My name is Cheryl Matsuoka, the Executive Director of the Hawaii Restaurant Association and the Hawaii Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. Thank you Mahalo for joining me here on Restaurants of Hawaii on the ThinkTech platform. Today, you'll have a treat. I'm excited because Waihata and Company Limited is the 2023 presenting sponsor of Hawaii Restaurant Association's Hall of Fame Gala. This spectacular event recognizes Hawaii's food service industry's leaders. And why is a pioneer, which is Waihata Company and Limited, why is it so important that they be the presenting sponsor of this event? So today, I have two guests and it's two gentlemen that you've met before. First, I want to have Chris introduce yourself. Hi everyone. Thank you, Cheryl. Hi, Andy. How are you? Good to see you both again. My name is Chris Lee. I am the Director of Sales and Marketing for Waihata and Company Limited. And Chris is also on our board of directors for both the Hawaii Restaurant Association and the Hawaii Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. And Andy, could you please introduce yourself? Hi, Cheryl. Hi, Chris. It's me again. My name is Andy Huang. I'm the VP and COO of LNL Hawaiian Barbecue. It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you, Andy. And Andy is the incoming chairman of the Hawaii Restaurant Association. So these two gentlemen have years of experience in our industry. And we're just happy to have this conversation today. So first of all, Waihata and Company Limited has chosen to be the presenting sponsor of this year's 2023 15th annual Hall of Fame. So I'd like to have Chris first start off the very beginning. Please share with us, Chris, you know, how Waihata became such a pioneer in Hawaii's food service industry. Well, Cheryl, I'm not sure if you're aware. This year we made 110 years, you know, as a locally owned and operated food service distributor in Hawaii. So our teams and we're really very proud of that and celebrating this milestone for us as an organization. But we started off back in 1913 in the Carajan Hilo with our founders, Yuichi and Naeko Hata. And I wish Russell was here to tell this story because, you know, he's probably the best person to do so. But from our perspective, you know, Russell really helped us into, you know, becoming the organization who we are today. We're really focused on a shared strategy and how we approach our customers, our service and our market. We also have a great culture here at Waihata. You know, we have our core values that really focus around our people, making sure that we are contributing back to our community, our industry. And that's really what drives us to be the company that we are today and helping us be at the forefront of the food service industry. You know, we're really proud to have a very talented and diverse team. Many of our team members have come from the food service industry, so they know exactly what it's like to be on the other side of things. So we definitely know how to approach our customers, how to work with them, especially understanding their everyday challenges. So we're really proud to be a sponsor of this year's Gala. We're really excited about the people that will be recognized today or at this year's event as well as the ones in the past. So we're very grateful and honored to be able to do this. Thank you so much. And you're right. It's really three generations of the Hata family that's worked to grow the Waihata brand across the state of Hawaii. In 2014, you know, Russell, chairman, president, and CEO, he founded Chef Zone, right, Chris? And bringing over 5,000 restaurant quality products to the food service operators and the public. And I don't know if everyone knows that, but I'm a card-carrying member of Chef Zone also. You know, that's a free membership to join. And you get to go in there and feel like you're a chef because you'll see all the chefs walking in there. Chris, when I'm in there, you know, guarantee I'm going to run into a chef at one of the restaurants. So Waihata has adopted the solutions delivered with the Loha tagline. And they have just really brought in some really great products. And now, Chris, there's a room and it's called, what is that room with that? Is it like Gourmet? Yep. So we have this specialty showroom. It's a passion project and one that Russell's really putting a lot behind. We're really excited. We're going to be announcing a new brand with it over the next few months. But we're working really hard. Our teams are working really hard to identify products, not only nationally, but also internationally. Some specialty gourmet products that you can't find anywhere else in Hawaii. So we're really excited about what that's going to bring and add to our portfolio of offerings to our customers. I think that's so cool because, you know, my husband, that's his favorite space to go. You know, we go through and we always have to go in there last just to see what's in there because there's always something that we've never seen before. Chris is like, wow, this is like super cool. And my husband loves cooking. So, yes, yes. So Andy, you have been in the food service industry. We talked about this earlier over two decades, Andy. So what is, what does the name Waihata mean in the food service industry to you? You know, Waihata, yeah, has always been the leader of Hawaii's food service industry with a long history, supporting, you know, all sizes of restaurants. I've known them since my first job at the restaurant 20 over 20 years ago. I always loved the way they support the industry through the years. Their service, their sales team are always very supportive.  So that, you know, shows the level of support that they provided for our industry. It's just, you know, it's amazing. You know, and also remember, like I used to go to their warehouse and pick up the last minute items on San Island, you know, I'm so glad that they built Chef Zone now. So it's very, a lot more convenience to go there to grab the last minute items or just browse around. They have all kinds of cool gadgets. Many of our L&L store owners also go shop at the Chef Zone and then we also went to their Test Kitchen provided by their head chef, corporate head chefs and then showing us some of the new products. Very cool. They have a really nice, amazing setup over there. Nice. Thank you. Thank you. And so Chris, you know, Hawaii Restaurant Association is so honored that Russell Hata and why Hata is this year's Hall of Fame Presenting Sponsor. In 2009, Frank Hata, Russell's dad was inducted into the Hall of Fame and this year, Russell Hata himself is being inducted into the Hall of Fame for all of his years of dedication and major contributions to Hawaii's food service industry. Russell has played such a large role, especially in aiding Maui. I'm going to tell you that I know for a fact that why Hata was one of the first out of, as soon as the fires hit, that you folks had a plan and you folks were already filling a container that was leaving to go over to Maui. Could you please share with our viewers and members, you know, what it means to why Hata to be the presenting sponsor as well as contributing, you know, to the relief efforts in Maui? Yeah, you know, we really, again, it comes back to the genuine, you know, approach and outlook that Russell and the Hata family have on our responsibilities here in Hawaii. You know, one of our core values is Nibboloha and Gibboloha and we really truly, our leadership, our people all engage in what we do on a daily basis for our customers, but what it ultimately impacts within our community. And, you know, to me, that's really what keeps me engaged in wanting to do what's right, you know, not just for our customer success, but for our community's success as well. So, you know, when the tragedy is happening on Maui, you know, our team got together across our departments. We have puddles, Davey and Weekly, but this one, you know, we really put our heads together to see what are the needs, what anticipating, what they would need, you know, not just side food, but other things, you know, to distribute food. So, we work with our partners in logistics. We got a container over here. We identified some disposable takeouts, all of the things that we would need in time of crisis, and we're able to put that onto a container and get that over directly to Maui. And in addition, with Chef Zone and our reach in the community, not just to our food service partners, but also to the public as well, we put out a call to action in our social media, where we have over 34,000 followers on our social media, and, you know, we're able to get the communities helping that regard too. So, we had products dropped off to Chef Zone. So, on top of the container that we had filled to get over to Maui, we had additional three containers of other products that we were able to take to the White Food Bank for distribution. But that's just, you know, one of the things that we do, you know, it's very natural for us to identify ways that we can help not just our industry, but others as well across the state. So, you know, I'm very proud, and our teams are very proud to be able to do these kind of things, and we're very grateful that we have an owner and a family that really understands the importance of this. So, it takes a village, and, you know, we're just happy to be a part of this family. And I heard exactly what you just said, you know, it was the day after the fires. I mean, it was the day that we found out about the fires, and you were already mobilizing and ready to send that container out by that next day.  And I just wanted to let you know, Chris and Andy, that, you know, the Hawaii Restaurant Association Board of Directors, every year we give back to the Hawaii Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. We call them the HRA Educational Foundation, and a portion of the proceeds from the Hall of Fame goes back to the ProStart program. So, we can provide scholarships for the students in the culinary program. Right now, we have 12 local high schools that have the ProStart program. So, we give scholarships to the students so they can continue the culinary studies. You know, those are future culinary leaders. And we also provide school grants to the 12 ProStart high schools so that the teachers and the schools can purchase items that's needed in their classrooms. Remembering that their classroom is just a classroom with desks and chairs, and it doesn't really always come with a mixer and an ice machine and things that you need to teach culinary. This year, this year, we also are going to be giving a portion of the proceeds to the Maui Relief Fund because we know that it's going to take, like Chris just said, a village to rebuild Maui. As right now, they're still struggling through it. So, Andy, I'm so sorry, guys. So, Andy, as you know, it's already reaching a month that we've been in this, right? And it's been a long month, and we just want to see some relief over there. So, a portion of the Hawaii Restaurant Association's Hall of Fame will be going over to Maui. So, Andy, the founder of L&L, Eddie Flores, was also inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008. And for all that Eddie has accomplished and helped uplift the food service industry, and this year, Eddie got to serve for the first time on the inductee selection committee.  