 Diolch yn wneud, mae'n ddif â'r cwestiynau gyda Gwydanodd. Mae'n ddiffrwng gyda'r prydhau yn ysgol sydd yn ei ddif arweithio. Ddiolch yn y methu nr展, Cymru. Dwi'n enghraiffti'r cymdeithasu rydym iawn, ac efallai rwy'n SUBSCRIBE Gwydanodd y ddif wneud i'r ddyf yn Gweith Washington, i armhwyffi nrheiddiol gyda trofودol gyda'r dros eu cyff Oooohrwng iawn ar Elgin busd i'r wyf. Mwneud i fynd i chi i holl yndyn nhw, ac mae ein llwyddoedd ddwynebol, i fawr i liew ac rhaid. Pete yw'r pethau cram iawn, ac mae'n cael ei ddweud â'r hyn yn ymgyrchol y sydd murwren i schoedd gwahanol, ac mae'n agor ar y史gol iawn ac yn gwneud i fath ymlaes. Rhaid i ni i gynol yng Nghymru felly yn gweithio eu cyngloedd gan ynон, i'n cael ei gwych chiefaith yn seimlo ei chysylltu şyfedd, ac mae'n cael ei gweithio i'ch hunain a'r unrhyw arlawn. the very best for the king's fool and speedy recovery. Michael Matheson has finally resigned as health secretary. Months after it emerged that he was dishonest, a misled Parliament, over an £11,000 iPad bill he charged to taxpayers. Hamza Yousaf described Michael Matheson as a man of integrity and honesty. How much does he now regret those words? I also pay my condolences, as I did earlier this week, to the family of Keith Rawlinson. I know that his tragic killing has undoubtedly not just impacted his family but the local community. I know that somebody whose family was previously bus drivers that that community is actually extremely close to each other, so all of the bus driving community will be impacted and affected by that tragic killing. I also echo what I said earlier this week. After his Majesty's openness about his recent prostate treatment, I like many that I am sure was moved to hear of and is saddened to hear of his subsequent unrelated cancer diagnosis, his Majesty's candor, a supporter of many cancer charities over the years, is admirable. A diagnosis of cancer is a cause of great worry in any family. I wish his Majesty a speedy and full recovery. He and the entire royal family are in my thoughts and prayers, and I am sure that the thoughts and prayers of everybody in this chamber. In relation to Michael Matheson's question of substance Douglas Ross, Michael Matheson, of course, did make a mistake. He made that mistake and he apologised for that mistake. What he did ask for was due process. I think that somebody who has served this Parliament, served his country, served in the Government—not for years, he served in this Parliament for decades—that he should be afforded that due process. That due process, as it is coming to its conclusion, Michael has come to the conclusion himself that he should stand down and, of course, have accepted his resignation. I do think, though, that the Conservatives talking about integrity in public life will be quite galling for those who are listening. I remind Douglas Ross that he of course called Boris Johnson an honest man. That would be the Boris Johnson who lied about partying. That would be the Conservatives, of course, who awarded multimillion-pound contracts—PPE contracts—to their pals. If there is one party in this chamber, Presiding Officer, that has no credibility in talking about integrity in public life, it is the Conservatives. Douglas Ross is, as clear as day, not a bit of regret from the First Minister for claiming that Michael Matheson was a man of integrity and honesty. He says that the former health secretary came to this decision after the due process. He says in his own two-page letter that he has not received the findings of the review, however he thinks that it is in his own best interests and the best interests of the SNP Government that he resigns. If he is so keen on due process, why not wait for the report to be published? Let us be clear. Michael Matheson was dishonest about his £11,000 iPad bill. He made a false claim for thousands of pounds of taxpayer's money. He misled the public, the press and this Parliament. He kept on being dishonest even as his story changed. He has resigned, but Humza Yousaf should have sacked him the minute it became clear that Michael Matheson had not told the truth. Again, in this lengthy letter from the former health secretary, there is not one word of apology to the people of Scotland for what he did and his dishonesty. I hope that the First Minister will stand up and apologise on his behalf. However, why did he continue to have this disgraced minister in his Government for months after the situation first came to light? Before you begin, I will remind the chamber that the investigation process, a confidential process, is still on-going. As I have said, Michael Matheson, and as he reiterated in his letter, as the process is coming to a conclusion, he has offered his resignation. I have accepted his resignation. Can you remind Douglas Ross when it comes to mistakes that are made? Douglas Ross, of course, forgot to declare tens of thousands of pounds of income that he, of course, just simply forgot to do. Mistakes can happen. I do not think that I was asking for Douglas Ross's resignation at that point, because we understand that mistakes absolutely can happen. Douglas Ross says that Michael Matheson did not apologize— First Minister, that is incorrect. Can we please have quiet so that we can all hear questions and responses, First Minister? That is incorrect if Douglas Ross wants to look at the official records— Douglas Ross may not want to listen to what I have got to say, but, of course, he can read over the official record in this chamber when Michael Matheson made a personal statement. He reiterated his apology on numerous occasions for the mistake that he had made, and