 Ac mae'n gwaith o gwaith o gyffredinol. Mae'r ein cwnghorydd o'r myfyrdd yng nghymru am gweithio. Er gweithio 1, rwy'n gweithio, wrth i'r Fwng Douglas Ross. Rwm yn dweud. Fi'r awn amddian o'r maen nhw'n ddwy ar y dda peitience yma yw oeddennydd. Argyl actuant來說i, pan ddim yn yr ymgyrch chi'n tych yn y taith gwyddeithasol. Lleidydd ynghylch dim yn y cyfnodol ar unrhyw mwy o ffwrdd am ddoedd y cyfrifedd yng Nghymru o'r Gweinol Llyfridol oedd wedi bod yn ffwrdd o'r gwrs yma. O'r Llyfridol o'r Sgolwnt, mae'r ffordd gan gŵr yn cyfrifydd ynghylch a'r ystod yng nghylch i'r pethau ymlaen, yn y cyfrifydd ynghylch yn cyfrifydd ynghylch yn cyfrifydd a'r ystod ynghylch yn cyfrifydd ar gyfer ynghylch yn cyfrifydd am ynghylch. ac yn ddodog ddodog a'r cymdeithasol sydd o'n ddodog i'w ddodog ar gyfer ddechrau a'u ddodog yn yr oedd yn ddodog ar ddaeth, ac yn y ddodog ar y ddodog ar y cyfrifysgol. Ysgrifennu. Ysgrifennu am y Cymru, mae'n i gael cyfrifysgol yng Nghymru i Gwun Llywodraethol yn Glasgow. Yn gyfweld, mae'n i gael cyfrifysgol yng Nghymru i gael cyfrifysgol, ac mae'n i gael cyfrifysgol in hospitals across Scotland is not where we want it to be and certainly not where patients have a right to expect it to be. That said, the most recent statistics show that performance at the Queen Elizabeth had improved. However, we know performance will fluctuate and indeed for the national picture as well as for individual sites. The monthly figures give a clearer depiction of performance. In terms of the Queen Elizabeth specifically through the overall unschedule care collaborative, that hospital has a range of actions under way, including opening additional wards on site, reconfiguring their surgical and medical capacity balance. They are also working to improve performance in the minor injuries flow for patients who need care but not necessarily admission to hospital and they are optimising their discharge process by rolling out discharge without delay with the potential to see an additional two to three discharges per ward per day. There is intensive work under way at that hospital and indeed that reflects some of the work that is under way across Scotland. The situation of course is of concern to me to the Government and we are working hard to address it supporting the health service. Of course it is not unique to Scotland. We are seeing the same pressures in health services in all parts of the UK and indeed further afield but we will continue to take the steps to support the NHS to address these issues here in Scotland. I know that the First Minister was focusing on the Queen Elizabeth hospital, which is what I was asking about, but I was also saying that these are the worst statistics on record for A&E departments across Scotland. I think that people watching this would like to hear what the First Minister plans to do across Scotland at this critical period that we are leading up to over the Christmas holidays. Let's look at other departments within our hospitals beyond A&E, because the First Minister did mention discharges. The number of beds occupied because of delayed discharge is also at its worst ever level. In the most recent month of data, 1,900 beds every single day were taken up at Scotland's hospitals by patients who had medically been cleared to leave. They could safely go home but instead they are occupying beds. The First Minister, if the Scottish Government had kept its promise to end delayed discharge, wouldn't we have 1,900 extra beds to treat patients right now? First, I want to, as quickly as I can, go through all of these points. First, yes, I did concentrate on the Queen Elizabeth university hospital in my previous answer. For the simple reason, Douglas Ross asked me about the Queen Elizabeth university hospital. However, I also referred to the urgent and unscheduled care collaborative. That is a national initiative. It is backed by £50 million of investment that is supporting the implementation across Scotland of a range of measures to drive down weights in our accident and emergency units. They include offering where appropriate alternatives to hospitals such as hospital at home, directing people to more appropriate urgent care settings, scheduling urgent appointments to avoid long waits in accident emergencies. As I said, the examples that I gave in relation to the Queen Elizabeth university hospital reflect that wider national work. I also made the point—and I think that it is worth repeating this point—that, although those are very serious issues in Scotland and that this Government is extremely focused on addressing, they are not unique to Scotland. If you look at the situation in England right now, more than 10 per cent of patients going to ENA are waiting over 12 hours. That is an issue that health services across the UK and much of the world are facing right now, and we continue to focus on them. I will turn briefly to delayed discharges. Of course, again, this is a problem replicated across all health services in the UK right now. Of course, not all delays are in the acute sector, and it is important to point out that, in terms of the most recent year for which we have data, 97 per cent of all patients are discharged without delay. However, we are taking significant steps, working with health boards and integrated joint boards to target investment this year, so that includes investment-enhanced care at home to increase the hourly rate of pay for those who work in social care to support interim care arrangements and investment-enhanced multidisciplinary teams. There is a ministerial assurance. I will be as brief as possible. This is important stuff, Presiding Officer. Serious questions have been asked and I am seeking to give detailed answers. The final point that I want to make is that a ministerial—I would have thought that having raised these really serious issues, the Conservatives would actually want the information