 Gweithdein, the first item of business is general questions. At question number one I call Finlay Carson Daid ni i ddau ddiweddyl yn ysgolion ar ni'n ddymarfod a'r lleidwyr gyda'i prefac Wales yng nghymru os yw'n nesaforol fyddhef yllysigol yn iroediau yn Ysgolion Llethiau? Minister Richard Lochhead. The introduction of short-term licensing in Scotland means data is now being collected on the numbers of short-term leths lees sgifenniol, eich rhaid o'r cwrddwch gwaith? Mae Llywodraeth Sgifenniol wrth gwrs yn fawr ar gyfer y cyfnod o'r data ddau iawn ar ddau cyfrifoedd a ddau cyfrifoedd ymlaen i wneud a'r ddau cyfrifoedd i'r ddau iawn i'r ddau iawn i'r ddau iawn, ac yn ddau cyfrifoedd i ddau iawn i ddau iawn i'r ddau iawn i'r ddau iawn i'r ddau iawn. I have, as Small Business Minister, liest closely with my ministerial colleagues across other portfolio areas, including tourism, about short-term let licensing and an update that will be provided to Parliament on its implementation in early 2024. Finlay Carson. I thank the minister for that response. Scotland's self-catering businesses play an integral role in Scotland's tourism sector, generating in the region of £1 billion. Undeniably, a vital part of the economy in rural areas like mine, but the introduction of a numerous new regulations has dented confidence and has done little to support this vital industry. Does the minister not agree with me that the Scottish Government should not seek to reduce short-term let's, holiday let's, as a means to solving current rural housing challenges, but instead focus on understanding rural housing needs and building more affordable homes? A budget that was slashed this week in the budget? The member raises so many different issues there. I am just trying to work out where to start, but I start off on the point of agreement, which is that, in terms of the self-catering sector, it does absolutely play an integral role in Scotland's tourism offering and our local economies. The member will also be aware that many countries and many cities across the world, in light of where technology is taking us in terms of tourism and Airbnb and so on and so forth, have been reviewing the regulation around self-catering let's and short-term let's. I hope that the member agrees that that is necessary to do that. In terms of the trends in Scotland, we are paying very close attention to that. As I said to the member, the Government has pledged to bring forward an update to implementation in early 2024. We will look at any issues arising at that point. Of course, the latest statistics will be published in due course, and that will give us a better picture of where things are. Liam McArthur Thank you, Presiding Officer. The minister will not be surprised to hear that the introduction of short-term let's legislation has presented particular challenges in island communities like the one that I represent. In some of the smaller isles, in particular, it could see the removal of any accommodation that is integral not just to the tourism sector but for public sector workers, for trade people who are out visiting undertaking work. As he takes forward the review that he has talked about in terms of statistics, will he keep an open mind to the possibility of introducing a degree of extra flexibility for the way in which this legislation operates in our island communities? Liam McArthur I thank you for raising that point. Of course, I am looking at this on a small business of tourism perspective, and my colleague Paul McClennan, the housing minister, will be bringing forward the update and implementation in early 2024, as pledged. Of course, there are a variety of issues arising again from Liam McArthur's question that affects the island communities in Orkney, in his constituency, such as the need to make available more affordable housing, and a number of measures have been taken by the Government in relation to second homes and so on and so forth to address some of the pressures that are affecting our island communities and rural communities. That does not have a knock-on impact on key workers as well. Paul McClennan and I held a summit in Pitlochly just last week, with a number of businesses and organisations across the Highlands and Islands and the South of Scotland to discuss the pressure on key worker housing and affordable housing in rural areas and the impact that it has on local economies. I want to assure Liam McArthur those issues at the top of our agenda. Question 2 is not lodged. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the steps that it's taking to tackle loss and damage in marginalised communities. Cabinet Secretary, Mary McClennan. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and I thank Colin Beattie for the question, because loss and damage that is being experienced in communities throughout the world is perhaps the single greatest injustice at the heart of the climate crisis. The Scottish Government has now pledged a total of £10 million to addressing loss and damage in climate vulnerable communities. Our initial pledges have been mobilised in programmes directly in the Pacific, in Bangladesh and in Malawi, and we've now begun operationalising the funding that was announced by the First Minister in September and that in Kenya, Ethiopia, Pakistan and Zambia. All of our programmes take a participatory approach, which means that we consult directly with communities and we look to support the most vulnerable people in the most vulnerable communities. It's encouraging to see that the Scottish Government is committed to making the loss and damage fund a success and that Scotland has played an important part. Can the cabinet secretary say any more about the steps that the Scottish Government can take to encourage other countries to commit the finance needed to address this challenge? Scotland's membership of international fora such as the under 2 coalition, in which we are the European co-chair, and regions allows us to demonstrate the action that we have taken but also encourage action on loss and damage from our colleagues. In addition to that, through the practical action that we are taking, we have helped to leverage funding from philanthropies such as the match funding that we received from the Open Society Foundation for our non-economic loss and damage programme. Ultimately, Scotland's action at COP26, standing beside the global south, has been campaigning on that for three decades and helping to break the impasse on loss and damage, has since seen pledges for the specific issue unlocked to the tune of $700 million. That is to be welcome, Presiding Officer, but when we consider the need and the number of recipients throughout the world, that number has to increase and increase very quickly. To ask the Scottish Government what recent engagement it has had with Scottish Mountain Rescue teams regarding mountain safety this winter. Winter in Scotland's hills and mountains offer incredible experiences to enjoy the outdoors and to reap the physical and mental wellbeing benefits. The Scottish Government continues to engage regularly with the chair of Scottish Mountain Rescue and with the spokesman for the three independent teams at Glyncoll, Lochaber and Cairngorm, about a range of issues affecting mountain rescue teams across Scotland. We are very supportive of this year's hashtag think winter campaign, which was recently launched. The campaign encourages people to plan ahead, to think about winter conditions before heading out in the hills and provides an online resource with links to all the information needed for exceptional mountain adventures. I thank the minister and can also welcome the campaign. Improving accessibility and the use of technology has obviously considerably increased the number of people who are visiting Scotland's mountains, which is a very good thing, but unsurprisingly that has led to an increasing number of emergency call-outs for injured and lost walkers. It was 698 in 2021 and 709 in 2022. In alarmingly, that is about a 30 per cent increase on pre-pandemic levels. Can I ask what the Scottish Government is doing to ensure the sustainability of the service and to support its members, most of whom are volunteers of course, so that they can continue to provide their life-saving service? First, let me agree with Liz Smith that it is a life-saving service provided largely by volunteers with a passion for the mountains and for that I am grateful. They also helped us with critical incidents, so we are crucial in the response to storms recently in the east of our country. In a really incredible service, in order to support them, we give them an annual grant of £312,000 to Scottish Mountain Rescue Sport Scotland, and we have invested more than £2 million into the safety of mountain users. That includes approximately £1.5 million or £1635,000 for Glenmore Lodge and £379,000 for the Sport Scotland Avalanche Information Service. We also help to co-ordinate with all the interested stakeholders, so it is not just the mountain rescue teams. There are a number of interested stakeholders, and as you say, there has been a rise in people enjoying our mountains from mountain biking to skiing, and we are keen to support that to happen safely. Question 5 has been withdrawn, and question 6 is not lodged. Therefore, we move on to question 7, and I call Collette Stevenson. To ask the Scottish Government how its budget will affect East Kilbride. This is a Scottish budget that is set in difficult circumstances, where we are having to deal with a 1.2 per cent real-terms decrease in our block grant since 2022-23, and that has forced us to make difficult decisions and prioritise what really matters. East Kilbride communities will benefit from the increased investment in the NHS, from the additional £1 billion we are investing in social security benefits, the increased funding for our police and fire services, and from record funding to local government. A 6 per cent increase from last year's budget, including additional investment, to fund a council tax freeze. Those are the choices that we have made to support people and public services across Scotland. Collette Stevenson. I thank the Deputy First Minister for that response. Thirteen years of Tory austerity is eroding funding for public services, and on top of that, Scotland is still paying off Labour's dodgy PFI deals. That includes Heirmeyer's hospital in East Kilbride, which cost £68 million to build over 20 years ago. The PFI debt is £28.7 million this year