 Ie. Felly, mae wedi gweithio beth oedd y cysylltu adroddfodau ar gyfer unrhyw gael Deglash Ross. Ie. Felly, dyweddedd yn gyfryd fod o'r document y gwasg� Cymru sy'n olyg am ganghau'r 80-gwam iawn. Y Prif sydd yn cymdeithasol y Llyfridog Cadw siaf wedi gwneud i gweithio beth oedd cydydd the current generation of young people. Was the First Minister aware that an SNP-run council was considering such a drastic cut in teacher numbers? First Minister, of course this is that time of year when we get lots of reports about savings options that different councils are considering and Opposition parties quite understandably make hay with that, but very often those proposals do not proceed, and I think the official report of this Parliament will be littered with examples of what I've just spoken about. In terms of those particular proposals, I've not seen the detail of those. Councils, of course, are autonomous in their areas of responsibility, something that parties across this chamber often call in the Scottish Government to respect. But as my record shows, and indeed as my Government's funding to councils demonstrates, I am in favour of more teachers, not fewer teachers. Douglas Ross. The First Minister's record is 900 fewer teachers in Scotland, so I'm not sure how her rhetoric matches her record. She's saying, I'm standing here making hay, no I'm not. I'm deeply worried that one of the biggest councils in Scotland is considering 800 teachers being lost. If Glasgow City Council went ahead with that, it would reduce school staff by 15%. One in seven teachers in Glasgow would be lost. We've heard reports that SNP-run Ayrshire Council is also considering cutting teachers. East Wren for sure is contemplating very serious cuts to education. This is what happens when the SNP don't properly fund councils. Waste taxpayers' money on ferries that don't float and other pet projects instead of providing Scottish education and Scottish schools with the support that they need. Will the First Minister tell us, if she's listening to the questions, as a result of her budget choices and costly mistakes, how many teachers are going to lose their jobs in Scotland? I'll come on to my Government's budget choices in a moment. With the case with respect to Douglas Ross, I'll answer the questions fully, but first on the general issue, I know and we've seen this week that Douglas Ross favours riding roughshod over the decisions and powers of democratically elected institutions. I, on the other hand, respect the autonomy of democratically elected institutions, but to come to budget choices, let me set out the budget choices of this Government. In this financial year 2022-23, this Government provided £145 million of additional funding to local authorities to employ up to 2,400 more teachers and 500 more classroom assistants. That funding is being protected in the budget that we have put forward for the next financial year. Overall, we are increasing the resources available to councils by more than £570 million. That's a real-terms increase of £160.6 million. There's the budget choices of this Government. Had we followed the advice of the Conservatives, we wouldn't be able to do all that because we'd have cut taxis for the very richest people in the country. Douglas Ross. As I ask Nicola Sturgeon about 800 teacher losses potentially happening in Glasgow, no answer. The next question was how many teachers fear losing their jobs across Scotland as a result of her Government's budget? No answer again. There are 900 fewer teachers in Scotland since Nicola Sturgeon's Government came to power. That is the reality. Let's just look at quotes about the First Minister's budget. This is from SNP councillor Shona Morrison, the leader of the council umbrella group COSLA. SNP councillor Shona Morrison said this. The reality of the situation is that, yet again, the essential services councils deliver has not been prioritised by the Scottish Government. That is the reality that councils and councillors, including SNP councillors, are facing across Scotland. More than six years ago, Nicola Sturgeon made bold promises about education that it would be her number one priority. She claimed that her Government would close the attainment gap completely, but yesterday her own education secretary rubbished Nicola Sturgeon's promise. Shirley-Anne Somerville said, and this is a quote, I think in reality that is exceptionally difficult if not impossible to achieve, to get to the point of zero. Is the education secretary right that the First Minister's key promise is never going to happen? Our commitment to substantially eliminate the poverty-related attainment gap by 2026 still stands. I have said that in the Parliament before and I say it again today. Let me stress that phrase, poverty-related attainment gap. Of course, we are also trying to tackle child poverty through something that Douglas Ross might have referred to as a pet project earlier on, the Scottish child payment for example. That task of tackling child poverty and helping reduce and substantially eliminate the poverty-related attainment gap would not be as difficult as it is if we did not have a Tory Government pushing more children into poverty every single week. The number of primary teachers in our schools is among the highest today than at any time since I was at primary school. The overall teacher pupil ratio is the lowest in the UK. In Scotland right now, there are 7,573 teachers per 100,000 pupils. That compares to just 5,734 where the Conservatives are in government in England. Of course, as I said, we are providing £145 million to support additional teachers. That is our funding choices. That