 Good morning. We have general questions. Question 1, James Baxter. Thank you. To ask the Scottish Government what its assessment is of the effectiveness of the reform Scottish Medicines Consortium drug appraisal process and whether it considers that further reform is required. Cabinet Secretary, Sona Robison. Positive progress has been made by the Scottish Medicines Consortium. The Scottish Government has been monitoring the changes very closely and I have said that we will now review how gyda'r gweithio ddangos â'i gynhyrchu a gynhyrchu i gyd yn ffordd lleidiolaeth, y gwahanol. Dechrau'r gweithio'r SMC yn gweithio leirio ar y Abertauron gyda gymhwytheropêu gyda Gweithredu Llyfrgellol, Fynghor, Gwyl Nghysgrifawr. Cynhyrchu'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithredu lleidio ar gyfer hynny, ac i nhw'n ei ddododd, gyda'r Prostate Cancer UK, rydyn ni'n ddodd, yn ddodd, mae'r ddodd, mae'r ddodd, athgaredd, in the event of SNC's rejection. Now that the SNC has rejected the drug, can the cabinet secretary confirm her understanding of why the drug was rejected and what steps are being taken to revisit a decision that prostate cancer UK has called an intolerable blow to hundreds of men with incurable prostate cancer? Cabinet secretary. Can I say to Jane Baxter that the first decisions were made in October last year to match this year out of all those decisions made under the new arrangements? There have been 15 medicines considered under the new processes of which 10 were positive decisions, 5 were negative decisions. On the issue of Aberatorone, the Scottish Government absolutely recognises that patients and their representatives will be very disappointed by this decision. There is a clear demand for this drug and around 100 patients in Scotland are already on this treatment through the reformed individual patient treatment request system. However, we have encouraged the Scottish Medicines Consortium and the manufacturer to find a resolution as soon as possible and will keep the member informed of that. Christine Grahame. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Cabinet secretary, you will be aware that the IPTR system, the individual patient treatment request was supposed to end last year in May 2014 and packs a peer-approved clinical system coming to force then. There is an email regarding a constituent's case from NHS Lothian Cancer, which says, thank you for your IPTR request. I thought that that had ended. Could the cabinet secretary clarify the status of the pack system? I can say to Christine Grahame that we have taken a decision that we want to carefully pilot the introduction of packs. That is to ensure that there are no unintended consequences of reducing the increased access to medicines being seen at the moment. The current approach has seen hundreds more patients in Scotland accessing treatments as a result of the changes made last year. Guidance is due to issue this month to begin piloting from April. We are going to carefully monitor the situation together with the decisions being made by the Scottish Medicines Consortium under their new approach. As more and more decisions are made by the Scottish Medicines Consortium, that will reduce the reliance on individual requests in the longer term. To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to encourage teenage girls to become and remain more active. Minister, Jamie Hepburn. Increasing the number of girls meeting recommended levels of physical activity is a priority for the Scottish Government. That is why we invest £0.5 million annually through Sport Scotland into the active girls programme to increase girls and young women's participation in PE sport and physical activity. Between 2007 and 2019, Sport Scotland will have invested £130 million in the active schools network, which increases the number of good quality opportunities for children and young people to get active. With the help of investment from Sport Scotland and Education Scotland, the healthy living survey results from 2014 confirmed that 96 per cent of schools will meet the target level of PE provision up from below 10 per cent in 2004-2005. Who is the grant? The minister will be aware that a lot of young women drop out of a physical activity. Does he agree with me that schools need to offer physical activity that attracts young women? We also need to develop role models to encourage them to take part. However, women in sport tend to be stereotyped when they are being interviewed and talked about in the media. The focus falls on their looks, their relationships rather than their contribution to physical activity. What is the Scottish Government doing to influence schools to ensure that they offer physical activity in a way that is attractive to young women and to address the sexist coverage of women in sport? I thank Rhoda Grant very much for the question. I recognise the points that she is making. We understand that there is an issue in terms of the levels of activity that teenage girls have in terms of physical activity, as opposed to teenage boys. I very much agree with the point that she makes about ensuring that we are offering physical activity opportunities that young girls will engage in. I have seen first hand that that does happen in many locations across country. We should see that rolled out elsewhere. On the issue of the public perception of women in sport, I also agree with the point that she is making very much. For example, we know that sports media coverage heavily favours men for every 53 articles written about male sporting stars. There is just one pen about women. We need to ensure that we are seeing better and more equitable coverage of a limit to what the Government can do. In that regard, we did, of course, have the women in sport working group, which reported last year. Women in the media was part of that work. That has reported. We have the Sports Scotland taking forward the work of that group through the inequalities group, which reports to the Sports Scotland board. Question 3, Patricia Ferguson. To ask the Scottish Government how many dermatology inpatient beds will be available at the new South Glasgow hospital. Cabinet Secretary, Shona Robison. Six inpatient dermatology beds are currently planned for the South Glasgow University hospital. However, after operating at this revised level for two months, the service will undertake a review to consider the impact in service provision and waiting times for planned admissions. Once the review has been completed, a final decision will be taken on the bed numbers. I thank the cabinet secretary for that response, but I am surprised to hear that a review will take place after a cut in the number of dermatology beds. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has told me that the dermatology inpatient beds currently have an 81 per cent occupancy rate, which means that the new South Glasgow hospital will see a cut of 57 per cent in the number of beds available, a cut from 14 to 6, as she said. Cabinet secretary, can the cabinet secretary reassure my constituents, whose treatment plans require them to be treated as inpatients, that this will continue in spite of the large reduction in the number of beds in that particular speciality? Cabinet secretary. I say to Patricia Ferguson that, because of medical advances and more effective treatments and the increased use of outpatient treatments, that has dramatically reduced the need for inpatient beds in dermatology. As a result, we have seen across Scotland a dramatic decrease in the number of dermatology beds required. Importantly, the dermatology service in Glasgow has received additional funding for four additional nurse specialist posts to support an increased daypatient and outpatient service. There is a development of the daypatient and outpatient service, which means that there is less of a reliance on inpatient beds. That has a dedicated day treatment area, which will allow many patients to attend for treatment and return to their homes rather than be admitted, but I do appreciate that inpatient care and treatment will still be required for a number of patients and the board will make its final decision on the number of appropriate beds after the two months review. If six is not adequate, then more beds will be provided. 4. Alex Ferguson To ask the Scottish Government when it will implement the recommendations of the beef 2020 report. Cabinet secretary. Richard Lochhead We are planning to publish a response to the recommendations of the beef 2020 report next Friday. Amazing how a well-timed parliamentary question can bring about a response like that. I am sure that the cabinet secretary does not need me to tell him that the beef sector in particular is facing a very uncertain future under the CAP reforms, which is not being done any favours by the continuing lack of detail from his department on many aspects of the reforms or indeed on the apparent inability of the new IT system to cope with the demands that are being made of it. The recommendations of the beef 2020 report, which the cabinet secretary himself commissioned, had warmly welcomed when it was published last August, could give a much-needed boost to the sector's confidence. One of the principal recommendations was that a fully EID system for cattle be implemented by 2016. If that is to be done, then it surely needs to be put under way now. Has it begun, if not, why not, and if it hasn't been started, what's stopping it? I like the idea that I timetabled the announcement for next Friday due to the parliamentary question table by Alex Ferguson, but I'm afraid it's not true. However, he does raise a number of issues, and briefly I just want to say that the beef 2020 report is very important to the future of the beef sector in Scotland. However, as he's aware, some of the recommendations that are for the Scottish Government, not all of them, some are for the red meat sector itself, require discussion with the European Commission, and as he's well aware, sometimes these discussions are tricky and take some time. However, we are now confident that we can make another announcement next week, as I indicate. In terms of the IT system, he will also be aware that we have a particularly complex common agricultural policy to implement this year, and all administrations are facing similar challenges to the Scottish Government. However, the good news is that our IT system opened this week for the single application forms to be filled in by applicants. While it's within the first few days of the system, and there may well be teething problems, they'll be sorted as quickly as possible, there are many advantages to the online system that were not there before. Of course, he will also recall that he, along with many other members in his chamber and the wider industry, asked for many of the additional complexities that are characteristic of the new common agricultural policy to make sure that it suited to Scottish circumstances. We do have a complex policy to implement, but we are going to implement it, and it is going to make a positive difference to Scottish agriculture. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire councils on the Aberdeen City region deal bid, and what assistance it will provide to support the bid. I refer the member to the answer that I gave to Lewis MacDonald during portfolio questions on Wednesday 11 March. That was question number 04104, but I highlighted that we are working with Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council to establish a detail of what a city deal for the region is intended to deliver. Given the announcement by the UK Government yesterday that it will start negotiations on an Aberdeen City region deal, will the cabinet secretary recognise that a clear statement from the Scottish Government that it supports a deal in principle will be vital to its success? Will he give that clear indication today, and also agree that the Scottish Government must stand ready to provide financial support for the deal, along with both the UK Government and the local authorities? I will have made that support clear to Aberdeen Council by writing directly to the leader who had written to us previously and also meeting with the leader of Aberdeen Council yesterday at the Scottish Cities Alliance. We have made clear that we are more than happy to work with Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire councils. I think that that also comes on the back of substantial investment in the north-east. I could mention the £187 million in transport infrastructure, the construction that is started on the AWPR of £745 million with investment, the £3 billion investment in the A96 Aberdeen Timverness Road and £407 million in health infrastructure investment since 2007. We have a track record of providing infrastructure in that area, and we are more than happy to work with our colleagues in Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Council to see what more we