like it concludes general questions will turn now to your first ministers questions question number one from Jackson Carla thank you can I ask the First Minister which plan delivers public spending in real terms over the coming years higher the UK government's budget plan or the SMPS growth commission first minister be very clear that as a result of the budget on Monday the UK government budget the budget of the Scottish Government will be cut in real terms by almost two billion pounds between the Tories coming to office in 2010 and the end of this decade highlighting the austerity under the Tories is far from over they continue to deliver tax cuts for the richest and just cuts for everybody else by contrast the growth commission recommends view terms increases in spending to protect our vital public services Jackson Carla well the fastest aresty the first one is going to have to think of a new word to describe life under her miserable plans because that's quite something and whatever else that was whatever else that was it wasn't an answer to the simple question I asked on Sunday Derrick McKey swaggered round the TV studio saying show me the money well a Monday the Chancellor did and what the First Minister won't admit and what the First Minister won't admit is that the UK budget has now set a course for public spending to increase within the UK at one point four percent a year in real terms up to 20 23 24 whereas the SMPS growth commission there are evangelical Bible of economic misery forecasts public spending in an independent Scotland to increase by just half a percent First Minister those are the facts so I ask you again which plan proposes to increase spending by more in Scotland the UK government's bold proposals or the SNPs miserable growth commission First Minister Angus and control of our own resources we can ensure real terms increase in public spending that is the price of independence but let's go back to at the budget and the reality of the UK government Tory budget announced on Monday that will result in cuts to the Scottish government budget of two billion pounds over the decades that the Tories have been in power most of the consequentials in next year of course an earmarked for the National Health Service when that is taken out and we will pass them on to the National Health Service I should say as an aside the Tories have even managed to short changes on that we were meant to get 600 million pounds in consequentials next year we're only seeing 550 million pounds of that delivered and if that shortfall continues over the planning period that will see the Tories shortchange the Scottish people to the tune of more than a quarter of a billion pounds that is absolutely shameful but you know if Jesse Carlo doesn't want to take my word for it perhaps he can listen to the think tanks and the experts of all had their say on the budget over the last few days the resolution foundation is not the end of a store aesthetic existing promises of extra spending in some areas mean the Chancellor's numbers imply ongoing cuts in other day-to-day public services so we know at what the Tories stand for the mask has well and truly slept it but before we even got to Halloween this year tax cuts for the wealthiest and cuts for everybody else that's the reality of the Tories and this government stands for something very different indeed Jackson Karla Oh miserably predictable here's the reality the Scottish government will receive an extra half a billion pounds more in real terms next year that's what the independent Scottish parliamentary researcher spiced have declared and yet the SNP are so focused on finding the cloud and every silver lining it can't even bring itself to welcome a single penny of that money let alone half a billion pounds of it worse still the finance secretary has also indicated that he will refuse to pass on tax cuts which will benefit middle-income families elsewhere in the UK will the first so will the first minister to give any hope of tax relief to people like senior teachers nurses and police officers who without it faced paying a bill of a thousand pounds extra income tax compared to those doing exactly the same job elsewhere in the UK will she First Minister Jackson care law tries to spend it the reality is cuts to this government's budget as a result of decisions taken by the Tory Chancellor I've got the figures here two billion pounds over the decade as of you terms cut in the budget of this government that amounts to almost 7 percent in real terms the quarry should be utterly ashamed of that now let me turn to tax and you know we are of course seeing the true colors of the Tories really highlighted today when we say our budget on the 12th of December the decisions we take will be driven by our determination to protect our National Health Service and our other public services to tackle poverty and low pay and ensure that those who earned the most in our society make a fair and reasonable contribution to our public services that will be a balanced progressive and fair budgets and it will stand in stark contrast to the one that we saw on Monday but let me look tights in more detail and I am really surprised that Jackson care law is prepared to defend the reality of this again let me say the resolution foundation so these are not Scottish government figures eighty-four percent of the benefit from the Tory tax cut for the richest goes to the top half of the income spectrum thirty-seven percent of that goes to the top ten percent of income earners and then looking ahead and I'm quoting here the resolution foundation the overall impact of tax and benefit policies put in place by the Tory government since 2015 well on average make wretched households better off by three hundred and ninety pounds a year and the purest fifth of households four hundred pounds a year what's