 Abertaeth. Gwethefyd, y rhai ydym ni'n gweithio'r cyfnodau cyfnodau cyfnodau 5171 yn y name o George Adam â'r ddechrau y Llywodraeth Parliwyr i'r ddau'r cyflwyngau cyfnodau ac rwy'n gofio George Adam i gael'r cyflwyngau cyfnodau. Rwy'n ddodd ar gyfer ddatganiad. Rwy'n ddodd. Mae'r ddiddordeb yn rhaid i'ch gweithio'r cyflwyngau. Mae'r ddiddordeb yn ddiddordeb. Maen nhw'n mynd i'r gorfod yr L5171. Felly, mae'n gweithio, mae'n gweithio? Felly, rhaid i'n mynd i'r gorfod yr L5171. Rhyw o ddi yêu quadrwynt hynny. Rhaid i'n gweithio'r gweithio'r gwaith? Rhaid i'n gweithio'r gweithio'r Gw meantelion L516, mae'n ymgylch gyda George Adam oherwydd y bendenteb gyllysgwyr mai sefyd gennymu cymdeithasol. Mae'n gweithio George Adam i'n gweithio'r Gw meantelion L517. or place anon a chat function during the relevant question. I can advise the chamber that business is extensive over the course of the afternoon, so I would add additional emphasis to the usual plea for questions and answers, to be as sent as possible. I call question number one, Carole Mwghing. ti pan yw'r Ffwrdd? What discussions justice ministers have had with ministerial colleagues regarding using antisocial behaviour laws to prevent people from carrying out intimidating protests outside abortion clinics? I am kept up today on the discussions held in the BufferZones working groups. That is chaired by the Minister for Public Health, Women's Health and Sport. This group is looking at all of the legislation that could be used in response to protests at abortion clinics, and that includes anti-social behaviour legislation, as the member has asked. The application of anti-social behaviour legislation in response to protests, of course, is an operational matter for Police Scotland who assess each incident individually and will take appropriate and also proportionate action in response to that. The Scottish Government fully supports Police Scotland to respond in such a manner at protests at abortion clinics if police Scotland feel it's merited and is required to protect individuals and public safety. Thank you for that response. Minister, the law states that a person is involved in antisocial behaviour if they act in a way that causes or is likely to cause alarm or distress to anyone or behave in a way that causes or is likely to cause alarm and distress to at least one person, not of the same household as them. That sense is deliberately seeking to scare or intimidate a woman who is simply pursuing the healthcare she is entitled to, not antisocial. As such, why can those laws not be used and the minister seek to ensure that those laws are used to protect those seeking healthcare now? Minister. I thank the member for that question and there is no place in our society for the harassment, abuse and intimidation of women and girls accessing healthcare services. The Scottish Government has been very clear about that. Just to reiterate what the Scottish Government is doing on this topic, the Minister for Public Health has convened a working group. That has Police Scotland, it also has COSLA and affected health boards as members. It is looking at the short, the medium and the long-term solutions to this issue. The chamber will no doubt be aware that the First Minister is committed to finding meaningful solutions to the issue of protests outside abortion clinics. She will chair a summit on this on 27 June for that side just next week. This summit will focus on the issue of buffer zones and it will be attended by MSPs, COSLA, women's rights groups and so on. It is important that any action that is taken is proportionate, balancing everyone's rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. Those are complex issues, but I want to give assurance that we are considering all of those issues very carefully indeed. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal's recent report on hate crime in Scotland, particularly the findings that in 2021-22, disability aggravated charges increased by 44 per cent and transgender identity aggravated charges by 87 per cent compared with 2020-21. Any form of hate crime or prejudice is completely unacceptable. While the increase in disability and transgender aggravated hate crime may, in part, be related to greater willingness among victims to report incidents, we are not complacent and remain committed to tackling hatred and prejudice wherever it occurs. Later this year or shortly thereafter, we will publish a new hate crime strategy that will set out our priorities for tackling hate crime. To help drive this, we have established a strategic partnership group, chaired by the Minister for Equalities, which includes representation from the equality network and Glasgow Disability Alliance. Annie-Anne Burgess, I welcome the figures showing that total numbers of hate crimes have decreased across the north and northeast, but it is very concerning that Inverness has seen a rise in hate crimes related to sexual orientation and disability, especially since crimes of this nature are consistently under-reported. I ask the Cabinet Secretary what the Scottish Government is doing to support LGBTQ-plus and disabled people who have been victims of a hate crime to come forward and report it. The Scottish Government stands shoulder to shoulder with all victims of hate crime, including LGBTQ-plus and disabled people, and we strongly encourage the reporting of incidents directly to the police or by using one of the many third-party reporting centres in each local authority. However, we recognise that for some victims there remain barriers to reporting hate crime. As we work to develop a new hate crime strategy for Scotland, we will consider how to build on progress made in reducing those barriers to ensure that victims and witnesses have the confidence to report hate crime and feel supported in doing so. It is quite shocking that hate crimes against disabled and the LGBT community have outnumbered and overtaken hate crime of a religious or sectarian nature for the first time in Scottish society, so intolerance seems to be reducing in one area but increasing in another. As Arion Burgess pointed out, those types of crimes are markedly under-reported in those communities. As well as the steps that have been mentioned by the cabinet secretary, what conversations have taken place with Police Scotland and the Crown itself to improve prosecution rights, which surely would act as a true deter to those who seek to abuse those in our disabled and LGBT communities? I agree with Jamie Greene's point, and it is shocking to see the answers in particular against those with disabilities. We recognise, of course, that not all incidents of hate crime come to the attention of the police. We are involved both with the police and the Crown Office, not least in relation to the report on implementing the tackling prejudice in building connected communities action plan, which showed encouraging progress in the raising of awareness and encouraging reporting of hate crime, including through the execution of annual public awareness campaigns, which we undertake with partners. As we say, as we work to develop a new hate crime strategy working with the partners that Jamie Greene mentions, we will consider how to build on the progress that is made to tackle the barriers to reporting, including third-party reporting, and to ensure victim support and further confidence. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the review by the Police Service of Northern Ireland into findings by a tribunal of a sexist culture in Police Scotland. To quote the chief constable, misogyny, sexism and discrimination of any kind are deplorable. They should have no place in society and no place in policing. I welcome the independent report commissioned by the chief constable and carried out by the Police Service of Northern Ireland. I fully support the review's findings and recommendations. I expect to see Police Scotland demonstrate progress towards the implementation of those recommendations and again to quote from the chief constable to lead a change that improves the experiences of all women, enabling and supporting those who speak up to be heard without fear of detriment or victimisation. Daniel Johnson. I thank the cabinet secretary for that response and I welcome the fact that the report is now published, but the facts are these. A promising young female officer was bullied out of the force. Damages of over £1 million were awarded and an acting inspector is being investigated for perjury, and yet this report merely recommends a review of recruitment into firearms, training on standards and a refresher of course on diversity. Is recommending diversity training in a response to serious issues like this not the very definition of tokenism? That this report fails to offer any insight or recommendation on organisational procedural reform, I find incomprehensible. That the conduct of no other individuals other than those directly involved, given that officers at the most senior levels were aware, I find scandalous. Can I ask the cabinet secretary these things? Can we put an end to this practice of the police investigating themselves, in line with Dame Eilish Angelini's recommendations into her report into police complaints? Will the cabinet secretary write to the SPA chair and the chief constable asking to reject this report so that he undertakes a robust and comprehensive examination? That is not a brief question, Mr Johnson. Will he meet me, Ronan Malone and Richard Crainer, who first brought this to my attention, so that he can examine the issues directly himself? I have already stated that I support the recommendations made by the police and I do not see them as being as trivial as Daniel Johnson suggests. I think that the route of this is in the training and the culture within Police Scotland and the recommendations made not by Police Scotland but by the Northern Ireland Police Service is to tackle that by training and a number of other measures as well. I do appreciate that it has just been published and there is room for further discussion. I am happy to discuss that further with Daniel Johnson. He will take some advice as to meeting with others that he has mentioned, but I am happy to discuss it with him. To see what else is possible, I will be meeting after this and after the statement that I am about to make with Police Scotland and the SPA. I am sure that that will be a matter of discussion at that time as well. I ask the cabinet secretary what steps the Scottish Government is taking to drive forward meaningful improvement and strengthen public confidence in the police. We are committed to supporting the changes that the chief constable has committed to leading so that Scotland's citizens and communities have that trust and confidence in the policing system and the structures that underpin it, which of course have been impacted by the example that has been given already. Working with partners following the publication of Dame Eilish Angelini's review, significant steps have already been taken towards achieving that. On 24 May, a public consultation was launched to seek views on 34 of her recommendations that would require possibly legislative changes. That consultation runs for 12 weeks. We will continue to engage with partners and interested parties on those important matters so that we can further improve transparency and strengthen public confidence in the police. I spoke with Ronan Malone and other female officers who have suffered from Police Scotland's sexist culture. Take Karen Harper, a brave whistleblower, forced from her job due to sexist bullying, but still fighting for answers after seven damaging years. She says that there is a chasm between Police Scotland's rhetoric and their actions. As Daniel Johnson has already asked, would the cabinet secretary be willing to meet with her and any other woman who fears this PSNI report may not change anything? I have substantially responded to the points in relation to the question raised by Daniel Johnson, but I would say the same to Russell Finlay. I am happy to meet him. I do not know the priorities of meeting with somebody else that may have a current case against Police Scotland. I am willing to look into that and come back to the member if that is possible to do that. I agree with the point about rhetoric and making sure that that is reflected in reality. However, I have faith that the senior management team at Police Scotland is committed to this, whether it is through the report produced by Police Service of Northern Ireland or through the recommendations of Dame Elish Angiolini's review. They are committed to driving out those behaviours and I want to support them in doing that. If, after discussions with both Daniel Johnson and Russell Finlay, there are further suggestions, I am happy to take those to Police