 Oes i androes artificiae parodennol? Wasn past your insight questions and definite responses. Rydw i'r Llywyddanyn i dnu'r cydweithio presidol reb魔 ookan gan Ddyn ​​​Across. Os nad os mae'n besswyd dyoedd credu comम pelo ti'r project o Ddyn ​​​Across. The site for the replacement munklans hospital was first identified and approved over two years ago in May 2021. The SNP manifesto said that it would invest the capital required to build a new hospital. The outline business case was presented nearly six months ago, but at the same time a delay of three years was announced for its scheduled opening. Despite the dedication of the NHS staff, the current munklans hospital building is in poor health. People in Lanarkshire are beginning to ask me if the new hospital is going to be built at all. So can the cabinet secretary give a commitment today that there will be no reduction in capacity or in the range of services provided that there will be no downgrading in build quality that he will stick to the plans as outlined in the business case and that there will be no further delays to its opening? The member will recognise that we have given a very strong commitment to delivering a new munklans hospital. I know that this is an issue that is very close to the heart of the local constituency member, Neil Gray, as well. We, as a Government, are determined to make sure that that is delivered. Of course, the outline business case is being considered through the normal project review process that we are going through. We have had to look at the process as a result of the cuts that we have had to capital expenditure from the UK Government that has a direct impact on capital projects in Scotland. We have to consider that in the round, and that is why this process is going through, identifying what our priorities are going forward, of which munklans is one of those key priorities. I can assure the member that we will look at how we then take that forward to full business case. The member made specific reference to aspects of the services that will be delivered within the hospital. It is clear that that is a matter for the health board to take forward, and that would be part of the final business case that would be produced. We certainly would want to support them in taking an approach, which is consistent with the way in which hospital projects have been delivered in the past. Could the cabinet secretary answer the original question that was posed to him by Richard Leonard? Will there be any further delays? It always feels a bit ironic when you have got Conservative members who come into this chamber demanding capital investment projects to be taken forward. When there are very people who have been cutting capital expenditure to the Scottish Government, are the Conservatives at Westminster, Mr Simpson's colleagues? I am surprised that Mr Simpson does not have quotes, loads of constituents queuing up at his surgeries to complain about the impact to his parties having on capital investment projects here in Scotland, including vital projects such as Monklands, which this Government is determined to make sure is delivered. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of the volunteering action plan. The Scottish Government appreciates the contribution that volunteers make to society, our 10-year volunteering action plan, which was published in June 22, was co-produced with partners in the third sector, and its aim is to support people to volunteer throughout their lives. Volunteer Scotland is raising awareness of volunteering and its benefits for all involved. New groups have been established, including, for example, a cost of living volunteering task group, and a policy champions network, ensuring that the powers of volunteering are recognised as policies are developed. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer, and I welcome the plan's aim of creating an environment where everyone can volunteer more often throughout their lives and the plan's focus on tackling inequality for those who would traditionally experience barriers to volunteering. Can I ask the minister what specific steps the Scottish Government has taken to increase public awareness of volunteering and to tackle those stereotypes around what it is and who it is that volunteers? Stephanie Calhann raises a very important point about the real need to encourage diversity in our volunteers. Of course, the Scottish Government funds Volunteer Scotland as a national advice centre for volunteering, and that helps to increase volunteering participation as well as widening access to volunteering. Volunteer Scotland has a search facility, for example, to ensure that there is visibility of the volunteering options available to people. She is quite right to point to the need to ensure that volunteers come from diverse backgrounds and that we have all an obligation to encourage that. Certainly, as a Government, we are determined to tackle those barriers in conjunction with Volunteer Scotland that may be preventing people from coming forward. To ask the Scottish Government when it last met the head of housing services at Fife Council and what was discussed. The head of housing services at Fife Council last met with the Scottish Government in September last year. Matters concerning supply of affordable housing are high on the Scottish Government agenda, as well as those of our local authority partners. The decision in question considered these and unrelated questions relevant to Fife Council. I plan to meet Fife Council in the near future to continue these discussions. I thank the minister for his answer. Excuse me, there are some 126 council house properties in my Cowdenbeath constituency that have been recorded on Fife Council's mould and dampness survey. While Fife Council initially told me that remedial action would be taken by May of this year, sadly that timetable has now slipped, with no date at all having been set for the actual completion of such remedial works. Therefore, can the minister advise whether he considers this to be a satisfactory position for my constituents who continue to live in unacceptable conditions and what can the minister do to quicken the necessary action? I am sorry to hear of the issues that the member's constituents are facing. Damp and mould and housing is a serious