 The First Minister Good morning. We start with our first item of business, General Questions. Question 1 is from Bill Bowman. To ask the Scottish Government on what date it plans to introduce its non-domestic rates bill into Parliament. Minister Kate Forbes. We will bring forward a non-domestic rates bill to implement the recommendations of the Barclay review that require primary legislation in time for the relevant provisions to commence on 1 April 2020. The Minister for Parliamentary Business and Veterans will be discussing timetabling of legislation and how best to manage the existing and forthcoming legislative workload with committee conveners and business managers over the coming weeks and months. Bill Bowman. I thank the minister for her response. With the SNP's record on legislation, by the time the bill has passed, Scottish businesses will have paid nearly £400 million more than those in England due to the large business supplement. The Barclay review highlighted the widely held perception that, because of this policy, Scotland is not as competitive for business as England. I have you shared by the Scottish Retail Consortium. Ministers are prone to ducking this question, but can they today provide a concrete timetable for reducing the large business supplement to the English level? The member will be aware that Scotland is a very competitive place to do business and our small business bonus scheme is significantly more competitive than reliefs for small businesses elsewhere and we have committed to remove rates for 100,000 premises. Furthermore, from 1 April this year Scotland has had the edge in attracting new and growing existing businesses and we have ensured that new build properties pay nothing until they are occupied and then the new tenant will pay nothing for a year. The answer to the member's question Barclay recommended that we lower the large business supplement when affordable and, in the meantime, we have focused on supporting small businesses and ensuring that we have measures that are unique in the UK, such as the growth accelerator, which applies to large and small businesses. Jackie Baillie The Scottish Retail Consortium has noted that many businesses are concerned with the proposed new business rates levy, largely because of the unpredictability that it introduces to the rate system. Specifically, the oil and gas industry and its supply chain, because many of them, through necessity, are based near the airport in out-of-town locations, is it the minister's intention that they, too, will have to pay more? The member for that question is a good question. As the member may know, the Barclay consultation closed on 17 September this week, and I am currently considering and analysing the response. I have also taken it upon myself to ensure that there is separate engagement with all stakeholders and all sectors that might be impacted by the recommendations of the independent Barclay review. She may also be aware that we established the Barclay implementation advisory group to advise on the implementation of those reforms, and the group includes representatives from all the key non-domestic rates stakeholder groups, including—I could go on, I am happy to share details of who is in that group with her. The Barclay consultation briefly sought views on the implementation of that recommendation, in particular, including on appropriate safeguards such as whether there should be a cap on the level of supplement. We will review the response to that consultation, and I will report back in due course. Question 2, Anas Sarwar. I ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that the Scottish Ambulance Service has sufficient resources. Cabinet Secretary, Jeane Freeman. We have invested almost £900 million in the Scottish Ambulance Service in the last four years. This increased investment is supporting the service to recruit 1,000 additional staff by 2021 and introduce 1,000 new vehicles over the next five years, making sure that the Ambulance Service has the resources that it needs to deliver high-quality healthcare across Scotland. Anas Sarwar. I am sure that people across the chamber—I hope that the cabinet secretary would be shocked to read reports that some paramedics are having to work 36 hours straight shifts. She should be aware that that is because of funding cuts, service closures and downgrades across the NHS, and that is putting even more pressure on our Ambulance Service. It is so bad that staff are now being balloted on industrial action as a result of what they believe are dangerous working conditions. Can the cabinet secretary please tell us not what the ambition is just for 2021, but what steps she is taking right now to ensure that the Ambulance Service is properly resourced and properly staffed? Cabinet secretary. I thank Mr Sarwar for that supplementary question. I think that he probably refers to the situation in the north-east of Scotland, particularly around Murray. I am pleased to advise him that the Ambulance Service has agreed to introduce what they describe as a protected corridor around the service from Elgin down to Aberdeen. Some of the additional pressure there has been caused by the current situation with respect to maternity. Dr Gray is in Elgin, a situation that I am actively pursuing a resolution to. That protected corridor is precisely what those local ambulance personnel and paramedics asked me to deliver when I met them on 3 August, and I am delighted to have been able to do that, and it will be introduced from early October. In addition, I have to say in a wider context that Scottish Ambulance Service staffing is up 23.9 per cent, just under 24 per cent. Paramedics up by 19 per cent. Ambulance technicians up by 30.4 per cent. In addition, the Ambulance Service has introduced their triage system, which has seen significant improvement in the numbers of individuals who are treated effectively, appropriately and quickly when they have a life-threatening incident or accident. I am well aware of the pressures that the Ambulance Service is under. I met some of them this morning when I was at 4th valley. I appreciate the significant amount of dedication and skill that they give to our health service. I will continue to work with that service to look at where particular pressure points are and what we might do to assist those. 