 Cymru i gael y gwaith genedlau? Y prifysgol yng Nghymru yw y Prifysgol yng nghymru a gael y prifysgol yng nghymru, rwyf yn ddeglwys Ross. Rwyf yn ddeglwys. Rwyf yn ddeglwys, rwyf yn ddeglwys, mae'r gwaith yn ymwysgol yng Nghymru yn maen. Lleidwyr Cysbol o blisio Llywodraeth i Llywodraeth Cymru yn gwyfnigol, rwyf yn ddeglwys, rwyf yn ddeglwys, ac mae'n ddeglwys yng Nghymru. ac yw'r gwneud y caelaires panhau? Fyny'r cyffiniad yng Nghaerchef yn caelires sefydlu aethau? Is he right, First Minister? First Minister! The policing system is clearly a priority for this Government. It has been every day, month, year, that this Government has been in office. I think that is demonstrated by the fact that in Scotland we have 32 officers per 10,000 population. That compares to the situation in England A haul-on has a conditioners. People are now in Labour's government of just – 23 police officers per 100,000. Those are the figures for the situation. In this financial year, we are increasing the policing budget by £40.5 million by £1.4 million, of which the total budget is £1.4 billion, as the budget maintains our commitment to protect the police resource budget in real terms. The resource spending review, of course, I've made two points about that, Presiding Officer. Firstly, it does not represent budgets, it is projecting ahead based on the financial information that we have right now. It is the responsibility each and every year for this Government to put forward a budget and for this Parliament to scrutinise and pass that budget. The second point that I would make, which is one that I've made in the chamber before, is that the resource spending review, the projections that have been made based on the information that we had, is of course constrained by the fact that our budget is largely set by Westminster Governments and right now those budgets are not keeping pace with inflation. If Douglas Ross wants more money for this Government to allocate, and I very much hope that we will be in that position, then perhaps as well as, not instead of but as well as asking me questions, he might want to make one or two representations to his boss at Westminster. Douglas Ross. It's not the questions that I'm worried about, it's the answers. That is a dire warning from the chief constable of Police Scotland that the First Minister has just ignored and deflected saying, look elsewhere, look at the issues in the rest of the UK, look at the issues here in Scotland right now. They were hollow words from the First Minister saying that policing is a priority when front-line officers are telling a very different story. I spoke with a police constable this morning who is frustrated at the state of policing in Scotland. This is what he told me. Staffing is horrendous. Too many officers are being left single crewed and covering entire towns on their own. Evidence to this Parliament's Justice Committee confirms what we've been told. There is a very strong letter from the Scottish Police Federation. Have you read this, First Minister? If not, here's what they say. Their members, the men and women who serve our communities, are overworked and undervalued. The letter continues, they tell us that they are carrying more and more risk, they feel unsafe at their work. First Minister, do you accept front-line officers in Scotland don't believe that policing is a priority for you and your Government? First Minister, I absolutely accept the pressures that front-line police officers are under. I take any views that are expressed by those on the front-line of the police or indeed any public service very seriously indeed. The duty of my Government is to make sure that we are working with our public services to support them to the fullest possible extent and let me again today take the opportunity to pay tribute to the work of our police officers and the staff who support them up and down the country every single day. In my previous answer, I referred very directly to the situation here in Scotland. The facts demonstrating the priority that we attach to policing, I readily accept that it is the duty of Government to demonstrate that each and every single day. For example, the total number of officers in Scotland now is higher than the situation that we inherited. Of course, that compares with a 20,000 reduction in police officers where the Conservatives are in government. There are 32 officers per 10,000 population in Scotland compared to 23 in England and Wales. That goes directly to the understandable feeling of pressure that police officers are under right now. Police Scotland has plans in train to recruit an additional 300 officers in July—in other words, the month that is about to start. Let me turn to the issues around pay for our police officers, which was one of the issues that the Scottish Police Federation wrote about. Those negotiations, of course, are on-going and it is important that they are given the space to continue, and I hope to positively conclude. If you look again—this goes directly to the question, Presiding Officer, because it is about the value that we attach to policing and the priority that we attach to policing. In England and Wales, the lowest starting salary for a police officer is £21,654 in Scotland. Members, I am sorry, First Minister, but we will hear the First Minister if I could ask you to conclude your response. It is an answer to the question. In the case of Douglas Ross, £21,654 missed that figure, while in Scotland a new police constable starts on £26,737. Last year, officers received a £700 