 Felly, o quesiennau, canganik i am Windows 2 i'w myfyrdd yr unrhy Blick yn thydd o'r cgres fwygarcyd dros i ymweld i'r sultiffau? Mae fôl hefyd dros teimlo am g시� Passionொa Fociriaid C uglylionol o cwysigol taimus i thamau bod hi adeiladii a sy correu wyrddwr, ac rwyf na fyrdd eщilol menyru namei a handy the произm Trend,immtarioch and the general people for their commitment and for prevalence over the past couple of days in the face of the very extreme weather conditions. Many, including many members of the public, have and continue to go the extra mile to help those in need. I am grateful to them. Of course, very difficult situations have been encountered by many, not least those ac, in some cases, overnight and into the smorning on the M80. I can advise the chamber that the situation on the M80 is improving, but work continues particularly on the southbound carriageway to clear the backlog of traffic and get the road open again, but only, of course, when it is safe to do so. There have been very extensive efforts overnight involving local authorities, to place the fire service mountain rescue and volunteers to ensure the welfare of those who have been stuck in their vehicles. The Scottish Government resilience committee has been meeting regularly and we will continue to do so. One issue of particular attention for us today is support for health boards, where, understandably, many members of staff are facing real challenges getting to work. Although the red weather warning came to an end at 10am today, a high-impact amber weather warning remains in place for most of the country. That means that the advice today for the general public remains do not travel unless it is unavoidable. In the last couple of hours, the Met Office has extended that amber warning through to 10am tomorrow morning. Let me, Presiding Officer, be very clear what that means. While everything possible will be done to keep roads clear and open, if you do travel during this period, you face significant risk of encountering block roads and possibly becoming stranded. Given that the amber warning with the associated do not travel advice has now been extended through tomorrow morning's rush hour, I can also advise the chamber that the Scottish Government will continue our engagement with business organisations. I would take the opportunity again to urge employers to be flexible and to put the safety of their staff first at all times. Also, while temperatures remain low and conditions remain difficult, I encourage everyone who can to check on elderly neighbours and keep an eye out for anyone who may be vulnerable or need help. Details of organisations who stand ready to provide help and shelter to anyone who is homeless have been widely circulated. Let me end where I started by thanking sincerely all those working hard to keep people safe. Conditions such as those that we are experiencing now make a level of disruption and inconvenience inevitable. I think that everybody understands that, although many people across the country are working hard to minimise that disruption and inconvenience. However, the priority is and will continue to be public safety at all times. My message to the public is to please heed the weather and travel warnings that are issued for your safety and to follow advice from the police, from Transport Scotland and from your local council. I will now, of course, be happy to answer any questions during First Minister's questions. Thank you very much. We turn to the first question, Ruth Davidson. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Let me take up one of my questions on the weather that we are facing today. We have seen bus drivers, red cross workers and emergency services once again rise to the challenge, and everyone across Scotland thanks them for their fortitude and, in many cases, bravery. The advice remains not to travel, and I join the First Minister in urging everybody to heed that advice, including, I am sad to say, Scottish Conservative activists preparing for a party conference. It is now off. I ask the First Minister to reassure the country that every possible resource available to agencies will be put to effective use to try to return our transport system to normal as soon as possible over the coming few days. I thank Ruth Davidson for that question and, perhaps also put in record my thanks to the Conservative Party for the responsibility that has been shown around the arrangements for their party conference. I can give the assurance that every possible resource will be brought to bear to ensure that we are keeping the country moving as far as we can, given the travel warnings that are in place, but also ensuring that there is a recovery as quickly as possible once those warnings are lifted. If I can give some context, there are around the country right now more than 200 trunk road winter vehicles that are available for spreading salt and ploughing snow. That is typically one spreader for every 16 kilometres of trunk road. There are currently over 360,000 tonnes of salt available to treat the trunk roads. All available resources last night and into this morning on the M8 have been made available. That consisted of five spreaders and a multi-purpose vehicle. All resources are being brought to bear. We continue to co-ordinate the response through the Scottish Government's resilience unit. As I indicated in my remarks a few moments ago, we are paying particular attention today to some of the difficulties that are being experienced by health boards, including, for example, by Edinburgh royal infirmary in this city. It is understandable that some members of our healthcare staff will struggle to get to work, so that is why particular focus has been