 When inflation is rising and living standards are under a lot of pressure, it is not right to increase income tax for those who are on the basic rate. Does the First Minister agree with that statement? The First Minister will set out the details of the budget later this afternoon. That will cover both our tax proposals and our spending proposals. We will seek to protect our vital public services from the cuts being imposed by the Tories. We will make sure that we protect those on low and middle incomes and, of course, we will invest in business and the economy. I can tell the chamber today that 70 per cent of tax payers in Scotland, 83 per cent of all adults in Scotland will pay no more income tax after this budget than they do now. Ruth Davidson. We look forward to the details of that later on, but I was asking. I am not quite sure—I can tell by the face—that that flourish will have the result that it was looking for. The reason that I asked the question and the statement at the beginning was because those were the direct words of the First Minister herself just this year in May. I was not asking her to reveal her budget, although we are pleased for any details that are forthcoming. I was asking her whether she agreed with herself that all people who currently only pay the basic rate of income tax, which is 2.2 million people in this country, should not have to pay more, because that was the promise that she made. Just now, has she not just told at least some of them that she is breaking that promise? The First Minister. I would encourage Ruth Davidson to listen carefully to the announcements that will be made in just a couple of hours' time by the finance secretary. In the budget, of course, we will be balancing a number of different priorities. Of course, as the Opposition is fond of telling me that we are a minority Government, we require to build consensus around our budget proposals. Of course, we also have to deal with one of the most challenging economic and fiscal contexts that any Government in the lifetime of this Parliament has ever faced. As we heard confirmed just this morning on the radio by the Fraser of Allander Institute, our day-to-day spending is being cut in real terms by more than £200 million in real terms next year. Over the next two years, Tory cuts will take £500 million in real terms out of the spending that this Parliament has available for our nurses, doctors, teachers and our police officers, as is a bit rich in light of that for the Tories to come to this chamber and lecture anybody about tax and public spending. On top of that, of course, as we found out just last week, every household across not just Scotland but the UK will be facing a bill of £1400 to pay for the Tories' Brexit obsession. The bill just to rip the UK and Scotland against our will out of the European Union. In light of all that, the proposals that we put forward this afternoon will be responsible, they will be balanced, they will protect our vital public services from Tory cuts, they will protect the majority of tax payers and they will invest in business and the economy. In all that, they will stand in stark contrast to anything that the Tories are doing. Ruth Davidson The First Minister has just revealed that there will be tax cuts in this budget, so perhaps the First Minister should listen to what Scotland's small businesses are saying about that. This week, the Federation of Small Business gave her a blunt warning. It revealed that three-fifths of Scotland's small businesses do not want any change in income taxes rates. They do not want them to go up. Two-thirds believe that income tax increases would damage the economy. We are not talking about multimillion-pound corporations here. Those are small and medium-sized firms that are the lifeblood of the economy and support 1.2 million Scottish jobs. The First Minister has just told them that there will be tax rises that they do not want. Who should be trust when we know that they are talking about when it comes to growing the economy? Scotland's small business owners, who are warning against the very tax rises that the First Minister has just revealed, are the finance secretary who wants to push them up? The First Minister I met the Federation of Small Businesses just last week. Of course, one of the many things that they said to me was how highly they value the small business bonus, the most generous small business rate scheme anywhere in the UK. I do not think that I am revealing too much—the finance secretary started to look at me with that worried expression in his face—but I do not think that I am revealing too much when I say that the small business bonus scheme will be protected in the budget this afternoon. That, of course, lifts 100,000 small businesses out of business rates altogether, another way in which this budget will invest in business and in growing our economy. I think that there will be a lot of interest to Ruth Davidson and others when the finance secretary gets his feet this afternoon to outline how this Scottish Government will protect people the length and breadth of our country from the cuts that are being imposed on us by Ruth Davidson's party. Ruth Davidson Time and time again, ahead of elections, the Scottish National Party Government made promises to people on tax. It was only in May of this year that the First Minister was absolutely clear. It is not right, she said, for any person on the basic rate to pay more. That is 2.2 million people in this country that would be protected. She has just stood up and said that some of them are going to take a hit. That is a simple matter of trust. Promises were made, she has failed to meet them, so how can Scottish workers ever trust her again? The First Minister I suggest that Ruth Davidson listens carefully to the budget this afternoon, because when Derek Mackay stands up here and outlines his budget proposals, much of what Ruth Davidson has been saying over the past weeks will be seen to be complete and utter nonsense. We will set out fair, balanced, progressive budget proposals that protect our public services