 That concludes General Questions, the next item of business's First Minister's question. Question number one, I call Douglas Ross. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. The Covid pandemic began more than two years ago. The Scottish Government has had all that time to make our schools fit for use. Why then, First Minister, are we in the position, after so much time, that one of your Government's ideas to protect kids and teachers is to chop the bottom off of classroom doors? First Minister. First lady, our schools are fit for use thanks to the dedication of teachers and other school staff, thanks to the sacrifices of young people and their parents. We've managed to keep our schools open during some of the most challenging phases of this pandemic, and that's a credit to everybody in our education system. The Scottish Government continues to take a range of measures to ensure that children and staff working in schools are as safe as it is possible for them to be. One of those measures, of course, is one that Douglas Ross against all logic and most expert evidence opposes, which is asking staff and pupils in our secondary schools to wear face coverings, a basic mitigation. On the issue of ventilation, it seems to me... Douglas Ross is shouting, chopping the bottom off of doors. Let me just... When you're trying to improve ventilation in a room, there's a number of things you need to do. Partly that can be about air filtration to purify the air. Partly that is about ventilation, so mechanical ventilation systems. But also partly it's about... First Minister, sorry. We are just beginning this session. I'm very, very keen that all members can hear the questions and responses. Partly, Presiding Officer, this is the key point. It's about taking measures to ensure that the natural flow of air in a room is maximised. If you have doors or windows that are not enabling that natural flow of air in the way you would want it to, then it strikes me as basic common sense that you would take measures to rectify that. So what we've done is give additional money to local authorities to allow them to take whatever steps air filtration systems, mechanical ventilation or basic rectification of the structure of classrooms to improve the natural flow of air. That strikes me as basic common sense. If Douglas Ross wants to have serious discussions about these matters, then perhaps he could start by making sure that it's a grown-up discussion. I do want to have a serious discussion about this. This is a grown-up matter, an issue. It was telling in a very long answer several minutes there that the First Minister couldn't even bring herself to accept. This is chopping the bottom off of doors. However she tries to dress it up, however she tries to say it's basic common sense, it has been met with division because it is a serious issue here and there is more consequences as well. Safety issues, concerns about the risk from fire, from this plan have been raised. This morning, a retired firefighter wrote to us. He said and I quote, the doors in a school are essential for holding back heat and smoke should a fire start. The First Minister wants a grown-up and serious conversation about this, so does she agree with that quote from the retired firefighter and can she stand up and tell us what consultation her Government had with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service about these plans? This is an absurd line of questioning. Can I just say first of all to aid Douglas Ross' understanding of this? We're not requiring local authorities to chop the bottom off every door in every classroom across the country. If it is the case, I'm struggling to believe that I'm having to take Douglas Ross through this in such a basic manner. The first point, Presiding Officer, is this one. If a door is hung in such a way that it is inhibiting the natural flow of air, then one of the options that a local authority should have is to rectify that and we're giving them some money to do that. First Minister, can I just ask you to pause for a minute? I'm finding it difficult to hear the First Minister from here. I would be grateful if we could have just a bit of respect when people are asking questions and responding to them. I find it quite difficult to believe the infantile approach of the Scottish Conservatives to really serious issues. So that's the first point. The second point is health and safety, of course, apply to all of the decisions that a local authority would make about deciding which measures to take. That is about the Scottish Government giving local authority the financial wherewithal to do what they consider necessary to improve airflow and ventilation in schools. In many of the, in actually many, most of the spaces in our education estate will not need any of those measures, but where that is buying air filtration systems, HEPA filters for example, they will have the ability to do that. Where that is about deploying mechanical ventilation, they will do that, but yes, where that is about making some basic structural changes to aid the flow of air, they will do that too. That's basic common sense, which is perhaps why, I don't know, why it is evading Douglas Ross. Douglas Ross. I don't know why it is evading Nicola Sturgeon just to accept that this is chopping the bottom off of doors. It may be basic structural changes in the SNP and Nicola Sturgeon's language, but it is basically chopping the bottom off of doors. To call it an infantile approach, the questions that I'm putting forward, it was interesting in that answer. The First Minister could not bring herself to respond to the retired