 100 is under development. That concludes general questions. We're going to turn now to First Minister's questions. Question number one, Ruth Davidson. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Before I begin, I'm sure today we'll all want to recognise the bravery and sacrifice made by the service personnel who, 75 years ago this morning, took part in the D-Day landings and all of us owe them a debt we can never repay. Presiding Officer, we've heard a lot in recent weeks about the difficulties faced by teachers due to the staff shortages and subject choice restrictions. We're now learning more that in many schools teachers are having to teach different qualification levels of the same subject in the same class at the same time. That's pupils of different ages studying different topics for different exams all thrown in together. The education secretary said last week that he and a quota had never heard anybody argue that educationally there was something wrong with it. Does he stand by that statement? Before I respond to Ruth Davidson's question in its substance, I want to make clear to the chamber that I'm deputising today for the First Minister as she is in Normandy for the 75th anniversary commemoration of the D-Day landings. The First Minister is honouring those who fought fascism, defended democracy and gave their lives for our freedom. As we look around our world today, we must all remember the debt we owe the D-Day generation, and now as then we must stand together against those who would choose the road of fascism in our society. In relation to the point of substance that Ruth Davidson raises with me on education, multilevel teaching has been a feature of the education system in Scotland for many years. It was a feature of the multilevel teaching of the education system when I was going through it all those years ago and it has been a part of the system. Clearly, there is an active debate about the issues around subject choices, but I certainly stand by my remarks that multilevel teaching is able to be delivered effectively within our schools by teachers who are trained to deliver professionalism of that quality and of that standard. Ruth Davidson. The thing is, I'm not sure how the education secretary could have missed the largest teaching union, the EIS, saying that there's been an explosion in the number of combined classes that is putting teachers under increasing pressure, or the NASUWT union, which says that this issue is causing intolerable workload or stress, or the Association for Science Education saying that teaching a combined class is like spinning two plates at once, or Principal takes teacher ENA in telling Parliament that it's a disgrace that schools actually have national four, national five hires and advanced hires in the same classes, or Margery Care, the president of the Scottish Association of Geography teachers saying that exams are not aligned to be taught that way and that national five pupils are definitely disadvantaged if they end up in a higher class because the courses do not match up. Now that the education secretary has heard the arguments against combined classes, does he recognise that all these people have a point? Deputy First Minister. Of course I recognise there's a debate to be had about every single topic within education. Education is a part of our society that is actively the subject of debate and what I'm interested in is making sure that our education system delivers the best outcomes possible for the young people of Scotland and on that the evidence is substantial that the education system is doing exactly that. We see young people now achieving more within our schools, attainment at level six, rising within our society, equipping young people with the qualifications that they require and we also see young people leaving school to the highest level of positive destinations on record in our history. I recognise there's a debate to be had but I also want to make sure that we don't lose sight of the phenomenal achievements that young people are making in our education system today. Ruth Davidson. The education secretary has said that there is no evidence of the explosion in multilevel teaching that the EIS talks about. Indeed, he says that it's been a factor in Scottish education forever. Will we have the evidence because we sent freedom of information requests to all 32 local authorities and we asked them how many combined classes there are in their schools? Of the 238 schools we've got back, 112 have classes where there are three qualification levels being taught in the same classroom and a further 11 schools where there are four levels being taught. Like Inverclyde academy where maths is being taught for national four, national five, higher and advanced higher all in the same classroom. We will give the education secretary all of the evidence that he asks for but the question is will he act on it? Deputy First Minister. I think this is where we get into some of the interesting fault lines and contradictions in the Conservative position here. Because I believe fundamentally, I believe fundamentally in empowering the schools of Scotland to decide exactly how the curriculum should be delivered. That's what I believe in. That's what that's what that's what Parliament supported when it supported curriculum for excellence. A flexible curriculum to put power back into our teaching profession to enable them to deliver on behalf of the people of Scotland. What we are now seeing in our schools, as I've said already, is rising attainment by our young people. We are seeing an improvement in the destinations available for young people. We are seeing a rising number of teachers available to teach in our classrooms, a record level since 2010, and we see rising resources being put into schools, including £750 million from this Government directly into the hands of schools and local authorities to close the poverty-related attainment gap. That's the investment we're seeing in Scottish education, and that's why it's