cut officer numbers to the lowest level on record but he will not say how low. For a First Minister that loves the sound of his own voice, it seems quite stark that he is silent when it really matters, silent on all of these questions. Let's just be very clear. Hamza Yousaf is a criminal's dream. He doesn't want them stopped, he doesn't want them caught and he doesn't want them in jail. Why is he being so sly and sleek and secretive about the consequences of the SNP's cuts on Police Scotland? I think that Douglas Ross is just jealous because nobody likes the sound of his voice, I'll tell you. I know that the Conservatives are in their post-truth stage. A UK Government that is out of ideas and I hope that they are out of time very, very shortly. Let's stick to the facts, because the facts tell us that there are more officers per head in Scotland than a Conservative-led, England-led and Labour-led Wales. Crime is down under this Government. Let's hear the First Minister. Officers are paid more fairly and, in fact, are the best paid in the entire UK. I know that Douglas Ross, despite having three or four or five jobs—I've lost count, Presiding Officer—was down at the Conservative Party conference this week or, as others have rightly dubbed it, the conspiracy party conference. His post-truth, his lies about the police service simply will not wash here in Scotland. First Minister, as all members are aware, it is wholly inappropriate to suggest that another member of this Parliament has lied and I would be grateful, First Minister, if you might apologise. I'm happy to call it a deliberate inaccuracy, because that's clearly what it is. First Minister, I must ask that you apologise, please. I'm happy to apologise to anybody who has been offended by the post-truth that has come from the Conservative Party and anyone who has been offended by my remarks. First Minister, I would ask that you apologise to myself and to this chamber. I'm happy to apologise to the chamber for any offence, Presiding Officer. We'll move on to question number two, and I call Anna Sarwar. Presiding Officer, this is a very serious issue, because it is important to people right across our communities. Earlier this week, when I was in Canvaslang, I met a distressed woman trying to report a serious incident to the police. Her local station in Blantar was closed, so she travelled several miles to Canvaslang, only to find that station there was also closed. Our conversation was a heartbreaking example of what a loss of local policing means for communities, and soon people all across Scotland will be faced with the same situation. Police Scotland is being forced to consider closing 30 stations, so when will residents be told which local police stations are closing, and can the First Minister tell us why he approves of those plans to decimate the police presence in Scotland's communities? I'm afraid that that's just another inaccuracy, Presiding Officer. We haven't approved the plans, because we haven't—the cabinet secretary or I—haven't seen any finalised plans for the police estate in Lanarkshire. I go back to the answer that I gave to Douglas Ross. Police Scotland's estate strategy was published in 2019, published for everybody to see in 2019. It outlined plans to replace outdated and underused properties and replace them, and that is the key word with modern, fit-for-purpose spaces through consideration of a number of options, including co-location with partner organisations. What people in Scotland, what people in Rutherglen and Hamilton West will be interested in knowing is whether communities are safer. The answer to that is absolutely since the SNP has, of course, been in government. They want to know whether there are sufficient police bobbies on the beat. There are, I'm pleased to say, an increase in police officer numbers since the SNP has taken power. On the changes to the estate, that is an operational matter for Police Scotland. What I'll continue to make sure is that Police Scotland is, of course, fairly funded. That woman who had to go to two police stations and still not be able to speak to a police officer doesn't feel any safer. I think that's frankly a head-on-the-sand answer from the First Minister. Last month, the SNP's mismanagement of our police service was laid out in starker terms. Police Scotland said that they will need to lose another 600 police officers and 200 staff next year and 2,000 staff over the next four years. That's on top of the 600 officers already lost. Front-line officers are being overworked, missing out on rest days and struggling with their mental health. That means that, in parts of Scotland, the police are piloting not investigating some crimes. The Scottish Police Federation has warned that people may die if further cuts go ahead. Their words are not mine. Why do I want the First Minister to listen to police officers serving on the front line trying to keep our communities safe? I do listen to police officers regularly, both myself and the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs. Police Scotland has already recruited almost 600 officers this year alone, around just shy of 1,500 since the beginning of 2022. On the number of police officers—I go back to the point that I was making to Douglas Ross a moment ago—we have invested in Police Scotland. That's why we have more police officers here in Scotland than in England or, indeed, in Labour-run Wales. We