 Good morning. The first item of business is general questions. Question number one I call Ruth Maguire. A book to ask the Scottish government what action it is taking to support families whose children have died as a result of illegal drugs. Cabinet Secretary Keith Brown. Obviously, every drug related death is a tragedy, and I offer my condolences to any family impacted by the issue as part of our national mission to reduce drug deaths and to improve the lives of people affected. Hasillistic support 속 ad vibeff, muy lael. This is supported by a investment of £3.5 million per year to alcohol and drug partnerships and £3 million per year to vital third sector organisations. In addition to this, we provide third sector organisations to Scottish families affected by alcohol and these drugs. 160,000 per year to provide national services to support families, including bereavement support. Ruth Magawa Ruth McGuire. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. Grace Handling was 13 when she died. The individual who supplied the ecstasy that killed her was charged with culpable homicide, but much to the distress of her family was acquitted after the jury returned a not proven verdict. Would the cabinet secretary meet me and Grace's father, Stuart, to hear directly from him and provide some support and guidance on ways forward? Cabinet secretary. The case that has been mentioned by the members is a tragedy. My sympathies go to the family and friends of Grace. I am right in saying that I have met Grace's father among others previously, but I would be happy to meet both Ruth McGuire and Mr Handling to discuss the suggested reform in this area. I should say that not proven is something that the Government is committed to abolishing in terms of the verdict and that will come before Parliament very soon. In relation to the point about the homicide law, I would say that the Scottish Law Commission is currently looking at how homicide law operates more generally, and I would encourage views on how the specific area of law could be reassessed as part of that wider look at homicide law to be passed at the Law Commission as well. I am happy once that has come back to the Government to have that discussion with the member and the individual concerned. I am sure that the cabinet secretary will agree that providing support for young people affected by drugs remains a key component of the Scottish drugs mission. In January, the Scottish Government provided £5.5 million for new programmes for children and families, including the expansion of Roots, a young person support group run by Scottish families affected by drugs. Currently, Roots is only available in east and west in Bartonshire. Can the cabinet secretary provide any detail on when this programme will be expanded and in what areas will those services be offered? I cannot provide that information at this time, but I understand that the member will want to have that information, so I am happy to speak to the minister responsible, Angela Constance, to make sure that she provides a full account of that to the member. Each drug's death is a tragedy for the family left behind, particularly for parents who lose their child. Again this week, we have seen suspected drug's death at their highest recorded number in a single quarter since 2021. Public health experts have stated that data is vitally important in tackling the crisis, but the Public Audits Committee of this Parliament has said that there is significant risk that the scale of the problem is not being properly captured or understood. Data collection must be robust in order to support people and their families, so I would ask the cabinet secretary what steps are the Government taking to improve the quality of data collection in relation to the use of drugs, particularly potent new drugs that may account for the spike in the last quarter of 2022. Just to help the member if he can, first of all, to say that in 2021 70 people aged 20 or under suffered a drug death, which, as the member says, represents 70 individuals, each of one of which is a tragedy both for the individual but for the family concerned. It does represent a reduction of 10 from the previous year, but it is still far too high. There has also been a recent decline in deaths in those aged 25 and under. As I say, any deaths in that age group are a real concern to everybody, including the Government. Before we agree data streams, we do so with the professionals. The Government can get criticised quite rightly for being too close to formulating the criteria for which data is collected, but I am happy to pass on his request to the minister concerned, Angela Constance, and make sure that her response comes back to the member with more detail. To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that key sectors such as engineering are allocated sufficient numbers of modern apprentices. Apprenticeship supports key sectors while providing employment and taking account of demographic change and seeking to respond to employer demand. The modern apprenticeship demand assessment comprises three phases. The first establishes a robust evidence baseline, sourcing and collating strategic contextual data. The second draws on the baseline to support consultation with industry and verify demand. The final phase, the evidence baseline and consultation insight, are analysing a final assessment produced to inform the modern apprenticeship contracting strategy. As such, the number of starts in each occupational grouping attempts to reflect employer demand and be managed in line with Scottish Government priorities. The minister is well aware of the fine work done by the Angus training group in my constituency. They have been visited with me some time back. I know that he will be pleased to learn their experience and upturn the demand from employers. Unfortunately, however, they have a contract volume figure of 31, a rollover from the pandemic this year, when they have the potential to be taking at least 40 modern apprentices. Can I ask whether there is any scope for having that number increased through the prioritisation of engineering as a key sector? Will the minister first reflect the fact that I have been able to visit the Angus training group with Graeme Dey and I was very impressed with the work that they are doing on engineering overall? I am happy to say that the latest statistics published for quarter three of this year show an increase in the number of starts in engineering and related occupational groupings. 