 Ie, ac we turn to our next item of business, which is topical questions and we start with question 1 from Claire Baker. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to the terrorist incident at Parsons Green in London. Ffistly, my thoughts are with those who were caught up in Friday's curdly terrorist attack in London, particularly those who were injured. In response to the raised threat level as a precautionary response, Police Scotland increased operations to protect the people of Scotland, businesses and public places. This included increasing a number of armed officers on patrol across the country. Those armed officers were deployed as part of the measures taken to allow the public to go about their daily lives as normal. Police Scotland reviewed all significant events over the past few days and have reviewed the security footprint as appropriate. Throughout the process, Police Scotland reinforced the key message to our communities that they, along with their partners, have well-rehearsed plans to respond to any major incidents that may have an impact on Scotland. Police Scotland are gradually scaling back the policing response in keeping with the threat level. The Deputy First Minister and myself were briefed by officials and Police Scotland throughout to gain assurance that what was being proposed was appropriate and proportionate to the threat that we face. We must not allow terrorism to triumph. People should not be afraid to go about their daily business as usual, but I would urge the public to remain alert and to report any suspicious activity. As a Government, we are absolutely committed to ensuring that Scotland's law enforcement and other bodies have all the tools that they need to tackle terrorism, building on the robust measures that are already in place. Indeed, they are well prepared for this. The focus has been on ensuring that the required operational measures are in place to ensure the continued safety and security of the public, and that they are appropriate and proportionate. Clare Baker, I thank the cabinet secretary for his response and associate my parties with his remarks. It is right that we praise the reaction of the emergency services who once again responded quickly and without fear. It is also right that we thank and appreciate the reaction of the staff at London Underground, who in many instances were the very first responders for Friday's attack. Although I appreciate that a serious investigation is on-going, those attacks do raise concerns over the risks to community cohesion. What steps can the cabinet secretary take to ensure that the authorities are working with our communities to ensure their safety and that we are all working together to tackle extremism in all its forms? I welcome the comments by the member in particular on praising our emergency services in the way in which they respond to those types of incidents and when there is an increase in the threat level. The member has made an important point, because although there is an operational response to those matters, what is actually more important is to make sure that we are supporting cohesive and resilient communities to ensure that there is no space for those who would wish to peddle the message of extremism or hatred. A range of work is taken forward by a number of agencies from Police Scotland through to support that we provide to community-based organisations to ensure that community resilience and cohesion is maintained and supported. However, particularly during periods of increased threat level and where there may be increasing levels of concern, there are particular proactive measures that are taken forward by Police Scotland with organisations at a community level to ensure that any concerns or issues that are being highlighted in those communities are being addressed as quickly and effectively as possible. That is a piece of on-going work that is taken forward by the Police and other agencies on an on-going basis. My colleague Angela Constance and her colleagues take forward a range of work in working in support of organisations to tackle issues around extremism and other ways in which the message of hatred can often be peddled. However, it is key to achieving that and to ensure that we do not give that message any space in our communities in Scotland. That is why the work that we do around creating cohesive and resilient communities is key to tackling that type of extremist behaviour. Thank you to the cabinet secretary. He will also be aware of the comments that was made this week by the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union that Britain could continue to pay in order to remain a part of Europe as part of the new security treaty with the European Union. Europe has a vital part to play in our ability to combat terrorism in Scotland and beyond. Can I therefore ask the cabinet secretary what discussions he and the Scottish Government have had with the UK Government regarding our continued membership of Europe and ensuring that there is continued international co-operation on security matters in the future? The member makes reference to the paper that was published by the UK Government on security, criminal and other aspects of law. I am disappointed to tell the chamber that, prior to publication of that particular report, despite the fact that it refers to a whole range of devolved responsibilities, there was no consultation with the Scottish Government on that matter, which I believe is simply unacceptable. I believe that it also demonstrates a serious disregard to the responsibilities of this Parliament in these particularly key areas. I have raised previously in the chamber the importance and the value that we get from being a member of the European Union in the sharing of information with other European countries, which we benefit from here in Scotland and which other countries across Europe benefit from in the information that we submit to the European Union. There is no doubt that, in Scotland, we disproportionately benefit from the measures that the European Union provides, largely because we make greater use of the European Union network. I can assure the member that, as a Government, we are absolutely determined to do everything we can to continue to access the important security measures in supporting our law enforcement agencies here in Scotland. I wish that the UK Government would show more respect for the responsibilities of this Parliament. Prior to publishing any paper of this nature, which has clear areas of devolved responsibility, there should be a full engagement and consultation process with the Scottish Government to allow that paper to be informed by the views of the Scottish Government. The police and emergency services put their own safety and lives on the line daily to keep the people of Scotland safe. In the light of the terrible events, and in general, can the cabinet secretary ask what specific steps is the Scottish Government taking to ensure that officers and staff have maximum protection themselves while they protect us? The member may be aware that I made a statement to Parliament last year, setting out the decision to increase the firearms capability that we have within Police Scotland. That was a key part of the action that was taken to increase the protective security measures that are available to Police Scotland in response to any particular increase in threat level here in Scotland. That work has almost been completed. The level of firearms capability that we now have in Scotland has reached the point that Police Scotland had set itself this time last year. We will continue to work with Police Scotland to ensure that it has the necessary preparations in place to deal with any incident should that ever occur in Scotland or where it can assist and support other law enforcement agencies across the rest of the UK. That, I believe, is a clear demonstration of this Government's commitment to ensure that Police Scotland has the necessary protective measures in place going forward. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to concerns raised by Age Scotland that the country faces a crisis in the care sector with some service users being left without food, water and essential medicines. We welcome Age Scotland's contribution as a strong advocate for older people and their services. We recognise that Age Scotland and other organisations have highlighted the need to focus on dealing with recruitment and retention issues in some areas. Of course, we have integrated health and social care services, the most radical reform of the NHS in Scotland since 1948. Integration brings together NHS and social care services so that people can get the right care and support at any point in their care journey. Integration is also about ensuring that staff across health and social care are equipped to work together to make full use of their shared skills and resources. This year, an extra £107 million will transfer from the NHS to health and social care partnerships to ensure that more people are cared for safely in their own homes and to avoid preventable admissions to hospital and, of course, to deliver the real living wage to all adult care workers. Parts 2 and 3 of our health and social care workforce plans to be published later this year will examine how to improve the integrated workforce planning in social care and primary care settings. Will the cabinet secretary accept that the additional funding that she referred to is ring-fence for specific purposes? That the £107 million, for example, is for additional burdens faced by partnership in relation to the living wage, support for carers and adjustments to care charges that are not there for growing demand. Will the cabinet secretary also acknowledge that the £1.5 billion worth of cuts since 2011 to local government, one of the two sources of funding for partnerships, has forced many councils to cut their contributions to those partnerships, cuts that were sanctioned this year by the cabinet secretary for finance when he wrote to councils on 15 December stating that he could cut their allocations by £80 million. Will the cabinet secretary tell us how many more older people are going to have to go without food, water and essential medicines before the Government accepts that the current level of social care funding is just not adequate? First of all, I can say to the member that, in terms of the £107 million, that was funding that required partnerships to deliver a number of things. I hope that he will agree that one of the important things that the £107 million was there to deliver was the real living wage. We know that part of the recruitment and retention challenge of the social care workforce is about paying conditions, so I hope that he would accept that that is an important contribution towards helping to tackle recruitment and retention challenges in the social care sector. Of course, it follows on from the £250 million that was put into social care as part of the investment in health and social care services, an important resource that has helped to address some of the capacity issues that he has cited. In terms of the wider position on local government finances, the increase in spending power to support council services now amounts to more than £400 million, or 3.9 per cent. Of course, the other important issue relating to the social care services is that recent statistics have shown that overall expenditure on adult social care services per head of population has increased by 13 per cent in real terms after taking account of inflation. Although there are challenges, and I would be the first to admit that, we all have to accept that it is not just about resources—resources are important and more resources are going in to support social care—but it is also about reform and doing things differently. It is about making sure that services are integrated across health and social care, and it is about making sure that people are supported in their own homes by new services and new service developments that the partnerships are delivering. Colin Smyth, I note that the cabinet secretary did not deny that the £107 million was ringfence for very specific purposes. However, as well as a funding gap, health and social care partnerships are facing a recruitment and retention crisis. In the survey in the recent report, Bringing Home Care, Scottish Care revealed that more than 90 per cent of survey participant organisations had staff vacancies. Although measures such as living wage have campaigned for all my political life are a start, will the cabinet secretary accept that there is a need for the Government to properly invest in training and other improvements in working conditions to make social care a more positive career choice to tackle the chronic shortages that we face? In answer to the £107 million, we do not ringfence resources with local government. What we do is, as we expect, when resources go in, there are outcomes from that investment. One of the outcomes that we agreed with the local government was the delivery of the real living wage, which, as I said in my previous answer, is an important aspect of stabilising recruitment and retention in the social care workforce. It is not the only thing, and the member is right to point to other elements such as career opportunities, like other terms and conditions. One of the aspects of the new world of integration is that career opportunities are enhanced and improved. One of the important things is to make sure that there are career pathways into, for example, the regulated professions in the NHS, so that I would like to see a position where someone coming in to the social care workforce has the opportunity, if they so wish, to go into one of the regulated professions, if they so wish, and that there is a clear pathway for them to do so. As I said previously, overall expenditure in adult social care services has increased by 13 per cent in real terms, so more resources are going in, but we have to ensure that we make social care an attractive career opportunity for not just young people but people across the workforce. That is partly about pay, but it is about those other things as well. Miles Briggs Is the cabinet secretary aware that Edinburgh's health and social care partnership is struggling with capacity in the care sector here in the capital, and that the chief officer has stated bluntly that the health and social care system is underfunded for the level of need that is being expressed? Does she agree with that assessment, and if so, what action will she be taking to support the care sector here in Lothian, where we have more patients waiting to be discharged from hospital than in any other part of Scotland? Cabinet secretary. What I would say to Miles Briggs is that the issues relating to Edinburgh are quite long-standing, as I am sure that he is aware. There are a number of factors to do with that. One is the local market conditions that he will be well aware of that, even with a much enhanced rate above the living wage, the real living wage, that home care and care home providers still find it difficult to recruit because there are other opportunities for people that are paying, if not the same, potentially more. That is a challenge. One of the areas that we have been exploring with Edinburgh is what other things can they do to enhance the opportunities for recruitment in the social care workforce. That might be looking at things like accommodation and other supports beyond just pay. That is something of course that Aberdeen has also been looking at, where they face not dissimilar local market conditions. There is no easy answer to that, but it is fair to say that between now, in terms of the delayed discharge challenge, between Edinburgh, the Ayrshaws and Lanarkshire, they account for 40 per cent of all delays. It is really important that we support those local partnerships to address their particular challenges. I can assure Miles Briggs that my officials spend a lot of time with the Edinburgh partnership. They need to get a new leadership team in. That is important. We cannot have a vacuum and they need to get on with doing some of the things that we believe will work. They need a plan and leadership to deliver that plan. We will support them as much as we can to get on with the job. That concludes the topical questions. I apologise to the members who could not get in. I remind all members and ministers to keep the questions and answers as short as possible, please.