 The next item of business is First Minister's Questions, and at question number one I call Douglas Ross. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Can I begin by wishing Her Majesty the Queen a very happy 96th birthday? On behalf of the whole chamber and people across Scotland, we send our best wishes to the monarch who has been a constant in our country for many decades. Through good times and difficult periods, while the country has been at war and during peacetime, a global figure and our remarkable head of state, and I know everyone in this chamber will join us in wishing Her Majesty a very happy birthday. Can I ask the First Minister if she supports plans for drivers who live outside Edinburgh and Glasgow to be charged extra to get into Scotland's two largest cities? First Minister, can I also take the opportunity to wish Her Majesty a very happy 96th birthday today? Her service has been, continues to be, an inspiration to many, not just in Scotland and the UK but across the world, and I know all of us in sending her our very best wishes today will also wish her many happy returns. I think it is right that we support those who require to use our roads and that we do that in a range of ways, for example, ensuring the good maintenance of our roads, pressing for action on the part of the UK Government to cut the cost of motoring particularly just now when people are suffering from cost of living. Of course, all of us have a big responsibility to ensure that we make the transition to net zero and that means decarbonising our transport system. Local authorities will consult on a range of issues and it is important that those responsibilities are kept in our minds but also the views of the wider public are taken fully into account. Douglas Ross. The First Minister wants to support those who use our roads and her answer, tax and more, because the SNP Government brought in the workplace parking tax and the SNP group in Edinburgh has charged ahead with plans to introduce it. Plans that would hit anyone who needs their car to get in to work in the city. And now, in their manifesto for the local election, the SNP have included proposals to charge vehicles just to come in to the capital. It's a commuter tax on people all over the country who travel to work in Edinburgh, who come to do business, to visit family and friends or to use vital services. Scottish Conservatives are completely opposed to this proposal. So why are the SNP intent on making driving in our cities unaffordable? First Minister. I think perhaps on many issues Douglas Ross needs to decide what his position actually is and avoid rendering himself ridiculous by having contradictory and inconsistent positions. Talking of manifestos, let me first of all quote the Tory local government manifesto from 2017, which says this. We need to empower councils and give them a renewed sense of meaning and purpose. I can hear Douglas Ross say that that's not up to date enough. So let me quote the Conservative manifesto from the Scottish Parliament election just this time last year. Again, I am quoting, councils should lead post Covid reviews of changed travel patterns in their areas and be encouraged to create more low traffic neighbourhoods. So on the one hand, Douglas Ross wants to empower local councils and then he stands up there and says that I should rule out the ability of local councils deciding on things that could help us with that transition to net zero, while of course supporting travel patterns across the country. Not for the first time, Presiding Officer, and I suspect not for the last time that Douglas Ross's position is completely inconsistent and bordering on being ridiculous. Bordering on ridiculous is that dismal answer. Well, two things in bordering on ridiculous are the fact that SNP back-ventures think that that was a good answer, but also the complete deflection from the proposals from the SNP. Nothing from the leader of the SNP or from the First Minister about the specific question I asked and her preprepared answers on what I might or might not have said. Don't really sit well. Colleagues, colleagues, colleagues, thank you. Listen, listen. Her preprepared answers on what I may or might not have come to this chamber to say. I don't know what's difficult for the SNP to understand. The First Minister. Excuse me, Mr Ross. Can we please hear Mr Ross? Thank you. The First Minister is trying to predict what I would say at First Minister's questions. There was a script ready to answer that had nothing to do with the issue that we are raising. It's about SNP raising the cost of driving cars in cities that people rely on to get to work, to visit friends and family, to use vital services. In response to the news of this commuter tax, the Federation of Small Businesses this morning urged councils to avoid additional costs for business. It was clear that a commuter tax would hit tradespeople coming from the Lothians, the Borders, Fife and further afield. It's not just those areas that will be hit with extra charges from SNP councillors. Anyone working in Glasgow also faces the prospect of extra charges for driving into their city. Glasgow SNP leader Susan Aitken has suggested capping traffic on the M8. She's also considering introducing toll roads. First Minister, a previous SNP Government scrapped those charges. Will you stand up and give a categorical answer that you will not bring them back in again? First Minister, I think that Douglas Ross might want to reflect on the fact that the chamber wasn't laughing with him a few moments ago, because I was quoting from Conservative manifestos that actually put their finger on the really important issue here. I think that everybody across the country, and certainly everybody in this chamber, knows that all of us, not just in Scotland but across the