delivering results for the young people of Scotland. Ruth Davidson. I'm sure the schools of Scotland are delighted to hear that they've been empowered by this education secretary and to staff shortages and subject choice restrictions. The point is this a week ago, the education secretary told Parliament that he had never heard anybody say that there was anything wrong with combined classes and that there was no data to suggest that the problem was widespread. I've come here today and we've given him the arguments from the experts and we've given him the data. After 12 years of Government, isn't it time that we had ministers in charge who prepared to face up to the challenges in our schools, not deny that they exist? Or is it the case that defending their failed record matters more to this Government than educating our young people across the country? Deputy First Minister. I engage with the education system more than anybody else in this chamber on a daily basis. Yesterday, while Ruth Davidson was cooking up the latest moan fest to bring to Parliament, I was at the Scottish Education Awards, listening to case by case, the length and breadth of the country, on literacy, numeracy, attainment, achievement, on the long service of our teachers, listening to all those fabulous examples, while Ruth Davidson was cooking up the moan fest to bring to Parliament today. That's how I spent my day yesterday. Crucially what matters is not the litany of complaints that Ruth Davidson brings to this Parliament. What matters is what is being achieved by the young people of Scotland. Attainment is rising, more highest, positive destinations improving year on year. That's what Scottish education is determined to deliver, that's what it is delivering, that's what I'm happy to celebrate and I'm not going to take any moan fest from Ruth Davidson on their subject. Question 2, Richard Leonard. Today is a day for reflection on the sacrifice and the courage of those who liberated France and so liberated Europe. We owe them a huge and enduring debt. The Scottish Government urgently needs to consider how they can progress their income supplement quicker or if this is not feasible what interim measures could help. The commission strongly feels that many families need additional money in their pockets now. These were the start warnings from the Government's own poverty and inequality commission in response to the Scottish budget. Deputy First Minister, if your own poverty and inequality commission says that the poorest families in Scotland need money in their pockets now, what makes you think that they can afford to wait? Deputy First Minister. I acknowledge the seriousness of the issues that Richard Leonard raises. We have made it abundantly clear and it's made clear from this position on a weekly basis that poverty levels in Scotland are too high and this Government is determined to do all that we can to tackle that issue. On the specific issue about an income supplement, the Government has made clear we will report to Parliament before the conclusion of the parliamentary session at the end of this month, and the Government will do that. However, there are a whole range of different interventions that the Government is taking forward to try to address the issue. I will set out some of them. Some of them are around the implementation of free school meals, where more than 130,000 P1 to P3 through children are benefiting from free school meals or the £750 million attainment Scotland fund or the investment that we make in the council tax reduction scheme or the work that is in place and the investment that is in place to mitigate the effects of the welfare reforms that are being imposed upon the people of this country by the United Kingdom Government or the best start grant, which has, of course, been applied and has delivered significant results already for individuals and meaningful results and impact for individuals across our country. Yes, there is more work to be done, but let me assure Richard Leonard and the chamber that the Government is determined to do all that it possibly can do to support individuals who live a life in poverty and to help them to work their way out of that life of poverty with active support from the Scottish Government. Richard Leonard. Is the Deputy First Minister seriously arguing that the poverty commission does not know about those initiatives that are just listed? They are making a point about the income supplement, but it is not just a question of welfare, Presiding Officer. Douglas Hamilton, the chair of the Poverty and Inequality Commission, only this week said of the Government's commitment to inclusive growth and I quote, despite a high level of commitment to make this new economic agenda work very little has changed. As a result, it appears to be more of a concept of approach that results in real change in people's lives. Deputy First Minister, when will we get deeds and not just words? Deputy First Minister. I've just gone through with Richard Leonard a number of areas where we have undertaken deeds to tackle this particular issue, to recognise that the Government is taking a whole series of policy initiatives, many of which I've set out just now, which led to some of the very positive endorsement of the work that the Scottish Government is undertaking from the UN special rapporteur who reported recently on the strength of the response of devolved administrations to the crisis that individuals face as a consequence of welfare reform. As we look at the steps that the Government takes through the fair work agenda, as we look at the investment that we are taking through early learning and childcare, as we look at the investment that has been undertaken through the best start grants and the social security devolution that we are taking forward. Those are all concrete deeds that the Government is taking to address the issues of poverty that individuals face. We will do more, we are determined to do more, but we have to recognise that we are doing that against