 We begin with general questions. To ask the Scottish Government when ministers last met representatives of the Forestry Commission trade unions and what issues were discussed. Minister Humza Yousaf. A ffegh Shoeing cabinet secretary last met representatives of the Forestry Commission trade unions on 10 May 2017. The meeting was arranged to share with unions, and the Cabinet Secretary, decisions about the future, organisational structures in advance of the public announcement that accompanied the publication of the Forestry and Land Management Scotland Bill on 11 May. Oliver Mundell. I thank the minister for that answer. Can I ask if he is aware of concerns from forestry staff around the way in which the Forestry Commission's current appraisal system is working? Minister. Yes, the Government is aware of some of those concerns. I know a meeting was arranged subsequently to that conversation. I think that it was on the 8th of June, with senior management of FES and the trade unions. What I would say to give the member some element of reassurance is a few things. First of all, there is a review of deer management of the national forestry estate. One of the aspects of that review will be to identify the core competencies and also to complete a skills gap analysis for wildlife rangers. Managers, deer management officers and forest management officers as well. That review should give it the time and space to be undertaken. I know that the relationship between FES, FCS and the trade unions is very good, very positive and constructive. However, if there are further issues that the member wishes to raise or anybody wishes to raise, the Government will impress FES and FES to listen closely to those concerns. The minister of what guarantees he can give that existing skills and knowledge will be maintained during the transfer of staff. Minister. There was a range of things that can be done and are going to be done. I will try to give again the member some reassurances around some of that. First of all, we have tried to allay some of those fears by confirming that there will be no compulsory redundancies in forestry commission and in forestry enterprise. Scotland is a result of completing the devolution of forestry. All staff within FES and FES will be within the scope of transfers to new structures. I think that really importantly though some of the reassurances that we can give us around the local skills that the member talked about and I can confirm that the local office network will remain ensuring continued focus on local engagement and knowledge. In addition to that, the member will probably be aware that the transfer is being taken forward under close-up, the Cabinet Office's statement of practice, similar to to pay the rights and existing terms and conditions of staff, will be protected on transfer. Any changes to that or any alignment to Scottish Government terms and conditions would very much be subject to consultation and negotiation with the unions. 2. Kate Forbes To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on plans to build a new Belford hospital in Fort William. Cabinet Secretary Shona Robison NHS Highland has started work on the service redesign aspect of this project and they are working on the clinical brief and establishing the service planning data for the existing services in Lochaber. They are developing a business case and taking an optional appraisal exercise that considers how the services can be delivered with the assumption that the balance of care will move towards community health services. Once this work has been further progressed, the business case will be submitted to the Scottish Government for review. 2. Kate Forbes I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. The SNP Government designated the Belford hospital as a rural general hospital in 2008, which provided additional support and services for healthcare professionals and the local community. Can the cabinet secretary assure my constituents that the current level of care will be enhanced and that the new Belford will be retained as a rural general hospital? I can say to Kate Forbes that the replacement for the Belford will continue as a rural general hospital and that services will be provided as part of a wider redesign across Lochaber. NHS Highland will look to enhance the current level of local services where it is safe and sustainable to do so. I am very happy to keep the member updated on progress being made. One of the issues raised with me by local groups in Lochaber is the very slow progress involved here. For example, they speak of a series of cancelled meetings. Will the cabinet secretary impress upon NHS Highland the need for early and regular engagement with the local community, in particular the steering group? Yes, I will do that. It is important that local communities are engaged with the discussions going forward. I am sure that Donald Cameron will appreciate that. It is quite a complex project and there are procedures laid out in terms of the business case needing to come forward. That has to be a robust business case. The capital investment group will look forward to receiving the business case. I am happy to keep the member updated, but I will certainly relay that comment to ensure that local people are kept fully informed. Lochaber, in Fort William, is especially regarded as the outdoor capital of Europe. The Belford hospital has built a lot of expertise around treating accidents associated with outdoor sport. Can she reassure people that it will keep that expertise and indeed develop it? Yes, I would certainly want to make sure that that happens. I certainly appreciate the number of major events, whether that is mountain biking or other events, that take place in the area. Of course, due to the nature of some of those events and the accidents that have happened, those who have suffered those accidents have been taken to the local hospital where they have received excellent treatment. That is a very important aspect of that service. Again, I will relay those comments, but I would certainly see the new hospital maintaining that level of care for accidents and emergencies that come in through those events and indeed others. Thank you for asking the Scottish Government what recent discussion it has had with unions regarding the future of its public sector pay policy. First Minister and I meet regularly with trade unions to discuss a range of matters, including public sector pay policy. The First Minister has already indicated that the existing pay cap is becoming increasingly unsustainable and we will be looking to take a different approach in the 2018-19 public sector pay policy. As in previous years, we will engage with unions during the development of the policy, both at ministerial level and at official level, and expect to publish that as part of the draft budget towards the end of the year. I am pleased to hear the