 Fyernoguno dda. Fyernoguno dda. Fyernoguno dda, ddybyn nhw ymgyrchu gwaith bwysig, pan ddod y Dai Ayweydoedd, ddod y Rhyw pwyllfa mae'r llygau yn gwleidio ei sefydliadau. Mae gennym gwybr mwy o amddangos y munib ffutbol yng Ngorffodd yn Sefyl, a'i cuwys mwy o ddod y Fyernoguno ddod y Pynau. Mae gennym gwybr mwy o pwyllfaws, gyda'r ddigonwys yn Eisteddfodol i'r blaenau a'r 120 felch o'r ddigonwys yn iawn i. Ac rydw i'n gweithio i'n clywed i ni i gyd yn ddwygenol, ac yn ddwygen i'n gweithio i'n gweithio i'n ddwygenol, ac yn ddwygen i'n gweithio i'n gweithio i'n gweithio i'n gweithio. Ond rydw i'n gweithio i'n gweithio i ni i ddwygenol, yn cyfnod ddwygenol, rwy'n gweithio i ddwygenol i eisteddfodol i'n cefnod. Gweld ni'n gwneud i chi efo'r gaelio i'r rai oedd ysgolwyddon yn gyweithio amser. Mae'r First Minister yn ymgyrch oedd mae'n cyfrifysgaf o'r sydd yn fawr i ôl. Mae'n ddod i'r ddwylo, mae'n ddod i'r dyfodol. Ond, sydd y SNP yn ei ddod i'ch gwneud, mae'n ddod i'ch gwneud anghytig a dyfodol. have faced chaos and destruction. Every day hundreds of services have been cancelled often at the very last minute. First Minister, will you apologise to the thousands of passengers who have faced this destruction since the SNP took control of Scotland's railways? First Minister, I appreciate the opportunity to address the real issue and I'll come on to that directly in a second. Let me, though, firstly also take the opportunity to pay tribute to Rangers football club. The result last night was heartbreaking for the team and for their many, many fans. But the achievement of getting to the final was considerable. They played extremely well last night. It was a gutsy performance. Despite the disappointment, I know that everybody associated with the team and the many fans in Seville and watching across Scotland will feel today, they should also feel extremely proud of their team. They did Scottish football and Scotland proud last night and I send them my congratulations for that achievement. Let me turn now to the important issue of rail services and I do appreciate the opportunity to address that issue, which is of significant concern to rail passengers. I always express apologies to anybody, whether on rail services or in any other public services, that are not getting the standard of service that they deserve. ScotRail has taken the decision to put in place a temporary timetable that has been made necessary by the decision of some drivers not to take up the option of overtime, Sunday and rest day working as part of a pay dispute. ScotRail considered that issue and, in consultation with Transport Focus, which is the organisation that represents passengers, decided that a temporary timetable was preferable to unplanned cancellations. However, let me stress this point and let me make this point very strongly. It is vital to get the timetable back to normal as quickly as possible and I expect ScotRail to review the temporary arrangement regularly. Indeed, it is due to be formally reviewed on 3 June. There are two points that are material in that regard. Firstly, it is important to seek to reach an agreement on pay, a fair agreement on pay, as quickly as possible. Train drivers, right now before overtime, earn around £50,000 a year. Notwithstanding that, this is a tough time for everyone, so everybody wants to see a fair pay award, but of course all pay awards do require to be affordable. Secondly, ScotRail continues to reduce the need for rest day working through training new drivers. The training programme was interrupted by Covid, but a significant number of new drivers are currently going through training. I expect ScotRail to make sure that this temporary timetable is just that temporary and the timetable gets back to normal as quickly as possible. Of course, I will ask the transport minister to ensure that MSPs are kept fully up to date. First Minister said twice that she appreciated the opportunity to update the chamber on the ScotRail issue, but it seems that she did not appreciate the opportunity to say sorry. Those words did not come out of the First Minister's mouth. The First Minister said that she will take opportunities to apologise and then she did not. Passengers deserve an apology because it is not just the cuts that they have seen up until now. From next week there will be even more. 700 services lost every day. Almost a third will disappear, and on some lines it gets even worse. Services from Glasgow to Dumfries are being halved. It is the same on the Edinburgh to Tweetbank line. Dumbar station goes from 11 ScotRail services every day to zero. None. ScotRail passengers will be left with a reduced timetable or no trains at all. Yesterday, the SNP's transport minister could not give passengers any guarantee about when those cancellations will end, and it is no wonder. Kevin Lindsay of the train drivers union, Aslef, said this on Monday of the Scottish Government's role in settling this dispute. This is a direct quote from the union. Quite frankly, it is the worst negotiations I have been part of in 30 years as a union representative. First Minister, with such terrible handling of the negotiations by your Government, just when can passengers expect normal service to resume? First Minister, I think that Douglas Ross decides what he wants to hear and what he does not want to hear often. I think that the problem for him is