 We move to First Minister's question now. 1. Kezia Dugdale To ask the First Minister what engagements she has planned for the rest of the day. First Minister. engagements to take forward the Government's programme for Scotland, including later today meeting pupils from Brun Hee primary school to celebrate World Book Day. Kezia Dugdale For years, the SNP have promised to abolish the hated council tax. It was in both 2007 yn ayl ydwyngofiannol. Tyn iddo dwyllwywyr yng Nghymru, byllbordd a fydd bydd-bryd gallu gwirionedd o'r mewn tyfnol, mwyafio cynghwyl Fyongaf Cysylltiadau Cysylltiadau. Yr unrhyw fyddwn ni'n hyfforddiall y gynllun i chi, rwyf yn mynd i'r Fyngfyrdd Cysylltiadau. Mae ni wedi gweld yr amgylch yma i yn ei gwrs o gynllun i chi, ac rwyf wrth gwrs i chi mwyafio ym mwyafio 10 oed. Mae cyfnodd. Felly, grafoddaeth 2007, rydych chi'n cael eu trafodaeth eich gyrsig armol yn bwysig y cwsul tectreffredig. Mae'r gyrsgwannu cabarn trafodaeth 2500Fn a cyfnodd yn bwysig ar yr hyd yn bach yn Gymdeithasol. Roeddwn i chi'n gyrsig i'r blaen oedd na ffairau'r pleiddiant i ddigwyd, oedd i'r As Professor David Bell described it on the radio this morning, it is certainly progressive and we also set out how with new tax powers we will make the funding of council services in future more closely related to income, something that Labour has also opposed for many, many years. We are doing this in a fair way. Council tax freeze will remain in place for the next year. After that, the council tax will be capped so that we can't go back to the bad old days when Labour increased council tax by 60 per cent. The band reforms will mean that people in the highest bands will pay a bit more, with exemptions for those with lower incomes, including pensioners. Three out of four households will not pay a single penny more, and low-income households with children will pay less. Out of all that will raise an additional £100 million a year for education. Those are fair, balanced, reasonable proposals, which is probably why Labour opposed them. We will get rid once and for all of the unfair council tax—the words of the First Minister. Of course, voters should have known that when the First Minister said that she would get rid of the council tax, what she really meant was that she would keep it. The whole process has been a sham. Here is the SNP's formula—condemn it, freeze it, order a big report and then go ahead and do it anyway. It is not just the council tax. The SNP says that fracking is bad, and they have imposed a temporary freeze. A big report has been ordered, but all the signs are that they are going to go ahead and do it anyway. Labour would not allow fracking in Scotland. Can the First Minister give that guarantee? Before we move on from local taxation, which I am keen still to talk about, let me give—unlike Labour clearly—a bit of hopefully helpful advice. Before Kezia Dugdale decides to adopt her usual position of whinging from the sidelines, and in this case criticise the SNP's policy on local taxation, it might be a good idea to have a policy on local taxation yourselves. Labour talks about reports. Ian Gray is sitting next to Kezia Dugdale right now. In 2009, Ian Gray, then the Labour leader, set up a commission to decide what Labour's policy on local taxation was going to be. The outcome of that commission has never, ever been published, so we still do not know what Labour's position on local tax is. Before you criticise ours, please have the good grace to come up with one of your own. On the issue of fracking, Kezia Dugdale has just heard the energy minister set out the clear position of this Government. We will not allow fracking—they do not like the answer, Presiding Officer, but perhaps they might want to listen. We will not allow fracking in Scotland because we will not take risks with our environment while there are still unanswered questions. That is why we have a moratorium in place. Presiding Officer, her backbenchers do not like her answer in fracking, because all their leaflets that they are going to oppose it all across the country, SNP candidates, are telling voters that there will be no fracking under the SNP. The same people who promised to scrap the council tax. The people deserve the truth, First Minister. We know where the Tories stand—they are for it. We know where the Lib Dems stand—they voted for it at their conference. We know where the Greens stand—they are against it. I have said where I stand. Scottish Labour will go into the election with a very clear manifesto commitment. We will oppose fracking. If Jim Ratcliffe of Ineos can get a straight answer, why can't the people of Scotland fracking? Yes or no, First Minister. Let me put it simply. First Minister, let us hear the First Minister. No fracking in Scotland because there is a moratorium on fracking. That is what a moratorium means. It is not allowed to happen. We will not take risks with our environment while there are so many unanswered questions. That is the responsible way of proceeding. Labour stands up here week after week and says whatever they like about what they would do, because, as we already know from Kezia Dugdale, they are going to come second in the election. Jim Ratcliffe of Ineos says that he has had private assurances from her Government that the SNP is not against fracking. His quote says that they are being quite clear. What they have said to us is that they are not against fracking. What does he know that we don't? FOIs show that her environment agency and the Department of Energy and Climate Change have agreed to stop miniting conversations on fracking. Her Government has tendered for research into decommissioning