is our record, and I am proud to stand on it. Douglas Ross Nicola Sturgeon is proud to see SNP councils considering cutting teacher numbers. You are proud of that, First Minister. You should be embarrassed if not disgraced. Nicola Sturgeon said, judge me on education. The education secretary has done exactly that, and found that the First Minister makes promises that her Governments will not meet. Her failures have left teachers frustrated, disappointed and angry. Today schools in North Lanarkshire and Murray are on strike. Tomorrow it is Angus and Easton-Bartonshire. Next week schools in another 10 council areas go on strike, including here in Edinburgh. The following week another 10 are striking from borders to Aberdeenshire. After years of disrupted education because of the Covid pandemic, when the Scottish Government was too quick to shut down schools and limit teaching time, pupils are once again getting a raw deal. All of that affects young people's opportunities and causes real problems for parents. Can the First Minister tell young people and Scottish families, will education ever be her number one priority? I will let the people of Scotland continue to judge the record and the actions and the decisions of this Government. Let me repeat some of that. At a time when the Tories have been slashing budgets for local councils, this Government and the budget that we have put forward for next year is increasing council budgets by over £570 million. We are providing £145 million to councils to support the employment of additional teachers again. Let me repeat something we would not have been able to do had we followed Douglas Ross' advice and cut taxes for the highest paid. Instead, we are asking those at the top of the income spectrum in Scotland to pay a little bit more to protect our public services. In terms of pay dispute with teachers, this is a Government that continues to negotiate and to seek settlement. Again, that stands in marked contrast to where the Conservatives are in power. The Education Secretary in England said this week that we did not negotiate pay with teachers because that is not what the Government is here to do. The Tories, of course, are trying to take away the right to strike of public sector workers. We will continue to seek fair pay deals in the NHS, in the teaching profession and elsewhere across our public sector. We will continue to take decisions that prioritise education, that prioritise health in stark contrast to anything and everything that the Scottish Conservatives do. Last week, we heard directly from frontline NHS staff who said that so many of the problems they are facing in acute care is because of the on-going crisis in social care. Yesterday, I met frontline social care workers and their trade unions to discuss the state of the sector here in Scotland. They told me about the burnout experience by their colleagues, their fears about the levels of care being offered and their inability to provide care to those who need it. The workers and experts were clear that this is a problem over a decade in the making, a direct result of decisions made by this Government. They told me that many of their colleagues have quit or retired early because of the pressures of the job, and they say that pay does not reward the hard work that they do or reflect the importance of the role to society. Does the First Minister agree? I value those who work in our social care sector and agree that the work that they do has traditionally not just in Scotland but in many places been undervalued, and that is what we are seeking to change and to address. I also agree that some of the pressures in acute and emergency care and some of the pressures in our hospitals could be alleviated by reform and increasing further the capacity in social care, which is why so much of what we speak about is directed at exactly that. That is why just last week, for example, the health secretary announced additional funding to secure additional interim care home beds. £1.7 billion has been provided for social care and integration in the past year. We are progressing our commitment to increase spend in social care by 25 per cent by the end of this Parliament, which of course will be an increase of more than £840 million. We continue to take those actions. In terms of wages, we are providing £100 million of additional funding to uplift pay from April this year, having already increased it so far, and we will continue to do that so that our social care workforce gets the value, not just in our rhetoric but in the pay packets that they so richly deserve. It is important to note that the proposals outlined by the First Minister there have widely been criticised by front-line staff as being nowhere near enough to meet the demands of the crisis that we face. The First Minister should not ignore the facts. He will be paying £10.90 an hour to social care staff, which represents a 3.8 per cent pay increase—that is 40 per cent—at a time when inflation is running at 9 per cent and when NHS staff are being offered an average of 7.5 per cent. That is in the context of a First Minister who said that she would reward social care staff who put their lives on the line to get us through the pandemic, but 40 per cent more in the midst of a cost of living crisis does not feel like much of a reward to those workers. It is not going to address the on-going workforce crisis, so why can't the First Minister say that there is no solution to the NHS crisis without a solution to the social care crisis? 