So, what does the Hall of Fame represent to restaurant tours and industry leaders who have been inducted? What is your feelings about people who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame? Yes, you know, our founder, Eddie Flores, was honored to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008. And like him and every other inductees are all the leaders in the industry. They all have contributed to this restaurant industry for many years and supported hundreds and thousands of jobs in Hawaii. This event is a way to say thank you to all the people who help the Hawaii community economy and all the family grew up in Hawaii. Many of us have fond memories going to restaurants with friends and families, not just like L&L, but also like zippies and liliha bakery, rainbows driving. There are many, many more restaurants that, you know, still helping build more memories for the families for future. So, without these restaurant tours, their employees' hard work, it would not be possible. So, we really appreciate their contribution to the restaurant industry. So, you know, a way to say thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And so Chris, do you think it's important for the Hawaii Restaurant Association to continue putting on this awards event every year at the Hall of Fame? Absolutely. You know, I think it's one of the few occasions where we can get all of the restaurant owners, industry leaders, community leaders in the same room. And I think there's, you know, close to 500, if not more guests attending this event annually. And it's just such a great time to spend with one another, you know, maybe talk a little bit of business, but, you know, for the most part, just enjoy each other's company, you know, and camaraderie and, you know, taking a moment to recognize those individuals that really made a positive impact in the industry and in our business. So, yes, I think it's so important that we also pause in our busy lives and take this opportunity to recognize those individuals. Thank you, Chris and Andy. So, the leaders who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame are recognized by the community for achieving the highest and contributing pioneers in the food service industry. You've met many of these leaders who have been inducted. So, what stands out for you when I'm talking about the Hall of Fame inductees? What stands out for you? No, the main attribute I feel is they're passionate in the food industry, you know, from creating food, providing the material to make the food. And they're all very passionate about providing not only to the local community, but also to the visitors to share what's aloha, right? What's Hawaii, what's aloha to spread aloha through the whole country and through the world. We now, there are more and more people understand what is Hawaii cuisine and, you know, and in the industry, it's, Russian industry is tough, right? So, to be able to stay for this many years and still thriving, it's, it just showed that they have a lot of bread and they're really passionate about helping the community. So, that's one thing that I really feel like, you know, everybody is, they're so passionate. Exactly, right? And sometimes I wonder, you know how hard work it is, Andy, you've been in it for two decades, right? And they stick in there and they still continue to open up restaurants. It's amazing. It's because they're passionate, you know, they're, they love the food service industry, the whole hospitality, seeing people gather, as you mentioned, and creating memories in the restaurants, all the celebrations that are done in these restaurants, it means a lot to our community. So, so Chris, you know, what do you think, you know, how important is it to recognize our restaurant and food service industry leaders consistently? And why is it important? Yeah, that's a good question, Cheryl. You know, I have the privilege of knowing many of these individuals personally and professionally and, and I don't, I can assure you that not one of them would do it to be recognized or for anything other than the fact that, as Andy mentioned, you know, their true passion in seeing, you know, Hawaii thrive, the industry thrive, their people thrive, right? So, you know, again, it's really not about their individual success, but about the success of others.  And, you know, it just goes to show how much of an impact every single one of these people, you know, this year and in prior years have had on on creating what boys, you know, now known as a culinary destination around the world, right? So, yeah, I could not be more honored to be a part of this, you know, having to be able to have why hot to be a sponsor for this event, you know, it's just something that we're very humbled and proud of. Thank you. And you're right, Chris, you know, we had many, many nominations and only five were selected through the selection committee and these five last year we had 10, but this year they're like, you know, Cheryl, there's five that really stand out. Number one, Rasul Hacha, all of he's done not only for the food service industry, but also for the the culinary education, you know, at the KCC and the Culinary Institute of the Pacific, because these are future leaders in our culinary industry. So the support that he's given over at the different colleges also, you know, if Kwak, who is the current chairman of the Hawaii Restaurant Association, he that man is amazing. He has done so much personally to help the food service industry above and beyond. And he's just an amazing guy. And, you know, he's been in the food service industry as long as Andy, right, Andy? Yes. Yes, longer. Right, working shoulder to shoulder, you know, then we have Linda Rosario. And she has been in the industry for many years also Jason Peale, who have been so honored to get to know better now that he is being inducted for all of his years and how he's mentored so many. And then Alan Hull. Alan Hull is just a really, you know, he's had his hands in so many different restaurants over all the years. And so we're just really happy to acknowledge all of the inductees this year into the Hall of Fame.  So could you please describe what it takes because, you know, we have a lot of people listening in who are looking at these people, you know, up there being inducted into this Hall of Fame. What does it take to get to this level of achievement? You know, it's just a humbling experience in the industry for this long and able to meet all these great leaders and pioneers through the years. It was just an amazing experience for myself. You know, the restaurant industry is constantly evolving and changing. There's so many challenges you might face every day and not no day a day is the same, you know, it's not easy to run a restaurant business and it's harder to even survive, right? Most of our new restaurants won't survive for three years. You know, to be successful in this industry, you will need to be passionate. You have to be flexible. You have to enjoy the challenges and you have to like problems solving. You have to solve problems all the time and it is heartbreaking to see some of the longtime restaurants shutting their doors during the pandemic, but also glad to see many leaders that survive and thrive because these industry leaders got together and put their smart hats on and keep us moving forward and keep the industry going. After all, our tourist industry, the largest industry in Hawaii and Fuen Beverage is also one of the largest industry in that segment. So it's just you got to be passionate, you have to like challenges and then you will do well and you like to serve people. And people just love the food service industry, we're the hospitality industry as you said Andy and people just love it, you know, and we're a huge industry and whether that's a person who's, you know, supplier or they're a farmer to the restaurant or fishery to the restaurant, it's all part of the food service industry, which is a very large as you said. And Waihata, Chris, they have done so much to support Hawaii's food service industry, as I mentioned, from the education side, which is our pro start program in local high schools. We have 12 of them to the community colleges, which has culinary programs for our future leader, our future culinary leaders to the Hawaii Restaurant Association, Hall of Fame, and they have support Russell and Waihata has kept supporting the food service industry. Is there anything I miss, Chris? Anything else you want to share that I have missed? Well, you know, I think we're very fortunate because our customers support us as well, right, and without them and like Andy says, you know, our customers are the ones at the forefront of the challenges and the battles and working every day to put great experiences for their guests out there. You know, for us, it's really about just trying to anticipate what those needs are, having the industry knowledge and working with our teams to make sure that we meet those demands and needs every single day.  Thank you, gentlemen. I'm getting the warning right now. Before I close the show, Chris, is there anything I missed? No, you know, I just want to encourage, you know, everyone to come out and enjoy a fun night and recognize these industry leaders and, you know, what a great job HRA is doing, you know, not just for the customers, but for their members, but for, you know, the industry and the community as a whole, you know, the outreach and support for Maui, you know, what HRA and what you're doing on your leadership, Cheryl, is truly amazing.  So thank you very much for that. Thank you, Chris. Don't let me start crying again. And Andy, before I close the show, is there anything else that you would like to say? Yeah, like you mentioned, you know, the reason why, why do we, why, you know, a restaurant association like to share the proceeds to the Maui recovery, right?  We as an organization have the capability to reach a larger audience. I think we have the responsibility to help. Some of our members were also affected by the tragedy. By donating part of the proceeds, we can bring awareness to our food service community and help relieve effort. This is going to be a long, long recovery row ahead of us for those affected. So we want to help in any way possible. So thank you. Thank you so much, gentlemen. And Hawaii Restaurant Association is so grateful for Russell Hata and the Wai Hata Company by supporting and being our presenting sponsor for our 15th annual Hall of Fame. Then the Hall of Fame recognizes the food service industry leaders. Then we still have a few tickets left and the deadline is coming up really soon. So as Chris said, join us when we honor five people that are being inducted into the Hall of Fame, 13 chefs that are providing the food and seven beverage sponsors. So if you have any questions, go to our website info at HawaiiRestaurant.org. And again, the Hawaii Restaurant Association is the organization unifying, representing and supporting the Hawaii restaurant and food service industry. Thank you to you, our community, for always standing with us to uplift Hawaii's food service industry. Our collective is only as strong as its individuals. So we deeply value your continued aloha and support. And everyone remember, live well and eat well. Thank you very much.


