 I canharraf, morning. We begin today's proceedings with general questions. Question number one comes from Annabelle Ewing. To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Scotland regarding operations on the Fife Circo. Minister Paul Wheelhouse. The Cabinet Secretary for the Public Cloud met with Dominic Brouth of Abilial UK last week. Only this week he met with Alex Hynes, the managing director of the ScotRail alliance and his team to discuss the recent rail performance issues across the country. Maent yn gym transparency o unigiedig bethys跟我?ye跡arrurau mae'r ddylai gyfl Casimir. Annabelle Ewing? I thank the minister for his answer, but I just stress for the avoidance of any doubt that my constituents are absolutely fed up with ScotRail. Those in Aberdare and Algeti Bay face constant delays, cancellations and overcrowding, as do those in Inverkeething and North Queensbury, and those in Card and Den have to put up with the total farce of not knowing if their train will actually stop in Card and Den, rather than some random station that they have not chosen to go to. That is unacceptable, Presiding Officer, so can I ask the minister to ensure that the Cabinet Secretary will now arrange to meet again with ScotRail as a matter of urgency to ensure that, as far as the Fife circle is concerned, that ScotRail gets this back on track? Minister of Public Health and Welfare. I thank Annabelle Ewing for that supplementary, but I appreciate—I want to put it on record—that both myself and the Cabinet Secretary very much appreciate how frustrating disruption is for passengers and indeed the problems that Annabelle Ewing has highlighted in a number of localities in her constituents. She is obviously of great concern and I can understand how concerned her constituents will be. As I mentioned earlier, the Cabinet Secretary has met with Alex Hines earlier this week and has also met with the chief executive network rail, Andrew Hain several weeks ago and reiterated the need for a robust and resilient plan to deliver improvements across the network and provide customers a reliable railway. I will certainly be happy to confirm that the Cabinet Secretary will meet Annabelle Ewing to discuss the matters and to arrange a meeting with the ScotRail MD as well. Many constituents in the Fife circle have to endure the crush hour at its known, a lack of crews, a lack of stock, a lack of overcrowding, together with cancellations, as has already been indicated. Promises have been broken time and time again. What reassurances can the minister give to constituents that this intolerable situation will be addressed as a matter of urgency? It will obviously take those matters very seriously. Alexander Stewart is right to raise him a bath with constituents. The significant investment is now being made by the ScotRail Alliance to further improve the resilience of the rail network, including the Fife Circle, through the recommendations from the Donovan independent performance review commission earlier this year. The recommendations will support infrastructure, fleet and operational reliability issues across the country. Additionally, the industry is also delivering performance interventions outwith the Donovan recommendations, which are more immediate interventions. Some examples across Fife include the Inverkeithing, Thornton, and five sets of clamp lock points have been renewed in the Inverkeithing to Ladybank. Remote condition monitoring is installed at 10 locations on clamp lock points. Class 158 trains and engine radiator failures are being addressed, and the clutches on the trains are also being looked at. Those are all matters that have contributed to the poor performance in that area. In line with the comments that I made to the constituency member for Cound and Beath, Annabelle Ewing, we have taken those matters very seriously and continue to engage with the operators. Mark Ruskell There are four stations on the Fife Circle that are not fully accessible to all users. Fife Council local communities are hoping to apply for the access for all fund, but in recent years, it has only funded the refurbishment of one or two stations per year. At this rate, it will be a generation before we have a fully accessible rail network in Scotland. Can the minister inform me of any other sources of funding available for this work? Will the Scottish Government consider an accelerated programme to make the Fife Circle and the rest of the rail network in Scotland accessible for all users? Mark Ruskell I certainly would respond to Mr Ruskell on recognising the importance of the issues. We all want to see proper access for all users of our rail network and to make sure that any barriers to use of our trains are addressed. What I will do is commit to Mr Ruskell that once I have been able to have a discussion with the cabinet secretary, I will write to Mr Ruskell on the details of the potential funding options that he has asked for to make sure that we are identifying all the potential funding opportunities that could address local difficulties. I hope that that will be helpful to Mr Ruskell. Liz Smith