that other people are listening to my answers as well. I started my answer by saying that I always take the opportunity to apologise to any member of the public in Scotland who does not get from a public service, whether that is the railway or any other public service, the standard of service they have a right to expect. That includes those who are being disrupted right now because of the temporary timetable being put in place by ScotRail. Secondly, the services that are affected, as I said, are temporary timetables. I would expect the timetable to return to normal as quickly as possible. That expectation is being made very clear to ScotRail. I have set out the requirements that we need to see progressed. First, progress towards a fair but also affordable pay settlement for rail workers. Secondly, ScotRail is continuing to progress the training of additional drivers so that reliance on rest day working can be reduced and, I hope, eventually eliminated. It is worth pointing out that we did last year negotiate and agree with ASLEF an extension to the rest day working arrangements that are in place until October 2022. It is disappointing to see them being affected in this way, but notwithstanding that ScotRail is focusing on the steps that need to be taken. I want to see services back to normal just as quickly as possible and the Government will be doing everything that we possibly can to bring about that outcome. Of course, those cuts are not just going to affect passengers, but they are devastating for businesses as well. Businesses in our city centres that are still reeling from the impact of the Covid pandemic are now facing another lost summer. In so many places across Scotland, people are not going to be able to get a train to use it after the night out. The chief operating officer of ScotRail said yesterday, before the latest cuts were announced, that protecting the first and the last services was an absolute priority. That is a quote from the chief operating officer, but that clearly has not happened. Take just one example from Edinburgh to the Deputy First Minister's constituency in Perth. You will not have to leave an hour earlier—not two hours earlier, but more than three hours earlier. The last train from Edinburgh to Perth is now going to be at 8 o'clock instead of 18 minutes past 11 o'clock at night. That is just one example. On train services right across Scotland, the last train is being brought forward by hours. That will have a profound impact on businesses, restaurants, bars and clubs. That is a quote from the Ninth Time Industries Association just this morning, who have called the cuts to these services, and I quote, another cruel blow. They have gone to say that it will put at risk both Scotland's economic recovery and the future of many thousands of small businesses and jobs. First Minister, what compensation is your Government going to provide to the businesses who are clearly going to be affected by these cuts? First Minister. It is very clear, and I absolutely accept that the temporary cancellations that are being made necessary by a pay dispute are disruptive. They are disruptive to individuals and they are disruptive to businesses. That is why it is so important that I stress today, and that ScotRail works hard to ensure, that the temporary timetable is just that, that it is a temporary one and that normal service is resumed as quickly as possible, and that is the focus of ScotRail, and the Government will do everything that we can to support that outcome. It is also important to note that this temporary timetable, while of course it is regrettable that it is necessary, is designed to give more certainty to passengers for the short term rather than have what we saw at the weekend, which was unplanned cancellations. It is disruptive, and it is not acceptable. It must get back to normal as quickly as possible. That is why we must see all parties get around the table and negotiate a fair and affordable pay deal, but also that ScotRail must continue the work that it is already undertaking to train more drivers. There are already more drivers working for ScotRail than was the case in many previous years, but to train more drivers so that reliance on resty working is reduced and eventually eliminated. That is the focus of ScotRail, and that is the focus on Government. To the unions as well, I understand their job to represent their members and to get a fair pay deal for members. However, let us see both parties get around the table and negotiate that in good faith. That is what the travelling public would want to see as well. Douglas Ross. First Minister, you call this regrettable. Say that to the people in the bar who will have zero trains operated by ScotRail stopping at their station. Say that to the business leaders who are telling you right now that those cuts are going to put at risk thousands of jobs and small businesses. Let us remember that Nicola Sturgeon and her Government are in charge of Scotland's railways. Just last month, at Queen Street station, the First Minister proclaimed that nationalising ScotRail was a new beginning, that it would deliver a railway for the nation, yet passengers are now paying more than ever in fares and getting the worst service anyone has seen for a generation. Seven weeks into nationalisation, it is already proving a disaster. Just like the ferries, as soon as this