Yeah, that's right, for the third time in as many months, the Steam Drunk series is taking a look at a game that actually came out on Super Nintendo first. This time it's Bubsy Toofur, and it's nothing more than the two Bubsy SNES games on an emulator. There's no display options, nothing new at all.   This package was even approved by Steam Greenlight, so this is all your fault for making this happen. They even have an embarrassingly whiny, guilt-inducing passage here. It says, Out of the blue he showed up at Retroism's doorstep, be draggled and mumbling about being doomed to a legacy of shame and obscurity? Wait, what? Has he been drinking Jim Beam behind a dumpster every day for the past 20 years? But we've cleaned him up and given him a new lease on life, a shot at returning to the big time, but he'll need your support. Well, that be draggled and mumbling cat got it, but like I said, these are just the SNES ROMs played on an emulator, so whatever. Hey, you know what? I know someone who can help me with this. There were two Bubsy games for the Super Nintendo, Bubsy Claws and Counters of the Furred Kind, and the more succinctly titled Bubsy 2. Starting with the first game, this is just exactly what you'd expect.  I'm trying to come up with a list of the game's strengths here, and, uh, it's certainly bright and colorful. Yeah. At its best, there's just nothing here in Bubsy that a thousand other games haven't already done to death. I wish I could just call the game an Inoffensive Platformer and leave it at that, but no. In Bubsy Claws and Counters of the Furred Kind, you don't have a lot of screen real estate to work with, so it's up to the player to manually scroll the screen in various directions to look out for danger.  That's right, one hit deaths.  Not only that, there's no power-ups at all. Nothing here can help you. The not-intuitive level design does you no favors either. Oh, hey, a pipe, where does this go? Oh, straight to hell, I see. The controls can best be described as floaty. You can read a dozen reviews of this game, hit Ctrl F and search for floaty, and you'll find it in just about everyone. Now, if Bubsy had a life bar instead of one hit deaths, that'd make the game a little more tolerable, but the way it is, it's just bad. It's really bad. To sum up, Bubsy is a classic example of a game I've talked about many times throughout many a video over the couple of years I've been doing this. Some suits come up with a cutesy anthropomorphic mascot, stick it in the 2D platformer, mark it the bejesus out of it, and seriously, this game was advertised freaking everywhere. And meanwhile, how the game plays is like number 75 on the list of priorities. Bubsy is generic at best and pandering crap with little regard to game design at worst, and it's one of the worst games on the Super Nintendo. Bubsy II, to its credit, tried to make some improvements on its predecessor. There's no more one hit deaths. There's weapons to choose from, and the floaty controls are less floaty. In fact, they went in the opposite direction and made the controls way too tight. Bubsy moves too fast, and oftentimes the screen does not scroll fast enough to keep up. He's so fast that it's hard not to keep him from flailing out of control. They did at least add weapons like what looks like a ping pong gun, so that's useful. The levels in Bubsy II are huge, and you just kinda wander around and find doors that may or may not lead somewhere you actually wanna go. Here's bonus games. There's an Egyptian motif, a medieval motif, you're in outer space. This game is as generic as it gets in gameplay and appearance. There's just nothing here worth going out of your way to experience. To its credit, Bubsy II is better than its predecessor, and by that I mean it's more tolerable. It's mediocre rather than bad. All right, that's like eight paragraphs on Bubsy, and that is way too much. The point is don't be fooled when you see this on Steam. It's the same SNES games that weren't any good back then, and they aren't any good right now. Avoid these games.


If you are new to the rental market or seeking to reduce living costs, you may be considering subletting or share housing. Thanks for joining us today. My name is Mark Fiddler and I am a Senior Community Education Officer with the RTA. In this webinar, I'm going to talk you through the differences between a sharehouse and a sub-tenancy, some things you need to consider and some tips on how to step through the processes involved. I'll do this today with the help of a couple of case studies. Before I start, I would like to respectfully acknowledge the traditional owners and custodians of this country and their continuing connection with the land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to all traditional owners past, present and emerging. Please note that today we cannot provide legal advice and you are encouraged to seek your own independent advice to make informed decisions. And if you are joining us live today, please use the chat function to ask any questions and we'll discuss these at the end. If you're watching the webinar recording on the RTA website, we'll provide some links to additional resources that can provide you with more information. So what are we talking about when we mention share houses and sub-tenancies? So looking at the graphic on the left, this shows a share house or a co-tenancy situation. Tenants have a direct relationship with the property manager or owner. Whereas on the right, we see a direct relationship between the property manager owner and a tenant, but then a second relationship between the tenant and their sub-tenant. In this situation, the sub-tenant has no relationship with the property manager owner outside of knowing that they have been approved to be there. So to look at these a little bit more in a little bit more depth. So a share house arrangement is a tenancy agreement between a property manager or a owner and two or more tenants. In this set up, the property manager or owner is responsible for managing all aspects of the tenancy. Tenants are referred to generally as co-tenants and they can either be jointly or individually liable for all of the rent and paying the bond. All parties are covered under the Act. Generally, this is agreed upon certainly from a tenant's point of view, prior to signing the tenancy agreement. And to ensure a smooth renting experience, co-tenants are encouraged to have had conversations and come to agreements on how things like rent and bond will be paid, how cleaning is done, set some ground rules around guests and those sorts of things. So in a sub-tenancy situation, there are generally a couple of ways that a sub-tenancy can start. Sometimes a tenant will rent a premises with the sole intent of subletting. Now, in these circumstances, the tenant must have sought permission from the property owner or manager before entering into any sub-tenancy arrangements. They then become the head tenant or the lessor. The other way is where a sole tenant starts a tenancy, then decides to bring another party into that tenancy. Again, permission must be sought and obtained for this to happen. In a sub-tenancy arrangement, the head tenant assumes the same responsibilities as a property manager or owner and is required to provide the sub-tenants with written tenancy agreements, entry condition reports, the RTA's pocket guide for tenants or the 17A, a receipt of any rental bond money is paid and a requirement to lodge it with the RTA. All parties are covered under the Act again in this situation. Another thing to note here is the head tenant is bound by a fixed term lease and their tenancy is ended. They must consider that they have appropriate time frame to end any sub-tenancies and we'll talk about that for a little moment. So to have a look and apply some of this information to some practical examples, let's have a look at a couple of case studies. So the first one, we have a sole tenancy situation where the tenant is living in a two bedroom place on her own and is looking to fill the second room. So what are the sorts of things that we need to consider and what are the responsibilities of the parties in these circumstances? So firstly, Katie must seek permission in writing. So the Residential Tenancies of Rooming Accommodation Act says that a tenant can transfer all or a part of their interest under the agreement or sublet only if the lessor agrees in writing to the transfer or sublet. It also says that the lessor must act reasonably in filing to agree to the request. So if Katie is one person in a two bedroom apartment and requests an additional tenant, it might be unreasonable not to allow it. The number of bedrooms is not the only thing that the lessor needs to take into consideration. And if the tenant does make a request and feels that the lessor is being unreasonable, they can come to the RTA for dispute resolution. So if approved, Katie then needs to decide how the new tenant will come into the arrangement. Taylor could be added to the lease agreement, thus becoming a co-tenant and therefore a share house situation. Taylor may pay half the bond and Katie would need to take steps to change her share of the bond over with us here at the RTA. And we'd also encourage them to have a conversation about the things we discussed earlier. Things like how to pay the rent, cleaning guests and those sorts of things. Now if Katie didn't want to add Taylor to her agreement, she could create a subtenancy. She'd need to get Taylor to sign an agreement. She'd take a bond and lodge it with us. Katie continues to be solely responsible to the agent for the agreement that the she signed and therefore responsible for all of Taylor's actions, including any damage that she may call. Katie could then claim from Taylor's bond if she needed to. And Katie would also, as I mentioned earlier, be conscious of her requirements if her tenancy unit is ended. She needs to end Taylor's tenancy by using correct time frames. So now we'll have a look at a situation where we've got multiple tenants in a tenancy agreement and they want to make some changes. So in this example, Adam and Chris agree and accept Elton's decision to complete a world tour. But to make this happen, let's discuss what they need to do next and what their options are. So Adam and Chris can continue the tenancy in Elton's absence as long as they pay the rent in full on time and continue to meet any other responsibilities. It would be recommended in this situation that they put something in writing to the property manager, advising that Elton is seeking agreement to transfer his interest to Ed and Chris. And they should also consider the bond situation. They can pay Elton his share and arrange to transfer the bond into Ed and Chris's names. This would then leave the bond and the lease in Ed and Chris's names to continue. If they choose to replace Elton, they'd still be required to seek permission to transfer Elton's interest in the tenancy. Except this time, they're not transferring Elton's interest back to Chris and Ed, but to another tenant. If