pay uplift and a separate non-consolidated payment of £250 in Scotland. In England and Wales, where the Conservatives are in power, the majority of police officers received no increase in pay whatsoever. That is the difference in priority for policing. If you listened to that answer from the First Minister, it is as if our police officers should be congratulating her for everything that she is doing. I am sorry, that is not the reality outwith your bubble of house, First Minister, and clearly your spinners are working overdrive because the facts are clear. Police officer numbers in Scotland are now at their lowest levels since 2008. Again, in this hard-hitting letter from the Scottish Police Federation, police officers have said—this is the police officers that the First Minister has said—that all that they see from the Government are self-congratulatory narratives that disguise reality. We have seen it all over again today. The First Minister mentioned pay. The Scottish Police Federation described the SNP Government's latest pay offer as derisory. It says—this is a direct quote—that officers are incandescent at the current pay officer. They are beyond angry at how insulting it is. I think that they will be even more insulted to have heard the First Minister's response. In response to the Government's low-ball offer, Scottish Police Federation members will take action from 5 p.m. tomorrow. The Federation said this morning that it is the most overt demonstration of action by our members in more than 100 years. Has the Government considered the impact on front-line policing and public safety from their decision to make such a low offer to our police officers? The other point that we should recognise, of course, is that police officers, such as nurses and doctors, such as everybody across Scotland, are suffering from the cost of living crisis exacerbated by a Conservative Government. Let me return to the important issues. I think that anybody can compare the public sector pay offers that are being made in Scotland to those being made by the Conservatives. Again, they draw conclusions about the higher value that we attach to public sector workers here. Let me return to the detail of the questions. I do not expect any police officer or any public sector worker to congratulate the Government. The gratitude and congratulations are entirely from the Government to those working hard across our country. Douglas Ross is asking me about the value and the priority that we attach to policing. Therefore, it is entirely appropriate and, indeed, necessary for me to point out the facts. The fact that we have higher number of police officers in Scotland than when this Government took office, there are 300 new officers about to be recruited from next month. We are increasing the budget of the police in Scotland, and police officers, generally speaking, are paid more in Scotland than they are elsewhere in the UK. There is a pay negotiation under way. I would fully expect the Scottish Police Federation and any trade union and professional organisation to stand up for their members during a pay negotiation. The Justice Secretary met the Scottish Police Federation earlier this week, or last week, it was a constructive discussion. I hope that all sides will continue to work together constructively to ensure that a fair and affordable pay increase can be agreed for our police officers. Our police officers do deserve it, and we will continue to value them and give policing the priority that it deserves. The First Minister is on a different planet. She is saying that it was a constructive meeting between her Justice Secretary and the Federation, and the Federation said this morning that its members are now taking the most overt demonstration of action in more than 100 years. I asked a very specific question. I asked the First Minister—this is what I said— has the Government considered the impact on front-line policing and public safety? She never even answered that again. It was looking at the issues elsewhere, because the Government has taken its eye off the ball here. Resources are being used elsewhere. Policing and justice are clearly not a priority anymore, and we can see the impact on public safety. Violent crime has risen to the highest ever level since Nicola Sturgeon became First Minister. That is a consequence of a distracted Government, a Government that does not focus on what really matters. It is what happens when the country's top priorities are set aside, when campaigning is put ahead of governing. First Minister, surely it is time for you to fully focus on supporting our police officers and keeping our streets safe and free of crime? I want to put these key points, Presiding Officer. First, on the impact of the SPF action, of course that is an operational matter for the Chief Constable, and I would have thought that Douglas Ross might know that the Chief Constable has a plan. We would all like to hear the response. The action can be effectively managed in the short term via Police Scotland's operational capacity and resilience subgroup. Secondly, I would have thought that any reasonable person would have welcomed that constructive pay negotiations are on-going. I appreciate that. That is not the way that Tories go about things with public sector workers. They just offer them zero and tell them to go away. We sit down and have constructive pay negotiations. Lastly, Presiding Officer, on crime levels, the crime levels in this country are at their lowest level since 1974. I cannot hear the First