 We turn now to First Minister's Questions, question number one, Ruth Davidson. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Marking national numeracy day yesterday, the Deputy First Minister declared that all of us need to have a good grasp of numeracy. I agree. So can the First Minister tell us how much has numeracy attainment improved or declined in our schools since she took office? First Minister. Well, I want to contribute to national numeracy initiatives. I think that the Deputy First Minister managed to spell it correctly when he's promoted it this week. The UK's Skills Minister managed to refer to national numeracy week. But anyway, that aside, we see improving attainment across our schools. For example, we see an increasing intake in terms of STEM subjects generally. I'm more than happy to provide the specific numbers on maths for Ruth Davidson later. I don't have them to hand right now. Across the range of subjects in our schools, we're seeing attainment rising and, of course, we're also seeing the attainment gap closing. That's why we want to continue that progress in the months ahead. Ruth Davidson. I thank the First Minister for that answer, but she won't be able to send me the specific numbers later because she can't give specific numbers. That's because the Deputy First Minister cancelled the only national survey on numeracy standards that we had that previously allowed us to see how things are going. That means that, as the Parliament's Education Committee declared, no meaningful conclusions on upward or downward trends can be reached at a time of reform within Scottish education. The Deputy First Minister tells us this week that it's important to have a good grasp of numeracy standards, yet under the Scottish National Party Government we have no grasp on how those standards are faring. Does that strike the First Minister as acceptable? If it was true, it wouldn't be acceptable, but it's not true. We provide, under the achievement of CFE levels data that replace the Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy, we provide more data at all levels of the system, crucially to underpin improvement activity than we have ever done before. The problem with the Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy is that it did not provide data at its school or local authority level. Ruth Davidson doesn't have to take my word for that in its review of education in Scotland in 2015. This is what the OECD said about that sample approach. It said that the light sampling of literacy and numeracy at the national level has not provided sufficient evidence for use in evaluative activities or for national agencies to identify areas of strength. That survey wasn't providing the information that we needed. That's why we have replaced it with the achievement of CFE levels data, which does provide the information at not just national level but school and local authority level as well. I thought that that's exactly the kind of progress and improvement that Ruth Davidson might have welcomed. Ruth Davidson. First Minister, the OECD said to improve SSLN. It didn't say to cancel it. It's clear from the First Minister's answers that she hasn't actually read what the education committee had to say. The problem is this. New assessments, which we support at P4, P7 and S3, are not comparable. Have a listen. They are not comparable. They cannot show a trend. There is no baseline and they will take time to bed in. In the meantime, we have no idea whether standards in literacy and numeracy are rising or falling. The committee was quite explicit. There is a five-year gap in our knowledge because of the actions of this SNP Government. The committee is worried that we are losing the data that we need for Parliament and wider society to hold the Government to account for its performance on education. A direct quote. I share the committee's concerns. Doesn't the First Minister share it too? First Minister. We always pay attention to what committees of this Parliament say and we will continue to do that. I just want to pick up Ruth Davidson's something she said there about assessments in primary schools. She said very carefully that the Tories support them at P4 and P7. Of course, emitting to say that, in her manifesto in the 2016 election, they supported them at P1 as well. Just another example of Ruth Davidson's now legendary flip-flopping on every conceivable issue. There is no policies in the Tories and there is not an iota of principle either under Ruth Davidson. On the achievement of CFE levels data, of course it provides a trend. This is information that is published at school and local authority level each and every year, allowing people to look at the trend data, to look at the improvements where they have been made and to look at whether there are any issues that require to be addressed. I think that that is important progress. Ruth Davidson said that the OECD said that it wanted improvement. That is the improvement that we have provided to deal with the deficiencies in the survey of literacy and numeracy. There is more data now about pupil performance in our schools than there has ever been before. Of course, later this year we will get the latest iteration of the PISA international study as well. There is more information about schools' performance than ever before. Crucially, what all of that shows is that we are making progress in raising attainment and closing the attainment gap, which is maybe