firefighter who's raising concerns, and to confirm to this chamber what discussions and what consultation she had with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service about the changes her Government are asking councils to make across Scotland. But the First Minister also said that there are a range of measures in place, and some of those are much more appropriate, but they're being delivered far too slowly. Let's look at one of those, and she's just mentioned the HEPA filters. Bringing in air filters for classrooms is a far more sensible approach that's been welcomed and agreed by every party in this chamber. Again, asking the First Minister to answer a basic question, can she tell us how many of these essential filters her Government have distributed across Scotland and how many are up and running in her classrooms right now? First Minister. Firstly, can I say to Douglas Ross, I did address the point about fire safety, because all of these issues have to be taken into account when local authorities are making decisions on health and safety grounds for schools. The second point I would make is this one. Is Douglas Ross really saying to me that if it is in the judgment of the people who make these health and safety decisions for local authorities about our school estate, if their judgment is that the way a door is hanging is inhibiting the airflow, then he thinks there shouldn't be any rectification made to that. That's why I think it is utterly infantile to do this. Finally, on the point about HEPA filters or air cleaning filtration units, which are temporary solutions incidentally, those are not recommended to be long-term permanent solutions for improving ventilation. We are not distributing those to local authorities. We have set up a £5 million ventilation fund in order that local authorities can take remedial measures that they think appropriate for any spaces within the education setting that require that. In terms of the estimate for the number of spaces, the funding that we have made available would enable local authorities to use, if they thought it appropriate, air cleaning filtration units or small mechanical ventilation units or extractor fan units to allow them to be installed or yes, to make some basic structural changes to windows or doors if that is what was thought appropriate. The funding that we have provided for the spaces that need that kind of rectification, we've provided £5 million funding, the estimate suggests that what is actually required is £4.3 million so we've built in some contingency for that. We have provided the funding for local authorities, we're not requiring local authorities to chop anything off of doors, we're enabling local authorities guided by health and safety considerations to take the actions they consider necessary. The only thing that has been chopped off during this session of First Minister's Questions and it's entirely self-inflicted by Douglas Ross is his own legs at the knees. Douglas Ross. They're still here First Minister, they're still here and I would just say this is First Minister's Questions just once, just once it would be nice to get a First Minister's answer because still there's nothing about the consultation her Government's had with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service so three times First Minister I'll ask you just what discussion the Government has had with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service about these proposals and the funding has gone to local authorities but surely the Scottish Government don't just give millions of pounds to local authorities and not expect to know how many of these air filters are being disputed across the area so I'd like an answer to that. The First Minister must know surely how many there are and how many are in place right now and throughout this pandemic there was a consensus I thought across this chamber and across Scotland that there should be the priority but now schools seem to have fallen down the priority list for her Government kids still have to wear face masks in the classroom when the requirements have been lifted elsewhere. The EIS union this week described the extra funding for ventilation as long overdue and on Sunday a spokeswoman for the Scottish teachers for positive change and wellbeing said this we've had summer 2020 we've had summer 2021 we've had two winters we've had periods of long lockdown where all of these things could and should have been put in place First Minister, they're right aren't they so will your Government pick up the pace and guarantee all the serious ventilation measures not chopping the bottom off of doors will be in place by the time the schools go back after the February break First Minister is the responsibility of local authorities to make sure that they have taken appropriate actions around ventilation in schools providing them with the money to do that and on the specific question about consultation with the fire and rescue service we're providing local authorities with the money it is their responsibility to assess the spaces in schools local authorities are responsible for that and we're often challenged in this chamber to respect the powers of local authorities of course so they have the responsibility to do that and the expectation would be on local authorities to have consultations with fire and rescue if that was necessary before they made any changes that is how these things work and that is how these things rightly and properly will be done but Douglas Ross wants to pick and choose the mitigations that he thinks are appropriate so he's talking today about ventilation and he's