on fracking. If she is not planning to frack, why is she preparing for the cleanup? So tell me, First Minister, is the SNP promise to stop fracking a real promise, or is it just an election pledge? I know that Labour are desperate, and I know why Labour are desperate, but this really does take the biscuit. Just for the avoidance of doubt again, Presiding Officer, there is a moratorium on fracking in Scotland. It is clear and simple. There is a moratorium on fracking, and that means no fracking. Presiding Officer, to ask the First Minister when she will next meet the Secretary of State for Scotland. This morning, the Defence Secretary announced extra funding that will help to support our naval base on the Clyde, which is something that I welcome. The First Minister and I have an honest disagreement about the decision to renew our nuclear deterrent and for it to remain an integral part of the UK's defence, but it seems to me that all sides of this debate should be able to agree on one thing, that if the sub-school, the job-school. Does the First Minister agree? No, I support the continuation of Fazlain as a naval base. I think that it should be a conventional naval base, and I do not believe that we should be spending £167 billion and rising on nuclear weapons that we cannot afford that are not the appropriate defence of our country. That kind of money would be better spent supporting jobs, not just in our defence industries, but across our public services as well. Ruth Davidson It seems that the First Minister is flying in the face of all the evidence, because the GMB Union has said that it is high in the sky to pretend that high-grade, well-skilled defence jobs could be replaced. The defence secretary says that thousands of highly skilled jobs would disappear, and even the local MSP Jackie Baillie, Labour's lone ranger, admits this morning that, and I quote, no one has come up with a credible plan to replace those jobs. The loss of that employment would devastate my local community. Perhaps she has in mind Jeremy Corbyn's new position, which is that we should build the subs, keep the jobs, but just stick the missiles in a shed somewhere. I know that the First Minister linked arms with the Labour leader in London last week, but please tell me that she does not agree with him on that as well. First Minister, I did not link arms because he refused to turn up until after I had left for some unknown reason, but I will leave that to him to explain. I have to say to Ruth Davidson that when it comes to the point where you have to call in aid Jackie Baillie, it should really tell you that your arguments have got rather threadbare. On the serious issue of defence jobs, Ruth Davidson should really look at the numbers of defence personnel in Scotland and what has happened to those numbers under this Conservative Government. We have seen a hemorrhaging of conventional defence jobs. We have seen the closure of bases. We have seen our forces take a hammering as a result of Tory austerity. The report that was done a year or so back on the question of whether or not Trident should be renewed set out very clearly the price that conventional forces pay through the obsession with Trident. My position is clear, support our conventional forces, support Fazlain as a naval base. For goodness sake, let's not spend obscene amounts of money on obscene nuclear weapons when there's so much more we could do with it. To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is taking to support the 107 workers in Greg's bakery, Lonehead and my constituency, whose jobs are now under threat as a result of the company's decision to close this facility. First Minister? I was very concerned, as I know, that the member would have been to learn of the situation at Greg's Lonehead bakery. I know that this will be a very anxious time for the bakeries, employees and their families. As soon as the announcement was made, I can advise the member that we immediately contacted the company to offer support for employees through our PACE initiative. Fergus Ewing will be speaking with Greg's management later today and with union representatives to explore all possible options for supporting the Midlothian site and its workforce. We'll continue to engage and we'll monitor the situation closely. I'll ask the business minister, Fergus Ewing, to update the member after his discussions later today. Question number three, Willie Rennie. To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet. First Minister? Matters of importance to the people of Scotland. Willie Rennie. Last week, the First Minister cut hundreds of millions of pounds from education budgets. She told us that she had no choice. Her hands were tied, but she would bring these cuts to an end as soon as she had the powers. This week, she announced extra money for education. She did so without gaining one single additional power at all. The cruel twist for children is that they will not see a single penny until next year. The First Minister could have invested this money this year. Why didn't she? As Willie Rennie will presumably know, because he was here when John Swinney made the announcement in the budget last week, we're actually also doubling the education attainment fund starting in the financial year about to start. As a result of the announcements made yesterday from 2017 onwards, we will invest an additional £100 million in education. That, I think, is welcome investment that I'm sure will be welcomed by people across Scotland, even if not by Willie Rennie. I know that the Liberals position is that having spent the last five years helping the Tories cut our budget, they now