Government steps in to try and sort things out, problems get even worse. The SNP took over running of a rail service on April Fool's Day, but that rail is no joke for Scotland's passengers. Next week, we will see 700 fewer services across the country every day. Next week, 700 fewer services across the country every day. First Minister, was that really your grand vision for the railway in Scotland under SNP control? Public ownership of the railway is the right arrangement to have in place. I think that it gives us the ability to ensure, over the long term, that we see real improvements in our railways, but make no bones about it. Whether the railway was in public hands or still in private hands, Douglas Ross rightly and properly would be asking me those questions today, because those are matters of significant importance to people across the country. Of course, it was to individuals and businesses that I was directing my comments in my earlier answer. On the issue of fares, of course, one of the benefits that we do want to realise is affordable fares, but fares in Scotland, let's not forget, are already, on average, 20 per cent cheaper than they are where Douglas Ross Party is in government. On the issue of the temporary timetable, it is temporary. It has proven necessary because of the dispute. I want to see that dispute settled as soon as possible, and ScotRail will continue to take the action to reduce reliance on rest day working. That is what it is right that ScotRail focuses on. It needs to see the unions back round the table negotiating on pay, and I hope that that is the case as well. We will continue to focus on the short-term challenges that are there and that are regrettable for those who use our railways. We will focus on those short-term challenges, but we will also focus on building the longer-term improvements to our railway services that people across the country want to see. I start by joining others in recognising the tremendous effort of Rangers Football Club, and while they lost on penalties will hurt, they, their staff, their players and the management should be incredibly proud of the phenomenal journey that they took the club on. It was a fantastic advert for Glasgow, for Scotland and for Scottish football. Last month, after years of Labour campaigning, ScotRail was brought into public ownership, and what Nicola Sturgeon described as a historic moment. Can I ask the First Minister if making the biggest cuts to railways in over half a century was what she had in mind? Anna Sarwar said that there were years of Labour campaigning. Of course, before that, there were years of Labour Government at Westminster that failed to bring the railways back into public ownership. And also opposed the devolution of network rail. But back on to the more serious issue. This is a temporary timetable. I wish that it did not have to be put in place. It has been put in place in consultation with transport focus to give greater certainty rather than have unplanned cancellations for a short, I hope, period of time that those revised services have to be in place. I have already set out in my answers the work that needs to be done, the developments that we need to see both on pay and on training more drivers to ensure that, as quickly as possible, these services get back to normal. That is the focus of me, the focus of the transport minister, the Government and of ScotRail. Anna Sarwar. The First Minister wants to talk about what was happening when I was at school and not what was happening in the 15 years that she has been in government here in Scotland. The reality is that there is no industrial action and what she is talking about is relying on the goodwill of staff to work on the rest days to keep Scotland's railways going. So let's look at the facts and the reality of facing Scotland's passengers. At the start of 2020, there were 2,400 services a day. In the timetable announced in February approved by the Scottish Government, that number had reduced to 2,150, a cut of 250. Now the new timetable announced yesterday by the Scottish Government, owned by ScotRail, that number has reduced to 1,456 services a day, a cut of almost 1,000 services compared to the start of 2020. At the same time, the Scottish Government announced an increase in rail fares in the midst of a cost of living crisis when fuel prices are spiralling. In 2018, Nicola Sturgeon described cancellations of up to 144 a day as unacceptable and cancellations of 40 a day as not good enough. She said and I quote, We expect, indeed we demand better from the rail operator. Well for once, Nicola Sturgeon has got nobody else to blame. Why are 40 cuts a day when someone else is in charge not good enough, but cutting 1,000 services a day in the words of the real minister, a stable and reliable service? Anasarwar is possibly deliberately mixing up different things and I'll come on to that in a second. No, but it is important. Firstly, as I believe the record will show, Presiding Officer, I haven't said there is industrial action, there haven't been ballots for industrial action and I hope there is not industrial action, but there is a pay dispute. As Lev has said, it is in dispute with ScotRail and drivers are there for some drivers are not accepting overtime, Sunday and rest day working. So that is a matter of fact. He is right to say and I've said it several times