1,658 compared to the equivalent period last year, 1,256. There is positive growth overall. I understand the challenges that Angus training group might be facing. Of course, we do not seek to micromanage that process. I recognise the importance of engineering to the economy. I would encourage the Angus training group to speak to SDS about increased demand and see if there is a way forward with it. As the Scottish Government, what progress has been made in STEM teacher recruitment? STEM teacher numbers are at their highest level since 2011. There are now 378 more STEM teachers than before the start of the pandemic in 2019. I am committed to recruiting more teachers than recently set out measures to Parliament, making it clear that we will provide £145.5 million in next year's budget to protect increased teacher numbers and support staff. Local authorities are responsible for the recruitment and deployment of their staff, and we will continue to do everything that we can to help them to maximise the number of jobs available for STEM teachers, including permanent posts. Our economy and our young people must have increased qualifications and vital science, technology, engineering and math subjects, yet the number of candidates is falling dramatically and targets for teacher recruitment are continuing to be missed. Almost half of available STEM bursaries for new teachers went unfilled this year. The body running the scheme has not been told by ministers whether those bursaries will continue. How on earth are they to recruit for the next academic year without a decision from ministers? Will the cabinet secretary confirm today whether that scheme will go ahead and when will we have an effective national strategy that meets the scale of this challenge? I pointed in my original answer to the improvements that we have seen, but I recognise that we need to do more, and that is exactly why there are a number of working groups within the Scottish Government working with stakeholders to look at recruitment and retention, particularly around the STEM teaching area. I am happy to confirm to Mr Marra that the STEM bursaries will continue. That has been an important part of our policy to date and will continue in the next financial year. The cabinet secretary will be aware of the Aberdeen computer collaborative that brings together Aberdeen City Council, the University of Aberdeen, the Robert Gordon University and Nescol, and it aims to raise the profile of computing science and make Aberdeen the destination of choice for computing science graduates entering teaching. I ask the cabinet secretary how the Scottish Government is working with such collaboratives to build on this work and attract new graduates into computing science teaching. I thank the member for highlighting the excellent work that has been undertaken by Aberdeen computer collaborative. This is a very important issue that we all work together on. One of the key requirements of the Scottish technology ecosystem review programme was to attract more graduates into teaching, especially women. That is why we formed the Scottish teachers advanced computing science stacks, an organisation for and run by computing teachers. I am delighted to see that some of that work will be also including Aberdeen. Indeed, a pilot scheme is being run on computing science teachers in advanced higher level to see what more we can do to improve and encourage teaching and teachers within that important subject. Willie Rennie. 636 teaching posts were re-advertised last year. Many of them were in STEM subjects. One technical education teacher in Aberdeenshire was advertised 11 times. There is a big shortage. I do not get a sense of urgency from the minister that she understands the scale of the problem. Can she reassure me that she is on top of that? I would be delighted at length to discuss with Mr Rennie the work that is going on with the teacher workforce planning and advisory group and the strategic board for teacher education. There is looking at recruitment and retention, not just in STEM, but across areas and particularly around the area of geography as well, recognising that that is an issue. For the shortage of time that I have in general questions, I am happy to take that offline with Mr Rennie. To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to dual the A90 between Ellen and Peterhead. The Second Strategic Transport Project's review, the final report of which was published in December last year, considered proposals to dual the A90 north of Ellen. However, after an extensive evidence-based process with substantial stakeholder and public consultation, dualling was not recommended. Instead, measures to improve road safety, reliability and adapting the trunk road network to deal with the challenge of climate change were considered. 17 years after Alex Salmond promised the north-east that the first decision that he would make on becoming First Minister would be to dual between Ellen and Peterhead, there are nearly two decades of SNP inaction and lack of ambition on the forgotten road of Scotland, which has now seen seven deaths and 49 injuries on this stretch in the last three years. Minister, for the safety and economy of the north-east and to show that this is a Government for more than just the central belt, will the Minister promise, here and now, to at last dual this section of the A90? I do not recognise some of the sentiment behind Mr Kerr's question. The Government has invested more than £250 million in maintenance and road safety on the A90 since 2007 alone, so it is not true to characterise investment from this Government in that way. However, I recognise the member's interest in this route and, of course, the long-standing concerns regarding road safety. It is worth saying that there are some additional safety measures that have been introduced, including, of course, vehicle-activated signs. More broadly, the member will be aware that Nestrans, along with Aberdeenshire Council, have recently confirmed to Transport Scotland that they intend to take forward their own study of the A90. Of course, ministers will consider that in detail, but I reassure Liam Kerr that there are requirements to improve road safety on the trunk road network through SEPR2 recommendation 30. That looks at provisions around improving road safety