Chamber and committees

That has not been the verdict of the Scottish people at any point during my time as First Minister. As First Minister, I have had eight election victories in eight years—that is the verdict that matters to me.

Let us look at my record as First Minister: progressive income tax; the Scottish child payment, which has lifted children out of poverty; the baby box; closing the attainment gap; record numbers of people from backgrounds such as mine going to university; a national investment bank; leading the way in addressing climate change; abolishing prescription charges; minimum unit pricing, which has saved lives; record-high health funding; the best performing accident and emergency departments anywhere in the UK; the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018; free period products; expanded—doubled—childcare; the Promise for care-experienced young people—[Interruption.]

First, I never claimed to have created the national health service, but what I will claim to have done is help to protect the founding principles of our national health service, because I was the health secretary who abolished prescription charges for everyone in Scotland, which is something that, in all its years in government, Labour had never got round to doing. I also took a hospital that had been privatised under Labour back into the NHS.

On Anas Sarwar’s £3 billion figure, we have already shown that to be utter nonsense in previous sessions of First Minister’s question time, but I will not embarrass him by going back to the detail of that again today. Let me use another £3 billion figure. That is the amount of money that the Scottish Government is investing each year to mitigate the cost of living crisis to help people to deal with Tory austerity. If we were an independent country, we would not have to mitigate Tory austerity, but, while Labour still prefers this country to be governed by Tories at Westminster, rather than have self-governance and independence here, in our own Parliament, Labour will never be taken seriously in Scotland.

Given yesterday’s events in the House of Commons, I do not think that Conservatives should be lecturing anyone about honesty and integrity. [Interruption.]

What I will absolutely say is that there is much, much more work to do on mental health. One of the things that has changed, certainly since I was a young person and even in the years in which I have been First Minister, is that we have reduced the stigma associated with mental ill health. More people are coming forward for help and treatment, and that is a good thing, but we must make sure that the services are there for them.

We have seen a significant increase in the budget for mental health. Under the SNP, mental health spending has doubled in cash terms. We see many more people working in mental health services than was previously the case.

Coming directly to child and adolescent mental health services, because they are important and there is so much more to do, I note that the number of children starting treatment in CAMHS in the most recent quarter is the highest on record by some distance, and we are now seeing the most sustained changes in CAMHS waiting lists for over half a decade. The overall waiting list has decreased by more than 9 per cent. The number of children waiting over 18 weeks has decreased by more than 30 per cent, and the number waiting over 52 weeks has decreased by more than 40 per cent.

There is much, much more to do, but progress is being made, and I know that it will be a priority for my successor, whoever he or she may be, to continue that progress.

I agree with the sentiment behind that question. We all have to up our action on this issue, and green energy generation is a vital part of that. However, I do not agree on the question of nuclear. Nuclear energy is very expensive and we still do not know what to do with the waste in the long term. Further, of course, not all other countries have Scotland’s potential for offshore wind, green hydrogen and other renewable sources of energy. Right now, ScotWind gives us the potential to generate up to 28GW of renewable energy. That is massive, and it will enable us to export as well as meet our own needs. I think that we should focus on renewable, clean, green renewable energy. Not only is that right for the environment, but it gives us the opportunity to boost industry and the economy and create tens of thousands of jobs. That is where the focus of this and future Scottish Governments should be.

We need to continue the kind of leadership that we have been showing on this issue. I have the greatest respect for all who work in oil and gas sector—they have contributed hugely to Scotland and we cannot make the switch overnight—but we must accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. As Mark Ruskell rightly says, even if we were not facing the climate emergency, the maturity of the North Sea fields means that we have to accelerate that transition there. We must do that in a fair and a just way, but we have the potential to do that and we should grab that potential with both hands.

I will be brief, first, because I know that everybody wants to go and have lunch and, secondly, because I am not sure that I can go much further without crying. I thank colleagues across the chamber for their generous comments, which mean a great deal to me and which I deeply appreciate.