a whole series of pressures that come towards us, arising out of welfare reform and the decisions taken by the United Kingdom Government that are deeply damaging to the lives of individuals within Scotland. Richard Leonard. The Deputy First Minister uses the word crisis. While the Government has been delaying the income supplement, child poverty in Scotland has continued to rise. While the Government has been offering up concepts out in the real world, more people are queuing up at food banks and only yesterday, a child poverty action group report produced by the IPPR concluded that greatest reduction in child poverty relative to cost of any single option is achieved by addressing the two-child cap. Deputy First Minister, when will the Government, at long last, think about its moral responsibility? When will you finally use your powers to protect families in Scotland from the two-child cap? Or do you, John Swinney, still believe that families should be left to suffer in order to stop letting the Westminster Government off the hook? Deputy First Minister. What an appalling accusation to throw across the chamber of this Parliament. When Richard Leonard puts to me the moral question, the moral question is whether this Parliament should be dictated to by a Tory Government that Richard Leonard is quite happy to keep in office inflicting misery on the people of Scotland as a consequence of his unwillingness for this Parliament to take responsibility for these actions. Richard Leonard needs to look no closer than the man sitting on his right-hand side who sat in the Smith commission and refused, refused point blank to devolve responsibility here to give us the powers to tackle these issues. Richard Leonard has no right to trade moral responsibility with me across this chamber. He is walking across the road on the other side, doing nothing to take the powers into the hands of this Parliament to transform Llych. He is happy to leave the Tories in charge. I most definitely am not. I appreciate that this is an emotive subject, but I would please recommend that members do not shout across the chamber. We have five constituency supplementaries, the first from Mark McDonald. Thank you, Presiding Officer. The Deputy First Minister will be aware that the administrators for Stonywood Mill have ended their discussions with the preferred bidder and that the sale is no longer being taken forward. While that is understandably a major disappointment, a management buyout has now emerged as a potential means of securing the future of the business and the workforce. I understand that the business minister is meeting them today and I am advised that Scottish Enterprise is offering on-going support. Can I ask the Deputy First Minister if the support that the Scottish Government can and will provide extends to financial support? Will the Scottish Government consider bringing a statement to Parliament laying out the support provided to date and the steps that will be taken to help to secure the future of a profitable business and a skilled and dedicated workforce? Mr McDonald's last point is the most significant point, which is that this is a profitable site and there is a skilled workforce here. In the Government's view, it is perfectly possible for a viable business proposition to be brought forward, which is why the business minister was in Aberdeen this morning for the discussions at Stonywood this morning. It is why Scottish Enterprise are deeply engaged in all of those issues, and I give Mr McDonald and the chamber the assurance that the Government is doing everything that we possibly can do with our agencies to make sure that all possible support can be made available. We obviously have to operate within the normal rules and the context with which Mr McDonald will be familiar, but I give him the assurance that absolutely everything that possibly can be done to safeguard the future of the plant will be done. It has been a disappointment that the discussions with the preferred bidder have concluded, but there are active discussions about a managing buyout and the business minister will be happy to update Parliament in due course about the steps that have been taken to resolve this situation and to give certainty to the workforce of the paper mill at Stonywood. Neil Findlay, to be followed by Bob Doris. Presiding Officer, I have been passed a consultation document that is not publicly available on the future provision of the out-of-hours dental services in Johns hospital. Three of the five options propose the partial or full closure of the service with a move to Edinburgh. We will not leave Westlodden with no emergency dental service at our hospital. That follows the out-of-hours closures of the children's ward and the recent threat to the out-of-hours GP service. Why is it that we are constantly having to fight proposals that would see services removed from St John's hospital and is there not yet more evidence that workforce planning in the NHS is shambolic, it is failing staff and it is failing patients? Deputy First Minister. I would point out to Mr Findlay that the children's ward has reopened in one of the issues that he raised there. Obviously this is a consideration of a range of particular options. It would constitute a major service change if any of those options were to be taken forward. So there will be full and active involvement in consultation for all members of the public and members of Parliament in that process. I make clear to Mr Findlay that the Government believes that there is a very strong necessity for there to be a wide range of services provided at St John's hospital. It is critical that the sizeable population in the Westlodden area is supported by that broad range of services at St John's and those issues will be uppermost in any consideration of the questions that the Health Secretary looks at in the period to come. Bob Dorris, to be filled by John Finnie. Deputy First Minister, around a year ago a court granted my constituent to supervise contact with