he did make a mistake. I am not suggesting that he did not. All I am suggesting is that, of course, a man who has served this Parliament for many years, decades in fact, has worked diligently, worked hard in every role that he has been in, was afforded due process. He has been afforded that due process and come to the conclusion that he should stand down. On what he has helped to achieve, of course, is that he has helped to achieve a recovery of our NHS—that process, of course, is on-going. Under Michael Matheson and under this Government, we are focused on the recovery of the NHS. That includes, of course, record funding for our NHS. That includes record funding for our NHS, which is a very stark contrast to the Conservative Government that is imposing real-term cuts on the NHS. Michael Matheson tried to cheat the taxpayer out of tens of thousands of pounds. He has been backed every step of the way by Humza Yousaf, and he is still being backed by the First Minister. Even when the health secretary's story changed, Humza Yousaf was still there defending him. He stood by him even when Michael Matheson had to cancel appearances at GP surgeries and stopped doing his job to avoid scrutiny. He let him continue to be health secretary while Michael Matheson was distracted and was a distraction. The First Minister was just by the only person who still supported Michael Matheson. Humza Yousaf staked his own personal reputation on backing the former health secretary. Can he tell us why he was willing to tolerate such dishonesty? Let me again remind Douglas Ross what we have been focused on. Let's look at the facts and the recovery of the NHS. We have, of course, in Scotland the best performing A&E departments in the entire UK. It is a real-terms uplift for the NHS in Scotland, while the Tories inflict a real-terms cut to the tune of more than £1 billion. Record staffing in NHS Scotland under the SNP up by more than £31,000. The best-paid staff anywhere in the UK NHS staff is best paid in Scotland compared with the rest of the UK. Outpatients who have been waiting over two years have reduced by almost 70 per cent. Inpatients who have been waiting over two years reduced by over 25 per cent. They do not want to hear it, because it points to an earlier recovery. Can I remind all members of the atmosphere that we wish to have at this session? We want members to be able to put questions and to respond in an orderly manner and we wish to be able to hear one another. Of course, unlike where the Tories are in charge, Scotland has not lost a single day of NHS activity to strike action, including, of course, the junior doctors deal that Michael Matheson concluded. We are a Government that takes great pride in supporting our NHS at its time of greatest need in very stark contrast to a Tory Government that is gutting NHS England to the bones. I am listening to that answer. It is like Hamza Yousaf does not realise that his disgrace former health secretary resigned this morning. It is incredible, but Hamza Yousaf said that the £11,000 claim was a legitimate parliamentary expense. The First Minister claimed months ago that the matter was closed. There was nothing more to see here. He told me in this chamber last year that he had absolute and full confidence in Michael Matheson. He said that Michael Matheson was a man of integrity and honesty. Hamza Yousaf backed him to the hilt, but most of Scotland has known from the very beginning that Michael Matheson was dishonest. Hamza Yousaf's own reputation is in tatters over the scandal. He looks weak. Trust in this Government is gone. The SNP's credibility is gone. Michael Matheson is gone, but Hamza Yousaf, the human shield, is still here defending him. First Minister, how can anyone trust a single word this SNP Government ever says again? The First Minister. Well, well, well, well, Presiding Officer. Douglas Ross wants to talk about trust. Did he not see the Ipsos podium all yesterday that showed that we, the SNP, is trusted? First Minister, we are simply not going to be conducting our business in this manner. I'd ask the front benches in particular to set the best of examples. First Minister. Well, they don't want to listen to the facts, Presiding Officer, and the facts show that the SNP still continues to be trusted by the people of Scotland over the NHS, over the economy, over transport, over health and, in comparison, in stark contrast to the Conservatives. How dare Douglas Ross stand here and talk about standards in public life in the week when his leader, the Prime Minister, elected him? First Minister. Mr Ross, you have put your questions. The First Minister is now responding. Let us do one another the courtesy. We may not always agree with what we are hearing, but we are simply not going to shout at one another, are we, First Minister? How dare Douglas Ross stand up in this Parliament, in this chamber, in this week of all weeks and talk about standards in public life when his leader, the Prime Minister, quite literally gambled with the lives of the most vulnerable this week? This week, just yesterday, quite literally decided to punch down on one of the most marginalised communities in the entire country, and not just on any day, of course, on the day that Brianna Gays' mother was in the House of Commons. That is a disgrace. That is shameful, so I will certainly not be taking any lectures whatsoever from the Conservatives on standards in integrity and public life. I would like to join other colleagues in, first of all, paying our respects and passing on our condolences to the family of Keith Rawlinson. He was a much-loved member of his community, and I know from