awful that is absolutely damning and shameful and I'd be really interested to hear Dov Jackson Carlos prepared to stand up and defend that Jackson Karla well I'll tell you something audience Scotland's not very impressed with your efforts to protect the NHS because they think it's current forecast is completely unsustainable what we get what we gain from the first what we get from the first minister really is the usual basket of cliches this was a budget with frauds fuel duty frost fuel duty and delivered a tax cut of 132 pounds to the record number of Scots in work it delivered a freeze on the duty and whiskey welcomed by the industry help for the oil and gas sector welcomed by those in it more than half a billion pounds for Scotland's NHS help for our high streets investment in our roads and the SNP response and all too predictable whinge how tired lackluster and miserable they wanted a freeze to whisky Duty they got it they wanted support for oil and gas they got it they wanted to see the money they got 950 million pounds worth of it if ever Scotland wanted evidence that this is a grudging grievance government led by a grudging grievance First Minister this was it why can't she for once just once First Minister welcome it First Minister well is it too interesting and isn't it very very illuminating that when I quoted the resolution foundation about how the Tories are cutting tax for the richest in our society well continuing to punish the pure and ask Jackson's panel ought to have a go at defending that he just changed the subject today and realized that he is completely unable to defend the policies of his own party at Westminster they turn back to at the NHS in Tights firstly let us not forget of course that as a result of our budget decisions last year 55 percent of taxpayers in Scotland right now P less tax then counterparts across the UK because of our new statutory not helping Lords at the talk helping those at the bottom of the income scale that's a progressive change and when it comes to the NHS for weeks no the Tories have been challenging the Scottish government to see what we're going to do with the 600 million pounds of consequentials that we were going to get in this budget for the Health Service now people pass on every penny of consequentials for the Health Service to the Health Service but interestingly it's not six hundred million pounds that's been delivered it's only five hundred and fifty and that will cost and that will cause Scottish people more than quarter of a billion pounds over the period there my final point presiding officer and the Tories might want to listen to this because that figure of five hundred and fifty million pounds has another significance doesn't not because that's also the figure that would have been taken out of the Scottish budget if we'd followed Tony calls to cut tax for the richest in this financial year that would have been the equivalent of taking thirteen thousand Nazis out of our Health Service so this government this government stands for public services it stands for helping the poorest in our society it stands for fairness and progressive principles and what we've seen today is that the Tories stand for tax cuts for the rich and just cuts for everybody else and Jackson Kerala can't even try to defend it utterly shameful push number two Richard Leonard presiding officer the First Minister once pledged that in government the SNP and I quote will not force students into deeper and deeper debt and would further meet the debt repayments of Scottish graduates living in Scotland when the First Minister made that promise the average debt for a Scottish graduate was 6070 pounds First Minister what is the average debt today First Minister debt for students in Scotland is at the lowest level of any country in the UK it is significantly lower than in England it is significantly lower than in Northern Ireland and it's also significantly lower than in labour run Wales and that's because we don't have to ition fees we're protecting students from having to pay tuition fees and we've got one of the best student support systems anywhere in the UK and of course in recent months we've announced increases to the support we give students so we will continue to give Scottish students the best deal anywhere in the UK and we will continue to be proud to do so Richard Leonard presiding officer let me give the chamber which the First Minister did not new figures published this week show that the average debt for a Scottish graduate now stands at thirteen thousand two hundred pounds that's more than double yet neckla Nicola Sturgeon not only promised scottie students that they would not be forced into deeper debt she promised them that their debts will be written off they will be cancelled let me quote an SMP election leaflet from the time which said that we will write off the accumulated debt still owed to the student loans company by Scottish domicile students and now we know now we know presiding officer that Nicola Sturgeon did not dump the debt she dumped the promise because this week it was also confirmed by the student awards agency and that the SMP has cut student grants and bursaries by a third since 2012 and it has increased student loans by a staggering 182 percent over the last decade the first minister was not prepared to tell us what the average student debt is but can she tell us what the total value of student debt in Scotland is first minister student debt in Scotland is lower than in any other part of the UK because of the policies of this government Richard Leonard say it's the figure in Scotland of thirteen thousand two hundred and thirty pounds in England average student debt is thirty four thousand eight hundred pounds in Northern Ireland is twenty-two thousand four hundred and forty pounds and in Wales where labor and in government student