absolutely entitled to ask the questions if I was in his shoes I might try to ask some better questions but that's just a matter of opinion but of course when the majority of expert opinion is saying in order to help us as we have managed to do for most of this pandemic keep schools safely open it's appropriate to ask staff and secondary school pupils to wear face coverings no he opposes that for political opportunistic reasons so let's continue as this Government is doing to take the balanced approach to keeping our schools open to keeping our schools safely open and that's the responsible approach that this Government has been taking back to according to all evidence by the majority of people in Scotland and will leave the political opportunism and infantile approaches frankly to Douglas Ross and the Conservatives question number 2 Anna Sarwar today off-gem announced an inflation busting energy price increase that will cause pain and distress for hundreds of thousands of people across our country across Scotland people will be where they're going to find the extra 693 pounds to keep the heating and lights on just months after bills rose by 139 pounds at the same time Shell has announced profits of over 19 billion dollars that's over 27,000 pounds profit every minute that's why Labour proposed a windfall tax on the profits of energy companies to help pay for measures that would save most households and the most vulnerable 600 pounds it is reasonable for those profiting from the crisis to help cover the cost for the families struggling the most so why did SNP MPs fail to vote for those measures in the House of Commons on Tuesday First Minister I'll come on to the specific issue of Alevia and oil and gas in a second can I first of all though recognise the point that the off-gem decision on the energy price cap energy costs will be just under 700 pounds the chancellor I've not heard all of the detail because he was still on his feet as I came into the chamber the chancellor has just announced what sounded like welcome steps to help mitigate that but steps that in my view do not go far enough they seem to offer around 350 pounds of help against energy bill increases of around 700 pounds I also don't yet know what the position on consequentials will be but I give a commitment here that assuming there are consequentials which I would expect there to be every single penny of them will go in Scotland to helping people deal with the cost of living crisis there is one issue that we will have to deal with in Scotland because part of the chancellor's announcement today was around rebates for council tax of course average council tax bills are significantly lower already in Scotland on a band C council tax people on average 525 pounds less in Scotland than in England but of course one of the other differences is that due to decisions made by this SNP government around 400,000 people in Scotland don't pay any council tax because we have a council tax reduction scheme unlike the situation in England that can deliver up to 100% relief so we will have to consider how we help those people because these people still have energy bills that are rising as well and we are determined that that help on the issue of the oil and gas levy the position of the SNP is that we believe in fair progressive taxation those with the broadest shoulders should pay the most and that certainly includes companies including oil and gas companies who are seeing rising profits but frankly during the pandemic other companies perhaps fall into that category as well we've seen Amazon profits rising, supermarkets have had rising profits so we need to make sure we have a fair approach because if the government doesn't have the power to do any of this it would be a decision for the UK Government the only caveat that I would put on this is that we need to make sure that in rightly providing as much help as possible for households the length and breadth of the UK the burden of doing that doesn't just fall on people, jobs and investment in the north-east of Scotland at a time when we're trying to make the transition from oil and gas to renewable energy to meet our net zero targets since our governments for decades now have seen the north-east of Scotland as a cash cow so let's make sure that whatever way the UK Government chooses to fund the help that I agree with Anna Sarwar must be provided then it's done fairly so that all companies with the broadest shoulders get the chance to contribute to that Anna Sarwar First Minister one company in one year £19 billion in profit £27,000 a minute in profit a one-off windfall tax isn't going to mean they're going to disappear they're not going anywhere and also I think it's difficult to suggest that because somehow a windfall tax would benefit people in Doncaster we shouldn't be acting to also help people in Dundee it just doesn't sound credible we know that over 200,000 pensioners already live in fuel poverty that number will only increase because of this crisis back in September we warned that Scotland was facing a cost of living crisis and outlined proposals for an increase to the winter fuel payment the winter fuel payment devolved to this Scottish Government but rather than act handed back to the Tory run DWP the Labour run Welsh Government in contrast did act setting up a funding to provide £100 to help families struggling with energy bills and now they are doubling it to £200 so will the First Minister now back our proposals and increase the winter fuel payment First Minister Come on to what the Scottish Government can and is doing and will do in a moment just to go back to the issue of a