my own family in Elgin how deeply wounded and hurt the community of Elgin feels over this period. I would also like to echo the comments in sending our thoughts and best wishes to King Charles and his loved ones, and we hope that his Majesty makes a full and speedy recovery. After months of Humza Yousaf battling to keep Michael Matheson in his job, today the health secretary has finally resigned. That will make the headlines today, but the crisis in our NHS has been 17 years in the making. So, Humza Yousaf may hope that swapping one failing SNP minister for another is going to solve the problems, but it won't. I want to ask about the real-life consequences of this Government's failure. While the Government pretends that there is no crisis and they have it all under control, that is not the experience for patients across the country. For many, delays in accessing treatment can be fatal. Can the First Minister tell the chamber how many people called an ambulance last year but died before they could reach an accident and emergency department? I do not have that figure in front of me. What I can say is that, as part of the winter funding that we announced, a significant chunk of that winter funding was to recruit additional staff for the Scottish Ambulance Service. I take real exception to Anas Alwar's characterisation in his question that nobody in the Government understands the real challenges that the NHS is under. We do. In fact, we are the ones who have brought forward a recovery plan that is helping the NHS to recover. Anas Alwar is saying up that that is why we have seen, for example, a reduction on those outpatients who are waiting the longest two years or more in terms of long waits. That has reduced by almost 70 per cent in terms of inpatients who are waiting over two years, a reduction by over 25 per cent. There is not a single person on the front benches here who does not understand the significant challenge that the NHS is under. That is why we are ensuring additional resources to the Ambulance Service, but I am also happy to write to Anas Alwar the details of what we are doing to tackle far too long ambulance waiting times that are taking place across the country. Answer proves how much Humza Yousaf has his head in the sand. He talks about a recovery plan. Waiting lists have gone up since he published his recovery plan and over 800,000 of our fellow Scots are on NHS waiting lists, while he dithers around looking for a decent stat in his book. He needs to wake up to the reality of facing far too many Scots. The answer to the question was that there were over 12,000 people last year for whom an ambulance was called but who died before reaching the hospital. That is up from just over 7,100 in 2019, an increase of over 70 per cent in just four years. Many of those people may have survived if an ambulance could have reached them sooner or they could have been admitted to hospital more quickly. That is the real world consequence of SNP incompetence and a failure to get to grip with a crisis in our NHS. Here is another example. Back when Humza Yousaf was health secretary, the Government promised to contact all 150,000 women who were wrongly excluded from cervical screening by August 2021. More than two and a half years later, 65,000 women are still waiting to have their cases reviewed. They are still waiting to hear if they are at risk. Why has the Government failed to get those women? Let me take a couple of the important issues that Anasawar does raise. Again, Anasawar does this when he rightly interrogates the issues around the health service. He talks about the last four years without paying any recognition that something significant happened in the last four years. There was a global pandemic, which was the biggest shock that the NHS has faced in its 75-year five-year existence. That is why NHS services in Labour-run Wales, in Conservative-run England and SNP-run Scotland are all facing a significant challenge because of that global pandemic. Anasawar cannot simply say that things have deteriorated in four years without giving any level of context whatsoever. Anasawar says that they should have got better in the midst of a global pandemic. On the waiting lists that we currently have, there is no suggestion from me of anything other than having to focus in on reducing those waiting times. If I look at the operations that have been performed in the last year, there was an 11 per cent increase in the number of performed operations compared to the previous 12 months and a 15 per cent increase, over 15 per cent increase, if you went back 12 months before that. There are waiting times. There is no doubt that there are too many people waiting in Scotland, and we are working to try to reduce that number where we can. On the issues that may have been affected by the issues around cervical cancer screening, it should be said that I can give Anasawar more detail in writing that, having done an initial audit at NHS boards, it reached out to those women who were deemed to be most at risk, and have taken the appropriate action where necessary. I am more than happy to write to Anasawar with further details, but I suggest that they are at risk or at high risk. It would be incorrect, so there has been a focus on the women who were impacted and that clinicians believe that they are at the highest risk of cervical cancer. I am all insid gobsmacked by how outrageous the answer is when the First Minister is there. He says that there is no evidence that those women are at a higher risk. It is why their cases are being reviewed. Three women have died while waiting for the review, and 65,000 women