there is not the thirteen thousand pounds it is in Scotland it is twenty one thousand example of Libre telling us to do as DC nor as they do the Richard Leonard racially no to say its figures published this week so let me share with them some of the figures that we're published this week by the students awards agency Scotland total student support is up by four and a half percent to eight hundred and eighty two point seven million pounds last year averaged eight G student support in Scotland was up 1.4 percent since two thousand sixteen and seventeen more full-time higher education students than ever before are receiving support up three point one percent since 2016-17 we paid out more in grants and bus studies at last year up eight point nine percent and the number of students receiving again adversity increased by two point eight percent to fifty three thousand six hundred and twenty eight from the year before and as I've already said of course June ones company statistics show that students in Scotland continue to have the lowest day in the UK my final point in that we don't just have the lowest debt for students in the UK that gap is growing year on year so that so a record on student support it's one to be proud of and will continue to support students as basically possibly can Richard Leonard is our the officer if the First Minister had read further into that report she would have found the answer to the question I actually asked which is that the total student debt in Scotland is now almost five billion pounds so the SNP in office has presided over a 169 percent increase in that debt and let us be clear it's the poorest students who end up racking up the highest debts by taking out the biggest loans and that's not just my view that's the view of the National Union Union of students in Scotland who this week said and I quote students in the lowest household income bracket still finished their course with the most debt even by the standards of this government promising to scrap student debt and then increasing it by 169 percent is nothing short of shameful a generation of students have started high school and gone to university since the SNP made and then surreptitiously dropped their promise on student debt that's the generation of students burdened with debt repayments that the SNP promised that they would write off as a result these current and former students may still owe a debt to the government but this government owes them an unreserved apology so will the First Minister today do the right thing and will she apologize for her five billion pound broken promise First Minister was anything officer I think there are students in Scotland who started and finished degrees in the time it took wrestling that question anyway you know when I was when I was pointing out the fact that students in labor run wheels have significantly higher debt than students in SNP governed Scotland and the rewards in the labour banshees who were saying that's not relevant well let me tell you what certainly is relevant Richard Leonard is a representative of a party that when they were in power supported charging students tuition fees and he stands here now and has the goal to mourn about student day so not only do we have the lowest debt for students in the UK not only are accorded to all of those statistics published this week actually increasing the amount that we pay to support students we set out from the plans over 21 million pounds will be invested every year by the end of this Parliament to improve the support available to students at University in college next year will invest 60 million to increase and expand access to father in higher education bursaries for students from the lowest income families we will increase the higher education costs to the income threshold will increase but early support for the Polish young students in higher education will increase bursaries for the poorest and dependent students in higher education and of course we're going to be paying a busted equivalent to the real living wage at all Kate experienced students in higher and further education so not only do we have a proud record we've got the best plans of any party in this chamber for supporting students in the future so we'll continue to get on with the job and leave labour to the various contortions they managed to get themselves into remember a fair constituency supplementary is three in fact rushed from Tavish Scot Gordon Thank You presiding officer last week Highlands Islands airports Limited confirmed that they will enforce car parking charges on Islanders traveling from Sombra airport in Shetland there's been no consultation no and impact assessment and no new public transport links between Sombra and Loic which is 25 miles away could the First Minister explain how what happened to Island proofing First Minister how these airports have to take decisions that they think are balanced and allow them to support and to invest and the airport facilities that are they'd of course they should do proper Island proofing average Scott was absolutely right about that and they should make sure that they consult I will ensure that the transport secretary discusses this issue with Hayao and corresponds with the member once he's done something Morris golden Cameron Barclays our 6-year pupil from Renfrewshire is trying to study for his advanced hires I say trying because he must attend three separate schools and because renfa sir council refused to help him with taxi costs he must make a 45 minute cycle journey between them that season miss both class time and lunches every week does the First Minister think this is acceptable I don't know the individual circumstances of young Cameron in Berkeley are more than happy to look into that but of course one of the things we tried to do I've had exchanges with Ruth Davidson on this