levy I mean Anasar was asking me about something I have no power to do but it is I have no ideological objection to companies who are having rising profits right now whether that's because of the global increase in gas prices or the effects of the pandemic being asked to contribute and that includes oil and gas companies that if the UK Government is going to do that they should do that fairly so that all companies that can make a contribution do and that we don't just have another Westminster Government seeking to use only the north-east of Scotland because it is people and jobs and investment so it's about only using the north-east of Scotland for benefit that rightly should be shared across the UK but I am open if that's what the UK Government decides to do I certainly am open to seeing the companies who can contribute making that contribution in terms of what the Scottish Government can do let me talk about what we are already doing, I said earlier on council tax bills in Scotland are already significantly lower, Bansie £525 lower than in England in terms of the difference in Wales with a Bansie council tax £376 lower on average in Scotland than in Wales we have a council tax reduction scheme that gives 100% relief to around 400,000 people in Scotland that is not available in most parts of England for example but on payments during the pandemic so around 500,000 households just towards the end of last year got a £130 support payment because of the pandemic and of course more recently and more relevantly to this issue right now we have established the £41 million winter support fund which is helping people to keep their homes helping people with rising food costs and will allow support to be given to those who most need it so we will continue to do everything we can including passing on any and all consequentials that come from the chancellor's announcements today First Minister missed the point things are getting worse right now people are getting pressure on the bills right now these are proposals that predated the cost of living crisis and the First Minister says that we should look at that tax across the board today SNP MPs failed to vote for a tax on companies that are profiting 19 billion dollars in one year this is a Government that would rather play politics of the cost of living crisis rather than take the action using the powers they have a Government lacking in ambition and failing to use this Parliament a Government that stands with energy companies making £27,000 a minute and not with people struggling to pay their bills they have refused to use the powers to top up winter fuel payments they have refused to back Labour's proposals on a windfall tax on energy companies and they have refused to stop rises to rail fares and water charges the SNP siding with the Tories and big energy companies Labour on the side of hard pressed scoffs people are struggling right now when will the First Minister stop commenting on the cost of living crisis and start doing something about it First Minister I know the script was written before my answers but Anna Sarra could still have listened to my answers I am not opposed to oil and gas companies making a contribution because their profits are rising I am not opposed to that I am simply saying these approaches should be fair and equitable that is the point I'm making and I'm also making the basic point that I don't have the power over that if Anna Sarra wants to join me to demand these powers to come to the Scottish Parliament then we might make some progress but on the issue of what the Scottish Government can do again I'm telling Anna Sarra things here that I'm sure I certainly hope he knows we've actually acted ahead of other Governments to try to deal with the cost of living crisis and particularly the energy cost crisis the winter support fund I spoke about a moment ago that we have recently established £41 million in total £10 million to help people who are struggling to pay fuel bills including access to top-up vouchers better support for those in remote and rural areas £6 million for third sector partners so that they can support directly low-income families £25 million of flexible funding to help local authorities support people in financial insecurity so we've already acted ahead of other Governments if there are consequentials coming to us as a result of the chancellor's announcements today we will take further action and we will continue to look across our budgets to make sure that we are maximising when the Scottish Water will announce its decision on increases shortly and affordability for customers will be at the heart of that Average water charges are lower in Scotland than in other parts of the UK as are rail charges lower in Scotland than in other parts of the UK so we will continue to take the decisions necessary to support hard-pressed people and we do far more of that than any other Government across these islands we'll now take supplementary questions that I call Christine Graham Oh sorry, couldn't hear you First Minister, I'd like to raise the issue of financial help to those qualifying through care and repair in installing heat and smoke alarms what can they do if in my constituency in part of Midlothian there is no care and repair service the council says it's got nothing to do with them and they've directed me on behalf of constituents to approach care and repair Scotland and not surprising that our phone is constantly engaged and emails go unanswered First Minister We have already provided additional funding we're also in discussion with care and repair about what further support can be provided I take the point