Scotland. I welcome the comments from the cabinet secretary about creating a culture in Police Scotland where men and women can speak up and be heard. However, we can see that there are many instances in which the public interest has been affected by the detriment. Does he agree that the time has come for us to consider the case for an independent office of the whistleblower in Scotland to deal with all those issues in an appropriate way? I think that we have before us already a substantial body of work that looks at complaints against the police. I think that that is the way that we should address that. Maybe other suggestions are taken into account at the same time. However, I am already aware of the fact about how complex the landscape looks in terms of the different players involved in looking at the police, the inspectorate of police, the police authority, the perk. There are a lot of people involved in doing this. I think that what we have to ensure is first of all that the public understands what that landscape is, the quickest, easiest and most straightforward way to make complaints. However, the police officers themselves have a right to expect that it is a simplified process that they can understand. That is what we are aiming for. Of course, we are willing to listen to any suggestions in addition to that. To ask the Scottish Government what support and advice is available to veterans in appealing to the upper, times we know, for Scotland regarding work pensions. Both the work pension scheme and the armed forces compensation scheme are reserved to the UK Government. The upper tribunal administered of appeals chamber is also reserved and is administered by HM courts and tribunal service. However, we understand that Legion Scotland offer advice and support to veterans pursuing those claims. Veterans may also be eligible for financial assistance with their appeal through legal aid. Additionally, the veterans welfare service, which is part of MOD's veterans UK, offer support to anyone claiming a work pension. Bob Doris. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. I am indeed aware of the excellent advice and support that organisations such as Legion Scotland and others offer military veterans to access their entitlements, including work pensions. However, once any appeals process for work pensions reaches the upper tribunal for Scotland, appeals will only be made on points of law. That is the second stitch that I am in with a significant advice gap. Such legal advice is not able to be offered by support organisations and my constitution is unable to claim legal aid. Will the cabinet secretary review the advice and support available in Scotland, perhaps in partnership with his colleagues at the UK Government, given the reserved aspects of much of this, to see what steps can be taken to plug what is certainly from my constitution the case and advice gap? As I have said, work pensions are wholly reserved and the appeals process is independent. Any changes to associated support are a matter for the Secretary of State for Defence, but as Bob Doris is hinting, there are substantial controversies around the administration of these schemes, whether it is in terms of pensions or compensations currently at Westminster. In regard to legal aid, in order to target funding appropriately, applications are subject to statutory tests that cover the merits of the case and the means available to the applicant. Scottish ministers are not involved in the decision-making process, but there are resources available that may be able to assist with advice for Bob Doris's constituents such as the local citizens advice bureau, the Scottish legal aid board and the Law Society of Scotland are also able to provide assistance in finding advice providers. To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure fair access to justice in light of its recent resource spending review, reportedly freezing legal aid spending for the next five years. The legal aid fund is not frozen. The legal aid budget in Scotland is demand-led, and all those who meet the eligibility criteria will have access to legal aid. We will continue to work with justice organisations to develop and to coordinate their delivery plans in response to the high-level spending review allocations, including public bodies such as the Scottish legal aid board. In this financial year, we have increased the legal aid budget by £13.9 million, which is 10 per cent. We have also made an investment of £1 million over two years in the future of the legal profession. We are working in partnership with the Law Society of Scotland to deliver a new legal aid traineeship scheme, which is the first of its kind in Scotland. The impact of the announcement budget freeze will paralyse the justice system, which is already struggling. The weight of the code backlog from the Covid period is already harming access to justice, and that will only threaten any recovery. In recent months, people across the Lothian region have been caught up in a mixture of code backlogs and industrial action from the legal profession in protest at frozen pay. Delayed justice, strike action and people across Scotland start without access to legal representation. Is this the reality of the Scottish Government's new vision for justice? I do not agree with the assessment that the member has set out there. The spending review obviously sets out a high-level multi-year spending parameters. It is not a budget, so the annual budget will continue to be set through the normal parliamentary budgeting process. The member mentioned the backlog. Of course, the Government has invested substantial amounts of funding into reducing the backlog. In terms of legal aid practitioners, in addition to the increase in the legal aid budget this year, we have recently offered 7.5 per cent uplift in criminal fees and 5 per cent for civil fees. That has been rejected by the profession. However, we will endeavour to continue those negotiations in order to find a solution that is also affordable. We can all agree that fair access to justice is vital and important. I welcome the £13.9 million investment that the minister has outlined. Can I ask the minister how the legal aid system in Scotland compares to other jurisdictions in Europe in terms of school access and eligibility? An independent review of legal aid, which was published in 2018, found that Scotland had a generous system