still have not been processed in that review. He should seriously look at what is happening in the national health service he is presiding over. The reality is that those women and too many people who need an NHS are being failed by an incompetent SNP Government. The result is that any delays get worse, waiting lists grow, staff burn out and patients' lives are put at risk. The Government would rather deny its incompetence than face up to the problem. Its financial mismanagement is further risking front-line NHS services, and it would rather continue with a culture of secrecy than learn the lessons of its failures. So whoever this week the First Minister chooses to be the next health secretary is not at the case that it is not just a change of a health secretary that we need, it is a change from this failing, incompetent SNP Government. Let me, Anna Sawar, completely mischaracterised what I said. I said that the review of cervical exclusions—he knows, and I am happy to break them with more detail on this if he doesn't—had two parts to the initial review of 1,500 records, which was completed in 2021, and then a much wider review of all exclusions from the programme that is very much on-going. That is covering around 150,000 individuals. I am more than happy to provide Anna Sawar with the full details of the progress that is being made. What I would say to Anna Sawar is that under this Government stewardship of the NHS, we have seen record staffing in the NHS. We have the best-paid staff anywhere in the UK. We have not lost a single day's strike compared to Labour-run Wales or to Conservative-run England. We are making a dent into those longest waits in terms of those who have been impacted by the global pandemic. What does not help our recovery is those devastating cuts to the budget from the Conservatives. What would be really helpful is that Anna Sawar was able to confirm that UK Labour, if it did form the next UK Government, would reverse those Tory cuts. The fact is that what we have had from Labour, what we have had from Keir Starmer and what we have had from Rachel Reeves is an absolute confirmation that they will not reverse Tory spending cuts. While we face headwinds of austerity from the Conservative Government, I am afraid that the situation will not look like the situation will change under a UK Labour Government. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's responses to the Scottish Information Commissioners' intervention into its use and retention of informal communications in light of the UK Covid-19 inquiry. The Government is committed to complying with all of its legal obligations in relation to FOI and records management legislation. We received the details of intervention yesterday afternoon. We will, of course, fully co-operate with the commissioner's office once we have considered its content fully. I have already instructed that there should be an externally led review looking at the use of mobile messaging apps and non-corporate technology. Given that we have heard the former Prime Minister, the current Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Scotland were unable to provide the UK Covid inquiry with any WhatsApps due to them having been deleted, the Deputy First Minister has written to the UK Government, the Welsh Government and the new Northern Irish Executive, Northern Ireland Executive, to invite them to participate in this externally led review. On the day that the Disgraced Health Secretary is forced to quit the shambolic and secretive Scottish Government, it is worth reminding Parliament that the SNP's deputy leader, Keith Brown, claimed last year that the SNP are, and I quote, the most transparent party in Scotland. Since then, Nicola Sturgeon has revealed that she deleted each and every one of her informal Covid-related messages, in line, she said, with Scottish Government policy. Yet, Humza Yousaf claimed last October that he kept and retained his WhatsApp messages from that period, so to assist the information commissioner with his investigation, will the First Minister now confirm who breached his Government's record management rules? Nicola Sturgeon or Humza Yousaf? Just a poll that has just come out in the last few days has shown that 51 per cent of Scottish voters, they are laughing at this, they don't want to hear this, Presiding Officer, 51 per cent of Scottish voters feel the Scottish Government handled the pandemic better. Just 13 per cent thought that the UK Government had handled the pandemic better, Presiding Officer. I really don't think that the party that was secretly handing over multi-million pound PPE contracts to their donors and to their friends should be lecturing anybody about transparency. A party whose leader took the inquiry to court and lost, Presiding Officer, a party that was breaking the rules, partying at number 10 while people were missing the funerals of their loved ones, of all the parties, to lecture anybody on public integrity, to lecture anybody on transparency. It certainly isn't to Tories, it certainly isn't Craig Hoy, Presiding Officer. Question number four, Jim Fairlie. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I'd like to ask the First Minister, will he provide an update on what progress the Scottish Government has made towards implementing the recommendations of the Covid-19 recovery committee's report on long Covid? Since the publication of the long Covid report that we responded to in June last year, a number of recommendations have been implemented. That includes publishing a suite of educational resources on NHS education for Scotland's learning platform to improve healthcare staff's knowledge and understanding of the condition of long Covid. NHS national services Scotland commissioning the university of Leeds to support the initial evaluation of long Covid services in Scotland. Over this financial year, we've made available £3 million out of the £10 million long Covid support fund to support NHS boards to increase the capacity of services supporting those with the condition to develop those into more clearly defined local pathways and provide a more co-ordinated experience for those who need to access support. Jim Fairlie. Thank you, First Minister for that answer. Stigma, lack of single point of contact, evaluation of other approaches to treatment and signposting for effective patients were all recognised as vital for us making progress to help those sufferers. Can I ask the First Minister to reassure those people affected that those issues have been taken forward to allow them to either learn to live with it or be treated and allow them to go on with their lives? Yes, Jim Fairlie makes important points about Stigma and, I should say, about establishing a single point of contact for long Covid patients in every single health board. I've mentioned the funding that we're provided. I'm also happy to write to Jim Fairlie with details of the long Covid services available in our health boards currently. We've worked with people and we continue to engage with people who are living with long Covid to develop case study videos for NHS Inform, providing insight into people's personal experiences of living with the condition but also help to help us to co-design the policy that is required in relation to long Covid. The identification, assessment and management of people with long Covid is very much guided by UK-wide clinical guidelines developed by NICE and also the sign guidelines as well as the Royal College of GPs. Those have been developed using a living approach and that means essentially that those guidelines will continue to develop and evolve as we learn more and more about long Covid. If I give Jim Fairlie an assurance not just about tackling the stigma involved in seeking help and nobody should at all ever feel that they cannot reach out for help, I can give him a further assurance that any policy that we design in relation to long Covid will be co-designed with those with lived experience. The First Minister mentions publishing material. On 31 January 2024, the Scottish Government issued an update on long Covid guidance on the NHS Inform via official ATSCOP.gov health x-channel formally Twitter. It was endorsed by Minister Jenny Minto. The video downplays the challenges encountered by individuals grappling with long Covid. Fails to fully represent the diversity of symptoms and severity of long Covid. Disregards treatment for symptom management. In a joint statement by UK long Covid charities, they urge the Scottish Government to withdraw the video and apologise. First Minister, will you, and a declaration of interest, as practicing NHS GP? Will, of course, listen to what long Covid charities have to say and we take the issues of long Covid very seriously indeed and recognise the impact that it has on the health and the wellbeing of those who are affected, not just adults but often we know children as well. We know that people can have a whole range of experiences. In terms of the video that Dr Gohani does mention, that was with the input of health professionals but also the input of people living with long Covid. I can give Sanders Gohani an absolute guarantee that we will continue to engage with those with lived experience, including the organisations he references and take on board their comments. A report from Washington University finds that those who have had Covid-19 had a 72 per cent increased risk of heart failure, a 63 per cent increased risk of heart attack, a 52 per cent increased risk of stroke and that was regardless of age. Similar things are happening to other organs in symptoms that are characteristic of long Covid, so the problem has not gone away, long Covid persists and the recommendations in the report largely were about the collection of data because there is little evidence collected by this Government centrally. What progress has been made to ensure that there is consistent collection of long Covid data? Of course, Dr Gabley is absolutely right that one of the recommendations of the report was in relation to data collection. The Scottish Health Survey provides annual monitoring of the population prevalence of long Covid. It includes questions about self-reported long Covid and, more than that, more qualitatively than that, the impact on day-to-day activities. The Scottish Health Survey for 2022 was published on 5 December 2023. We should seek to see what more we can do to improve that data collection as per the committee report. Again, I am happy to ensure that Dr Gabley gets full details of what health boards are seeking to do to improve their data collection around long Covid. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the Who Care Scotland research report is Scotland keeping the promise, which reportedly indicates that on the fourth anniversary of the publication of the promise, key pledges made to care experienced people are not being fulfilled. Can I thank Who Care Scotland for the continued important work that they do to support the care experience community right across Scotland? Of course, we are carefully considering the findings of the report. We are determined to drive forward the transformational change that is required to keep the promise and make Scotland the very best place in the world, to grow up where all children are loved, feel safe and, of course, are respected. Yesterday, I had the great enormous pleasure, in fact, of visiting the hub for success. It is hosted by Napier University, supported by Scottish Government Promise Partnership funding, and there I got to meet care experienced students who shared the really positive impact that the service had on them. There is more work to do, as the report has undoubtedly highlighted, and we do not shy away from that work. We should also share and celebrate where change is being felt. One key area where there is clear progress is in the number of looked-after children. The latest statistics show that there was almost 2,000 fewer looked-after children in July 2022 than there was when the promise started in July 2020. That does not take away from the work that still has to be done, but I am pleased by some of the progress that we are seeing in this report. I thank the First Minister for his response and agree that Who Care Scotland deserves credit for this report, which highlights some areas of progress but also some major areas of concern. To give one example, the FOI investigation uncovered that care experienced children have lost more than 1.3 million school days to exclusion. That could be the tip of the iceberg, as several councils could not provide any data, despite the promise pledging to end the exclusion. We need transparency, accountability and leadership if we are going to fulfil the promise, but the lack of data is a constant theme of the report. Does the First Minister agree that, in order to keep the promise, one of the areas that we have to tackle is the quality of data? Will he and his Government urgently review the data that is held by public authorities and report annually to the Parliament, because what we have here is not good enough? I largely agree with Monica Lennon and, of course, the Who Care Scotland report around data collection, recording, monitoring and reporting is key to both tracking progress and ensuring that we are delivering the change that we need. We are working closely, if I can give Monica Lennon that assurance, with COSLA, that the Promised Scotland and wider stakeholders to develop that national promise performance outcomes framework to track progress. The framework will be aligned to the plan 24 to 2030. I take the points entirely that Monica Lennon makes, and I am happy again to ensure that the appropriate Minister of Rights is there with details of the conversations that we are having with local government in relation to data collection. On the issues around school exclusions, that was something that was referenced and mentioned to me in my meeting with the care experience community just yesterday. There is a whole raft of work going on to ensure that we absolutely reduce school exclusions, where we can minimise them to the absolute where we can, and I want to thank Who Cares and all the other stakeholders that are working with us in order to deal with those really challenging issues. Concise questions and responses will enable more members to be involved, I call Ruth Maguire. The Care and Justice Scotland Bill will play an important part in keeping the promise as Parliament moves forward looking to further improve the bill at stage 3. Would the First Minister agree with me that, despite the complexity of doing so, it is crucial that in reforming the care and justice system we uphold and promote the rights of all children, whether they are in direct contact with the system as witnesses, victims or perpetrators or indeed are impacted because of a family member? Yes, I absolutely agree with that, and I am proud that Scotland became the first nation in the UK to incorporate the UNCRC into domestic law. The Children's Care and Justice Bill is taking measures to promote that and help Scotland to keep the promise. Action to improve the experiences of child victims and their families is an absolute top priority, I am sure, for all of us, particularly for this Government. Our engagement with stakeholders includes Victim Support Scotland, and they have helped to inform the bill, which competed at stage 2 yesterday, protecting and promoting the rights of all children who come into contact with the justice system, is at the very heart of this bill, which will be an important step to improving outcomes for young people as we keep the promise. I note the First Minister's reference to 2,000 fewer children in the care system. I also want to highlight that the report states that that could be a worrying failure. Given the fact that social workers have a crucial role in Scotland in keeping the promise, the revelations that, in 2023, over 83 per cent of social workers were absent from work due to sickness is very concerning. How will the Scottish Government ensure that local authorities receive the adequate levels of support and funding to have sufficient levels of staff to ensure that care-experienced children, young people and their families receive the support that they deserve? First of all, we will ensure that we fund our local services and local authorities adequately. That is why they are getting a real-terms uplift in the budget that is announced by the Deputy First Minister. That is despite the fact that, of course, we are seeing a real-terms cut to our budget of around £500 million over the last couple of years. The social work force is, of course, primarily employed by local authorities and will monitor their absence levels. However, we do recognise the pressure that the workforce is very much under, and we are working with partners who have a collective responsibility to our front-line workers to seek ways that