that Christine Graham is making about people including in her constituency who don't have access to that and I will ensure that the social justice secretary takes that into account and provides an update to Christine Graham as soon as possible Liam Kerr Over six weeks ago an open letter signed by over 50 north-east councillors and business leaders was sent to both Scotland's Government's decrying the potentially devastating impact of recent statements on oil and gas and north-east jobs Within four days a detailed response backing the industry was received from the UK minister of state Scottish Government has not responded First Minister when will the Scottish Government respond or is this further evidence of how far the north-east has fallen from this Government's concern First Minister I think everybody in the north-east would have preferred it if rather than writing a letter the UK Government had reversed their decision on carbon capture and storage and actually made the investment in Aberdeen and the north-east the people there want to see investment that would support jobs and also aid our transition to net zero so perhaps a bit less letter write from the UK Government and a bit more action and a bit more investment would go a long way Paul O'Kane Thank you, Presiding Officer The talk day, which is the nation's biggest mental health conversation supported in Scotland by CNI and the co-op and promoted by Trades Union such as us. Will the First Minister join me in congratulating all those groups who are organising time to talk events today and does she agree that family, friends and communities coming together to talk about mental health is vital in terms of supporting people further to this? What actions is her Government taking in response to the growing mental health crisis in Scotland which is seeing more than one in five adults in excess of 18 weeks for support? First Minister Firstly, I would take the opportunity to thank everyone involved with time to talk and encourage people across the country to engage with that campaign to talk to others if they are perhaps struggling a bit with their own mental health but to look out for those in their own lives who may be doing so and to offer that help to them. So it's a really, really important campaign and initiative. The Government is investing heavily in mental health services and we need to continue to do that. We obviously had rising demand putting pressure on services before the pandemic that will even more be the case, even more the case now. So we are increasing investment we are also seeking to reform how services are delivered, not least for children and adolescents and we will continue that work. But I think we increasingly have to look at different more innovative ways of providing mental health support. I had the privilege yesterday of visiting Scottish Opera in Glasgow to welcome the culture and entertainment sector and heard a lot about the work they are doing with people who have been struggling people with long Covid for example using the power of song and music and culture to aid people. So I think there's lots of organisations and people out there as well as the Government investment in NHS services that we can harness to ensure that we are a society emerging from this pandemic recognising the trauma and the mental health impact of it and acting in an overall way to deal with that and it's a responsibility that the Government takes extremely seriously. Good to move to question 3 and back to supplementaries as time allows and I call Brian Whittle. Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to recent reported criticism of its plans for its deposit return scheme. First Minister. Our deposit return scheme which of course is the first in the UK will increase recycling cut litter by a third and help meet Scotland's commitment targets among the most environmentally ambitious and accessible schemes anywhere in Europe. It will include online deliveries and tens of thousands of return points for plastic, metal and glass containers. It is disappointing that due to the impact of Covid and Brexit on businesses and indeed the UK Government's decision to charge VAT on the deposits that delivery this year is not possible but I have full confidence in the steps that industry including Circularity Scotland is taking to deliver DRS forward to seeing significant progress in the course of this year including sign contracts to deliver infrastructure and logistics work beginning on counting centres. Brian Whittle. I thank the First Minister for that answer but, Presiding Officer, repeated delays the use of a private company to avoid scrutiny and accountability a staggering lack of detail about how the scheme will work in practice has left the public baffled and businesses worried. A recent pilot of a digital scheme allowing home owners to participate in the DRS using kerbside collection and avoiding the need for bottles to be transported to the reverse verning machines has yielded some interesting results yet the Scottish Government scheme has no facility for this. Meanwhile, the Scottish Government Minister for the Circular Economy has spent more time announcing delays than she has addressing the public's concern. From the outset, the Scottish Government have seen more interested in headlines crowing about beating the rest of the sector than they have about settling out the details of how their system will work. Will the First Minister now accept that a practical and effective UK-wide system that takes a little longer to arrive would be a better option than the rushed, ill-thought-out mess she and her Green Party partners