also make sure that we invest in our police officers to ensure that they are paid fairly. That's why they remain the best-paid in every single comparable rank—the best-paid in the entire UK, certainly in comparison to England and Wales. We will continue to invest in our police service. It is, of course, an operational decision for the chief constable. We will determine how many officers they have in whatever role I will make sure, as the First Minister and the Government that I lead, that we continue to invest significantly in police officers and, indeed, in Police Scotland right across the board. The First Minister may not choose to believe the police, but I believe the police when they say that they are worried about their resources and the loss of staff. The first duty of any Government is to keep its citizens safe. When police are telling you that communities are going to put a risk, you should listen to them. However, that is the direct result of 16 years of incompetence and mismanagement from the SNP. When Humza Yousaf was justice secretary, the police were stretched to breaking point. The words of the SNP MSP that some of those benches sitting behind the First Minister wished they had elected as leader, because policing, like our NHS, like every Scottish institution, is weaker after 16 years of SNP failure. We can see it. The people sitting behind the First Minister can see it, and the people of Scotland can see it, so why can't he that it's time for change? I tell you what, the backbench is behind him and he certainly didn't seem to believe it, Presiding Officer. What I would say is that when it comes to the facts, since the SNP has been in government, recorded crime is at one of its lowest levels in almost 50 years. It's down 41 per cent. Since we have assumed office, the SNP has assumed office, there's been a 53 per cent fall in robbery, a 71 per cent fall in housebreaking, a 65 per cent fall in the theft of a motor vehicle, a 70 per cent fall in vandalism, so there has been a significant reduction in crime right across a number of crime types. What I would say to Annas Sauer is that, of course, the funding situation over public finances has been difficult, not because of the SNP, but because of course complete and utter economic mismanagement by the Conservatives. The difference between Annas Sauer and I is that I want to make sure that we have the power over our finances and that he wants to keep them in the hands of the Conservatives. To ask the First Minister how the measures in place to tackle the climate emergency will also help to address poverty. A fair and just transition to net zero means aligning our climate action to address existing poverty and inequality across Scotland. A truly just transition to heat decarbonisation can help to reduce fuel poverty through measures such as tackling poor energy efficiency, which is why we are investing £1.8 billion on the heat transition over the course of this Parliament. Additionally, our on-going support for public transport, especially our work to expand concessionary travel to under-22s and our just launched peak fares pilot demonstrates that we are already taking very serious action to both alleviate poverty but also to cut emissions too. Fairness and equity will be a key consideration in the development of our just transition plans and we are working with the poverty alliance and those with lived experience of discrimination poverty and why did inequality to co-design these plans? We have just had the hottest July on global records, then the hottest August, then the hottest September. Gobs backing the bananas temperatures according to climate scientists, a bit like Tory party conference this week perhaps. Of course, Scottish Greens know that the systemic causes of the climate emergency also cause poverty and inequality. This challenge poverty week, can the First Minister confirm that the work we do to make this shift from a carbon economy to a renewables economy with policies like free bus travel for under-22s and end-to-peak rail fares and so on, are all vital to the twin missions of tackling the climate emergency and tackling poverty and that such policies are instrumental in building the clean, green, equal and caring economy we also desperately need? I agree with Maggie Chapman wholeheartedly and I think anybody who of course pays attention to the science, which I think is most of us in this chamber, will see of course that climate injustice, climate action and the climate catastrophe does not impact us equally. Those who are poorer, the most vulnerable, those who live in areas of higher deprivation are impacted more greatly by the climate catastrophe than others. So it's so important that we of course have a just transition. I put an emphasis on that word, just transition to a low-carbon economy. That's absolutely vital in delivering our environmental obligations but also of course our social and economic objectives as well. So as I've said previously, we're clearly demonstrating that commitment through policies such as the £1.8 billion investment in heat transition and indeed expansion of free bus travel and we'll continue to make sure we make progress in meeting our obligations for the planet and importantly also for the people of Scotland too. Decarbonisation of our housing stock is critical to Scotland meeting its ambitious net zero targets, yet residents are rightly concerned about the costs of