that answers the questions. Even if they do not, I suspect that people watching at home do. The final point is that we have established a ministerial assurance group to provide advice on the deployment of options that support the resilience of the health and social care system in response to winter pressures. That group is currently meeting weekly. I think that the concerns from those benches were the First Minister, apparently disrespecting the Presiding Officer, who is asking to focus on the issues. Perhaps the First Minister would have more time to focus on the issues about the questions on Scotland's NHS if she did not try to throw the blame elsewhere around the United Kingdom. The unique issue here is that Nicola Sturgeon and her Government are in sole control of the NHS here in Scotland. I have asked about the problems in RANE. I have asked about the issues with delayed discharge. Let us look at another issue that is happening in a part of our NHS where patients are really struggling to get treatment—our GP practices. This week, Dr Andrew Buist of BMA Scotland said this. These are his words. My real fear is that we are at a tipping point. What we are going to see is areas of Scotland that are under doctored. He continues, and that is more likely to happen in areas of higher deprivation, and the care of those patients is going to suffer. The First Minister is doctors right that, if you are poorer, you will receive a second-rate healthcare service in Scotland's NHS. A great deal of what this Government does in the health service and, more generally, of course, is designed to tackle and address inequalities, not least the steps that we are taking through our social security system to lift people out of poverty and, indeed, to mitigate the actions of a Tory Government at Westminster that is pushing so many more people into poverty. On the NHS, I was giving, as I think is right and proper, detailed information about the actions that this Government is taking to address the challenges that our NHS is facing. I was making the point, and I think that it is an important point to make, that those challenges are not unique to Scotland. They are not even unique to the United Kingdom right now. However, if Douglas Ross wants to say that this is all specifically about this SNP Government, then it is okay not to withstand the challenges that our NHS is facing. A and E units in Scotland are the best performing anywhere in the UK. Delayed discharges while far too high are lower than they are in England and Wales. On GPs, which I am going to come on to the question about GPs, there are more headcount GPs per 100,000 population in Scotland than the rest of the UK by some considerable distance. If Douglas Ross is saying that the challenges in our health service are all about the SNP, then he has to recognise the relative performance of our NHS compared to other parts of the UK. On GPs, again, we are working to increase the numbers in our national health service. We have record numbers across many different clinical areas already in our health service. We are working to increase the number of GPs. We have already increased headcount by 277, and that positive progress working with the GPs profession will continue. Of course, we are recruiting and supporting the recruitment of other professionals to support multidisciplinary teams in primary care. The final point that I would make is that it is easy and it is entirely legitimate in any session of First Minister's questions to state the problems in our national health service, but the job of government is to take the actions to support the NHS to address those issues. That is the responsibility that the people of Scotland trust this Government to do. Douglas Ross, I think that it is shameful that the First Minister dedicates more of her time attacking the NHS in other parts of the United Kingdom than focusing on what she can do here in Scotland, because it is absolutely clear that more has been done to tackle the crisis in Scotland's NHS. There is a crisis in our A&E departments. There is a crisis with delayed discharges. There is a crisis at GP practices. All of that adds up to healthcare that does not deliver for patients. For cancer patients, the situation can then be between life and death. We have received a freedom of information response from a Scottish health board on this issue. It reveals that a patient has waited more than six months to start treatment for breast cancer. Another patient has waited 18 months to start treatment for prostate cancer, and worst of all, someone has waited two years to start their treatment for cancer. First Minister, that is not good enough. Lives are at risk. The longer someone waits to start treatment for cancer, the less likely they are to beat cancer. So what action will the First Minister and her Government take to tackle these appalling waiting times? First Minister, there are a few areas of the NHS that are more important than cancer care, for the reasons that Douglas Ross has set out. Obviously, he has cited individual cases. As always, I am very willing to look at the particular circumstances of individual cases. However, it remains the case, even with all the challenges of the pandemic, that the median waiting time for a patient with cancer to start treatment once a decision to treat has been made is measured in days, not weeks and certainly not months. I am trying to answer serious questions in a detailed fashion. What I started saying is that there will be individual cases, sometimes where the clinical circumstances mean that it takes longer and sometimes yes, where failings in the NHS mean that it takes longer. The point that I am making is that for the vast majority of patients that is not the case and the median waiting time to start cancer treatment is measured in days in this country, and that is down to the hard work of those on the front