can do in terms of a city deal. I am sure that the cabinet secretary agrees with me that a city deal could help the region to remain competitive. To drive it forward, will he ensure that his civil servants and government agencies put themselves at the disposal of the team who are developing the detail of the bid to ensure that momentum is not lost, given the announcement yesterday? I can confirm that civil servants have already been engaging with Aberdeen City Council and, of course, that will continue as we work our way through the bid. We received the bid itself around 10 days ago. There is quite a lot on the bid, but that continual support from Scottish Government civil servants and, indeed, from other government-related bodies will be assured as we go forward. Nidale Dawn To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the crisis report, Benefit, Sanctions and Homelessness, a scoping report. Margaret Burgess The report has yet more evidence that the current sanctions regime is not working. It shows that evidence is emerging that sanctions may increase the risk of homelessness, potentially undermining the substantial progress that we have made in tackling homelessness in Scotland in recent years. We have long made our concerns clear that sanctions are unfair, they are punitive and they do nothing to help people who are already struggling to cope. The Scottish Government is doing what it can with the resources and powers that it has to help those affected and this includes investing around £296 million from 2013-14 to 2015-16 to limit the damage of the UK Government's reforms. We cannot fully mitigate all the effects of welfare changes, but we will continue to make the argument for a fairer welfare system. Nidale Dawn Thank the minister for that response. I wonder whether she shares my concerns that not only is this very damaging to folk within Scotland, but there actually does appear to be a higher level of sanctions in different areas, in particular in Aberdeenshire in my constituency. I do share the member's concerns and the crisis report did indicate that there were discrepancies across the country in terms of the way sanctions were being applied. It was also illustrated that it was not determined by the economic geography of the area or the strength of the labour market or even whether the area is urban or rural. That suggests that the DWP is not consistent in applying sanctions and further confirms that the system is unfair and unjust. As we have made clear, sanctions are causing hardship to many people in Scotland who are in difficult circumstances and who are often having to turn to food banks for help. The sanctions system should be changed and replaced with one that is fairer and helps people rather than punishing them. Annabelle Goldie To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to publish an oil and gas analytical bulletin. The Scottish Government will publish an oil and gas bulletin once we have completed our analysis of the changes made in the UK budget and assessed the implications of those changes on investment and production. Some perspective helps here. The Scottish Government white paper estimated oil and gas revenues over the next four years at £27.5 billion. In May of last year, the Scottish Government boosted that to over £28 billion. Meanwhile, the Scottish Government mott the OBR initial estimates for these four years of £14 billion, which yesterday were further revised down to £5 billion. Surely now is the time for the Scottish Government to show some contrition and humility given the plunging oil prices and bring forward a new more realistic assessment of oil and gas revenues, or is that too embarrassing? What I'd say to Miss Goldie, and I thought I'd covered it in my original answer, is that the Government will consider the changes made in the UK budget, which of course have an effect on the revenues that can be realised because of the significant changes that were made yesterday. Today, of course, significant changes that reverse decisions that the chancellor himself had put in place in the first place in 2011, which has contributed to the difficulties that the sector faces. The Government will consider all those issues, ensure that the analysis is undertaken effectively and assess the implications of those changes on investment and production, and publish a bulletin accordingly. To ask the Scottish Government what action has been taken to reduce cancer treatment referral waiting times for NHS 5 patients. Our cancer delivery team are working with NHS 5 to support performance recovery. Our performance recovery action plan has been developed and progress against actions are regularly monitored and updated. That includes 103,000, over 103,000, allocated through cancer modernisation and over 400,000 through the detect cancer early in 2014-15, to NHS 5 to support diagnostic capacity and cancer services. I was contacted by a constituent recently who has been diagnosed with lung cancer and was referred for treatment at the western general for radiotherapy and chemotherapy. She was told that she would get an appointment within two weeks, yet after six weeks she'd heard nothing. She contacted her GP who discovered that the consultant she'd been referred to was often long-term sick, so no action had been taken to schedule her appointment. Will the cabinet secretary take action to improve the referral process for cancer treatment within the NHS to avoid such situations? Right now, it seems that not only do NHS 5 patients in 5 have the second longest waiting times in Scotland for treatment, but it looks that life has been put at risk due to inadequate administrative arrangements too. On the specific case that Kara Hilton raises, I will certainly look into that and I will write to her. I should say that on the 31-day target NHS 5 has performed at 96.1 per cent. Although improvements have to be made, I think that we should recognise that level of performance. There are issues within colorectal lung and neurological cancer types, which are causing concerns within NHS 5. There are various reasons for that, including some staffing issues. The support that has been provided with senior management going out and visiting clinicians to understand the local challenges and importantly identify solutions for those challenges. The latest one of those took place on 12 February. We will continue to support NHS 5 to make those improvements, but I will write to her about the case that she highlights.