we can support the social work force. That includes the development of a joint work force improvement plan with COSLA, which seeks to address the recruitment and retention challenges that the profession does face. We have also formed a joint social care and social care work services workforce task force, the GASST, which is looking at ways that we can deliver improvements for both adults and children's social care and social care workforce. Of course, our national care service, our proposals for the national care service, will include the establishment of a national social work agency, which will support and invest in the profession by providing national leadership, raising the status of the social work as a profession, and considering, of course, the future needs of the workforce. To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to strengthen enforcement powers in relation to long-term empty homes. Tackling empty homes is a priority. We want to see more homes return to productive use as warm, safe and secure housing. That is why we continue to fund the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership, which has helped to bring more than 9,000 homes back into use since 2010. We have also recently given councils the power to increase council tax by up to 100 per cent on second homes. We have also consulted on giving councils powers to raise it above 100 per cent for long-term empty homes through primary legislation, where we need to rely on enforcement. Local authorities have broad compulsory purchase powers that can and are being used to bring empty homes back into use. I thank the First Minister for that answer. More action on empty homes is a commitment in the shared policy programme between the Scottish Greens and the Scottish Government. The proposal to allow councils further powers to increase council tax on long-term empties is important as effective use of enforcement powers as a backstop evidence in Glasgow last week, with the news of three properties to be acquired through compulsory purchase for use by housing associations. Does the First Minister recognise the need for CPO reform to make it more workable? Does he agree with the recommendations of the independent audit of empty homes work that the Scottish Government should also consider the merits of enforced sales and rental orders? First Minister, can I welcome the news of Glasgow City Council's use of compulsory purchase order powers? I agree that consideration of how we might reform and modernise the CPO process is vital. That is why we have committed to taking that forward in our programme for government. I am pleased to say that we will shortly be establishing an expert advisory group to inform the development of options. We have also committed to continue to consider the case for introducing compulsory sales orders, and the expert group will look at the extent to which CPO reform can achieve some of the same aims and the same considerations that will apply to compulsory leasing. Most long-term empty homes return to use through proactive work with the owner to identify barriers and ways to overcome those barriers. We will continue to support that work, alongside ensuring that the taxation and enforcement tools are available to incentivise the reuse of empty homes. We move to constituency general supplementaries, and I call Stuart McMillan. Thank you, Presiding Officer. At 11am this morning, EE announced that they will be closing their Greenock call centre site on 30 November. That is going to affect over 450 people in my constituency, who will now either be forced to work in Glasgow or find another job. Can the First Minister give for guarantee that the Scottish Government agencies will be in hand to assist those who require it? We will provide an assurance that the Scottish Government will leave no stone unturned to help Inverclyde, as we are now to have another large facility empty when we need a replacement for both the Greenock Police Station and the West College Scotland? The First Minister has a good record of investment in Inverclyde, and we will continue to work with the local authority to see what further support we may be able to provide. Can I say first and foremost that my thoughts are with all of the 450 workers at the EE site in Greenock? I am very sorry to hear of that news that was given to them this morning at 11am. What I can give an assurance to those workers and also to Stuart McMillan as a local MSP is that the Scottish Government will engage, as I say, with the local authority, but also with the company directly where we can. Of course, we will do what we can through our PACE initiative in order to help those workers that have been affected should they need it in order to look for further employment, should that be required. I will ensure that the appropriate Minister keeps Stuart McMillan updated on those conversations. Rural health boards in Scotland have been forgotten about the former disgraced health minister has been too focused on covering his own tracks and has failed to deliver for the rural health service in Scotland. This week we learnt that NHS borders is facing a potential deficit of £45 million. Frontline services will have to be cut putting my constituents at risk. Will the First Minister step up once and for all and deliver much needed support to ensure residents in the borders do not receive second-class treatment? First and foremost, we support rural health services and, of course, the national centre for remote and rural health and cares backed by an investment of £3 million until 2026. That centre will focus on improving the sustainability, the capacity and