line. I think that Douglas Ross started his last question by saying that I spent more time attacking the health service elsewhere than I did talking about the Scottish health service. A, I have not attacked the health service anywhere. Secondly, I think that anybody reviewing the official report of this session will see that that is just factually inaccurate. In fact, the Conservatives were getting impatient because they seemed to think that I was taking too long going into detail about the unscheduled care collaborative earlier on. However, when Douglas Ross puts it to me that the problems in our national health service are unique to Scotland and they are worse in Scotland because of this Government, it is reasonable for me to point out that that is not the case. Despite the challenges that nobody here is shying away from, our NHS performs better than its counterparts in England and Wales. The only reason I am saying that is because Douglas Ross is putting the counter to me. Finally, it is really important that we continue to support record investment in our national health service. It is not that long ago, and here we are measuring in weeks, that Douglas Ross was demanding that I cut taxes for the richest people in our country. Had I followed his advice, we would have had to take investment out of our national health service, which is why few people will take Douglas Ross or the Conservatives seriously when it comes to trust on the national health service. Child and adolescent mental health services are in crisis and they have been since long before the pandemic. Too many children and young people are having referrals rejected and too many are waiting too long for treatment. Does the First Minister know how many referrals to CAMHS have been rejected in the past year and how many children have waited more than a year for their first appointment? I am certainly very happy to give the precise figures to Anna Sarwar later on rejected referrals. However, while there are challenges in child and adolescent mental health services, as there are and I have just been reflecting across the national health service, we have in recent months been seeing some very positive changes in waiting lists—actually the most positive changes for over half a decade. The overall CAMHS waiting list has decreased in the latest quarter by 1,398 children since the previous quarter. Children waiting over 18 weeks have decreased by 658 since the previous quarter and children waiting over 52 weeks have decreased by 281. That marks the first time that there has been a decrease in all three waiting lists since September 2016, so there is significant work still to do, not least to continue our progress in community mental health services for children and young people. However, progress has been made, particularly to tackle the longest waits, and I think that that is something that should be welcomed. 8,873 children and young people have had their referrals to CAMHS rejected in the past year. 1,248 had now been waiting more than a year for their first appointment. The First Minister quotes cystics on those who have had their first appointment, but even those who have had a first appointment are still not getting the treatment that they need. Here is just one example. Charlie is a primary 7 pupil. He was referred to CAMHS in January 2020. In April 2020, he had a video consultation with a doctor from CAMHS, so he would have dropped off the list referred to by the First Minister. However, this is the last time he heard from CAMHS. He has had no diagnosis and, without treatment, Charlie has become withdrawn and does not like to spend time with other children. His mother found a video that he had posted to TikTok where he asked if anyone felt like they wanted to die because they were so different. Charlie's mum told the CAMHS service, but they said that it would make no difference to his waiting time. They told her that it could be another two years before Charlie receives the support that he needs. That is not good enough. Charlie is not alone. There are thousands of children like him. First Minister, how have you let it get so bad? Before I come on to the general issue again, let me say that, obviously, Charlie's experience is not acceptable. I do not know all the particular circumstances of Charlie's case. As always, when individual cases are raised, I am willing to look into those. It is the case that there are waits for childhood adolescent mental health services that are too long, but it is also the case that there is significant action being taken that is reducing already these long waits. Anna Sarwar did not respond to the information that I gave him in my previous answer, but it is really important. Nobody is denying that there is a significant issue here, but we are now seeing decreases in the numbers of children waiting over 18 weeks, the numbers waiting over 52 weeks as well, and the overall waiting list is also decreasing. Does that say that there is not still a challenge? No, it does not, but it does say that the significant investment, the increase in the workforce, is now having an impact where we need to see it and we need to continue that. In terms of rejected referrals, we have already accepted all of the recommendations in the audit of rejected referrals that was published in 2018 and we continue to act on them. One in every two referrals to CAMHS is actually seen within 10 weeks. Of course, health boards have a duty to prioritise those that need to be seen most quickly. Obviously, where any experience does not match that, we have a duty to look into that and learn from it. Finally, we are also seeing a significant increase in those who are accessing community support for mental health services, which is an important part of that. Local authorities report that, in the first six months of this year, more than 38,000 children are accessed and enhanced