Chamber and committees

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.

I recognise the importance of the point that Ben Macpherson raises. The Government’s approach is directed through the detect cancer early programme—in which we are committed to raising awareness of possible cancer symptoms—and through our new primary care cancer education platform, GatewayC, which provides tools to support earlier diagnosis efforts and decision making at the point of referral.

We recognise that significant work is needed to develop the genomic testing that is available, including for bile duct cancer, and we have been working closely with partners to identify how expanded testing can be commissioned and implemented in the national health service.

I understand the points that Mr Carson puts to me. The Government must be mindful of the need to take decisions that will ensure that we have sufficiently strong and robust power networks to meet the needs of the population in every part of Scotland. That is part of the process of discussion and dialogue that the Government is engaged in. We engage substantively with communities and local authorities on such questions, but difficult decisions must be arrived at to ensure that we have adequate energy security and the appropriate infrastructure in our country.

Again, Mr Findlay ignores the point that I put to him about the significance of the obligations of the Equality Act 2010 and the requirement that all legislation is compatible with it and underpinned by it.

Mr Findlay asked me about my priorities. My priorities are absolutely crystal clear. I am in office to improve the lives of the people of Scotland by making sure that we eradicate child poverty, grow the economy, make the transition to net zero and strengthen the public services of Scotland. Next Tuesday, we will put before Parliament a budget that will put that into effect. The people who are standing in the way of the approval of a budget to improve the lives of the people of Scotland—[Interruption.]

The Government is committed to ensuring that our school environments support every child and young person to reach their full potential for learning. The school premises regulations prescribe the broad minimum standards that school buildings must meet. They were last updated in 1979. It is therefore the Government’s intention to refresh and modernise the regulations to ensure that they meet the needs of pupils in schools in Scotland. A consultation will take place this year.

I entirely understand and sympathise with the point that Clare Adamson has put to me. We in the Government are very concerned about the impact on all sectors of the economy, but especially the impact on the charitable sector and the third sector. In particular, we are very concerned about the impact that the national insurance contribution increases will have on the social care sector, which includes organisations such as Clare Adamson has raised with me today. As the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government said in general questions before we started First Minister’s questions, we have put those concerns to the United Kingdom Government and will continue to do so.