what Ruth Davidson is a bit disappointed about. Ruth Davidson. What the First Minister does not get is that if you are the mum of a seven-year-old now, you are not going to know until your child is a teenager whether this country is getting any better at teaching maths or not. The reason for that is that the old national survey—you might want to listen to this—the old national survey showed that standards were declining so that this SNP Government got the blame, and then it cancelled the survey. That is what happened, and it has left parents without any idea as to whether standards are going up or down. Here are the figures that we do know about Scottish schools in numeracy. We have lost more than 400 maths teachers since this SNP came to office. Vacancies have gone up in the last two years, and the last time we did measure numeracy in our schools, we found that Scottish education had gone backwards under this Government. I think that parents deserve to know what is happening in our schools, so why has this First Minister left them in the dark? First Minister. I think that parents deserve to know what is happening in their children's schools, which is why we now publish the data at school level. The reality is—and maybe Ruth Davidson should look into this just a little bit more closely—that under the survey of literacy and numeracy, a parent had no idea what was happening in their child's school, because that survey does not produce any data at school level. It had no idea whether the children's school was doing well or doing badly. That is the difference in the data that we publish now. It provides data not just at national level, not just at local authority level. It provides the data at individual school level. Parents have much more of an idea on how their schools are doing than they ever have before. Ruth Davidson says that attainment in our schools is improving and the attainment gap is closing. Those are the facts that Ruth Davidson does not like. In terms of teachers, there are more teachers in our schools now than at any time since 2010. There are more primary school teachers in our schools now than at any time since I was at primary school. That is the reality of the progress in our education system. No wonder that Ruth Davidson is so furious about it. Presiding Officer, this week is mental health awareness week. As a society, we are increasingly open about and understanding of mental health. We must also recognise that we need to do much more to get our mental health services right, especially at the point of crisis. A year ago, the Government announced that an independent inquiry would look at end-to-end mental health services in Angus, Dundee and Perthenkin Ross. When the then Cabinet Secretary for Health announced the inquiry, she said, it is my aspiration that the independent inquiry will be seen as a force for good. The inquiry needs to be seen as a positive thing. First Minister, do you think that this aspiration is being met? The independent inquiry has not reported yet. It is an independent inquiry, by definition. Therefore, the Scottish Government is not in control of the timing of that publication. When it is published, we will look at it closely, as I am sure Parliament as a whole will, and we will implement many recommendations from it, and we will encourage NHS boards to do likewise. Richard Leonard is right to raise mental health. This is, of course, mental health awareness week. I think that it is important that we continue to tackle the stigma that we invest more as this Government is doing in preventative mental health services, but that we also continue to make sure that we are investing in specialist care when people need that. One of the issues, and it is just an example, but I am citing it because Richard Leonard has raised it previously with me, is the issue of rejected referrals in the CAMHS service. Rejected referrals, because of the action that we are taking, are now on a downward trajectory. That is progress, but there is more progress to make, and we are determined to make it. Richard Leonard. I hear what the First Minister says, but can the First Minister listen to those words, words that I heard just this morning? Nothing seems to have happened. We're not kept involved. It's definitely not transparent. This is the view of Gillian Murray, whose Uncle David's suicide in October 2016 was one of the tragedies which led to this inquiry. So it's clear that for the families involved, those founding aspirations of the Cabinet Secretary are not being met. Will the First Minister reflect on that? Will she tell us what she will do to restore the confidence of those families who have lost loved ones because of failures in the system of mental health support in Tayside? First Minister. First, to Richard Leonard, we want to learn lessons from the experiences of the kind narrated by Richard Leonard here today. My sympathies are with any family who has had experiences of that nature. I hope that he takes this point seriously. We established an independent inquiry into mental health services across Tayside as a result of some of the cases that he has brought to the chamber. That independent inquiry hasn't yet reported. I hope that it will report soon. When it does, I am sure that it will be fully scrutinised by members across this chamber. The Scottish Government and the health service more generally will ensure that we reflect carefully on that and learn any lessons that it says