community-based mental health support services. That is important so that we can ensure that those who need specialist services get it more quickly. The First Minister is just not listening. If you get a first appointment that is a telephone call but your diagnosis does not happen and your treatment does not start but you fall off a list, that is not a measure of success, that is a measure of failure and demonstrates your gaming system. That was a problem that is long before Covid. When Charlie's mother phoned CAMHS, they said that they were still waiting and working through cases from 2018. That will be cases where they had their first appointment but it will also be cases where treatment has not started and a diagnosis has not happened. The Government has never met its CAMHS waiting time. According to Public Health Scotland, a quarter of all deaths of five to 24-year-olds in our country are from suicide—a quarter. In the words of Charlie's mum, our children are being failed and no one is doing anything about it. We can fix that. Will the First Minister first reverse the cuts to mental health in primary care? Second, guarantee funding for schools-based counselling? Third, commit to increasing the proportion of the NHS budget being spent on mental health so that it reaches 11 per cent the same level as England and Wales? Fourth, create a new referral and triad system for mental health so that no one is rejected? Finally, record and publish the true waiting time from referral to diagnosis and the start of treatment so that no child, like Charlie, is left abandoned? I will say again, because it is important that experiences like Charlie's are not acceptable. I do not know all the circumstances, so I am willing to look into that. I am not standing here and saying that Charlie will be the only young person far from it in the country that has that kind of experience. Nor is it right to say that the progress that I have narrated today is somehow unimportant, because that is the progress that requires to be made to ensure that there are far fewer experiences like Charlie's. In terms of funding, under this Government, mental health spending has almost doubled in cash terms since we took office, and we will continue to support record expenditure across our national health service and ensure appropriate expenditure for mental health services. Of course, as I said earlier on, we are also shifting more treatment into the community, so one of the most important things that has been done backed by investment is the recruitment of councillors across our secondary schools. Those are really important issues, but issues again that, while it is right and proper to come to this chamber and state the challenge, our job, as I have demonstrated today, is to get on with the work of addressing these challenges. As I have set out, we have seen a fall in the waiting list for access to CAMHS, and that is down to the investment in the actions that are being taken, and that is why it is so important that we continue with it. Thank you. I will go to question 3, and we will take constituency and general supplementaries after question 6. Alex Cole-Hamilton Thank you, Presiding Officer. I ask the First Minister when the cabinet will next meet. Presiding Officer, the cabinet will next meet on Tuesday. Can I advise the chamber one of the matters that cabinet will discuss on Tuesday is on-going monitoring of the Strep A situation? Sadly, as we know, a number of children in England and Wales have died from invasive group A strep infections, and our thoughts will be with their families. While increased levels of infection have been seen in Scotland, current numbers are not particularly exceeding previous spikes, and we have had so far no deaths of children. However, a total of 13 invasive group A strep cases and children under 10 were reported to Public Health Scotland between the start of October and December 5. The majority of those are mild, of course, and can be treated with penicillin. However, there is no room for complacency, and we will continue to monitor the situation very closely. Alex Cole-Hamilton I am grateful for that reply, and I am gratified to hear that the cabinet will be discussing the Strep A outbreak. Can I ask that she comes back to Parliament before Christmas with a statement on the progress on that issue? What we have just heard from Anas Sarwar is devastating. Charlie is by no means alone, not by a long shot, and the situation is desperate. When Humza Yousaf launched the NHS recovery plan last year, the mental health treatment target was missed for one in five children. It is now one in three. Young people are battling the long shadow of lockdown, anxiety and depression without support. Nicola Sturgeon is trying to persuade the chamber of progress, but £38 million has just been cut from this year's mental health budget. That is money that could have been spent on cutting waiting times, training staff and putting more councillors in our schools, but that cut will lead to more delays. You only get one childhood, and waiting month after month after month for help can shatter those formative years. The NHS recovery plan promised the eradication of mental health waiting lists by March. That was always a bold target, but it is barely 100 days away and things are moving backwards. Can I ask the First Minister if that target is missed? Will she continue to stand by this beleaguered health secretary? Mental health spending has doubled under this Government. That is a fact. The number of people working in CAMHS has also doubled under this Government, up by 110 per cent to be precise. There are significant challenges in waiting times for CAMHS, and we take that extremely seriously. However, it is right to point to progress, because it is progress that investment and the increase in the workforce is designed to achieve. Again, let me point out that we have