minister say that the pay cap is unsustainable. The Government has indicated that it intends to move away from that, but we all deserve to hear a little more detail. When pay restraint was first introduced, it was seen as a short-term measure to avoid job losses in the face of UK Government cuts. Since then, we have not only seen pay levels erode year after year, but we have also seen the Scottish Government gain the powers, both on taxation and borrowing, to allow it to make different choices than those that the UK Government has forced upon it in the past. Now that it has the options, can the Government at least commit to ensuring that everybody earning the average full-time salary or below will get an above-inflation increase in the next year? Would that not be a basic minimum that we have a right to expect? Patrick Harvie writes that many of the decisions that have been taken in the context of fiscal policy, largely led by the UK Government, at the time that financial position has changed in terms of the economic leaders that we have and the choices that we can make. That will certainly be considered as we go forward. Of course, yesterday we saw the latest Tory U-turn in terms of this particular policy. A number of U-turns over the course of the day, I understand, and the Tory's magic money tree did not extend to public sector workers. However, this Government has committed to lifting the pay cap. We will engage with trade unions. I cannot make a determination today, but I will engage positively with the trade unions. Of course I will, and I have committed to a meeting with the STUC. We understand the issue of those in the lowest incomes within the workforce. The reduction in spending powers is a consequence of rising inflation, and that is why we have a position that will take account of both public finances and the cost of living. The First Minister has made it clear that the 1 per cent pay cap will not be assumed for next year or future years. In addition to all that, we have targeted support to the lowest paid as well. There is a divergence with UK pay policy around our position on progression, targeting support to those low paid, what we have done around the living wage, our social policies and, of course, our position on no compulsory redundancies, which is in sharp contrast to the policy south of the border. I look forward to positive engagement with other parties and, of course, trade unions. Colin Smyth Yesterday, in the UK Parliament, SNP MPs who are not in power voted in favour of a labour motion to scrap the pay cap on public sector workers. The cabinet secretary therefore explained to those public sector workers in Scotland why, in this Parliament, where the SNP is in power, every single SNP MSP voted against a motion from Labour that read—I will read it again— that this Parliament believes that the NHS pay gap should be scrapped and that NHS staff would be given a real-terms pay rise. Why did SNP vote against that motion? Colin Smyth has quite clearly did not listen to a word that I said in giving the answer to the question that I was asked. Do you know what this Government will do? We will take into account inflation going forward in terms of the pay policy of this Government. What the Labour Party proposed, remember, was basic rate tax rises for the workers of Scotland, including public sector workers as well. We will take a reasonable approach in this and one that has absolutely recognised that the time has up for the 1 per cent pay cap, not only will the SNP commit to it. We will do it. Liz Smith To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Bear and Transport Scotland regarding the management of roadworks on motorways. Minister, how is it? Bear Scotland manages and maintains the M90 motorway under the trunk road terms, maintenance, operating company contracts with Scottish ministers. Transport Scotland holds monthly meetings with all of its operating companies, including Bear Scotland, to discuss the programme of works, including roadworks on motorways, and each of the units' further meetings are arranged as necessary. Minister, I wonder if, in the next set of discussions that you have, you could include some discussion about the importance of gantry signs and the relevance of the information that is on them. As you know, the M90 has had very understandable delays because of the Queensferry crossing, but there have been considerable difficulties around the Kinross roadworks as well. Many of the gantry signs have not been appropriate with relevant information to the extent of those and what decisions that drivers have to make. Could you include that in the discussions that you have? I certainly will, and I thank Liz Smith because I know that she has raised that in previous question times as well. I can confirm that there are a number of upgrades to our variable messaging signs that are taking place and that are more provided for more functionality. I will take that point back, but it is not just about variable messaging signs. It should also be about getting information out to local radio stations over social media and so on and so forth. We are always working with the operating companies to see what more we can do in order to give drivers and those using the roads as much notice as possible, particularly when disruption is sometimes inevitable because of essential roadworks that take place. However, I can give a commitment that I will raise this issue in the next meeting that I have with and officials that I have with Bair Scotland. To ask the Scottish Government when it last met the representatives of NHS creator Glasgow and Clyde. Cabinet Secretary, Shona Robison. Both ministers and Scottish Government officials regularly meet with representatives of all health boards, including NHS creator Glasgow and Clyde. Sandra White, I thank the cabinet secretary for a reply. Cabinet secretary, now that the Scottish Government has unveiled their dementia strategy, which is very welcome, can I ask if the Scottish Government is intent to encourage both NHS creator Glasgow and Clyde and other NHS bodies to engage with that you can make a difference campaign led by dementia care of voices, who have campaigned tirelessly on behalf of those affected by dementia. To Sandra White, I certainly welcome the launch of the dementia strategy. It builds on the considerable good work that has been done already, particularly with third sector organisations. We are certainly pleased as a Government to support the work on dementia care of voices, providing funding until April of next year and recognising the importance of leadership by local NHS boards and action to support that. I certainly will reiterate that to them. In partnership with the Alliance, work is under way with all NHS boards to develop a programme for this work in events that have already taken place in Ayrshire and Arn and the Western Isles. Statistics this week show