To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the NHS integrated joint board structure. Jeane Freeman The integration joint board structure is a partnership between NHS Scotland and local authorities. The review of progress began in May 2018, is led jointly by Scottish Government and COSLA and is expected to conclude in January 2019 when its findings will be presented to the ministerial strategic group for health and community care. Liz Smith I thank the cabinet secretary for that helpful answer. Does the cabinet secretary accept that the significant challenges that are faced by the administration of integrated health and social care demand very clear lines of responsibility and accountability and that the current structures have not been seen to be sufficiently robust in that respect? Jeane Freeman I am grateful to Liz Smith for her supplementary and, indeed, for raising this whole question. I think that across the country, across our integrated joint boards, what we see is a mixed picture and so, whilst I would not completely agree with Liz Smith on this matter, I am aware that that is the case in some areas. The remit of the review includes looking at finance, governance and commissioning arrangements, delivery and improving outcomes. It would be my intention that part of the review's focus will be on precisely the matters that she has outlined, which are lines of responsibility and accountability. I would expect to see the review's assessment of that across all the integrated joint boards and any recommendations that it might have for us and COSLA on how we can improve and make—provide greater clarity on those matters. Bob Doris To ask the Scottish Government how it supports victims of domestic violence in the Maryhill Anne's Bringburn constituency. We are bringing forward new legislation and investing record levels of funding for front-line services to help support victims and survivors of domestic abuse. We fund a range of services in Glasgow, including the Glasgow East Women's Aid, which supports women and children and the assist advocacy service. We are also working to improve the response of just services and have provided funding to reduce court waiting times for domestic abuse cases and expand the innovative Caledonian programme, a domestic abuse perpetrator programme in Glasgow. Finally, in 2019, we will commence the Domestic Abuse Act, which creates a specific offence of domestic abuse, which will cover not just physical abuse but also other forms of psychological abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour. Bob Doris I thank the minister for that answer. Minister, the Scottish Women's Aid report changed justice fairness. Why should we have to move everywhere and everything because of him draws on the experience of women's domestic and sexual abuse? It recommends making it easy for women to stay in their own home when practical instead of moving the perpetrator, as well as other related recommendations when women are forced to flee domestic abuse. I ask the minister how the Scottish Government is giving serious and significant consideration to those very important matters, and I note in doing so the positive engagement of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations on the issue that I met with them and Scottish Women's Aid. I absolutely agree with the member that housing and domestic abuse is a very serious issue. I am very well aware of the publication that he mentions, which is based on research that he carried out in Fife. In the programme for government, that committee does to consulting on further protections for those at risk of domestic abuse through new protective orders that could be used to keep victims of domestic abuse safe by banning perpetrators from their homes. The consultation on that is currently being prepared and will include whether changes are needed to the current system of exclusion orders. I urge colleagues across the chamber and the Federation of Housing Associations and others to take part in that consultation and raise those issues as part of that process. To ask the Scottish Government when it will respond to the proposals from the five cross-border local authorities regarding a borderlands growth deal. Minister Paul Wheelhouse, the cabinet secretary met the leaders of the borderlands authorities on 30 October to discuss their ambitions for a growth deal. He reiterated our strong support for a borderlands deal and his desire to see that taken forward. It was agreed to meet again to discuss the next steps, and the cabinet secretary had the chance to consider the detail of the proposal. The five local authorities involved in the borderlands deserve great credit for developing their growth deal proposals. However, they were given a deadline of September to submit those plans with the promise that they would be considered as part of the UK budget, but sadly that budget did not propose any funding. I urge the Government not to make the same mistake and ask it to consider those plans and set out a clear funding commitment in the budget when it is published in December. The member, Colin Smyth, will probably appreciate