 Fy mor hwya i gwaith, mae'r ystafell y gwneud yn colliwyr gyda gweithlu a oedd yn oed i'r sylwedd y gweld ben MacPherson. Fy nid o ddech fathersen cymaint, y cîm eich cael ei amser yn cymaint hefyd am y Cymru a'r gwelliadau iaith o'r cymaint, i'w cwrwm cadw ar yr ysgol eich cymaint cymaint am feddwl pouch agoredd i Paddym yn edrych. Ymnyddwch Paul McLennan. Rydyn ymgyrch gan £752 miliwn gyflawn yr unrhyw o'rchlodau rhoi dychwarae programme to support the delivery of more social and affordable homes towards our 110,000 target affordable homes by 2032. Working with social landlords to make best use of existing homes and implementing targeted partnership plans with local authorities facing the greatest pressure. Since 2007, we have supported delivery of 6,255 social homes in Edinburgh. I have met with Edinburgh's housing convener several times to discuss the council's proposals to improve temporary accommodation and increase housing supply, which will inform a partnership plan. I am grateful for the answer and welcome all of it. However, the minister will be aware of the severity of the situation here in Edinburgh. Shelter Scotland has called it an emergency and I am increasingly concerned about the correspondence I am receiving from constituents. Homelessness applications have increased by over 20 per cent. Therefore, can the Scottish Government provide any additional help to City of Edinburgh Council and other relevant organisations to provide more suitable temporary accommodation? Can the Scottish Government do more to fund and prioritise building and delivering more social housing here in Edinburgh, given the current pressures and projected population growth? Our aim is to prevent homelessness. However, when it does occur, we are taking the housing led approach response to provide households with certain homes as quickly as possible. We provide local authorities with annual allocations of £8 million RRTP funding to support people and to settle accommodation. With £30.5 million with their work to prevent homelessness, Edinburgh is receiving more than £3.8 million in 2023-24. During this Parliament, to maximise the delivery of social and affordable homes to support the strategic housing investment plan priorities, we are making a record £230 million available to Edinburgh, with an additional £10 million being allocated this year. I agree with Ben Macpherson. Here in Edinburgh, the number of children currently living in temporary accommodation stands at 2,755, an increase of 13 per cent compared to last year. That is almost a third of children in Scotland currently living in temporary accommodation here in the capital alone. Today, we see a situation escalating out of control. It is time for SNP and Green Ministers to take responsibility and declare a housing emergency. Will the minister urgently agree to chair a cross-government temporary accommodation task force to help address the situation here in the capital? I will refer to my previous answer. I have been working very closely with the Edinburgh Council since being in post, including looking at the individual partnership plan that we were talking about. We are discussing proposals as we are at the moment. Mr Briggs will be aware that I also attended the Edinburgh housing summit, which was brought together by Alex Cole-Hamilton. I understand that there is going to be a further meeting beyond that. I am happy to meet Mr Briggs to discuss some of those proposals. We are looking at opportunities around the individual things that we need to do in Edinburgh and also how we can bring forward additional social housing in Edinburgh. I am happy to discuss further with Mr Briggs. I declare a register of interest in my former work with the SNP. Minister, there has been a series of cross-party meetings this year. It is an urgent issue in Edinburgh's housing crisis. It needs leadership and funding. The gap is £418 million. What is the Scottish Government going to do now to tackle the scale of homelessness, the lack of affordable housing and, critically less a month, the lack of housing for students that they can afford? As I said, we already attended a housing summit that was brought together by Alex Cole-Hamilton and I understand that there was a follow-up plan for that. As I said before, I have already met the Edinburgh housing community on a number of occasions and we are discussing specific proposals as we speak at that moment. I am happy to discuss further with Sarah Boyack. To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made towards the introduction of speed awareness courses among other diversion schemes for driving offences as an alternative to prosecution. The Scottish Government supports the principle of driver education as an alternative to prosecution where that is appropriate. The Lord Advocate has agreed in principle to the introduction of road traffic diversionary courses, including speed awareness courses in Scotland. A multi-agency working group comprising of key delivery partners was set up to oversee the delivery of this initiative. The Scottish Government continues to discuss the importance of implementing speed awareness courses with Police Scotland as the lead partner for delivery who are currently reviewing the project's timings. Does the cabinet secretary agree that the speed awareness courses are a good way of reaching offenders and challenging their driving behaviour, with research from Dying South showing that people who tend to go on those courses are less likely to re-offend? I agree with the member and the Scottish Government is very much in agreement that speed awareness courses specifically will have a positive impact on driver behaviour through effective education. The published research on the matter is very important. It shows that those interventions do reduce the number of re-offenders who have attended such courses as a result and also have a longer-term impact on improving driver behaviour. That is why this Government is working with its key partners to deliver this important road safety initiative to make a road safer. 