paid to that today. There are a whole range of impacts of weather such as this, and it is not just Government and agencies working with Government that respond. Members of the public have been responding extremely well. Again, I would put on record my thanks to everybody who has done so. Ruth Davidson Thank you. Yesterday, the First Minister unveiled her plan to boost the Scottish economy with a new Scottish national investment bank. Of course, that is a different thing to the existing Scottish investment bank, which is also different to the proposed business development bank, and of course should not be confused with the SME holding fund or the capital acceleration programme, or indeed the £1.5 billion Scottish growth scheme that has barely released a penny. Can I ask the First Minister, does this sound like joined up investment to her? First Minister? Well, actually, I agree with Ruth Davidson on the fact that the investment bank that the implementation plan for which was published yesterday is very different to any of the schemes that she has spoken about. That is because we believe that we need to provide something and an ability to intervene on a scale and of a nature that is different to what has gone before. Of course, if Ruth Davidson, as I assume that she will have, read Benny Higgins' implementation report closely, she will see that once the investment bank is up and running, it is the intention for things like the SME holding fund, the current Scottish investment bank that is under the aegis of Scottish Enterprise to come under the umbrella of the investment bank. So we will, of course, once we have the opportunity to consider Benny Higgins' report in detail and respond—I indicated yesterday that we will respond formally in mail, although we have given early indications of our support for some of the recommendations. Keith Brown will, of course, come to the chamber, and I would hope that there would be a full debate around the detail of that in the chamber. I guess that my final point would be this. I would hope that everybody across the chamber would welcome this initiative. We frequently and rightly have debates in this chamber about the economy. As I frequently say, the fundamentals of the Scottish economy are strong, but we know the challenges that we face. People from right across the spectrum, from those working in the financial services sector to a whole range of different interests, friends of the earth, for example, have recognised the potential for an investment bank of this nature to be truly transformational. I would hope that that is something that would be in sight, in thws and get the support of everybody in this chamber. Ruth Davidson. The First Minister says that this is a model of clarity, but nobody seems to have told her office, because, when we made a freedom of information request asking for details of the new investment bank, she wrote back asking which one we were talking about. We replied that it is the same one that you announced in 2009, that you re-announced in 2013, that you announced again in 2015, and the one that John Swinney said that you should not do after all in 2016. Even your office did not seem to know the difference between the Scottish investment bank and the Scottish national investment bank, so how can the public? The First Minister. I would have thought that even Ruth Davidson would have risen to the challenge of seeing the opportunity that is now presented. Of course, we have—let me make two points. Of course, as I said in my earlier answer, there is an organisation that sits within Scottish Enterprise called the Scottish Investment Bank. We want to do something now on a different scale and of a different nature. Yes, we have considered that in the past and for various reasons have decided that it was not the appropriate time to move forward. We have decided that now is the time, and we have now done—or rather, more accurately, Benny Higgins has done—an amazing amount of work in a very short period of time to get to the point that we reached yesterday of the publication of the implementation plan. I commend that plan to everybody across the chamber. Those who may or may not include Ruth Davidson, who has not actually read the implementation plan yet to do so. You will see the detail of the work that has been done. What I thought was impressive about Benny Higgins' work published yesterday was that it set out the vision for what an investment bank can achieve, but also a lot of the detailed work that is now required to make that a reality. I set out the Government's intention now to move at pace. Formally, establishing a national investment bank will require legislation in this Parliament, but pending that legislation we want to get that bank operating in shadow form during 2019. There will be a lot of debate around the detail of that, but, in terms of the aim, the objective and the principle, I hope that even Ruth Davidson will get to a point where she can be excited and enthused by the potential that it offers. Ruth Davidson, despite the farcical response from the First Minister's office, there is a serious point here. After 10 years in power and 9 years since the first proposed investment bank, all those re-announcements have led us nowhere. Although I do not want to bury the First Minister under an avalanche of statistics, here goes. The SNP told us in 2010 that it would increase exports by 50 per cent, and it failed. Its figures show that it is running short by the small matter of £27 billion. That is the price of an SNP that is keen to get the headlines for launches and relaunches, but forgets to even start to build the actual bank until nine years later. After such a litany of failure, why should we