Minister, therefore I can only assume that other people cannot hear, and I would be grateful if we could hear the First Minister. The Conservatives do not want people to hear the answers, Presiding Officer, because the answers do not suit the narrative of the Scottish Conservatives. That is the reality. Crime levels are at among their lowest levels since 1974, partly because of the value that we attach to policing, but more than that, Presiding Officer, due to the great work that our police officers and their support staff do, which is why we will continue to support them in stark contrast to that part of the UK, where the Conservatives are in government. On Tuesday, the Scottish Government published figures that showed the worst cancer waiting times on record. Even during Covid, cancer remains Scotland's biggest killer, with over 36,000 Scots dying of cancer since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Can the First Minister tell us, in the last year, how many patients have missed the 62-day standard for starting cancer treatment? In terms of the cancer waiting times, as Anasarwar knows, there are two key waiting times standards that will come onto the 62-day one in a moment. The first is, of course, the 31-day target that is from a decision to treat to first treatment starting. That target, again, as shown in the statistics this week, is being met. Indeed, the median day for treatment starting after a decision to treat has been taken is four days. In terms of the 62-day pathway, that target is not being met. However, in the most recent quarter, again, shown in the statistics this week, the NHS increased the number of patients being treated on the 62-day pathway. That was an increase by more than 4 per cent compared to the same quarter in 2019. We continue to see an increasing number of eligible cancer referrals. The priority, of course, is to ensure that those patients receive the care that they need quickly. As I said a moment ago, once a decision to treat is made, patients wait on average just four days to start cancer treatment. We recognise that improvements, particularly on the 62-day pathway, require to be made, which is why we are investing £40 million over five years to support cancer services, improve cancer waiting times, and ensure earlier detection of cancer. The answer that the First Minister was looking for was 3,057. Since the election campaign last year, when Nicola Sturgeon made a promise to focus on Covid recovery and cancer catch-up, over 3,000 cancer patients have not started their treatment on time. That is a problem that predates the pandemic. In the eight years that Nicola Sturgeon has been, she has never met the 62-day treatment standard. Things are so bad that last week the Lancet revealed that senior staff at the Beatson even had to consider rationing chemotherapy because they do not have the resources that they need. That is a situation that this Government is entirely responsible for. We know that the earlier you are diagnosed and the quicker you start treatment, the more likely you are to survive. That is true for cancer but also for many other conditions. How many people currently waiting for a diagnostic test, including for cancer, have already waited more than the six-week standard? There are many people waiting more than the six-week standard for dyno. I am happy to provide the figure later on, but I think that it is important to address the substance of the issue. We saw the latest diagnostic test stats at the end of May. There were 155,000 people waiting for one of eight-key diagnostic tests. That, of course, is not all people waiting over the target time, but we are investing significantly in endoscopy radiology services to bring those waiting times down. For example, to specifically support scope-based diagnostics, we have published £70 million in endoscopy and urology, diagnostic recovery and renewal plan. We are also investing £9 million in this financial year to support diagnostic imaging capacity. In terms of the overall situation with the 62-day pathway, more patients are being seen within that pathway. That means that more patients are being treated as eligible for that pathway. The 31-day target has been met. With the 62-day target, although the target has not been met, more patients are being seen on that pathway. The median weight is 47 days. Before I come on to the final point, we recognise the pressure that NHS staff are under. Under this Government, there has been a 95 per cent increase in consultant oncologists and a 63 per cent increase in consultant radiologists. That is testament to the commitment that this Government has. Finally, on early diagnosis, we absolutely accept the importance of early diagnosis, which is why we continue to invest in the £44 million detect cancer early programme and why we are investing in early detection centres around the country. The answer that the First Minister was looking for, again, was 78,310, waiting more than six weeks for our diagnostic test. I asked the First Minister the exact same question a year ago. The answer then was 44,516, an increase of 76 per cent. When I told the First Minister that number last year, she said that, and I quote, "...this has been my focus and the focus of the Government literally seven days a week, sometimes what has felt like almost 24 hours a day, and that will be the case for as long as is necessary." That was Pandemic Nicola, who also promised that Covid recovery would be her priority in this Parliament. However, this week on Tuesday, the worst cancer