installing new heating systems which will far outweigh any government grant support available and are often unsure about the range and applicability of the various technologies on offer. Does the First Minister agree with me that the most cost-effective way to decarbonise much of our existing housing stock may be through accelerating the deployment of district heating solutions, centralising much of the investment in technology choices and making the process of decarbonisation much easier and cheaper for homeowners? Ivan McKee is absolutely right in his question. Heat networks will play a very important role in changing the way we heat our buildings. We could grow to meet anywhere between 17 and 32 per cent of our heat demand. It's also fair to say that it's going to be important for us to attract private investment into our decarbonisation journey and that is something that is happening worldwide. We have over the Atlantic Inflation Reduction Act, of course over to the east. In Europe we have the Green Deal Industrial Partnership but, unfortunately, we have the UK Government sitting on their hands not taking action, not helping us to attract that private investment, and that's why we continue to demand that we have the full financial powers in order to attract that investment to Scotland to help us in our journey to net zero. With an all-day bus ticket in Glasgow costing £5, I agree that free bus travel is both an environmental and social good. For people seeking asylum in Scotland to receive just £6 a day from the Home Office, public transport is simply not an affordable option. This challenged poverty week. Civil society organisations are calling for a free bus travel to be extended to people seeking asylum, so will the First Minister confirm if his Government will deliver this? It's certainly an issue that this Government is considering, and what I will say to Paul Sweeney is that anything that we can do within our powers to make the lives of asylum seekers easier, of course we will seek to do. Paul Sweeney knows well that we don't have those powers in our hands. They still lie in the hands of an inhumane Conservative Government. I met an asylum seeker yesterday who has been in the asylum system for 12 years without the right to work. That, to me, is an absolute disgrace, and I know that Paul Sweeney agrees with that. I will consider the proposals around potentially seeing if we can seek to extend concessionary bus travel. We do that with real limitations in our budget, but it is something that we will give consideration to. To ask the First Minister what support the Scottish Government is providing to Creative Scotland. The Scottish Government provides significant funding to Creative Scotland each year, and we will continue to do so. In 23-24 this financial year includes £27 million to support Creative Scotland's regularly funded organisations. £5.77 million for Creative Scotland's operating costs, £9.5 million for the Youth Music Initiative and £7.25 million for Screen Scotland and £2.5 million for festivals too. There are considerable challenges in the arts and culture sectors that, and the Scottish Government, struggle to operate in a post-pandemic, post-Brexit high inflation and constrained budget environment, not of our making in Scotland. Nevertheless, the scale of funding for the arts and culture sector is comparatively low at around 0.1 per cent overall budget. The Scottish Government's set-out is stalling creating a wellbeing economy, and the arts and culture sector is one of the primary contributors to that ambition. Will the First Minister and his cabinet secretary redouble their efforts to make sure that the sector can be supported by whatever means possible over what will be undoubtedly further challenges in the years ahead? Yes, I can. Michelle Thomson makes some very important points in the question that she asks. Culture and the arts are important for the economic contribution that they make to this country, but they are also important for our other reasons too. They can absolutely be and they will be part of that wellbeing economy. We know, for example, when we think about social prescribing in the health space, that they can be exceptionally important. Of course, culture and arts are important intrinsically for their own and the joy that they bring to the people not just of this country but, as we have seen particularly over the summer, to people right across the world too. I can give an absolute commitment that, even when our finances are constrained—and, of course, we will ask Creative Scotland, as we will ask other public bodies to do, to sometimes help and assist if that necessarily means using their reserves, we will ask them to do that. We will look to support, as we have done over the years, our culture and arts because they are so valuable to all of us in Scotland. I would say that they are valuable to the rest of the world too. Last week's decision to reinstate a cut to Creative Scotland's budget of £6.6 million not only represents the complete reversal of a commitment made in February by the SNP, but it has also caused irreparable damage to the trust placed in this Government by those working in culture and the arts. Laurie Anderson of Culture Counts has ascribed it as beyond disappointing a massive knock in confidence for the sector. What does the First Minister say to her and to the thousands of people working in the creative sector who