are presiding over? First Minister. I'm not sure waiting for this shambles of a UK Government to get their act together or anything would be a wise decision for the Scottish Government to take. I'm interested in Brian Whittle's criticism of what he described as repeated delays. The reason I'm interested in that is that it strikes me as utter hypocrisy because here is what his colleague Annie Wells, Scottish Conservative MSP said previously and I'm quoting here and this was in response to a previous announcement Scottish Conservatives support the delay of implementation to July 2022 in light of Covid and that we do not think that that goes far enough and she argued for it to be delayed even further. It strikes me as a bit of a change of position and yet another example of the utter opportunism and lack of any consistency or any principle at the heart of the Scottish Conservative Party. We are taking forward a scheme that will be the most environmentally ambitious and the most accessible scheme anywhere in Europe. Over the course of this year we're going to see significant progress, we're going to see the contract signed, we're going to see the infrastructure start to take shape and then we will have the first scheme in the UK and I suspect that if they're out of their current shambles the UK Government might still only be thinking about it. Question number four, Stuart McMillan. Thank you, Presiding Officer, to ask the First Minister whether she will provide an update on the Scottish Government's plans to hold an independence referendum. We intend to firstly, the people of Scotland of course elected this Government last May. Their democratic decision was to elect a Parliament with the biggest ever majority of MSPs in favour of an independence referendum. In line with the clear mandate given by people in that election, priority work is under way so that a referendum can be held as I've said, as the Covid crisis passes and Covid permitting within the first half of this parliamentary term and then the people of Scotland will have the choice to take our future into our own hands instead of being at the mercy of a disrebutable, discredited UK Government. Stuart McMillan. I thank the First Minister for that reply and the First Minister will be aware that since the referendum in 2014 a number of promises made by the no campaign including Mr Sarwar's party have been broken including remaining in the EU and also protecting the lower costs of food and energy. Also, this week through a great report it said that the parties that the Prime Minister and his colleagues put on were difficult to justify and there were failures in leadership and judgment from within number 10 and the Cabinet Office. That's before the met judges whether there was any criminality involved. Therefore does the First Minister therefore agree with me that as the SNP and the Scottish Green Party manifesto was offered that it's time to deliver in what the people voted for have a referendum, win that referendum and then deliver our independence from a wretched and seemingly corrupt Westminster? It's correct to say that I can say this without fear of contradiction that virtually every promise made by the no campaign in 2014 has since been broken and the crowning one of all those of course was the fact that according to them the only way to protect Scotland's membership of the European Union was to vote no to independence and here we are, ripped out of the EU against our will. Colleagues, can we please have a bit of quiet so that we can hear the First Minister? There's a key point here because independence is about aspiration, it's about empowerment it's about taking our destiny into our own hands so that we can build our future and I think it's because they fear the power of that positive argument that Tories, Labour, Liberal Democrats want to deny Scotland the choice and of course what is the alternative right now to be governed First Minister the First Minister is responding to the question no one else in the chamber is responding to the question I'm sure we'd all like to hear the answer Thank you Any political party in this chamber that was confident in their arguments around independence would not be desperate to deny the people of Scotland the right to make that choice and the alternative to independence is to continue to be governed by parties at Westminster that we don't vote for and right now that is by a disreputable, discredited Government and a Prime Minister frankly with no integrity no shame and no moral compass a Prime Minister that even Douglas Ross doesn't think is fit for office Scotland can do better than that and with independence we will do better than that Thank you Is it really now the SNP position that pensions in an independent Scotland would be paid by taxpayers in England? First Minister I think he should pay more attention to the UK Government's position he might find it gives him a bit of a shock but let me set out let me set out the position the Tories are really really nervous about this argument you can feel the discomfort coming from them because they know when the people of Scotland get the chance to escape Westminster Governments and take our future into our own hands they are going to say yes to independence When Scotland votes for independence because the case in 2014 the distribution of existing UK liabilities and assets including those related to pensions will be subject to negotiation and Scotland will fully pay its way in that but the key point here is for those in receipt of pensions and it is what the Minister for Pensions at the time in the UK Government Steve Webb confirmed that people