already today that we don't want ScotRail to be in a position of having to rely on rest day working. We came to an agreement, ScotRail came to an agreement with the rail unions last year, in October last year, to extend those arrangements into October this year, but there is a training programme under way to train new drivers to reduce the reliance on rest day working. It was interrupted because of Covid, but it is back under way and there will be significant numbers of drivers coming through that training programme. Turning now to services, the change to services in February. Yes, I know they are controversial and I know members in this chamber have spoken out against them, but those were changes that were to take account of changes to travel patterns that have come about due to Covid and people's different ways of working. The services that we are talking about now are a temporary change, a temporary timetable until ScotRail gets over this short-term challenge and I've set out today the steps it needs to take both around pay and negotiating with the unions a fair pay settlement and continuing that work to train more drivers. What has been announced is a temporary timetable and I expect it to be temporary so that those services are back to normal as quickly as possible. Scotland celebrated the railways coming into public ownership, something Labour championed and continued to support, but already due to SNP and Governments. I will remind SNP members repeatedly that they voted against nationalisation of a railways, but already due to SNP incompetence a thousand services cut a day. Proposals to shut booking offices, rail fares up or refuse to rule out compulsory redundancies and industrial relations at all time low. Yet again, the SNP chased the headline but won't do the work. Maybe they should employ a fewer spin doctors and more train drivers. On the same weekend, the Nicola Sturgeon jetted over to the US to talk about climate change, the SNP-Green Government cut rail services, the greenest former transport here at home. While she rightly demands action on the cost of living across the UK, she ignores the impact of decisions that she makes right here in Scotland. The cost of commuting, going up, people struggling to get to work, unable to get home at night and whole communities cut off from our cities. Why do the people of Scotland continually have to pay the price of SNP failure? Chasing headlines, Presiding Officer, could that be like, I don't know, perhaps, saying in a council election that there will be no coalitions and then doing backroom deals with the Tories after the council elections? Could that be a war? Colleagues, colleagues, first minister, first minister, first minister, there will be no conversations across aisles, no loud conversations. Thank you, First Minister. I dare NSR work. Come to this chamber and talk about the cost of living when his party is seeking to do backroom deals with the authors of that cost of living. Secondly, Presiding Officer, it's one thing for Labour to say that they have, let me quote, championed the renationalisation of ScotRail, supported the renationalisation of ScotRail. Unfortunately, they didn't do anything about it when they had the opportunity in government. So this government has renationalised ScotRail. Yes, there are challenges in that and we are doing the work to address those challenges, both in the short term and the way I have set out. People who use the railway across our country have a right to expect that, but we will continue to work with ScotRail to overcome those immediate challenges and then build that better railway for the future. That is what being in government is all about. On previous performance, Anna Sarwar is still some considerable way from that. We will now move to general and constituency supplementaries. On Tuesday, the UK Government announced its intention to make unilateral changes to the Northern Ireland protocol, putting the UK in breach of international treaty obligations and threatening a full-scale trade war with the EU while people are suffering a cost of loving crisis. Given that many businesses have warned of the damage that this could do to Scottish exporters, does the First Minister agree that this shows that there is no group of people or sector of the economy that this Tory Government is not willing to sacrifice on the altar of Brexit? Yes, I agree with that. The announcement this week from the UK Government that it is intending to legislate to enable unilateral action to override parts of the Northern Ireland protocol is deeply concerning. To breach an international treaty signed in good faith, hailed by the Prime Minister at the time as a fantastic deal, is bad enough. However, it could trigger a trade war with the European Union, and that would have profound implications for Scotland's economy, as well as the economies of other parts of the UK. To contemplate that action at any time would be bad, but to do so when people across the UK are facing an acute cost of living crisis is unthinkable and indefensible. I urge the UK Government to pull back and focus instead on dialogue with EU partners and to find durable, agreed solutions that will not keep even more misery on to individuals and businesses across the country. In yesterday's press and journal, it was reported that teachers at Aberdeenshire Council had sent degrading WhatsApp