are required to be learned. However, I think that it would be wrong to pre-empt the outcome of that inquiry, particularly when, as I understand it, it is due to report imminently. I look forward to its publication and, as I said, given assurance that the Scottish Government will take forward any recommendations that it makes. Richard Leonard. The terms of reference set for this inquiry state that it must consider the perspective and give voice to families, patients, carers and others who have experience of suicide or involvement with mental health services within Tayside. That means the voice of people like Mandy McLaren, the mother of Dale Thompson, who tragically completed suicide in January 2015. Mandy asked me this morning to ask you directly, First Minister. Will you ensure that the families receive an advance copy of the interim report, which is due in the next few weeks? Will you listen to the voices of those families and will you do what you can do to help to restore their confidence in this inquiry? First Minister. This inquiry has been led, as I know Richard Leonard is aware, by David Strang. It is an independent inquiry. If the Government was interfering in the conduct of that inquiry, I am sure that Richard Leonard would be raising that in the chamber. As I understand it, although David Strang has taken that forward independently, David Strang has met with family members. I think that that would have been expected of him. It would be my full expectation in any inquiry of this nature that an advance copy of the report would go to those directly affected. I will pass that specific point back to David Strang. I would stress again that this is an independent inquiry and it is right that the Government allows it to be conducted entirely independently of Government. I would expect the report, although, as I say, I am not in control of the timing of this, I would expect the report to be published imminently and at that point it will be for all MSPs right across the chamber to look carefully at it and the Scottish Government certainly will be doing so. We have a number of constituency supplementaries. Jackie Baillie to be followed by Sandra White. The First Minister may be aware that the provision of out-of-hours services in greater in Glasgow and Clyde continue to be a significant problem. At the Vale of Leven hospital, the out-of-hours service was closed 88 times last year, it has been closed 44 times in the first four months of this year and it was closed this weekend, so hundreds of patients had to make the long journey to the RAH in Paisley for what should be the most basic local provision. Will the First Minister ensure that out-of-hours services are improved and retained at the Vale of Leven hospital? It has always been our intention to ensure that as many services as possible out-of-hours and other services are retained at the Vale of Leven hospital. The Health Secretary has advised me she is due to visit the Vale of Leven hospital next month and I am sure that she will have these discussions with staff there. Specifically on the issue of out-of-hours, I would expect NHS Greater in Glasgow health board as I would expect all health boards to take every measure possible to ensure safe and sustainable out-of-hours services. I know that there have been some issues recently at the Vale of Leven, but I would expect the board to work hard to rectify those so that those services are there locally for the people who need them. Sandra White will be followed by Edward Mountain. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. The First Minister will be aware of the issue regarding Sabir Zazey, chief executive of the Scottish Refugee Council. Glasgow University, which is my constituency, is rewarding Sabir, an honorary doctorate, and yet the Home Officer refusing his father a visa to enter the UK to attend the ceremony, which is absolutely disgraceful. First Minister, are there any steps whatsoever that the Scottish Government can take to apply pressure on the UK Government to ensure that Mr Sabir's father can enter the country and attend this very significant ceremony? For those who know Sabir Zazey, they will know that he has made a significant contribution over 20 years in the UK in supporting refugees and communities. Let me take the opportunity today to thank him for the contribution that he makes to this country. I am delighted that the University of Glasgow has also chosen to recognise that. I think that all of us would understand that it is entirely natural that he would want to share this outstanding achievement with his father. It is quite hard for any of us to comprehend the disappointment that he must feel that his father's visa has been refused. I think that that is shameful and utterly inexplicable. I would call on the UK Government to reflect very carefully on it. The community secretary has written to the UK minister for immigration to ask her to look into this case and I would reiterate that request very strongly indeed today. Edward Mountain to be followed by James Kelly. Thank you Presiding Officer. First Minister, given the proposed day of strike action by high-ale air traffic controllers on Thursday of next week, can you give the chamber an update on the Scottish Government's contingency plans to minimise disruption to businesses, families and indeed patients in the Highlands and Islands? First Minister. First, can I say how disappointing it is that this industrial action is taking