his disabled son at a family contact centre in Glasgow. However, issue with disabled access toilet facilities means that contact has not taken place within that time. It may be that no contact centre within Greater Glasgow has appropriate disability compliant facilities. I am unclear. Does the Deputy First Minister agree with me that it is wrong that family contact centres appear not to be subject to minimum standards such as disability access? Indeed, I understand that there is little regulation more generally regarding family contact centres. Will the Deputy First Minister seek to remedy such matters so parents, but more importantly, children can have appropriate contact and reduce parental alienation? Deputy First Minister. All public facilities should have appropriate disabled access for all individuals. If Mr Dorris is happy to provide the details of the situation to me, I will make sure that they are investigated by the appropriate minister and we will work to ensure that all possible remedies are put in place. There should be no barriers to individuals being able to pursue their legitimate activities as a consequence of their disability and I will make sure that the issues are looked at very carefully. John Finnie, to be filled by Rachel Hamilton. Deputy First Minister, your newspaper is the seeds publication this month, 165 years after publication commenced. The journalism jobs left Ireland some time ago but the need for local news has not. Can the Deputy First Minister advise how the Scottish Government can support local journalism, particularly in our Ireland communities? I was very sure to hear the news about the buteman and, as Mr Finnie says, had a long and distinguished history and, of course, it is part of the firmament of local newspapers and, indeed, report activities and initiatives the length and breadth of the country. Obviously, these are private matters and these are private companies, but obviously the Government is happy to engage in wider work in this respect. The culture secretary, Fiona Hyslop, was involved in discussions just at the weekend in relation to the role of journalism in our society and was making the point that we all rely on a free and open press to make sure that there is local priorities and appropriate discussion of national, political and wider societal issues. The Government supports very much the activities of local newspapers and is happy. We often provide lots of news for local newspapers to reporters. Rachael Hamilton. The Deputy First Minister will be aware that this week the Scottish Borders Council is handing over an extra £3.2 million to the region's joint health board following continued concern over NHS Borders finances. At a recent meeting of the IJB, the board revealed that it needs to make £11.7 million of savings in the financial year 2019-20. All this comes in a week when NHS Borders reported the worst average waiting time in Scotland for CAMHS. Young people on average waiting 22 weeks for treatment. Deputy First Minister, this is appalling. Can he commit today that the Scottish Government will properly fund NHS Borders in a situation that is clearly unsustainable? Deputy First Minister. Obviously, NHS Borders will be funded through the financial arrangements that we have in place that distribute the largest NHS budget that has ever been in history to the health boards of Scotland. Scottish Borders, NHS Borders will have their appropriate share of that driven by the formula that is applied in their respect. Hamilton raises the significant issue around mental health services for young people. She will know that the Government is investing significantly in expanding mental health services at a whole variety of different levels, whether that is through the expansion of the school councillor network or whether that is about the expansion of mental health services through the national health service. All of those different interventions will be taken forward to strengthen mental health services. Finally, I would make the point that the health and social care integration at local level is a joint endeavour between the health service and local authorities to serve communities. It is important that there are open discussions about the financial requirements of that joint service. The way that Rachel Hamilton characterises the handing over money from one body to another does not exactly get across the concept of partnership that lies at the heart of the integration between health and social care. She may know that one of the Conservative leadership candidates, Mr Rory Stewart, is looking very actively at the failures of integration of health and social care south of the border and has reflected on some of the issues that have been taken forward here in Scotland in reflecting that sense of partnership. Perhaps before she bans language around the chamber, she should reflect on the importance of partnership between health and social care. The question is from Patrick Harvie. May I join the other political parties in commemorating the actions of those who took part in the D-Day landings? As we see the forces of the far right reinvent themselves in the UK, the US and so many other countries too often aided and abetted by people in mainstream politics and media we must remind ourselves that the fight against the far right is one every generation must be ready for if we are to properly remember and respect the memory of those who did not return from that fight 75 years ago. At the end of April the First Minister declared a climate emergency. So did the Welsh Government. Now barely a month later they have announced the welcome decision to scrap plans to build a £1.4 billion motorway relief road. Yet in Scotland the Scottish Government is pressing ahead with spending £6 billion on dualling £8.96. Since making her announcement the First Minister has repeatedly said that when it comes to the policy changes that are needed everything is under review. Does that include the next phases of these road projects? Deputy First