issue previous sessions of First Minister's Questions is ensure that young people have has as broad a range of qualifications that they can access and some schools in different clusters will provide different qualifications and young people will go to different schools to access them so that is the part of how we deliver at qualifications as I see I'm more than happy to ask the Deputy First Minister to look into the specific case that the member is raising but the principle here is that we want to ensure that young people get access to as broad a range of qualifications as it's possible to do and Pauline McNeil the First Minister is only too aware of the impact of two fires in sake Howe Street in Glasgow where those businesses be closed for a month or names some are still struggling and sadly some will probably not make it there's a First Minister agree that Glasgow deserves the same treatment as belfast who in the budget were awarded two million pounds for their equally tragic circumstances of the Tmart fire follow is the First Minister agree that this is appalling that Glasgow's needs we're ignored and I know she has been helpful to the businesses of Costa for which I am very grateful well the First Minister meet with people of lucky Hall Street businesses to discuss what further help can be given to the city of Glasgow First Minister the finance secretary has already met with businesses affected by these two fires and he intends to continue to do that and to engage with them in the run-up to our own budget in December and indeed beyond the Scottish government has already provided financial support both in terms of business rates relief but also in terms of the 5 million pounds fund that we set up to allow businesses to access financial support a number of businesses have taken advantage of that I do regret the fact that I certainly don't regret the fact that belfast got support I think that was right improper but I regret the fact that that was given to Belfast and there was not the same consideration by the UK government to the situation in Glasgow but of course the responsibility of the Scottish Government through our own financial decisions is to make sure we are taking all appropriate steps to help businesses affected and I can assure the member that we will continue to do exactly that question number 3 Patrick Harvie Thank You presiding officer later today Parliament will debate the treatment of asylum seekers in our society in view of the continued threat of an eminent wave of mass evictions and mass destitution in Glasgow and I hope the vast majority of us will unite in revulsion at the UK government's brutal policies and also in determination to take action to support asylum seekers and other vulnerable migrants people like Abdul he was refused asylum and has been destitute in Glasgow now for two years he has serious epilepsy as well as mental health issues stemming from his persecution in Afghanistan as well as from his homelessness here this summer he was discharged from an emergency hospital appointment to a shelter that didn't have space for him as I speak Abdul is facing destitution again tonight he'll spend a yet another unsafe night on the streets with literally no way to go only once he has short-term safe emergency accomodation staffed by professionals who can meet his health needs only then can he start making choices in his life again rather than being forced to make the grimmest survival decisions night after night that privation doesn't yet exist and with winter coming it needed no kin the First Minister tell us five months after the Scottish government accepted the recommendation that there must be funding for emergency accommodation for those at immediate risk what progress is being made and when will this provision be available First Minister well the recommendations that were made by the homelessness in rough sleeping task force the initial recommendations that were made in the run-up to last winter it were accepted in fou and funding was made available and that funding it was just a very good effort to help many of those who were facing rough sleeping and lose working on the frontline who helped shape those recommendations was I've spoken to are very positive about the impact they have as Patrick Harvey knows there were there have been further streams of recommendations made by that task force is now published their final recommendations and we are working through the implementation of all of those and it's an ongoing process in terms of asylum seekers I mean there are and obviously I don't know the particular circumstances of the individual that Patrick Harvie has mentioned today it often was asylum seekers there are issues around recourse to public funds which complicates some of the the provision that the Scottish government would want to see provided I abhor the way in which the UK system often exacerbates the trauma that asylum seekers have experienced and the trauma that has brought them to this country I want to make sure that we do everything we can to help them in the situations that we face but also that our actions to tackle rough sleeping and homelessness are not just about helping asylum seekers but are helping everybody who faces that circumstance in terms of the detail there was a large number of recommendations made by the homelessness task force in terms of the detail of where all of them are in progress or being implemented I'm more than happy to get the cabinet secretary and the chemistry at the hosting minister rather to write to Patrick note the progress against each and every one of them Patrick Harvie thank you and I appreciate the tone of the First Minister's answer and I do believe that the Scottish government wants to get this right we in Scotland should reject the wider hostile environment policy on migration in general that comes from