 Mae gennymwy o cwestiwn y cwestiwn hwnnw, Hansala Malik. Thank you very much and good afternoon, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to tackle racism and discrimination and what it believes to be the underreporting of discrimination. Minister Mark Biaidge. Any form of racism is unacceptable. The Scottish Government is committed to tackling racial discrimination and all forms of hate crime. We are renewing our approach to ac yn ddyfodol ar dweudio cyfnodau o'r rhagleniau newid yn enw arhefyd y Rhagleniau Llywodraethau bydd angen i dd 55 a 25. Fel y Moloch. Thank you for the response. It is all very good to say how welcoming we Scots are, and Glasgow has welcomed the first refugees from Syria this week. But that doesn't mean that we Scots are immune from racism or discrimination. In the study by on-discrimination in Scotland. Dr Nasser Meir from Southside University found that around a third of ethnic minority people surveyed said they had experienced discrimination in the past five years and of those 60% did not report it to anyone. Obviously what the government is currently doing is not working so I would want to know what practical steps are being taken to address that point of view experience by the minority communities. In fact, I would welcome and like the minister to write to me in order to show the SNP government's commitment and to and take the opportunity to address the issues that are being concerned in the community out there. Minister? I am aware of the research. The research also found that 82 per cent of everyone's survey would encourage a friend or family to make a formal complaint if they had encountered discrimination. So there is a strong feeling out there that people will be urging each other to report. We recognise that reporting is not high enough. We have been engaging very widely throughout the summer to ensure that we are taking on board the views of everyone with an interest in this to develop a really effective strategy. I would be very happy to write to the member with the list of many concrete steps that are in front of me so that he can be reassured that we are taking action to increase reporting and to ensure that hate crime is tackled. Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to calling in the planning application in relation to the Whitehall and Senatorate. Presiding Officer, the appeal was decided by an independent reporter appointed by Scottish ministers on 14 August 2015. I note the concerns raised in the local area and I met with local representatives recently to discuss the process. I wrote to South Lanarkshire Council on 3 November to invite the council to confirm whether or not it proposes to take steps to revoke the permission using its powers under section 65 of the planning act. The council has advised that it does not propose to revoke the consent. James Kelly? I thank the cabinet secretary for his answer. As he said in his own response, he will be aware of the local concern on this issue, particularly in my constituency in Blantyre, and it was real anger after the original application was turned down by South Lanarkshire Council that the Scottish Government stepped in and ruled that the application would go ahead. Treating local people with this sort of contempt and anger has really undermined local people's confidence in the Scottish Government's handle on this issue. Can I ask if the cabinet secretary will give consideration and take responsibility for calling in this application and giving real respect to the views of local people? Presiding Officer, this decision was taken by an independent reporter, not directly by ministers. I cannot legally call in this application because the application has already been decided. The council and many of the councillors have said that they want to see the decision revoked. I therefore gave the opportunity to the council whether they would revoke it or not, and they have written back to me saying that there is no intention of revoking the application. I therefore take it that some of the comments made by the likes of councillor Monica Lennon were just paying lip service and playing to the gallery when, in fact, when they had the opportunity to do something about it, they refused to do it. Can the cabinet secretary confirm that all future planning decisions regarding incinerators will automatically be referred to the Scottish Government as I think he suggested? If that is the case, can he also confirm that using the revocation provisions to overturn this application would not therefore be setting a precedent for the future? I do not think that one follows from the other, but I have publicly stated very clearly that I have made a rule within my department that in future all such projects would come to me as the planning minister for final decision. As far as the setting precedence and revocation is concerned, those powers do exist in the planning act. They have never been used, but, as I say, I gave the council the opportunity as to whether they wanted to revoke because they would still require my permission, but the council has very firmly ruled out any possibility of them revoking the application. Thank you, Presiding Officer, to ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken toward ending the gender pay gap and tackling gender discrimination in the workplace. Cabinet Secretary, Rosanna Cunningham. I am greatly encouraged by the figures published by the Office of National Statistics yesterday, which show that the gender pay gap in Scotland has decreased from 9.1 per cent in 2014 to 7.3 per cent in 2015. That is very welcome news and demonstrates the progress Scotland is making in closing the gender pay gap, particularly when compared to the rest of the UK. We are working with the Equality and Human Rights Commission to tackle pregnancy-related and maternity-related discrimination. We are tackling the underrepresentation of women in senior management roles and in the boardroom. We