waiting times on record. On Wednesday, the outgoing chair of the BMA begged you for the tools to make the health service work. Today, the front page of the daily record has nurses warning that working on hospital wards is like hell on earth. The recovery has not even started yet. In fact, things have got worse. Instead, we have gone back to the divisive Nicola Sturgeon, who is now spending seven days a week, sometimes what feels like 24 hours a day, focusing on what she cares about, breaking up our country and dividing our people, not rebuilding it. Before I call the First Minister, I will remind all members of the requirement to use first and surname's first minister. First, it is perhaps anisarwar that has lost a bit of focus over the last period, because in the period that he is talking about, what he seems to want to forget is that there have been three further waves of a pandemic. We have seen staff absences, for example, impacting on the performance of the national health service. Secondly, he talks about the tools for the national health service. Let me focus a little bit on the tools that this Government is providing the national health service. NHS staffing up by just under 30,000 whole-time equivalents—that is 23.5 per cent—to a record high under this Government, higher staffing per head than NHS England. Record funding for our national health service. The best-performing—still with challenges, but the best-performing accident and emergency services anywhere in the UK for over six years running—higher spend per head than anywhere else in the UK. Those are the tools that we are giving our front-line staff. Of course, we are paying, just as is the case with police officers, front-line staff in Scotland more than is the case in England and Wales. Secondly, to come on to Anas Sarwar's political point, which I want to address. That is the point. He wants to back up the Conservatives on this point. I want to free Scotland from the Conservatives. The worst thing that could ever happen to our NHS is to continue to have Conservative Governments cutting the budget for this Government and this Parliament. That is why having the powers of independence is good for our country, including our national health service. Can the First Minister highlight what discussions the Scottish Government has had with the aviation industry in Scotland regarding the business summer period? The Transport Minister is in regular contact with the aviation sector and has recent discussions on services during the summer holidays. Back in May, the minister wrote to the UK Government about significant delays at some airports in England, noting that those would concern people in Scotland, of course, who planned to travel soon from them. She saw assurances that the UK Government is taking action to ensure that there is no repetition of the inconvenience caused to passengers and businesses this summer. We have had no response yet, but we will continue to press UK ministers to ensure that there are adequate staffing levels in place at international border controls at Scottish airports. Of course, part of the challenge is that there are now controls in place for visits to and from EU countries, yet another consequence of a Brexit that Scotland did not vote for and another reason for us to be in charge of our own future. This week, the press and journal reported that Aberdeenshire Council had requested 49 new secondary school teachers to start in August, but have secured only 25. First Minister, there is a problem up and down the country in our rural areas in attracting new teachers, while other parts of the country have received more new teaching graduates than they need. What steps will your Government take to help rural authorities to attract the new teaching staff that they need to ensure that our pupils in the north-east are not left behind? First Minister, we will continue to work with local authorities to ensure that teacher recruitment is supported. Local authorities, of course, are responsible for both recruitment and deployment of their staff, but ultimately it is a decision for teachers where they decide to work. No minister can dictate this. Probationer teachers choose five local authorities where they would be willing to work to complete their probation year and are allocated a place to balance their choice with local need. Local authorities, though, also have the autonomy to provide incentives to attract teachers to their area, and we know that some have already offered initiatives such as free housing for an extended period. At the end of last week, the Lancet reported on the crisis at the Beats and West of Scotland Cancer Centre. It leaked emails about a system that is stretched to the limits of endurance. Other cancer centres across Scotland described as being at breaking point. The causes of that predate the pandemic. That is what one consultant oncologist had to say to me. Due to the lack of staff, run-down equipment and failure to plan for the future, the current situation of rationing cancer care was entirely predictable. He went on. The NHS in cancer care is run like a budget airline. Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS spends more time firefighting than forward thinking. First Minister, your Government is in charge of the NHS in Scotland. You have been warned again and again by clinicians, by patients and, yes, indeed, by politicians, but you simply do not listen. According to the consultant, why the £10 million budget allocated for cancer waiting times has been cut to just £1.5 million? I know that Jackie Baillie would not want to distress patients in any way. I know how hard consultants are working, and I take very seriously the comments of consultants. However, the point that it is also important to make is that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have confirmed that there are no plans to increase service length, stop treatments early or interrupt schedules. Any service delivery suggestions that would have been detrimental to patients were immediately rejected. As outlined in our health and social care national workforce strategy, we are investing £10 million in our cancer therapy and acute oncology workforce in order to keep up with the growing demand on services. We have also convened a national oncology task force, bringing together board chief executives and medical directors to consider further national solutions. We are taking those issues seriously and will continue to do so. However, the final point that I will make is this. I made it in response to Anna Sarwar. Since Government took office, there has been more than a 90 per cent, 90 per cent increase in consultant oncologists working within our national health service. That is an indication of the priority that we attach to those services and we will continue to work with the workforce to support them in delivering services to patients. Bob Dorris Presiding Officer, Drivability Scotland, in my constituency, provides essential driving assessments for disabled drivers and offers them support and advice. A appointment is secured in a short of six weeks, which merely took over six months using the NHS national facility in Lothian. Drivability Scotland may be forced to close later this year, increasing NHS waiting times for disabled drivers desperately needing assessments. I have raised this matter also with the Minister for Public Health. Can I ask the First Minister to do what she can to urgently secure at least some form of bridging funding for Drivability Scotland to allow them to continue to operate for the benefit of disabled drivers whilst the NHS has to view the current under pressure NHS provision? Provision, I hope, and the future will also involve using Drivability Scotland. The First Minister The First Government has already been engaged on this issue. We have been working with the Drivability Scotland service to explore different options. I understand that a draft business plan has been prepared by NHS Lothian's driving assessment team for the establishment of an additional centre in Glasgow, and that is currently being considered by NHS national services for Scotland. The Public Health Minister will keep Bob Dorris appraised when NSS reaches its conclusion on those proposals. Sue Webber In 2005-2006, 1,929 people were admitted to residential drug and alcohol services in Scotland, but in 2021-22, just 511 placements were approved. That is a drop of nearly 75 per cent. I have heard time and time again that rehabilitation gives people the hope that they need for their recovery. At a time when drug-related deaths have spiralled out of control, can I ask why successive SNP Governments continue to fail some of our most vulnerable people by slashing capacity in residential rehab by three quarters? Will the First Minister now finally throw her weight behind our right to recovery bill, which will enshrine in law the right to residential rehab? If the First Minister is telling me that that bill has been published this morning, I welcome that, because I cannot throw my weight behind a bill that I literally have not seen. I cannot agree to a bill unless the bill has been seen. If he wants to publish the bill, I have on many occasions in this chamber said that I have an open mind and want to give as much support to the bill as possible. Most reasonable people would understand that I cannot support a bill that I literally have not seen because it has not been published. On residential rehab, again, I think that the important question is that it does not take account of the recent investments and developments in the sphere of residential rehab. We are providing additional funding of £250 million over this Parliament in part to support residential rehab. We are working with alcohol and drug partnerships across Scotland to develop clearer and more consistent pathways into and then from rehab, because we know that people with problem, drug or alcohol misuse often have other needs. We have allocated £20 million of additional funding for residential rehab, and that is being used. £5 million of that has been channeled directly to ADPs to support pathways and placements. In the last two weeks, I have received many reports from the constituents who are serving police officers in the Lothian region. As they are serving police officers, I shall not name them. They include a single mother hit off hard by raising childcare, food and energy costs that she can only make and made by borrowing from her parents. A young police officer is forced to move back in with his parents because he cannot afford rent. Police officers are forced to rely on food banks. Does the First Minister think that having a police force in this state is healthy in a developed nation? What is the Scottish Government going to do about it? I do not think that that is acceptable, nor do I think that it is acceptable for anybody, particularly those in any of our public services, to be dealing with a situation where inflation is almost at 10 per cent. Food prices are rising, energy prices are rising and the powers to deal effectively with