 The First Item of Business is General Questions, and at question number one I call Marie McNair. To ask the Scottish Government what work has been done to improve accessibility to prescription wig provision for those affected by hair loss. Minister Jenny Minto. The Scottish Government knows that the provision of wigs is important to many people who have been diagnosed with various forms of hair loss. The prescription of wig provision is dependent on clinical assessment and individual need, with decisions made by clinicians in consultation with patients. The Scottish Government issued advisory national guidance on wig prescriptions to all NHS health boards in 2011 and again in 2014 to allow them to deliver services that meet the needs of their local population. Marie McNair. I thank the minister for that answer. My constituent currently receives real hair wigs, however, given the advancements of acrylic wigs, she would like to try one of those instead. She advises that NHS creator Glasgow and Clyde has said that if she makes this decision she would not be able to move back to her real hair wig prescription should she wish to. That seems a bit harsh. Can the minister confirm whether there are any plans to review this approach to allow more flexibility in moving between the two wig prescriptions? I thank Marie McNair for raising this important issue in the chamber. Having had friends who chose to wear a wig and other who volunteers at the Beatson, I have heard directly from them the benefit of being able to access wigs on prescription if wished. The current approach is flexible, allowing the change of wigs from natural to synthetic. It is for NHS health boards to implement the guidelines, and I would hope that they would take a person-centred approach to that. Patient safety is a key strategic objective for the Scottish Government, and we are committed to ensuring that all health and care is safe, effective and person-centred. We will continue to support NHS staff and their wellbeing to ensure that they can continue to deliver the best possible care. Despite the real-terms cuts to the Scottish Government's capital budget, health boards have had their capital maintenance budget protected at 23.24 levels, which allow them to continue to invest £150 million in maintaining the existing estate and to work on reducing backlog maintenance. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. The safety of our staff is of paramount importance. Without staff safety, we cannot deliver patient safety, they go hand in hand. Therefore, I ask the cabinet secretary what discussions he has had with the trade unions about the impacts of this delay on the workforce, and can he advise whether the Government has assessed the impacts of the up-and-coming implementation of safe staffing on service provision? On the latter point, I had a discussion with staff side trade unions last week in our regular stack discussions. I have not had the time as yet to be able to have the direct discussions on the former part of our question, but it is certainly something that, in my on-going engagements with trade union representatives across NHS and social care, I would expect to have those discussions. Of course, we do not want to be in this position. We want to be investing in these capital projects. They are in necessity in order to see that NHS and social care services continue to make progress. Unfortunately, because of the financial reality that we face, where we have had £1.6 billion removed from our capital budget by decisions from the UK Government, and the increase of costs due to spiralling UK inflation. The cabinet secretary correctly highlights the issues of cuts to capital expenditure by the UK Government. I think that there is a real sense now that people are understanding the real impact on people's lives of this cut. Can the cabinet secretary give any further insight into the discussions with the UK Government and emphasising the critical impact on this cut Scottish Government's capital expenditure budget? Yes, absolutely. I can and Michelle Thompson is absolutely right that the years of austerity alongside the particular decisions that I have come through, where we see £1.6 billion come out of our capital budget, is having a real-time impact on people and on our services. The Deputy First Minister wrote to the Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt on 23 February to outline the Scottish Government's priority ahead of the UK Government's spring budget. In that letter, the Deputy First Minister highlighted that, in addition to the block grant falling by 1.2 per cent in real terms since 2022-23, UK capital funding is set to fall by almost 10 per cent—£1.6 billion between 2023-24 and 207-28. The Deputy First Minister has communicated a very strong message to the Chancellor that there is a clear need for increased investment by the UK Government in public services and, by extension, the economy ahead of the next fiscal event. To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has conducted of the potential impact of the proposed non-domestic rates public health supplement on large retailers as set out in the 2024-25 budget. The announcement in the Scottish budget, 24-25, signalled the Scottish Government's intent to explore the reintroduction of a public health supplement for large retailers in advance of the next budget. In line with the new deal for business, we are committed to engaging early with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that any impact of any proposals on businesses is fully understood. Exploratory discussions have already started with business and other relevant stakeholders such as public health organisations, and we will continue to ensure that considered and informed decisions can be made in advance of the 2025-26 budget. Thank you, cabinet secretary. I know that you are very aware of the very strong concerns that have been expressed by the Scottish Retail Consortium. Also, your good self at stage 2 promised that you would examine the likely impacts on any such move. Can I ask the cabinet secretary, however, to recognise that those who are already liable for the higher property rate are paying a much higher rate on their comparable premises compared to elsewhere in the UK and that the imposition of a surtax would just widen that differential and undermine the ability of large Scottish retailers to remain competitive? As Liz Smith recognised, we have been engaging very directly with a number of business organisations, including the Scottish Retail Consortium. We will continue to do that. We have asked for some information and evidence from the sector on what they regard the impact to be, and we will continue to work with them through those discussions in line with the new deal for business. Those discussions so far have been very constructive. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that critical transport infrastructure is resilient against extreme weather events. Transport Scotland's approach to climate change and resilience, ACAR, was published in August 2023, setting out a strategic framework to secure a well-adapted future for Scotland's transport system. The ACAR provides our current approach to adaptation and strategic outcomes for road, rail, aviation and maritime transport networks to address the key climate risks affecting Scotland's transport system. We continue to address known hotspots and look for opportunities to future-proof our transport networks so that they can meet the future challenges of climate change. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. It is clear that the effects of the climate emergency are now having a real impact on our roads and railways, and the number of storms and increased rainfall on October last year saw pre-emptive rail line closures for the first time. Those closures led the editor of rail engineer magazine David Sherris to comment that infrastructure that had shown itself to be resilient to the UK's past weather may now no longer be so. Can the cabinet secretary outline what discussion she has had with Network Rail on ensuring that rail infrastructure is resilient to climate change across Scotland? Over the next five-year investment period, the Scottish Government has committed to invest £4.2 billion in the Scottish rail infrastructure in line with our high-level output specification. The specification focuses on climate change adaptation and resilience as one of the strategic priorities and makes provision for enhancing the weather, resilience and climate change adaptation strategy. I discussed that with Network Rail earlier this year in London, and only this afternoon I will be discussing the control period 7, which focuses, as I said, on climate change with Network Rail and the ORR. Thank you. Failured by the Scottish Government to provide any cover for the MV Hamn of O during refit in January led to no service on Pentland first routes at various points over the two-week period during poor weather. Will the transport secretary commit to ensuring that a replacement vessel is available on the strongness scrubs the route in future to provide much-needed resilience on this lifeline service? The constituency MSP clearly communicated his concerns about risk in that period. I was reassured that there were capacity issues met during that period, but as he knows, we are always looking at increasing the freight opportunities for the Northern Isles, and we will continue to do so. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of the repayment of PFI and PPPP dates on local authority finances. Cabinet Secretary, Shona Robison. PFI, PPPP, Unitary payments have a significant pressure on local authority budgets. There are 38 on-going local authority PFI PPP contracts up to £8.15 billion in payments on those contracts that have been made up to this year, with a further £7.25 billion in payments to be made over the coming years. That is £15.4 billion of payments for local authority projects with a capital value of £3.27 billion. South Lanarkshire Council, the local authority for my constituency of Rutherglen, will be paying back around £40 million this year in disastrous PFI repayments, and that yearly figure will only rise over the coming decade. At the time, South Lanarkshire Council entered into those contracts, Labour were in power at council level, Holyrood, and Westminster. The £40 million that is being removed from South Lanarkshire Council spending power this year is at a time when the council are proposing to close local facilities, as well as cut free school bus provision. Can the Deputy First Minister assure me that, although having to contend with Labour's toxic PFI legacy that has failed to deliver best value for the taxpayer, this Scottish Government will never return to the disastrous PFI model? Well, let me say that I can absolutely give Claire Hockey that assurance, because PFI was an expensive mistake. Even if the PFI and PPP models of the Tories and Labour were an option, we totally reject them as being extremely poor value for money. PFI simply did not deliver the best value for the people of Scotland, and we are still paying for the legacy of, in the main, Labour's mistakes. To ask the Scottish Government, in light of recent ONS data, what assessment it has made of the impact on Scotland's public finances of the UK entering a recession in 2023? The news that the UK has entered a recession represents the latest failure of the UK Government. That will compound the economic challenges that households, businesses and we in the Scottish Government are facing. Last week, I wrote to the chief secretary to the treasury and copied in the chancellor, urging her to provide additional investment in public infrastructure and services in his forthcoming budget. The reality at the moment is that UK Government capital funding is set to fall by almost 10 per cent in real terms between 2023-24 and 2027-28, making it impossible to provide the investment that is needed to underpin future sustainable economic growth. Jackie Dunbar It is clear that economically illiterate Westminster policies, including Brexit, austerity cuts and cutting labour force migration in key industries, have set the UK on the path to long-term decline. It is vital that future action is taken to support families facing financial pressures at this difficult time. We know that most of the powers to tackle poverty and the cost of living remain reserved. Can the minister provide me with any update regarding the Scottish Government's engagement with the UK Government in terms of steps that it should take in the upcoming UK budget to support families facing pressures? The Deputy First Minister last week