Chamber and committees

The Prime Minister is well able to engage in dialogue with the President of the United States. I very much welcome the Prime Minister’s engagement in the European dialogue that took place earlier this week on the situation in Ukraine. That was a very welcome step, and I also welcome what the Prime Minister said last night on the Ukrainian situation into the bargain.

On Lorna Slater’s general point, we are living in an era in which disinformation is regularly circulated in our political discourse, which is harming that discourse. We have plenty of evidence of it in the Parliament, and I want to be one of those individuals who stand up for the clarity of information, who speak truth to the Parliament and who express in detail—

Yes, I say to Jackie Baillie, seriously. Speaking truth to the Parliament is what I am about. The Labour Party might want to deceive—[Interruption.]

That survey of employers across the UK shows just how damaging the Labour Government’s decision to raise employer national insurance contributions will be, with nearly a third saying that they might have to cut jobs and more than 40 per cent needing to raise prices to cope with the additional costs. That affects consumers, who are still struggling with cost of living pressures. It demonstrates further how short-sighted and harmful the Labour tax hike is. It is, in effect, a tax on jobs.

I say to Craig Hoy that more people are coming to live in Scotland than are leaving Scotland—that is official data. If we followed the Conservative approach to public expenditure, we would have to cut it by £1 billion. The Conservatives have not come up with a scrap of evidence as to how that would be done. As I have pointed out previously, they have a “£950 million gaping hole” in their tax proposals.

On Tuesday, Parliament will have the opportunity to support a budget that invests in housing, the economy, growth in our public services, the national health service, education and culture. As things stand, the Conservatives will vote against all that benefit for the people of Scotland.

I should have said in response to Colin Smyth that I am very happy for ministers to engage on that, but as Oliver Mundell is inviting me to go to Dumfries to have that discussion, I will certainly do all that I can to do so. He will appreciate that there are many pressures on my diary, but I will try to do that as early as I can. My “famed deal-making skills” will be available that day, although, of course, they could have an early outing on Tuesday. Since Mr Mundell is potentially in a position to be reckless now, as he will be standing down at the next election, I encourage him to break the whip and vote for the Government’s budget on Tuesday. [Laughter.]

I do not think that it is good enough for Russell Findlay to say that I have selectively expressed the basis of my position that I cannot comment on live legal proceedings. The law requires me not to do so. If Russell Findlay cannot respect and accept that, the Conservative Party is in a pretty dismal place.

I come back to the point that I made in my first answer. I am reading from the guidance that Mr Findlay is talking about:

“The Equality Act 2010 does allow the provision to exclude a trans person from single or separate sex facilities. These kinds of decisions must be made on a case-by-case basis. Managers must balance the needs of the trans person to use this facility against the needs of other members of staff. They should also consider if other staff members will experience any disadvantage if the trans person is allowed to use the facilities.”

That is the second time that I have put that on the record openly and candidly to Parliament. Mr Findlay should now start to adjust his questions, because I have answered the point that he has put to me.

Mr Findlay has no interest in the prospects and the future of the people of Scotland. He is here only to support division; I am here to bring people together.

For some reason, on an issue on which we are tackling disinformation in our society, Jackie Baillie believes that she should question the integrity of the First Minister speaking truth to the Parliament, which I do at all times. Neither she nor any other member can come to the Parliament and say otherwise, and it is a disgrace that such behaviour takes place in the Parliament.

This is a difficult project in challenging conditions. The fact that it is a funicular railway in the Cairngorms is an indication of the challenge and difficulty.

I have the utmost confidence in Highlands and Islands Enterprise. It is an excellent organisation. It commands my total confidence. It is well led and committed to doing good things for the Highlands and Islands. I have absolutely no intention of pursuing the approach that is suggested by Mr Mountain. I assure him that HIE is fully focused on securing the reopening of the funicular railway, which would be a great boost to the community in and around the Aviemore area. I know that it has the attention and is a priority of Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

I agree with Mr Brown. The Labour Party promised a reduction of £300 in energy bills right away. From what has happened since the election and from the comments made by the chair of Great British Energy, we know that GB energy will not be delivering reductions in energy bills any time soon. Mr Brown raises an important point that Scotland should be aware of: the Labour Party says one thing before an election to get elected and does another thing after the election. People should be wary of promises from the Labour Party.