approved, it's more likely that that new person, let's call it Sting, will be added to the agreement and become a co-tenant. Elton's share of the bond can be paid by Sting to Elton and a form six can be processed to change the details that the RTA hold. It's encouraged that these steps are taken prior to a tenant leaving. That way the bond can be sorted and signatures can be obtained. We do understand and see situations, however, where co-tenancy relationships break down and one tenant leaves without taking any of the steps that we've talked about. These can get very messy in trying to sort matters out. Now, just remember, if you do have any questions regarding Sting's information, please use the chat and drop them in and we will address it a little bit later on. So what are our top tips for share houses and subletting? So remember that if you do need to make changes to your existing agreement, it's important to understand the difference between a share house situation or co-tenancy and a sublet. Make the decision that works best for you. The act is clear. The tenant or tenants must seek permission to transfer their interest or sublet and the property owner or manager must be reasonable in their decision making in agreeing to the request. Open communication from all parties is the key here. It is a breach of an agreement for a tenant to have more occupants than the agreement allows. So using the case study or looking at the case study we looked at before, if Katie allowed Taylor to take the second room without permission, she can be considered to be in breach of the agreement and issued a breach notice. If permission is provided to transfer your interest or sublet, then the tenant needs to decide on how they're going to proceed. Are they going to bring the new person in as a co-tenant or start them off as a subtenant? And please, as I've mentioned, don't forget the bond. We see too many instances of a share house changing tenants across the course of a tenancy but not sorting the bond out. Sometimes the tenants left at the end of the tenancy are not the tenants named on the bond and this can make it difficult if a claim is made on the bond because A, payments may not be made to those that are there but those that are named on the bond record and also the tenants left at the end may not get an opportunity to participate in the dispute process. We do encourage all parties to discuss changes to the bond and seek agreement on what will happen with the bond. Changes can be made to the bond using the RTA's web services and tenants can initiate and complete this process without involvement from the property manager or LSO. Property manager or LSO will receive notification of the changes when the process is complete but it's also important to remember that changes to the bond are not changes to the lease agreement and all parties need to agree and sign to make any changes to a lease. A paper form six is still an option so if it's easier to collect signatures and submit the form to the RTA, we would encourage you to follow that process. If you're looking for more information about anything that we have discussed here today, I encourage you to access the resources that are shown here on your screen. So we do have a couple of pages both on share houses and on subtenancies on our website. We also have an article from our recent E news and a podcast that does discuss this in a little bit more detail. And as I mentioned, there is a lot of information on our website but also if you do have any questions, please reach out to us through our contact centre if you need help with your specific circumstances. So the RTA Contact Centre is available Monday to Friday and we have free access to interpreters.


I got a call, let me tell you, 85 South, DC Fly. Yeah, yeah, DC Young Fly, I know him. DC Young Fly. Shout out. Yeah, shout out. He has, in fact, that's who has my vest right now. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's who has my, he, at the every, before I tell that story, he was performing, and them youngsters was, y'all know him, they was packed, it was cold, y'all, yeah. Oh, jeez, this a real honor right here, man. The two allowed me to wear this vest. You dig what I'm saying.  You dig what I'm saying. Hey, Chicago, make it, get, get, get, get, show some love, man. They just lined up, he called. He said, man, I'm not coming through Chicago, Chandler, not touching down, man, we're yet, you know. So, man, come on to the Hampton House. We go down there, we ride, it comes, you come to the Hampton House. It's about two, three in the morning. We on boss talk, one-on-one, one-on-one. Yeah, we gon' talk. We, um, I got a call from the JV5 South, DC Fly. Yeah, yeah, DC Young Fly, I know him. DC Young Fly. Shout out. Yeah, shout out, you know. He does, he has, in fact, that's who has my vest right now. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's who has my, he, at the area, before I tell that story, he was performing, and you know what I'm saying, y'all know him, they was packed, it was cold. Oh, jeez, this a real honor right here, man. The two allowed me to wear this vest. Oh, yeah. They just lined up. He called, he said, man, I'm not coming through Chicago, chairman, I'm touching down, man, we're yet, you know. So, man, come on to the Hampton House, we go down there, we ride, it comes, you come to the Hampton House. It's about two, three in the morning. I take him back, I show him the bed frame, that chairman Fred, this is actually chairman Fred's bed. The frame, I said, that's the chairman's bed. I got, he's, he, he said, man, look, he said, I said, oh, I didn't plan that. The sweater that he gave me for 85 South was laying right there on the bed. I said, man, just having to be there. Then he come out and he grabbed his dirt from the, you know what I'm saying, from the front, from the front. And then, the next time he came through him, shout out to the whole crew, 85 South, man, man, I love all them cats. They was, I was telling him about the time when Richard, community change, Richard Pryde, who was impacted by the path of the party, when he acknowledged minister U.P. Newman for the stage. Next day, DC Young Fly, man, on the stage, he said, man, I'm at play, he said, man, he calling pieces of the parts of the movie, Daniel Kaluuya's role in the movie. And he said, man, the Black Panther party club thing. He said, I'm thinking, I'm, this December 1979, December 29th, that's the day the minister U.P. Newman, I mean, the Richard Pryde brought minister U.P. Newman out.  So we got to be innovative to get this information because everybody, we're not fortunate to have a whole bunch of people, y'all's just gonna be 10, let me write about this. Right, right. So we got to stay well. Got to figure out how to make them get interested in the information so they can retain it. That's fine for power, right on. Minister U.P. Newman said, power, power is the ability to define phenomena and make it act in desired manner. Power is the ability to define phenomena and make it act in desired manner. Reverend Nat Turner put us into the ground. He said, oh, the church is phenomenal. Praise Lord, past ammunition. Harriet Tubman said, oh, the Negro spirit is phenomenal. Way in the water, I mean, we down by the water when the sun went out. Chairman Freya said, oh, the organizational question, the street organization, it's phenomenal in this city. You know what I'm saying? He defined it and made it work in the interest of the people. You know what I'm saying? So we got to see, we got to study the people. So what's phenomenal? And what is phenomenal? Phenomenon is an unusual event that can be scientifically explained. What the system does to us is they incorrectly define phenomenal. Whether we hear pop, street organizations or not, and they make it work in the disinterest of us. We have to define it and make it work in the interest of the people. You have to have organized a structure. Like you said about chairman, you know, like I said, for you to be able to, you have to hold on to that. You know what I mean? And I think that's, I like that, that's dope, you know? So, but ODC Young Fly Nem took you on stage. I like that too, because they deal with a lot of the youth. They deal with a lot of young people. So at the end of the day, with them dealing with the people that they deal with, 85 South, Ben is a show, you know, a spring boy where they came, they deal with a while and now and all type. That whole crowd of people that follows them for them to be able to inject you into that scenario. There's another big, gigantic, enormous thing, you know what I mean? So to hear that just, it's being an older cat, you know? It just, it shows me that there's hope. And I guess the subjective, okay, we was going to Atlanta for another move. This cat was talking about who he was going to be for this speaking engagement. Now, and bless, the brother who was hooking up, bless his heart, I was telling him, the cat he was talking about, he didn't really know who I was.   I said, okay. So we go through the whole trip, we get down there. So now it's reality, he didn't do like, man, I didn't know who this was, you know? So I said, on trip, so I tell my guy, it ain't no hard. So he really just kind of messed up. I was trying to explain, it's a different dynamic. So we ended up speaking to some youngsters, I think there's more houses, some other schools, just like, I mean, a lot of my best moves I'm playing. And then some cats seen me in the restaurant. Okay, brother, scapegoat, I think this is his name. He said, man, I don't recognize that hat. He said, man, he's the chairman, you know what I'm saying? I said, yeah. He said, man, what you doing to mom, man? He said, man, I said, we got to hit the road.  I want him to go to the 85 South. Man. Lot of cats said, man, chairman, go on there, man. You be joking, comedy, I said, okay, man. I said, so I said, yeah, but every youngster I talked to like, man, 85, I said, we gone. Got to. I said, I told this kid one time, brother named Big D, he's be like the point man for Wacka Flocka. He said, hey, man, how you been doing with all this stuff going on, doing these Odyssey Johnson's and stuff, man? He said, aren't you getting tired of this? I said, man, I got to do the good, the bad, the ugly. I just can't dream though, I could feel the wonder. You want to reach everybody, man. We going to age. You want to reach everybody. We going, you know what I'm saying? And we going in with the recognizing reality that there are some cows with you too. Exactly.  That's how they say about the movie on movies, they say, champ, you always saying that, see. We're not going to, see, you get yourself of a disappointment when you come in and think everybody's going to be on the same position. You're hiding the contradictions, you learn about yourself. I tell you, when I was locked up, one of the best sale mates I ever had was gathering in with Chairman Frey and Captain Jones. I studied me. I watched him. I said, I haven't seen you. We on boss talk one on one, one on one. Yeah, we gone talk.


