 Good morning. The first item of business today is general questions. We start with question number one from Alec Rowley. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address reports that rail travellers on the 5th circle face pure journey experiences and that there are constant failures of service. Minister, Hums are you, Sif? I completely understand the frustration that poor performance can have on the customer space and experience. I recognise that Scotland has faced a number of challenges, particularly in the recent months of autumn and winter, which I fully expect to be addressed immediately. That is why Alex Hines, the MD of the ScotRail Alliance, has instigated an independent review being taken forward by Nick Donovan as part of Scotland's recovery measures, which is something that I very much welcome. The sooner the performance challenges are addressed, the sooner of course passengers can enjoy the level of service that they I kiwr, wrth hwnnaol interleu honi i'ch darsefethau gyda'n fy mήor i gyflym iawn hynny olaf dat Wrth unleash rydw i gyflym iawn, oaf mae maith maith i rhan i mewn, oaf mae a chforestlo'r f Minellgrwy da i ddiogelion i fod os oheri'r skeleton, oed i ddes томуu hefyd看到 i atdoe look-up a udynt i ddig chamadog sy'r tri? Ar d Wowill y Merdi Option, credu i d scholarly los buttoliaeth aros hwn ymlo i meddwl, os rydw i ddat fatigue s beliefernu deall The Ffeminine Press has launched a campaign, Crush Hour. The name speaks for itself, but masses upon masses, the rail users in Fife, are horrified at the kind of service that they are getting. Will the minister agree to meet me so that we can go through the detail of all those problems? I think people have been patient, they have waited long enough, we need action and will he consider taking the railways back into public ownership so that the profits can be invested in the railways and we can address these unacceptable situations that are happening within the five-circle rail route? I can thank Alex Rowley for that. He understood from my answer that I wasn't dismissing at all the concerns, I completely understand them. I have been keeping up with the Ffeminine Press's coverage very much on this. What I would do is try to wrap some context around this, which is, in the early part of 2017, and indeed for most of 2017 until the autumn months, there was a significant improvement in Fife rail services, running at about 93, 94 per cent, but clearly in the autumn months they have not coped well. Hence the reason for the independent review. I can also say that many MSPs from across the chamber who represent Fife in the surrounding areas have contacted me, Shirley-Anne Somerville, Annabelle Ewing, Jenny Gilruth and Liz Smith as well, so I know that there are a number of MSPs from Fife that have raised that. I have spoken to Alex Hynes this morning about the issue and others. I am more than happy for my office to facilitate a meeting with those MSPs and others from Fife that might have an interest in rail service and rail performance with Alex Hynes. Of course, I would be more than happy to meet the MSP as well individually, but I think that this is a matter for ScotRail, so therefore meeting with the AMD would be the appropriate measure. My office will facilitate that meeting if it is helpful. Clearly, it will be an upgrade, as the member probably knows, in the rolling stock later in 2018-19, but people in Fife should not wait for that until they get an improvement in the service, so the immediate priority is getting that improvement in performance. In terms of his very last point, I understand his ideological position. I would just gently remind him that, of course, it is the SNP Government that has allowed a public sector bidder to bid for the railways for the first time, something that was denied by successive Labour Governments in Westminster. Mark Ruskell. Thank you. The issue of stop-skipping that we are discussing here is a problematic one because stop-skipping is only treated as a partial cancellation, and therefore there are no financial penalties resulting from that. Does the minister agree that, in the new franchise that will come forward, stop-skipping needs to be identified and there needs to be financial penalties applied to that? I would just reiterate, of course, that when stops are skipped, it does count as a PPM failure and, of course, ScotRail are held to account for their PPM failures. When it comes to financial fines, the squire regime, which is the auditing regime, is probably the best auditing regime of any railway in the entire United Kingdom. That has been borne out by the fact that ScotRail has been fined quite substantially when they failed to meet the very high criteria that we set them. His point is one that I will certainly reflect on when it comes to future franchises, of course, but before getting to that end point of the franchise, we should be continuing that dialogue with ScotRail to minimise what is a practice that is unhelpful. I should see when I became transport minister, I did say to ScotRail that I expect them to minimise the skipping of stops during the peak hours in particular. That has happened, but I would go back to my answer to Alex Rowley that in the autumn months and winter months have clearly been challenging for ScotRail and that is unwelcome. 2. Gail Ross To ask the Scottish Government what progress is made towards Scotland becoming a good food nation. Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport, Fergus Ewing. Our plans for Scotland to become a good food nation are continuing. The Scottish Food Commission has recently submitted its recommendations for the good food nation bill. Those recommendations are currently being considered across the Scottish Government with a view to consulting this year. The consultation will inform the content of a good food nation bill for introduction during the term of this Parliament. 