the UK government but also reject the idea that asylum seekers are a burden to be asked for asylum is to be in a privileged position to be able to offer asylum to those who need it is to be privileged to have to ask that's what it is to bear a burden but we do need more than just that firm sentiment and the the commitments to act we need that action to be immediate especially as the night's grow colder we need an urgent timetable for the implementation of that recommendation on emergency accommodation provision an integrated service that includes support services as well and we know that there isn't a legal barrier to funding those services even for those people that the UK government has abandoned with the label no recourse to public funds so if the First Minister agrees that no one should be made destitute in 21st century Scotland well she gave a clear commitment that the Scottish government will take the action necessary to prevent this humanitarian crisis on our own doorstep First Minister yes I will give that commitment as I said in my previous answer we are in the process of implementing all of the recommendations of the homelessness and off sleeping task force we learned a lot from the winter initiatives that were taken last year and those lessons will be applied this year we are of course committing significant funding to this we have out of the ending homelessness fund we've allocated more than 23 million pounds to get on with implementing these recommendations we've also recently announced of course additional funding for the housing first approach it so I absolutely agree and I would say that the the sentiment that I'm expressing here in terms of the detail of what we're doing to tackle rough sleeping and homelessness is backed up by the practical action we're taking generally I do not think we should ever see those who seek asylum as a button we are undertaking our moral responsibility and offering asylum to people to people here but I given the nature of the constituency I represent I make representations regularly on the part of a large number of asylum seekers and what we often find with people who come here seeking asylum is that they are highly skilled highly educated people and one of the things I believe very strongly is they they should be allowed as so many of them want to do to what and make a contribution well they're here so I would hope that this Parliament on all of these issues can unite calling the UK government to change the rules that are causing an exacerbating so much of the misery that asylum seekers are facing but also get behind the work that we are doing our own tackling homelessness and rough sleeping not just for asylum seekers but for everybody who feces of that situation couple of further supplementary first from bill kids thank you very much presiding officer does the First Minister share my concern that this week's UK budget was a missed opportunity to rule to end the rule of universal credit the Chancellor's Proclamation at universal creditors he released a dress driving more children in poverty and forcing families to defend in food banks as the five food banks in Glasgow Annie's land first mister yes I do agree with that the extra money that was announced for universal credit and the changes to the what Kevin sees within universal credit would of course welcome but I don't think it goes nearly far enough universal credit is still going to adversely affect many people and leads many people in to rent arrears and there that would be completely avoidable so I still take the view that universal clear that should not be tinkered with Universal cleared it should be halted and I hope this Parliament continues to call in the UK government to do exactly that interesting that quoted the resolution foundation a couple of times already today but you know the point they made about how the income tax a threshold increases and indeed the increases to the universal credit work elevenses that these changes do not offset the impact of the benefits free for lower-income households so it's not just about universal credit it's about the overall impact of the the welfare cuts that we're seeing which as I said earlier or and is leading to a situation where the richest in society are going to end up better off and the poorest in society are going to end up worse off and I think that as we saw from Jaxon Carroll or earlier on is literally indefensible and I hope this Parliament continues to stand up against it Alison Johnson thank you the Scottish Government's consultation on the protection of wild mammals act indeed in January closed in January analysis of the responses was published in July the vast majority of the 20,000 respondents want to see a real ban on hunting with dogs the Fox hunting season begins again on Saturday yet the government still has to publish a response does the First Minister believe the Scottish government has done enough to ensure foxes are not hunted with hounds when the season begins this weekend First Minister the government response on this is due to be published imminently I don't have the date for that in front of me right now a new cabinet is due to discuss it very soon I'll ask it was an economy to write to the member to give her more detail on the timing of that do I think we've done enough I think we've done the right thing we asked Lord bonhomie to review the provisions that he has published a report it's rate that we carefully consider at the way forward that's exactly what we're doing taking full account of the consultation responses that we've received and as I say we will set out a response in due course and as soon as possible question number four John Mason thank you it to ask the First Minister for action the Scottish Government is taking in response to the reported rise in anti-semitism First Minister well there is absolutely no