place and I would appeal to both employer and employees to continue to discuss how this can be resolved in order that there is no disruption to the travelling public. I am sure that high-ale air traffic controllers have contingency plans in place and I know that they are working to do that. I am sure that high-ale air traffic controllers will be very glad to engage directly with any interested member of Parliament. James Kelly. Thank you Presiding Officer. Data published this week by the University of Loughborough revealed that child poverty levels in Glasgow are running at 37 per cent. The First Minister's own Glasgow Southside constituency is 46 per cent the highest of any constituency in Scotland. At a time when we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Scottish Parliament, the fact that children are growing up in Nicola Sturgeon's constituency living in poverty is a damning criticism of this Government. All over Glasgow. All over... All over Glasgow children are growing up hungry and in overcrowded houses. The time for soft words and platitudes is over. First Minister, what will you do with the powers at your disposal to give these kids some hope and lift them out of poverty? First Minister. Firstly, can I say that child poverty in Scotland is too high? I have said that previously. Of course, child poverty in Scotland is lower than it is in any other part of the UK, but it is still too high. That is why we are taking action to mitigate the impact of welfare cuts. It is why we are providing more support to low-income families through, for example, the best start grant. It is why we are tackling the root causes of poverty. It is why we are investing record sums in affordable housing across the country. It is why we will bring forward plans from supplement. James Kelly is right to raise the issue, but I know that he wants to characterise that as all somehow being the fault of the SNP Government. Interestingly, the end child poverty report that was published yesterday found that Wales was the only part of the UK to see an overall increase in the percentage of children in poverty in the past year. The Welsh Government said that that was entirely down to UK Government welfare cuts and in particular, universal credit. Why is it that James Kelly's colleagues in Wales can see what the root causes of poverty in this country are but the Scottish Labour Party cannot? It would fit the Scottish Labour Party better if they supported the work that this Government was doing and they joined with this Government in asking for all welfare policies to be devolved to this Parliament. Question 3, Patrick Harvie. Over a decade ago, the first budget concession the Greens ever won from the SNP was the Climate Challenge Fund. Since then, it's funded over 1,000 communities across Scotland, helping them to waste less, switch to greener, transport, grow food locally and much more. We've been hearing of communities losing their grants and this morning, the ferret reports the true scale of what's happening. The total funding at its lowest ever level, funding for new projects slashed in half and scores of projects that were recommended for grants turned down. That includes south seeds in the First Minister's constituency where three members of staff have been made redundant and tens of thousands of households and residents won't get the services that they need. Now that the First Minister has declared a climate emergency, why is the Government sacking our first responders? Well, the Climate Change Fund is the only fund of its kind in the UK and I think it is important that that is the case. There are always a large number of applications for the fund. I know how competitive it is from the example of south seeds in my constituency. 22 new projects were funded this year. It's important to point out that that is in addition to the 65 projects that were funded last year that now have a second year of funding and the total spend this year will be £8 million. The total spend across 2019-21 will be more than £9 million. Of course, the Climate Change Fund is part of the overall sustainable action fund which has seen an increase in funding this year. That said, as I have stated in the chamber in recent weeks, all of our policies require review in light of the report of the Committee on Climate Change which has led us to increase our emissions targets. That will include looking at the role of the Climate Change Fund in supporting communities to play their full part in tackling climate change. The Government has started a review of the fund but pulled the rug from under people before that review is finished. The budget, as presented to Parliament included funds for this scheme. We would certainly not have approved it if it had set out this cut. Last year, the fund helped 65 new projects across Scotland. This year, it is just 22. 