71 per cent of care home services are reporting vacancies and 75 per cent of care homes are reporting vacancies. We heard yesterday that staff are leaving to work in Sainsbury's Costa and Lidl because they are getting better pay and better conditions. Will the First Minister finally commit to an immediate pay increase to £12 an hour, rising to £15, for social care workers across Scotland? Those are serious issues, and we take them seriously, but it is important that we can fund the decisions that we take. First of all, the £10.90 per hour that Anna Sarwar deryde is important to point out just as an aside. That is the rate paid by the Labour Government in Wales to the social care workforce. In terms of pay increases, over the past two years, there has been a 14.7 per cent increase for social care workers. Pay has increased from £9.50 per hour in April 2021 to £10.90, which it will become in April this year. For a full-time adult social care worker, that increase represents an uplift of over £780 over the course of this financial year. I want us to go further, and we intend to go further, but we have to be able to fund that. To increase pay to £15 per hour for all social care workers, as Labour is asking us to do, and I understand why people want to see that happen, would cost up to an additional £1.75 billion. Labour has not set out how to fund that or what it would propose to cut as a consequence. We want to see pay increase further, but we have to do that in a properly funded way. That is responsible government. Anna Sarwar I will tell the First Minister what derisory is. Derisory is giving a 3.8 per cent pay increase to workers on the front line when inflation is running at 9 per cent. That is what is derisory and causing the social care crisis. The First Minister asked where the money is coming from. This Government's failure to eliminate delayed discharge is costing at least £150 million a year, and its national care service is estimated to cost £1.3 billion. Money is spent on set-up and administration that should be spent on front-line services to address the current crisis. Organisations that, like Scottish Labour's support in national care service, are calling for the SNP to pause the bill. Organisations such as the GMB, Unison, Unite, Social Work Scotland, Scottish Care, COSLA and the STUC. That is what the GMB told this Parliament. Social care staff are broken. They are exhausted. Now we are giving them a bill that does not give them any sort of job security, any sort of value or feeling of worth. We want reform, we want to make social care better, but we feel that what is being offered now is nowhere near good enough. Will the First Minister finally listen to workers on the front line, pause the flawed bill and put the money where it needs to be so that we can confront the NHS and social care crisis? First of all, Parliament is currently scrutinising the bill and that process of scrutiny is important, but fair work and sectoral bargaining are at the very heart of those reform proposals. I also say to Anna Sarwar that calling for a reform that is due to be implemented in future years in order to fund a pay increase in this financial year is just an example of the completely irresponsible and incoherent approach Labour takes to budgeting. That is not how budgeting works. By all means, let us continue to scrutinise the national care service legislation, but do not mislead people into thinking that if we just stopped that bill then suddenly we would free up money now for pay increases. It simply does not work that way. Let me repeat the actions that we have taken, a 14.7 per cent increase for social care workers in the past two years and we want to go further. Of course, for NHS workers they offer this year 7.5 per cent on average compared to 4.5 per cent where Labour is in government in these islands. Our actions demonstrate the value we have for these workers and within the budgets that we have we will continue to prioritise that but we will do that in a responsible and deliverable way which puts us in stark contrast to Labour. Question 3 Stephen Kerr Thank you Presiding Officer. To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government has taken to bring the strike action by teachers to an end. First Minister, as I think we have demonstrated—not least in the NHS—we will briefly suspend business. Thank you. We will go back to question number three and I would ask Mr Kerr if you would repeat your initial question. To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government has taken to bring the strike action by teachers to an end. First Minister, as I think we have demonstrated, not least in the NHS, this is a Government that values public sector workers and seeks to negotiate fair pay deals. To that end we continue to work closely with trade unions and local government partners to reach a deal that is fair and affordable. That dialogue has been constructive. There does still remain a gap between the union asks and to be blunt what is affordable within our finite resources and therefore we look for further compromise. The education secretary in regular dialogue with the unions and with COSLA has spoken individually with each of the union general secretaries to progress things within the past week. There were two meetings of the SNCT negotiators last week and another one scheduled for tomorrow. There is a shared commitment and certainly it is a commitment of this Government to reach an agreement as soon as possible. Last week, the First Minister talking about, Humza Yousaf, said something about how there hadn't been any strikes because she thinks he's so brilliant. In contrast in education we have surely unsunnable. The first teacher strike in 40 years, chaos for hundreds of thousands of parents and