place in Scotland or anywhere else for any form of anti-semitism or religious hatred last week of course we learned of the tragic attack on the tree of life synagogue in Pittsburgh and my thoughts and I'm sure the thoughts of the whole chamber are with all of those affected we stand in solidarity with the Jewish community across the world I was reminded of the importance of tolerance compassion and respect during my visit to Auschwitz earlier this week with schoolchildren from across Scotland I certainly will never forget what I saw the year and none of us should ever forget the horrors of genocide around the world that I start remainder of the inhumanity and violence that bigotry and intolerance can cause we are committed to tackling hate crime and Prejudice we recently launched the letters from Scotland campaign which seems to encourage witnesses and victims to report he claimed and helped to create a society where he claimed and Prejudice of any form is not tolerated John reason yeah I think the First Minister for that answer and I certainly share her sympathies it was affected by the attack in Pittsburgh I have to say I also phoned the visit to Auschwitz a incredibly moving especially when I saw the railway they are with the First Minister agree that both the words and the tone that politicians use are extremely important and kind of a big impact on the people that hear them and we all need to be wary and take careful of the tone we use including President Trump about Mexico and other people about Israel and about the Jewish communities yes I absolutely agree with that I think it's incumbent on all of us to consider carefully the words in the language that we use and the tone that we use as well what do matter and all of us are aware of the damaging impact that can be inflicted upon individuals and communities through the irresponsible use of language everybody in public life is a duty to be aware of that and to understand the importance of the messages tool in language that we use it's important that we acknowledge and take time to consider the impact our words can have on people and their families and of course that includes personalized attacks and violent language personalized attacks violent language Dubey sees all of us and all of us each and every single one of us have a part to play and challenging and confronting that Adam Tompkins thank you the First Minister has referred to her visit this week and to Auschwitz and in reflecting on her visit as I have reflected on my own visits to Holocaust memorials such as Yad Vashem in Jerusalem does the First Minister agree with me that above all else the principle lesson of the Holocaust is that none of us can ever afford to look the other way in the face of anti-semitism even in a country as otherwise welcoming and civilized as Scotland as a frame barosky of the Scottish Council of Jewish communities has recently said Jewish people remain 30 times more likely than others to be targeted for their religion is that not the call First Minister not really for words but for action First Minister yes and I I think all of us have to look carefully not just at what we see but in how we apply those words in the actions we take and I as First Minister and as leader of my party take that responsibility very seriously and I hope that goes for others across the chamber and I think for anybody here who hasn't yet had the opportunity to visit otras if you get that opportunity I would subtly recommend taking it is is a profoundly unsettling experience but an incredibly important one and as I said when I was there on Tuesday it's important to remember all of those who suffered and were murdered there and to pay tribute to that suffering but it is really important that we don't just see what happened there in a historical context it's not just a history lesson the Holocaust didn't start in Auschwitz or Burkina or any of the concentration camps the Holocaust started in the everyday anti-semitism and discrimination the the other ring and dehumanizing of Jews and that the lesson that we must learn and apply in our modern lies and that's why I was so pleased to be there with 200 Scottish school students and so pleased that the Scottish government has many members in this chamber I know do support the work of the Holocaust education trust to make sure as many young people get that experience as possible it had a profound impact on me but I know watching the reactions of the young people that I was with that had a deeply profound impact on them as well but that can only be to the good as we do everything we can to make sure that those horrors can't be able to happen again and Neil Findlay I fully support the First Minister's once there but this week the acting leader of West Lillian's SNP councilors and one of his colleagues shared and then defended sharing an article attacking a young female Jewish trade union leader for our what representing low paid workers the article say t-that of Hitler and Mein Kampf the author of the article was rightly suspended by the First Minister's party while the First Minister may take further action and suspend both elected councillors and others displayed such offensive hateful material and attack and abuse people for simply doing the job First Minister you know can I respond really seriously and in a very heartfelt way to that legitimate question because I think it is important that all of us it reflect to follow up an Adam Tompkins question not just on what we see but what we do the author of that blog was suspended from SMP membership earlier this week obviously there were no big due process that has to be gone through so I won't see any more about that at this stage and what I will see is that the IRA definitions are own damaged anti-semitism will be used in the consideration of that disciplinary complaint in terms of the