43 of them, 43 projects recommended for approval by the independent grants panel have been turned down. Those are not just numbers, they are people committed to taking climate action and being leaders in their communities. Projects are being abandoned and jobs are being lost. When the Greens criticised the handling cash to the fossil fuel industry or the arms trade, the response is jobs, jobs, jobs. Will those jobs matter too? That is a serious mistake. Will the First Minister step in and replace the lost funding for the communities that have been affected by this cut? First Minister. I think that those are important issues. To reiterate a point that I think was lost, 65 projects that were funded last year also have funding in this year. 22 are over and above that, the total funding this year is £8 million. Yes, we have to look at all of these things in light of recent developments around climate change. I give an undertaking to the chamber today that not only in terms of the climate change fund or the wider sustainable action fund which sits within, which has had an increase in budget this year that we will look carefully at all of these things so that we can be satisfied with that. Question 4, Willie Rennie. This week, a GP told me that he had stopped referring patients to mental health services because the waiting times are so long or there is no prospect of them ever getting treated. The First Minister has promised those patients that they would get mental health treatment when they need it. They feel let down. Are they wrong? I think that any patient that waits longer for treatment than we want them to wait than the targets say they should is entitled to feel very aggrieved about that. I would apologise to any patient in those circumstances. In terms of waiting times generally, Jeane Freeman has set this out to the chamber. We are investing £850 million to meet waiting times targets in terms of mental health. We are investing significantly not just specialist services but preventative and community services as well. That is particularly important around CAMHS, children and adolescent mental health services, where we now see the average waiting time falling and, as I said, rejected referrals down. There is work still to do but we are investing and we are pursuing the policies that are about getting the right treatment in place for people when they need it. Willie Rennie. If warm words could treat people faster, the First Minister wouldn't have thousands of people waiting for mental health services. One in five people are waiting over 18 weeks. Some are waiting as long as two years and some never get any help. The First Minister says that she takes this seriously but her Government's mental health strategy was 15 months late. The suicide strategy was 700 staff short of its own recruitment plan. GPs, accident emergency departments and police officers have to pick up the pieces because those patients have nowhere else to go. In mental health week, years after I first asked her why are people still waiting so long? First Minister. I would say to Willie Rennie was all that people were being offered. He might have a point, but we are seeing budgets increasing for mental health. The budget for mental health is now over a billion pounds. We are seeing staffing numbers working in mental health, not just in our health service but we are committed to investing in increased staffing in other settings across the country. He mentions the mental health strategy and the suicide strategy. I think that at Willie Rennie's request we took time to do further consultation on those strategies to make sure that we were taking the views of all stakeholders properly into account. We are determined to continue the work that we are doing here to make sure that people get access to specialist services when they need it but that fewer people need to refer to specialist services because we have the community and preventative services in place. That is what we are focused on and we will continue to work on the progress that we are making. Some further supplementaries. The Prime Minister's Brexit deal has been dead now for some months and the UK Government is wasting the Brexit extension with no meaningful talks having taken place. Any backroom deal struck with the Labour Party will leave Scotland outside the single market costing £2,300 per person and yet the Prime Minister has the audacity to proclaim that MPs have a duty to support her. Does the First Minister think that SNP MPs have a duty to vote to make Scotland poorer? First Minister. I do not think that any MP should be voting for Scotland or the UK poorer. SNP MPs will vote against the withdrawal agreement bill because it takes Scotland out of the EU against our will. It takes us out of the single market against our will. The fact is that the Prime Minister is only bringing the withdrawal agreement bill forward to by herself more time. It is about preserving her own party. I am not sure that those attempts are going to be successful. It is not about acting in the best interests and behaviour on Brexit. It is utterly shameful. In an electoral sense, they will probably get what they deserve in Scotland next week at the European elections. People will be quite rightly expressing the degree of anger they have at this whole Westminster Brexit fiasco. Ian Gray, to be followed by Gillian Martin. Ian Gray. Scotland's college lecturers are on strike again today and are demonstrating outside Parliament as we speak. All they want is a fair cost of living pay increase in line with public pay policy, something that they have been denied for three years. Their employers remain intransigent determined to conflate this claim with the quite separate introduction of national pay scales. Will the First Minister intervene now and get the colleges to agree a fair settlement and, if not, will she come out with me after FMQs and explain to those lecturers to their face why not? First Minister. It always amazes me the number of times that Labour members proud trade unionists get up in this chamber