believe that yesterday's announcement should be any different? I am sorry to bury Ruth Davidson in an avalanche of statistics, but here goes. Scotland's international exports, excluding oil and gas, increased by £460 million to just short of £30 billion in 2016. Overall, Scotland's international exports are up between 2007 and 2016 by 45 per cent. Scottish whisky exports were valued at £4.36 billion, up 9 per cent compared with 2016. That paint is a different picture from the one that Ruth Davidson was trying to paint. As Ruth Davidson has shown in her questioning, we have had a range of interventions to provide financing for businesses, to help them to innovate and to help them to export more. They have had some successes, but we look at the challenges that are facing our economy now. The need to catch up with the productivity levels of other European countries and the way we have closed the gap with the rest of the UK, the need to grow the economy faster and, of course, the need to prepare for the impact of Brexit that has been imposed by Ruth Davidson's party on the Scottish economy. We think that the time is right now to do that partly through the establishment of a Scottish national investment bank. We have got to the stage, as we did yesterday, of publishing an implementation plan. Now we are going to get on with the work of turning that into a reality. I hope that everybody across the chamber will make a contribution to making sure that that happens. I thank the First Minister for her statement and associate those benches with her message of support to those people who work in both night and day to get the country moving again. The extreme weather has brought about a grinding halt to Scotland's transport system. However, it is not just our road and rail networks that are affected by this weather. Just last Thursday, one mile away from here, a man who had been sleeping rough died in the freezing cold. He died sleeping on a discarded mattress, so it is clear that urgent action is needed to end rough sleeping. I welcome the setting up by the Government of the rough sleeping action group, which has been set the task of reducing rough sleeping this winter. Can the First Minister update us on their work and tell Parliament how the Government will be measuring its impact? Yes, I can. I first take the opportunity to say that, for as long as one single person is homeless or rough sleeping in our country, we still have work to do. I hope that that is something that will unite all of us across the chamber. The homelessness and rough sleeping action group moved very quickly, as Richard Leonard is aware, to make recommendations on actions to tackle rough sleeping during this winter. All those recommendations were accepted by the Scottish Government, and those recommendations are already being implemented. The action group is now examining longer-term actions to end rough sleeping and to transform the use of temporary accommodation, and the next set of recommendations are due from the action group in the spring. Richard Leonard is also aware that we have created an ending homelessness fund of £50 million over the next five years to help to support prevention and drive sustainable change. As all of us know, Scotland is some of the strongest rights for homeless people in the world, but we must make sure that those rights can be exercised and that everybody found to be homeless is entitled to housing and gets that housing, and that is of huge importance. I think that the importance of that, while we know about it and feel it at every time, is underlined during the extreme weather conditions that we are facing right now. As I indicated in my remarks earlier, details of a range of organisations, such as Street Work and the Bethany Christian Trust, have been circulated so that anybody is aware of anybody who is homeless or is sleeping rough, can contact those organisations to get help and shelter for individuals concerned. Richard Leonard I welcome that answer from the First Minister, because anybody walking the streets of any city across Scotland knows that it feels as if there has been a marked increase in rough sleeping. We know that rough sleeping increased last year in Wales by 10 per cent, in England by 15 per cent, but we simply do not know precisely how much it is increasing in Scotland, because the Scottish Government does not comprehensively measure that. In London, for example, it does not only comprehensively count the number of rough sleepers. That information is systematically shared across all relevant public agencies and homelessness organisations in the city. So, First Minister, will you follow the lead of the Greater London Authority and consider establishing a combined homelessness and information network approach here in Scotland? The short answer to that question is yes. We want to be in a position to learn for best practice from wherever we find it. As I have already indicated, we have established the action group that is looking at exactly issues of this type, and we will make a suite of recommendations about how we better tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, but also how we better gather and report and share the statistics on that, because it is extremely important, as I think we would all recognise, that we have an accurate picture of that. I certainly do recognise the anecdotal evidence and some of the statistical evidence that we have suggesting an increase in rough sleeping. We all know, I think, that the welfare cuts that are being introduced by the UK Government are one of the driving factors of that, but we all have a responsibility to work together to address that. Whatever other issues may divide us in this chamber, I