Minister. Patrick Harvie has reflected on the issues that we all face in relation to climate change and the Government has to take forward its agenda that we have already made changes to our policy framework with which she is familiar through air departure tax but the Government also has a duty to make sure that the country is equipped with the appropriate infrastructure that it requires to meet the needs of all of our population. Anyone who is familiar with the A9 and the A96 will know that both of those roads have by their current construction refuse very serious and alarming safety records. Those issues have to be addressed as part of the Government's programme. The Government will do that but all of those comments are set by me in the context of the absolute obligation on the Government to fulfil the climate change targets that we have set out that we have committed to that Roseanna Cunningham has made amendments that we have given to Parliament and to the people of Scotland. The Deputy First Minister seems to disagree with the First Minister when she said that everything was under review and he cites the problem of the volume of traffic use. The current plans will do nothing to control the volume of the use of those roads. The Scottish Government does have an opportunity to change direction here and redirect expenditure from road building into investment into a modern, affordable and efficient rail network. The single track Highland mainline railway which runs parallel to the A9 has been described as an antiquated embarrassment. Dwyling that line and electrifying it could be done for far lower cost than the Government's road building scheme. It's over 10 years since the Scottish Government promised significant investment to ensure that railway travel to the heart of the Highlands is competitive with roads. People in the Highlands have been waiting since 2008 to see that improvement in journey times. How much longer do they have to wait? What I would say to Patrick Harvie is that there are improvements that are being undertaken on the Highland mainline as we speak. There has been structural change already undertaken on the line to ensure that the ability to deliver shorter journey times is made possible. Investment has been made through the ScotRail franchise in enhancing the rolling stock that is available for the Highland line. That has resulted in an expansion of capacity that can transport passengers from Inverness to the central belt. All those investments are taking place to improve the attractiveness of the rail network. Clearly, we have wider obligations to ensure that in every respect we are equipping the country with the connectivity that is required. Massive investment that has been put into digital connectivity is a huge benefit for the Highlands and the islands communities. Those are advantages that we are delivering as part of a balanced package, but I stress that they have to be done within the context of fulfilling the climate change targets that the Government is about to enshrine in law in the weeks that lie ahead. Question 4, Willie Rennie. 75 years on, I know many thousands of people who came up this morning and thought of those in their families who served and sacrificed so that we may live freely today. The education committee said that he was confused. Teachers said that they had no real value. Parents, in his constituency, boycotted them. The teachers union wanted them scrapped. Parliament instructed John Swinney to stop. That is national testing for five-year-olds. Yet, on Tuesday, he claimed that the tests had been implemented without any difficulty whatsoever. On the very same day in London, Donald Trump claimed that he only saw cheering crowds. Two peas in a pod, both in denial. But isn't the truth? That the national testing saga is symbolic of his performance as education secretary? Deputy First Minister. I think that that ridiculous question is symbolic of Willie Rennie's leadership of the Scottish Government. It really, I don't think, serves decent discourse in this Parliament for Willie Rennie to characterise his questions like that. He could say what he likes to me. It's water of a duck's back to me. But I don't think it helps his credibility one eye over two. On the question of primary one assessments, the reason why I said that the assessments had been implemented without any difficulty was the fact that in the first year of the implementation of a complex IT project, and I would remind Parliament, sometimes the public sector has difficulties with IT projects, 650,000 assessments were undertaken the length and breadth of our country in three and a half thousand schools in Scotland. That is the evidence that I would marshal to say that the primary one assessments had been undertaken without any practical difficulty. The reason why I believe primary one assessments to be valuable and I'll say more about this on Tuesday, which Willie Rennie will know that I am making. The reason why I believe them to be valuable is that I want to make sure teachers have access to resources that will inform their judgment about the progression of young people through the education system because it does not serve young people well for any issues in their educational capacity not to be identified at the earliest possible opportunity. I thought this Parliament believed in early intervention. Primary one standardised assessments are about early intervention and that is why they are valuable to young people around Scotland. Willie Rennie. John Swinney is ignoring the evidence again. He is not listening. Instead of bulldozing ahead he needs to listen and scrap the test today. There is a long list. The pupil equity fund is underspent by £50 million. Audit Scotland says that colleges have big financial problems. Recruitment for nursery education is way behind. Six out of ten teachers work more than an extra day every week and over half of all teachers experience mental health issues because of their job. John Swinney was brought in as the big shot