with accumulated rights would continue to receive the current levels of state pension people will notice no difference perhaps the difference they might notice is that an independent Scotland might be able to improve the level of pensions rather than have as the UK does one of the lowest pension levels in the whole of the developed world Question 5 Katie Clark To ask the Scottish Minister whether the Scottish Government will give a commitment to keep ferry services in public ownership First Minister I'll be very clear in the commitment whatsoever to privatise public service ferries and contrary to concerns expressed in recent press reports we have no plans whatsoever to split up the CalMac network those ferries services are delivered through public contracts in line with relevant procurement requirements and guidance this ensures control over service levels timetables and fares and the contracts of course are operated right now by CalMac and Cerco Northlink the report that gave rise to those concerns has yet to even be announced but by definition it represents the views of the authors not ministers Katie Clark I am pleased that the First Minister seems to have ruled out privatisation will she commit to publishing the report once she has it rule out any parts of the current CalMac contract being awarded as a private contract as well as the full privatisation and does she accept that the current ferries crisis is as a result of a failure to invest in new fleets since 2007 with over a thousand ferries salings delayed over the last five years due to mechanical issues and will she commit to a long term ferry plan to invest in new fleets as part of an industrial strategy to build in Scotland First Minister Over the years of us being Government we have invested over £2 billion in the Clyde and Hebrides ferry service in other than IOs ferry service and in ferry infrastructure and of course we have also announced investment of £580 million in ports and vessels to improve ferry services over the next five years as part of the wider infrastructure investment plan but to come back to the first of the question I didn't seem to rule out privatisation I did rule out privatisation so let me say it again we have no plans whatsoever we will not privatise our public service ferries and equally we have no plans to split up the CalMac network so that's the position of the Scottish Government and we will continue to invest in our ferry network to give people on our islands the service they have every right to expect Jenny Minto Thank you Presiding Officer as First Minister has just said the Government has committed £580 million to fund new ferries and port investments over the next five years The soon to be deployed MV Loch Frisa is the most recent example of the Scottish Government's strong commitment to our islands Given the fragile nation of many island communities and their dependence on ferries does the First Minister share my view that Labour's scaremongering on the future of ferry services is extremely unhelpful at a time when the Scottish Government is taking positive steps to combat the trend of depopulation in many Scottish islands First Minister I absolutely agree with Jenny Minto that it is unhelpful for anybody to erroneously speculate about the future of our ferry services I think that does a disservice not only to island communities but to the crews and staff at CalMac who strive to deliver lifeline services throughout the pandemic in really challenging circumstances for all their efforts As I said in my previous answer we fully recognise the need to invest properly to support the lifeline ferry network and that is underlined by the commitment that I have already referred to £580 million as part of the infrastructure investment plan and as has just been noted this includes the purchase of the MV Loch Frisa and will also support two new vessels for island infrastructure on the sky triangle and many other important projects First Minister How is the Scottish Government working with local authorities to reduce air pollution? Our new air quality strategy that was published last year sets out a series of actions to reduce air pollution over the next five years We work closely with COSLA and local authorities on the delivery of those actions and provide £2 million per year in direct support We are also introducing low emission zones in Scotland's four largest cities supported by £3.8 million of direct funding and £9.9 million is available for businesses and public transport and those most in need affected within those cities in this financial year In addition we have a £500 million funding commitment to active travel over the next five years and are committed to reducing motor vehicle kilometres by 20 per cent by 2030 Ross Greer The First Minister will be aware of the recent Friends of the Air Scotland report showing how far we have to go to protect public health from air pollution on removing the air quality management area covering Drummond Road in Bearsden which includes Bearsden Primary This is on the basis of disputable conclusions about air quality improving in recent years i.e. during periods of lockdown Scottish air pollution limits are based on guidance published by the World Health Organization in 2005 but updated WHO guidance published last year explains why limits have to be far, far lower to protect people from harm Bearsden's air quality management area even now is recording air pollution three times on WHO's new recommended limit Can I ask the First Minister if the Scottish Government will delay consenting to the removal of any air quality management areas while it considers