that do not lie within this Parliament. What lies with this Government is, of course, about police officer pay. I have already said that the process of negotiation is under way. I hope that it will conclude constructively and fairly very soon. It starts from a base, of course, where police officers in Scotland coming into the force are already paid more than in England and Wales. Last year, in Scotland, a pay uplift at the majority of officers elsewhere in the UK did not get. That does not make life easy for our police officers or any other public sector worker, but we will continue to value them, not just on rhetoric but in action. However, we need to see action taken on the cost of living to reduce those pressures on police officers and everybody else across our country. To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to reduce breakdowns on ferry services to Scotland's islands. We fully understand frustrations encountered by passengers during disruptions, and therefore remain committed to on-going support for vital lifeline services. Since 2018, we have made £14.5 million of funding available for upgrades on the CalMac vessels through the introduction of the ferries resilience fund. That has helped primarily to replace obsolete systems and reduced the likelihood of breakdown on older vessels. We are also committed to investing a further £580 million in the infrastructure investment plan. CMAW has also been tasked with finding suitable additional second hand tonnage for use on both ferry networks. That led, for example, to the successful introduction of the MV Law Freeza on the Mall route. Finally, overall, since 2007, the Government has invested more than £2 billion in the Clyde and Hebrides ferry service, the Northern Isles ferry service and ferry infrastructure. Jamie Greene I have to say that frustration is a complete underestimation of the strength of feeling on our island communities. You only need to go there and ask what they feel about the ferry services. The problem is, First Minister, that over half of the CalMac fleet is way beyond its 25-year life expectancy. The average age of a vessel in Scotland is now 24 years, almost a generation. The cost of ageing vessels is £84 million of repairs over five years. It is not two new vessels that CalMac needs, but it is nearly two dozen. The problem is that the Government has known that. It has seen this coming for many years and it has not been building that pipeline of ferries that we need to replace the ageing vessels. Can I ask you, First Minister, that the chair of the Mall and Iona ferry committee said on the record that Scotland has one of the worst public ferry services in the world? First of all, do you agree with that comment? If not, why not? Secondly, I know that the First Minister has the 19 October next year penciled in her diary, apparently. Can I ask if the two new vessels sitting at Ferguson Marine in Port Glasgow will be sailing and serving passengers by the 19 October 2023, or does the First Minister perhaps have other things on her mind? The completion timetable for the two ferries, of course, is a matter in the public domain, and that is what is being worked to deliver. Yes, the ferry fleet is ageing. That is the whole point of the resilience fund that was established in 2018, and partly the point of the infrastructure investment plan, which of course is backed by a further £580 million. It is vital that our island communities have access to reliable ferries, and that is exactly what the Government will continue to be focused on delivering. I was impacted by a ferry breakdown on Monday this week, but thanks to the excellent CalMac staff, I and other ferry users were able to get on later ferries. Would the First Minister agree with me that the staff of CalMac work tirelessly to help all their customers when breakdowns happen? Absolutely, the CalMac staff do an excellent job. They often do that job in really difficult circumstances, and I want to recognise and acknowledge that. The Conservatives clearly do not want to hear me thank those who work on the CalMac services. We will hear the First Minister. Thank you, Presiding Officer, because I want to take the opportunity of thanking everybody who works on CalMac for the excellent service that they provide to the travelling public. To ask the First Minister as the end-of-pride month approaches whether she will provide an update on the implementation of Scotland's world-leading LGBT inclusive education. The recommendations of the LGBTI inclusive education working group were published in November 2019 and accepted and full by the Scottish Government. Good progress has been made by the LGBTI inclusive education implementation group in delivering on the recommendations. The implementation group has, in partnership with COSLA, promoted effective delivery of LGBT inclusive education in all Scottish schools and engaged with young people to seek their views and experiences. The LGBT education.scot website is also a very important resource. It contains a toolkit of inclusive education resources and a basic awareness e-learning course for education staff on LGBTI inclusive education. The implementation group plans to deliver the remaining recommendations by the end of the next academic year. I thank the First Minister for her answer and I would like to put on record my thanks to the Thai campaign for all of their work in making Scotland the first country in the world to embed LGBT inclusive education across the school curriculum. Can the First Minister outline how