and ask me to intervene in national bargaining between employers and trade unions. I want to see this dispute resolved. I think it is deeply disappointing that talks did not manage to build in the positive progress that has been made over the last few weeks and I would appeal to both sides to get round the table, to stay round the table and to resolve this issue. The Scottish Government, of course, is funding in full the additional costs of the harmonisation of pay terms and conditions which is around £100 million over three years. We are investing heavily in Scotland's colleges and I would say to the employers as well as the trade unions but let me focus on the employers that all of us want to see this resolved and I hope it is resolved sooner rather than later, but it is the responsibility of those involved in national bargaining to reach that resolution. Julian Martin. Brexit still hasn't happened and yet the damage is already being done. Today there are doubts over whether Thomas Cook, a travel company with 180 years of history can continue as I go in concern, does this not demonstrate the impact of Brexit on ordinary families and in this case families looking forward to their willing holidays and why it's so important to show that Scotland says no to Brexit next Thursday. First Minister. Brexit is having an impact on individuals, businesses, the length and breadth of the country. I visited Glasgow University yesterday to hear about the impact it's having on EU nationals working out or studying at that university. It's disgraceful the impact that it is having. I think that the vast majority of people in Scotland want to see an end to Brexit and an end to Westminster chaos so people can exercise that view next Thursday by voting for, well, the vote is surprisingly empty to hear me say this, voting for the SNP to say quite clearly that Scotland wants to stay in Europe and Scotland wants an end to Brexit. First Minister, I would rather you didn't. I hope that the First Minister will not encourage people to vote directly in this chamber. That extends to every member in this chamber. No blatant election nearing, please. Question number five, James Dornan. To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government is marking mental health awareness week. First Minister. The theme of this year's awareness week is body image, which is an important factor in mental wellbeing. Mental health minister launched mental health awareness week at Glasgow central station where she and the mental health foundation spoke to members of the public to raise awareness about this issue. She also visited Girlguiding Scotland to hear first hand from Girlguides how body image affects them. Ahead of awareness week, we announced a new advisory group which will examine how body image impacts on young people's mental wellbeing. The group will identify steps to improve support for young people and advice for relevant professionals and that will build on our package of measures to improve the mental health of young people. James Dornan. Last week, we had the sad news that Dr Dame Denise Coyer had to step down from the CAMHS task force due to ill health. Does the First Minister agree with me that Denise Coyer should be thanked for taking forward this important work? Can she outline how the task force work will be taken forward to implementation? First Minister. I am very sorry indeed that due to illness, Dr Dame Denise Coyer has had to stand down as chair of the children and young people's mental health task force. Dr Coyer has shown exemplary dedication as chair of the task force to help to improve the mental health of children and young people. I want to extend my thanks to her and send my very best wishes to her and I am sure that I do that on behalf of the whole chamber. Of course, we established the task force jointly with COSLA in June 2018 to provide a blueprint for delivering a new approach. Dr Coyer's work has brought the task force to an advanced stage and the next step is working towards implementation. As it happens, the task force is meeting today to shape how they will take the important work forward. Annie Wells, David Stewart. First Minister, I would like to stress my support for mental health awareness week and it is absolutely right that mental health is now near the top of the political agenda. However, while we hear talk from the SNP is good, the reality for those who need support is far different. The SNP pledged to hire an extra 800 mental health workers but the latest statistics show that only 106 have been hired in the past two years. Can the First Minister outline what specific action her Government will take to ensure that the target is met by the end of 2021 rather than being misspectacular? First Minister. We are on track to deliver on that target. It was as Annie Wells has acknowledged a multi-year target. In addition to that, we have commitments to increase the number of school councillors. £60 million has been invested to support 350 councillors in education. The first tranche of them will be in place from the start of the 2019-20 school year. Again, that commitment is on track to be delivered by the start of the 2020-21 school year. We have also committed to putting in additional 250 school nurses in place by 2022. In the first tranche of 50 additional school nurses will be recruited in the current academic year. Across all of those areas, there is a real focus, as I commented earlier, not just