hope that this is an issue where those of us in those benches and the Labour benches would be able to find common ground and work together. We are certainly open to suggestions such as the one that Richard Leonard has just made. Richard Leonard I would like to thank again the First Minister for the tone of her response, because imagine facing a night on the streets in this weather, imagine being evicted last night or tonight and facing the extreme cold. The campaign group Living Rent has proposed a change in the law to ban winter evictions. In France, a version of this law runs from the 1 November to 31 March each year and covers all tenants. It stops people being thrown onto the streets when temperatures drop. Such a measure would simply save lives in Scotland. My party will consider banning winter evictions as part of our housing reform policy. Will you commit your Government today to doing the same? The First Minister I will commit my Government to doing exactly as Richard Leonard has just said there and considering that as a step that we can take to help us tackle what we all accept is a very, very serious issue. I want to say again, because I think that it is important that we establish and I think that we establish with the support of Richard Leonard and his colleagues the Homelessness Action Group, which is composed of a range of experts and asks them to specifically look at recommendations that they want to make. Those will be the kinds of things that the Action Group is looking at and may well form part of the recommendations that they put forward. I give a commitment today that we will take forward the recommendations of that Action Group when they come forward in the spring, as we did their interim recommendations towards the end of last year. Before I finish this answer, Richard Leonard rightly talks about the experiences of anybody living rough or without a home in weather conditions The Scottish Government social media channels have circulated details of a range of organisations that are there to help now. I encourage all members of the chamber to use their own methods of getting that information out there as widely as possible. The First Minister will be aware of the challenges last summer on Skye at various sites as tourists came to see why the constituency I represent is the most beautiful in Scotland. Can the First Minister advise what the Scottish Government is doing to invest in improved infrastructure at key sites such as the Ferry Pools, the Carang and Nice Point to name just a few? We should be very proud that so many people choose to come to Scotland to enjoy our beautiful scenery and attractions, if not always our weather. Tourism is a vital industry for Scotland and we should continue to support its growth. However, we recognise that an increase in visitor numbers can lead to pressure on local infrastructure. That is why last year we announced the Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund. I am delighted that Fiona Hyslop announced three pilot projects for the fund, including two on Skye. The Ferry Pools will receive up to £300,000 to develop visitor facilities, and the Nice Point Lighthouse will receive £100,000 for work to improve road access and parking. Those grants are in addition to £300,000 of funding that is announced by Highland Council on Monday for road and parking improvements at both the Ferry Pools and Carang Hiking destination. Jamie Greene The First Minister will be aware that Ryanair announced this week that it will be closing its fixed-base operations at Glasgow airport. Some estimates put the job loss figure in the hundreds. This will come to a huge blow to Glasgow, the west of Scotland and clearly have a negative effect on Scotland's connectivity in terms of trade and tourism. Can I ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to assist those directly or indirectly affected by this decision? Whilst there is a commercial decision made by Ryanair, what lever does the SNP Government have at its disposal to better support the aviation industry in Scotland, including commitments that are made in its own manifesto? First Minister I regret the announcement that Ryanair made earlier this weekend. The Scottish Government, as we would do in any circumstance, will work with any employee who is affected by the announcement, although, as members are aware, many of the services will transfer from Glasgow to Edinburgh and there will be employment opportunities through that. We work very hard with a range of airlines to improve connectivity from all our airports and will continue to do so. The Scottish Government wants to move forward with our manifesto commitment around ADT. The reasons why that has been delayed in terms of the issues around the Highlands and Islands exemption have been well rehearsed in this Parliament, but I think that it is slightly rich, of course, to be asked that question by a member of a party that does not support our proposal on ADT. The Conservatives have said that they would support reduction of ADT on long-haul flights, which is not the proposal that Ryanair would want. I would hope that we can see progress on that, but if parties want to see progress on that, they actually have to support it in this chamber. Question 3, Patrick Harvie. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Can I add on behalf of the Scottish Green Party our thanks to those who are keeping Scotland safe, who are working to make sure that our transport infrastructure, our emergency services and services throughout our communities are responding to the current weather situation? The First Minister also said in making those remarks that employers have serious responsibilities not to put pressure on people to travel unsafely. Does the First Minister agree that that pressure is not only coming from those who are asking people to go to work, but no employee should be in a position of choosing whether to travel unsafely or lose pay by staying at home and staying safe? Given the prevalence now of casualised work, zero-hours contracts and the gig economy, does the First Minister agree that no employer should put an employee in the position of losing pay in order to stay safe? Yes. I very strongly agree with that. I take this opportunity, as I did earlier on, to encourage employers to urge employers—indeed, and to call on employers—to be flexible and, above all else, to make sure that they are putting the safety of their workers first and above anything else. It is really important to point out—not just for the benefit of employers, but perhaps for the general public more widely—when, whether warnings red or amber are issued as they have been in recent days, they are not warnings just issued for the sake of convenience. Those are warnings issued for the sake of the safety of the public and, in particular, the travelling public. All of us have a responsibility to make sure that we do what we can to ensure that those warnings are heeded. That definitely includes employers. Of course, there are parts of the workforce—I would mention the health workforce in particular—who we want to support to get to work. We experience the same challenges as anybody else. There are lots of people across the country right now—health boards and volunteers deploying four by four vehicles, for example, to get nurses and doctors and other healthcare workers into hospitals and health centres, but employers must make sure that they are acting in a way that prioritises the safety of their staff at all times. Again, I hope that that is a message that goes out loudly and clearly today. Patrick Harvie I am grateful for those comments. As on previous similar situations, I hope very much that public sector employers will be exemplary in their treatment, not only of directly employed staff by agency and contractor staff as well. For my second question, I turn to the issues that we will discuss later on the continuity bill. We believe that the introduction of the continuity bill, the alternative Brexit bill that the Scottish Government is bringing to this Parliament, is a necessary response to the Brexit crisis, but one of the criticisms that the SNP has rightly levelled at the UK Government is its inflexibility and its unwillingness to amend the UK legislation. Can the First Minister give the chamber an assurance that when Opposition members come to propose changes to the Scottish legislation, if we wish to improve it, strengthen the scrutiny and the accountability of it, the Government will work with members proposing those amendments rather than against them? The First Minister I am very happy to give that assurance. As Patrick Harvie knows, following the session of First Minister's questions, Parliament will debate the timetable for the continuity bill. I do not want to pre-empt the discussion that will be had. Clearly, we are not in control of the overall timetable for Brexit and we have to act in a way that allows us to protect the interests of Parliament, hence the proposed emergency timetable for this bill. Even within that emergency timetable, we want to work with others across Parliament to listen to concerns and suggestions for how that bill can be improved if it needs to be improved, so I am very happy to give that open assurance. Let me finally on this issue say and repeat. The fact that we have introduced the continuity bill this week is something that we require to do to protect the interests of Parliament. It does not mean that we have given up on seeking an agreement with the UK Government. We will continue to do that. However, at the heart of those discussions with the UK Government is an important principle, and that principle is this. Do we allow a situation where UK Governments can impose situations on this Parliament in devolved matters, or do we insist that in devolved matters that cannot be done without the consent of this Parliament? That is a really important issue of principle, and this Government will not recommend to Parliament consent for any legislation that undermines the fundamental basis of devolution in that way. Can I thank the workers who are operating in these extreme weather conditions? I am sure that everyone here is grateful for their efforts. University lecturers are on strike. Lecturers are not well paid, and it is surely not fair that their pensions would be cut by £10,000 a year with the proposed changes. It has been suggested that the UK and Scottish Government should step in to underwrite the scheme and to protect the pensions. Scottish universities are the responsibility of the Scottish Government. Will the First Minister agree to that proposal to underwrite the scheme, to stop the strike and protect the pensions of university staff? As I am sure Willie Rennie is aware, universities are autonomous institutions. It is not possible for the Scottish Government to dictate to them on issues like that, although we can and we very often do encourage them to act in particular ways. This particular pension scheme is also not a Scottish Government-funded pension scheme. Those two points are very important to put on the record here today. All of that said, I absolutely understand the position that university lecturers and staff are taking. I sympathise with that position. I understand that Shirley-Anne Somerville has written to university principles. We will continue to encourage dialogue and settlement of the issues in order that those working in our universities