wrote to the chancellor and urged him to provide further targeted support for people who are struggling. That must include an essential guarantee that would provide the most basic of necessities and benefit 8.8 million families. We have again called for the abolition of the two-child limit, benefits cap, young parent penalty and universal credit, and the bedroom tax. We are doing what we can to mitigate those damaging policies, however we cannot mitigate everything. A chancellor needs to take action to support vulnerable families in his budget next week. Katie Clark To ask the Scottish Government whether it will make a long-term commitment to retain the Adrossan Brodic ferry service. Yes, the Scottish Government maintains its commitment to ensuring two services to our and our foot for the future. The business case with cost estimates for Adrossan harbour redevelopment currently being prepared must be as robust as possible to help to secure necessary and required funding from all funding partners, North Aster Council, Peelports and Transport Scotland. I also use this opportunity to acknowledge and understand the significant difficulties that are faced by the Arran community around operation of ferry services, which has been extremely challenging with severe weather disruptions and vessel outages. The MV Isle of Arran is currently operating a single service between Adrossan Brodic, and there are no current capacity issues. Katie Clark The cabinet secretary knows that there is currently a great deal of concern on Arran and in Adrossan as to whether Adrossan Brodic will be the long-term route. Will she give reassurance to people in Adrossan and Arran that it will be the long-term service, given that it is the quickest, most convenient route, and the socio-economic importance of the ferry port to Adrossan? The point that the members have raised about the socio-economic case is really important, which is why Transport Scotland officials will meet again next week with North Aster Council to ensure that that business case is as robust as possible. Under the auspices of Kenny Gibson, the constituency MSP, I met with a number of Arran ferry stakeholder interests just last week to discuss those issues. Jamie Greene Thank you, Presiding Officer. What I did not hear in either of those two responses was a firm commitment from the minister that Adrossan will be retained as the primary route. The Scottish Government built a ferry that is not fit for purpose on that vessel route. Neither has it invested any money properly in Adrossan Harbour since the 2017 campaign to save Adrossan as the primary route. Can I ask for some firm commitment from the Government at this time that the Arran to Adrossan ferry route will remain for the future? Cabinet Secretary, we are committed to that service. I would like to remind the member that the Scottish Government is not the harbour authority, the harbour authority or Peel ports. In order to allow the Scottish Government to invest in any harbour that is not our own, that is a private entity, and the UK's subsidy control measures will have an impact on what can or cannot be done in relation to such investment. Thank you very much. I thank the cabinet secretary for meeting me with myself and North Aster representatives that have such short notice to discuss this very important issue. Can she advise when the final report on Adrossan harbour from consultants Turner and Townsend and the structural report from Peel ports are anticipated? The cost exercise report from Turner and Townsend is expected by the end of this week, which will then be shared with the project partners to assist with confirmation of financial packages for the project and to feed into the work on the business case. The structural report from Peel's ports group is awaited, which is also essential to inform the business case work. Transport Scotland officials continue to engage with Peel ports and other partners on this important matter, noting the urgency to develop the business case to finalisation. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with BT Group and EE regarding the proposed closure of its Greenock call centre. I have written to the BT Group to express my concern about their decision and I have urged them to engage with stakeholders to consider all options to retain those jobs in Greenock. The Minister for Small Business Innovation, Tourism and Trade, Richard Lochhead, spoke with representatives of EE and BT and urged them to keep all options on the table, including maintaining a presence in Greenock. The minister also attended the Inverclyde task force in 20 February and discussed the proposed closure of the site with representatives from Inverclyde council. The Scottish Government will continue to engage closely with all partners in Inverclyde as a situation develops, and I have followed up on that with an invitation to meet me, which was sent to them earlier this week, since the task force, given my new portfolio responsibilities. I thank the minister for that answer. Around 450 people are employed at EE's call centre, in Greenock, which is set to be moved to Glasgow. In the past year alone, 1,000 jobs have been lost from the Inverclyde area because of site closures, which is most notably that of Amazon and Gurwick. Despite repeated calls for financial support, the Scottish Government has so far not provided a penny of support and response to job losses over the past year and has not responded to calls made by Inverclyde's socio-economic task force for more investment over six months ago. If the Government will not provide additional needed support now in the face of this genre crisis, when will it? He has outlined successive closures and job losses in Greenock, and he is absolutely right to do so. What I am going to do is engage him with the Inverclyde task force on all those issues that he has mentioned and see whether there is anything more that the Government can do to assist in that matter. They are actually dealing with that on the ground. They are best placed to get into the weeds of what is going on here and to liaise with the companies involved and to retain some of the jobs going forward in Greenock that are currently in jeopardy as a result of decisions made by private companies. That concludes General Questions. The next item of business is First Minister's Questions.