on ensuring that specialist services are there when people need them but investing in the kind of preventative services that hopefully stop people needing those specialist services in the first place. David Stewart. Thank you, Presiding Officer. The First Minister will be well aware that people with diabetes are twice as likely to experience depression. Three quarters of people living with diabetes who wanted specialist mental health support couldn't get it. What is the Scottish Government doing to improve support for people living with diabetes through emotional, psychological and mental health care? First Minister. As David Stewart is aware, because I know he takes a close interest in this, there's a range of work taken forward by the Scottish Government to help those who have diabetes. I will ask the mental health minister to write to him with specific details of how we support people with diabetes specifically with mental health challenges because, as he rightly says, that is a significant aspect of what diabetes patients deal with. I will ask the mental health minister to provide that information as soon as possible. Miles Briggs. What is the Scottish Government's responses to the Scottish heart health family nurse forum's warning of a potential crisis in care delivery? First Minister. We are committed to improving prevention, treatment and care for patients with heart disease and are taking a range of actions to achieve that through the heart disease improvement plan. The decrease in mortality rates and in the number of new cases of chronic heart disease over the past decade show that that strategy is having success. I welcome the heart failure nurse forum's report, which makes six recommendations for improvements and we will consider those carefully with NHS boards. Since 2015, we have invested over £2.4 million a year to support NHS boards to provide enhanced access to specialist nursing services including cardiac nurses. I expect NHS boards to ensure that people with heart failure have access to a range of health professionals and appropriate management of their condition. Miles Briggs. The report notes that there has been little investment in specialist health failure services over the past six years and there is now fewer heart failure nurses than there were ten years ago. Nearly 46,000 people across Scotland are living with devastating impacts of heart failure. Can the First Minister confirm today how much the Scottish Government will commit to investing in the delivery of heart failure nurse teams? Given the progress being made in NHS England and Wales in both contributing to the national cardiac audit supporting data-led redesign of service and provision, will the Scottish Government commit to a nationally addressing the lack of data support to design better services for patients? First Minister. As I said in my original answer, since 2015, we have invested over £2.4 million for enhanced access to specialist nursing services and that includes cardiac nurses. I will ask the health secretary to write to the projected spend over the next few years. Of course, that sits within a picture of an overall rising number of nurses within Scotland. We will continue to invest and indeed work with different organisations who have expertise here to make sure that we are providing the right support and services for patients. It is important that, while there is a lot of work to do and the recommendations made in the Scottish Heart Failure Nurse Forum report are looked at carefully, between 2008 and 2017, the mortality rate for coronary heart disease for all ages decreased by 36 per cent. For the under 75, the decrease was 33 per cent. That is going in the right direction. That suggests that the actions that we are taking are having success and we will continue to make sure that we take that action. Monica Lennon. Cardiologist Professor Colin Berry recently came to Parliament to present his research on women's heart health to the cross-party group on women's health. His research finds that women are less likely than men to be properly diagnosed with a heart attack and twice as likely to die in hospital. Is the First Minister also aware that a valuable test that diagnoses small vessel heart disease, a condition that particularly affects women, is not routinely available? Can she advise what the Government is doing to improve women's heart health more generally? We are aware of this issue. In fact, the chief medical officer is currently looking at the particular issue that Monica Lennon raises and indeed she is a real champion for improvements in women's health. It is the case that often the symptoms of heart attacks in women are different to those experienced by men, but many health professionals will be more aware of those traditionally experienced by men. A recent book published that I would recommend to everybody in the chamber, Invisible Women, looks at some of these issues and systemised some of the discrimination against women in our society. Those are important issues and I will give Monica Lennon an assurance that they are actively being looked at by the Scottish Government. Thank you very much and that concludes First Minister's questions. We are going to turn shortly to members' business in the name of Alexander Stewart on community pharmacy Scotland. We will do so in a few moments. We will have a short suspension to allow members, the public and ministers to change their seats. A short suspension.