and doing such a good job in our universities are treated fairly as they have a right to expect. I understand the points that she makes. However, the Scottish Government already backs the pensions of post-1992 universities, so that that would not be an unusual step. We have world-class universities here. They are worth £7 billion to our economy and drive innovation and research, yet our universities are already under pressure with Brexit, which threatens our ability to attract world-class staff from overseas. By underwriting their pensions, the Scottish Government, working together with the UK Government, can retain and attract the best Scottish and overseas staff. That is why I think that we need to take action now on the pensions. I would encourage the First Minister to start work on this. There are 14 days of strike. It is a hit of £10,000 to pensions each year. I think that it is important—I am sure that she does as well. Will she take up this idea and start the negotiations? In the interests of consensus, of course, I will consider the points that Willie Rennie has made. We will discuss where relevant and where we think appropriate any issue like this with the UK Government. I think that there is a really important point that I want to make here. This is a responsibility of universities to resolve, and I would expect to see universities resolve it. We have just passed a budget in this Parliament that gives universities a real-terms increase in their budget. As Willie Rennie has said, universities are responsible for setting the salaries of their principals, for example. That is something that we should expect our universities to resolve in the interests of the staff who work for them. The Scottish Government will continue to take a close interest in this and encourage dialogue that will lead to resolution. Of course, I will consider any points that are raised with me in the chamber, including the ones that Willie Rennie has just made. However, do not let any of us in this chamber miss that central point that we should be looking to universities to resolve this issue. The First Minister has already given a very helpful statement on the adverse weather and on response to Patrick Harvie's question. On the M80 in my region, there were tailbacks of up to eight miles and, at one point, around 1,000 vehicles in below-freezing conditions. The Transport Minister, Humza Yousaf, was on TV last night, highlighting in particular the responsibility of hauliers, because there were hundreds of lorries causing a lot of those problems. We have heard today about the responsibility that employers have, but apart from a message to be flexible, what particular conversations is the Transport Minister having with industry to make sure that people are being kept safe and that people are not taking unnecessary risks? I thank Monica Lennon because she raises an important issue. I am going to be quite blunt here. I, as members would expect, was paying very close attention to the live cameras on the M80 over the course of yesterday afternoon into yesterday evening. If I can be absolutely frank, there were far more HGVs on that road than there should have been when a red warning was in place. I think that we have to be very clear in the message that we are sending to companies who deliver goods with HGVs, and that is not a criticism of drivers, because driver safety is one of the important issues here. During a red weather warning, an HGV should not be on one of our trunk roads unless it is absolutely unavoidable. I saw some branded HGVs in pictures yesterday and, given the branding on them, I would struggle to say that their transport was unavoidable. That is a message that I think should go out very strongly from this chamber to companies who use HGVs during weather conditions like this. Ross Greer Thank you. This week marks the first anniversary of a majority of MSPs from across all parties pledging our support to the TIE campaign. The longer we wait to address this issue, the longer LGBTI young people who do not attend trailblazing schools such as Dumbarton or Vale of leaving academies in my region have to experience education and school environments that are not inclusive, do not recognise their identity and give way to bullying, harassment and worse. Will the Government commit to implementing the recommendations that are being worked up by the LGBTI inclusive education working group at the earliest possible opportunity? First minister. I have, in this chamber before, expressed my support for the TIE campaign and the objectives of that campaign and do so again today. In a sense, the answer was included in the latter part of Ross Greer's question to me. There is a working group right now that includes the TIE campaign, which will come forward in due course with conclusions and recommendations. The Scottish Government certainly looks forward to receiving them and taking them forward. Ash Denham To ask the First Minister what the next steps are for negotiations on the EU withdrawal bill and, if she is hopeful at this stage, for a resolution that respects devolution across the UK. First minister. As I indicated to Patrick Harvie, we continue to seek agreement with the UK Government. There will be further discussions next week. There will be, I think, a meeting of the joint ministerial committee in plenary session round about mid-March. I think that it is the 14th of March to be precise. I hope that we can reach agreement, but I think that it is really important that people understand the issue at stake here. I have heard it described as being a very short distance between the two Governments. On one way of looking at it, that may be true, but there is a really important issue