maen nhw fyddai bob y prosiectau. That concludes general questions. We turn now to First Minister's questions. Jackson Carlaw. Thank you, Presiding Officer. In the independence referendum campaign, just a few short years ago, the First Minister pledged we should keep the UK pound, permanently, forever, because in her words that was in the best interests of Scotland. Yet this week she and the SNP voted to ditch the UK pound. Felly os anwarwch hysbysig wedi cyho � mic o gyll widello busch, os fydd iaith ein lle waith currently yn y L酵au mwy yn y unig. Felly os anwarwch am Aberystwyngol, cynnig ddiwedd yn myyf na gwiaith eu gwirio hi mi yn myf frasianknwys, ond os gydig fel yw'r un mai se bach wedi gweld eu美味u ar ysu cyчтоff esoed, ond arall mae eri daeth i ddim yn arkersuio gyda'i 외 smeg ond os oedd hi'n ddig sy'r marker off姿. g Score that are right here in Scotland for our interests, rather than having decisions that are against our interests are imposed on by Westminster. However, I have to say—I admire him for this in some ways, because it is very brave of Jackson Carlaw to stand up here today and talk about currency. When he next gets onto his feet and purely in the interests of transparency, would he supervise the chamber how much of its value the Pound has lost in the last couple of years directly as a result of Tory policy on Brexit? Jackson Karlaw. It is true, to the last of the First Minister's practising for two years from now when she is sitting here as leader of the Opposition. Five years ago Pound wasASHT , up until today, five years ago. It was to keep the Pound forever. a that day it's ditched the pound as soon as possible. And I hope the First Minister's got those six tests written down in front of her today because she had a wee bit of a problem yesterday remembering what they actually were. One of them, which she did forget about then, is would a separate currency meet the needs of Scottish residents and businesses for stability and continuity of their financial arrangements and would it command wide support? Having failed yesterday, let me offer the First Minister a chance to redeem herself today. Byddai'r reunoes sydd yn ein cyfnod lleiw, oedd y iawn i mewn ffiantol i ddwyg. Felly, mae'n ffiantol i ddwyg ac eich lleiw ar y cwmno bobl cais i ddeithas gyfarfod uch yn ddych i dded Philos Yout Lewis yw y ddwyng y Log o'ch raiion Cymru. Ond efallai i chi'n graf i ddwyg, rydyn ni fod eich ddwy o ddwy a ddwy i ddwy ac i ddwy i ddwy a ddwy about the immediate threat that is facing Scotland. How about the Institute of Directors? It is difficult to imagine a policy that inflicts more economic harm on Scotland than Brexit. How about the Resolution Foundation? Household incomes are around £1,500 a year lower today as a result of Brexit. The Federation of Small Businesses, the recent months of turmoil, financial uncertainty and economic uncertainty have had a negative impact on business confidence. The former chair of Standard Life Brexit is an unmitigated disaster. Brexit is the single biggest public crisis that we have had to face in living memory. It is because of that disaster being imposed on Scotland that Scotland needs the power to take our own decisions. The Tories are laughing about it, but it is no laughing matter for businesses and individuals the length and breadth of the country. Jackson Carlaw talks about who is going to be in opposition and in government in a couple of years' time. I should today congratulate him on his period of acting leadership of the Conservative Party, because polls at the weekend suggested that, under his stewardship, the Tories have gone from second place in Scottish politics to third place, or actually in one poll, to fourth place in Scottish politics. Those of us in these benches thoroughly endorse Jackson Carlaw's record in office. Jackson Carlaw. That is customarily generous of the First Minister. I can assure her that, unlike some, I will not be coming to her for a reference, but I have a sister-in-law who does HR and can help to polish up that CV. She has apparently got sitting with the UN where she is looking for a future job opportunity, but let me wish her well in the two years, or perhaps significantly less time, left to her before the next election two years today. Perhaps there is a reason why, in that great big long list of quotations, Nicola Sturgeon did not actually list one from anybody who is in favour of scrapping the pound. Perhaps it is because Nicola Sturgeon's plan, from day one of independence, could lead to anestimated 45,000 Scottish homes being pushed into negative equity, similar to that scene during the 2008 financial crisis. I know that the SNP does not like to hear it, but, unfortunately for them, that is not just our view. It is the verdict this week of Richard Marsh, one of the First Minister's own economic experts. Has he, an adviser to her own growth commission, just got it all wrong? Of course, the essence of independence is that we take the decisions in this Parliament that are right for Scotland, so that we do not have to have imposed upon us by Westminster decisions that are damaging to our interests. The real threat to Scotland right now is that damage to our economy coming from Brexit, described as a disaster by so many businesses, individuals and academics, the length and breadth of the country. That is why we see support for independence increasing. It is why we see support for this Government increasing, and it is why we see support for the Scottish Conservatives starting to go through the floor. People in Scotland know that the time is coming when we need to get riddatory Governments once and for all and take control of our own future into our own hands. Jackson Carlaw. We have a plan by the First Minister to ditch the pound and create a new Scottish currency. Yesterday, she could not remember the six tests that she herself had set for it. It is not supported by any impartial business groups or trade unions. Her own party's growth commission adviser thinks that it is a turkey. The First Minister was right when she said that permanently keeping the UK pound is in the best interests of Scotland. Isn't it just a simple fact that the best way to keep Scotland successful, to protect our pensions, to boost jobs, is for Scotland to have nothing whatsoever to do with Nicola Sturgeon's plans for a breakaway currency, to keep our UK pound and keep Scotland in the UK? As people with slightly longer memories than it suits Jackson Carlaw to have, it will recall that Jackson Carlaw and his colleagues told Scotland in 2014 that we would not be allowed to keep the UK pound. There is not a shred of consistency in their arguments. What independence means is that we take decisions that are right for the interests of businesses and individuals, the length and breadth of our country. What it means is that we do not have to face the prospect of decisions like Brexit being imposed on us by Westminster. That is why we see support for independence rising, and it is why we see the terror in the eyes of Jackson Carlaw and his colleagues as they see the writing well and truly on the wall. The Scottish Labour Party welcomes today's commitment from the Scottish Government to meet ambitious climate change targets. This is the future of our planet and we need emergency action now, but we also need to ensure that the transition to a net zero greenhouse gas economy is a just transition, one that is socially just and one that benefits working people in Scotland. The First Minister's predecessor promised us that renewable energy and the low-carbon economy would deliver 130,000 jobs for Scotland by 2020. Can the First Minister tell us whether that promise will be delivered? First, I welcome Richard Leonard's focus on climate change today. I hope that everybody across the chamber welcomes the fact that Scotland, in the commitments that we are making today, is not just continuing our role as a world leader, but we are redefining the bar of world leadership. Everybody in Scotland should be proud of that. Richard Leonard is right to talk about just transition. That is why the environment secretary has already established a just transition commission, something that we were encouraged to do by the STUC, and the work of that commission will be extremely important. Meeting those targets, of course, mean that we have to up our ambition and our action across the whole range of Government responsibilities. That puts our responsibility on the shoulders of opposition parties as well, not to have knee-jerk opposition to everything that is tough or challenging, as we have seen Labour and other opposition parties do in quite recent times. On the issue of jobs, there are today around 50,000 jobs across our economy as a result of the move to renewable energy and low-carbon energy. The turnover from that sector is around £11 billion a year. I have been very frank that Scotland is not yet doing as well on that front as we should be doing, which is why this morning, at our initiative, a summit has been taking place, including the unions, to look at how we increase the supply chain benefits of these big renewable energy projects. I hope that we have the support of all parties across this chamber as we make sure that, as we do the morally right thing on climate change, we also deliver all of the economic benefits in Scotland that people want to see. Richard Leonard. According to the Scottish TUC, only 46,000 jobs have been created in the sector where the Government promised 130,000 jobs. That is just over a third of the number promised. We all know that the figure would be much higher if contract after contract for wind turbines had not been awarded to supply chains overseas. Moving to a low-carbon economy, a renewables-focused economy should lead to a jobs windfall for Scotland, not for Spain, not for Belgium, not for the United Arab Emirates. Today's Scottish Government meeting with the companies and unions in the offshore sector is welcome, but does the First Minister recognise that what we need is not simply a one-off summit but the establishment of a permanent council for the sector to develop a strategy for the industry and a forward-looking action plan? Will the First Minister establish such a body? If that is one of the reasonable recommendations that come from the summit, we will fully consider that. I would certainly not be opposed to that kind of initiative. I want to make sure that we are doing everything possible to capture the maximum economic benefit from the renewables-low-carbon revolution. It is in all of our interests to do that. The Government has shown our willingness to act while there are big challenges for companies such as BiFab. One of the reasons why we are having the summit today is that BiFab would no longer exist right now if it had not been for the intervention of the Government. We are determined to see