messages about pupils with additional sport needs. The parents of the pupils involved have asked for greater transparency on what was shared, but so far have nothing. Will the First Minister join me in condemning that behaviour? Will she do everything that she can to ensure that the parents of the children involved have full access to the messages and that councils simply do not just brush that under the carpet? First Minister, let me take the opportunity to say that anyone who sends degrading messages about children with disabilities deserves utter condemnation. That is completely and utterly unacceptable, and I completely understand the concerns of parents and young people concerned. Obviously, that is first and foremost a matter for the council as employer, and it is important that I do not say anything that might undermine any process that is under way. However, I absolutely understand the desire of parents for full transparency, and I hope that the council will take full note of that. First Minister, given the worries that we will not even see a 90 per cent completion rate for this year's delayed census, in addition to encouraging people to fill in the form that they have not yet done so, would you agree that we need an inquiry into what went wrong, given the millions wasted, the issues of safety and pressures put on front-line staff and the importance of the census in allocating resources and tackling inequalities? I think that it is well understood, and Angus Robertson has set these factors out to the chamber while there have been these challenges in terms of the completion rate. Work continues. I and the cabinet secretary get daily updates right now on the numbers of people returning their census and numbers are going up, and there will be no let-up in those efforts over the remainder of this month. After that date has passed, there will be a couple of things, no doubt more than that, but a couple I want to mention today that we need to look at. Firstly, the work to ensure that it happens with all censuses that it is a credible exercise, and the information from it is reliable. I think that it will be appropriate to take expert advice on that. Yes, secondly, to make sure that, as we would after any exercise of this nature, all appropriate lessons are learned and that we do that in the best possible way. Question 3, Maurice Golden. To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government is supporting households, communities and businesses to take part in the big plastic count. It's good that people across the country are helping to draw awareness to plastic waste as part of the big plastic count. It's important to lead by example and make our actions count in tackling plastic waste. That's why we have laid regulations before Parliament that ban some of the most problematic single-use plastic products. That's why we're bringing in the deposit return scheme from August next year and why we're introducing extended producer responsibility for packaging. Those measures will help transition Scotland to a circular economy and significantly reduce the impact of single-use plastic on the environment. Maurice Golden. I thank the First Minister for that answer. The big plastic count is an opportunity to better understand the scale of plastic pollution in Scotland. What we do know is that just 2 per cent of plastic waste collected for recycling in Scotland is actually recycled here. That's why I have long called for a new plastic recycling centre, ideally in Dundee. In November, the First Minister agreed to consider supporting it, so can the First Minister provide an update on what progress has been made and what locations are being considered? I'll ask the minister to send a detailed update on that specific point, but I do agree with the member on the importance of this issue and of taking action on reducing plastic waste. If I look at recycling rates, for example, we saw in 2019 waste and resources sector emissions in Scotland over 30 per cent lower than in 2011 and 73 per cent lower than in 1998, but there is much more work to do, which is why all the actions that I set out in my original answer are so important. I hope that, in fact, I believe that there is a considerable amount of consensus across the chamber, both on the need to do this and on the specific measures that we are taking, and we will continue to ensure that our efforts are commensurate with the scale of the challenge. To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to support the health and wellbeing of the NHS workforce. Our new national workforce strategy highlights the key priority of the wellbeing of the health and social care workforce wherever the work. We made £12 million available in the last financial year to support the mental health and wellbeing of the workforce to complement the help available at local level. We also have a range of resources, including the national wellbeing hub, a 24-7 national wellbeing helpline, confidential mental health treatment through the workforce specialist service and funding for additional local psychological support. Emma Harper. I thank the First Minister for that answer and her mine chamber. I am a registered nurse. Our NHS workforce in Scotland has been at the forefront of the response to the pandemic and I have shown their personal dedication, resilience and ability to adapt to meet the demands