and £29 million next year, with a total repayment exceeding £700 million. In the face of those budget constraints caused by the Labour and Conservative parties, can the Deputy First Minister set out the benefits of the SNP Government's progressive income tax policies, including for spending on vital public services such as our NHS? Thank you. Collette Stevenson, in stark contrast to the Opposition parties, the Government is fully committed to the principle of progressive taxation and continuing to support our social contract with the people of Scotland. The Scottish Fiscal Commission has estimated that our income tax policy choices since devolution will raise roughly an additional £1.5 billion in 2024-25, compared with the UK Government policy. As a result of our progressive approach, we can continue to provide a wide range of services and social security payments, not provided elsewhere in the UK such as our flagship Scottish child payment, free prescriptions and free higher education, benefiting our society and people across the country. Graham Simpson. Strathglad partnership for transport works across the region, including East Kilbride. The Deputy First Minister has just slashed its general capital support grant to nothing. That funds engineering works, bus station works, bus stops and shelters, bus infrastructure, decarbonisation of fleet and supports councils to deliver active travel. Does the Deputy First Minister agree with SPT chair and SNP councillor Stephen Dornan when he says that this is completely unacceptable? I think that Graham Simpson comes here with crocodile tears when his government has cut capital funding by 10 per cent over the next five years. If Graham Simpson actually cared about our infrastructure, then he would be making representations to his Tory Government about such cuts. We have had to take difficult decisions. What we have done in making those decisions has taken into account the reserves held by organisations such as SPT. We will continue to work with organisations, but where they have reserves, that is taken into account in the budget decisions that we have made. Given the reference by the cabinet secretary to the general impacts of the budget, and taking into account the proposed increase in the capital budget for health, can the cabinet secretary confirm that a new medical centre for Lochgelly was in fact promised by the Scottish Government way back in 2011? Surely, therefore, the cabinet secretary must agree with my constituents that it should be Lochgelly's turn now? I can say to Annabelle Ewing that our investment in health services both in infrastructure and front-line services is of key importance. I said in response to questions in the budget statement on Tuesday that I would be coming back in the spring to set out our investment pipeline based on those priorities, but also taking into account the capital cuts from the UK Government that will have an impact on infrastructure. I am happy to continue to engage with Annabelle Ewing to make sure that I update her in due course on the particular facility that she referred to. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Scott Gold resources limited regarding any support that can be provided to employees who may lose their jobs at its cononish gold mine in the atyndrum, in light of the reported announcement that the company has gone into administration. Richard Lochhead. Following a petition to wind up, as it is referred to, the Scottish Government's partnership action for continuing employment, known as the PACE team, contacted Scott Gold resources limited to offer PACE support for any employees who may be facing redundancy. Through providing skills development and employability support, PACE aims to minimise the time that individuals affected by redundancy are out of work. The owners appointed administrators picture partners in Australia, whom our PACE team also contacted. PACE stands ready to support workers in this and other redundancy situations, and the service can be accessed through SDS online services offer and at SDS centres at Skills Development Scotland for anyone looking for redundancy-related advice. Evelyn Tweed. I have been contacted by an employee of Scott Gold resources who, despite being told that they are entitled to resign and claim redundancy has not been paid. What actions can these aty employees take to ensure that they do receive the remuneration that they are entitled to? I think that we want to agree at the outset that the Scottish Government, of course, wants everyone made redundant to receive all monies owed to them. I hope that that situation is resolved as soon as possible. However, this is a matter for the administrator. Responsibility for dealing with employee claims and insolvency is reserved to the UK Government and is dealt with by the redundancy payments service. If the employer is no longer trading but has not registered as insolvent, individuals might be able to either make a claim to an employment tribunal or contact the redundancy payment service if the employer registers as insolvent later in the process. Individuals can access free advice on their options through the ACAS helpline as well. That concludes general questions, and I suspend this meeting until noon.