want to spend the next five years hiking up the taxes of everyone earning over £11,000 a year. That's not my position. I will continue to argue for a fair and balanced approach, which gets money into education. No, the First Minister's wrong. Last week, she told us that she was going to cut education budgets, even though she said that education was her top priority. Massive cuts for one year could set back a child's chances for a lifetime. Scotland used to have one of the best education systems in the world, but it has now slipped down the international rankings. The situation is urgent. One penny on income tax would generate five times as much for education now than our timid and tardy proposals would next year. Even though she had all the powers, she still cut education budgets last week. Surely the First Minister can no longer boast that education is her top priority. Willie Rennie is now just making things up as he goes along. Gross revenue expenditure on education has increased in each of the last three years. Council plans show that, in this financial year, they are spending a further £150 million. Last week, the finance secretary announced the doubling of the attainment fund. Yesterday, I announced plans that will result in an extra £100 million every year for education. A penny increase on the basic rate of income tax—let me just remind Willie Rennie—would hit every single person in our country earning more than £11,000 a year. I do not think that that is the right approach. In terms of world rankings of education, the desire to see Scottish education being the best in the world is why we have embarked on the work around the national improvement framework. Willie Rennie has opposed us on that every single step of the way, so instead of moaning from the sidelines as he is becoming almost as good at as Kezia Dugdale, then maybe he should get behind some of these sensible policies to improve our education system. Question 4, Richard Lyle. Thank you, Presiding Officer, to ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government has done to encourage people to access modern apprenticeship. The First Minister. The First Minister says that we are taking action to ensure that we are supporting modern apprenticeships. We have a target that we have met every year of 25,000 modern apprenticeships. The fair work secretary announced that we were increasing that to 26,000 on the way to making sure that we reach 30,000 by 2020. Richard Lyle. Can I thank the First Minister for her answer? On Monday, I met two modern apprentices, Paul Reed and Ross Menzies, during my visit to Ingen, technical services based in Tannockside, Erringston and my region. Ingen has taken on eight modern apprentices at the site alone, with other apprentices being taken on throughout Scotland. Can I ask how the modern apprenticeship programme contributed to youth employment levels, which I note are now at the highest level in a decade? Modern apprenticeships are a key element of our approach to economic development and to youth employment. They support young people into sustainable and rewarding careers, and we have seen them have a big impact on our youth employment rates. Youth employment in Scotland right now is at its highest, October to December, at a level in rates since 2006. Over the past year alone, the youth employment rate increased by four percentage points. There was an increase in the number of young people in employment by 19,000, taking it to 368,000. The youth employment strategy sets out our seven-year plan to increase youth employment with a world-classification education system that builds on the modern apprenticeship programme that has been so successful. Part of that seven-year action plan that you have mentioned includes the Equalities Action Plan. Will the First Minister update Parliament on what progress there has been in that, particularly in helping disabled young people into modern apprenticeships? The modern apprenticeship equality action plan was published on 2 December. It includes specific improvement targets for modern apprenticeships, participation by BME, care leavers, disabled people and also on gender balance. Improvement targets have been included for each group that has to be achieved by 2021, and Skills Development Scotland will report on those annually. Improving the balance of participants from underrepresented groups in the MEP programme is of course not a change that will happen overnight, but it is a change that we are determined to see happen. Can the First Minister tell us what plans the Scottish Government has for its share of the UK Government's apprenticeship levy when that comes to Scotland? If Murdo Fraser could go on to his colleagues in the Westminster Government and get them to give us the detail of the apprenticeship levy, we might be able to answer the question what we plan to do with it. We have been pressing the Treasury and other ministers in the UK Government and officials to get that information, and we will continue to do so. When we know what the situation is, we will try to make sure that we use that as positively as possible to enhance and build on the work that we are doing in this area already. In light of the third force news article by the Scottish Children's Services Coalition, indicating that only 0.41 per cent of modern apprenticeship starts in 2014-15 had a self-declared disability, it is in stark contrast to the 8.6 per cent of the working population aged 16 to 24 who have a disability. Can the First Minister outline the work that is being undertaken with employers as part of the action plan to ensure that the 2021 target of increasing the number