the Scottish Government will ensure consistency of delivery in all schools across Scotland? First Minister, can I also take the opportunity to pay tribute to the Thai campaign? I'm proud to be wearing their badge today and I see many members wearing their lanyards. They have done a great job and made Scotland the first country in the world to have LGBT inclusive education. In terms of the point about consistency, of course we want all pupils to benefit from this, so to support consistent delivery resources and services have been developed. Those are freely provided to schools on the lgbteducation.scot website. It is, of course, for local authorities and individual schools to decide what resources they use to deliver the curriculum. However, a national framework of communication is under development and that will set out national expectations in this area as part of the on-going effort to ensure consistency of uptake and principles for effective teaching and learning. To ask the First Minister what progress the Scottish Government is making towards introducing an effective national system of rent controls by the end of 2025 as set out in its strategy a new deal for tenants. This week our proposals for strengthened protection for private tenants against eviction were agreed by Parliament. Rising rents caused tenants hardship and that's why we've already committed to introducing rent controls during this Parliament. We're currently working to ensure that the model delivered is evidence-based and robust, thereby giving long-lasting benefit to tenants. We are carefully considering around 930 responses and over 8,000 campaign responses to the new deal for tenants consultation. We are also meeting with key stakeholders, which is an essential step in delivering a system that actually works and we'll be undertaking further consultation on the detail. However, we continue to support tenants now, including through committing £83 million in discretionary housing payments this year. There is a cost of living emergency in golfing the country. As we speak, tenants are being forced out of their homes by eye-watering rent hikes. Every single one of us in this Parliament has a responsibility to act with urgency. So can the First Minister outline what practical intervention the Scottish Government will make this year, in 2022, to cap or at least limit rent increases? I agree with much of the sentiment of the question and I agree that we have a duty to act urgently. I'll come back to what this Government is doing in a moment, but we also have a duty to act legally. Otherwise what we do will not benefit tenants in the way that we intend it to. Through the 2016 act, we already have the strongest tenancy protections here in Scotland anywhere in the UK. Landlords are already under a number of limitations and we are committed to introducing a housing bill that will further strengthen those existing rights by improving rent adjudication and setting out the framework for the delivery of new rent controls. However, it's important that we get that right because if we don't and a legal challenge was successful, then we do not help tenants in the way that I accept the member absolutely wants to. Coming on to the issue of what we are doing now, this Government is investing almost £3 billion in helping people with the cost of living. That includes £83 million for discretionary housing payments. That helps to support the mitigation of the bedroom tax and to support wider housing costs. That investment is a really important tool used to safeguard tenancy. We continue to lead the way in the UK in protecting the rights of tenants and supporting tenants. However, if we didn't have to mitigate things like the bedroom tax, if we had more powers to deal with those issues and also to deal with the root causes of the cost of living crisis, rather than those powers remaining, as the Labour member seems to want them to do, in the hands of Conservative Governments at Westminster, this Parliament would be able to do so much more. To ask the First Minister what recent discussions the Scottish Government has had with the UK Government regarding the provision of accommodation for asylum seekers based in Scotland. The Social Justice Secretary spoke to the UK Government immigration minister in April, when he set out a change in policy to assume full asylum dispersal across the UK. In May, the Home Office then began an informal consultation on implementation to which we will be responding. The Scottish Government's support widened asylum dispersal in principle. Of course we do, but participation must be voluntary for local authorities. The Home Office must work in partnership with them, as well as support third sector support organisations that provide vital support to those seeking asylum. Although funding announced for local authorities is a positive step, it must be sustainable over the long term and be at a level that provides support for asylum seekers and for local communities. Maggie Chapman. I thank the First Minister for that response. She will be aware that there are now 450 refugees and asylum seekers housed in hotels in Aberdeen. She will also be aware of the dreadful acceleration in loss of life in the UK asylum accommodation system, where hotels are becoming institutional accommodation for vulnerable people. Given that mental health and the investigation of deaths are devolved matters, will the First Minister support the design and implementation of a Scottish monitoring and lessons learned system for all deaths in Scotland