troubleshooter for the First Minister's guiding mission. Does he really think that he has met the First Minister's expectations when she appointed him to that job? Deputy First Minister. Yes. Thank you. I was just about to encourage some brevity so we can get to some subsequent questions. I'll squeeze in a couple of supplementaries. The first is from Jackie Baillie, then Gail Ross. The Deputy First Minister will be aware that millions of pounds of European funding could be withheld from voluntary organisations and local authorities across Scotland. Given that that could lead to employability projects closing job losses and cuts to services for vulnerable people, why did the Scottish Government not heed the warnings more than a year ago because it is the Scottish Government's responsibility to administer the scheme? Why has nothing been done to avert this crisis? Will the Deputy First Minister act urgently and guarantee to fund the £22 million gap? I will accept an answer of yes. Let me give Jackie Baillie slightly more details. Jackie Baillie knows that she's one of my favourites so she would expect a bit more detail. First of all, I can acknowledge the importance of the issue and the manner in which it's been set out by Jackie Baillie because this does affect the prospects of a number of third sector organisations upon whom we all rely in our communities. We understand those concerns. We understand the concerns of local authorities. We are engaging in discussion with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities on this question. We are determined to avoid any charity or third sector body going out of business as a result of this particular issue. We have been doing a great deal on this. We have been in discussions with the European Commission to explore resolutions to the audit issues. Last Friday we presented possible solutions to the European Commission and we are awaiting a response. We continue to make payments to projects unaffected by these issues but I assure Jackie Baillie that there is intense activity under way to resolve those questions and to give the type of security and certainty that third sector organisations are looking for. Ministers will be happy to update Parliament on those questions in due course. I'm going to take one other brief supplementary but Mrs Swinney is rare that I say this but some members can't quite hear you. It's just when you're swivelling to try and keep your remarks to the front. Gail Ross. Thank you. Today's national runs a letter from the Spanish Government confirming it will not block an independent Scotland's entry to the EU. They confirm this has always been their position and that there is no queue to join the EU. Another better together scare story bites the dust. I will leave it to the Herald to explain why they failed to publish a letter that they received some weeks ago. Can I ask the Deputy First Minister does he welcome this intervention from Spain? Deputy First Minister. I better make sure that everyone hears this answer, Presiding Officer. Yes, I do welcome this intervention because it confirms the fact, as we have always known that Spain would not block an independent Scotland from joining the European Union and the confirmation from the Spanish Government is very welcome in that respect. Of course, this comes alongside the demolition of a whole host of other scare stories that were put around in 2014, such as having to vote no to protect our European Union membership. We know how well that went. Members of the public in Scotland were told that they had to vote no to safeguard the future of the national health service. We now see that Donald Trump is over here trying to get his hands on the national health service. On the watch of this Government, we are going to have nothing to do with that, but the same cannot be said for the mess that the Tories have got us into on Brexit. Question 5. To ask the Deputy First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that children are still being held at Dungavel House. Deputy First Minister. If children are still being detained at Dungavel, a decade after the Home Office committed to ending the appalling practice, it would be completely unacceptable and a clear contravention of stated Home Office policy. The Scottish Government has repeatedly pressed the UK Government to implement more humane asylum and immigration systems. The Cabinet Center for Communities and Local Government wrote to the UK immigration minister on 15 May to express the Scottish Government's deep concerns following reports about the detention of children and pregnant women at Dungavel. She wrote on 1 April to support calls for a time limit on immigration detention. The Scottish Government is continuing to seek clarity from the Home Office regarding the detention of children in Dungavel. Linda Fabiani. I thank the Deputy First Minister for that answer and can I ask him to cast his mind back to the Smith commission when all parties in that commission, as noted in the Smith agreement, recommended that the operation of asylum support be devolved. Does the Deputy First Minister agree that having some responsibility for asylum and greater insight into what happens in Dungavel would mean that we could better protect vulnerable adults and children? Can he give this Parliament an update on progress towards that recommendation? The Deputy First Minister. I do recall the discussions in the Smith commission that Linda Fabiani raises. As a consequence of that, the Scottish Government held a number of discussions at official level with the Home Office in relation to the Smith commission's proposals on asylum. Despite the recommendations made by the Smith commission, the Home Office refused to accept the case for devolving asylum accommodation, financial support and advice or on the question of being able to lodge an asylum claim so that we could provide for a more dignified and humane system. I suspect that the fact that we were unable to make progress on what was an all-party agreement in the Smith commission, agreed by all participants in the process should perhaps come as no surprise to us given the fact that the Home Office has been continually criticised for creating a hostile environment in this area of policy which serves none of us well and which is, in my view, one of the United Kingdom and it's welcome to people who face jeopardy in our world. Question 6, Murdo Fraser. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's responses to the Scottish Fiscal Commission prediction of a £1 billion shortfall in income tax receipts affecting the Scottish budget in the period 2020-23. Deputy First Minister. I welcome and value the work done by the Scottish Fiscal Commission to ensure that significant uncertainty surrounds potential reconciliations. The true position cannot be confirmed until out-turn data is available. The Government will decide how to manage any reconciliation as part of each budget and will be guided by the principle set out in the medium-term financial strategy including over the use of limited reserve and borrowing powers at our disposal. While those forecasts have yet to be confirmed what I can confirm is that if we had followed the Conservatives and the Scottish Fiscal Commission, the impact on our budget this year would be around £500 million. If that persisted year-on-year, it could total around £2.5 billion by 2023-24. Murdo Fraser. I thank the Deputy First Minister for her response. In addition to the £1 billion black hole already identified, yesterday the Fiscal Commission told the Parliament's Finance Committee that the devolved social security costs were expected to be £3.5 billion total. Those are very serious issues for the Scottish public finances and the Scottish Government cannot deflect criticism elsewhere. The Deputy First Minister himself sat on the Smith commission that signed up to tax devolution and he also signed up to the Fiscal Framework which determines the block grant adjustment and which already protects the Scottish budget from slower population growth here compared to the UK as a whole. What people want to know is this how will those huge gaps in the public finances be filled? Will it be by cuts in public spending? Will it be by further tax rises on hard-working families? Or will it be both? It's interesting in Murdo Fraser's supplementary comments that at no stage did he refer to the fact that in the Fiscal Commission's report that was published, it demonstrates over this period an increase on projected tax revenues since the last assessment was undertaken in December of £490 million. At no stage did Mr Fraser comment on the fact that there is actually since December to June a £490 million increase in the estimation of tax revenue to be generated in Scotland as a consequence and also an increase in the tax takeover that whole period of £3.5 billion. Now, as I indicated in my earlier answer, those are forecasts from the Fiscal Commission which they themselves accept can go up or down. What we are certain about is that if we had followed the Conservatives we'd be taking £500 million out of public expenditure today that would be a disaster for their public services and thank goodness an SNP Government is here to protect Scotland from the Tories. Question 7 Kenneth Gibson To ask the Deputy First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to recent figures showing that the number of women and girls playing football in Scotland has almost doubled in the last five years. We want to see more people taking part in physical activity so I'm pleased to see such a significant increase in the number of women and girls playing football. We have an excellent opportunity to further increase participation in our national game as Scotland's women's national team take part in the world cup for the first time. I know that I speak for the whole chamber when I say that the Parliament and the people of Scotland could not be prouder of Shirley Kerr, her staff and the squad. We will all be cheering them on every step of the way in the women's world cup. Kenneth Gibson I'd like to thank the Deputy First Minister for that answer and for stealing some of my thunder in terms of my supplementary question. I'm delighted that last October the Scottish Government allocated funding which allowed members of the squad to train full-time from January 2019 through to the world cup and that can only have benefited our team. The First Minister was one of the record 18,555 people who, like me, was at Hamden to see Scotland's impressive 3-2 win over Jamaica last week. Does the Deputy First Minister once again want to indicate his confidence that the team will be very successful at the women's world cup in France and do Scotland very proud? Deputy First Minister I think that it would be impossible for me to steal the thunder of Kenneth Gibson on any occasion. Let me join Mr Gibson in extending our warmest wishes to Shirley Kerr and the team. The fact that so many supporters turned out in Hamden is an indication of the growing enthusiasm and support for the women's game. The stories that we have all heard about the pioneers of women's football who were again celebrated at the occasion of the match with Jamaica just last week is an indication of just how far we have travelled on this question. In a First Minister's question time where there can be such ranker in division, I am sure I can close it today on a moment of unity that we are all rooting for the women's team on Sunday. We wish them well in the whole of the competition and I know for a certain fact they will do Scotland print. Thank you very much. A very good note to end on and that concludes First Minister's questions. Apologies to the large number of members who did not get a supplementary question today. We are going to move shortly to members' business in the name of Alex Cole-Hamilton on trauma recovery and support for first responders. We will have a few moments for members, the minister and members in the public gallery to change seats. We will have a short suspension.