that what is in the budget is a matter for the finance secretary who is sitting in front of me and to avoid any death stares from Mr Mackay. I will avoid giving any figures away today. We understand the need for local partners to have as much certainty as early as possible. We are continuing to push the UK Government not only to deal with the borderlands deal but to cover 100 per cent of Scotland with growth deals. I assure the member that the cabinet secretary will be pushing hard, as he has done with the Tay cities deal, to get decision from UK ministers. Joan McAlpine Thank you very much. Given that David Mundell has been talking up a borderlands growth deal for years and that the UK budget failed to deliver any money at all, does the minister agree that it reflects very badly on Mr Mundell's influence within the UK cabinet? Furthermore, can he assure us that he will be demanding that any money that is allocated by the Scottish Government is matched in full by the UK? On the latter part of the question, minister. I should also declare interest as a representative of the south of Scotland, but we have made clear our own commitment to the south of Scotland on securing a deal for the borderlands. We are working hard to deliver that deal as quickly as possible, recognising the need to ensure that we are investing in the right things that support inclusive growth. Colin Smyth and Joan McAlpine are right to be keen to see that progress, but it is incumbent on the UK Government to demonstrate that they are able to match our commitment to move forward at pace. There have been some encouraging signals from individual UK ministers about delivering 100 per cent coverage of Scotland with growth deals as yet a formal UK Government commitment to this goal has not been forthcoming, and the Scottish Government wants to achieve 100 per cent coverage, as I said in response to Colin Smyth. We stand ready to make that happen with UK Government colleagues. I was pleased that the chancellor mentioned the borderlands growth deal in his autumn statement. This week, I met with borderlands champion John Stevenson MP to discuss this specific deal. Many in my constituency believe that there should be more cross-border co-operation, especially concerning infrastructure projects such as the extension of the border's railway. Does the minister agree with me that this growth deal provides a perfect opportunity to develop cross-border connectivity, and will he ensure that the Scottish Government will work with the UK Government to deliver for the people of the borderlands? I welcome the latter-day conversion of the Conservatives to supporting the extension of the border's railway. Members across the chamber will remember opposition from those benches in past times. On the sincere point that Rachel Hamilton makes about cross-border collaboration, we recognise that there are opportunities to collaborate on developing a growth deal for borderlands. We want to see a successful outcome for local authorities in both sides of the border. It takes commitment from both sides of the border. The Scottish Government has put its commitment forward for all previous growth deals and has committed to match UK Government funding. I think that it would be good if Rachel Hamilton and her colleagues could press their UK ministers to come forward with commitments about funding as soon as possible. To ask the Scottish Government when the findings of the South West transport study will be published. The study is well under way. Over 100 representatives from a wide range of stakeholder groups were invited to workshops held in Stranraer, Dumfries and Mabel in October and early November. Those were well attended and positive feedback was received from participants. Furthermore, a public online survey has also been highly successful and received over 2,500 responses to date. Analytical work is on-going and it is anticipated that the findings will be published in early 2019, with the emerging outcomes forming part of the evidence base for the second strategic transport projects review. I thank the minister for that answer and my understanding that that will feed into the national transport study. We are three years before the people in the south west find out if they will get the investment in the infrastructure that they deserve. There is a welcome £3 billion investment in dualling the A9 against a projected £3.30 million investment in a Mabel bypass. Given that the A75 and A77 linked the busiest port in Scotland at Cairnwyne with the rest of Scotland and also into south of the border, is it not about time that the south west infrastructure needs were met after years of neglect? I was fortunate to be watching the debate on my television set when Michael Matheson was discussing the members' debate the other night. Emma Harper led on the upgrades to road infrastructure in the south west. Michael Matheson made the point at that time. We are dealing with a legacy of decades of under-investment in the south west Scotland. This Government has made significant investments. I hope that Mr Whittle will be open enough to admit that progress