feel completely let down by the mixed messages and broken promises of its Government? It is astonishing for Donald Cameron to talk about broken promises 24 hours after his Government scrapped NHS 2. Does Donald Cameron never reflect when he stands up and asks us about the difficult financial circumstances that we find ourselves in? Who has been the architects? His party has been the architects through its decimation of the public finances, and it was Douglas Ross, his party leader, who demanded that we follow suit. Thank goodness we did not. If we had done, we would have been facing far more severe financial pressure than we are currently, but let me make it absolutely clear. Let me be unequivocal that every single regularly funded organisation will continue to receive the funding that they were expecting this financial year. There will be no detriment to them because we have asked Creative Scotland to use a portion of their £17 million reserves—a portion of those reserves—in order to help us with the financial challenges. Subject, of course, to parliamentary approval, will seek to restore that in the next financial year, Presiding Officer. The First Minister and Angus Robertson have claimed that a £6.6 million cut to Creative Scotland will have no detriment on cultural organisations this year, yet it is quite obviously the case that it will have a detriment of £6.6 million to the sector going forward. This Scottish Government promised in February to provide this essential funding, but it has now broken that promise. The cabinet secretary has now given a goal-plated assurance that £6.6 million of funding will be given to Creative Scotland next year. Can I ask the First Minister to tell me what on earth this assurance is worth when the last Government assurance turned out to be worth absolutely nothing? How does the cut match with the First Minister's own words last month when he says that the Government values the role of the culture sector? The First Minister should have really thought about revising his question after, of course, I already answered that very point in response to Donald Cameron, because let me just explain it to Neil Bibby once again. Every single regularly funded organisation will receive the funding that they were expecting this financial year. There will be no detriment to them because Creative Scotland, which has reserves of around £17 million, is being asked to use a portion of those reserves in order to ensure that there is no detriment. Subject to parliamentary approval— Let's hear the First Minister—and I hope now that Neil Bibby's approval that, when it comes to next year's budget, we will make sure that we restore that £6.6 million back into Creative Scotland's reserves. To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government will take to tackle the reported rising rates of crime and antisocial behaviour at retail premises. While the latest recorded crime data for shoplifting shows an increase, the levels remain below pre-pandemic levels. However, I do absolutely recognise the disruption, the harm that is caused to businesses from theft and antisocial behaviour in Police Scotland and partners are taking actions to tackle and to reduce it. The Scottish Government fully supports the innovative Scottish partnership against the accusative crime, which is led by Police Scotland and includes a number of other organisations, including retailers. Anyone affected by that kind of incident should report it to Police Scotland, who remains absolutely focused on keeping our community safe from harm. I thank the First Minister for that answer. I have met various retailers in my area who have all discussed the challenges that they are facing with rising crime and antisocial behaviour. That has escalated significantly over the last year and, in their words, is out of control. Police numbers are falling, police funding is stretched and the Government's approach to justice is not working. What action will you take to protect retail workers? I want to say to Shandee that, in relation to her question, I have said it to Douglas Ross and Anna Sauer, that police officer numbers have increased since the SNP came into government, and that recorded crime has reduced at one of its lowest levels in almost 50 years. We have more police officers per head in Scotland, then in England and in Wales. We will continue to invest in our police service. It is also worth noting that, when we look at the figures that, over the past 10 years from 2013-14 to 2022-23, there has been a 3 per cent increase in shoplifting. I was very interested in the interview comments by Dr Sinead Fury of Ulster University, who is a senior lecturer in consumer management and food innovation. She said, and I will quote from her directly, that we have seen this before in previous times of austerity or economic downturn. The return of stealing to eat, instead of being able to afford to eat, is yet more proof that we need effective policy solutions that put sufficient income in people's hands in a dignified way, so that poverty and resorting to crime do not become a mainstream means of securing the most basic essentials of living. That is not a quote from me, it is a quote from a professor and an academic, the Conservatives would do well to listen to that. Question 6, Katie Clark. To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of any impact of operational changes