Chamber and committees

We have had discussions with the Foreign Secretary on this question. I personally raised the issue with the Indian Government when I was in India in previous years. As Jackie Baillie correctly says, the matter has been on-going for many years. Without prejudging proceedings in any way, I acknowledge that the initial court case must be providing welcome hope to the family. I send them my warmest wishes in the hope that that can be sustained.

I am concerned to hear the details that Roz McCall puts to me. I will ask the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care to meet her to discuss what more can be done to address that particular case.

No, I will not, because that is not the case. The poverty-related attainment gap has reduced by 67 per cent since 2009-10 under the leadership of this Government. Indeed, we see clear signs about the future performance of the education system: we have a record-low poverty-related attainment gap in primary school literacy and in secondary 3 literacy and numeracy.

While Mr Findlay works his way through different aspects of the record of the Government of which I have been proud to be a member—and in which I was proud to serve as Nicola Sturgeon’s education secretary and Deputy First Minister—he should remember that there has been a 44 per cent increase in the number of 18-year-olds from deprived backgrounds going to university in this country. I am proud that we have widened access to Scottish education.

Yes—I agree with what Annie Wells puts to me. During the festive period just a few months ago, Police Scotland strengthened the drink and drug driving campaign. I hope that that gives Annie Wells assurance that it will now be woven into the approach that the Government and Police Scotland are taking.

I reassure Annie Wells that there is a very high conviction rate for drug driving. In 2022-23, 95 per cent, which is a very high level, of those who were accused were convicted as a consequence of charges being brought. I accept unreservedly the member’s point about the necessity of raising awareness of the dangers of drug driving. We will ensure that that is reflected in the overall messaging on the issue.

Anyone who has listened to anything that I have said during my tenure as First Minister will know that I am absolutely committed to protecting and asserting the safety of women and girls in our society.

I am exercising leadership, as I have done from the moment I became First Minister, to challenge the underpinning issue that affects the safety of women and girls in society, which is the behaviour of men. I will be unapologetic in setting out that point of view from my position as a male First Minister, and in exercising leadership to make sure that men face up to their responsibilities to ensure that women and girls can live safely in our society today.

Mr Mountain raises an important point. Indeed, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care and I discussed not that specific issue but the general question of how we deliver healthcare in areas where recruitment and employment can be a challenge but where, as Mr Mountain correctly puts to me, there is physical capacity to undertake some of that surgical activity in the health board facilities.

Part of what we are trying to work on is how we work collaboratively in health boards to address the circumstances that Mr Mountain puts to me, so that we can use that capacity to help us to reduce waiting times and meet the needs of his constituents and others. It is very much a live part of the activity that the health secretary and I are taking forward to ensure that the needs of constituents around the country are met.

I will not accept the charge—I reject it entirely—of state-sanctioned abuses. I will not accept that charge from Ash Regan in any way, shape or form. I have put on the record my absolute commitment to the protection of women and girls in our society. That underpins the policy agenda of my Government and it will underpin my conduct as First Minister.

Last week, I set out my aspiration to draw together leaders from across Scotland, including from our parliamentary parties, to consider how we can agree a common approach to asserting the values of our country in order to bring people together and create a cohesive society where everyone feels safe and at home. I am heartened by the response from civic society and parliamentary party leaders, and I hope that we will be able to convene that gathering on 23 April. My objective is to draw people together to encourage community cohesion, which will involve working to tackle the hatred and prejudice that Mr Choudhury raised—Audrey Nicoll echoed what he said. I look forward to using that gathering to create a firm foundation for the values of Scottish society.

I think that Mr Sarwar has used that line on me once or twice before, and I dare say that I will hear it a few more times between now and the elections in May 2026.

I will try to address the substance of Mr Sarwar’s points. I am concerned about those points, and I will happily look in more detail at the issues that he has raised. On cancer care, under the 31-day standard, 94.3 per cent of patients were treated within 31 days of a decision to treat, with a median wait for treatment of just four days. That is exceptional performance. We are finding difficulty in meeting the 62-day standard, but the median wait is 49 days from urgent suspicion of cancer referral to first treatment.

In addition, through the work that is under way, the Government is putting in place provisions to deliver more than 150,000 extra appointments and procedures. In relation to some of the additional sites that we are bringing forward to undertake orthopaedic appointments—which Mr Sarwar asked me about—we expect to be able to deliver more than 2,500 extra procedures in those sites. That is possible only because the Government’s budget has been approved by Parliament and will invest a record amount of money in the national health service.

I am very happy to confirm to the Parliament that there will be leadership to take that issue forward, as there is on a wide variety of climate measures. That is evidenced by the financial commitments that the Government has introduced in the budget, which I was delighted that Mr Harvie and his colleagues were able to support.

I recognise the urgency and seriousness of the issue. Fuel poverty in our country is one of the key issues that underpins the question that Mr Harvie has put to me. The impact of changes in energy prices on fuel poverty rates in Scotland is clear, as those rates have almost doubled between 2019 and 2023. We must acknowledge the significance of the impact of fuel and energy prices on fuel poverty. That is why we must take action on the climate, which Mr Harvie has raised with me, why the matter is central to the Government’s agenda and why we will deliver progress as quickly as we can.