of legal aid by international standards, that it had wide scope and no cash limit. Despite significant financial pressures, the legal aid system in Scotland is one of the leading jurisdictions in Europe. That is in terms of scope, eligibility and cost, with 75 per cent of people financially eligible to some form of civil legal aid assistance. That is in contrast to England and Wales, where it is just 25 per cent. There, there have been cuts to scope that have left many areas of civil law such as family, housing and immigration, largely out of scope. The minister will have seen Lindsay Barber's powerful video setting out why she is leaving the criminal defence system. She says that it is at a breaking point. Has the minister done an assessment on the impact on victims if the system does break? Since 2019, the Scottish Government has increased legal aid fees by 8 per cent. There is another 5 per cent that was committed earlier this year. That is a one-off payment. That is a year-on-year commitment of 13 per cent. Of course, that must be set against the backdrop that we currently have at the moment of difficult public finances. That demonstrates that this Government does value legal aid practitioners and we are investing in that. I will give the chamber my assurance that myself and the cabinet secretary will continue to engage with representatives of the profession to try to find a sustainable way forward. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on police-pay negotiations. The police negotiating board process is on-going in relation to police officer pay for 2223. In line with police negotiating board protocols, it is not appropriate for me to comment on that. The Scottish Government is involved in officer pay negotiations alongside the Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland as part of the PNB official side. Police staff pay is negotiated under a separate process to officer pay. It is a matter for the SPA and Police Scotland in consultation with trade unions at their joint national consultative committee. Jeremy Balfour. Deputy Presiding Officer, SNP Government has broken its manifesto promise to protect the police budget in real terms. It will be hard-working police who pay the price. I have a freedom of information request, which shows that last year's police-pay settlement crossed Police Scotland £14.5 million. That is less than the £20 million that the SNP Government is proposing to spend on another independence referendum. Cabinet Secretary, would you rather the SNP Government spend £20 million on police pay on another referendum that Scotland does not want? I say that Jeremy Balfour is factually incorrect. Unless he has the ability to foresee what the budget is going to be, we have not broken any commitment, but not let the fact get in the way of a headline. I would also say that the budget increase, the wage increase that police officers in Scotland had last year, was an increase of more than 2 per cent. What did they get from the Tories? Zero. Nothing in England and Wales. Zero increase. That is the way that the Tories treat police officers. It is also true that Jeremy Balfour should realise that the budget that we receive is 5.2 per cent down this year. 5.2 per cent down, cut from the Conservatives. I know that they do not like to hear it, but the Tories cut the budget in Scotland by 5.2 per cent. At the same time, as their economic mismanagement of the economy has led to 9.1 per cent inflation, they are the cause of problems for all sorts of public sector workers across the country. We will continue to do as much as we can for the police and have a very good record. For example, a police officer starting in Scotland over £26,000, one starting under Tory England in Wales, is £21,000. That is the way that we are looking after the police. To ask the Scottish Government how it will raise awareness of the water safety action plan ahead of the summer to ensure that people stay safe in and around Scotland's waters. The member has chosen an apt moment to raise this issue, as we are in the Royal Lifesaving Society's drowning prevention week this week. I convened a further meeting with our water safety action plan stakeholders, including the Royal Lifesaving Society, on 18 May. Plans to raise awareness of water safety issues in advance of the summer were discussed there at some length. The discussion covered activities on several fronts, including on-going work with Water Safety Scotland to raise awareness about staying safe around the water, to identify drowning hotspots and to improve water safety signage and also messaging. As the minister states, this is drowning awareness week 2022. It is one of the largest summer water safety campaigns across the UK, which is a great opportunity for organisations to educate the public to enjoy water safety. What impact the £60,000 funding grant for water safety Scotland in March has had on organisations with an interest in water safety? The Scottish Government provides annual funding to enable the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents or ROSPA to deliver an effective programme of home and water safety activity for Scotland. This year's total of nearly £180,000 includes an additional £60,000, and that is purely to better enable ROSPA to expand the support provided to Water Safety Scotland, which is the key forum for relevant organisations to come together to share knowledge and also learning and to reinforce each other's efforts. It will enable Water Safety Scotland to develop its pivotal leadership and management role to ensure support for all organisations in its growing membership and to fully support the diverse workstreams associated with the delivery of Scotland's drowning prevention strategy and of the water safety action plan. So, once the specific example is enabled— Minister, I'm going to have to stop you there to get question number eight in from Emma Harper, who joins us remotely. Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government when it last discussed the international transfer of prisoners to Scotland with the UK Government. Cabinet Secretary. The Ministry of Justice negotiates prison transfer agreements on behalf of the UK taking into consideration the views of the devolved administrations. The MOJ has recently shared proposed amendments to the additional protocol to the convention on the transfer of sentenced persons, which is intended to improve prisoner transfers between the UK and Council of Europe member states. I'm currently considering those amendments. Emma Harper. Thank you, Cabinet Secretary for that response. My constituent son is a UK citizen and is currently in prison in Boston in the United States. His son has severe mental health issues and has made four applications to the international prisoner transfer scheme to be brought to Scotland. My office has been liaising with the prison, the UK Council and the US Department of Connections. We have previously been told that it is unlikely that his application will be successful despite him meeting all the criteria. Given that, will the cabinet secretary undertake to raise this case with the UK foreign office to see if any further action can be taken to bring him home to Scotland, he will have access to his family and where he will receive the best possible treatment? If she wants to write to me with the details, it may be something that I could raise with the UK Government. Very grateful, Cabinet Secretary. That concludes portfolio questions on justice and veterans. We move now to the second portfolio, finance and the economy. Again, if members wish to ask supplementary, I invite them to press the request-to-speak buttons. I place an R in the chat function during the relevant question, and I call question number one from Ruth Maguire, who joins us remotely. I ask the Scottish Government what its latest assessment is of the impact of Brexit on Scotland's economy. We know that Brexit is contributing to the 19th consecutive monthly rise in prices charged by businesses in Scotland and causing UK food prices to increase by over 6 per cent, hitting the poorest families hardest. According to the OECD next year, the UK will have the slowest growth in the G20, apart from Russia and the OBR forecasts that Brexit will hurt productivity growth by twice as much as the pandemic in the long run. Since 2019, goods exports fell 20 per cent, largely driven by a decline in oil and gas exports, amounting to trade in goods with the EU of 16 per cent, where it has trade with non-EU countries dropped to only 4 per cent. That said, Scotland's exports are still outperforming the UK and excluding oil and gas exports to all countries in Scotland from Scotland. Last year, we were down 1 per cent compared to a fall of 8 per cent for the UK as a whole. However, even if Scotland tries to cope with the fallout of a reckless hard Brexit, the UK Government is risking a trade war with the EU over the Northern Ireland protocol. Thank the minister for that answer. It's a significant concern that Brexit continues to harm Scotland's economy, a persistent reminder of the on-going cost that Scotland is paying for Westminster mismanagement. Last week, the Scottish Government published an analysis paper that showed that the status quo is not allowing Scotland to fulfil our full potential and that the UK economic model and Westminster decision making are holding us back. In the minister's say any more about how, with full control over economic powers, we would be better placed to realise Scotland's full economic potential. The paper published by the Scottish Government last week shows how comparable European countries frequently achieve better outcomes than the UK, often significantly better, on a range of measures, including GDP per capita, inequality, poverty, business investment and productivity. Compared to those countries, many of them are smaller or similarly sized to Scotland. Scotland under Westminster control is being held back. The damage caused by Brexit will result in Scotland finding it ever harder to achieve that potential. However, with the full powers of an independent country, we can, of course, deliver more. Scotland is blessed with an abundance of resources that, in many cases, the comparator countries lack. If all of those countries can use the powers of independence to create wealthier and fairer societies, then why not Scotland with our vast energy resources? A globally recognised record of innovation, invention and learning, an exceptional food and drink industry, stunning natural heritage, strengths and advanced engineering and cutting-edge industries of the future and, above all, the talent and potential of our people. Independence will put the levers that determine success into our own hands. Just like those other countries will fill the vast potential that we have and build the wealthier, fairer, happier country that we know is possible. We are going to get through the questions and the answers that are going to have to be significantly shorter. 2. David Torrin To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to support the economy in Fife. Our national strategy for economic transformation contains a specific action to realise the potential of the different economic and community assets and strengths of Scotland regions. The delivery plans for the strategy's programmes will take full account of different regional circumstances across the breadth of Scotland, including for Fife. We also support Fife's inclusive economic growth through the Tay cities region deal programme and the Edinburgh and South East Scotland city region deal programme. Fillamore Fife receives funding for the place-based investment programme, the regeneration capital grant fund and the vacant and derelict land fund. 3. David Torrin I thank the minister for that answer. It has been great to see Fife embracing the Scottish Government initiative, developing the young workforce and the national strategy for strengthening links between business and education. Does the minister agree with me that this link between schools and employers to engage, inform and inspire our young people who are providing an instrumental in helping to support our young people to prepare for the world of work in the developing local economies? The young workforce has a strong track record of delivering positive outcomes for young people and employers. I agree that our network of employer-led DUIW regional groups is pivotal for connecting young people with career inspiration and working experience to prepare for the world of work, including Fife, which is championed by DUIW chair Bob Garminy. We delivered our commitment to implementing DUIW school co-ordinators in every mainstream secondary school in Scotland. That additional in-school resource has helped to create an excess of 195,000 young people and