of principle. This is not one of those situations where we have both got our positions and we can have met in the middle in some vague way. This is a fundamental issue of principle. The latest proposals from the UK Government would involve consultation with the Scottish Parliament and other devolved administrations on issues that are part of our responsibility. I do not think that consultation is enough. I think that it should be the consent of the Scottish Parliament that is required. I hope that the UK Government will finally agree to abiding by that principle. If it does, then we will have agreement. The continuity bill can be withdrawn and we can hopefully get into a position where we recommend consent of the withdrawal bill. I hope that all members across parties in this chamber would recognise that no Government, no First Minister, worth or salt, could recommend to the Scottish Parliament that it approved legislation that undermined the basic principles on which our Parliament is founded. To ask the First Minister what progress has been made on the creation of a Scottish National Investment Bank. Yesterday, I was delighted to attend the launch of the Scottish National Investment Bank implementation plan, a copy of which is winging its way to Ruth Davidson. Developed by Benny Higgins, the CEO of Tesco Bank, with the support of an advisory group, the plan contains recommendations for Scottish ministers that cover the remit, the governance, the operating model and the financing of the new bank. The significant milestone brings us one step closer to establishing a publicly owned Scottish National Investment Bank. I very much look forward to doing so. Ivan McKee I thank the First Minister for the answer. It is clear to those of us who understand the investment landscape and the need for patient finance that the scope and scale of the Scottish National Investment Bank means that it fulfills a very different need from that made by Scottish enterprises' current investment support activities. Can I ask the First Minister what types of businesses will be supported by the National Investment Bank in particular? How small innovative businesses such as those in my Glasgow Proven constituency may benefit? The First Minister I thank Ivan McKee for that question. As the implementation plan recommends, the bank will be very much mission driven. It will not be sector specific, but it will be designed to be transformational in the Scottish economy and to help us to address some of the big societal challenges that we face. For example, the transition to a low-carbon economy. I know that there are many small and medium-sized companies, including No Doubt and Ivan McKee's constituency, who will benefit from that. The recommendations are that the bank will be publicly owned, although it will operate independently within a strategic framework set by Government. It will, as I say, be mission driven, operate ethically. The recommendation is for it to have a capitalisation over the first 10 years of at least £2 billion. Yesterday, I gave our acceptance of some of those key recommendations. There are other points of detail that require closer scrutiny. We will now do that, and we will formally respond to Benny Higgins' report in May, at which point I hope that Parliament has a full debate on the issue. To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to train and recruit more nurses. We have committed to training an additional 2,600 nurses by the end of this Parliament. On 31 January, we announced a 10.8 per cent increase in intakes to pre-registration nursing and midwifery programmes for 2018-19, which is an extra 364 places. That is the sixth successive rise and equates to 3,724 entry places in total for the year. In contrast to the Westminster Government, we have retained bursaries and free tuition for nursing and midwifery students. Both, of course, were scrapped in England, and the number of English applicants to nursing courses has plummeted by 23 per cent as a result. We are extending and increasing successful initiatives that bring former nurses and midwives back into practice as well. Today, almost 450 former registrants have taken up the opportunity to retrain, which exceeds our initial target. Rachel Hamilton I thank the First Minister for that answer. Presiding Officer, may I firstly pay tribute to the front-line workers battling through the adverse weather conditions today to keep our services open across Scotland? NHS recruitment issues began long before Brexit, despite what the First Minister would like to believe. Between 2009 and 2012, a number of training places for nurses and midwives was slashed by more than 20 per cent. As a knock-on effect, vacancies have increased by 600 in 2011 to nearly 3,000 at the end of last year. When will the SNP Government accept that they are responsible for this crisis and implement adequate workforce planning? The First Minister Of course, staffing challenges existed before Brexit. There is no doubt whatsoever, though, that they have been hugely exacerbated by Brexit. It is because we have been aware of the need to support staffing in our NHS that we have taken action to get us to stage where at now, where NHS staffing is at a record high, a 9.8 per cent increase from September 2006, qualified nurses and midwives up by more than 5 per cent. As I said in my initial answer, we are training more nurses and have set a target by the end of this Parliament. We have just announced an almost 11 per cent increase in intakes, and we are doing a range of other things to make sure that we get nurses and midwives into our health service. I think that it beggars belief for a member of the Tory party when, in England, that same party has