whether to adapt air pollution limits to better reflect the WHO's expert advice? Before I come on to the particular important local issue let me just deal again with the general point the number of monitoring sites exceeding air quality objectives in Scotland is reducing targets are being met across the vast majority of Scotland although there are some pollution hotspots in some of our cities and town centres and we work closely with local authorities and other partners to address these hotspots as quickly as possible and of course the commitment to low emission zones in the four largest cities is an important part of that The Scottish Government will await Eastern Bernture Council's formal application to revoke the Bearsden air quality management area should that be forthcoming before making any final decision and I can assure Ross Greer that any decision that requires to be taken and falls to us to take will be very carefully considered and all of the relevant data and advice will be taken into account of course should revocation take place and I would emphasise the word should there that is hypothetical we would expect the council to continue air quality monitoring in the area and to continue implementing the measures set out in the Bearsden air quality action plan Alexander Stewart First Minister a recent report identified that thousands of women could be at risk from gambling harm in Scotland and this has been exacerbated during the pandemic gambling can have a serious detrimental effect on families, psychologically and physically so can I ask what the Scottish Government can do to support these women to end the stigma attached to gambling which can prevent them from seeking urgent support they require First Minister This is an important issue certainly in the past there have been complications around the devolved reserved split of responsibilities here but nevertheless the Scottish Government will consider any action we can reasonably take will consider the report very carefully gambling is or can be a very damaging addiction and I certainly note the findings about women in particular being affected by this so we will consider that report carefully consider what further actions we can take and I will ask the relevant minister in due course once we have had the opportunity to do so to update the member accordingly Carol Mockham Thank you Despite the pain and suffering we know to have been felt by many who have had surgical mesh implants on January 25 the Scottish Government signed a deal with mesh providers to provide more mesh surgery for the next 24 months at cost of £3.5 million Given that we know the extent of post-operative problems with mesh is the First Minister aware of any alternatives offered such as natural tissue repair given the experiences of mesh campaigners will she commit to an independent review into all mesh use in Scotland so we can better understand the scale of what seems to be an increasing problem First Minister This is a really important issue in one the Government has been working hard on in a range of different ways of course with the contribution of MSPs from parties across this chamber to try to deal with the impact of mesh on women I'm going to study if Carol Monaghan will allow me to study the detail of her question there and come back to her in writing in case I don't deal with all the aspects of it in this answer Of course all surgical mesh has been suspended at the moment Transvenginal mesh the position introduced by Jean Freeman stands we have also recently in this Parliament legislated to help deal with some of the impact and we will continue to take all possible steps I met just before the pandemic with two groups of women with Jean Freeman and the then chief medical officer Catherine Calderwood for lengthy periods to hear directly from them about the impact and this Government is determined to take the action necessary in lessons as well as we go forward Alex Cole-Hamilton ONS confirm today that 100,000 Scots are living with long Covid but a parliamentary answer I received last week tells astonishingly that fewer than 1% of them have been referred into Scotland's long Covid support service fewer than 1% this is the principal Government funded service for sufferers but the Government have yet to instruct the care pathways that will see people referred into the service so can I ask the First Minister to intervene and to sort this out First Minister there's no need to intervene because this work has been taken forward of course people with long Covid will be receiving support at different levels and parts of the national health service many people will be receiving support from their GP for example and it's right that support is provided on a holistic basis in terms of the additional action the £10 million long Covid support fund is targeted specifically at areas where additional resource is needed and where it can make the biggest impact for people who need additional care and support NHS national services division is currently establishing a strategic network to help identify these areas and also support the delivery of the work that we outlined in the approach paper that we published recently we've also launched a long Covid information platform on NHS Inform to help people manage their symptoms but also help to ensure that people do know about the support that is available to them we will need to continue to develop this approach I think for a long time given the nature of long Covid and look at different ways obviously first and foremost within the national health service but different ways with that that concludes First Minister's questions