SNP cancer I should say the councillor in question has written to the young women mentioned today with an unreserved apology recognising fully recognizing that he made a significant error of judgment and that that error of judgment arose out of a lack of understanding and knowledge now there's two things I want to see about this and I was discussing these things in general terms with some of the the members of the Jewish community that I was with on Tuesday where people do get things wrong through lack of understanding or knowledge it's sometimes important that we give them a chance to learn because education and learning is an important part of combating anti-semitism and tolerance and racism of all forms and we and I should say the SNP is responsible for the decisions we take on these answerable for those decisions but we in all of these matters and have done so this week have consulted at school Jack the Scottish Council of Jewish communities about the appropriate response to this particular situation the second point and my final point presiding officer I want to make on this is equally important you know I could stand here right now and I'm not going to and run through a whole list of alleged failures of labor or other parties to take these things seriously and deter act as seriously as we have done the sweep I'm not going to do that because yes and a democracy it is really important that we hold each other to account that we check each other's behavior and call out unacceptable behavior that is a vital part of our democratic process but you know I think it's equally important that and we're all guilty of this sometimes but it's equally important that we don't rush to weaponize these things against each other for petty party political reasons because on the fundamentals of this on the fundamentals of this it is actually really important that we stand united to see the anti-semitism racism bigotry intolerance in any form is completely unacceptable and the SNP will continue to treat it in that way and will be continued to be answerable for the decisions that we make but ultimately on these issues I think there's a lot more than that unites all of us than divides us and I think we would probably do a greater service to the memory of those who've just been discussing but also to future generations if we actually took the time to stand in solidarity on these issues as much as we choose to define question number five regional Hamilton thank you to ask the First Minister what action the Scottish government is taking to ensure that there is mental health support for college and university students First Minister every student should have access to emotionally mental health and well-being support that's why a program for government includes a commitment to provide more than 80 additional counselors and colleges and universities over the next four years with an investment of around 20 million pounds we're also supporting NUS Scotland's think positive project which aims to find ways to support students experiencing mental health tackle stigma and discrimination and promote well-being and we'll continue to work closely with the university and college sectors NUS Scotland and other partners on the implementation of the additional counselors and to ensure an integrated and wraparound approach the student well-being in both higher and further education regional Hamilton thank you for that answer she will be aware of the number of university students in Scotland seeking support for mental health issues has increased by two thirds over five years information from universities across Scotland for the numbers of students seeking some form of support found that eleven thousand seven hundred students asked for help in 1670 compared to seven thousand in 1213 cases ranged from anxiety to depression gender-based violence and body dysmorphia therefore can I ask the First Minister how she plans to ensure that mental health funding is split across colleges and universities fairly and when as she has just indicated there is some implementation going on can the students expect to see more counselors on the campuses well the short answer to to that important question is yes the announcement we made in the programme for government and obviously there'll be more details of this around our budget in a few weeks time is that we're going to invest significantly in putting additional counselors into schools and also into colleges and universities and that will have an impact on campuses across the country and Rachael Hamilton talks about the increase in students coming forward for support and she's absolutely right to do so that of course reflects and increase across society and people coming forward for support with mental health issues and as I've said many many times before that in some ways is something we should welcome because it is a sign that the stigma associated with mental health is reducing but it puts a responsibility on government shoulders to make sure that the services are there as well as investing more we need to refigure reconfigure rather the way in which mental health services are delivered having much more preventative support much more support in places like schools colleges and universities in police stations for example in GP services that's exactly what we are trying to do one of the most important things that we're going to be doing as we implement these plans is developing the community mental well-being service which will cater for everybody in the 5 to 24 year old age group so there's a whole range of things that it's important we take forward and we're committed to continuing to do so question number six Davis – Thank You presiding officer to ask the First Minister what recent discussions the Scottish Government has had with the European Commission regarding the hounds Islands exemption from