world, face some really difficult, tough, challenging decisions in the years to come about how we heat our homes and also how we travel around the country so that we can meet our climate change obligations, make that transition to net zero but have a transport system that still supports our economy and supports the travelling public. It's easy for the Scottish Conservatives to reduce those challenging decisions in the simplistic way that they have, but the rest of us know that those decisions have to be faced. This is about empowering local councils to consult on those decisions, to consider the options and to arrive at decisions. That is what we are doing. It's what the Conservatives used to support but clearly now don't. We, as a Government, continue to support the transport system across the country. Since this Government took office, we have invested in excess of £9.5 billion in managing, maintaining, improving Scotland's trunk roads and our motorway network. We are also investing more than £500 million for bus priority measures to support people out of cars. We will continue to take the tough decisions, we will continue to consult the public and come to sensible decisions and back those decisions with investments. That's serious Government as opposed to ridiculous opposition. Douglas Ross, three questions so far to the First Minister and zero answers. It would have a very straightforward question. Would the First Minister rule out road tools being reintroduced in Scotland and she was silent, didn't even attempt to answer that question. Of course, across the chamber all parties agree on the need to do more to meet our climate change targets. SNP members laugh about this but in many industries and across rural areas, especially, people still need their cars. Right now there couldn't be a worse time to further hike the cost of driving. We are in the middle of a cost of living crisis. Petrol prices are rising globally, yet Nicola Sturgeon wants to tax people off the road by hammering anyone who owns a car. The people who will be hit hardest are not the wealthiest, but ordinary working people who need their cars and who are already struggling with the cost of living. If the First Minister carries on down this road, Nicola Sturgeon and her SNP candidates are going to force Scotland's economy into the slowing. The commuter tax should be abandoned, toll charges should be ruled out, First Minister, and her workplace parking tax should be ditched. First Minister, will you drop this triple whammy of anti-driver taxes? First Minister, I don't support road tools, but I do support local councils being empowered to consider the tough issues that they face to consult with the public and to take sensible decisions. Excuse me, First Minister. We will hear the First Minister. I will say two other things. Yes, people continue to need their cars, particularly in rural and remote parts of our country, which is why this Government has invested so heavily in maintaining and improving our trunk road and our motorway network. We have delivered improvements right across the country to meet the needs of all the population, including the Queensbury crossing, Aberdeen Western peripheral route, the MA M73, M74 motorway improvements, and we will continue to do so. The final point that I would make, which I know, is one that Douglas Ross will not want to face up to. What is hammering at people, including motorists right now across the country, is the Tory-created cost of living crisis, which an out-of-touch Prime Minister and an out-of-touch Chancellor of the Czech Republic refused to do enough about. Perhaps we should focus on the immediate problems being faced by people and the solutions that need to come from Douglas Ross's colleagues at Westminster. Question 2, Anna Sarwar. Can I join others in wishing Her Majesty the Queen a very happy 96th birthday and on this, her platinum jubilee year thank her again for her service? Before Easter, I highlighted to the £2 million that the Government wasted on a turnaround manager at Ferguson's who left the yard in a worse state when they found it. The First Minister supported paying him nearly £3,000 a day while Scots faced a cost of living crisis. That is not the only waste of public money that the First Minister has supported. Can the First Minister tell the chamber how much money her Government has wasted since 2007 because of delays, loan write-offs or avoidable spending? I do not have that figure to hand. I am happy to look at that. I suspect that the way Anna Sarwar characterised that may not be entirely one that I would agree with, but I am more than happy to look at his question in the detail of that and write to him with the information in due course. Anna Sarwar. The answer is over £3 billion. That is the cost of SNP failure, the loss of public money due to SNP incompetence and the list is endless. £152 million on a failed creary contract at Ferguson's. £146 million fixing the Government's mistakes at the Edinburgh Sick Kids and the Queen Elizabeth in Glasgow. £40 million and rising on the molicit prosecution of rangers. Almost £200 million on failed industrial interventions and loan write-offs. Nearly £1 billion for agency workers in the health service because Nicola Sturgeon cut training places when health secretary. Over £1 billion on delayed discharge because there are failure to fix the social care crisis. £3 billion. That is the equivalent of £1,200 bill for every household in Scotland. Every penny of this wasted money could be more cash for the NHS more cash for our schools or more cash to tackle the cost of living crisis. Rather than helping people with the cost of living crisis why is this Government instead making them pay the cost of SNP failure? First Minister. I suspected that Anna Sarwar's characterisation of this would