employer engagements in 2021-22. In our ambition, I set out in the national strategy for economic transformation to establish Scotland as a world-class entrepreneurial nation. DUIW regional groups are working with Young Enterprise Scotland to increase the number of secondary schools and young people, including those with additional support needs, to participate in their school programmes. Last month's announcement of 30 million dry-dock contract awarded by the United Kingdom Government to Babcock Reside facility will sustain 300 jobs and further benefit the wider Fife economy. Does the minister agree that this illustrates the benefits that Fife and the whole of Scotland derive from continuing membership of the United Kingdom, and that it would be extremely damaging to undermine that relationship? Fife's question is held back by being a member of the United Kingdom. The data on a comparator country shows that. The members really have to have a hard look at themselves and ask those questions. Why is it that those other countries do so much better than Scotland without the natural resources, the talent and the initiatives that we have? Why is it that the UK Government and membership of the UK is holding Scotland back from achieving our potential as demonstrated by those comparator countries? We do not need the backing singers from either side to be lobbing in. Can we have a supplementary question from Willie Rennie? The minister will know that only eight of the 54 turbine jackets for the RNG wind farm in the fourth are being built at methyl. It is a pathetically small number. What are the investment plans for the yard so that this yard is ready to win future orders for more jackets in the next offshore wind farm? The member will be aware that I co-chair the Scottish offshore wind energy council working with the sector very closely to understand what needs to be done to put Scotland's supply chain in a position to competitively win business for the impending scot wind round. He will also be aware that the developer commitments that are part of that have been led by my colleague Michael Matheson, amounting to £25 billion of spend in Scottish content committed by developers taking part in Scotland. A huge amount of work is happening to ensure that Scottish supply chain has the capacity and the capability of working with the sector to take advantage of the opportunities that Scotland and other renewable energy opportunities will bring to the Scottish supply chain. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve pay levels in the Scottish economy in light of the reported findings of the Office for National Statistics that UK annual growth in regular pay excluding bonuses fell by 4.5 per cent after ingesting for inflation. Households and businesses across the country are facing a serious cost of living crisis and where we have responsibility, we are acting and our fair work policy promotes fair work practices including pay. Scotland has proportionally five times more accredited living wage employers and on average public sector wages are 7 per cent higher here than the rest of the UK. We have continued to provide fair and affordable pay awards in contrast to a pay freeze in 2021-22 for most public sector workers in England, for instance. The 2022-23 public sector pay policy targets the lowest paid introducing a new Scottish public sector wage floor of £10.50 per hour, representing a 10.5 per cent increase on this year's national minimum wage. Latest findings from the ONS reveal that average wages in the UK are falling at the fastest rate for more than two decades. Last week, the First Minister told Parliament and I quote, I want all public sector workers to get the fairest possible pay increases, particularly at this time of soaring inflation. Yet the Scottish Government's pay policy is pitting different areas of the public sector against one another. It is clear that it is no longer fit for purpose, so can the Minister outline what urgent action is being taken by the Scottish Government to support all public sector workers through the cost of living emergency? I think that the member may have heard the answer from Keith Brown earlier on, explaining how the Scottish budget does not take into account inflation that were allocated by the UK Government. Yet, understandably, workers across the Scottish economy are looking for inflation to be reflected in their pay negotiations, so they cannot square those two positions. The member mentioned UK figures, and that is ultimately the responsibility of the UK Government, which is more interested in going to war with the trade unions at the moment to appeal to their base vote than sorting out the many serious situations that workers across not just Scotland but the whole of the UK face. I have outlined how the Scottish Government has adopted a very progressive public pay policy compared to other parts of the UK. We will continue to keep that under review, but we need the UK Government's support and the Scottish budget to reflect the challenges that we are facing from inflation. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how much it is allocating in its budget for infrastructure plans. The Scottish Government's capital budget for this year provides over £6.4 billion of capital investment, and all future final spending commitments will, of course, be outlined in the annual budget process in the usual way. I thank the cabinet secretary for the answer. The SNP Government has admitted that they will not be able to fulfil all of their infrastructure plans, despite the promises to dual roads such as the A9 and A96, which are essential upgrades for local residents and businesses. The SNP has mismanaged the economy and has wasted obscene amounts of Scottish taxpayer money. We are all familiar with the £250 million spent on ferries that will not sail. Here in Edinburgh, we have £12.2 million spent so far on the hardy tram inquiry, with no date yet for its publication. It is little wonder that it has any money left for essential infrastructure upgrades. How can the SNP justify cuts to infrastructure projects critical to economic recovery when they continue to preside over such waste and overspending that has yet to deliver anything for Scotland? I wonder if she could answer the question as to who has presided over the slowest economic growth in the G20 bar Russia over the coming years, or who has presided over the highest levels of inflation in the G7 right now. I think that she will find that it is a lot closer to home. When it comes to our capital budget, we have received a lower than expected capital settlement from the UK Government during its spending view—£15.8 billion compared to £16.6 billion over the next few years. That clearly reduces the capital funding envelope. Despite that, we have outlined our targeted investments over the next few years, which we are committed to delivering. A number of supplementaries will try to get through as many as possible, but they will need to be brief, as, indeed, were the responses. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Cabinet Secretary, advise what impact the UK Government's cut of 9.7 per cent to this Parliament's capital budget in the current financial year is having on Scottish Government's investment in infrastructure at a time of rocketing inflation. Rocketing inflation is again presided over by the Conservatives right now, but, in the constrained envelope of capital that we have received, which puts significant pressure on our capital programme, we have still continued to invest, knowing that, ultimately, investing in construction and infrastructure is one way to manage the economic outlook at a hugely challenging time. Last week, Liz Cameron, CEO of the Scottish Chamber of Commerce, said that the Scottish Government should honour the commitment that the A96 is duelled from start to finish, yet the A96 corridor of view only references duelling from Inverness to Nairn. The consultation, which closed on 10 June, over 100 questions, not one mentioned duelling between Huntley and Aberdeen. Cabinet Secretary, will the Government honour its promise, made over a decade ago, to fully dual the A96 from start to finish, or betray the north-east yet again? Well, as somebody who is regularly driving on the A96 and the A9, we are committed to improving the transport infrastructure throughout Scotland. The revised capital spending plan that I have just mentioned includes £1.9 billion of investment in motorways and trunk road, and we are absolutely committed to completing the duelling of the A9, which I know was not the specific question that he asked, but also to fully dual the A96 between Aberdeen and Inverness. Obviously, we have agreed to conduct a transparent evidence-based review of that programme. That is under way, and it will report by the end of 2022. My last comment, Presiding Officer, is that we could do those things a lot faster if we had more capital funding and it was not being cut at every budget. Apologies to those who have not been able to get to supplementary questions, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government how its resource spending review publication, Investing in Scotland's future, will ensure that children and young people's rights to food, education and fun will be met. Well, the resource spending review outlines how we will focus public spending in the coming years, including delivering on our investment in education and skills. That is where the funding comes from for early learning and childcare, play opportunities, education and so on. We will continue to deliver the measures that we have set out. Quite clearly, that will be updated next year's budget. I thank the cabinet secretary for her response. At the weekend, Rose Foyer, general secretary of the STUC, said, that child hunger is a political choice. We need to see the political will to fix it. Can the cabinet secretary give any further indication of the level of investment being made available to expand access to universal free school meals for P6s and P7 pupils and into secondary schools, because child hunger and child poverty does not stop at the gates of primary schools? The member is right to quote the STUC and also to make the point that she has just made. She will obviously be aware of the fact that pupils in primary 1 to 5 and those in special schools already benefit from the offer of universal free school lunches during term time, as well as there being investment in holiday food provision as well. We have set out our commitment to expand free school meals further, and that will be updated in next year's budget in terms of our commitment for next year. Supplementary from Ruth Maguire joins us online. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Can the cabinet secretary provide any further information about how measures to reduce the cost of the school day will be supported by investment presented in the resource vending review? It is right that, alongside the provision of free school meals, we are also investing significantly in reducing the cost of the school day and including supporting families with children in them. That includes funding for school clothing grant, it includes removing curriculum charges, it includes free music tuition to name just a few, and there are other policies that have been allocated resources in this year's budget, and that will continue next year. To ask the Scottish Government how the reported proposed real-terms cuts to the budget of Audit Scotland could impact on its work. Of course, as the member should know, although his question suggests that he might not, the Scottish Government has no role in setting the level of Audit Scotland's funding from the Scottish budget, which is agreed directly with this Parliament and Audit Scotland's funding for next year, and future years will be set in that normal way through the annual budgeting process. However, the Scottish Government's spending review, which was published just two weeks ago, delivers an indicative £1 million real terms cut in the budget of Audit Scotland, but perhaps even more concerning than that are the reported comments in the media from senior SNP figures about, and I quote, clipping the wings of Audit Scotland. One source has quoted the saying that Audit Scotland has become too powerful. That has been talked about in government for years now. It would be atrocious if this Government tried to emasculate the very body that is doing such an effective job of shining a light on its failures. Would the cabinet secretary not agree that we need to be strengthening Audit Scotland, not trying to cut it back? What is atrocious is deliberate misleading on the facts. You do not need to listen to my words on this. Listen to the Audit Scotland spokesperson, who said that our costs are met through a balance of the