in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service on response times to recent incidents, including the fires at air station or hotel and Kitties nightclub in Kirkcaldy. As I said last week, I want to thank our emergency services and partners for their response to those incidents, which were rightly an operational matter for Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. Both of those fires took place in deadly buildings with no risk to life, there were no casualties, thankfully, and they were not a rescue situation. At station or hotel, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service deployed 15 appliances at the peak of the fire, and a decision was made not to tackle the blaze internally due to the building structure and to ensure that firefighters were not placed at risk. The SFRS has confirmed that the recent operational changes did not impact on the outcome of the station or hotel incident and the Kirkcaldy fire took place before any of the operational changes came into effect. I associate myself with the tribute that the First Minister has made to our firefighters, and he will be aware that the appliance at Kirkcaldy was taken out of operation at midnight later on the day of the fire. Is the First Minister aware of the serious concerns being raised by the Fire Brigade Union about the impact of withdrawal of 10 appliances last month, including the withdrawal of a specialist appliance at air, which they say meant local firefighters had to wait for an appliance to arrive from Castle Milk, given the Kilmarnock one broke down? Will he meet with FBU Scotland to discuss their concerns about the impact of budget cuts on public safety? Of course, the cabinet secretary regularly meets with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, and I am sure that he would be pleased and happy to to meet with the FBU, who we have the utmost respect and regular engagement with too, in order to address some of the points that Katie Clark has made. Let me just address the point around funding, despite very difficult financial circumstances that have been well rehearsed in this chamber. We are providing the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service with more than £368 million this year—an increase of £14.4 million in comparison to last year. We are also continuing to invest in firefighters up and down the country. As of March 2022, there were 11.3 firefighters per 10,000 of the population of Scotland. That is in stark contrast to 6.1 in England and 8.4 in Wales. We will continue to invest in the fire service. We will continue to invest in our brave firefighters for the exceptional work that they do, and we will continue to make sure that we, of course, that dialogue needs to continue with the fire service, with the fire brigade union, we will make sure that dialogue continues, because we all want to see collectively a fire service that is well resourced and well equipped. Can the First Minister outline what more can be done to take action against private owners who leave buildings derelict and at risk of antisocial behaviour, including fire-raising, which has a significant impact on our councils and public services? Audrey Nicoll raises an important point. The buildings are a blight in our communities. They can pose a risk, as we have seen to the wider public. The best solution is, of course, for owners to maintain the property or dispose of it so that it is not a drain on our public services. The control of dangerous buildings is primarily the responsibility of local authorities. Under the Building Scotland Act 2003, councils can serve notices on owners to carry out the work, or they can secure the site and carry out the work themselves to make it safe, including, of course, right up to demolition. The police, local authorities and SFRS all work together to minimise the risks posed by derelict buildings, including the fact that the public can also play a part by reporting to Police Scotland, SFRS or indeed the local council any concerns that they have over derelict buildings that do not seem secure. We move to general and constituency supplementaries, and I call Emma Harper. I am sure that the First Minister will have seen the no-life, half-lived report from Chest Heart Stroke Scotland, which makes a number of recommendations to enable access to rehabilitation support for one in five people in Scotland who live with chest heart and stroke conditions, including in my South Scotland region. Just for transparency, I co-convene a number of health-related cross-party groups, including the long-health cross-party group. First Minister, can you outline how the recommendations in the report align with the Scottish Government's stroke improvement plan? I welcome the Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland report. It is a challenging report and rightly does challenge government in terms of where we can and should go further. We will continue to engage and Cabinet Secretary will engage with Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland further in relation to the report. We are committed to ensuring that people who live with chest heart and stroke conditions receive the best possible care. We have a stroke improvement plan that requires NHS boards to demonstrate provision of stroke rehabilitation in a variety of settings in a range of intensities. The plan also ensures that boards must demonstrate a clear pathway for patients to re-engage