of modern apprenticeships for those with disabilities is achieved? Work with employers is part of the action plan, because it is employers that we need to persuade of the benefits of making sure that we have a more diverse population in the ME programme. That is, as I say, very much at the heart of the action plan. The targets that I have spoken about have been set out are challenging targets. They will not, as I have said, be reached overnight, but progress is already being made following the publication of the action plan. We have already seen some improvement in the proportion of start from people reporting a disability. Three percentage points up on the same point last year, and we have also seen a slight improvement in those who reported being from a minority ethnic group. A lot of work is still to be done here, but those figures are promising, and the work that is set out in the equality action plan gives me confidence that we will see further progress in the years to come. Ken Macintosh, if modern apprentices are so important to the First Minister, can I ask her why she is cutting the Skills Development Scotland budget in real terms, and why, in particular, is she planning to cut a 50 per cent cut in support for hospitality and retail apprentices until 2020? Ken Macintosh will know that we are meeting our targets on modern apprentices. We have a record number of modern apprentices, 25,000. Roseanna Cunningham announced just this week that that is going to increase next year to 26,000, and we set a target to get that to 30,000 by 2020. Instead of this constant, continual whingeing from the sidelines, can Labour just get behind us when we are making progress on such an important issue? 5. Rhoda Grant To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government is doing to ensure that young people with neurological conditions receive appropriate care. National clinical standards for neurological health services were implemented in 2010. We have asked Healthcare Improvement Scotland to review how quality of care for people with neurological conditions can be enhanced in all care settings, and that assessment will reflect our national clinical strategy, health and social care integration, as well as evidence of good practice. Furthermore, in 2016-17, we are investing £250 million a year through health and social care partnerships to protect and grow social care services and investing £11.6 million to implement self-directed support. That will increase the availability of social care so that more people can stay at home, share in their lives with their family and friends and do the things that give their lives meaning and value. Rhoda Grant I thank the First Minister for that response. I should be aware of Sue Ryder's report this week highlighting that young people with neurological conditions are being placed in older people's care homes because of a lack of specialist residential care. It also highlighted that health boards do not know how many people have neurological conditions in their areas and, indeed, what their needs are. It is very difficult to see how the health and social care spending will impact on that. More than that, only five health boards are supposed to have mandatory delivery plans for neurological services have them. What will the Scottish Government do? Will they show leadership? Will they deliver and drive forward a national strategy for people with neurological conditions? I am aware of the Sue Ryder report and I think that it makes a lot of very important and, indeed, legitimate points in that report. It is indeed many of the points that are made, including the one that Rhoda Grant highlights about people under 65 in the care settings therein that is driving the work that I spoke about in my earlier answer, the review that Healthcare Improvement Scotland is undertaking about how quality of care for people with neurological conditions can be enhanced in all care settings. As I said, there are clinical standards in place for neurological services. They were implemented in 2010, but the review of Healthcare Improvement Scotland will allow us to ensure that they remain up-to-date. Lastly, the extra investment in social care is pertinent here, because if we invest properly in social care, we develop the services that enable people wherever possible to stay in and be cared for in their own homes. That is an important part of the agenda. To ask the First Minister what measures there are within our penal system, perhaps within our prisons, to identify and assist those who may be suffering from neurological conditions. I think that that is a very good point. I am happy to ask the Justice Secretary to write to Christine Grahame in detail both of what we already do within our prison system to deal with people with neurological conditions, but also to reflect on whether or not there might be more that we can and should be doing there. There are a number of people for a number of different reasons in our prison system who need a lot of care and support, because perhaps some of the reasons they end up in prison are misunderstood or not properly dealt with in the first place. In this category, it may well be one of those. I am more than happy to ask the Justice Secretary to write further to Christine Grahame on that issue. One of the recommendations in the Sue Rider report was of the need for the development and implementation of a method for collecting and presenting data on the prevalence of neurological conditions. Does the First Minister agree on the importance of a comprehensive database? Yes, I do. I think that that was one of the many recommendations made by Sue Rider that