are strengthening our commitment to pay transparency by reducing the threshold at which public authorities must report on their pay gap, and we continue to promote fair work practices and to extend childcare. As the First Minister announced last week, we will, if re-elected, bring forward legislation to require gender balance on the boards of our public bodies in the first year of a new Parliament. Richard Lyle I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer and join with her in sharing my belief in the importance of continuing to tackle the issue of gender discrimination in the workplace and putting an end to the gender pay gap. How important the Scottish Government believes organisations like in gender are in working to deliver changes on those important issues? We, of course, believe that organisations like in gender are absolutely crucial in helping us to deliver change on issues such as the gender pay gap, both by raising awareness of the issues and lending us their expertise to consider how we can make meaningful change, which is of immense value. I am delighted to have an opportunity to thank in gender and, of course, our other partners, close the gap and equate Scotland, who also worked directly on the issues associated with the gender pay gap. The cabinet secretary may remember how robust the First Minister was last week about some local authorities dragging their feet in regard to long-outstanding equal pay claims. I know that the Government has written to local authorities about this and would be interested to know about responses received. The Minister for Local Government, Marco Biagi, wrote to all 32 Scottish local authorities on 28 October to reiterate the Scottish Government's desire to see progress. He asked them to respond by tomorrow, 20 November. So far, we have heard back from 10 councils in response to the letter. I can confirm to the member that South Lanarkshire Council is one of those that has responded and can advise that they have so far resolved and settled 3,035 claims and have a further 3,637 in process. Thank you. Question 4, in the name of Alex Johnson, has not been lodged. This is the second week in a row that Mr Johnson has not lodged a question, and it is the second week in a row that I have had no explanation for the non-ludging of that question. I will be seeking a meeting with Mr Johnson to discuss these matters. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Fife College regarding the relocation of its Halbeath campus. Scottish Government officials met with senior representatives from Fife College on 4 September to discuss future plans for its estate. I understand that Fife College has also been having regular discussions with the Scottish Funding Council on this matter. Can I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer? Given that we are celebrating Scotland's town's week, the national campaign to help communities unite, inspire and support our town centres, and given the Scottish Government's commitment to the town centre first principle, does the cabinet secretary agree with me that locating the new Fife College campus into Dumfermline town centre could provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a future-proof development right in the heart of Dumfermline and to inject real vibrancy into the town centre, given much-needed boost to the high street, to local businesses and to the local economy in Dumfermline? I thank Ms Hilton for her question. I am aware of the campaign for the new campus development to be in the town centre of Dumfermline. The Government is indeed committed to the town centre first principle, and we would expect colleges and other stakeholders to pay due regard to that. It is important to bear in mind that town centre locations are not always possible, but transparency of process is absolutely crucial. I am sure that the college will continue to give careful thought to the location of the college and, as it moves forward in development of their business case, the business case is very important and has to be developed and approved before any announcement can be made on decisions with regard to location. Question 6, in the name of Neil Findlay, has withdrawn. The member has provided me with a satisfactory explanation. Question 7, Ian Gray. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to protect tenant farmers, affected by the Salvesonview riddle case and subsequent remedial order. The Scottish Government brought forward the remedial order in 2014 to put right a defect that the Supreme Court had found in section 7210 of the Agricultural Holding Scotland Act 2003, which was legislated for by the previous administration. The remedial order sought to balance the respective ECHR rights of landlords and tenants and came into force on 3 April 2014. Since then, in around 300 cases, affected tenants have agreed private arrangements with the respective landlords. However, seven cases remain where agreement has not been reached and the tenants are now taking action against the Scottish Government for alleged loss, injury and damage sustained as a result of the order. Meanwhile, the Scottish Government has offered to facilitate, fund and participate in mediation to assist those tenants and landlords to reach agreements. Ian Gray. Thank you, Presiding Officer. This is less a question and more a last minute heartfelt plea. The Cabinet Secretary knows that my constituent, Andrew Stoddart, his family and his employees face eviction without proper compensation from their farm now in less than 10 days. I simply ask that the Cabinet Secretary please, even at this 11th hour, finds it in his heart to intervene to prevent this happening. As Ian Gray may be aware, and indeed Parliament, I have taken a very close interest in this case and have spoken directly to Andrew Stoddart and communicated with the trustees as well. The difficulty, of course, we do face is that both the landlord and tenants at the Colson