from more than £200 million in real terms of cuts being imposed by the Tories. That is a fact that the Tories do not like hearing, so let me repeat it. Our spending is being cut by more than £200 million in real terms next year, and the proposals that we put forward this afternoon will set out how we protect our NHS, our education system and other vital public services from that, while protecting the vast majority of taxpayers and investing in business and the economy. Of course, I am not sure how bothered Ruth Davidson really is by all of this, because no sooner have the Tories slumped back into third place in Scottish politics than we have Ruth Davidson setting out her escape plan when she plans to jump ship to Westminster. Richard Leonard Every time we raise Scotland's housing crisis with this Government, it spins out the same line. We will build 50,000 affordable homes and 35,000 homes for social rent by the end of this Parliament. This week, new housing statistics revealed that, in fact, the Government is way off course from meeting its targets. Can the First Minister explain today how those vital homes will be built? The First Minister We have set the target, and we will meet that target to build 50,000 affordable homes over the life of this Parliament. I know that Richard Leonard was not in the last Parliament, so he might not know this, but in the last Parliament, we had a target of 35,000 affordable homes over the lifetime of the Parliament. Over the course of that Parliament, we had to listen to Labour MSP after Labour MSP periodically tells us that we had no chance of meeting that target. You know what? We met that target in the last Parliament, and we will meet the new target in this Parliament. Of course, the Finance Secretary will set out funding plans to support that target in his budget this afternoon. The announcement that he makes in this budget will be part of an overall funding commitment of £3 billion over this Parliament to build 50,000 affordable homes. That is the record of this Government. Richard Leonard is the latest leader of the party that, when it was last in office, managed to build the grand total of six council houses. Richard Leonard I seem to recall that there was a redefinition of the target in the last session of the Scottish Parliament. The shortage of affordable housing is a key cause of homelessness, so we should be thankful for the important work that is being done by the homelessness prevention and strategy group, which has fought for Government funding to help rough sleepers this winter. However, as long as the supply of affordable housing is stalling and as long as this Government cuts local authority budgets that provide housing support, temporary accommodation, which provide funding for women's aid and refugees, the strategy group is fighting an uphill battle to prevent homelessness. Listen to the director of Shelter Scotland, Graeme Brown, who earlier this week said and I quote, "...some people think homelessness in Scotland is getting better and can be fixed overnight. Sadly, over the last year, things got worse. Does the First Minister agree with the director of Shelter Scotland that last year things got worse?" The First Minister This Government is increasing funding for affordable housing, and as I said, over this Parliament we will invest £3 billion, a record sum, to deliver 50,000 affordable homes. It is exactly because I am, like Shelter, so concerned about the rise in rough sleeping in particular that I announced in the programme for government the establishment of the homelessness strategy group that Richard Leonard has just spoken about. Of course, within the first few weeks of that group being established, it had already made its first recommendations to help to tackle rough sleeping this winter. The Government accepted all those recommendations and provided additional funding to help to meet those recommendations. We will consider on a continuing basis any further recommendations that that group brings forward. Of course, the reason rough sleeping is increasing are the welfare cuts being imposed on Scotland by the Tory Government. I again appeal to Richard Leonard. You have Labour MSPs right now shaking their heads at the notion that welfare cuts are leading to an increase in rough sleeping. That, frankly, is a fact. I would again call on Richard Leonard to join with those of us on these benches in calling for the devolution of all welfare powers to this Parliament so that we can put a stop to these cuts at source. Richard Leonard. We will see how committed you are to stopping these cuts this afternoon when you announce your budget. I want to share the experiences of a young woman in Edinburgh, Hannie Bell, who turned to the charity crisis for help. She is a recovering drug addict and a survivor of domestic abuse. She became homeless, and this week marked one whole year of being stuck in unsuitable temporary accommodation. In that accommodation she is faced with, and I quote her directly, people smoke coming through the cracks in the walls and floors, sleeping in sheets that look like Swiss cheese from cigarette burns, blood spatter on the walls of the bathroom from people injecting heroin. What Hannie Bell and thousands like her need is an affordable home and the local authority services that will get her back on her feet. Hannie Bell does not have a choice, but First Minister, you do. Will you choose to use the powers of the Parliament to invest in lifeline council services and end Scotland's homelessness crisis once and for all? We will see in just a couple of hours the choices that this Government is making to protect Scotland from the cuts that are being imposed by the Westminster Tory Government. The experience that he has just outlined of Hannie Bell is completely unacceptable. That is why the homelessness strategy group that we have already spoken about has, as its remit, not just tackling rough sleeping but tackling the use and looking to improve the use of temporary accommodation. It is also why, in the programme for government, we announced an increase in funding