 Cwiswn i ddam ni, wrth gyfnodd Mynding. Diolch â'r cwisannau dros Ysbytydd Friedstiad y ffordd Cymru yw Aberchell. Roeddaf ni hynny, cofal arfod o'i ddwyllfa ynghylch! Rhyw bryd i ddych chi'n mwynhau. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I ask the Scottish Government whether to provide an update on the M8, M73 and M74 motorway improvements project and its implementation. Minister Derek Mackay. February 2016 marks 24 months since construction began on this complex infrastructure project dw i'r prifostau sydd maen nhw o feith yw oedden nhw'r wneud o gweithio'r ffordd a chyno'r ffordd diolch. Rwy'r ddoch chi'n thred â'r newid M8 yw�ai Rhyw Llywyddiaeth Bylist, ac rydyn nhwarae oedd o meddilych i ddefnyddio'r newid, i'n rhaid i eich lleer Rhaith Junction 5, oedd o bryd yn ddatblygu M74, a fwyfuteisio chi'n rhan o fofwyr dor i'r cy disgwyl ei dymud o hynny. Gallol iawn ddim yn gael gyd yn sprh yn 2017. Richard Wyle. I welcome the work that the Scottish Government is doing to improve traffic flow in mines in what is a very congested area in my region. However, I would ask the minister what action the Scottish Government is taking and what filler action could be taken to reduce noise pollution along sections of the motorway by means of erecting ffencing on the M74 as a consequence of the on-going motorway improvement plan works. I know that Mr Lyle would appreciate that those works are necessary and will be worth the weight and worth the inevitable disruption that comes as a consequence. However, I can advise that the project is being delivered in accordance with all the relevant regulations and legislation, including noise regulations. Prior to works commencing, the contractor agreed mitigation measures with the local authority who has the necessary powers to ensure that those are implemented, of course. My officials will work closely with the contractor and the local authority to ensure that the noise levels are kept to a minimum using best practice techniques when practical. However, I know that the investment is well worth while in the motorway network to improve connections, and I am sure that that will be welcomed by all members. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the document, Greater Glasgow and Conclide paper, service and financial planning in 2016-17, and beyond. Cabinet Secretary, Shona Robison. As I said in response to the member's questions on the subject over the last two weeks, the chair of NHS Greater Glasgow and Conclide has confirmed that this was a draft discussion paper. It was prepared for the board's directors to help inform internal discussion on their financial position for 2016-17, but it was written prior to the Scottish Government's budget being put forward in December, when a substantial increase in NHS funding was announced. As the chair, John Brown's statement of 15 January confirms, the draft discussion paper does not contain definite proposals or an approved plan that the board intends to implement. None of the contents, including those relating to Lightburn hospital, have been approved by the board or referred to the Scottish Government for consideration. As the minister confirms, there is a proposal in this particular document that confirms the possibility of the closure of Lightburn hospital. Can the minister confirm? He advised me on 13 January that this proposal has not been brought before her attention. Can she confirm that, before 13 January, there were in fact discussions with the health board on the issue of making the possibility of £60 million worth of savings? In terms of the issue of Lightburn hospital, there has been no proposal put to me and no discussions with Glasgow and Clyde health board about Lightburn hospital. In terms of the issue of the budgets going forward, what I have said to Parliament previously is that Scottish Government officials will be working with all boards around some of the efficiency savings that they need to make. Those efficiency savings will be reinvested in front-line services, of course. Indeed, one of the focus of those discussions is how we can develop more shared services across not just the NHS but across the public sector. I would have thought that the member would welcome that in order to ensure that front-line services are protected. The cabinet secretary is quoted in my local press as saying that she did not know about the cuts proposed at the Vale and that she would not approve of them. Can she therefore tell us whether she knew about the closure of ward 6 only in December and was she notified of that by the health board? Of course, Glasgow and Clyde will inevitably bring forward changes to the services that are provided. What we expect is that, where there are significant changes and major changes that they consult with the local community, as the member will know, boards will adjust their services all the time. It would be unreasonable for them to do otherwise. However, as Jackie Baillie quite rightly says, I have made clear to her and the local community that the vision for the Vale has developed by this Government after her own Government closed any services at the Vale. Indeed, it was set to close the Vale in itself. It was this Government that saved the Vale of Leven hostel. It is this Government that delivered the vision for the Vale and it is this Government that will ensure that services such as emergency care, for example, continue at the Vale. Jackie Baillie would be better wise to listen to that reassurance rather than to continue to generate fear and alarm in the local community. When I have given assurance that emergency care will continue at the Vale, I am sure that that is something that the local community will benefit from and will welcome. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on Scotland's progress as a fair trade nation. Minister, Hamza Yousaf. At the start of fair trade 4 September 2013, I had the great pleasure of announcing that Scotland had been declared one of the world's first fair trade nations. Since that, significant achievements have been made. Every local authority in Scotland has active fair trade groups, with two thirds of our local authorities now awarded fair trade status. Additionally, more towns, more communities and more schools have achieved fair trade status each year, with nearly 1200 schools part of the fair trade school scheme. Scotland has also seen the launch of the only fair trade sportsball supplier in the UK, Ballersports. I am pleased to say that good progress has been made since that initial announcement. My thanks to all the people, businesses, public bodies, community organisations and individuals who have helped to achieve that considerable success. I thank the minister for that answer. The World Fair Trade Organization has 10 aims for a fair trade nation. Just to pick three of those at the moment, ensuring no child labour and forced labour, a commitment to non-discrimination, gender equality and women's economic empowerment and respect for the environment. I wonder if the minister could say whether there has been any assessment against the aims of the organisation for Scotland as a fair trade nation and, if not, whether he would consider looking at those aims. I have not seen those specific aims from that specific organisation, but everything that Claudia Beamish mentions is exactly aligning with the aims that we have for Scotland to be a fair trade nation. I would be happy to take that into consideration to look at it. The fair trade status comes with a very heavy and robust set of criteria and many of the criteria that she mentioned would align with the fair trade status that we have managed to achieve. Let me have a look at the more detail of the organisation that she mentions and, as I said, I would be happy to respond, but it certainly seems eminently sensible that we should have consideration of those criteria. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on updating the Gender Recognition Act 2004 to bring it into line with international best practice, as it called for in the Council of Europe Resolution 2048 in 2015. Scotland has a good record. In 2015, Scotland was ranked by ILGA Europe in its rainbow map as the most inclusive country in Europe for LGBTI equality, meeting 92 per cent of ILGA's 45-point criteria. However, the Scottish Government is aware of concerns about the process of obtaining gender recognition under the 2004 act. The Scottish Government is considering the issues raised by the Scottish Transgender Alliance's equal recognition campaign very carefully. Any changes to the 2004 act would require a full consultation, and any legislation in the Scottish Parliament to amend the 2004 act would have to be for the next session. I am grateful to learn that the minister is considering the representations of the equal recognition campaign. The Gender Recognition Act did mark a step forward at the time, but it is outmoded and in need of reform. Gender recognition should be based on declaration without needing a panel of doctors and lawyers examining the evidence, and the minimum age for getting recognition should be reduced and the legal recognition of non-binary gender should be introduced. It is within the devolved competence of this Parliament to amend the GRA to bring it into line with what the equal recognition campaign is calling for. Will the Scottish Government agree to consult at least on those important matters, with a view to reforming the legislation? As I have said, we are considering this, and I can let the member know that I have already personally met the Scottish Transgender Alliance to discuss the issue. We have also noted the UK Women in Equality Committee report, and I have discussed the inquiry with my colleague the MP for Lanark and Hamilton East who took part in it. I would not want to prejudge the outcome of any consideration in any subsequent consultation, but the record of this Government is that we were the first national government in Europe to fund a transgender rights programme. We included trans and intersex in the crimes aggravated by prejudice legislation that we supported, and we have the most progressive marriage legislation on trans issues. That should give comfort that we take trans and intersex rights seriously and are always prepared where there is a strong case to act on it. To ask the Scottish Government when it last met the Scottish Courts and Tribunial Service and what issues were discussed. Scottish Government officials last met the Scottish Courts and Tribunial Service, including its chief executive on 14 January. A number of issues relating to the court system were discussed. The chief executive of SCTS is a key member of the justice board, and through this forum regularly updates Scottish Government and justice board members on progressive courts reform and the SCTS contribution to the delivery of the justice strategy. I thank the minister for that response. The Scottish Courts Service's 2012 consultation document that proposed the recent court closures recognised that accommodation at Cercodi's Sheriff Court is not fit for purpose and was a need for a new sheriff and jury centre for the people of East Fife. $20 million has just been announced for a justice centre in Inverness with Scottish Government backing and part funding. Does the minister agree with me that the plans for a Cercodi justice centre need to be brought forward as soon as possible? The member is quite right that the Scottish Government will be investing £5 million in 2016-17 towards the development of a new collaborative justice centre in Inverness, and that will bring together justice and other bodies and provide a hub for justice technology. That will demonstrate the value of the proposed model and support justice throughout the Highlands clearly, but work on site will commence this year with a view to being operational in 2018. SCTS will continue to explore all funding options for further justice centres, and that will include further discussions with the Scottish Futures Trust on a potential solution for Fife and Lanarkshire. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its support for the oil and gas industry. Minister Fergus Ewing, we already provide support in particular through our enterprise agencies and the energy jobs task force. In addition, today, we have announced £379 million of Scottish Government support for the north-east economy, including a £125 million contribution to the Aberdeen city deal. I know the member and others who will welcome the substantial investment in the region. I thank the minister for his answer, and we very much appreciate it in the north-east. Does the minister agree that, given that the UK Treasury has benefited from hundreds of billions of pounds of revenue from the north-east in the good years that we now need to take action to support the sector and must take action at the March project to put in place a more supportive fiscal regime for the industry? I think that it is correct to say that the industry is tackling costs and improving efficiency, but it is for the UK Government to deliver no later than the spring budget the necessary tax measures that the industry needs. Those are to encourage investment and exploration, to maintain and enhance investment in late-life fields to prevent premature cessation of production, and to bring in new investors by clarifying decommissioning liabilities that are blocking deals at the moment unnecessarily. The UK has had in the good days over £300,000 million of tax from the oil and gas industry that is based in Scotland, and now it is payback time. I understand the Scottish Cabinet for a special briefing on the oil jobs crisis earlier this week. Can the minister therefore now tell us how many jobs have been lost in Scotland as a result of the downturn in the oil and gas industry? The oil and gas UK estimate is that 65,000 jobs have been lost throughout the UK. That is an extremely serious matter, and that is precisely why we set up over a year ago the First Minister set up the energy jobs task force. It has helped young people to prevent the loss of their apprenticeship by the £5,000 provision. It has reached out to around 1,500 people at direct support at three events in the beach ballroom in Petodrych Park. It has held innumerable events. It has had buy-in from the whole industry. Oil and gas in the industry support the energy jobs task force work. It will continue with a whole range of measures that the cabinet this week did meet. We are considering what more we can do, and we are determined to do everything practical to maintain and support the industry at this difficult time. Thank you to us, the Scottish Government, on how many staff work in the NHS and how this compares with 2006. Under this Government, a record high number of staff work in the NHS with 137,727.9 whole-time equivalent staff as at September 2015 compared to 127,061.9 whole-time equivalent in September 2006. That is an increase of over 10,600 whole-time equivalent, or 8.4 per cent. I ask her how many additional staff have been recruited by NHS Tayside over that period, and how that breaks down in terms of consultants, doctors, nurses, midwives, etc. I can tell Graham Day that staffing has vastly improved over the past decade, enabling more staff to work in NHS Tayside. NHS Tayside has seen over 7 per cent more staff, including over 200 more qualified nurses and midwives and over 150 more consultants. I can say that within those consultant numbers there has been a particularly big increase in emergency medicine consultants up by 342 per cent, or 17.1 whole-time equivalent from five to 22.1. I hope that that is something that the member will welcome. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying. The Scottish Government takes bullying very seriously. Bullying of any kind, including homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying, is unacceptable and must be addressed wherever it arises. We want all children and young people to be free from discrimination so that they can learn and reach their full potential. Our national approach to anti-bullying for Scotland's children and young people sets out a common vision and aims to make sure that work across all agencies and communities is jointly focused on tackling all types of bullying, including prejudice-based bullying. That guidance is currently being refreshed by a working group, which includes LGBT Youth Scotland and Stonewall Scotland. Minister will be aware that, in Scotland today, there are still lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people who are afraid to go to school because of their fear of being bullied. What more can the Scottish Government do to ensure that all teachers are fully equipped to tackle bullying wherever it takes place, be it in the classroom or the playground, and to ensure that every school in the country has an appropriate policy in place to tackle this important issue? I very much agree with the member that this is an important issue. He raises the issue of policies. We know that 28 councils have local authority-wide anti-bullying policies for schools that mention homophobic bullying. Two are developing them, and the remaining two, Sterling and Aberdeen, have been approached to work with respect me to do so. The Scottish Government's anti-bullying service respect me is funded by this Government to be the training body for anti-bullying work across the country. 700 teachers have been trained to be trainers, and since 2007, 100 per cent—I say again—100 per cent of training delivered by respect me has included specific work on prejudice-based bullying, including homophobic bullying. Duncan McNeill I thank the Scottish Government officials regularly meet with representatives of all health boards, including NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. I visit my constituency late in November. Concerns over the future of IRH were dismissed as having those substance. However, a recent health board paper has revealed that the hospital's repair bill has sold to a staggering £65 million, 80 per cent of which falls within the clinical space. Given the sheer scale of the maintenance backlog, does the health minister now understand why my constituents are anxious about the future of the hospital? Will she now agree to a full public consultation so that the people of Clyde can have their say on the future of their local hospital? I caught most of what Duncan McNeill said. First, I reassure him that the future of IRH is very important in terms of local health service delivery. In terms of any of the issues in the board's draft discussion paper, as I said earlier to Paul Martin, none of those issues have been formally put forward for consideration and not to me either. He mentioned backlog maintenance. I will certainly write to him on the detail of that, but there has been a lot of progress made on the high-risk backlog maintenance and a lot of progress made by prioritising that. However, I will write to the member with more detail on that particular issue. Thank you. We now move to First Minister's Questions.