main farm signed and launched an agreement with the court in March 2015 to confirm that the tenancy would end on 28 November 2015. The Government does not have any power to amend that agreement. A further issue is that the trust has now signed a contract for Colson mains to be farmed by somebody else after the end of the current lease. However, we do share the concerns of Ian Gray and other members over the fate of Mr Stoddart and his family. I have asked and asked again today and hope that I have the support of Parliament for the trustees, Turk and Connell, to extend the current lease at Colson mains farms for at least a short time to allow alternatives to be considered. The Scottish Government has actively been looking for alternative farmland for Mr Stoddart. So far, nothing appropriate has turned up, but we will continue that search. We have also urged the landlord to reach agreement with the tenants on wagle compensation as soon as possible. This is a very complex case. I am sure that Mr Gray, who is aware of local intelligence, will be aware of that as well, but we will do all that we can to make sure that the case reaches a satisfactory conclusion. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact on jobs in Scotland's economy of the reported Ministry of Defence plan to reduce the number of type 26 frigates being built in order to pay for the replacement of Trident. Cabinet Secretary Keith Brown, the Scottish Government and its agencies are working closely with BAE to support investment in the long-term future of shipbuilding capability on the Clyde. BAE was awarded the £860 million demonstration phase contract by the MOD in February 2015. That included provision for ordering of long lead items for the first three type 26 frigates. We are informed by BAE that negotiations with the MOD in relation to the manufacturing phase contract for type 26 are scheduled to conclude by the end of March 2016 at the latest. We have further meetings planned with the company in the coming months with a view to supporting the company to maximise the potential of the Clyde operations. Scottish ministers, of course, are firmly opposed to the possession, threat and use of nuclear weapons and are committed to securing the safe and complete withdrawal of Trident from Scotland. Bill Kidd. I thank the cabinet secretary for that response. I am just concerned that, following the claims that the Scots and my constituents of Glasgow and the Governyards would close through lack of orders who Scotland voted yes in last year's referendum, it seems to be flying the face of this idea that we should play fast and loose with shipyard workers' jobs in order to waste billions of pounds on an expensive weapon of mass destruction. I agree, of course, that the UK Government has its defence spending priorities all wrong. It is indefensible for them to contemplate spending £167 billion on a new generation of nuclear weapons and to do so at the expense of planned surface ship programmes and to do so at the expense of jobs in Scotland would be doubly wrong. In the meantime, our enterprise agency, Scottish Enterprise, has been working with BAE Systems' surface ships limited closely to support its shipbuilding facilities modernisation, the SFM programme. The programme would future-proof the yards at Governyns, Scotland and allow BAE to pursue potential international export opportunities, as well as further MOD contracts, including the type 26 work. Our support is independent of the precise outcome of BAE's negotiations with the MOD on the type 26 contract. For my part, I should add that I took the opportunity to raise the issue of the type 26 contract with the Minister of State for Defence procurement when I met him earlier on this week. Our message should be from the chamber that we do not want to see Scottish jobs sold down the river to pay for nuclear weapons in future. To ask the Scottish Government what support it will provide to the tenants in the lawn area of Leith, who are seeking an alternative to eviction by a charitable trust that owns the properties. The community ownership support service, which we fund through our empowering communities fund, has been given the tenants of Lawn Street in Leith practical advice on community ownership options. I understand that Malcolm Chisholm attended a meeting between COS and representatives of the tenants on 4 November, and COS are keeping in touch with the situation and stand ready to offer further advice. The Scottish Government welcomes the recent decision by the Agnes Hunter Trust to impose a moratorium on its plans to sell off its houses to allow town for the tenants to explore alternatives to eviction such as form of community ownership. We hope that the tenants and the Agnes Hunter Trust can agree an approach that will work successfully for them and the Lawn Street community. The minister will remember that in the house building debate yesterday I called the Lawn Tennis community of the year because of its magnificent campaign to preserve its community and stay in its home. What support could the Scottish Government give moral support in the first instance and, ideally, some financial support to enable them to stay together as part of a housing association or co-op? I certainly would accept what Malcolm Chisholm says about the community and the way that they have got together to try and maintain their tenancies. I am sure that the member will know that, in terms of the Scottish Government's affordable housing supply, that is channeled through the Edinburgh City Council. I know that there is a discussion with a number of organisations to look at a solution for the tenants there. Certainly, Scottish Government officials are ready to provide all the practical assistance and support that they can to any organisation that comes up with a viable solution for the tenants of Lawn Street, because this is real people and families that we are talking about, and we are well aware of that.