that the Glasgow Royal Infirmary was the worst performing emergency department in Scotland. Only 87.9 per cent of patients were seen within four hours, compared with the 95 per cent target that is set by the Scottish Government. What action will the cabinet secretary take to improve waiting times at this hospital? First, I will say to Annie Wells that any performance has improved significantly over the past few months. That is due to a lot of work that is being taken place with boards around unschedule care performance, working with the Royal College of Emergency Medicine to make sure that the actions taken in every hospital has led and resulted in the improvements in any performance that we have seen, including at the Queen Elizabeth hospital. The GRI has had some challenges over the past few weeks, and that is why support work tailored to the Glasgow Royal Infirmary is under way to make sure that the work that has gone on at the Queen Elizabeth hospital has begun to see results. A particular of the past few weeks is supporting staff within the Glasgow Royal Infirmary to do the same, but I would hope that Annie Wells might find it within her to recognise the progress that has been made on A&E performance across Scotland, which is now significantly better than elsewhere in the islands. Perhaps she could welcome that occasionally. Jackie Baillie At least a dozen service reviews in train causing continuing uncertainty at the Vale of Leven hospital, maternity proposals on pause and 300 people at public meeting this week expressing real concern about cuts to out-of-hours services. The cabinet secretary tells me that she is committed to the Vale of Leven hospital. When will she tell that to the health board and when will she come and listen to my local community? I and the health board are committed to the Vale of Leven hospital. Of course, it was the Government that saved the Vale of Leven hospital from the closure that would have undoubtedly happened under Jackie Baillie's Government, of which I remember that she was a minister within at the time. In terms of the specifics of the Vale of Leven, I can say this to Jackie Baillie that whether it is on out-of-hours, I know that the chief executive and the chair of Greater Glasgow and Clyde are working very hard to maintain out-of-hours services, but it is challenging, as she will know from her discussion with the chair around GPs being willing to work out-of-hours. That is a challenge that we need to work through and hopefully Jackie Baillie will help to encourage local GPs to come on to the out-of-hours rotas. I am sure that she will because I am sure that she will want to be constructive in these matters. On maternity, I would have thought that Jackie Baillie would have welcomed the pause on the review of maternity services. She would want Glasgow and Clyde to look at the delivery of maternity services across Glasgow and Clyde and therefore to pause with the proposals that had been put forward for the Vale and the Inverclyde royal infirmary. Perhaps that occasionally she would welcome actions taken by the board in order to make sure that the right decisions are made. Iain Gray To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the review of student support. Mr Shirley-Anne Somerville The independent review of student support, chaired by Jane An-Gadia, has reached its midway point, a consultation to gather a wide range of views and how students across Scotland access, receive, manage and understand the support that they receive will soon be published. I look forward to receiving the review's final report in the autumn. Iain Gray Figures published a couple of weeks ago, showing that, on average, the debt with which Scottish students leave university is now twice what it was in 2007 when the SNP came to power promising to abolish that debt altogether. Will the review go any way to writing this wrong? The aim of the review is to assess the effectiveness of the support system for all students in further and higher education. Its entire purpose is to ensure that the system is equitable, fair and supports all students, but particularly those who face disadvantage. The review will, as it is independent of the Government, come to its own conclusions on that. However, I am afraid that I will take absolutely no lessons from Iain Gray, whose party introduced tuition fees in Scotland in higher education. When we look at what is happening south of the border, where we have student debt in Itchee in England, now on average £32,000, students across Scotland will be glad and thankful that it is this Government that ensured that that did not happen. We will look to the Labour Party to admit that, if it had been in power in Scotland, it would be facing that level of debt as well. However, thanks to the SNP and our continued support for free tuition, that will not happen here. Question 7, James Kelly. Thank you to ask the Scottish Government what its position is and calls for the repeal of the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Act. Offensive hatephone prejudicial behaviour associated with football and online threats of violence and hatred continue to be a problem. I share the concerns expressed by quality groups that repealing the act in the absence of a viable alternative will send entirely the wrong message to the public that expressions of prejudice and hatred at football matches are somehow condoned and decriminalised. We believe that police and prosecutors need appropriate tools to tackle hate crime, which is why I commissioned the independent review of hate crime legislation in Scotland. I look forward to hearing the outcomes of that review next year and remain opposed to repealing the act. James Kelly. In fact, the minister for the answer is now clear, falling on from the consultation for my private member's bill, that there is massive support and response to that for repeal of the act. In addition to that, it is also clear that there is a majority in Parliament in favour of repeal of the act. Bearing that in mind, will the minister agree to work with me on a sensible approach on repealing the act and also work with parties in this Parliament and groups outside on a positive approach to behaviour at football and tackling sectarianism? I would say to the member that this Government stands on the side of the tens of thousands of football fans across Scotland who simply want to go to a football match and take their fat. I find it very strange indeed that, at a time where our society faces so many challenges, Labour's number one priority for legislation is to repeal the Offensive Behaviour Act and that without offering any viable alternative. What is the strange set of priorities, and what can tempt those priorities to display for those who are targeted by hateful and prejudicial and abusive behaviour? We turn now to First Minister's questions and question number one from Ruth Davidson.