carers and pupils. The cabinet secretary shows no energy, no urgency to get involved and to resolve the teacher strike. That's not just my view, that's the view of the unions. The First Minister used to say that education was her top priority. Will she step in and end the strike? As teacher strikes loom in England, the hypocrisy of the Tories is absolutely staggering. Shillian Somerville will continue to do everything possible to reach an agreement with COSLA and our teaching unions to deliver a fair pay increase for teachers. Over the past few years, teachers have already had a 21 per cent pay increase demonstrating the value we attach to what they do. Teachers in Scotland are the highest paid on average of any of the teaching professions across the UK, so we will continue to seek a fair settlement. The hypocrisy is really staggering because Stephen Kerr talks about the efforts that Shillian Somerville is making and making strenuous efforts. The Tory education secretary in England just in the last few days said that we didn't negotiate pay with teaching unions because that is not what we are here to do. Scotland demands that the education secretary resolves it. In England, of course, the Tories simply wash their hands and dig their heels in because they don't value public sector workers, they want to take away the right to strike of public sector workers. This Government does value all of our public sector workers. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's responses to the report Closing the Accountability Gap published by the National Autistic Society Scotland. We welcome the survey by the National Autistic Society and Scottish Autism. It adds to the diverse range of views that we have from autistic people, people with a learning disability and other neurodivergent groups on a learning disability, autism and neurodiversity commissioner. The survey highlights areas where autistic people feel they need better support, including around mental health and education. We have recognised the need for additional work on mental health and have been working closely with autistic adults and adults with a learning disability on this. We are committed to bringing forward a consultation later this year on the Learning Disability, Autism and Neurodiversity Bill, including the creation of a commissioner. I thank the First Minister for her answer. The National Autistic Society and Scottish Autism surveyed over 1,200 autistic people, families and professionals. 96 per cent of them supported the creation and it would be a world first of a Scottish commissioner for autistic people and learning disabled people. Does the First Minister agree that, while we already have sound laws and strategies in place, we really need that focus of a commissioner to champion, promote and protect the rights of people in those groups and to ensure that individuals are supported to reach their full potential? Yes, I agree with that. The Learning Disability, Autism and Neurodiversity Bill will extend further than autism and include people with a learning disability and potentially a wider range of neurodivergent conditions. However, from our scoping work with a range of stakeholders, we understand that, even within the autism community, there are a range of views on how that is best taken forward, which is why we are establishing a lived experience panel to work closely with us to co-design key elements of the bill's development. That will include delivering a consultation paper later this year to provide an opportunity for people across Scotland to express their views, including on the potential role and duties of a commissioner. 5. Sue Webber Thank you. To ask the First Minister what progress the Scottish Government has made, including the reported backlog of people waiting for key diagnostic tests. There is a range of work being taken forward by NHS boards to increase capacity, workforce and activity for diagnostics, including the use of seven mobile MRI and five mobile CT scanners to provide additional activity. I am conscious that the Conservatives claimed this weekend that there were five-year waits for diagnostic tests. They described that as, and I am quoting, scarcely believable. There is, of course, a reason for that, and that is because it was simply untrue. NHS Grampain has pointed out that the Tories have misrepresented data that they received in an FOI response. It is routine for patients who have been treated for forms of cancer or received neurosurgical care to have pre-planned and scheduled scans in future years to monitor their progress and condition after treatment. Those are not diagnostic tests prior to treatment, as the Conservatives claimed. Clearly, our NHS is wrestling with a number of very significant pressures right now, but it does no service to anyone for the Conservatives to distort figures and mislead the public. One health board has taken the decision to reduce its endoscopic capacity by 3,500 procedures over the next 12 months. That means that there are 35 people living with undiagnosed cancer. Because of those Scottish Government cuts, rather than being able to increase their diagnostic endoscopic services to meet the demand, they are being forced to cut the service. How can the backlog be cleared when the diagnostic services are being cut? There are no cuts to national health service budgets. On the contrary, we are proposing a £1 billion increase to the budget of the national health service next year. Again, something that would not have been possible had we taken Tory advice to cut taxes for the richest people in our society. Within that capacity for diagnostic tests is being increased, because