3. Maureen MacNeir To ask the Scottish Government when it will participate, it will see the Scottish Law Commission's findings and recommendations arising from its consultation on damages for personal injury. The Scottish Law Commission's discussion paper on damages for personal injury was published on 23 February 2022, and the consultation period ended on 30 June 2022. The commission is currently in the process of analysing consultee views submitted in response to the discussion paper and formulating policy with the aim of publishing its findings and report with a company draft bill by mid 2024. The Scottish Law Commission's recommendations will cover the issue of time bar in some routes to compensation for people seeking damages because of exposure to asbestos. Will Minister make representations to the Scottish Law Commission to request that the report be published as soon as possible, and will she commit to early action on the report's recommendation? Finally, will the minister meet me and representatives of Clydebank's bestest group to hear their testimony about how this injustice is impacting on their members? It is for the Scottish Law Commission to establish a timetable for its work, but I expect the commission to publish those recommendations by mid 2024. The Scottish Government will of course give careful consideration to the recommendations, and I will be happy to meet the member and Clyde's bestest group to discuss them when we receive them. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the potential introduction of strict liability in Scottish football. Minister Muri Todd. We have never ruled out strict liability as an option. However, our preferred solution has always been that the footballing authorities in Scotland proactively shape and deliver a robust and meaningful solution to tackle any unacceptable conduct by what is a minority of supporters. John Mason. I thank the minister for that answer. We have had a huge amount of anti-social behaviour in Glasgow, including in my constituency, by some football fans in recent times, particularly around George Square by Rangers fans and Glasgow Cross by Celtic fans. Would she agree that clubs need to take some more responsibility as they do when it is a European championship? The vast majority of football supporters are well behaved. It clearly remains a problem that everyone who is able to influence and to change must work together to eradicate. It is important that we do not lose sight of the collective need for action to achieve a zero-tolerance approach towards any offensive and anti-social behaviour. That includes football authorities and the clubs as much as everyone else. As I have already said, our preferred solution has always been that footballing authorities in Scotland proactively shape and deliver a robust and meaningful solution to tackle any unacceptable conduct by what is definitely a minority of supporters, but we have never ruled out strict liability as an option. We are well aware that clubs are subject to strict liability while participating in UEFA-run competitions. We will continue to work with footballing authorities, Police Scotland and fans groups to address issues and ensure that football matches are an enjoyable experience for everyone. To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to eliminate sexual harassment in schools. The Scottish Government is clear that harassment or abuse of any form, whether that is in the workplace, schools, at home or in society in general, is completely reprehensible and must stop. As we set out in the 2023-24 programme for government, we are committed to publishing a national framework to better support schools in tackling gender-based violence and sexual harassment at the end of this year. That will help to ensure that consistent messages on sexual harassment and gender-based violence are given to everyone working with children and young people and will support our commitment to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls. The principle of consent is an essential component of effective education on sex and relationships, but we know from evidence-heard empowerment previously that many young people receive sex and relationships education without consent being covered. All children and young people, but particularly boys and young men, should receive education on the importance of consent. Does the minister agree that that is essential if we are to tackle so-called rape culture and sexual violence particularly against women and girls both in schools and in wider society? Yes, I absolutely agree with the member. Consent is a critical component in our commitment to tackle violence against women and girls. Through our relationships, sexual health and parenthood education, our children and young people learn about gender equality, consent and the law as well as sexual harassment. Those are key topics in helping children and young people to develop their knowledge and understanding of how to have better, healthier relationships. The Government also published a resource for professionals to help and support young people aged 11 to 18 in their understanding of healthy relationships and consent. The key messages for young people on healthier relationships and consent sets out that relationships should be mutually respectful, consensual, positive, healthy and enjoyable. The Government conducted a consultation in 2020 around challenging men's demand for prostitution, working to reduce the harms associated with prostitution and helping women to exit prostitution. Can the minister say how is this shaped the Government's approach to ending sexual violence against women and girls? The Scottish Government remains absolutely committed to ending violence against women and girls. We are focused on delivering a framework that effectively tackles and challenges men's demand for prostitution and to see it operating and tested to the full. That aligns with the equally safe strategy's definition of violence against women and girls. I direct the member to justice colleagues for any more information that she might require. We should have zero tolerance when it comes to sexual harassment, but we should have zero tolerance to all harassment, especially in schools. Why is it taking the cabinet secretary five months to organise a summit on school violence that she said she'd hold? I would tell the member that really good progress has been made recently in drafting the national framework. The expectation is that the framework will be published early in the new year. At the moment, the working group that we have set up is currently engaging directly with stakeholders with key interests in areas covered by the framework. I reassure him that that is an issue that we take absolutely seriously. That is something that we can share. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that increasing numbers of dentists are leaving the NHS. The First Minister's policy prospectus has set out the Government's primary objective of sustaining and improving patient access to NHS dental services. Reform of the payment system is essential to the sustainability of patient access to NHS dental services. In that connection, I wrote to the dental sector on 27 July to provide details of changes to be introduced on 1 November this year. I'm a bit surprised that the minister didn't start off with an apology. An apology that the SNP have ditched another manifesto commitment to abolish NHS dental charges. In fact, the charges aren't just staying static, they're going up. But can the minister tell the chamber how many dentists will join the NHS and do more NHS work as a result of those changes? Because she knows that NHS dentistry is on its knees. I thank Mr Rennie for his question. I think that we also need to point out, though, that NHS dentists are working incredibly hard with many back-to-pre-pandemic levels. As I was clear when we made our announcement on 27 July, this is a first step to reforming dental practices, dental payments and the Government's workforce. We are working incredibly hard with the NHS boards and dentists to ensure that we understand and move forward to improve the way that dentists are coming in. We currently have 183 students going through dental training just now. Mr Rennie will remember that we lost 160 as a result of the Covid pandemic, but we are making aims to try to return more dentists to the sector to ensure that we maintain the incredibly important NHS dental services that support people in Scotland to ensure that they have really good oral health. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve hospital services across NHS Fife. I expect all health boards, including NHS Fife, to keep their services under review to ensure that they are of the highest quality and meet the needs of local people, while remaining consistent with national policies and frameworks. The people of Dunfermline are quite rightly proud of their new-found city status. The city is now one of the fastest growing in the UK in terms of population, with another 1,400 houses due for construction. Unfortunately, the city's health provision at St Margaret's hospital is not reflected in that. The chemotherapy unit closed and relocated to Victoria hospital in Kirkcaldy. Accident and emergency department closed. Maternity unit closed. People are suffering unnecessarily due to the service centralisations, so my question for the cabinet secretary is quite simple. When will the people of Scotland's new city get the hospital services that they deserve? We expect NHS Fife, like other health boards, to work in partnership with their local planning partners, including in the Fife area, to look at how they can configure services to meet the needs of the local community, including in the way in which services are divided between Victoria hospital and also between Queen Margaret hospital. The member will also be aware that we have made significant investment in Queen Margaret hospital over recent years. We have put in a state-of-the-art surgical and diagnostic services provision, new minor injuries unit. We have also created a new community and child services centre there, and the provision of a comprehensive anti-natal and post-natal care service for the local community. However, no doubt, NHS Fife will want to continue to review services going forward to make sure that they meet the needs of the local community. To ask the Scottish Government what additional resources will be made available to NHS Highland in light of the reports of an estimated annual overspend of £55 million. Cabinet Secretary? The 2023-24 budget provides increased investment of £42.5 million for NHS Highland, meaning that the board's funding has increased by over 83 per cent since 2006-07. In addition, a further £14.6 million has been provided in-year to support financial sustainability. The Scottish Government continues to work with all NHS boards to monitor their financial performance and support the delivery of fiscal sustainability, including providing additional support to NHS Highland to support financial recovery. Edward Mountain? I am not sure what additional support that lays out, because the consequences of the position that we are in is the cancellation of elective surgery. Added to this, the lack of an interventional radiologist and now the lack of a cardiovascular surgeon means that a perfect storm is brewing. How will the Government really help NHS Highland to tackle those problems? I have just set out the additional financial support that we have given this year and the additional £14.6 million that we have provided for this financial year to help to support financial sustainability. We are continuing to engage with them around the financial challenges that they face and to support them in some of the recruitment challenges that they have. The member will also be aware of the significant investment that we have recently made in NHS Highland through one of our national treatment centres, which is a facility with more than £40 million that provides improvements in the way in which care is being provided to patients in a range of elective procedures. Thank you. That concludes general questions.