that benefit in the supply chain of our economy. Of course, one of the things that it is not the only factor here, but one of the factors is that we do not hold all of the levers, which is why we have invited the UK Government to take part in the summit today. I hope that I would have Richard Leonard's support if we have to ask for greater powers to deal with this. However, I want to see us take action now. I want to see us maximise the levers at our own disposal. Around 50,000, as I said, aligns with the figures from the trade union. I want to see that number of jobs increase dramatically over the years to come. That is a massive opportunity that we have. I am determined that we seize it with both hands. The First Minister talks of action and ambition. The First Minister has a bold climate change target, but her boldest climate change policy is a £150 million tax cut that benefits the richest people the most and actually drives up emissions. The First Minister tells us that she has factored that in, but that is simply not good enough. If the First Minister really is serious about the climate emergency, will she once and for all drop her commitment to cut the air departure tax? For reasons that members across the chamber are aware of, the reduction in air departure tax is not going ahead this year. Right across, and I said this a moment ago, the increase in our scale of ambition today will mean that we need to reconsider policies across the whole range of our responsibilities. We have committed to publishing a revised climate change plan within six months of the new legislation being passed by the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee. We need to look across our range of responsibilities and see where we are going to increase the scale of our ambition. That is a discussion that I hope all parties across the chamber will be involved in. That has been commented on by global experts just today. One of the things that set Scotland's targets already, even before today's announcement, apart from other countries, is that we include things that other countries do not include. One of those is emissions from aviation. If we are seeing an increase for whatever reason there, we have to offset that from a decrease elsewhere. That is one of the many things that make our targets genuinely world-leading. We do not shy away from our responsibilities here, but when it comes to things—I say this to Richard Leonard seriously—his opposition to things such as the suggestion to give councils more power over workplace parking, for example, if he wants to be taken seriously on climate change, he has to rethink some of his positions as well. If we are all prepared to do that, then not only will Scotland be a world leader in setting targets, over the next few years Scotland will be a world leader in meeting those targets as well. We have a lot of interest in supplementary constituency questions. The first is from Alex Neil, to be followed by Jackie Baillie. Thank you very much indeed, Presiding Officer. Can I ask the First Minister about the consequences of the liquidation of healthcare environmental services that was limited last Friday and the loss of 150 jobs and shots? Can I ask the First Minister if she will do all she possibly can to ensure that all the ex-employees of this company receive all the back-pay and other monies that are still owed, amounting to an estimated total of £1 million? Can I also ask the First Minister when the remaining 250 tonnes of medical waste still stored at the shawts site will be removed? Finally, can I also ask the First Minister to raise with the UK Government the need to deal with the inadequacies in the company's legislation and the company's act, which have been highlighted by the demise of healthcare environmental? Well, now that healthcare environmental services has formally entered in solvency, the redundancy payment service will be in touch with the liquidators to put a process in place to enable ex-employees to claim for unpaid wages and holiday pay up to statutory limits. In terms of the aspect of annuals question about storage of waste, recent SEPA inspections have not identified any significant environmental risk or any risk to the wellbeing of local communities. However, we will continue to work with SEPA to ensure that the sites are cleared safely and all waste is disposed of appropriately should that become necessary. In terms of the last aspect of the question, in light of the case and all of the experience arising from it, we will consider whether any changes are required to company law, which is of course reserved and, if necessary, we will communicate those suggested changes to the UK Government. Jackie Baillie to be followed by Sandra White First Minister, pigeons were found roosting inside the Vale of Leven hospital following the Easter weekend. Given that cryptococcus, an infection derived from pigeon droppings, contributed to the deaths of two patients at the Queen Elizabeth hospital, I'm sure that the First Minister will appreciate the concerns of my local constituents. Can I therefore ask her to ensure that there is a review of infection control measures across all Scottish hospitals so that we deal effectively with the problem and improve patient safety? I thank Jackie Baillie for raising the issue. I understand that pigeons were found in a public area of the hospital so that it was not in use at the time. However, the facilities team removed them immediately after the incident was reported and the room was then thoroughly cleaned with the recommended products for this type of incident. The steps that were taken by the board to manage this were appropriate. Staff have been reminded to keep the windows closed to ensure that this does not happen again. In terms of any wider lessons learned and the on-going reviews around hospital infection arising out of the situation in Glasgow, we will make sure that all appropriate lessons are fed into that and all appropriate lessons learned. Sandra White will be filled by Monica Lennon. Thank you, Presiding Officer. The First Minister will be aware of the mindless acts of vandalism on St Simon's Roman Catholic Church and partying in my constituency this week. The shrine of our Lady of Chestycova, which has been part of the church since the 1940s, and much loved by the Polish congregation, was desecrated. Can the First Minister offer guidance on what the Scottish Government can provide places of worship to deter the senseless acts of vandalism? The vandalism of St Simon's Church is absolutely appalling and a complete outrage. I am sure that everybody is of that view. While it is for the police to investigate incidents such as this, including any motivation for it, we should all be clear about the anti-Catholic or, in this case, possibly anti-Polish discrimination must not be tolerated. Just like anti-Semitism or Islamophobia, anti-Catholic discrimination is a scourge on our society and it must be eradicated. Places of worship, whether Christian churches, mosques, synagogues, temples, any places of worship must be places of peace and sanctuary. That is why the justice secretary and I have given a commitment to explore further what the Scottish Government could do to ensure safety and security for all faith communities and their places of worship. Monica Lennon, to be followed by Angela Constance. Workers from Hermeyr's hospital in East Kilbride are protesting outside of Parliament right now against payroll changes by ISSUK that will result in a week's pay being withheld from them. They are hospital cleaners, porters, catering, maintenance and domestic staff who are low-paid and are being forced to apply for payday loans. Richard Leonard and I addressed the rally on the way to the chamber. Will the First Minister and the Health Secretary go outside and listen to the GMB, unison and the workers and commit to doing all that they can to take the matter up with ISSUK and NHS Lanarkshire? First Minister. Because this is a PFI hospital, a PFI contract signed by a Labour Government, this is unfortunately, first and foremost, an issue between a private contractor and their staff. That said, NHS Lanarkshire is actively trying to resolve the issue. Our concern is for the staff involved to our valued members of the local healthcare team, and it is vital to ensure that that does not impact on the hospital's ability to provide services to patients. The health secretary has written to the chief executive of ISSUK today, asking them to seek an urgent resolution to this dispute in partnership with the board and the trade union. I understand that the health board has put forward solutions, and I would urge the company to react positively to that. She is also asked to meet the chief executive to encourage him in person to follow the proposal from NHS Lanarkshire. I understand that the health secretary has also offered to meet the trade unions to discuss the action that the Government will take in light of that. However, this is one example and one illustration of why the type of PFI contracts signed under previous Labour administrations were such a big mistake, and I hope that Labour has learned lots of lessons from them. Angela Constance Thank you, Presiding Officer. First Minister, it is now two years since my constituent, Kirsty Maxwell, died in Benidorm. As you have met Kirsty's family, I know that you are well aware of their deal. Notwithstanding the central role for the foreign and commonwealth office, I believe that there is more that we can do in this Parliament to support families like Kirsty's, who have had a loved one killed abroad. Will the First Minister commit to ensuring that, before this year, it is out that we can offer families, families like Kirsty's, something more than our condolences, like a service that provides practical, emotional and perhaps even financial support? First Minister. Yes, I agree very much with Angela Constance's comments. I take the opportunity once again to pass on my sincere condolences to the family of Kirsty Maxwell. My thoughts are with them at this very difficult time. The cabinet secretary for justice and I have met with Kirsty's family and, indeed, with other families who have been affected by the death of a loved one abroad. From hearing their experiences directly, I am of the view, similar to that expressed by Angela Constance, that the current system of support is not entirely satisfactory. I am very keen that we continue to explore the issue further, particularly in the context of the victims task force and the forthcoming report from the all-party UK parliamentary group on deaths abroad and consular services. Any improvements will, of course, require change across a number of services and I would continue to welcome input from members and stakeholders as to how this might best be achieved. I think that all of us want to make sure that we do hear