with stroke rehabilitation services and offer a formal six-month review to everyone who has had a stroke. That is to say that I welcome the report and will continue to engage with Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland to see how we continue to improve the patient experience. Endometriosis Fife has advised me that the situation regarding waiting for gynaecological services in NHS Fife is appalling. Referals for conditions such as endometriosis are having to wait over 63 weeks for treatment. That is a wait of one year or three months, not three months promised by this Government. First Minister, what is the Scottish Government doing right now to address appalling waiting times for my constituents? Ross McCall is right to raise this issue and I will ensure that the Cabinet Secretary for Health looks into the very specific matter that Endometriosis Fife has raised in relation to that particular health board. We have made ambitious plans for reducing the far too long time that it takes for diagnosis for women who suffer from endometriosis and other such conditions. I will ask the Cabinet Secretary for Health to write to Ross McCall on the very specifics of the issue in Fife and see what more we can do so that women in particular do not have to wait long for access to treatment—access to diagnosis, let alone access to treatment thereafter. Does the First Minister support the downgrading of the neonatal intensive care unit at University Hospital Wishaw, or does he agree with experienced midwife Elsie Sneddon that this would not just be a disaster for Lanarkshire, it will be a disaster for Scotland? What I tend to do is to believe the experts, to believe the clinicians, to believe those in the third sector who have often worked with young babies who often need that care. Of course, the model that is being placed here will ensure that we and clinicians certainly believe that there is the best possible care for the sickest babies. I am more than happy for the Cabinet Secretary to write to Richard Leonard to furnish him with the detail, but, as I say, we are rightly being led by the expert voice of clinicians, but also many of those in the third sector who also support those changes. Jackie Dunbar The peak fairs removal pilot is another example of the Scottish Government's commitment to the role of sustainable transport such as rail travel in achieving our net zero targets. Can I ask the First Minister what that initiative could mean for emissions reduction? It could be absolutely significant. We hope to have more people on our railway services, as I said, in response to a question from Maggie Chapman. I am delighted that there has been such positivity to this Government funding ScotRail for that six-month pilot to abolish peak fairs. It has been welcomed by many people this week who have been using our railways, and it is very much part of the pilot and the evaluation of the pilot. We will be to calculate the savings in CO2 emissions generated by removing car journeys from Scotland's road. It is a very stark contrast, a stark tale of two Governments. In Scotland, we have a Government that is cutting rail fares. In the UK, we have a Conservative Government that is cutting railway lines, Presiding Officer. Tess White Thank you, Presiding Officer. First Minister, further design faults have once again delayed the completion of the Baird family hospital and the anchor centre in Aberdeen. The projects are now three years late and over almost £100 million over budget, with costs expected to rise further. Has the First Minister met with NHS Grampian to discuss the deeply concerning delays and what financial support will the Scottish Government provide to the health board to ensure that the much-needed projects can go ahead? Tess White is right to raise the challenges around the two projects. The entire purpose of setting up NHS assure was to help to assure all of us in relation to capital projects that were being undertaken. Of course, those capital projects were meeting the high standards that we would all expect for all of our capital projects, but in particular for NHS projects much like the anchor centre and the Baird family hospital. NHS assure is doing its job. It has raised, as Tess White has rightly said, some concerns and some issues that need rectified. Of course, the cabinet secretary will remain close, as we will, as the Government will remain close to the health board and we are more than happy to ensure that Tess White is kept up-to-date in relation to those discussions. Yesterday EIS members attended the Scottish Parliament with a letter for the First Minister. It read, and I quote, that compulsory redundancies are already a reality in Scotland's college sector. To continue to allow the abandonment of the Scottish Government's own no-public sector redundancy policy in the further education sector is nothing short of a betrayal of hard-working staff. Will the First Minister accept that compulsory redundancy is now a reality on his watch and, in this challenge poverty week, can he explain how treating the college sector with such disdain is compatible with supporting it to continue being a route out of poverty for those living in our most vulnerable communities? The Government will respond to the EIS more formally and other trade unions, but we have been clear that these are discussions that are taking place between the employer, the colleges and trade