2. Gail Ross I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. I have stated in this chamber recently that this piece of legislation has the potential to be one of the most exciting and important this Parliament will pass. Given the number of other sectors that the bill will cover and the amount of interest that it is likely to be, can the cabinet secretary outline how long the consultation process will be, when it will commence and how we make sure that everyone, not just stakeholders and industry experts, gets a chance to respond? Yes, I can confirm that the consultation will be launched later this year. It will be open for a period of 12 weeks. We are investigating the ways in which we can inform the public about this. This is a slightly different type of piece of legislation than the norm. I aim to seek to get the maximum involvement, as Gail Ross rightly suggests. We fully recognise the importance of involving as many people as possible in the promotion of Scotland as a good food nation. Edward Mountain Given the funding for the food and drink strategy has remained unchanged at £5 million a year since 2014, can the cabinet secretary confirm if funding to support the proposed new good food bill nation will come from this allocation or whether separate funds will be found to fund it? I am sorry that the Tories seek to introduce the monetary note, because the promotion of a good food nation is about how we carry ourselves, how we promote ourselves, promoting good nutrition, attracting more people to Scotland to enjoy the high quality of our natural larder. It is about encouraging young people to learn how to prepare food. It is not all about money, and I hope that at some point the Conservatives will get it. To ask the Scottish Government how schools identify and support children with mental health problems. Cabinet Secretary John Swinney Education authorities in all those working in our schools have a responsibility to identify, support and develop the mental wellbeing of pupils with decisions on how to provide that support taken on the basis of local circumstances and needs. Every child and young person should have access to emotional and mental wellbeing support in school. Some will provide access to school-based counselling, while others will be supported by pastoral care staff and liaison with the education psychological services, family and health services for special support when required. A mental health link is available to every school, and it has been achieved in a variety of ways using various models working to meet local needs. As part of the Government's mental health strategy, we are undertaking a national review of how personal and social education is being delivered in school. The review includes an assessment of how the teaching of mental wellbeing is delivered. That review will be completed by the end of this calendar year. Mary Fee I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. The cabinet secretary will be aware of the findings of a SAMH survey of teachers that showed two thirds feel they had insufficient training in mental health to allow them to carry out their role, and that 73 per cent of the teacher surveyed had low levels of confidence in their resources to respond to a pupil raising concerns about mental health. Will the Scottish Government commit to ensuring that teachers receive adequate training on a continual basis? Will the cabinet secretary commend North Ayrshire Council for leading the way in offering pupils access to mental health counselling after starting a new counselling service across its secondary schools? First of all, the approach taken by North Ayrshire Council is a very welcome process, and I would expect that to be reflected in a variety of ways around the country in different local authorities. It will not be identically delivered in other parts of the country because other local authorities will have considered how best to meet the needs of young people as effectively as they can. I am very much aware of the findings of the SAMH survey. We take those findings seriously. It is why those issues must be reflected on by our initial teacher education providers and also be a feature of the continuous professional development of the teaching profession, recognising the significance of those issues. Finally, on a weekly basis, I am in and out of the schools of Scotland. I was in a school this morning before I came to Parliament. I see very good work being undertaken to focus on addressing the mental wellbeing of young people. Health and wellbeing is one of the three fundamental aspects of curriculum for excellence that were part of the chief inspector's guidance to education in August 2016 that must form a part of the curriculum delivery in all areas of Scotland. 4. Ruth Maguire To ask the Scottish Government how the proposals in its draft strategy to tackle loneliness and social isolation could help to promote the third sector. In our draft strategy, we are clear that third sector organisations have an important role to play in reducing social isolation and loneliness. To support that, we have protected the core third sector budget at 2016-17 levels. Volunteers are central to effective work. In 2016-17, our investment in the volunteer support fund resulted in 3,505 new volunteers being recruited from disadvantaged backgrounds. However, engaging people with this experience and those who are older remains a challenge, so our commitment of £3.8 million to that fund from 2017 onwards is important. That is why, because we want to do more and we have made our commitment clear with that investment, our strategy focuses on community-led work, what more needs to be done and what we as a Government can do to enable those community-led initiatives to flourish. 5. Ruth Maguire I thank the minister for that answer. The minister will agree with me that there are already many examples of great things being done by the third sector to tackle loneliness and social isolation. My constituents in Stevenson, for example, have benefited from working with centre stage and raise your voice idea, our dear, bringing people together with musical memories, family nights and with their theme of fun, food and folk. Can I ask the minister what the Scottish Government is doing to encourage organisations such as centre stage and raise your voice our dear to respond to the consultation to ensure that existing best practice is learned from and taken into account as the strategy is developed? I am well aware of the work that centre stage undertakes in my own area in Cymru with the Robertson Trust. It develops work with women, particularly around that area, and now has a very successful heart and soul initiative, including a community café. The organization and others that members spoke about in last week's debate that is a number of engagement events across Scotland over the coming weeks and months in order to encourage response to our consultation. For me and my officials to hear directly about some of the work that is done but also what more needs to be done and I look forward to hearing from Senterstage, Robertson Trust, Age Scotland and a myriad of organisations and people in their local communities about how our strategy can be improved. Of course we will do all we can to encourage their participation. Annie Wells As I alluded to in my speech on loneliness and social isolation last week, I am pleased that social prescribing is a perform part of the strategy. How does the Scottish Government intend to monitor and select pilot projects in local communities that can be recommended as models to be used elsewhere? I welcome Ms Wells' support for that element of our strategy and indeed last week for the strategy