everybody recognises that the earliest possible diagnosis, especially for cancer, is vital. We continue to build up capacity and to support the NHS to fully recover from Covid. A woman in my constituency has waited a year since her initial smear test, which reported an abnormality to receive an appointment for a follow-up culposcopy. The appointments offered to her in December and then January have now both been cancelled. She is not alone, because waiting times for culposcopies are going up, not down, and women's health is at risk. Will the First Minister prioritise action on women's health and ensure that women are not put through the emotional turmoil of having to wait a minute longer than they need for urgent diagnostic tests? People who need urgent tests are seen quickly. Often individual cases are rightly raised with me in the chamber. I am not saying that this is the case here with the incident that Jackie Bailey has narrated, but sometimes I can't go into individual case details obviously, but sometimes there is more complexity to these cases than is often put before the chamber. That is why I always say that I am happy to look into individual cases. There is significant investment in capacity for diagnostic tests and for any follow-up required as a result of those. That is particularly important around a range of women's health conditions. We do prioritise women's health. Shortly, the report on our women's health plan will be published along with progress in appointing a women's health champion. Those issues are of priority and will continue to be so. To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to encourage people to become foster carers following reports that only 40 or 400 children referred to Barnardo's fostering services in Glasgow and Edinburgh have been placed with families in the last year. As part of keeping the promise, we are committed to ensuring that children and young people who are looked after away from their own families and homes are provided with caring and loving foster families. Although responsibility for recruiting sufficient foster carers lies with local authorities, we are aware that the pandemic and cost of living crisis has put additional pressure on foster carer capacity. That is compounded by some of the wider pressures facing the social work sector, and we are determined to address that. That is why we are working with key national and local partners, including the third sector, to identify action that we can take collectively now and in the future to improve the situation. The Scottish Government also provides £145,000 each year to the fostering network to raise the profile of foster caring and encourage the recruitment of new carers, as well as providing wider advice and support. I thank the First Minister for that response and her continued commitment to the promise. Unfortunately, 691 children and young people are waiting for foster care up from 461 in 12 months. Many Scots have welcomed Ukrainian families fleeing war over the last year, partly due to Scotland's call for volunteers campaign. Will the First Minister consider launching a renewed drive to encourage more potential foster carers to come forward and help to ensure that children and young people waiting to be fostered can be placed in safe, stable and loving homes as soon as possible? Yes, we will give consideration to that. Let me take the opportunity to thank all the people and families who have opened up their homes to Ukrainian families over the past months. That is testimony to the welcoming nature of people who call Scotland home. There are, of course, very important differences between supporting Ukrainian families and fostering children who may have very complex needs and require day-to-day caregiving, including, for example, supporting contact with their birth families. However, I encourage anyone thinking about fostering to speak to their local authority or a fostering organisation. Fostering brings great benefits to children, obviously, and that is the most important consideration, but also to foster families. Certainly, we will consider all options that may have the potential to improve the lives of children with care experience. I will ask officials to work with stakeholders and caregivers to consider the possibility of a national communications campaign and its potential to help to recruit more foster carers. We move to constituency and general supplementaries, and I call Fulton MacGregor. A report from Nourish Scotland has reportedly uncovered a dignity gap relating to the cost of living crisis for Scotland's most hard-pressed families. The research explains how many families have been compelled to select the cheapest food and drink available rather than the products that they would prefer to choose but cannot afford, which is described as a dignity gap. Does the First Minister share my view that it is disgraceful that families living in a country of such abundant wealth are forced to make such sacrifices? Yes, I share those concerns. The cost of living crisis is affecting everyone, but it has a disproportionate effect on those who are already living in poverty. That is why the Government is taking the range of action that we are taking here, including, for example, the Scottish child payment. However, I would call on the UK Government to provide more help to those who are most in need and to do so urgently. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I have been raising the case of Ellie Wilson, who became a victim of rape while studying at Glasgow University. Ellie survived this ordeal, but she was shocked to discover that the perpetrator had been allowed to transfer to another university despite being under investigation for rape at the time. It has since been discovered that there is no national guidance for how universities should deal with sexual assault cases. Will the First Minister agree to sort this urgently so that no other victim has to suffer this ordeal? I am aware of the case, and it is extremely serious implications. We take all of that serious and will give consideration to any further action that the Government needs to take to address some of the issues raised here. Emily's test is an important initiative that the Government worked with universities on and encouraged universities to take very seriously, but there are clearly serious issues raised here that we need to reflect further on, and I can give an assurance that the Government will do so. The publication of the Health Foundation's report this week is grim reading. It lays bare the extent of health inequalities across Scotland, from a growing gap in life expectancy between the richest and poorest, to a widening gap in infant mortality between the advantaged and disadvantaged. It is a similar story across the UK, but it is one that is amplified in Scotland. Those chasms have widened while we have had 13 years of Tory Government, but it is a reflection on the SNP Government that Scotland's inequalities remain greater. Can the First Minister respond to the Health Foundation's comment that understanding the causes is not enough, a radical shift in approach is needed, and without action, Scotland's most deprived communities are likely to continue suffering from poor quality of life and die younger? I agree with that and I agree with the comments of the Health Foundation. Those are not new or even recent challenges in Scotland, but it is vital that we do more and as much as possible to tackle them. Tackling health inequalities is a major concern for Governments and communities right across the world, and Scotland faces the same challenges as many other countries. However, it is important that we act in a preventative way as much as possible, which is why the Government is doing so much as much as we can within our powers and resources to tackle poverty, because that, of course, is the route to tackling health and other inequalities. We will continue to take a range of actions and call on the UK Government to step up as well. Last evening, I watched a social media video of one female pupil attacking another at Wade Academy in my constituency. To be frank, I wish I hadn't. I can't get it out of my head. It was an ugly scene. Earlier this year, Heather Hughes, the then president of the EIS, warned about increasing violence in our schools. I'm supporting staff, the council and the school locally, but what action is the Government taking across the country? I've not seen the video that he raises here today, although I will watch it if it is available, because I think that it is important that we have a full understanding of issues like this. Violence is never acceptable, and the safety of pupils and staff is paramount. Obviously, I can't comment further today on the specifics of the case at Wade Academy, but I am very clear that violence towards anyone is unacceptable. I asked the education secretary to meet with the COSLA spokesperson for children and young people to discuss what further support to local authorities is required and what further support we can provide. They met on 2 December and discussed a continued commitment to work together in partnership through the Scottish advisory group on relationships and behaviour in schools and to use the behaviour in Scottish schools' research as the national evidence base to inform future policy on relationships and behaviour in schools. We are also investing an additional £15 million this year to enhance capacity in education authorities and schools to respond effectively to the needs of children and young people. We will continue to consider fully what additional steps we can take to support councils in making it very clear that violence is unacceptable and taking action to support children, young people and teachers who may face such violence. Research from the Work Foundation at Lancaster University has found that, unless delayed or amended, the UK Government's retained EU law bill will put the rights and protection of more than 8.6 million UK workers at risk, with women accounting for around 6 million of those who will be most affected. Can the First Minister advise what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the impact that this bill will have on workers in Scotland and in particular women in the Scottish workforce? Can she provide any information about what assessment has been made as to the impact that this bill could have on devolved responsibilities? Natalie Dawn is right to raise this issue. The bill risks damaging a range of sectors, including protections for workers that have gained more than 40 years of EU membership. Unison described it as, as I am quoting, an attack on working women. Indeed, the fact that the bill was promoted previously by Jacob Rees-Mogg when he was in government and is supported by hard-brexiteers is evidence of the race to the bottom ideology that lies behind those proposals. This Parliament has called for the bill to be scrapped. If the UK Government had any respect for devolution—which I think is now obvious it doesn't—that is exactly what would happen. If the bill proceeds and we will continue to argue against it as hard as we can, we will do everything possible to limit the damage to Scotland. Of course, by giving UK ministers the power to legislate in devolved matters without the consent