capability of primary care and community-based workforces. We also offer incentives for those GPs, for example, to work in rural locations. We are funding 50 GPs speciality training bursary posts in 2425 to attract GPs to rural Scotland. Not only that, of course, as I have already referenced in a previous response, the SNP Government is giving a real-terms uplift to the NHS here in Scotland. That is in stark contrast to the Conservatives who are gutting NHS England with a cut of more than £1.3 billion. Not only that, if we look at the autumn statement, we received a paltry £10.8 million of health consequentials from the UK Government. That would not have provided five weeks nor five months of NHS activity. It would have provided five hours of NHS activity, so we will take no lectures on funding our NHS from the Conservatives. Scotsman David Cormack died in Thailand in 2019. As Father Davey believes, there is strong evidence that he was murdered. The Inquiries into Fatal Accidents and Sudden Death Scotland Act was meant to enable the Lord Advocate to instruct fatal accident inquiries in cases such as David's. It appears that zero fatal accident inquiries into the deaths of Scots abroad have taken place since the law was passed in 2016. The definition of residency used by our Scottish justice system appears to be at the heart of this failure. Does the First Minister agree with me and the families of Scots who have died abroad that they should be afforded the same chance to know the fate of their loved ones as other citizens across the islands? What can he do to help to ensure that they get the answers that they deserve? First Minister, can I first and foremost give my condolences and sympathies once again to the family of David Cormack? I agree with the premise of course that those Scots who lose loved ones should be able to get the answers to the questions that they have. I am more than happy of course to look at legislation. Michael Marra is absolutely correct that it is the issue of residency in this particular case, ordinary residency, that is causing the issue in this particular case. He does know of course that decisions around FAIs are not decisions for the Government to take but for the independent Lord Advocate to take, but of course legislation is our responsibility, so I am happy to take a look to speak to the justice secretary on this matter and to consider it further and will respond to Michael Marra in due course. The Better Together campaign told people in the lead-up to the independence referendum that pensions are safer in the UK. How hollow are those words now? Westminster has presided over the injustice done to waspy women. The state pension is shamefully inadequate due to years of austerity, and whilst the state pension is expected to rise to 68, reports this week suggest it may even rise further to 71. Can the First Minister give his response to how Westminster is failing Scotland's older people time and time again? This is not a question on a devolved matter. I call Martin Whitfield. I'm very grateful, Presiding Officer. This week, rail commuters in East Lothian traveling to Edinburgh experienced the consequences of SNP mismanagement with a reduction in the carriage numbers on the trains during the busy morning commute and overcrowding. Gregor Miller, one of the commuters said, it's uncomfortable. You have to stand, and it becomes hard to hold on to anything. When I get to Preston Pans, you have to stand. When I get to Wallyford, people are just squeezing on, and at Musselborough, people can't get on the trains. Given those on-going issues, what assurances can the First Minister offer to Gregor and to the other constituents that commuters travelling between East Lothian and Edinburgh can depend on a robust and reliable train service? First Minister, I was surprised that I wasn't able to answer the previous question because it was related to pensioner poverty, Presiding Officer. I will give Clare Hawkey a written answer. First Minister, I'm sorry, I did not hear what you said there. I will give Clare Hawkey a written response to the question that she asked around pensioner poverty. Members will be aware of the requirement to put at First Minister's questions which are the responsibility of the First Minister and the devolved Government. Members at this stage of the session are very well aware of how to achieve that, and I would ask members to remind themselves of that, First Minister. Indeed, Presiding Officer, in terms of Martin Butfield's question, I don't at all minimise the impact that rail disruption can have on constituents, on their everyday lives, on going to work, on attending their educational establishments. I would say to Martin Butfield's constituent that we are investing in our rail services. We have invested in our rail infrastructure, whether it is new rail lines in terms of the border's railway, whether it is new railway stations right up and down the country, or indeed making our railways more affordable by, for example, introducing a pilot that abolished peak fares. I will say to Martin Butfield that we are apologetic for any disruption that has caused in our railways, on our rail infrastructure, but I am more than happy to ensure that the minister, the appropriate minister, writes to Martin Butfield with the details of the investments that we are making, not just between East Lothian and Edinburgh, but right across the country. That concludes First Minister's questions, and the next item of business is a member's debate in the name of Stephen Kerr. There will be now a short suspension to allow those leaving the chamber and the public gallery to do so.