as a whole. Part of our consultation includes organisations giving us their views on those matters. We will return to the chamber and to the Parliament with our final strategy and our proposition on how we take some of those issues forward in some detail. Mark Griffin The Minister will be aware that the Government's budget proposes cuts that will affect the third sector's ability to help communities to be more sustainable and tackle loneliness. It is surely a real-terms cut of £0.4 million to central third sector funding, a £4.4 million real-terms cut to regeneration programmes and more cuts to local government undermines the good intention of the loneliness strategy that we all support. I always find it very sad when colleagues in this chamber refuse to hear what is being said by ministers or indeed to read documents that are there for them to read. Can I repeat, we have protected the third sector budget. The equality's budget is up and as I said in last week's debate it is ill behoves my colleagues across this chamber to misrepresent not only what the Government has in its draft budget but what our colleagues in SPICE confirm is in that draft budget. I am sure that, if they are ready, members from the Labour benches, if they yet have their proposals for the budget, my colleague and finance secretary would be more than happy to discuss any constructive proposals that they may have. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of Erasmus Plus scheme on the third sector, the further education sector and youth work in Scotland. Erasmus Plus receives on-going evaluations, which are undertaken by the projects, and a full impact assessment report is not due until 2020. However, feedback from stakeholders and projects illustrates the difference that those initiatives are making. The Erasmus Plus programme has played a significant role in broadening the educational experience, developing cultural awareness and increasing the employment prospects for Scottish young people. Since 2014, more than 15,000 people have been involved in nearly 500 Erasmus Plus projects across Scotland. The flow of people to and from Scotland supports the development of the skills, experience and global outlook necessary for Scotland's society and economy to thrive. I thank the minister for that answer. Two weeks ago, the Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Relations Committee heard first-hand of the benefits of Erasmus Plus, not just to university exchange, but to young volunteers, apprentices and further education students. Will she join me in backing the Keep Erasmus Plus campaign, led by YouthLink Scotland, Leonard Cheshire Disability Scotland and others, and call on the UK Government to ensure that this vital scheme is not destroyed by Brexit? The Scottish Government is absolutely clear on the value of Erasmus Plus and the risks that are posed to it by Brexit, so, yes, I do heartily support the campaign that the member has mentioned. As I said in my original answer, the programme has played a significant role in broadening the educational experience, the cultural awareness and increasing employment prospects. As Ms McAlpine rightly points out, that is not just to university students. In fact, often the young people who are furthest away from higher education benefit the most as they have been allowed to take part in international exchanges that they might not have been otherwise able to do. Brexit, and indeed the loss of membership of the single market, the freedom of movement, threatens all of that. Therefore, this Government will do all it can to ensure that it protects Scotland's young people from the worst effects of the hard Brexit that is continuing to be pursued by the UK Government. To ask the Scottish Government what support it is giving to the Holocaust educational trust. We must never forget that the Holocaust and those who continue to suffer because of genocide and intolerance, racism and bigotry. Since 2009, the Scottish Government has provided the Holocaust education trust with funding for the lessons from Auschwitz project. In 2009, the funding began with £214,000 per year and has since risen to £296,000 per year, a total of £2.25 million over the period. The funding illustrates the Government's commitment to providing opportunities for Scotland's young people to develop as responsible citizens a key element of our curriculum. To date, the project has reached over 68 per cent of Scotland's schools, with 3,200 Scottish students having participated in the project, along with 500 teachers. The Holocaust educational trust plays a leading role in promoting Holocaust Memorial Day, which is on Saturday in which I know Bill Kidd has a question about in FMQs in a few moments. Holocaust Memorial Day falls on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, which I know the Deputy First Minister visited with Scottish schoolchildren recently. It was my honour to open our Parliament's annual Holocaust Memorial debate earlier this month, which this year focused on the theme of the power of words. Will the Scottish Government stand with me and with every member of this Parliament who spoke in that debate in pledging itself to remember the unique horror of the Holocaust and to thank the Holocaust educational trust for its invaluable work in ensuring that we will never forget? I agree unreservedly with the remarks made by Mr Tomkins in his question. The events of the Holocaust must be forgotten by nobody, and as we look at the troubled and uncertain world in which we live in today, there is even more requirement for people to be reminded of the horror of the Holocaust. As Mr Tomkins says, I accompanied Scottish school pupils to Auschwitz and Birkenau in November. Having extensively studied this period of modern history, nothing prepared me for what I witnessed. The experience for our young people of whom I was enormously proud, much younger than me, but able to handle with great dignity and care and understanding the events of that trip, indicated to me that the investment that we make in the work of the Holocaust educational trust is vital to ensuring that we sustain that understanding among our young people and their appreciation of those terrible events. The First Minister represented the Government at a Holocaust Memorial Day event last night in the city of Glasgow, which was run by our schools and was another fine tribute to the excellence that exists within Scottish education and the deep understanding of the significance and the horror of the events that Mr Tomkins raises in Parliament today. Thank you very much. That concludes general questions. Before we turn to First Minister's questions, I welcome to the gallery Dr Mahir Taj Rawini, the Deputy Speaker of the Pakistan Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pak Tung Kwa.