be an utter mischaracterisation. It turns out that I was absolutely right on that. Before I come on to some of the details some of the ridiculous I didn't think the opposition would be exceeded in terms of being ridiculous in their questioning today but will I come on to that in a second but what Anna Sarwar failed to mention is that this Government has had 15 years of unqualified accounts. That is the reality in terms of our stewardship of the public finances but let me give them two. Obviously they don't understand that point it's a rather important point but let me come on let me come on to the detail so two of the examples one of the examples he's talking about prosecution decisions of course being matters for the independent Crown Office and yet he is is Anna Sarwar seriously saying that I as First Minister or any minister of this Government should have interfered in the independent prosecution decisions of the Crown Office perhaps he should clarify that matter and then the second example I will use where he is downright wrong is his 146 million pounds of additional costs in relation to hospitals so the vast majority of that figure and I've looked at that closely because I've heard Labour use it relates to planned costs to unexpected or avoidable so for example 80 million of that related to preparatory works which were separate to the main contract but were budgeted costs included in the business case another 33 million pounds related to the annual service payment also part of the original business case so there's a lot of nonsense in the question that Anna Sarwar has just asked there and perhaps he should reflect on that Anna Sarwar I asked him about wasted money that's a waste of an answer from the First Minister right there 40 million pounds in a malicious prosecution the first time ever in Scottish history perhaps the Government should reflect on that a hospital built for Edinburgh sick kids that failed to open perhaps the Government should reflect on that the failures of the Glasgow Queen Elizabeth hospital perhaps the Government should reflect on that because right around the country we are seeing the cost of SNP failure and at the same time energy bills are up petrol prices are up and the weekly shop is more expensive than ever right now in Scotland there are mum skipping meals in order to feed their kids people are knocking back items at food banks because they can't afford to cook them and in the face of the biggest drop in living standards since the second world war both our Governments are not doing enough instead of wasting billions of pounds paying the cost of SNP failure we should be supporting families with the cost of living crisis the £111 million alone write-offs could have been used to top up the Scottish welfare fund the £52 million misspent mismanaging fergusons could have been used to have rail fares for three months not three weeks and cab bus fares the £1 billion on delayed discharge could have been used to give our care workers the pay rise they deserve while families right now are being forced to account for every single penny of their spending why does this First Minister think that it is acceptable for them to pay the cost of £3.2 billion and rising of SNP failure First, there are really serious issues in there and I hope if not during this session then after this session Anasarwar will clarify at least well two points actually but firstly this one because this is a serious constitutional question referenced the rangers prosecution and the cost of settling that but if he thinks that is something that I could have influenced then is he saying that ministers should have been involved in or influencing the independent prosecution decisions or intervened in any way in that and if he is going to somehow suggest as he has that those costs are waste on the part of the SNP then he really has to answer he really has to answer that fundamental question does he think that I should have interfered in the prosecution decisions of the Crown Office the second point going back to the £146 million in relation to the hospital is he saying that £80 million on essential preparation work shouldn't have been done because that is the logical conclusion of what he's saying so the spin in the sound bites might sound good when Anasarwar is rehearsing these questions but I think he should pay a bit more attention to the detail First Minister if I may there is a lot of background contribution going on in the chamber at the moment and I'd be grateful if it could cease and we could hear the First Minister to come on to what I think is the important part of the question which is the cost of living crisis Anasarwar has referenced rising petrol costs and rising energy costs can I remind Anasarwar that power over energy and the cost of petrol are still reserved to Westminster and if he wants to change that then he should argue for those powers to come here and in terms of the wider cost of living we've increased the benefits that this Government is responsible for we've doubled the child payment and if we are to be able to do more then he needs to support us in calling for greater welfare powers to come to this Parliament as well so that we will now move to supplementary questions and I call Paul McKinnon As the cost of living soars and thousands of families across the country are already feeling the crush of grossly inflated energy bills can the First Minister give an update on the number of families benefiting now from free childcare and how much money will save them at such a critical time First Minister Over 111,000 children were accessing funded early learning and childcare and the primary of this year 87 per cent of those children are taking up the full entitlement and families who do take up the full entitlement can save up to £4,900 each year for each