issue, and it is vital that landlords are proactive in identifying issues and taking action to treat the root causes. Although it is welcome to hear that Fife Council is committed to remedial action, it is of concern that this timeframe has slipped, and I hope that it has kept tenants up-to-date and are communicating their plans for resolving the issues effectively and in a timely manner. I will take up the matter with Fife Council and provide the member with an update. The minister knows that I am keen for action to be taken to halt the huge growth in short-term lets in my constituency, and although I did not support the licensing scheme, I think that the control areas could make a significant difference. Fife Council is dragging its feet and is setting a timescale for far too late. When the minister is speaking to Fife Council, will he have a discussion about the timescale for implementing the control areas? I was glad to meet Mr Rennie during the week to discuss housing issues in Fife. The Scottish Government gave powers to local authorities in reference to the short-term control areas, and any decision is an issue that is up to them to discuss. To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to lay regulations to restrict the marketing and advertising of vaping products, following the publication of the responses to its consultation tightening rules on advertising and promoting vaping products on 27 September 2022. I thank Emma Harper for raising this very important issue. Our 2022 consultation proposed restrictions on vaping products that strike a balance between protecting all non-smokers from the potential harms of vaping, while providing existing adult smokers with the information that they need to make an informed choice on cessation. We are actively considering those restrictions, including developing further evidence on the harms associated with vaping products, which was published on 10 May 2023. We will publish our refresh tobacco action plan in the autumn. Emma Harper. I thank the minister for that answer. I am the co-convener of the Lung Health Cross Party group, and we have explored the issue of e-cigarettes in vaping. What was presented was clear that young people are targeted directly using marketing strategies, which include attractive bright packaging and attractive flavours, including candy floss, pink lemonade and bubble gum. Emergent evidence shows that vaping is a future long health ticking time bomb. Will the minister commit to bringing the regulations forward as soon as possible to ensure that we are protecting young people from the health harms of vaping? I thank Emma Harper for that supplementary question and recognise the concerns that she has raised. I was visiting one of the schools in my constituency a couple of months ago, and one of the teachers showed me the vapes that she had taken from the class that she was teaching. As a priority, I am considering a range of what the next steps could be on vaping, including regulations. That will form part of our refresh tobacco action plan in the autumn. Any action that we seek to take will build on the regulations already in place to restrict the marketing promotion and sale of vaping products to under-18s. Pam Duncan-Glassy. A 16-year-old constituent recently contacted me because they are struggling to quit vaping. When they went to their GP and chemist for support, they were told that there was nothing available to them. So what support can the Scottish Government provide to help young people to quit vaping? I recognise that as being the issue. I appreciate that the World Health Organization described it as a major concern to people. It is something that I have been asking Public Health Scotland to look into, and along with my colleague Elena Whitham, we will be working together on this. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its commitment to abolish the NHS dental charges by the end of the current parliamentary session. Minister Jenny Minto. The Scottish Government remains committed to the removal of all dental charges in the lifetime of this Parliament. We have made initial progress towards this commitment with the extension of free NHS dental care to young people aged 18 to 25 years of age. The new policy prospectus provides a commitment to sustained and improved equitable national access to NHS dentistry. Pam Gossel. I thank the minister for that answer. My inbox has been flooded with emails from constituents and dental practitioners. One dentist wrote, Many dedicated NHS colleagues can no longer see their futures working in a dysfunctional and underfunded system. It is our patients and your constituents who will end up paying the price. The Scottish Government pledged to make NHS dentistry free at the point of use by 2026, but that will not be of the concern if the SNP has prescribed over collapse of this NHS dental surgeries. Last week, the minister was unable to provide assurances that there was no further delay to the reform process, but we do have a chance to build a service fit for the 21st century with prevention at its heart. So can I ask the minister what assurances can she give that reforms will not be delayed and that they will actually be effective? The single most important reform that we can put in place, as I answered last week, is payment reform. That is what we are working on with the dentists and their organisations as we speak. We have brought in the 10 per cent bridging up until the 31st of October this year, and our intention is to bring in the new payment structure, which will, I hope, be agreed by dentists on 1 November this year. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to maximise the uptake of the Scottish social security benefits. Our second benefit take-up strategy, published in 2021, sets out our approach to ensuring that people are able and encouraged to access their entitlements. We remain focused on the removal of social barriers to people accessing Scottish benefits, addressing complex or costly access and improving access to information. We are delivering a number of take-up initiatives, including taking our services to locations most accessible to people through, for example, our local delivery service and running targeted marketing campaigns. We will publish our next annual update on benefit take-up rates in the autumn 2023. I welcome the efforts that have been made in Scotland to maximise the take-up of social security benefits. That is vital, given the impact of the Westminster imposed cost of living crisis that is having on many. A recent report by Policy and Practice estimated that £7.5 billion of universal credit is not claimed. Universal credit is one of the passport benefits to the vital Scottish child payment. Does the cabinet secretary have concerns that the lack of a benefit take-up strategy from the UK Government to encourage take-up of universal credit could deny some families access to the Scottish child payment? The member raises a very important point about a benefit take-up strategy. I would encourage the DWP to do, as the Scottish Government has done. However, it does not just take a benefit strategy. It also requires an entirely changing approach. For example, when we compare the Scottish Government's human rights approach to social security, that encourages people to apply for port they are entitled to, and we compare that to the UK Government's degrading system, where there is still far too much signal stigma and far too many barriers in the way. That is exactly why it takes much more than a benefit strategy to improve the situation. To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to announce the delivery plan for the second strategic transport projects review. Significant action is being taken by the Government to develop, deliver and invest in Scotland's strategic transport infrastructure for the long term. Work is already under way to deliver 38 of the 45 recommendations in STPR2, with consideration on going on how best to mobilise the remaining seven. It is hugely disappointing that the commitment made by Michael Matheson in January this year to release detail surrounding the delivery plan for STPR2 is still not being forthcoming. Once again, it shows utter contempt that the Scottish Government displays particularly towards the people of the south-west of Scotland, where, regardless of the promises, despite those promises made year after year, the spend on infrastructure projects in the south has been less than 0.5 per cent of the national infrastructure spend. Thankfully to the Sir Peter Hendy review that highlighted the desperate need for serious investment in the A75, including a bypass at Crockett for the Spring home, we can now see that those improvements are vital. I am aware that a business plan for the A75 has now been submitted. The business plan has been submitted seeking funding from the Government. Can I ask the minister to tell me when he will do likewise and do the right thing and fulfil his commitment to once and for all provide finance towards those projects? I met Mr Carson and other colleagues from the south of Scotland last week and outlined some of the work that we are doing. As Mr Carson is well aware, I have met UK ministers around the A75 to try and access funding from the union connectivity fund. A draft business case for the A75 has been submitted to the Department of Transport. That includes a proposal to fund the further design and development of options for the realignment of the A75, including around the villages of Spring home and Crockettford, which I know Mr Carson has an interest in. I hope that the UK Government will respond positively and will hand over the resources that are required in order to get those works going. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to assist any businesses that are struggling to recruit skilled workers. The action that we are taking to work with employers includes on-going investment to deliver 25,500 new modern apprenticeship starts in 2023-24, support for developing the young workforce to enable young people to prepare for work and on-going investment in short courses across tertiary education, aimed at upskilling and reskilling. Furthermore, through the establishment of a talent attraction and migration service and our wider work programme of work and that of our enterprise agencies, we will help employers in key sectors to recruit workers from outside of Scotland. Contrary to the claims often made in this chamber that Brexit has dried up the supply of migrant workers, the latest figures show that net legal migration to the United Kingdom has doubled since Brexit and is now at record levels and is projected to grow still further. The problem is that too few of those legal migrants to the UK come to Scotland. We lag behind every part of England, with the exception of the northeast when it comes to attracting... The SNP benches do not want to hear the facts on this, Presiding Officer, because it does not suit their narrative. The fact is that Scotland is very badly compared to the other parts of the UK in terms of attracting legal migrants to come here and fill the vacancies that other businesses have. What more is the Scottish Government going to do to try to make Scotland a more attractive place for the migrant workers that we need to come and work here? Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I have already spoken about the implementation of a talent attraction and migration service to ensure that we can mitigate the difficulties that our employers have faced post Brexit, where a murder phraser must have been living in a cupboard if he has not had the representation from employers in his area that I have had in my area and across Scotland in terms of the impact that Brexit has had or the cutting of freedom of movement and the impact that that has had. We continue to call on the UK Government to ensure that they are having a more suitable immigration system that suits the needs of people here in Scotland. That is the work that I have been progressing in my previous role alongside Mary Gougeon in terms of a rural visa pilot. For instance, I know that many on those benches would actually support even if the Secretary of State for Scotland is currently holding it up. That concludes general questions. Before we move to First Minister's questions, I invite members to join me in welcoming to the gallery the right honourable Catherine Gottigotani-Hara MP, Speaker of the National Assembly of Malawi. I would also invite members to join me in welcoming Dr Husam Zomlott, head of the Palestinian mission to the United Kingdom.