of changing healthcare. The support that the First Minister outlined is very welcome. Will she commit the Government to continue to work with our NHS teams to ensure that support is person-centred, responds to the needs of the workforce and that funding will remain in place to promote positive health and wellbeing? Yes, I will give those commitments. Every single person working in health and social care has been part of an incredible response during the pandemic, helping to protect the country and save lives throughout the most significant challenge that our health and social care services have ever faced. However, that has taken its toll on those who work in health and social care, so we will continue to work with leaders across health and social care as well as hearing directly from staff to understand exactly where the current pressures are and what further actions can be taken to mitigate the impact on staff. We will only overcome the challenges ahead if we look after our most valuable asset, which is the people who provide care for us. Ultimately, we are seeking to embed wellbeing so that it becomes part of everyone's working lives. First Minister, tragically last year, two overworked Glasgow medics working in our NHS took their own lives. This week, the chair of the BMA's Scottish junior doctors committee warned that overstretched medics will be killed due to extreme pressures and workloads that NHS staff are having to cope with. Let me ask the First Minister two questions. First, does the First Minister recognise that current ways of working are risking lives? Secondly, when can we expect the Scottish Government to finally implement the safe staffing legislation passed unanimously by this Parliament three years ago? First Minister. Firstly, I want to convey my deepest condolences to anyone who has lost a loved one to suicide. I am not going to go into individual circumstances, but my thoughts are with any family in that circumstance. It is really important that we continue to work to ensure that the mental health toll of the pandemic and of working in health and social care generally is properly understood and that services are put in place for those who work in those services. Whatever specific job it is that it does, the wellbeing of junior doctors is a key priority. No member of staff should feel obliged to work over their hours. I expect NHS boards to have systems in place to manage this and ensure that staff do not work excess hours. That includes abolishing junior doctors working for seven night shifts in a row and ensuring that no junior doctor works more than seven consecutive shifts. In terms of the safe staffing legislation, it is important that we have legislated in that way. We are now working with NHS boards to ensure that that is fully implemented in a safe and sustainable way. The last point that I would make, which is not intended to take away from the challenges that healthcare staff face every single day, is that there are record numbers of people working in our national health service, and it is important that we continue to support them in the vital job that they do. Unicentry union has contacted me to say that the workplace pressures in NHS borders have led staff to report to the union issues such as dangerous staffing levels for both patients and staff, staff not receiving proper rest breaks, staff not being given opportunities to report serious incidents on datax, the NHS electronic incident reporting system and serious breaches of health and safety regulations. First Minister, those undoubtedly impact on the mental health and wellbeing of the NHS workforce. Will the First Minister intervene to support them? Will that support include the full implementation of the Health and Care Staffing Scotland Act working closely with the trade unions to ensure the staff's safety and wellbeing? First Minister, we work every day with all NHS boards to support staff and that includes NHS borders and that work has been monitoring workforce capacity and providing intervention where appropriate. Unplanned absence has reduced in recent weeks and we are seeing some improvement in workforce capacity in NHS borders. Nevertheless, there does remain significant demand-led pressure across the NHS as services recover and remobilise from the pandemic, so the Government will continue to do everything possible to work with NHS boards to support recovery, staffing capacity and staff wellbeing. The national health and social care workforce strategy, which was published recently, sets out exactly how we will support recovery, growth and transformation across the national health service. Question 5, Jackie Baillie. To ask the First Minister what her response is to recent reports estimating that around 10,000 people with advanced dementia are paying over £50 million a year to cover their residential social care costs. First Minister, the Scottish Government recognises the important role of residential care in meeting the complex care needs of those at the more advanced stages of dementia. Over the past two years we have increased the free personal and nursing care weekly payment rates by more than 18 per cent. Free personal and nursing care is available to adults of any age, no matter their condition, capital or income, who are assessed by their local authority as needing it. For those self-funding in a care home payments, it