in respect of the Dunraget bypass has helped constituents in the south west of Scotland, but we are the cabinet secretary and I appreciate if I can answer rather than listen to Mr Whittle whittling away from his benches. We are trying to address the strategic transport needs of the south west of Scotland. The cabinet secretary has made very clear his Government's commitment to continue to invest in the south west during the A77, A75, in the debate this week. I hope that he will continue to engage with the member on that. Bill Kidd To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on next month's completion of the roll-out of the universal credit full service. We have consistently called for the halt of the roll-out of universal credit and will continue to do so. Universal credit is pushing people into poverty, rent arrears and hardship. It is simply not fit for purpose yet the UK Government has refused to listen to the overwhelming evidence that it must be stopped until its fundamental flaws are fixed. It is unacceptable that the UK Government should carry on with the universal credit, regardless of the clear evidence of the damage that it is causing the people and the communities across this country. Bill Kidd I thank the minister very much for that response. This new roll-out is due to start in Drumchapel within my Glasgow Anisland constituency on 5 December. With families getting caught up in this debacle just three weeks before Christmas and at one of the coldest times of the year, knowing they love to deal with a minimum of five weeks delay in receiving their first payment, does the minister agree with me that this imposition really does beg her, the Prime Minister's statement at her party conference, that austerity is over? Mr Kidd will not be surprised to realise that I do agree with him. austerity is clearly not over for most people affected by universal credit. The UK Government has missed an opportunity to use its budget to address the numerous fundamental flaws with universal credit, including the minimum five-week delay in receiving a first payment. The budget has also missed an opportunity for the benefit freeze to have been lifted with immediate effect and benefits uprated in line with inflation. The benefit freeze has led to a reduction in spending of around £190 million this year and will increase to around £370 million in 2021. For all the people impacted for these cuts, austerity is still in their homes. That was an opportunity to make a much-needed change to universal credit that was so desperately needed and has been so desperately wasted by the UK Government. Question 7 Johann Lamont Thank you. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to alleviate homelessness in Glasgow. Cabinet Secretary, Eileen Campbell. Ending homelessness and rough sleeping is a priority for this Government. We have allocated £23.5 million for rapid rehousing and housing first to support people who are sleeping rough or living in temporary accommodation and to settled accommodation first, then tailor any support that they need. Up to £6.5 million of this supports our partnership with SocialBite, who are working with the Cora Foundation, Glasgow Homelessness Network and partners to deliver housing first to pathfinders in five cities, including Glasgow. The homelessness prevention and strategy group is leading work to publish an ending homelessness together action plan by the end of this year. Johann Lamont Thank you. Cabinet Secretary must be all too aware that the Scottish Government has cut the level of funding to groups tackling homelessness in Glasgow by more than £100,000 since 2007. She must also be aware that Glasgow's overall budget has been cut massively in real terms since 2007, and I know that she knows that rough sleeping, the most visible evidence of homelessness has increased significantly in Glasgow. What representation has she made to the finance secretary to ensure that he provides fair funding for Glasgow to allow it to tackle the causes and consequences of homelessness? All that means for far too many people in communities across Glasgow. The £50 million that we have allocated to end homelessness shows absolutely our complete and utter commitment to end homelessness together, our work with partners across the third sector and our work with local authorities to make sure that we can transform housing policy and eradicate homelessness and prevent unnecessary consequences that arise as a result of that. Of course, I regularly have dialogue and communications with the finance minister around that, but I think that, for a start, the member should recognise that the £50 million is a significant amount of investment into tackling the issue and will continue to work hard and deliver on the impacts and the recommendations of the HRSA group to make a transformative difference to the people of Glasgow and the people of Scotland. Thank you. That concludes General Questions. Before we turn to First Minister's questions, members may wish to join me in welcoming to the gallery the ambassador of the Republic of Austria to the UK, His Excellency Michael Zimmerman.