was extremely important and very sensible. I can tell the chamber that Dr John Paul Leitch was recently appointed as the new chair to the national advisory committee for neurological conditions, and we will work with that group specifically to improve the methods of collecting and presenting data on neurological conditions, because that is part of how we then make sure that services are improved in the way that we need to see them improve. Dave Thomson? Having suffered a bilateral subdural hematoma myself two and a half years ago and being blessed with an excellent recovery after the fine work of Mr Camel and his team at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, I wonder if the First Minister can give us an update on the support provided for the ARI neurological department and Righmore hospital in Inverness, with which it works closely, in its treatment of such conditions and particularly in relation to young people. First Minister? I know that Aberdeen Royal Infirmary has identified local clinical leaders in the care of younger people and I think that that is to be commended. I recognise the efforts of clinicians and support staff right across the country in neurosurgery and neurology who work together to ensure safe, effective and person-centred care across all hospitals and specialist centres. It is through joint working such as the joint working that we see between Aberdeen and Inverness, as well as with primary and community care that people of all ages are supported by local clinical teams addressing any rehabilitation or other support needs as they return home. Some of the work that is being done in Aberdeen is excellent and I am sure that other areas around the country could look to it very usefully. Richard Simpson? One of the First Minister could tell us whether a neurological alliance, that is the group of organisations representing patients, has in fact received money. The direct grant was stopped but the indirect grant through the alliance was the subject of discussion. Can she confirm that they have been funded? I am more than happy to look into that issue, Presiding Officer, and I will write to the member with the detail of it. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on the BBC's proposal to introduce a Scottish Six news programme. I welcome it, it is a good idea. The UK has changed dramatically since devolution, but in some respects the BBC has still to catch up with those changes and deliver news programming that reflects the complexity, the variety and the richness of life in Scotland. We welcome proposals to introduce a dedicated news service for BBC Scotland, and I am sure that it will draw on the very best of our journalistic talent to produce programmes of the very highest standard. I thank the First Minister, I am interested in the point that she has just intimated about the most important consideration being the ability of BBC Scotland to harness the very best broadcasting talent, so that it will deliver the highest possible standards when it comes to reporting UK, international and Scottish news. Will she also agree that this should be entirely free from Governments and politicians, some of whom in recent years have sought to influence what is broadcast on the BBC? Yes, I do. I am very happy to agree with Liz Smith that the Conservative UK Government should really stop interfering in the BBC, as you do quite often. On a serious note, I do agree with that point, but I think that there is a really interesting debate here, but I think that there is a really exciting opportunity. I understand that there might be people in Scotland, perfectly legitimately, who do not think that this is required, that it is maybe not something that is necessary. What I really struggle to understand though are those who argue that somehow in Scotland, and BBC Scotland in particular, somehow aren't up to producing a dedicated news programme. With the journalistic talent that we have in Scotland, of course they are, I think that it would be a great addition, and I am very supportive of what has been proposed. The First Minister agreed that the establishment of a Scottish 6 would also provide great opportunities for those individuals, for example, who are currently being trained at North East Scotland College in Aberdeen in broadcasting and journalism, and would allow opportunities for them to retain those skills within Scotland, rather than, as so often is the case, having to seek opportunities elsewhere. I think that that is a really good point. We should all be in the business of trying to see more opportunities for those who want to pursue a career in journalism. We know—and this is a matter of great regret to all of us—how much difficulty some sections of the media are in, and the pressures in particular that are on the newspaper industry, and the announcements that have been over the last number of years about redundancies and job losses in newspapers. Anything that is about reversing that trend and creating more opportunities for bright young journalists to get on and pursue their careers in Scotland is something that we should all frankly put party politics aside on and unite behind as a thoroughly great idea. Before I end First Minister's questions, I thank all of the party leaders for their brevity today. The result of which was that an additional 10 backbench members were able to ask the First Minister a question. I intend to circulate this video to the party leaders. I hope that we will watch it and I hope that we will have a repeat next week. Thank you very much. We now move to members' business. Members who leave the chamber should do so quickly and quietly.