child and this is the most generous early learning and childcare offer anywhere in the UK and of course it will also deliver better social and educational outcomes for Scotland's children Brian Whittle First Minister 32,000 people suffering from long Covid in Scotland with 59,000 of those experiencing symptoms from more than a year This is a ticking time bomb and yet I think the SNP Government is merely sticking its head in the stand having dropped their debate on long Covid from the schedule this afternoon preventing this Parliament an opportunity to discuss this so can I ask the First Minister when are we going to see specialist long Covid clinics We are currently implementing the commitments in the long Covid approach paper that is all about improving care and support for people with long Covid in Scotland. Long Covid clinics are one model that health boards can consider but we've always recognised and I think rightly so that no one single approach is going to fit all areas and circumstances so health boards have to look at a range of approaches in terms of the debate of course we have made clear and given a commitment that we will have a debate in weeks at that time we will provide a full update on progress and the intention is that we can provide Parliament at that time with a detailed update of the outcome of the planning process currently being undertaken with NHS boards to determine the first allocations of the long Covid support fund which of course is what MSPs have been calling for Monica Lennon The anti-abortion lobby now sees Scotland as an easy target for campaigners following the Texas Playbook Last September I raised concerns with the First Minister and the urgent need for protest free buffer zones at abortion services Does she regret that SWIFT's action has not been taken and can she confirm when telemedicine for early abortion will be made permanent as Scotland is now trailing behind England and Wales on this important healthcare matter First Minister I say on behalf of the Scottish Government but also as First Minister indeed personally that we are committed to ensuring that all women are able to access timely abortions without judgement I condemn and I will do so in the strongest possible terms any attempts to intimidate women as they choose to access abortion services People of course have a right to protest against abortion but they should do that outside Parliament where the laws are made not do that outside a hospital where women are undergoing abortions and of course experiencing often as they do so extreme distress The buffer zones working group has been meeting that is looking at ways to prevent any patients feeling harassed or intimidated when accessing healthcare there are complex legal issues involved here and there is no way of avoiding saying that we must make sure that what we do the approach we choose is consistent with the law I know the minister is committed to seeing if that work can be accelerated I think that she may have said as much to Parliament earlier today so we will keep Parliament updated on this work but I would say again to those who take a different view on abortion to mine and to the view of many people in this chamber by all means protest you have a democratic right to do that Parliament do not intimidate women seeking access to abortion at hospitals Mark Ruskell The proposed closure of 19 Bank of Scotland branches will mark the loss of the last bank in town in Dunblane and many other communities and as a result vulnerable people in Dunblane without access to digital banking would need to make a 12 mile round trip to the nearest branch Does the First Minister agree that this move is clearly out of stock with our ambition to build 20 minute neighbourhoods, regenerate a high streets and connect communities to lifeline services? Yes, I do share those concerns and I share those sentiments I think that we all understand that the way people access banking services has changed and changed quite fundamentally in some respects and of course banks have to respond to that and make sure the services they provide are reflective of that but physical presence of banks and of course other facilities can be very important in sustaining access but in sustaining the life of local communities and it's really important that banks try to find the right balance I have personally and the Government generally has communicated these views to the banking sector and will continue to do so Stephen Kerr Communities like earth in Falkirk district are being left behind by the SNP Government's funding cuts to flood prevention After the people of earth they are caught up in a game of piggy in the middle between SEPA and Falkirk council engaged in the worst kind of buck passing How can people in villages like earth have confidence in Nicola Sturgeon to deliver flood prevention schemes given her record woeful track record of cuts to local schemes? First Minister We've provided significant and sustained funding for local flood prevention schemes Of course the decisions on individual schemes and the ranking of schemes are matters for local authorities I'm more than happy to come back to the member with any more detail I'm able to provide on the earth scheme but it's right that local authorities consult with SEPA but also with local communities in taking forward these schemes and it's right that the Scottish Government continues to provide funding where appropriate Pam Duncan-Glancy Thank you, Presiding Officer The Homeless Project Scotland in Glasgow has today said that they see high numbers of families attending their soup kitchen Shelter told the Social Security Committee this morning that by the end of today and every day the equivalent of a whole classroom full of children will be homeless What more will the Government do to support the