will normally be made directly by the local authority to the care home operator as a contribution towards care home fees. Jackie Baillie. Can I thank the First Minister for her response, but it doesn't cover the specific issue that I am raising with her, because the First Minister will be aware of a report three years ago about care for people with advanced dementia from a working group led by former First Minister Henry McLeish, but little action has been taken forward on one of the key recommendations. We know that people with advanced dementia are having their healthcare needs classified as social care and wrongly being asked to pay over £50 million. If they were designated as healthcare, they would be treated free at the point of need. Will the First Minister act now to ensure that this unfair and unjustifiable approach is changed so that people with advanced dementia are treated with equity and fairness and classed as having healthcare needs? I will, of course, look into those matters and specifically the suggestion that people's care needs are being wrongly designated. That is a point that I recognise is important. On the issue more generally—Henry McLeish, of course—was the First Minister, if memory serves me correctly, who introduced free personal care in the first instance. Back then, and Jackie Baillie will remember this, that debate recognised the fact that it was reasonable for people to pay their accommodation cost, because not to do so would lead to an inequity between those in care homes and those receiving care at home, who still have to pay for their accommodation. That is what lies behind the development of the free personal and nursing care policy. However, it is important that people's care needs are properly assessed and categorised. If the suggestion is that that is not happening and people therefore are paying money that under the current policy they should not be paying, then yes, I will ensure that that is looked at and the health secretary will respond in more detail once we have had the opportunity to do so. To ask the First Minister what further talks the Scottish Government has had with the UK Government about future oil and gas fields off the coast of Scotland. The recent scientific reports from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have made very clear that the global climate emergency has not gone away and that the window to act to limit warming to 1.5 degrees is rapidly closing. The Scottish Government has made our position clear to the UK Government that to support our just transition to net zero, new offshore oil and gas licences should be subject to a stringent climate compatibility checkpoint. That should extend beyond new licensing rounds to also cover fuels that are already consented but not yet in production. Indeed, the need for that is supported by the UK Government's own independent advisers in the UK Committee on Climate Change. We responded formally to the UK Government consultation earlier this year but haven't yet seen any further detail on the proposed checkpoint. The Cabinet Secretary for Energy restated our position to UK ministers on publication of the UK Government's energy security strategy on 18 March. Mark Ruskell. I thank the First Minister for that very crystal clear response. Six months on from COP26, hundreds of new fossil fuel projects have been proposed globally that, if realised, will cause our mutually assured destruction from climate change. The European Union know this, that's why they're backing renewables for a new multi-billion pound investment. In contrast, the UK Government Minister, Kwazi Kwateng, is fueling the rush to climate breakdown by relabeling dirty gases green in an attempt to fast-track developments like Jack Doe. Does the First Minister agree that the best way to slash energy bills is to replace gas with renewables and that the best way to isolate putin is to insulate homes? I do agree with the sentiment and, indeed, the substance of that question. It is important, notwithstanding the short-term challenges and inevitable volatilities that have been caused by Russia's despicable invasion of Ukraine, all of our decisions must be consistent with that journey to net zero, which is so necessary to safeguard the future of the planet. We must continue and not allow to go into reverse the progress that was made at COP26. I was discussing this very issue with the United States climate envoy John Kerry earlier this week, and I think that there is a recognition there, as there is here, that that momentum must continue. The way to ensure energy security and also lower energy prices, as well as to safeguard the planet, is to make that shift to renewable and low-carbon sources of energy. We can illustrate that right now in Scotland by the fact that already in our energy mix the cheapest form of power is wind power, so it is those investments and renewables that we must focus on, because the entire world, for the sake of the future of the planet, must ensure that the transition happens and that it accelerates rather than slows down. Does the First Minister not, however, recognise that domestic oil and gas projects can help to reduce energy prices, secure energy security, secure thousands of jobs through a fair transition and has a lower carbon footprint than imported supplies, thus progressing our journey to net zero? I spent much of this