the air departure tax first we want to protect the existing Halen's nylons exemption from the ear departure tax we've written to the UK government asking them to notify the exemption for approval to the European Commission and if I don't go in discussions with them in this matter as the EU member state only the UK government can engage with the European Commission to pursue this notification however as has previously been set out notification is only one Avenue we're also continuing to explore a range of different options to try and find the best possible solution to the Highlands and Islands exemption issue and of course this needs to be resolved before ëedití can be introduced in Scotland here's George I thank the First Minister for answer the the fresh Minister will be well aware of the calls from some quarters of the aviation industry south of the hilum line to kill off the exemption with potential damaging consequences for businesses and communities across my region can the First Minister give Parliament an absolute assurance today she will resist these misguided demands and protect the interests of the hands islands by preserving this vitally important exemption first mister well it's not just that I can give an assurance of that the actions we've taken today demonstrate that we are absolutely determined to protect the Highlands and Islands exemption you know we have taken the decision the EDT cannot be introduced in some of the policy changes we want to make can't then therefore happen until we've resolved this issue of the exemptions so we continue to take steps to try to get the UK government to come up with us with the solutions to this issue I unlike I don't know who exactly David Shearer is quoting but I certainly would not support anybody who wanted to kill off the exemption we understand that that exemption is important for the economy and connectivity of the Highlands and Islands and that's why it were taking the action that we to try to protect him crush number seven May trembles to ask the First Minister what action the Scottish government is taking in light of Scott rails performance falling to its lowest level since the current franchise began First Minister well I'm fully aware of the performance issues that Scott Reil requires to address however the most recent country ality sister statistics we're impacted significantly by the severe weather seen during storm alley this of course included damage to overhead power lines and trees falling on to tract notwithstanding these issues we continue to impress a point senior management of Network Rail the need for a renewed focus on maintaining the network infrastructure in Scotland and that will help scott reil to meet its challenging but achievable targets Michael Matheson is due to meet so Peter handy chair of network trio and the scott reil alliance separately over the next week and he'll be making it clear that it is absolutely imperative that performance improves swiftly and effectively to the standards expected by passengers of course this process would be helped by the field devolution of network real a move that would allow the appropriate parliamentary oversight to be put on the hall of the real infrastructure in scotland rather than just on part of it my grandma's more services are running late carriages are jam-packed because the new fleets are well behind schedule and Scott rails performance quite frankly stinks and now that has been taken to an all too literal level this week we learned scott reil will be dumping human waste on tracks thanks to the rollout of trains that first entered service in the 1970s scott reil calls these trains classic is that the description the first minister would use and does she think this practice is acceptable in a 21st century rail system First Minister it's not a practice that we support and scott reil have also said that it's not one they want to see continue it's an interim measure it is regrettable and scott reil are working to mitigate the issue as soon as possible the Scottish Government of course has directly funded previous installation programs to eradicate that practice across scott reil fleets and it will be necessary to introduce some Unruh furbished high-speed trains into the service for an interim period but it is important that's got real what to resolve that as quickly as possible in terms of the wider performance issues it is important not withstanding what I said in my initial answer to stress that nearly 90 out of 100 trains arrive within the recognized punctuality measure the latest figures showed Scott Rios public performance measured at eighty seven point seven percent which is above the GP average of eighty five point eight percent and the figures in the last period were affected as I said by storm alley and the severe weather that came with that my final point is again the one I made more than half of the delays and scott reil trains are to do with network real infrastructure now we continue to work hard with networked real to try to resolve that we fund Network reals operations in Scotland but it would help this if we got the whole chamber to get behind the calls for Network real to be properly devolved so that we could ensure that scrutiny and oversight of the whole of the real infrastructure now that something may trembles or support thank you very much that concludes the First Minister's questions I would just note that there's a large number of members who asked one to a supplementary as you didn't get in today and we just Akane : members and ministers for short questions and short answers we're now going to move to members business in the name of Ruth McGuire but before we do so we'll have a short suspension to allow the gallery to clear and for new guests to arrive and for the ministers to change seats
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