those experiences and that we do everything within our power to ease, as far as we possibly can, the suffering of families in those circumstances. I congratulate the First Minister on her change of heart in declaring a climate emergency just weeks after voting against the green motion to do just that. I welcome her change of heart and her commitment to introducing more ambitious climate targets. I am also pleased to hear of Richard Leonard's passion for renewable jobs in light of his party's recent approval of a new coal mine. An emergency demands immediate action. The world's climate scientists have warned that we have a decade to deliver the change that we need to avoid climate catastrophe. So what immediate changes in government policy does the First Minister plan now that she has recognised the climate emergency? First Minister? First, there is no change of heart. Let me quote the chairman of the climate change committee this morning. Scotland has been a leader within the UK with many of its policies to tackle climate change. We said that we would act on the updated advice and that is exactly what we have done. The other parts of the UK, as far as I am aware, haven't yet reacted or given commitments to the report that was published this morning. So in terms of the commitment to recognise the climate emergency, the first thing that we have done is to increase the scale of our targets. We will now look at our climate change plan, we will bring forward a revised climate change plan within six months of the new act passing, and we will look right across, as I said to Richard Leonard, right across our range of responsibilities to make sure that we are continuing the policies that we have under wages now, but also increasing where that is necessary. The advice of the climate change committee, the advice of non-governmental organisations will be very important to us as we do that. Targets, policies and plans are essential, they are important, but we need action. Investing in public transport and safer streets has a crucial role to play in tackling the climate emergency. Now this Government boasts of how it is doubled spending on walking and cycling, but it is still just 3 per cent of the transport budget. Is it a surprise that we are currently seeing journeys by bike in Scotland at 1 per cent? That is woeful and in telling contrast, the Scottish Government continues to pursue a climate-busting tax cut worth £160 billion that would benefit wealthy frequent fliers the most. Young climate campaigners will not understand how the First Minister can support that. Now that you have recognised the climate emergency, will you abandon this unfair and environmentally damaging proposal and invest the money in active travel and in the public transport that people use every day? First of all, it is because of the actions that we have been taking across a whole range of areas that we have already in Scotland almost halffed our emissions. The record in Scotland is a good one, and it is recognised globally as such. All of us, me included, recognise that we have to do more, we have to do it faster, which is why we have made the commitment that we have made today. We have doubled the active travel budget. Alison Johnstone can dismiss that, but it was widely welcomed at the time, and it is an important statement of our intent. Working with the Greens, of course, we have come forward with a plan to give councils more power, to raise more revenue, to invest more in public transport, again something that is welcomed by those who care about the environment. In terms of air departure tasks, it is not happening this year for reasons that the Parliament is aware of. Right across all areas of our responsibility, the renewed commitment that we have made today will mean that we have to look carefully at every single policy. I absolutely agree with Alison Johnstone that setting targets is one thing. Having the policy programme in place to meet them is what really matters, and that is what this Government is committed to doing. I look forward to those plans being scrutinised by parties across the chamber, and I look forward to all parties. That is probably not fair to direct this during a Green question. It is more directed at some of the other parties here, but I hope that all parties are prepared to rise to the challenge and drop the needy aco position when it suits the short-term politics and all of his unite behind doing what is right for the future of our planet. Some further supplementaries. The first from Bill Kidd, to be full by Kezia Dugdale. Bill Kidd. Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the First Minister what is the Scottish Government's position regarding the 9.4 million signatures gathered in support of the Bacchusia petition calling for an end to the nuclear weapons across the world? We take the view, which is a statement of the obvious, that the use of nuclear weapons would be indiscriminate and devastating, bringing unspeakable human suffering and widespread and lasting environmental damage. The Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament have made clear our opposition to nuclear weapons. We need to do all we can to create the conditions for a safer world without them. It is very encouraging to see the number of signatures that have supported the petition that Bill Kidd refers to. I take the opportunity again today to call on the UK Government and indeed calling on all those who have not yet taken steps to rid the world of these dreadful weapons of mass destruction to reconsider urgently. Kezia Dugdale, to be full by Keith Brown. Thank you. This week, women in England and Wales were told that their entire email message in photograph history would be subjected to police examination should they report a rape to the police.  Can the First Minister explain what safeguards are in place to ensure that this does not and could not happen in Scotland? I thank Kezia Dugdale for raising the issue. In all the justice reforms that we are taking forward to tackle violence against women, rape and domestic violence, we must make sure that the rights of women or those who are attacked and abused are absolutely centre stage. We must not make it more difficult or more intimidating or more off-putting for women to come forward. I fear, as Kezia Dugdale does, that the announcements elsewhere in the UK may make that the case. We will ensure that that is at the heart of all our justice policy. I am sure that this Parliament will work with us in ensuring that that is exactly the environment that we are seeking to create. To answer the First Minister whether the Scottish Government has already or whether it intends to carry out a review of the potential impact on Scotland of leaks from the National Security Council, and whether she agrees with me that, as all service personnel, including members of my old unit, four or five commander who are in the gallery today, have to sign and abide by the terms of this act, as well as many others, that any breach of the act by a member of the NEC should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law? Most people would agree with the sentiments that Keith Brown has just articulated. Obviously, it is a matter for the police to determine what criminal investigations they take forward and what the progress of them might be. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on that. However, politically, as a politician, it is reprehensible that there were leaks from the National Security Committee. It is a sign of the complete dysfunction at the heart of the UK Government. Any minister who has been found guilty of leaking in such a way is right that they lose their job. However, all politicians and Governments should recognise the responsibility and the privileges that we carry and should not be behaving in the way that it appears. Gavin Williamson was behaving for his own selfish political ends. Thank you, Presiding Officer, to ask the First Minister what the social and economic impacts are of immigration. First Minister. All of Scotland's future population growth is projected to come from migration. It is essential for our future prosperity and delivery of our public services. All of us, in my view, have a duty to dispel the many myths about migration. We know that people who come to live and work in Scotland typically contribute more through tax revenues than they consume by way of public services. Research from Oxford Economics published last year found that people who arrived in the UK in 2016 are projected to make a total net positive contribution of just under £27 billion to the UK's public finances over the entirety of their stay. We should be very proud that people have chosen to make Scotland their home, and we should welcome the ways in which they shape our culture, our communities and our country. Stuart McMillan I thank the First Minister for that reply. In my Greenland and Emberclay constituency, there are hundreds of EU nationals who have chosen to make my community their home, enriching the community. Does the First Minister agree with me that it is incumbent on every Scottish politician to stand up for migrants and our communities, highlighting the huge contribution that they make not only culturally, but as the stats provided by the FSB this morning show to our economy, and that the upcoming EU elections are an opportunity to show that Scotland is open and welcoming by ensuring that anti-immigration parties such as UKIP, the Brexit party and the Tories no longer represent Scotland in Europe? Can I just encourage members not to actively campaign for the European elections where they are imminent? I agree with everything that Stuart McMillan has just said. In particular, the statistics that have been released by the Federation of Small Businesses today show that one in 10 businesses in Scotland is led by a migrant entrepreneur. Those firms contribute more than £13 billion to the Scottish economy and provide more than 100,000 jobs. Those statistics bring into sharp focus the catastrophic effect of the UK Government's obsession with ending free movement and the effect that that could have on small businesses and our general economic wellbeing. It is now vital and urgent for this Parliament to have the additional powers that we need to enable the design of migration policies that meet the needs of Scottish businesses, communities and public services, and to send a very clear message wherever we choose to send it that the Tories' hostile immigration environment is not welcome here in Scotland and it's time for it to end. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the long-term infrastructure recommendations of the Glasgow Connectivity Commission. The publication of the commission's report is very timely, as Transport Scotland is currently undertaking a nationwide assessment of transport requirements. That is being done through an updated national transport strategy and the second strategic transport project review. The strategic review will look at what infrastructure is needed to provide Scotland with a transport network fit for the future and it will advise ministers on future investments. We will consider the commission's recommendations as part of this appraisal, allowing us to balance the needs of communities around the country. Can I commend the work of Professor David Begg and his team for producing what I think is a sort of ambitious and forward-thinking plan that the Glasgow region is crying out for? It could transform how people travel and commute around Glasgow but also offers a number of proposals that offer real economic upside to the entire west of Scotland. First Minister, I think that this report deserves proper merit of scrutiny and debate given the scale of its proposals and the importance to Glasgow. Can she confirm how the Government will address and respond to each of the recommendations that are made in the report and ensure that this report does not simply gather dust on the shelves of Glasgow City Council? I think that I did do that in my original answer, but I am very happy to agree with Jamie Greene's assessment of the commission's report. I would also welcome and pay tribute to the work of Professor David Begg and pay tribute to the vision of the administration in Glasgow City Council for commissioning this piece of work. I think that it has great potential as a Glasgow MSP and a Glasgow resident. I can see the potential of many of its recommendations. It is now right that it is considered in full and in the context of the broader strategic work that Transport Scotland is going to undertake. The commitment that I give today is that that will happen and that will allow the Government to consider all of the commission's recommendations and look at how it will benefit not just Glasgow and the west of Scotland, but how those proposals fit in to a strategy that benefits the whole of the country. I am sure that Parliament will be kept updated as that work proceeds. To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government has taken to address climate change. As we have already been debating today, there is a climate emergency and we must all act accordingly. That is why the Scottish Government embraces today's report from the UK Committee on Climate Change and all that it contains. This morning, we lodged amendments to the climate change bill, which, if supported by Parliament, will set a net zero target for 2045, meaning that Scotland's contribution to climate change will end within a generation. It would also make us carbon neutral by 2040. The committee's advice is clear that achieving those targets depends on action from the UK as well as the Scottish Government. As such, we have today written to UK ministers requesting an urgent meeting and a collaborative approach. I can also confirm, as I think I already have done this morning, that we will also update the current climate change plan within six months of the bill receiving royal assent, as recommended by the environment committee. I welcome the flurry of announcements from politicians, including the First Minister, declaring a climate emergency. Can the First Minister advise how appalling bus and train services and abstention by her MSPs on Heathrow expansion, the failure to legislate for a legal ban and fracking, support for the expansion of air travel and a policy to cut, then scrap, air departure tax, contribute to addressing the climate emergency, or could ever be described as world leading? First Minister? Of course, it is global experts who describe Scotland's actions as world leading. They are lining up today to do exactly that, while encouraging us to go further. I think that all parties should really get behind this now. Of course, we will continue to have disagreements on individual policies, but the scale of ambition in these targets puts us way ahead of any other country in the world. It redefines the bar of world leadership and it is something all of us should be proud of. I would say to Neil Findlay, as I said to Richard Leonard, if Labour, as I believe they sincerely do, wants to see greater investment in bus travel, for example, why on earth are they so opposed to the proposal to give councils power to raise the revenue to do exactly that, to help to get people out of cars and on to public transport. There is a glaring inconsistency at the heart of Labour's position, and until they sort that out, they might lack the credibility to ask the kind of questions that Neil Findlay has just asked. Maurice Golden Thank you, Presiding Officer. I welcome the ambition on climate change, but this SNP Government is set to miss its recycling target by 12 years, has barely moved on transport emissions, and its lack of planning on a landfill ban could cost taxpayers £1 billion. Given those failures and a host of others, how can this Parliament have confidence that future targets will be met by this SNP Government? The First Minister On climate change, we are meeting the current targets and we are upping our scale of ambition so that we do even more in the future. On a day when the Committee on Climate Change has issued advice not just to the Scottish Government but to the UK Government and the Welsh Government, and on the day when the Scottish Government has immediately accepted that advice—I have not heard the UK Government accept the advice to it—I think that the Welsh Government this morning has said that it might respond by the end of next year to the Committee on Climate Change. We are taking the world-leading action that people expect us to take, and we will make sure that we have in place the policies to meet those targets. This is a responsibility for all of us. As I have said to the Tories, as I have said to Labour, we all have to step up to the plate on this, and people will be watching closely in the months and years to come absolutely what this Government does, but they will be paying very close attention to Tory policies. As far as I suspect, the Tories will be found wanting, so I hope that that changes as well, so that together we can make sure that Scotland is a world leader, not just in the targets that we set but in our meeting of those targets. That is something that future generations will be proud of. Liam McArthur Thank you very much, Scottish Liberal Democrats. I welcome the decision by the Scottish Government to the revised commitment to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. Last week, the First Minister told Willie Rennie that she would not drop her plans for a £250 million tax cut to the aviation industry, instead boasting that the Government would just measure the extra emissions instead. That is a response that she has repeated again this week. This morning, the chief executive of the Climate Change Committee has said, quote, that it would help immensely with the emissions challenge that is in Scotland if the Government did not choose to cut tasks to boost flights. Can I ask the First Minister again, will she accept the advice and scrap the proposed aviation tax cut? The First Minister As I have said two or three times already today, that change is not happening this year for reasons that have been well set out. We will consider our policies across the whole range of Government responsibilities because that is what we require to do in light of the advice that we are accepting today. We take that responsibility, but again, can I say to the Liberals as I have said to Labour and I have said to Tories when this Parliament returns to discuss workplace parking over the next few weeks? I am going to remember this discussion at First Minister's questions because you cannot have it both ways. You cannot call for the Government to set world-leading targets. You cannot call for the Government to introduce policies and then, for knee-jerk easy reasons, oppose everything that the Government comes forward with. The responsibility is on all of us. Let's see if the other parties are willing to rise to it. Thank you, Presiding Officer, to ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made regarding the level of opiate addiction. Achieving a comprehensive picture of addictive opiate use is challenging, not least due to the nature of illicit drug-taking. That means that there will always be a degree of estimation. I know that Dave Stewart has raised the issue before the impact of addiction to prescribed opioids. Those are very legitimate concerns due to the potentially highly addictive properties of those medicines. Those concerns were reflected in both our chronic pain strategy and refreshed our polypharmacy guidance that was published last year. Through the national therapeutic indicators, we are monitoring the numbers being prescribed strong opioids over a long period. That is informing the establishment of the chief medical officer by the chief medical officer of a short-life working group examining prescribing trends in Scotland. Will the First Minister join with me in congratulating the Sunday Times for her first-class campaign highlighting the marked spiral prescriptions for opiates and the serious associated problems of addiction and overdose? Opiates contributed to 815 drug deaths in Scotland in 2017. Does the First Minister share my serious concerns that addiction created by super-strength opiate painkillers, which have a dark side and can ruin lives every bit as much as illegal drugs? Yes, I share that concern, and I congratulate the Sunday Times and others for raising the important issue. Opioid prescribing can be appropriate for short-term pain if that is part of an evidence-based clinical decision, but for longer-term pain, clinicians are and should be advised to discuss alternatives with patients as part of a quality primary care prescribing strategy. We published our first chronic pain strategy last year, and one of it's aims is to tackle the issue of overtreatment. As I said, the chief medical officer for Scotland is convening a short-life working group of experts to examine prescribing trends in Scotland, which will complement work being undertaken by Public Health England on the evidence for dependence on and withdrawal from prescribed medicines. Those are important issues, and it is important that we take them seriously. I give an assurance today that the Scottish Government and our clinical advisers will continue to do so. Thank you very much. That concludes First Minister's questions. We are going to move on shortly to members' business in the name of Ian Gray on the 25th anniversary commemoration of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. There will just be a short suspension before the debate begins to allow members of the minister to change seats. A short suspension.


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