project in Glasgow including to help it find a building to bring people together rather than have to do outside and what will you do to pick up pace on building new homes in Glasgow First I am happy to engage with the Homeless Project to see if there is more we can do as Government to try to help them to find a building the work they do is extremely important we all wish it wasn't necessary but I want to pay tribute to them for that Over and above that the Scottish Government will continue to do all we can to help people with this cost of living which is heaping misery upon people who in many cases were already living in poverty the increase in benefits I've already referenced the doubling of the child payment support for the welfare fund all of these policies will continue Glasgow City Council working of course with its partners has a very good record in terms of delivering affordable housing and we'll see what happens in a couple of weeks but I know for my part the current administration has plans to continue to build on that progress but it's incumbent on all of us with any influence and power right now to do everything we can to help people suffering with the cost of living crisis but of course for us to do as much as we would want to do does necessitate having more powers over these crucial issues lying in the hands of this Parliament and not in the hands of Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak at Westminster Question number three, Alex Cole-Hamill Thank you, Presiding Officer. Can I on behalf of the Scottish Liberal Democrats echo the good wishes expressed by the chamber to Her Majesty the Queen on the occasion of her 96th birthday when the Cabinet will next meet First Minister Tuesday Alex Cole-Hamilton I'm very grateful for that reply. In January the Scottish Government announced that it had sold the lion's share of Scotland's seabed for £700 million on it will be built huge wind farms What ministers didn't tell Parliament that day was that the Scottish Government and Crown Estate Scotland explicitly stopped companies paying a vast amount more There was a cap on bids of £100,000 per square kilometre That's despite a sale in England and Wales where there isn't a cap achieving four times that in initial deposits alone We know when farm jobs are going overseas, it happened again in Murray last week So the First Minister can't tell Parliament this is about employment Scotland's seabed can only be sold once The sale price matters because if it is cash that flows straight to the Scottish Government's budget for schools and hospitals Presiding Officer, the Scottish Government has sold these national assets on the cheap They have thrown away our fortune So can I ask the First Minister when the auction south of the border netted four times more why was she still determined to limit how much companies in Scotland should pay First Minister The process used by county states in making these decisions was fully transparent Secondly I think we have to be careful in making these comparisons between the Scottish auction round and similar rounds elsewhere There are differences in the complexity of these projects in Scotland partly to do with the depth of the water that these projects are taking place in The other point I would make is that while the Co-Hamilton's points about the £700 million are correct, that is not the only income from these projects there will be annual rental costs as well and of course if we do this correctly which we are determined to do then there is going to be very significant economic benefit My final point would be to remind the chamber of the vast potential of this, we went into this auction round with a planning assumption of 10 gigawatts of offshore wind power We have come out of that auction round with potentially 25 gigawatts of offshore wind power This is a massive, massive opportunity for Scotland and one that all of us should be extremely positive about Question number 4, Jenny Minto To ask the First Minister what assurances the Scottish Government has had from the UK Government that the reported privatisation of Channel 4 will not negatively impact on the development of the creative sector across Scotland and the growth of new Scottish talent First Minister The Scottish Government strongly opposes the privatisation of Channel 4 in its present form, Channel 4 makes a significant contribution to the creative sector in Scotland investing more than £200 million in Scottish-based production since 2007 and of course opening a creative hub in Glasgow in 2019 Since the announcement of privatisation plans by the UK Government on Twitter no further information has been forthcoming to the UK Government As soon as they provide clarity we will seek assurances about how they will ensure there is no negative impact on the creative sector in Scotland Jenny Minto Does the First Minister share my concern that Channel 4 is currently under threat from a Tory Government that appears to be doing all it can to undermine the principles of public service broadcasting for its own narrow political interest? First Minister Is absolutely what is happening in these proposals, I think represent cultural vandalism but they do also represent an attempt on the part of the UK Government to undermine public service broadcasting I can't see any reason whatsoever why Channel 4 should be privatised and especially not at the very time it has shown resilience in weathering the pandemic and strengthened its content spend and investment in Scotland The current model is a good one is a successful one and it's one that upholds the principles of public service broadcasting and I think we should all get behind it and seek to see off these misguided conservative proposals Question 5, Liz Smith To ask the First Minister whether she can provide an update on the