abolished bursaries and is presiding over a reduction of 23 per cent in applicants to nursing courses to stand up in this chamber and lecture anybody else. Clare Haughey Thank you, Presiding Officer. I refer members to my register of interests. To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government can take to ensure that we retain EU national nurses after Brexit, who currently staff our hospitals and community services and assure them that they are very welcome in Scotland's NHS. We greatly value the contribution that EU migrants make to our NHS and to our economy and society more generally. That is, for example, why we announced last year that the Scottish Government will pay a settled status fee for any EU citizen working in the public sector in Scotland, and that will help us to keep vital workers in the NHS and public services and will send hopefully a clear message to EU nationals that we do welcome them, value them and want them to stay here. Of course, longer term, I think that the case now for this Parliament to have flexibility over migration policy is overwhelming and compelling, and that is a case that I hope we will see made right across the chamber and broader society as well. I thank all our NHS, social care and other emergency service personnel who are continuing to provide a service to our citizens at this challenging time. When Nicola Sturgeon was health secretary, she took the decision to cut the number of training places for nurses. The Royal College of Nursing at the time said that that was a risk in terms of meeting demand in our national health service. This week, we have learned that nursing vacancies are at record levels with almost 3,000 nursing vacancies now, compared to only 600 in 2011. First Minister, we have an NHS workforce that is overworked, undervalued and underresourced, and that is now impacting on patient care with one in five patients not getting their diagnostics in time and one in five patients not getting their treatment in time. That includes cancer patients. Will the First Minister therefore take this opportunity to apologise to Scotland for her decision to cut nurse training places and the impact that has had on our NHS and its patients? First Minister. I will point out that under the time that this Government took office, we have seen an increase in the NHS workforce of almost 10 per cent. The NHS workforce is now at a record high. As I said earlier on, we will always take decisions that are right in terms of that workforce. That is why, for six successive years, we have increased nurses going into training, and we will continue to support the nursing workforce and the wider health workforce in that way. That is something that everybody in the chamber should seek to support. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on the danger of teenagers and nation ingesting substances purporting to be the drug MDMA. The Scottish Government strongly advises against the use of any illegal or unknown substances, and I urge anyone who feels unwell after taking any substance to seek immediate medical attention. I understand that the children that Kenny Gibson is referring to were released from hospital the next day, and I am sure that we all wish them a speedy recovery. Police Scotland are awaiting the results of toxicology tests to determine the exact nature of the substance that was ingested. Although that incident is clearly a cause for concern, it is also important to point out that the 2015 Salsis survey of drug-taking behaviour among young people shows that the vast majority of young people have never used drugs. Kenneth Gibson I thank the First Minister for that answer. She will recall that in October 2016, nine people died in solcoats due to the ingestion of fake valium pills. The MDMA pills that affected the six Ayrshire teenagers last weekend are believed to be red, green or brown bearing an owl logo. I know that the First Minister will join me in urging parents and everyone else to be vigilant and report any sightings of such pills to Police Scotland, which is working hard to see such drugs, prevent their use and save lives. Can the First Minister also provide details as to what fuller steps are being taken to combat the specific MDMA threat? The First Minister Police Scotland is providing a public safety message via local and social media advising parents and guardians to talk to their children about the dangers of taking drugs. Educating young people in these threats is vital. For example, Ayrshire Police Division worked with local young people in recovery to produce a film for use in schools, which highlights the dangers of drugs, alcohol and weapon carrying. Nationally, they know the score website and helpline to ensure that all young people in Scotland have credible and accessible information and advice on drugs. It is important that we continue to take those kinds of steps to make sure that young people have the education and the information that they need. As I said earlier on, while incidents such as the one that Kenny Gibson has raised are hugely concerning, we must also point to the fact that the vast majority of young people do not take drugs and do not ever take drugs, and the focus of all of the work that we do should be to ensure that that continues to be the case. Thank you very much. That concludes First Minister's questions. Following the change of business motion earlier this morning, we are now going to move on to consideration of motion number 10735 in the name of Michael Russell, to treat the UK withdrawal from the European Union Legal Continuity Scotland bill as an emergency bill. I ask all members who wish to speak in this debate to press their request to speak buttons now.