unions. In any discussion that the Minister for Higher and Further Education has had, and he has communicated this face-to-face, in writing, he has made it abundantly clear that the guiding light should be our fair work principles. Those principles are important to me, as First Minister, and to the entire Government. I would certainly urge those college principles, those who are negotiating on behalf of the employer, to ensure that they do everything that they can to ensure that they are guided by those fair work principles. Orney Islands Council has called for the Scottish Government's national islands plan to be scrapped after, quote, little or no progress has been made on its 13 objectives, notably the inconsistencies in island authority funding and improvement of lifeline transport links. Does the First Minister not accept that a more tightly focused plan would offer more chance of objectives being met, rather than the Scottish Government continuing to overpromise and under-deliver for Orkney and other island communities? First Minister. We have invested significantly in our island communities. Of course, I am always happy to speak to the leader of Orkney Island Council. In fact, we were engaged in conversation at COSLA's conference just last week. I do not think that there is merit in scrapping the national islands plan, but we have to ensure that we do, from the Scottish Government's perspective, is to make good on the commitments that are in that plan. We are absolutely committed to doing that. In one example, I will give Liam McArthur's in my last conversation with the leader of Orkney Island Council. Of course, we have affirmed the fact that the Government is very open in the spirit of the very House agreement considering models such as a single island authority. Let's have that conversation, let's have that discussion about what the art of the possible is. Of course, this Government has made significant commitments when it comes to the funding and assisting funding to enter island ferries. We will continue to continue those discussions and to continue that engagement, not just with Orkney Island Council but with all of our island local authorities too. John Mason. The First Minister is obviously aware of the cancellation of HS2, or a large part of it, by the Conservatives, who are clearly only interested in London and the southeast of England. Will that have any impact on Scotland, for example our climate targets, and the fact that it will be more difficult to take rail travel through and to England? Undoubtedly, that will be the case. The Scottish Government has always strongly supported a high-speed rail programme that benefits Scotland, yet it is quite clear that this latest UK Government decision, this latest broken promise, will negatively impact on Scotland's ambition for net zero, for our economy, for enhancing our rail capacity and, indeed, for our connectivity. We need to take time to fully understand the implications of the impact of the cancellation of HS2 and to consider the significant impact that the cancellation of this project will have on our economy, but also, really importantly, on our climate change targets too. It goes without saying that long-distance rail travel in the UK will now continue to struggle to compete with domestic air travel. That will not help us to deliver on those important climate change targets that we must achieve. I reflect back on the fact that, during his posting on Ex or formerly known as Twitter, the Prime Minister put up a map saying that he will be investing in the north. That map, of course, excluded almost entirely Scotland. I think that it went up to manage to go up to Strunrar and excluded the rest of Scotland, so forget investing in Scotland. The Tories can't even find Scotland on the map, Presiding Officer. Thank you, Presiding Officer. First Minister, on the subject of rail travel, I have been made aware that ScotRail have made provision in their timetable for trains between Edinburgh and Dumblane to allow it to stop at Winshborough. When will Winshborough get its station, First Minister? We have an excellent record of course in investing in the rail infrastructure. It is remarkably brave of the member to stand up here to talk about rail investment, and some might use a different word, Presiding Officer, but it is remarkably brave to stand up here 24 hours after the Prime Minister has scrapped HS2, so I will ensure that the member gets the detail of our rail infrastructure. As I have already said, as a tale of two Governments, we have invested this week in cutting rail fares, while of course the Conservatives have cut railway lines right up and down this country. Thank you. That concludes First Minister's questions. Presiding Officer, I didn't raise a point of order during FMQs, because I understand that it's the convention of Parliament not to do so. But in your exchanges with the First Minister, when he was asked to apologise to you and the member that he falsely accused of lying, he did neither. So what steps will be taken to tackle the First Minister's willful disrespect of your office and this Parliament? I thank Mr Kerr for his point of order. I dealt with the matter at the time, Mr Kerr. We will now move on to members' business, which is a debate in the name of John Swinney, and there will be a short suspension to allow those leaving the chamber and the public gallery to do so before the debate begins.