Scottish Government's strategy to include libraries in the policy to address the attainment gap First Minister Libraries deliver a range of benefits providing vital access to learning materials and resources helping to improve literacy and tackling the attainment gap While local libraries are the responsibility of local government, the Scottish Government is committed to directly supporting libraries As part of our programme for government we launched a £1.25 million public library Covid relief fund supporting 30 projects across Scotland to remain open and tackle the attainment gap and that is over and above the money invested since 2017 through the school library improvement fund and the continued annual public libraries improvement fund which supports new projects in libraries and as part of the £1 billion Scottish attainment challenge the framework for recovery and accelerating progress and courage is collaboration across local authority services including education and local libraries Liz Smith, the First Minister made great store by the national strategy for school libraries which was launched in 2018 as she just said but both the Scottish Library Information Council and SPICE advisory group met on four occasions in 2018 but there are no records of any recent meetings, no updates on progress made particularly in terms of how effective the school library fund is being spent and that a large number of primary schools remain without a library or just as importantly without a librarian First Minister this strategy was supposed to be a key component in the schools when it comes to addressing the attainment gap but we know that between 2018 and 21 the curriculum for excellence achievement levels and P7 literacy actually declined why has there been no formal parliamentary update on this strategy and why are primary school literacy levels going backwards not forwards First Minister I think we are seeing improvements in attainment in Scotland's school all of us understand the impact of Covid after the past couple of years and that makes it all the more important that we focus on initiatives to improve attainment I will write to the member or ask the education minister to remember with more details on the work around school libraries but I did in my answer talk about the investment we are making through the school library improvement fund which I think demonstrates the commitment of this government to supporting libraries in schools and to supporting local community libraries as well Michael Marra It is absolutely right to highlight the importance of libraries to closing the huge attainment gap we have in Scotland What does the First Minister have to say to the young people of Kirkton in Dundee that we have seen deprivation among the lowest attainment in Scotland for whom the SNP Government is cutting 79 per cent of attainment funding and for whom the SNP council is closing the library First Minister Of course, the decisions that we have taken in terms of the attainment funding are in recognition of the fact that we see deprivation in all parts of the country and those changes by COSLA including the member's own colleagues on COSLA and in terms of libraries we continue, as I said in my earlier answers to support school libraries through the school library improvement fund and we will continue to do that Question number six, Mercedes Villalba To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to bring down the cost to tenants of private rent in the coming year First Minister Is it precious facing private renters which is why our commitment to introduce rent controls is so important that means of course doing detailed work to ensure that we implement an effective system of rent controls that is right for Scotland robust against challenge and one that will stand the test of time Our housing bill will begin that process and also strengthen existing rights by ensuring anyone who believes that their rent increase is unfair can apply for adjudication without fear of their rent being put up providing immediate financial support for people who might be struggling This includes doubling the Scottish child payment as I've already referenced from the start of this month and investing up to £86 million this year in discretionary housing payments Mercedes Villalba I thank the First Minister for that response While the Scottish Government's commitment to introduce rent controls is of course welcome rents are rising right now so tenants can't afford to wait three or more years for action The First Minister has rightly called for more action from the UK Government to help tackle the cost of living crisis but this Parliament has powers to address one of the biggest pressures facing people in Scotland right now which is rising rent costs Some councils have already taken the positive step of introducing rent freezes for social tenants Will the First Minister commit today to exploring the implementation of an emergency rent freeze to support all rents in Scotland? As a matter of good faith I will undertake to explore any suggestion that is made in the chamber We all want to do everything we can to help I think the member will understand that to legislate particularly on a complex matter like this does take time I think that was recognised by her colleague in the debate before Christmas Mark Griffin when he said that we certainly do not expect legislation to come into force in year 2 of this parliamentary session but we look for details of the framework for the rules so we will continue to look at how we can if it is possible to accelerate progress here but in the meantime take further action we have already strengthened tenants rights in recent years and of course it is not the case that we are not providing help in the meantime we have the £10 million tenant grant fund focus on