to tackle alcohol and drug addiction and why we are establishing a £50 million fund to help to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping. Those and other measures will be outlined in our budget this afternoon. Richard Leonard sees the choices that we are making. I hope that he will stay consistent with what he has been saying in this chamber and back the choices that we are making in this budget, because they are the right choices for the people of this country. We have a couple of constituency supplementaries. The first is from Elaine Smith. Thank you. The family of a 91-year-old constituent that has asked me to raise her extremely distressing health and care issue, which has wider implications. The elderly deaf and blind woman who has a stoma bag was discharged from hospital with insufficient care, only one daily district nurse visit, and at times no assistance available via the home care alarm. On several occasions, she suffered the indignity, distress and discomfort of a burst stoma bag with her family believing that her life is at risk. If that is happening to one elderly vulnerable person, many others will also be suffering as a result of funding cuts and lack of adequate stoma care. Does the First Minister think that that is acceptable, and if not, what will she do about it? What Elaine Smith has just said—no, I do not think that that is at all acceptable. Can I say to Elaine Smith that if she can provide the details of her constituents' case to the health secretary this afternoon, the health secretary will immediately look into that and then, of course, correspond with the member who can feed that back to her constituents. I hope that she finds that response helpful as a way of taking that forward. Bob Doris First Minister, a constituent of mine is close to securing a training placement with a commercial airline. However, due to being HIV-positive, the Civil Aviation Authority will not issue the required medical certification, citing European Aviation Safety Agency rules. I understand that a deviation from those rules can be permitted. If my constituents to stay in the USA, Canada, New Zealand or Australia or indeed have contracted HIV as an existing commercial pilot, there would be no issues. Can I ask whether the First Minister agrees with me this situation amounts to discrimination? Can the Scottish Government make representations to the CAA to seek to end this injustice and therefore allow my constituent to pursue their dreams? The First Minister I am not aware of the full details of the case. However, I am very clear that any employment policies or regulations in this area must be based on the most up-to-date facts about HIV, not on outdated information or misconceptions. I understand that the Civil Aviation Authority has already said that they support a rule change in this area and are working with the European Aviation Safety Agency to reassess the regulation. I will write to the CAA to make clear my support for this rule change. We can all play a part in making life better for those living with HIV, and we should all continue to work to eradicate the stigma around the virus and tackle the false myths and prejudices that unfortunately still surround it. 3. Patrick Harvie Maybe at this time of year everybody wants to unwrap their Christmas present a wee bit early, and the budget is no different. However, there are many, many thousands of people in Scotland who want to know if there is anything in store for them. I am talking about the people working to deliver our vital public services in every community in Scotland. They have seen their wages cut year after year in real terms, and they want to know whether their pay will again be cut this year or whether there is the hope of at least an inflation-based increase. Does the First Minister agree with Graham Smith of the STUC, who has made the case not only for this budget but for the longer term, that the pay settlement must begin the process of restoring the lost value in people's wages and that it must be fully funded by the Scottish Government across our public services? The Scottish Government has already committed to lifting the 1 per cent public sector pay cap. Indeed, we remain the only Government in the UK that has made that commitment. Alongside the budget this afternoon, the finance secretary will also publish the public sector pay policy, which will include further details of the approach that we will take. As I have said previously, we want to see fair pay settlements for our public sector workers that recognise the rising cost of living and pay settlements that are affordable. That will be what we set out this afternoon. I am sure that Patrick Harvie will understand when I say that he will have to wait just a little bit longer to unwrap the full details. Patrick Harvie One area in which we do not have to wait any longer—one thing that we know will not be in the budget this afternoon—is a tax giveaway to the aviation industry. The SNP policy to halve and then scrap air departure tax was kicked down the road by at least one year, ostensibly for technical reasons. A consultation and economic assessment were planned. The results were published last week and they were so unhelpful to the Government that I can almost sympathise. Can the First Minister confirm that the consultation responses were overwhelmingly hostile to the Government's policy, showing 96 per cent opposition when all the responses were counted? Can she explain why one of the central economic arguments that the bulk of the tax cut would benefit the wealthiest in society was entirely ignored by the economic assessment? The First Minister Patrick Harvie and I have had exchanges in the chamber in the past. Of course, we want to have balanced policies across the whole range of policy areas, policies that help to boost our economy as well as protect our public services, and that is the approach that this Government will take. Of course, as Patrick Harvie has said, this will not feature in the budget this afternoon, not ostensibly for technical reasons, but actually for technical reasons. We will continue to discuss these issues with the UK Government and report back to this Parliament in due course. There are a few more supplementaries. The first is from Liam McArthur. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Last week, I warned the Government that the growing disparity in pay between Orkney ferries crew and their counterparts in CalMac, who are funded directly by ministers risked industrial action on Orkney's lifeline internal ferry services. This week, the RMT has confirmed that its members have now voted to take such action. The consequences for the island communities, who are utterly reliant on those services, could be disastrous. I ask the First Minister, even at the Isle of Inthour, to ensure that her finance secretary comes to the chamber this afternoon with a budget that honours both his and his Government's commitment, as well as the will of this Parliament, that delivers fair funding for Orkney and Shetland's internal ferry services. First Minister? Firstly, of course, those are services that right now are run by the councils, not by CalMac, not by the Scottish Government. The finance secretary, of course, will continue to engage with those councils, as he has done before now, about what the future might hold for those services. Of course, we are open to constructive discussions in the future on that. Of course, Liam McArthur and his colleagues ask us to put something like this into the budget, but we still refuse to say that they would back the budget even if there was a provision such as this in it. We will continue to have these discussions and look to do the right thing by our island communities. Mark Ruskell Thank you, Presiding Officer. An investigation that was screened on BBC One this week showed how hundreds of tonnes of dead salmon are being shipped across Scotland in lorries, leaking waste onto the roadside. Any farming system where over a quarter of the livestock are diseased and die before they reach the market has a massive problem, First Minister. Will the First Minister put in place a moratorium on fish farm expansion until this Parliament's rural economy and environment committees have included their inquiries into the sector? The First Minister I am happy to ask the Environment Secretary to have discussions with the member on that. I understand the concerns that people have about fish farming, and I know that some of the revelations in the documentary add to those concerns. I know that those are issues of concern to the Environment Secretary and she should be happy to discuss them further with the member. Daniel Johnson An independent report detailing today's newspapers predicts that Scotland will need an additional 500 classrooms by 2020 in our secondary schools. In South Edinburgh, that is no surprise, as despite two new secondary schools, local forecast show will be hundreds of places short within the next two to three years. Will today's budget commit the funds that are needed to build the extra classrooms that we need to meet the shortfall in South Edinburgh and across Scotland, given the increased capital at the Scottish Government's disposal? The First Minister Of course, it is for individual local authorities to plan their education provision based on their assessments of need now and in the future. I point out to the member that, since the Government took office, more than 700 new or refurbished schools are now in existence across the country. We now have 86 per cent of young people learning in schools that are classed as in good or satisfactory condition, a considerable increase since we took office. We will continue to discuss those issues on an on-going basis with councils, because it is absolutely essential that we have the right education provision where there are growing numbers of young people. I know that Edinburgh is one such case. Christine Grahame To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government understands by the term regulatory alignment and what that means for commerce between Scotland and Northern Ireland. We are seeking clarification from the UK Government on precisely what it means by regulatory alignment and what the impact would be for Scotland. The Irish Government has been clear that it would facilitate free movement of people, goods and services across the border to Northern Ireland. On that basis, we would understand the agreement to create equivalent rules to those of the European single market. Of course, if a differential deal is to be available to one part of the UK, it should also be available to others. It would be entirely wrong and unfair for Scotland to be placed at a competitive disadvantage, something that we have made very clear to the UK Government. Christine Grahame I thank the First Minister for her answer. According to a House of Commons report, UK ministers will have to import 19,000 EU rules and regulations on the statute book as a consequence of withdrawing from the European Union. Does regulatory alignment mean keeping most, if not all, 19,000 rules and regulations? Given that fundamental to the leaf campaign was cutting EU red tape, does the First Minister agree with me that that must be the biggest political fudge, since records began? Indeed, speaking of fudge, will the fudge regulation still be enforced and be one of those 19,000? The First Minister I think that, knowing the Tories, the fudge regulations will definitely be safe from a cull. Christine Grahame talks about the claims made by the leaf campaign. Of course, it was a leaf campaign that told us that Brexit would deliver £350 million a week extra for the national health service. We are still waiting for that. Instead, we find out that we are going to face an almost £50 billion bill just to leave the European Union. Of course, this issue of regulatory alignment is important. The legislative consequences of Brexit will be a major undertaking. It is just one part of the massive effort that will need to be put in place to get, if the UK Government continues on this course, a deal that will be worse than the one that we already have as part of the