funding that we receive from the Scottish Parliament as well as audit fees. Let us not let facts get in the way of a good headline, but the facts are pretty clear. It is the Parliament that sets the budget, not the Government. Supplementary, Daniel Johnson, but shorter than your last supplementary, Mr Johnson. A further 7 per cent cut would take the total cuts since 2006 to 25 per cent. If that is the level of cut that it receives, does the cabinet secretary expect Audit Scotland's quality of audits to go up or down? Here we go with another misleading of the facts. Audit Scotland is independently funded through the Scottish Parliament and the audit fees that public bodies pay for it. The Audit Scotland budget for next year will be set in exactly the same way that it has been set for years through the annual budgeting process, which is that Audit Scotland indicates the funding that it needs with the Parliament and the Scottish Government accommodates that within the budget. Those are the facts. 7. Steven Kerr Thank you. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the report published by Reform Scotland describing the Scottish National Investment Bank as, quote, unfocused and ill-conceived, having a, quote, strategic deficiency, unquote, and recommending that the bank be, quote, reset. I'm assuming that the member is referring to the report that also states that the bank is exactly the kind of big, ambitious policy experiment that Hollywood should be embarking on. To date, the bank has delivered investment commitments of over £200 million to 16 projects across all three of its missions, despite being within the first 18 months of having been established. 7. Steven Kerr There are selective quotes, and there are selective quotes. That's an incredible selective quote. It's all a bit messy, say, Reform Scotland. The bank has 81 priorities set for it by ministers. Now, how it's possible to have 81 priorities is completely beyond me. Given the Scottish Government has anything but a stellar record when it comes to industrial strategy—trains, airport, smelter, fabrication yard, green jobs and ferries—come to mind, can the cabinet secretary agree that the best thing that the SNP Scottish Government could do is to accept when it comes to those things it's out of its depth and just let the bank get on with setting its own priorities? In actual fact, our views are probably not too dissimilar, because the bank is operationally independent. Ironically, every time a member in this Parliament does not like what the bank has done, they come and ask me what I'm going to do about it. What I'm going to do is allow the bank to continue to make its investments according to the three missions that I think were agreed on a cross-party basis—it's mission in net zero, in place and in innovation. It's made investments according to those missions, despite essentially being a start-up. We have seen money going out the door, there's a pipeline of investable propositions and I think that the bank has done a remarkable job in its first two years. I'm very brief supplementary Evelyn Tweedie. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. As the cabinet secretary has indicated, Reform Scotland reports notes that the Scottish National Bank is exactly the kind of big, ambitious policy experiment that Holyrood should be embarking on. Does the cabinet secretary agree with me that Opposition members could do with sharing in this ambition to realise Scotland's economic potential and wake up to the fact that we could do so much more to develop our economy with the powers of a normal, independent country? There are regular headlines in Scotland's economic performance that demonstrate that we're attracting investment, we're making progress and we're ensuring that there is long-term economic growth. We have already seen how small countries that are very similar in nature to Scotland like Sweden, Ireland, Denmark and Finland use their powers of investment independence to achieve economic success. We could do the same. Question 8, Pauline McNeill. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to report that any real-term cuts in its budget may impact most in courts and prosecution service. We continue to deliver reform across the justice system, responding to the needs of individuals, making more than £50 million available annually for recovery and reform. In this current financial year, we've increased the resource budget for both the courts and the tribunal service and the Crown Office. However, as the member will know, we can only allocate the funding that current forecasts determine we will receive. We are currently contending with a 5.2 per cent real terms reduction to this year's budget, and the SFC analysis demonstrates that our total funding is expected to be 1 per cent lower again in real terms for the next three years. Reports suggest that the courts and the prosecution service will bear the brunt of public sector drop cuts after the announcement of our real terms budget cut that the Biden Secretary has previously mentioned. However, that is despite the fact that the justice system is already struggling to deal with the effect of the pandemic, and she will be aware that the backlog is 40,000 cases plus affecting victims in particular. Alan Simpson, the national officer for the FDA trade union, represents staff at the current office, said that there is no fat to cut, and staff are already working at maximum capacity. As the cabinet secretary, I believe that it is on record that we may lose up to 17,000 full-time jobs. How many jobs does the cabinet secretary expect to lose in the justice sector with cuts of this level? With the investment of additional £50 million in 2021-22 to support dealing with the backlog, as well as funding this year of a further £53.2 million, we are doing all that we can through funding and other means, led by my colleague Keith Brown, to reduce the backlog and to ensure that we get back to where we are. We have also extended funding to remote jury centres for an additional three months to support the transition back to juries in court. I think that we are all agreed that dealing with the Covid backlog is critically important, and obviously we will update the budget when it comes to next year's budget in line with the normal processes. That concludes portfolio questions, and there will be a brief pause before we move to the next item of business.