Good morning. The first item of business is general question time. Question 1 has been withdrawn.

2. To ask the Scottish Government how many general practitioner surgeries are not currently accepting new patients. (S6O-02887)

3. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the current options available to record the relationship status of a deceased person are sufficient for the purposes of this...

4. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its cladding remediation programme. (S6O-02889)

5. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that rural populations have convenient and appropriate access to care homes. (S6O-02890)

6. To ask the Scottish Government how the proposals outlined in its latest “Building a New Scotland” paper, “Social security in an independent Scotland”, would support...

7. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce waiting times for ambulances in north-east Scotland. (S6O-02892)

1. Figures that were released yesterday show that one in every 10 ambulances in Scotland sat outside hospitals for hours waiting for patients to be admitted. That means that, in just one week,...

2. I thank the Deputy First Minister for her kind words about Mark Drakeford, who helped to shape devolution over the past 25 years. He has been a dedicated servant to the people of Wales. We...

3. To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will commit to any reform of Scotland’s planning regulations in order to generate growth, as recommended by CBI Scotland in a...

4. To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to grow the green economy. (S6F-02655)

5. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to the recent report by Highland Council, which reportedly warns of a “significant risk” of parts of its...

6. To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of any social benefit of extending free bus travel to all under-22s. (S6F-02641)

The United Kingdom Government has just announced the closure of its Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office branch in East Kilbride. Following a hard-fought campaign by local workers and...

A motion that is before Highland Council today, in the name of my Conservative colleague Councillor Helen Crawford, highlights the poor state of many Highland schools. If it is passed, the motion...

This week, it has been reported that Police Scotland faces a surge in mental health calls—they account for one in six calls, to be exact. I am sure that the Deputy First Minister will agree...

The Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Office for Budget Responsibility told the Finance and Public Administration Committee on Tuesday that interest on the United Kingdom’s £2.6...

South of Scotland Enterprise recently acquired land at Chapelcross, near Annan, and there has been a strong expression of interest from ReBlade—a Scotland-based company that recycles and...

The Greenock Telegraph reported on Monday that Greenock police station is likely to be closed and mothballed within a matter of months. Despite reassurances that a police presence will be...

OVO Energy prepayment customers in Shetland were unaware of the transfer of their prepayment keys from SSE plc to OVO and discovered that their keys had stopped working earlier this month when...

The next item of business is a debate on motion S6M-11294, in the name of Graham Simpson, on antisocial behaviour on buses. The debate will be concluded without any questions being put. I invite...

Good afternoon. The next item of business is portfolio question time. I remind members who wish to ask a supplementary question to press their request-to-speak button or enter RTS in the chat...

1. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with local authorities regarding promoting the use of public transport services throughout the festive season. (S6O-02878)

2. To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting Aberdeen’s journey to net zero through investment in bus infrastructure. (S6O-02879)

3. To ask the Scottish Government, following the first meeting of the National Smart Ticketing Advisory Board, what progress has been made towards introducing a national smart ticketing scheme....

5. To ask the Scottish Government what conclusions it has drawn following COP28, including what has been learned as a result of the conference. (S6O-02882)

7. To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Transport Scotland in relation to the Shawhead flyover junction in Coatbridge (S6O-02884)

8. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the next steps for implementation of 20mph zones across Scotland, following the October meeting of the multi-stakeholder...

The next item of business is a debate on motion S6M-11652, in the name of Neil Gray, on the application of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 in Scotland.

I am minded to accept a motion without notice under rule 11.2.4 of standing orders that decision time be brought forward to now. I invite the Minister for Parliamentary Business to move such a...

There are three questions to be put as a result of today’s business. I remind members that, if the amendment in the name of Murdo Fraser is agreed to, the amendment in the name of Daniel...