of people in asylum accommodation or immigration detention here? Will she additionally commit her Government to participate fully in phase 2 of Baroness Helena Kennedy's inquiry into the Glasgow asylum seeker deaths and signal her expectation that other Scottish public agencies will do likewise? I thank Maggie Chapman for that question. As is demonstrated in the actions that we take, this Government will always seek to use our devolved powers to the full to support asylum seekers wherever and whenever we can. Asylum and immigration are reserved matters and we have raised a variety of issues directly with the UK Government on our very real concerns and growing concerns over accommodation and treatment of asylum seekers. That includes accommodation and appropriate support, as well as adequate funding to public services. We have also repeatedly requested detail of any investigation undertaken by the Home Office following deaths in asylum accommodation in Glasgow, and we have requested an update on the status of recommendations in an internal Home Office report on asylum accommodation during the pandemic. That appeared in the media in April but has not yet been made public. Finally, we have not yet received any approach to participate in the inquiry led by Baroness Kennedy, but, of course, we will respond positively and appropriately should we do so. 7. Rachael Hamilton First Minister, whether the Scottish Government will respond to reported calls by the industry to establish a gamekeeping task force to tackle abuse of rural workers. Abuse of any worker is totally unacceptable. Of course, that includes gamekeepers and other rural workers. The Scottish Government has no plans at this stage to establish a specific task force on that issue. However, we are committed to engaging with gamekeepers and other land managers on the issues that they face. The Environment and Land Reform Minister alongside Scottish Government officials meets regularly with land management stakeholders, including organisations directly representing gamekeepers. I expect that engagement to continue, including discussions on specific issues relating to gamekeeping now and, as we move forward, with tackling the biodiversity and climate emergencies. 8. Rachael Hamilton I thank the First Minister for that answer. The Scottish Government commissioned SRUC research revealed staggering levels of abuse and vitriol suffered by rural workers. In light of that, BASC has made a renewed call for the creation of a gamekeeping task force. Rural workers are Scotland's de facto countryside custodians protecting biodiversity and tackling climate change. With the avian flu pressures and the on-going cost of living crisis, there are significant pressures on the mental health of rural workers. So can I make a renewed call to the First Minister to meet with me and rural workers and rural representatives to set the wheels in motion to give them the protection that they rightly deserve? First, I agree wholeheartedly with the member's points about the importance of rural workers not just to our rural communities but to the health and wellbeing and prosperity of our country overall. I made many of those points personally when I had the pleasure of attending the Royal Highland show at the end of last week. I have said in my opening answer that the Government has no plans at this stage to establish a specific gamekeeping task force. However, in the interest of trying to get consensus here, given that the issue has been raised and a renewed request has been made for that, I will ask the Environment Minister to consider whether that may have a part to play and revert back to the member in due course. Notwithstanding what the decision on that might be, I would ask the member to accept that we absolutely prioritise on-going engagement with land management stakeholders, including gamekeepers. That engagement will continue and will continue to respond to concerns that are raised and work to resolve those concerns. I will ask the Minister also to meet with the member to update on those matters. That issue is important. We may ultimately disagree on exactly the structures and formats through which we resolve those issues, but I hope that there is complete unity here on the fact that we need to resolve them and support those working in our rural communities. The Guardian has uncovered an internal Scottish Government memo, which confirms that it almost certainly may change its legislation at the request of the Queen's lawyers. Alterations to exempt crown interests in the royal household from certain aspects of law were even made before legislation was introduced to this Parliament. We do not know what changes were made or even which bills were changed. I think that Parliament and the public deserve to see and understand those changes. I ask your guidance, Presiding Officer, how Parliament and the people of this country can get sight of the changes made to legislation at the request of the Queen's lawyers before it was introduced to this Parliament. I thank Mr Cole-Hamilton for his contribution. Parliament has taken steps to increase transparency and awareness of this process, but as this is a matter that relates to pre-introduction of the bill, it is entirely a matter for the Government. That concludes First Minister's questions. We will now move on to the next item of business. There are no questions to be put as a result of today's business. Therefore, that concludes decision time and we will move on to Members' business. There will be a brief suspension.