seen a 14.4 per cent decrease in the number of children and young people on the waiting list compared to the last quarter. We are seeing a decrease in the number waiting over 18 weeks and the number waiting over 52 weeks. As I said earlier, that is the first time since 2016 that there has been a decrease in all three waiting list measures. Does that mean that we do not have more work to do? Of course it does not. There are significant challenges, but there is real progress being made because of the actions, the focus and the determination of this Government to support the work of those on the front line, and that will continue. Question 4, Paul MacLennan. To ask the First Minister whether she will provide an update on the roll-out of the child disability payment. We know that caring for a child who is disabled or has a long-term condition can result in extra costs from buying specialist equipment to taking part in activities. That is why child disability payment is a vital benefit that helps parents to support their children to live their lives to the fullest possible. I am very pleased that in its first year almost £60 million has been paid to the families of nearly 44,000 children and young people. Child disability payment is the first disability benefit anywhere in the UK where applicants are able to apply online, by phone, by post and face-to-face. That demonstrates our commitment to improving access to social security and ensuring that people receive the assistance to which they are entitled. I thank the First Minister for that answer. With increasing financial pressures on families in Scotland right now, it is even more important than ever that people get all the benefits that they are entitled for. Can the First Minister outline how our constituents can apply for child disability payment and check what extra financial support they might be entitled through from the Scottish Government? It is important that we take steps to raise awareness of all the help that is available and encourage as many people as possible who are eligible to apply for assistance. As I said in my original answer, for child disability payment applicants can apply online, by phone, by post or face-to-face. I encourage anyone who thinks that they might be eligible for any of our benefits to get in touch with Social Security Scotland. Staff are available to answer queries about benefits, help complete application forms and, of course, there are local delivery officers available across the country so that this can be done face-to-face where that is necessary. We are absolutely committed to making sure that everyone gets the financial support that they are entitled to as shown through our benefit take-up strategy. When setting up Social Security Scotland, the Scottish Government said that one of the things that we would do would be to get decisions right the first time round, recognising the distress that redeterminations can cause. Figures show that of redeterminations requested for child disability payment, 86 per cent of cases the decision was not right the first time round. We were promised a fairer system here, so what can the First Minister do to address this issue and bring certainty to people who need social security that they will not need to jump through hoops to get it? Feedback from applications where the first decision is not made correctly the first time is part of the process of making sure that system is improved on an on-going basis, and that is work that I know that Social Security Scotland takes very seriously and focuses very hard on. For all the issues that she absolutely rightly brings to this chamber about the operation of the social security system, particularly as it affects people with disabilities, I am absolutely certain that Pam Duncan-Glancy—I hope that I am not wrong here—would share my view that we do already have a fairer system in Scotland around these things than elsewhere in the UK, but we have an obligation through Social Security Scotland to continue to improve that experience. The eight people are getting all the help that they are entitled to, and secondly, they are getting that as easily as possible and with as little bureaucracy as possible and where decisions are taken correctly in the first instance. Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the First Minister how many single-crewed ambulances responding to an emergency have been deployed in the last six months. Between June and November this year, there were 1,429 instances when the Scottish Ambulance Service single-crewed ambulance shifts across Scotland. To put that in context, it represents 1.72 per cent of the total number of shifts in that period. In addition to that, of course, there will be paramedic cars or motorbikes that are routinely single-crewed. Those are used to support the Ambulance Service multi-vehicle response to serious incidents as well as being used by advanced paramedics to support patients with less serious conditions in the community. Single-crewed ambulance shifts only happen in exceptional circumstances that cannot be avoided, such as short notice staff absences or a significant unforeseen increase in demand. That is really concerning, because in simple terms, single-crewed ambulances cannot transport patients to hospitals. In the highlands, where journey times can be over two hours, that means there is a significant danger to life. In 2008, when you were the Cabinet Secretary for Health, you said that the Scottish Government's policy is clear that traditional accident and emergency ambulances should be double-crewed, with at least one member being a paramedic, unless there are exceptional circumstances. In too many instances, you went on to say, particularly in the highlands, that policy is not living up to the practice. It is clear that, after 14 years of inactivity, you have failed. Will you explain to my constituents why you have failed and when single-crewed ambulances will be consigned to history? I am genuinely not sure that Edward Mountain listened to the answer to the first question. The commitment that was made in 2008, which I remember very well, because I was health secretary at the time, and at that time the instance of single-crewing was significant, particularly in rural areas. The commitment that we made to supporting the ambulance service with funding to eliminate the requirement for rostered single-crewing, particularly in remote and rural parts of the country, was achieved, with single-crewing now only taking place in exceptional circumstances that cannot be avoided. 