helping private and social tenants who are struggling financially we are providing £86 million in housing support this year and we provided £39 million of additional funding to avoid evictions as a result of the pandemic and we will continue to make support available but also continue to look closely at any suggestions for further action that might be made We will now return to general and constituency supplementary questions and I call Cocab Stewart I am very proud of the record that Glasgow and Glasgow Kelvin in particular of supporting asylum seekers Could I ask the First Minister what her reaction is to send asylum seekers arriving in the UK to a detention facility in Rwanda for processing? I think this decision is utterly abhorrent morally and ethically abhorrent It's a total abdication of the UK's moral and international responsibilities to asylum seekers and refugees and it will also make it more challenging and prolong for people to seek safety from war and persecution I think in this decision the UK Government is ignoring the welfare of extremely vulnerable people and for all of these reasons this policy has rightly been condemned by many When you hear Theresa May stand up in the House of Commons and remember Theresa May was the Home Secretary around Glasgow described the policy as morally ethically and practically wrong then all of us have to realise how far from any moral course the UK Government is going on this issue First Minister a recent review by Sir Peter Hendy for the UK Government has found that the A75 is the road most in need of an upgrade anywhere in the country Will you admit that the failure to upgrade this dangerous road often referred to as a goat track represents a broken promise by the SNP to the people of the south west of Scotland and the haulage and ferry companies that depend on the route to move goods to and from Northern Ireland First Minister I do not accept that the STPR2 of course recommends that safety, resilience and reliability improvements are made on the A75 corridor to support access to Strunrar and to the ports at Cairnryan and we will continue to take decisions to support access which all of us accept and agree is extremely important Given the rising cost of living can I ask the First Minister if she welcomes the announcement yesterday that the newly publicly owned ScotRail will be slashing off-peak ticket prices in half for the month of May Yes I absolutely welcome this half price fare offer that newly publicly owned ScotRail announced yesterday This was originally postponed due to Omicron but people will now be able to book discounted tickets between the 9th and 15th of May for outward travel between the 9th and the 31st of May with return travel to be completed by the 30th of June The ScotRail's kids for a quid discount will also be able to be used in conjunction with this offer which means that up to four children can travel for £1 return each with each adult We want people to return to travelling by rail but we know we need to make it affordable to be a truly attractive alternative to using the car Public ownership of ScotRail means delivering a service which listens and responds to passenger need and we will continue to develop further initiatives that make rail a better choice as we work towards our ambitious net zero targets Graham Simpson The Auditor General has said today that an independent audit was unable to conclude that governance at South Lanarkshire College in East Kilbride was satisfactory over the last year There have been serious issues at this college Whistleblowers have made a number of allegations with reported claims of fraud, theft and general malfeasance The principal, Ailey McKechnie ordered an audit report which the college is refusing to publish She and the interim clerk to the board were then suspended I suspect she was ruffling feathers The college has now published an action plan that says procedures should be changed in areas such as procurement preventing bribery and carrying out supplier due diligence A light needs to be shone on what has been happening at this college Will the First Minister order an investigation and commit to making its findings public? I have some sympathy with the sentiments of that question I know that there are significant issues that have been raised Colleges, of course, are self-governing institutions but the Scottish funding council has an important role and if the Scottish funding council considers it appropriate further to be further inquired investigation then of course it is able to do so I'm happy to consider whether there is any further action or procedure that the Scottish Government can initiate to include that as the case Russell Finlay The parole board have issued warning letters to 25 life sentence prisoners accused of breaching their licence conditions Does the First Minister seriously think that murderers and rapists will care about a warning letter or will she back our plans to recall lifers who breach parole and block their future early release? First Minister I think it is right that we have a robust system of parole if on any occasion it is concluded that that system needs reform that should happen but as we have covered in exchanges in this Parliament before it is right that people who commit heinous crimes are properly punished for that for the sake of punishment but also to keep the public safe but that we also have a justice system that supports rehabilitation as well because that is in the wider public interest and we will continue to ensure that the parole system is fit for purpose Thank you that concludes First Minister's questions. The next item of business is a member's business debate in the name of Katie Clark and there will be a short suspension to laugos leaving the chamber and public gallery to do so before the debate begins