EU. If it is the case that there is going to have to be alignment, it underlines even further the importance of the UK as a whole staying within the single market and the customs union. That would be the least damaging outcome for our economy. I hope that we see people in the House of Commons coming together, as many of them did last night to defeat the Government on one particular amendment, although no Scottish Tory MPs were able to stand up to the Government last night. I hope that people will come together to keep the UK in the single market and in the customs union. The First Minister will be aware of the detail of the joint report by the UK Government and the EU last Friday, saying that the basic principles of regulatory alignment must be upheld in all circumstances irrespective of the nature of any future agreement. Can she tell us what her Government's understanding is of the nature of that commitment and in particular how that commitment is liable in all circumstances to be enforced? Presumably, it is a commitment that the UK Government will have to abide by and to hear David Davis at the weekend, almost trying to wrigol out of those commitments before the European Council had even had the opportunity to endorse them. Everything that needs to be said about the lack of trust that many on the European side of those negotiations have in the UK Government. It is important, as those negotiations progress as they will, that people can trust the commitments that the UK Government gives on the evidence of the weekend. That is perhaps doubtful. However, the most important thing is that, as those negotiations now proceed, they are in the interests of the economy and of people right across the UK. I wish that we were staying in the European Union, but given that the UK is leaving the European Union, I want to see a state in the single market and in the customs union. I hope that that is something that Labour at Westminster will eventually get round to supporting as well. To ask the First Minister for what reason the Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy has been abandoned. SSLN has been replaced with more detailed and comprehensive information. SSLN gave us a national picture of children's progress in literacy and numeracy, but did not provide any detailed information for local authorities and schools about the progress of individual children. The achievement of CFE levels data that we now publish is a much more comprehensive data collection. For the first time ever under CFE, it gives us the attainment levels of every child in Scotland at key stages in primary and secondary and provides detailed data at all levels of the system to help us to identify what works in raising attainment and closing the attainment gap. First Minister, every educational expert in the land is telling the Scottish Government that it needs to improve the quality of the dataset that can measure the progress in our schools. They make the point that the Scottish Government's assertion that things will get better can only hold water if standardised assessment is standardised across the country and less dependent on the wide variations in teacher judgments across different local authorities. Does the First Minister not agree that parents have a right to expect the use of data that is reliable and respected for having a good track record and that the decision to abandon SSLN at this point in time in favour of experimental data was ill-advised? First Minister? No, I do not agree with that. SSLN was important, but I know as First Minister that the information provided was nowhere near detailed enough to allow us to target actions on improving performance and closing the attainment gap. The data that we now publish, as I have just said, is much more comprehensive. I also disagree with Liz Smith about teacher judgment. The International Council of Education Advisers said that we should provide a consistent support framework to teachers and then trust in their professionalism. That is exactly what we are doing. In terms of the data, this year's CFE levels data is more robust than last year's due to the quality assurance and moderation work that has been done in schools across Scotland. Next year, that consistency and reliability will be further enhanced by the use of standardised assessments in all schools. I repeat that this is the most important point. The CFE levels data gives us the attainment levels of every child in Scotland at key stages and primary and secondary and provides detailed data at all levels. That helps us to target action to raise attainment and close the attainment gap. That is what is most important about all of this. Iain Gray The truth is, Presiding Officer, that educationalists and the First Minister's own statisticians have told her clearly that the literacy and numeracy survey was statistically valid to track national progress and that the new attainment data that she is using simply is not nor ever will be. If that is really her priority, why won't she measure national progress properly by simply reintroducing the literacy and numeracy survey, or is she afraid of what it might show? The data that we are now publishing will tell all of us much, much more about the performance, not just of Scottish education generally, but of every child in the Scottish education system than we have ever had before. As First Minister and I know that this is a view of the education secretary, when we are looking at the actions that we need to take to improve attainment in our schools, we want to have that comprehensive, robust data. SSLN did not give us that data. As I have said previously in this chamber, SSLN sometimes was based on samples in some schools of as little as 12 pupils. We need comprehensive data, and that is what the CFE-levels data will give us, and that is important. Rhoda Grant To ask the First Minister what contingencies the Scottish Government has put in place to deal with the effects of extreme winter weather on rural and remote areas. We recognise the serious impact that extreme winter weather can have on rural and remote