1.72 per cent of shifts were single-crewed in the six months that I have been asked about and have talked about today—less than 2 per cent. Let me explain to Mr Mountain's constituents why that is the case. If there is, at the last minute, a situation in which a member of staff is ill and does not turn up to work—for example, as happens in any walk of life—the only alternative to single-crewing would be not to have a crew at all and not to have the ambulance on shift. It is only in those exceptional circumstances and that less than 2 per cent, effectively, in any national health service, does amount to eliminating single-crewing. The Scottish Ambulance Service continues to work to minimise that figure as much as possible. Jackie Baillie To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will provide an update on whether it will instruct Scottish Water to freeze water rates for 2023-24 to help with the cost of living crisis. Decisions on the levels of water charges are matters for Scottish Water's board. Their decision must be taken with due regard to the principles of charging for water services set by Scottish Ministers, including the key principle of affordability. The board took a responsible view last year and held charges to our real terms freeze. We expect them to again take a proportionate position, balancing affordability with critical investment needs to protect the quality of our drinking water and the environment. Of course, the average water charge in Scotland remains lower than the average charge in England and Wales, but we are committed to supporting people who are facing any issues with paying their water bills, which is why, as part of our overall package of cost of living measures, we have increased the maximum level of the water charges reduction scheme discount from 25 per cent to 35 per cent. Jackie Baillie Last year, inflation was running at about 4 per cent. Under the formula agreed by Scottish Water and the Government, water rates are charged at CPI plus 2 per cent. Last year, the Scottish Government intervened and held water rates down, which is welcome. However, this year, inflation is at 11 per cent. The cost of water bills are set to increase by an eye-watering 13 per cent. With an acute cost of living crisis, the worst in many decades will the Scottish Government freeze water bills for the next financial year. First Minister, you have the power to do this. You intervened last year. The question is, do you have the political will? First Minister? That is obviously a matter for Scottish Water's board. As I said in my original answer, the board of Scottish Water took a responsible decision last year, and we would expect them to do the same this year and to recognise absolutely the cost of living pressures, which remain very intense and acute. We also expect and require Scottish Water to discharge other responsibilities to ensure that we have a well-maintained water system so that the quality of our water services is high and that it is mindful of its wider obligations to the environment. If we did not have proper investment in our water infrastructure and the quality of our drinking water declined as a result, I am sure that Jackie Baillie would be one of the first pointing fingers at this Government. We will continue to take the responsible decisions on the issue across the range of other ways that we are supporting people through the cost of living crisis. The actions and the decisions of this Government that continues to see us retain very high levels of trust from the Scottish people. Thank you. We move to general and constituency supplementaries, and I call Kenneth Gibson. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Richard Hughes, chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility, has said that the last three Westminster Tory Government's fiscal policy U-turns have cost taxpayers more than £40 billion of extra debt in just six months. That is £600 for every man, woman and child in the UK and 2,000 times the estimated cost of an independence referendum that the Tories keep moaning about. Does the First Minister believe that it is acceptable for the people of Scotland to continue paying the price of Westminster's economic incompetence? No, it is not acceptable. The cost of Tory fiscal and economic incompetence epitomised in the disastrous decisions in the mini-budget. Remember the decisions that initially the Conservatives here in Scotland wanted this Government to replicate. Those decisions coupled of course with the disaster of Brexit that unfolds on a daily basis. The cost of all of that has been paid by individuals, businesses and households right across Scotland right now. There is an alternative to that, and it is to make this Parliament responsible for the decisions that are so badly being so badly mishandled at Westminster. I think that there is a growing desire on the part of people of Scotland to become independent and to build a much better alternative to what we have right now. Donald Cameron. At the weekend, the Sunday Post revealed that in the last 15 years almost £100 million has been spent on short-term repairs to the 83 rest and be thankful. Meanwhile, communities across our gael remain exasperated by