Chamber and committees

I want to pick up on what Lorna Slater has said about being bold, taking risks and leaving our comfort zones. The parliamentary arithmetic of the chamber means that my Government could decide to govern alone, as we did in the previous parliamentary session, and the Greens would be justified in saying that they do not want to have any formal co-operation. However, both parties have decided not to do that, not because we need to but because we think that it could be in the interests of the country.

In doing that, we are taking a risk. I hope that the talks that we are holding go well, but they might not succeed. However, we think that it is a risk worth taking because of the scale of the challenge that we face and the public’s expectation of seeing politicians work together where we can.

It is correct that the challenges that we face are huge and have implications for every aspect of what we do. We need to see them in a holistic way. That is why, for example, I have appointed a Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport, bringing together areas in which there is normally tension and recognising the fact that meeting the challenges that we face will take cross-Government action. I am determined to lead in that way.

I welcome the constructive way in which the Greens have entered discussions, which I hope will develop positively. The Greens are to be commended for taking that risk, and I think that the people of Scotland stand to benefit. I very much look forward to progressing our agenda in that spirit.

I thank Willie Coffey for his question. Since he is a good and dear friend of mine, I will stay completely clear of the issue of football for the duration of my answer.

On the specifics of the question, we will shortly set out the detail of the digital boost fund and our other funding commitments to improve the digital connectedness and capability of the country. One of the important commitments that we have given—I have mentioned it already today—is to implement in full the Logan review, which will be so important in our realising the economic potential of becoming a high-tech nation.

Also, crucially, we recognise that there is work that we have started that must still be progressed in order to make sure that we close the digital divide. Getting devices and connections to the people who are most in need is critical—we have committed to work to ensure that every young person in our schools has access to a laptop or a tablet. We must ensure that we have the appropriate digital infrastructure and that people have the skills to use the infrastructure, devices and connections. It is an exciting programme of work that will bring many benefits to Scotland and will—if we do it right—give Scotland a competitive edge in the global economy.

Yes. Our manifesto—if memory serves me correctly, it was not the only manifesto that did so—committed to taking forward, obviously with appropriate consultation, the recommendations in Lady Dorrian’s report. I am very committed to doing that. I hope that it is an area on which we can build significant cross-party consensus.

The equally safe plan is important. One of the key commitments that we made in the election was to a new £100 million multiyear fund to support the specialist front-line services that do so much to help and support people who are affected by domestic violence and sexual violence. I have set out today that we will, within our first 100 days, make available the first of the money from that fund. The organisations across our country that provide that specialist support do a fantastic job, but their services are under pressure. There are often waiting times for access to the services; we are determined to address that.

I am afraid that Annie Wells would—if she had listened—have heard an answer to the question.

Yes—I am prepared to discuss that matter. I do not know all the detail of what the Scottish Conservatives are proposing. It is important that we, as a Government, understand the detail of any proposal before we commit to taking it forward. I hope that the Scottish Conservatives can find it within themselves to embrace the areas in which we might find common ground. There is willingness—there is an open door—to discuss that. [Interruption.] If Annie Wells would stop mouthing things at me from a sedentary position, we could, perhaps, find some genuinely common ground. I cannot be more positive or fairer than that. It is up to the Scottish Conservatives to choose whether to respond in an equally positive way.

I thank Neil Gray for his question. I think that this is the first opportunity that I have had in the chamber to welcome him formally to the Scottish Parliament. I have no doubt that he will be a really valuable addition to our discussions and debates.

The report of the Social Justice and Fairness Commission, which was an SNP and not a Scottish Government initiative, was published yesterday and contains some fantastic ideas, suggestions and policy initiatives that I hope will find their way into not just the policy programme of this Government—many of them have already done that—but the policy programmes of other parties as well.

At the heart of our efforts to tackle and, in time, eradicate child poverty, which should be our objective, is the doubling of the Scottish child payment. Tens of thousands of children—I do not have the precise figure in front of me—are already benefiting from that and many more will benefit as we extend the reach of the payment next year and then double its value as soon as possible.

That is a really concrete, tangible example of what we can do when we have powers to act here, at Holyrood. Unfortunately, we have a UK Government that is still saying that it will take away the universal credit uplift and potentially make changes that will put more children into poverty. That is the argument for having complete powers over social security here, in the Scottish Parliament, so that we can tackle such problems in a genuinely joined-up and holistic manner.

No. We will take forward that commitment as planned. That will require lots of planning and discussions, but much of that is already under way. The timescale aligns with the end of the current contract, of course, which is why it is important to get that work under way within the first 100 days. The Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport will set out updates in due course—indeed, I imagine that he will set out regular updates to Parliament on the progress of that work.

I do not underestimate the challenges that are involved, but I hope that, across the parties, we can celebrate bringing our railways back into public ownership as a really good move and take the opportunity to accelerate the decarbonisation of our railway system as well. We will ensure that Parliament is kept fully updated as that work progresses.

All those bills will be brought before Parliament. As is customary, we will set out—on, I think, the first sitting day after the summer recess, subject to the agreement of the Parliamentary Bureau—our legislative programme for the next year in our programme for government. That will set out the timing and the timescales for all our proposed legislation.

I repeat a point that I made earlier. In this parliamentary session, we have already had suggestions from Opposition parties of bills that they would like us to take forward. The door is open if people want to suggest bills beyond those that we are already considering.

As I said in my statement, we will start discussions with local authorities within our first 100 days to ensure that we are taking the necessary steps and providing the wherewithal for councils to do that. Once we have had those discussions, we will be able to set out a firmer timescale for when the charges will be removed. I hope that that will happen soon, in the early stages of this parliamentary session, because, for a variety of reasons, it will be good to ensure that young people can take advantage of music education, for example, without the barrier of cost, which I know has held some back in recent years.

Oliver Mundell raises reasonable questions, but his characterisation and assessment of the Government is not shared by the Scottish people. I stand here as a re-elected First Minister with a record number of votes. I suspect that, if the Scottish Conservatives continue to refight the election over and over again, they will end up having the same outcomes.

On the substance of the question, we will consider how quickly we can make available the funding for the 3,500 teachers and classroom assistants. As Oliver Mundell will be aware, the issue is not just about funding; it is about how quickly it is practically possible to recruit teachers. That priority is important for us, and we will take it forward as quickly as possible. In our first 100 days, we will make available the funding for 1,000 teachers and 500 classroom assistants.

More generally, there is a job of work to do to help young people to catch up, not just in educational terms but in social and wellbeing terms. That is why the summer programme that I mentioned in my statement is important, too. The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills will make more details of that available shortly.

I welcome Martin Whitfield to Holyrood and wish him well for his time here.

The additional 1,000 teachers and 500 classroom assistants are part of our overall commitment to 3,500 teachers and classroom assistants. Those are whole-time-equivalent figures, but the precise balance in each local authority will be for the authority to judge on the basis of need. We will work with local authorities to get the detail of that to them as quickly as possible in order to aid with the planning that is under way. The commitment builds on the additional teachers that were recruited over the previous session of Parliament.