 I can see we're all watching the tennis today, question number one and zero questions, Liam McArthur. To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making in setting the objectives and budget for Wave Energy Scotland. The objectives of Wave Energy Scotland can be found in the Wave Energy Scotland fat sheet, a copy of which has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. The operational costs of Wave Energy Scotland will be clarified as the model is developed and significant funds will be made available from within the Scottish energy budget. Hanzan's enterprise is currently preparing a business plan for Wave Energy Scotland. This will set out the strategy and governance arrangements and the range of skills and staff numbers needed for optimal effectiveness. We will announce the budget as soon as HIE has assessed the activities that are required to be resourced and we expect this process to be concluded soon. Liam McArthur. I thank the cabinet secretary for that response. He will be aware that shortly after Palamases' decision to go into administration Aquamarine Per announced its intention to scale back its operations to hammer blows for the Wave Energy sector. Yet Aquamarine has been successful in achieving a number of important milestones in the development of its oyster device. Support from the Marine Renewables Commercialisation Fund, overseen by the Carbon Trust, has been an important enabler to some of those successes. There is currently no clarity, however, over whether agreed funding from the Carbon Trust is going to be released for works already completed, a situation presenting serious challenges for the company. Can I ask Mr Swinney therefore to advise when a decision is likely to be made and will he or his energy minister undertake to engage directly with the Carbon's Trust to ensure that staff at Aquamarine Per are advised of that decision at the earliest opportunity? Cabinet Secretary. The first thing that I want to say in response to Mr McArthur is to endorse the point that he makes about the significant achievements that have already been made in this sector. It is a challenging sector, none of us could suggest otherwise, but there have been very significant achievements made and that is why we have brought forward the Wave Energy Scotland proposal as a means of ensuring that those achievements can be taken into further course of development. We are determined to ensure that what has been achieved can be protected and enhanced for the Scottish interests. In relation to the very specific point that he raises about the Carbon's Trust, I will ask the energy minister to engage directly on that point and to ensure that if there is anything we can do to assist in the situation, we will ensure that that is the case. I reiterate the point that I made in my original answer that the Government is committed to making sure that we advance on those questions and I will ensure that Parliament is kept up-to-date on the progress of Wave Energy Scotland. Malcolm Tism. To the cabinet secretary, how many of the highly skilled people who were working at Palamas in my constituency before its sad demise have been offered employment by Wave Energy Scotland? I cannot give Mr Tism a definitive answer on that point because we are currently taking forward the preparations of Wave Energy Scotland. Those issues will be clarified once the business planning process is drawn to a conclusion by hands and enterprise. As I indicated in my final remark to Mr MacArthur's question, we will of course keep Parliament up-to-date on those questions. I reassure Mr Tism, who I know has pursued this issue vigorously on behalf of his constituents, that the wellbeing and the opportunities for those individuals are uppermost in the Government's thinking at this time. Question 2, Colin Beattie. To ask the Scottish Government what progress the NHS is making towards meeting the demand for organ donations. Minister, Maureen Watt. In 2013, the Scottish Government published a donation and transplantation plan for Scotland 2013-2020. The plan sets out the ways in which the Government and the NHS plans to improve donation and transplantation in Scotland. The plan builds on the very good progress made over the preceding five-year period. Since we started a programme of improvement, we have seen a 96 per cent increase in deceased organ donation, a 63 per cent increase in transplants and the waiting list for a transplant has fallen by 25 per cent. 41 per cent of the Scottish population is on the NHS organ donor register, the highest percentage of any of the UK countries. We have invested in organ donation infrastructure in our hospitals by appointing additional specialist nurses and clinical leads for organ donation in every intensive care unit across the country. Organ donation committees have been established in all mainland NHS boards with links established to the islands boards. They are responsible for overseeing donation activity in their hospitals. We have also strengthened the Scottish organ retrieval team, which maximises the number of transplants by ensuring timely and high-quality retrieval of organs from hospitals across the country. Colin Beattie. I thank the minister for her reply. The minister will be aware of public sensitivity over organ donations. What plans are there to continue to heighten awareness and participation by the public in this vital service? Minister. Our donation and transplantation plan sets out our plans for the next few years. We will continue to run high-profile multimedia campaigns designed to raise awareness of organ donation, urging people to discuss their organ donation wishes with their families and encouraging them to join the register. We will also continue with targeted work with black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, building on the learnings from the peer educator project being undertaken in Glasgow. In schools, we will continue to promote the use of our organ donation teaching resource pack developed in line with curriculum for excellence. This has been highly evaluated by pupils and teachers and is available in easy-to-use ebook format. Our plan also sets out our intention to undertake a full consultation on potential approaches to increasing organ donation in Scotland. Question 3, Kenneth Gibson. To ask the Scottish Government what steps we need to grow the North Ayrshire economy. Cabinet Secretary John Swinney. The Government is committed to growing the North Ayrshire economy and creating employment opportunities by working closely with a range of delivery partners, including our enterprise agencies and North Ayrshire council. We have invested in health education and connectivity infrastructure across North Ayrshire. We are supporting specific initiatives such as the enterprise area in Irvine, which has created over 250 jobs. Our regeneration capital grant fund is also supporting projects in Millport, Saltcoats and Ardrossan with the aim of creating 178 jobs and 14 training places. It is that kind of support which is contributing to the significant improvement in North Ayrshire's youth and overall employment rate that we have seen recently. Kenneth Gibson. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. He will be aware that Ayrshire has a particular difficulties following the loss of more than half of its manufacturing jobs, 14,500 in the decade to 2007 when Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair was in office. Does the cabinet secretary agree that North Ayrshire is becoming increasingly attractive for investments in the... with regard to chemical manufacturing? With GSK alone investing £95 million over the last three years and important infrastructure development such as the Dorae Bypass, the proposal for which has just undergone a public local inquiry are vital to help to grow the North Ayrshire economy further? Cabinet secretary. I agree very much with Mr Gibson and as a matter of fact I had one of my regular meetings with GSK just yesterday to discuss the very sustained investment that GSK have made in Irvine which is creating high value employment in the North Ayrshire economy. I am keen to find ways in which we can encourage that very positive experience that has been felt by GSK with other major employers who can recruit and locate in North Ayrshire. I would also say to Mr Gibson that it is welcome news that the public local inquiry into the Dorae Bypass has concluded and that the report will now consider all the evidence and I look forward to hearing the outcome of that and ministers will also obviously take decisions in the context of the outcome of that public local inquiry. Alex Rowley has his bit press and I take it it's on the North Ayrshire economy. Yeah, it's on the economy North Ayrshire economy. I welcome the investment in the North Ayrshire economy. Does the cabinet secretary the Deputy First Minister recognise this week with an announcement for Tesco and that the impact to that will have a devastating effect on many economies, not least Cercode? If I may say so, I thought that that was a triumph of parliamentary procedure, but I am not the one that should judge on these matters. In all seriousness to Mr Rowley, the announcement about Cercode is the most significant of the Tesco announcements in Scotland and the most serious. I had a discussion by telephone this morning with the leader of Fife Council, Councillor David Ross, on the decision that I have pledged to work jointly with Councillor Ross to advance the concerns that have been expressed about the local economy. I have had representations from David Torrance to encourage me to do so and the Government will do all that we can to work in partnership with Fife Council to try to address what I recognise is a serious blow to the Cercode economy. You may say that it was a triumph, cabinet secretary, I could not answer your question. To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made with the proposal to exempt restoration-related coal production from carbon taxes. Cabinet Secretary, John Swinney. Members will be aware of the outstanding legacy of surplus mine restoration following the liquidation of the coal sector's two largest companies, ATH and SRG in 2013. In turn, the major problem facing restoration legacy is concerned in dealing with that restoration legacy. With the correct controls in place, this innovative proposal could provide a funding solution for the restoration of legacy opencast coal sites in Scotland and also in other parts of the United Kingdom. Mr Ewing had a discussion yesterday with the UK energy minister, Matthew Hancock, to discuss this proposal and pressed for prompt consideration from the UK Treasury on this issue. This initiative is worthy of serious and detailed consideration to work closely to explore this proposal. Adam Ingram. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer, and that's good news. The minister will be aware that failed opencast companies have left a bitter legacy in affected communities, including mistrust regarding further permissions for coal extraction. What reassurance can the cabinet secretary provide that this proposal from Hargreaves if approved by the Treasury will deliver the full restoration that we are seeking and not more of the same problems? Cabinet Secretary. I acknowledge the significant and serious issues that Mr Ingram raises and has raised persistently on behalf of his constituents who have been adversely affected by this issue. The key comment that I made in my original answer were the following words, with the correct controls in place. I want to reassure Mr Ingram and his constituents that it will be by taking that approach of ensuring that the proper and effective controls are put in place to avoid a situation where we just have a repeat of the unacceptable legacy that we have had. We are able to use this proposal to rectify what is clearly a serious issue for Mr Ingram's constituents. We will continue to engage in discussion on this question. It requires their support and endorsement but, as we do that, we will be doing it in a fashion to ensure that we do not have a repeat of past performance. Question 5, Mark McDonald. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to assist people with autistic spectrum disorder to gain employment. Cabinet Secretary, can I acknowledge the member's continued interest in issues related to autism and the Scottish strategy for autism that was published in 2011? In addition to the existing support for young people with additional support needs which includes activity agreements and targeted recruitment incentives, the commission for developing Scotland's young workforce recognised the need for more action and made specific recommendations to support young disabled people. We continue to work with local authorities to promote the development and adoption of the supported employment model across Scotland. I thank the cabinet secretary for her answer. In 2013, I joined the National Autistic Society Scotland as they launched their report, Count us in, it pays to listen. In that report, the NES pointed out that while many people with autism are qualified and willing to work, employers do not always offer support to allow employment to be sustained and called for the Scottish Government to engage with employer organisations to raise awareness of autism, the benefits of employing people with autism and the adjustments that should be made to ensure that many individuals on the autistic spectrum who want to gain and sustain employment are able to do so. The Scottish Government does fully recognise the importance of employer engagement and will continue to work with disability organisations and employers to raise awareness of autism and improve the opportunities for employment for people with autism. It is our aspiration that, with the right support, people with autism are able to find suitable employment and we are engaging with a number of stakeholders to support local initiatives to improve the employment opportunities available. Skills Development Scotland is working with Barnardo's, Remploy and Training Providers to increase take-up of modern apprenticeships and employability fund opportunities and, in addition, the Scottish Funding Council is working with Enable and the Scottish Consortium for Learning Disabilities to improve outcomes for disabled learners. We have also allocated £3 million in response to the recommendations from the Commission for Developing Scotland's Young Workforce for a skills package, which includes specific activity to address underrepresentation across our employability programmes and will continue to work in partnership to enable more people with autism to gain employment. Question 6, in the name of Anne McTaker, has not been lodged. The member has provided an explanation. Question 7, Willie Coffey. To ask the Scottish Government that NHS Ayrshire and Arran and what matters were discussed. Cabinet Secretary, Shona Robison. Ministers and Government officials regularly meet representatives from all health boards, including NHS Ayrshire and Arran to discuss matters of importance to local people. Willie Coffey. I thank the Cabinet Secretary for that answer. I am aware that she was recently at University Hospital Chris House where she met her health and social care teams. Could she advise how progress towards integration of health and social care is benefitting by constituents in Kilmaroc and the Irvine Valley? Cabinet Secretary. I say to the member that chief officers are in place in each partnership and are working across the NHS board area to develop their strategic commissioning plans. Work is under way with professionals, clinicians and others in localities to support the strategic commissioning process. Integration schemes that will establish the integration joint boards and integrated arrangements are expected to be submitted to ministers for approval in the next few weeks. John Scott. Many thanks, Presiding Officer. The Cabinet Secretary will be well aware of growing numbers of patients in NHS Ayrshire and Arran who are not being treated within the 12-week waiting time. Bureology patients are having to travel to Glasgow for treatment and over on 1,000 dermatology patients have not been treated within the 12-week period. The services of Medinet are having to be used on a growing scale due to a failure in recruitment in NHS Ayrshire and Arran. Can the cabinet secretary tell us how this recruitment problem common to many health boards is being dealt with at a local and national level, please? Cabinet Secretary. John Scott, I do recognise some of the recruitment challenges. However, having said that, that is against a backdrop of record numbers of staff and NHS Ayrshire and Arran's budget-increasing and the fact that they have the resource and workforce does not mean that they do not have the challenges that other boards have, particularly in some key specialities. They are working very closely with the officials within the NHS here to look at how they overcome some of those recruitment difficulties and key specialities. Some of that is about working across board areas, particularly where it is difficult to recruit, but I am certainly happy to write to John Scott with some of the more detail around the specific issue that he raises. Dennis Robertson. Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that our rural roads get gritted. Minister, Derek Mackay. Transport Scotland and its operating companies are responsible for winter treatment on trunk roads in rural areas, although local authorities are responsible for winter treatment on all other rural roads. From 1 October to 15 May, a 24-hour dedicated winter maintenance service operates on all Scotland's trunk roads, our operating companies winter service plans are available on the Transport Scotland website. Daily winter action plans continue to be made publicly available on the Traffic Scotland website by our operating companies throughout the winter, and the information goes live at 3pm each day following the forecast. The action plan information tells people where the gritters will be, at what time and how much salt they will be spreading. Dennis Robertson. I thank the minister for his answer. The minister will be aware that recently, in my constituency in Aberdeenshire West, there has been a significant increase in road traffic incidents and there have been a couple of fatalities. That is sometimes due to the conditions of the roads. Can the minister reassure me and the constituents within Aberdeenshire West that everything is being done to ensure that roads are to a standard that vehicles that people commuting into towns for work are suitable to drive on? Minister. I appreciate the point that Mr Robertson is making. I have witnessed at first hand the strong partnership working that we have, as well as sharing information and working together on example salt supplies. We have strengthened the multi-agency arrangements and local authorities of course are part of this. In addition to our preparation campaigns we also deploy teams to where they are required and I will pay particular attention to incident reports and raise that as appropriate with our agencies and local authorities to ensure that any disruption to roads is minimised and that safety is paramount. Thank you, that ends General Questions. We have a very busy gallery today. Members will wish to join me in welcoming to the gallery the new speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Mr Mitchell McLaughlin, MLA. Can you also join me in welcoming to the speaker of the Parliament of Fiji, the hon. Gico Levine who is in the gallery. Thank you. We now move to First Minister's Questions. Question 1, Kezia Dugdale.