week making the point that the invasion of Ukraine creates short-term challenges that will lead to short-term decisions, but it must not take away our focus on the long-term imperative. Nobody wants to see the UK become more reliant on imports. I have said that in the chamber, as well as in other places, but it remains the case that the way to accelerate the transition to net zero, which is important, as I say, not just for environmental imperatives but also to increase energy security and to reduce energy costs, is not in the long term simply to replace one source of oil and gas with another source of oil and gas. It is to move away from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy, and actually the oil and gas companies recognise that too, which is why so many of them now are investing themselves in renewable energy. After COP26, I asked the First Minister in this chamber if a Campbell should go ahead and she rightly said that it should not get the green light. Mark Ruskell is right to say that we need crystal clear language and positions. Can I ask, in terms of Jack Doe ahead of tomorrow's digital day of action, is it also the First Minister's position that Jack Doe should not get the green light? Mark Ruskell will correct me if I am misquoting him here. It said that my answer was crystal clear. I am very clear, and I have said it again today, that any new development, whether that is a new licensing round or already consented developments that are looking for the go-ahead, has to have a robust climate compatibility checkpoint and, in the absence of that, should not go ahead. That is very clear. If Monica Lennon wants me to have greater ability to influence those things, perhaps she will support those powers being transferred from the UK Government, where they currently lie, to this Government and this Parliament. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government is doing to prevent future rail service cancellations due to industrial action by drivers. I set out at length earlier on. We are supporting ScotRail to negotiate a fair pay settlement with trade unions, but also to train more drivers to reduce reliance on rest day working. The service cancellations refer to our temporary, the timetable change is temporary, and my focus, the Government's focus and ScotRail's focus, is getting it back to normal as quickly as possible. When NatRail launched on April Fool's Day, I speculated that things might not go perfectly. Members, we will hear Graham Simpson. They do not want to hear the truth. What I did not realise was that wrecking the country's train service would become established Government policy. Now, Nicola Sturgeon said she wants to get everyone round the table. That should include her own Transport Minister, Jenny Gilruth, who has been posted missing and all this, and that is why the unions are so exasperated. Well, the First Minister should speak to the unions like I have been doing and she would hear the same thing. Members, we will hear Mr Simpson. I know this is uncomfortable for them, but we are running a railway that is completely reliant on people working on their days off. That is completely crazy. The First Minister said she wants this timetable to be temporary, but let me put this to her. It takes 18 months to train a driver and we have 130 to get through the system. Will the First Minister admit that it could take until at least 2024, before ScotRail is off this emergency timetable? I do not accept that. First, let me welcome the Tory recognition for the importance of trade unions, not something that we often hear. Jenny Gilruth has met and talked regularly to trade unions, and we will continue to do so, and we will continue to support in all possible ways the resolution of the issues that allow the timetable to get back to normal. On the issue of drivers, ScotRail hopes that an additional 38 drivers will be trained by the end of the summer, rising to 55 by the end of the year and to 100 after that. That is the work that is under way. Perhaps, if Graham Simpson spent more time borrowing the slogans of his leader that had already been used in engaging in the substance, we might have better exchanges. Fiona Hyslop. I know that the First Minister appreciates the severe disruption that is affecting everyone involved, including those in my constituency of the mythical where passengers were just coming back in strength to travel by train. South of the border, the UK Government is pursuing a dispute with the rail unions for what can only be described as political and ideological purposes. Does the First Minister share my concern that events elsewhere in the UK are souring industrial relations here in Scotland and affecting the new beginning of public ownership of Scotland's railway? It is not surprising that the Conservatives do not want to hear this. It is more surprising that Labour does not appear to want to hear this. The situation in Scotland is the responsibility of ScotRail, which of course is now a publicly owned company, so therefore my responsibility and the responsibility of the Government. The Conservatives should be aware that there is a separate RMT dispute right now with Network Rail and UK DFT operators. That is a reserved matter, but if it is not resolved, it will also have an impact on services here in Scotland. Perhaps some advice to their own party might not go amiss.