more broadly. To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to increase employment opportunities in the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector, and, in light of the recent Fraser Valander report, the economic contribution of the pharmaceutical sector in Scotland. The Scottish Government recognises the importance of the pharmaceutical industry to the Scottish economy, including the creation of quality job opportunities across the country and also in rural and deprived regions. Later this year Scotland's new innovation strategy will be published, focusing strongly on health technologies. That will be an opportunity to boost R&D and to create further job opportunities in the pharmaceutical and wider life sciences sector. I thank the Minister for that reply. In December, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry and Life Science companies shared the frustration at the UK Government's decision to increase voluntary scheme for branded medicine payments to 26.5 per cent of sales money retained by the Treasury. By contrast, the Scottish ministers reinvested these payments in the new medicines fund for innovative new treatments. What impact has the NMF fund had on encouraging pharmaceutical manufacturing companies to invest in Scotland, given that we allow health boards to purchase end-of-life, orphan and ultra-orphan medicines that they may have struggled to justify financially before the fund was established in 2013? Currently, the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals contributes just under £1.5 billion in GVA to Scotland, supporting a total of 11,350 full-time Scottish jobs. The wider pharmaceutical sector supports more than £1.7 billion in GVA. Since 2014-15, £465.5 million has been made available to health boards via the fund that the member refers to, which is dedicated to medicines for patients with rare diseases via the new medicines fund. Clearly, that is playing a very important role. In terms of going forward, we are aware that there are concerns in the industry around the UK Government's changes to branded medicines pricing. The Scottish Government remains committed to investing the entire rebate from the voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing access in that agreement into the new medicines fund. We will negotiate the successor scheme with the UK Government. Apologies, Presiding Officer, for being a few minutes late. I was stuck for almost two hours on the SNP-Nationalised ScotRail. To ask the Scottish Government how many civil servants are working in its... They don't seem to like that. To ask the Scottish Government how many civil servants... Just for all members' information, it is important that you stick to the published text of the question. Please resume. To ask the Scottish Government how many civil servants are working in its constitutional futures division. Cabinet Secretary, Angus Robertson. I refer the member to my answer to question SXW15283 on 8 March. This noted that 24 civil servants, including one deputy director, are working in the constitutional futures division. As well as coordinating work on the Government's independence prospectus, officials in the constitutional futures division are contributing to other priority work, including on the retained EU law management programme, on devolution policy, on intergovernmental relations and the provision of information for the Covid public inquiries. The work to prepare independence prospectus papers is being coordinated by the tax-funded constitutional futures division. However, during the SNP leadership contest, Hymser Yousif has admitted that the SNP Government's independence prospectus sits on a website and nobody reads it. It's a shocking statement for a potential First Minister to admit that public money is being wasted like this. Does the Minister agree that the tax-funded constitutional futures division must be disbanded immediately with the approximately 1.5 million being spent elsewhere, perhaps in vaping legislation? Cabinet Secretary. So let's just get this right. The position of the Conservative party is to abolish, wishes to abolish, the part of the civil service that is dealing with retained EU law management, devolution, intergovernmental relations and the provision of information on Covid public inquiries. Is that seriously the position of the Conservative party? Can I say to the member, if he is genuinely interested in freeing up civil service time, he would be well advised to speak with his Westminster colleagues to ditch or at least ameliorate the retained EU law bill, which is causing an unprecedented and an unnecessary diversion of civil service time? To ask the Scottish Government what its policy is for the migration strategy in an independent Scotland, including how it would address any workforce and recruitment challenges resulting from the withdrawal from the European Union. Cabinet Secretary. The Scottish Fiscal Commission forecasts Scotland's working age population will fall by an average of 10,000 a year for at least the next five years, with net migration from the European Union lower as a result of Brexit and the UK Government putting in place a restrictive immigration system that doesn't account for Scotland's needs. Independence would give us the power to design immigration policy tailored to Scotland's needs and return the right to free movement in the European Union. Our approach would seek to attract working age people in their families to live here and make a positive contribution to our economy and our communities, especially in rural areas. Jackie Dunbar. I thank the cabinet secretary for his answer. As international condemnation continues to pour in for the UK government's atrocious and dehumanising illegal migration bill, the need for the full immigration powers of an independent state has never been clearer. Can the cabinet secretary assure Parliament that this Scottish Government will remain committed to Scotland's role as a good global citizen before and after independence? I agree entirely with my colleague. Although immigration and asylum are entirely reserved to the UK Government, we remain committed to providing support and assistance to all those seeking safety and sanctuary in Scotland and will do our utmost to support people to make Scotland their home. With independent Scotland, it can leave behind the hostile environment that characterises UK Government policy.