Chamber and committees

I recognise the seriousness of the issue that Rhoda Grant raises. It applies not just in this policy area but in a variety of such areas. The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills will be wrestling with such problems in relation to teacher recruitment. There is a substantive issue that needs to be explored to see whether there is a way in which we can do that, as some teacher induction schemes do already, so there is a serious point to be made. I add that there is much good provision in the Highlands, which is provided by organisations such as shinty clubs. They do very good outreach work to support men who face difficulties. I very much welcome that as part of the approach that we need to take.

First, I express my sadness at the most recent fatality that has taken place on the A9, and I send my condolences to the family of the individual involved.

As Mr Ewing will know from our long association, I have been committed to the dualling of the A9 from the origins of my first parliamentary campaign, for the 1992 election, in the North Tayside constituency, with the A9 passing through my local area.

Therefore, I have been pleased that this Government has delivered a number of improvements to the A9: the improvements to the Kincraig to Dalraddy section that were put in place; the improvements through the grade-separated junction at Ballinluig junction; the Crubenmore improvements; and, most recently, the Luncarty to Birnam improvements, with the road having been made into a dual carriageway. In addition, there is currently a procurement process for the Moy to Tomatin section, and we hope that that will be concluded shortly.

I want to assure Mr Ewing of the Government’s commitment to dualling the A9. I would be very happy to meet the cross-party delegation to discuss the issue and to explain how the project fits into the Scottish Government’s infrastructure plan and how the different steps that we have taken as part of the capital investment programme have delivered the improvements to the A9 that the Government has already delivered.

I have nothing really to add to what I have said to Douglas Ross about the financial position that we face. The financial position is acutely challenging and difficult, and it is different from the position that we faced in 2021 and back in 2016. There has been a rampant increase in inflation on the watch of the Conservative Government. [Interruption.]

Certainly, what will not change is the script that we get from Douglas Ross.

Let us talk about some of the achievements that have been made in education according to the most recent data. Record levels of literacy and numeracy attainment at primary school, and improvements at secondary school, were recorded in the curriculum for excellence data that was published on 12 December. There is a record low attainment gap between the proportion of primary pupils from the most and least deprived areas achieving the expected levels in literacy, and there were reductions at secondary level. Again, that is from the achievement of curriculum for excellence levels data from 12 December.

In the summer of 2023, we had the highest-ever number of passes at national 5—a tremendous achievement by the children and young people of Scotland—and a record number of vocational and technical qualifications were achieved. In 2023, higher and advanced higher pass rates were higher than those achieved in 2019.

I will be straight with the public of Scotland. I will tell them the way it is. I will be clear that we are under enormous financial pressure. My Government will have to come to the Parliament with information about the challenges that we face in the public finances, and we will do that in due course. I have been the First Minister for only 48 hours—not even 48 hours—but we will come to the Parliament to be straight about the challenges that we face. I will also be straight with the people of Scotland about the successes that this Government has delivered and of which we are very proud.

—and I am right here to deliver it. [Interruption.] They are laughing, because they are delighted that I am here to do it. That is why they are laughing—they are over the moon that I am here. They sent me here—they were all behind it.

It is a matter of history and of record that the Deputy First Minister was responsible for introducing progressive taxes in Scotland. Kate Forbes took those budget decisions and sought the agreement of the Cabinet, and the measures were then put to Parliament. I welcome the fact that our colleagues in the Green Party supported the measures that the Government brought forward.

It is pretty clear that Kate Forbes has delivered progressive taxation. By delivering the approach to progressive taxation, she has also delivered measures such as the Scottish child payment, which is taking 100,000 children out of poverty today. To me, that is something to be warmly welcomed across our country, which supports the mission of my Government to eradicate child poverty.

I take very seriously the challenge that Mr Harvie puts to me, because I want people in this country to be reassured by my leadership. When I say that I want to be the First Minister for everyone in Scotland, I deeply mean that. I want to lead a modern, dynamic and diverse Scotland—a place for everybody, where everybody feels at home, at peace, that they have a place, and that their place in our society is protected by my leadership of this country.

The Scottish Government is committed to implementation of the report “Pathways: A New Approach for Women in Entrepreneurship”, which looks at how support for women in entrepreneurship can best be delivered and addresses the barriers that they continue to face. We have allocated £1.5 million this year to support that work, building on the £1.3 million that was invested through the pre-start fund last year.

We have committed more than £38 million for the development of new and expanded facilities at eight residential rehab projects across the country. Investment in those capacity projects alone will provide an increase of at least 140 beds by 2025-26, boosting the rehab capacity in Scotland from 425 to 565, which is an increase of more than 30 per cent. Three of those projects—in Edinburgh, Dundee and Ayrshire—are fully completed and operational.

Alongside that direct funding, we are confident that our significant wider investment in the sector will contribute to boosted bed numbers and we expect to meet our target of a 50 per cent increase in residential rehab capacity to at least 650 by 2026. We intend to commission a formal audit of residential rehab bed capacity in 2025 to provide an authoritative account of our progress towards that target.

I am grateful to Paul Sweeney for his kind remarks and I very much welcome the points that he has put to me. A referral pathway should be in place at this moment. The scenario that Mr Sweeney has put to me is that, once the safer consumption room proposition is implemented, a pathway should be available. I take very seriously the point that he makes—that there should be a pathway—because we can help people on the road to recovery only if that pathway is available as swiftly as Mr Sweeney has put it to me today. That is my expectation; however, as I become closer to many of the issues, I will have in mind the one that Mr Sweeney has raised with me.

Obviously, an on-going public inquiry is looking at the issues that are material to Audrey Nicoll’s question. In observing the evidence, I am struck by how overwhelming it looks that her point is a fair one. We have to allow that public inquiry to take its course. While that is happening, there is action that we can take to remedy miscarriages of justice. That is, of course, part of the legislative programme of the Government, and the Government will bring those proposals to Parliament.