communities. A dedicated resilience operation actively monitors all weather and flood alerts and can be activated at any time, any day of the year. Indeed, last week, during Storm Caroline, the Deputy First Minister convened the resilience committee to ensure that all appropriate support was in place. We also work closely with emergency services, local authorities, health boards, power companies and others to ensure that we understand any challenges that are happening on the ground across Scotland and that they can respond and co-ordinate appropriately at the local level when any kind of emergency occurs. Rhoda Grant Already this winter, constituents have contacted me with concerns about how the weather is impacting on health services. One gentleman reached in Vernes and was waiting for his appointment at Dragmore hospital when he was contacted by stagecoach to say that his bus home had been cancelled due to bad weather. It cost him £200 to get home by taxi that night. Constituents and cathers are really concerned due to recent service changes forcing more of them to come to Vernes to access health services. Already this winter, the county has been cut off due to landslides on the rail line and roads closed due to accidents. Sadly, that is a common occurrence. What is the First Minister doing to make sure that my constituents do not face further trauma while accessing services this winter? First, in relation to the specific constituent case that Rhoda Grant outlined, again, if she wants to provide us with details, we are very happy to look into that. We cannot take away altogether the impacts of bad weather during the winter. I think that everybody understands that, but we have to work to make sure that everybody is pulling together to mitigate those impacts as much as possible. That is what we do. That is what is done at local level through resilience partnerships, which fully involve NHS colleagues. It is what we co-ordinate at national level through our resilience committee. In terms of some of the wider issues in relation to health in the Highlands, I understand the issues and concerns that have been raised there, particularly about the number of outpatient visits that local people have to travel to Rhaigmoor in Vernes. For some, that is 100 miles away. That is why NHS Highlands has been working to develop long-term sustainable services across the Caithness area and are reviewing the wider provision of hospital and adult community services. Those are important issues that we will continue to work with others on. However, as I said at the outset of my answer, if there are particular constituency cases that Rhoda Grant wishes the health secretary or other relevant ministers to look into, please pass the details of them. To ask the First Minister what discussions the Scottish Government has had with Police Scotland regarding tackling domestic abuse over the festive period. On Sunday 10 December, Police Scotland launched its anti-domestic abuse campaign. The campaign will run over the festive period, when, sadly, reports of domestic abuse increase by around a quarter. The campaign makes clear that Police Scotland will take all necessary action to deal with perpetrators of domestic abuse. I hope that the member and the chamber will, like the Scottish Government, fully support this important and necessary campaign. I thank the First Minister for that answer, and I welcome her comments, particularly in the context of the Scottish Borders, where there has been a 40 per cent increase in the reported incidents of domestic abuse since 2008 and where more must be done to protect and support victims. That should be our utmost priority. According to the Scottish Government's own figures, over 12,000 people were convicted of a crime with a domestic abuse aggravator in 2015-16, many of whom were given a short sentence. Given the utterly devastating impact of some domestic abuse, does the First Minister agree with me that abolishing prison sentences of less than a year, allowing perpetrators to escape with little if any punishment or rehabilitation, is an appalling way to treat victims whose lives have been tortured by abuse, and that any Government genuinely serious about eradicating domestic abuse would not adopt such a policy? No, I do not agree with that, because I do not really agree with the premise on which that question was based. In the interests of consensus on an issue where we should all try to come together and agree, I do think that Michelle Ballantyne is right to say that protecting and supporting victims should be our absolute top priority. I know that she is particularly interested in the Scottish Borders. I hope that she will agree with me that the Scottish Borders domestic abuse advocacy service is a great example of innovative partnership work. If an increase in reports of domestic abuse through the advocacy service or through the police shows an increased level of confidence in victims to come forward and report incidents, that is something that we should welcome. Of course, the Scottish Government funding of that service and the Scottish Borders has totaled 585,000 since its launch in 2012. Now, let me get to perhaps the less consensual part of my answer. Michelle Ballantyne said that we were abolishing short sentences. That is not actually the case. We are looking to create a presumption against short sentences. There are many people working in the criminal justice field who think that that is the right thing to do to reduce re-offending. Of course, deciding on the sentence in any individual case is always a matter for the judge who hears that case. It is not a matter for me as First Minister and it is not a matter for the Scottish Government or indeed any politician in this chamber. Having a situation where ultimately the decision on sentencing rests with judges is absolutely the right and proper one. Thank you very much. That concludes First Minister's questions. We are going to move on to Members' Business. It is a very busy Members' Business on bank closures, but we will just take a few moments for Members to change seats.