the lack of action since Transport Scotland announced its preferred permanent route last year. Will the First Minister now instruct Transport Scotland to select this route and make it a top priority to deliver and end, once and for all, the misery that closures of this road cause? I am assuming that the member is not suggesting that the investments in temporary repairs should not have been made. That would be my first point. Secondly, as I am sure the member knows in relation to the rest and be thankful, a preferred route corridor for a permanent solution was announced back in 2021. Root option designs within the preferred corridor are being progressed and we are working towards announcing a preferred route for the long-term solution by spring next year. The First Minister will be aware of the tragic death of Ahof Ishaq-Rosdale due to mouldy housing. I currently have constituents contacting me about issues with mould and substandard temporary housing, which could pose a similar threat to human life, particularly for small children. Those issues seem alarmingly common across the local authority boundaries in a variety of different housing stock. What is the Scottish Government doing to ensure that similar tragedies are not going to happen in Scotland? The Scottish Government continues to invest significantly in housing, both in terms of our target for new affordable housing and, as the member alludes to, our existing housing stock. I will ask the cabinet secretary to write to the member in more detail about the actions that we are taking and any lessons that require to be learned here in Scotland from the very tragic case that the member has highlighted today. Yesterday, we saw the very welcome ruling from the Supreme Court on the Safe Access Zones Bill in Northern Ireland. The judgment was unanimous and unequivocal and, I believe, gives a clear way forward for safe access zones here in Scotland. Will the First Minister join me in congratulating Clare Bailey and her team on this victory, and will the First Minister give her response to the ruling and what she believes this now means for Scotland? Firstly, I would congratulate Clare Bailey, but I also thank her for the advice that she has offered to the Scottish Government. She attended the summit that we held earlier this year and that Gillie Mackay also attended. I was very pleased yesterday to see that the Supreme Court has protected the rights of women to access abortion services without fear of harassment or intimidation in Northern Ireland. The Scottish Government is considering very carefully the detail of that judgment and we look forward to working with Gillie Mackay on how we can progress quickly the next steps for taking her bill forward. We are absolutely committed to supporting Gillie Mackay with the development of a bill to safeguard access for women in Scotland to access healthcare facilities that provide abortion services and to do so without fear, harassment or intimidation. Recent analysis from Citizens Advice Scotland has found that half of Scots are being forced to cut back on household spending. The main levers to address this crisis reside in Westminster, an institution that cannot be trusted to concern itself with the plight of ordinary people. Can I ask the First Minister what conversation she has had with the Prime Minister regarding the inadequacy of the UK Government response to the crisis that they created? When I met the Prime Minister a couple of weeks ago, I urged him, as the Scottish Government does more generally on a regular basis, to take more action to help people who are really struggling with the basic necessities of life because of this cost of living crisis. It continues to affect the livelihoods and the lives and increasingly the health and wellbeing of people across the country. The key policy levers are held by the UK Government, so we will continue to press them to use all levers at its disposal to tackle the emergency. That includes access to borrowing, providing benefits and support to households. However, we will continue to take action ourselves. We have allocated almost £3 billion in this financial year to help. Of course, we have increased the Scottish child payment by 150 per cent in less than eight months to £25 per eligible child per week. Rhys Bonner describes a gentle giant by his mum, Steph. He was found dead in marshland in Glasgow in 2019. Police Scotland said that his death was fully investigated with family disagree. Last week, three and a half years since losing her son, some of Steph's complaints were upheld, with Perk asking Police Scotland to conduct new inquiries and provide more information. Steph tells me that she is tormented by a process that she describes as cruel. First Minister, it has been two years since the Angelini report laid bare the SNP's broken police complaint system. How many more families have to suffer before you or your justice secretary fixes it? In terms of the police complaint system, of course, we are taking forward recommendations from the Angelini report and, indeed, we will legislate in respect of those recommendations. In terms of the specific case, it would not be right or appropriate for me to comment in detail on that, but, of course, the police are expected to respond to any recommendations or actions that they are instructed to take by Perk, and I would expect that to be the case here. However, the broader reform of the complaint system is on-going and under way, and the justice secretary will keep Parliament updated as appropriate. The BBC reported this week that the backlog of community payback orders has reached 700,000. That is on top of the quarter of a million that were written off during the pandemic. The justice secretary told the BBC that this was pretty much business as usual. With respect, First Minister, if you are a victim of crime, this is anything but business as usual. That