3. Maurice Corry To ask the Scottish Government what improvements can be made to make learning support more effective in our further education colleges and universities in Scotland. Cabinet Secretary John Swinney Presiding Officer, colleges and universities have a duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that students with disabilities are not placed at a disadvantage in comparison to non-disabled students. That is an anticipatory duty, which means that education providers should continually review and anticipate the general needs of disabled people, rather than simply waiting until an individual requests a particular adjustment. As part of the Scottish Government's work to take forward the recommendations of the independent review of student support, we will conduct a review of non-core and discretionary support. That will include support for students with disabilities. Maurice Corry I thank the cabinet secretary for his reply. I would like to ask him what his position is on the lack of readily available oral exams in Scotland for those who are receiving learning support in order to highlight their talents, which written exams fail to do in many instances. Fundamentally, I am sympathetic to the point that Mr Corry raises. I think that our education system should adapt to meet the particular circumstances and requirements of individuals who have disabilities. My answer was designed to indicate in principle our support in that respect. In relation to specific examination standards, there will be issues that the chief examiner for Scotland would have to consider to be assured that proper scrutiny was being applied to assess qualifications, but I am very happy if Mr Corry wishes to write to me with further details to raise that with the chief examiner. Obviously, she operates independently of government, but I am very happy to raise those issues with her on his behalf. Polly McNeill To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to our recent unison report, which states that owning a home has become virtually impossible for many public sector workers. Kevin Stewart I refer members to my register of interests as I am a member of unison. I noted the UK-wide report from unison and acknowledged that there is an affordability issue for some public sector workers. That is why the Scottish Government operates a range of initiatives aimed at making home ownership more affordable, such as help to buy Scotland and the low-cost initiative for first-time buyers, which has helped over 28,000 households into home ownership over the past decade. Of those supported into home ownership by those schemes, three quarters are young people aged 35 and under. In addition, we have delivered more than 76,500 affordable homes since 2007, with almost 52,600 of those being for social rent. I also note that the report highlights that home ownership for public sector workers is more affordable in Scotland than in England and Wales. We will keep it that way, as we, the Scottish Government, ensure that we pay the living wage, and this year we have lifted the public sector pay cap. We are committed to continuing to offer a fair deal for public sector workers. That is also affordable to the public purse. Pauline McNeill I thank the minister for that comprehensive answer. He will know that the report entitled Priced Out indicates that it would take decades for many to be able to save their money for a down payment on a property at a minimum of 14 years, it suggests. The research focuses on the salaries for employees in five jobs, NHS cleaners, teaching assistants, librarians, nurses and police community support officers. I welcome what the minister said about the help to buy scheme and the number of young people that it has helped, but the average household income of those using the scheme is 46,000. I wonder if the minister would comment on whether it is time to focus the scheme on those on lower incomes so that we can help more public sector workers to aspire to owning their own homes. I think that we have already done a number of things to ensure that our help to buy schemes are aimed at those in lower pay. We have reduced the level of funding that we give, so some of the larger houses that are available at great cost in the help to buy schemes south of the border are not the same here. We will continue to look at what our help to buy schemes are As I said in my earlier answer, the bulk of those folks that are benefiting from our help to buy schemes are young people who are going on to the housing ladder for the first time. As I pointed out to Ms McNeill previously, the policies that we have in place here in Scotland mean that those folks working in the public sector are more able to afford to get on to that housing ladder than they are in England and Wales. We will continue to ensure that that is the case. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its commitment to fund the regeneration of Strunar waterfront. We remain committed to providing up to £6 million for the redevelopment of the Strunar waterfront. The site investigations work at the east pier is now complete, and we expect to receive further information from Dumfries and Galloway Council soon on their plans to redevelop the site. On Monday of this week, I facilitated a meeting with stakeholders in Strunar who are absolutely determined to get what is best for the town, but growing tired of broken promises. Two and a half years ago, in April of 2016, the Deputy First Minister John Swinney announced, and I quote, "...we are committed to regenerating the waterfront in Strunar, with £6 million bringing new life to the town." With the Borderlands deal on the horizon for Dumfries and Galloway, will the minister confirm that the Scottish Government has been in discussions with Dumfries and Galloway Council and will he give it an undertaking to both support the inclusion of a bid for funding for a world-class watersport and marina facility at the waterfront and commit here and now to deliver more than £6 million pledged in 2018 to get the project off the ground? Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I understand sometimes people's frustrations that have to wait for projects to come forward. As I have said, the £6 million from the Scottish Government is available and will be spent on Strunar waterfront. Let me give Mr Carson a wee insight into what has been happening in terms of discussion. Scottish Government regeneration officials visited Strunar to meet with Dumfries and Galloway council officials over the summer period. We are now in the position where the site investigations at the east pier are complete. Those findings will inform a revised strategic plan for the site and for the wider Strunar waterfront area. A meeting in July 2018 between regeneration officials and council officials, a request was made for the updated plans to be provided by the end of August 2018. However, those plans have not yet been received by the Scottish Government. However, it is our understanding that the council will provide those plans within the next few weeks. Once we are in receipt of those plans, we can move forward. When the then First Minister, Alex Salmond, opened a new ferry terminal at Cairnryan in 2011, he made a commitment to the three-hours regeneration roads and rail. So far, we have seen none of the £6 million for regeneration being delivered. There has been no meaningful investment in improvements to the A75 or A77 roads. You cannot currently get a train at Strunar railway station. How is that commitment to the three-hours going for the minister? Frankly, it is not going very well for the people of Strunar. What I would say to Mr Smith is that he was formerly a member of Dumfries and Galloway council. The Government is reliant on Dumfries and Galloway council providing the information that we require to move forward to make sure that the £6 million investment from the Scottish Government is spent well. I am hopeful that Dumfries and Galloway council will provide that information within the next few weeks. Once we have that information, we can move forward and that £6 million can be invested in the south-west of Scotland. 6. John Mason To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports of the number of free-to-use ATMs that are reducing at a record rate, whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to support communities in this issue, particularly those in remote and rural areas. The Government will continue to support the Save our Cash Points campaign, launched by which the Federation of Small Businesses, although I am disappointed that such a campaign is necessary in the first place. As changes to the ATM network begin to take effect, I urge regulators and providers to be mindful of the importance of ATMs and access to cash in our communities, many of whom are still dependent on cash. ATMs play a key role in local communities and economies, particularly for those on low incomes, older people and cash-based small businesses. Remote and rural areas, with which I am particularly acquainted, already affected by bank branch closures, are facing a double blow to their ability to access essential financial services. John Mason I thank the minister for her response. She is probably aware of the fact that of the protected ATMs, which are not meant to be lost, some 76 have been lost, and while there may be valid reasons for some of those, there is at least 21 where there is an on-going investigation. I wonder if she and the Government can make representations to the UK Government and to link it to prevent any further closures of ATMs, especially in remote and poorer areas. I can make that commitment to the member that I unequivocally will make representations. As I said, that is a particularly pertinent issue, in light of the significant number of bank branch closures that was debated this week. My predecessor, Paul Wheelhouse, wrote to both Link and the Payment Systems Regulator in support of protecting the ATM network. Those latest figures compound the need to protect those essential services, and I will happily write once again to both the Payment Systems Regulator and Link reminding them that all consumers should continue to have access to an adequate ATM network. Edward Mountain To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to enable the Highland Council to service the 96 public toilets that it has in the Highlands. Minister Kevin Stewart Thank you, Presiding Officer. The council will receive £487.5 million in Scottish Government funding in 2018-19, which, taken together with the decision to increase council tax by the maximum allowable 3 per cent, means that the council will have £17.1 million more to support services this year compared to last year. I am aware of the concerns that have been expressed about the Highland Council's proposal to close a number of public toilets and discuss that with the council leader on 15 June. At that meeting, I made clear that, while it is for the council to take decisions on its services, the council should engage with local communities before taking any decisions and consider the potential longer-term impact on tourism in the area, rather than just the short-term financial savings. The council has extended its review until 31 October to allow that to take place, and I welcome that decision. Edward Mountain I thank the minister for that answer. Cabinet Secretary Fiona Hyslop has gone on record to confirm that she has lobbied the Highland Council. I am pleased to hear that repeated again today to keep the 29 toilets threatened with closure open. However, there remains very real concern throughout the Highlands that the investment in hubs for those 29 toilets will mean that they will still close on 31 October. Will the Government join me in continuing to pressure the Highland Council to keep the loos open, and will the Scottish Government consider further financial help if requested? As I have already pointed out, Mr Mountain, there is significant additional support for Highland Council this year, with £17.1 million for more support services. It is up to Highland Council itself, as an autonomous body, to make the decisions that they think is right for the Highlands. I hope that it will listen to people across the area and that it will make the right decision, not only for the people of the Highlands but for the many folk that go and visit.