I say to Emma Roddick that I remember the exchange that she referred to really well. I cannot tell you how proud I am of you that you now sit in Parliament, making such a positive contribution. Who knows? You may one day stand where I stand. I thank you for your contribution.

My interaction with Emma is one of probably thousands of interactions that I have had with girls and young women during my eight years as First Minister. If I have encouraged even a few of them to believe more in themselves and to stand a bit taller, I will be very happy, because that means a great deal to me.

More generally, to lead this country is the pinnacle of what this shy and introverted—that is still the case; it was not just when I was a young girl—working-class girl from Ayrshire could ever have dreamed of. This country is truly amazing and the people who live in this country, no matter where they came from, are amazing, too.

As I have travelled overseas as First Minister, which has been an enormous privilege, I have had the opportunity to see just how much Scotland punches above her weight. I have directly seen the respect in which people across the globe hold us. Perhaps all we need to do now, here, at home, is believe a bit more in ourselves.

Although I know without a shadow of a doubt that the time is right for me to go, I feel emotional today, perhaps because I know beyond doubt that, even if I live to be 100 years old, no phase in my life will be as special or meaningful to me as these past eight years have been.

You will, of course, see me very soon on a back bench near here, but, in the meantime, and for the final time from me as First Minister, I say to the people of Scotland: thank you from the bottom of my heart for the privilege of being your First Minister. [Applause.]

Yes, I can.

In his initial question, Stephen Kerr asked me about “outcomes”; I have just checked and that was the word that he used. I therefore gave him the data on the outcomes, but he obviously did not like it, so he wants to talk about inputs. Let me therefore talk now about inputs.

When I became First Minister, the number of school teachers in Scotland was 49,521. Today, the number of school teachers in Scotland is 53,459, which is an 8 per cent increase. In early learning and childcare settings, the numbers have increased as well. In Scotland, we have the most teachers per pupil in the United Kingdom, and education spend per person is higher than in either England or Wales. In Scotland, we have 7,573 teachers per 100,000 pupils; in England, where the Tories are in power, the number is just 5,734. In Scotland, we spend £7,600 per pupil; the Tories in England spend just £6,700.

Yes, I am proud of this Government’s record on education, and I really look forward to seeing it being built upon.

I say with the greatest respect that Anas Sarwar is just wrong. Let us look first at some of the institutions that did not even exist when I became First Minister. For example, we have Revenue Scotland, which is making sure that we have the most progressive income tax system anywhere in the United Kingdom. We have Social Security Scotland, which is delivering benefits—including the Scottish child payment—to people across the country, and the Scottish National Investment Bank, which is leading this country’s drive to net zero.

The NHS is, of course, facing real challenges as a result of the Covid pandemic, but it still has the best-performing accident and emergency departments anywhere in the UK. Tomorrow, I will be in Fife, opening our new national treatment centre, which will deliver more operations for people in Fife. It will soon be joined by national treatment centres elsewhere across Scotland.

In education, more young people from a background like mine are going to university than has ever been the case. There has been a doubling of early years education and childcare.

I think that that represents a strengthening of many, many institutions. Does my successor have a tough job? Of course, because we live in tough times, but I have confidence that, whoever my successor turns out to be—whoever is standing here next week—they will continue to build on that record, and they will continue to retain the trust of the Scottish people.

That was about the Conservatives at Westminster. One of the differences between me and Anas Sarwar is that I do not support Tory government of Scotland, because Scotland does not vote for Conservatives. I have fought three general elections as SNP leader and the SNP has won all of them. At every one, we have heard the same messages from Labour and, at every single one, the people of Scotland have given their verdict.

I am proud of the achievements of the Government that I have led. I will end on another one, because it is related to the Covid recovery and has been achieved in spite of what we are having to deal with from the Conservatives at Westminster. Today, Scotland has record high employment and record low unemployment and economic inactivity. We have a good foundation in this country. We face many challenges, but I have every confidence that my successor, who will be standing here next week, will continue to lead this country forward, will continue taking the decisions that are in the interest of this country and will lead this country to becoming an independent nation.