includes a domestic abuse victim who saw her offender walk free from court with unpaid hours as his sentence. She was punched in the face, she was chucked through a glass door and she is scarred and traumatised for life. The justice system is letting people down, it is letting women down, and community payback orders are not even being served. When will this end and when will the community justice system serve justice for victims of crime? Obviously, the kind of individual cases that Jamie Greene has narrated are always difficult and unacceptable for the individuals concerned. More generally, however, as I often say here, because it is absolutely right that I do so, court decisions are for courts and it is not for ministers or any politicians to intervene in decisions of our justice system, where a community payback order is issued, of course. The offender has to serve that community payback order and that remains the case. More generally, of course, our community justice system performs well, which will be one of the reasons why we continue to see levels of crime in this country at historically low levels and re-offending rates reduce as well. We continue to support the justice system to recover from the pandemic and to catch up on backlogs in all different aspects of the system. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I would like to seek your guidance on the procedures surrounding the correcting of the official report. I have here a letter that I received last night from Sir Robert Chote, who is the chair of the United Kingdom Statistics Authority. After I alerted the authority, it has investigated the SNP and Green Government's claim that Scotland has 25 per cent of Europe's potential offshore wind resource. Sir Robert confirms that these figures are in fact a mash-up of several different studies that are more than 20 years old. He confirms that the Scottish Government's calculations exclude countries like Norway, Sweden and Finland, which have large offshore wind potential, and he confirms that the figures given inflated picture and were always inaccurate. The letter specifically says that, on 15 November, the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity, Lorna Slater, Scottish Greens, acknowledged in Holyrood that the figure was outdated but not that it was poorly constructed. In other words, it was never true, and it is time for the SNP and Greens to give up the spin and admit that. The First Minister spoke to people and still insists that it was, and I quote, calculated accurately at the time, not true. Michael Matheson, the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, has even written to me this morning to say that the figure is dated, not true, and it is still on SNP leaflets going through people's doors. The authority is now contacting the Scottish National Party and a number of nationalist parliamentarians directly about it. I fully support the expansion of Scotland's renewable sector. I cannot believe that Michael Matheson is leaving the chamber at this stage, Presiding Officer. I find that very disrespectful. I fully support the expansion of Scotland's renewable sector, but the strong case for that is undermined when the Scottish Government and the SNP in particular use figures that are completely fictitious. The Parliament's guidance states that corrections can only be accepted within 20 working days. Can I therefore seek your guidance on whether you have been approached by Lorna Slater, Presiding Officer, about her statement to Parliament on 15 November? Do you, Presiding Officer, expect a correction to be lodged before the 20-day deadline expires next Tuesday, because I am concerned that the Parliament has been misled? It is of paramount importance that members, including ministers, give accurate and truthful information to the Parliament, correcting any errors at the earliest opportunity. If a member has a question about the factual accuracy of another member's contribution, they should raise it with that member. The chamber and the member will be aware that the Parliament has previously agreed a corrections mechanism and how that mechanism operates. To answer your question, I have not been approached by the minister, but it is entirely a matter for members to decide whether and how to use the corrections procedure. As ministers have said, that figure is no longer appropriate to use, because it is out of date. I think that Alex Cole-Hamilton would want me to put a complete picture before the chamber, so there are statements that he did not include in his point of order. I will give two. Scotland has a major role to play in this, with an estimated 25 per cent of Europe's offshore wind potential. That was a statement from Lib Dem Minister Michael Moore, or secondly, we have more offshore wind power than the rest of the world combined. That was Lib Dem leader Vince Cable. If it is the case that Alex Cole-Hamilton is so distressed at the use of that figure by Scottish Government ministers, perhaps in the interests of completeness, he would also refer to his own colleagues who used exactly the same figure. The fact of the matter is that we have massive renewable potential, and that is what Alex Cole-Hamilton does not like. Thank you, First Minister. That was not a point of order. Your comments are, however, on the record. I seek your clarification around correction of the official report, because I believe that the First Minister has once again trotted out the suggestion that, while that statistic is no longer accurate, the UK statistic authority wrote to me yesterday to say that it was never accurate. Frankly, I find that broadside attack on me personally beneath her. Mr Cole-Hamilton, I have responded to your point of order. I have made it quite clear, and members should make themselves aware as to how the corrections mechanism operates. We will shortly move on to members' business.