of the chamber, it is yet another example of the growing threat and the very, very real threat that the UK Government now poses to the Scottish Parliament. Thank you. Eighteen months ago, I asked Nicola Sturgeon about the malicious prosecution of innocent men in Scotland. Taxpayers have been hit with a £24 million compensation bill. Today, that figure has risen to more than double £51 million, with every penny taken from front-line services. Now, a police officer who abused his power has resigned, a sheriff who abused his power will also resign. The First Minister and her justice secretary have gone silent on a scandal that contaminates Scottish justice. I would like to ask Nicola Sturgeon what does it take for anyone to be held to account in SNP Run Scotland. First Minister, I think that Russell Finlay exposed the motive behind this question in his last few words. Those, of course, are issues that flow from decisions taken independently by the Crown Office, and the Crown Office is independent on all decisions relating to prosecutions. There have been court proceedings live on those issues, and, of course, ministers cannot comment while court proceedings are live, and the Tories would be among the first to criticise if we did. There is, of course, a commitment to a full inquiry into all of this as soon as it is possible to do that in order that there can be full scrutiny and where appropriate full accountability. Yesterday, I met a group of people from Patec Fistle community trusts accepting activity programme in Parliament. They support homeless people, refugees and asylum seekers, and people living with mental health every day. They told me that the project has been a lifeline, and, to quote their late friend, they said, "...it is often the reason they believe in the goodness of others." They also told me that they are facing unprecedented costs for their energy costs and worried that they will no longer be able to provide the support that they do without further support. I ask whether there is anything that the First Minister can do and whether she should work with me to help them. I understand that this issue was raised with the cabinet secretary earlier this week or even today at the committee, and she has undertaken to look into the issue and to write to the member, so I would suggest that that is the appropriate way for now to proceed. Minister, this month marks the 30th anniversary of Celtic Connections. Can I ask from one Glasgow MSP to another if you will welcome this landmark anniversary of a Scottish cultural gem and great contribution to Glasgow city's economy, and will you be going along yourself to enjoy it jig time? If I get the opportunity, I will certainly relish it. As a citizen of the great city of Glasgow, I am very pleased that Celtic Connections is back for its first full-live run since 2020, showcasing 2,100 musicians from around the world at more than 300 events across multiple genres of music. I am delighted that the Scottish Government continues to support the festival through our expo fund. Let me take the opportunity to congratulate Celtic Connections on the 30th anniversary of a festival that has grown to become a cornerstone in Scotland's annual cultural calendar and that continues to raise Glasgow's profile worldwide as an exciting cosmopolitan welcoming city. I do hope that I get the opportunity to sample some of its delights this year, but I was, I believe, at some events in its founding year 30 years ago, which perhaps says something about my age that I would rather have left unsaid. Maurice Golden Thank you, Presiding Officer. Around lunch time last Saturday, a car smashed into a property just off the A90 near Dundee. It's a road that just about every driver in Scotland will travel on at some point, and this was the 10th crash at the same spot in just six years, according to The Courier. The owners of the property live in fear. Their grandchildren outplaying in the garden could be seriously injured or even killed. I raised this issue two years ago, but no remedial action has taken place. Will the First Minister now treat this as a matter of urgency? Obviously, the crash last weekend was extremely serious and my thoughts, of course, are with all who were involved in that. It's important that any appropriate investigations into that are allowed to take their course and that we reflect on the findings of any of that. When we've had the opportunity to do that, I will undertake to have the Transport Minister write directly to the member with any further steps that are required to be taken. Thank you. That concludes First Minister's questions. Point of order, Liam Kerr. Very grateful, Presiding Officer. On Tuesday 15 November, in relation to the misleading claim that Scotland had 25% of offshore wind potential, I asked Minister Lorna Slater when did ministers first become aware that they were using a figure that hadn't been properly sourced? She responded. Ministers became aware of the issue on Tuesday 8 November. On Thursday 17 November, I raised a point of order that Minister Slater appeared to have misled Parliament in her assertion. I reminded her of the ministerial code at section 1.3c, which requires the correcting of the record. I stated— Mr Kerr, if you could just give me a moment, can I ask members who are leaving the chamber to do so quietly, and can I ask members who are conducting a conversation in the chamber to please conduct such conversations elsewhere? Thank you, Mr Kerr. I'm very grateful, Presiding Officer, and I'm slightly stunned to see the minister in question actually leaving the chamber, as I'm speaking, but I stated at the time, 17 November, that the utter disregard by certain ministers in not abiding by the processes and codes risks bringing this Parliament into disrepute and risks undermining your position as Presiding Officer. Presiding Officer, the record remains uncorrected by Minister Slater, or indeed, to the best of my knowledge, any of the other ministers who have deployed the statistic. Last Monday, 16 January, Minister Michael Matheson was asked at the Scottish Affairs Committee in relation to the claim that Scotland had 25 per cent of Europe's offshore wind potential when he became aware that the figure was inaccurate. He said, If I recall correctly, sometime back in September, both statements cannot simultaneously be true. Either Ms Slater has misled this place, or Mr Matheson has misled the House of Commons. Since ignoring and disrespecting the ministerial code is clearly endemic amongst this Government and none of them feel any obligation to do anything about it, or indeed listen to points of order, I wonder if you might request that Minister Slater appear before this Parliament to give a statement as to why she apparently misled Parliament, why she and her colleagues feel it unnecessary to abide by our codes, and perhaps finally to give an honest and accurate answer to my original question. I thank the member for his point to Forger. As the member will be aware, I have dealt with related matters before. I will repeat that matters in relation to the ministerial code are a matter for the Scottish Government. The Parliament, as all members know, has a corrections mechanism that enables any member to request a correction to any factual inaccuracy that may have been contained in a contribution during our proceedings. As a matter of courtesy and respect, I do expect that all members should be accurate in their contributions and should seek to remedy any factual inaccuracies, whether through the corrections mechanism or other methods, at the earliest possible opportunity. All members are aware that it is not the role of the Presiding Officer to make rulings on the accuracy of contributions, rather it is a matter for each member as to whether they consider their contributions to have been accurate. However, if a member is dissatisfied with information that has been provided to the minister, it remains open to them to pursue this issue through all the avenues that are available to members. Mr Kerr asked if I could call the minister to make a statement to the chamber. That is not something that is within my power, but the member in seeking a ministerial statement may wish to raise this matter with their business manager who can raise it in the bureau. We will now move on to the point of order, Edward Mountain. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I do not do this lightly and I realise that there has been some delay getting to this point. However, in response to my topical question on 6 December last year, the Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise, Ivan McKee, assured the Parliament that the budget and completion timescales for vessels 801 and 802 were on target. I visited the shipyard just four days prior to asking that question and met the chief executive. He was clear that the budget would be exceeded and that 802 would not be delivered on time. I have the notes of my visits available, should they be required. Ivan McKee's answers to my topical questions baffled me as it appeared that it was more than a political non-answer that we can often expect. Subsequent FOIs reveal email exchanges between Semal and Ferguson Marine showing that they both knew of the problems prior to my questions being asked. That begs the question, was the minister aware before he answered my topical question that there were indeed further delays and expenses relating to hulls 801 and 802? Through an FOI, I obtained Ivan McKee's briefing notes. Mr Mountain, might I ask what your point of order is? I am coming to the point of order, Presiding Officer, if I can just finish this sentence and if I may then come back to it. Presiding Officer, I obtained, through the FOI, Ivan McKee's briefing notes that were prepared by his staff in order to allow him to answer my questions. I can only assume that he read those. It was clear in those briefing notes that he was aware of the delay to 801, 802 and the extension to the cost of the budget. I know that it is disrespectful and unacceptable to suggest that somebody has lied or misled the Parliament, so I will not. However, it is clear and unambiguous evidence that I have got here that his response was the best misrepresentation of the facts or worse plainly untruthful. Therefore, Presiding Officer, I seek your guidance on how members of this Parliament can hold the Government to account if it takes numerous FOIs to prove that a minister has clearly been uneconomical with the truth. I think that all members will be aware that a point of order takes precedence where a member has concerns that proceedings have not taken place in a proper way. With regard to the points that the member raises, those are not points that I can rule on from the chair. I have just addressed a point of order regarding accuracy of members' contributions in the chamber, and I would again have to point the member to the many avenues that exist for members to pursue one another on issues where they are dissatisfied with a response. We will now move on to a point of order, Alex Cole-Hamilton. Thank you very much Presiding Officer. On the basis of what you just said, I will withdraw my point of order on this occasion. Thank you. We will now move on to members' business. I will allow a moment for the gallery to clear.