Your Excellency, it is an honor and a special occasion for me to present to you the letters of credence that accredit me as Ambassador of Mexico to San Lucia, and to be one of the fortunate Mexican diplomats who have been given the privilege and incomparable opportunity to live and work two times in this important country and the region. With this privilege, Your Excellency allowed me to convey the compliments of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his profound message for personal fortune, property, and prosperity, and well-being to Your Excellency and to the people of San Lucia. Your Excellency, one of the strategic points of the foreign policy of the government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is to have a stronger and more profound relation with San Lucia and the Caribbean nations, and particularly to deploy action to strengthen our bilateral political relations to promote solidarity or solidarity cooperation for the development of the Caribbean countries to consolidate Mexico's presence in San Lucia and in the OECS and to actively participate in the challenges of the regional agenda. All the above mention it, the inconsistence with the principles of foreign policy contained in the Mexican Constitution, the right to self-determination, non-intervention, the peaceful settlement of disputes, the prohibition of the entreat of the use of force in international relations, the legal equality of states, international cooperation for development, the respect, protection, and promotion of human rights, and to strive for international peace and security. Your Excellency, my mission as ambassador is not just to strengthen the good existing relation between our two countries, but to materialize on the euridical frame that will allow us to work on the cooperation programs and to take full advantage of the opportunities that Mexico and San Lucia could have in the fields of education, trade, investments, culture, and capacity building, just to name a few. At this moment, I pleases to be able to ensure the implementation of the four projects contained in the first technical and scientific cooperation program between Mexico and San Lucia 2021, 2023, two and heritage management, one on water management, and one regarding the construction of resilient beaches as well as to monitor the implementation of the project of resilient school feeding program under the Mexico Caricón FAO initiative. I would not like to end this brief account of the cooperation that Mexico provides to San Lucia without mentioning that in recent years, the government of my country completed and handed over projects that benefit some sector of the population in San Lucia, like the construction of the water treatment plan in Dennery, North, inaugurated in 2016, sorry, on the morgue and the security and ambulance components of the San Lucia Hospital in 2016. As well as other projects developed with the interest of my government in strengthening the bonds of friendship, fraternity, and solidarity that unite us. Mr. Governor-General, another important aspect of our friendship is the multilateral area. The regional and international agenda is complex and the possibility of exchange experiences and positive view beyond strictly bilateral relation could enrich and span over collaboration. And in this regard, I would like to express my government's sincerest gratitude for the support given to the Mexican international candidacies during the last semester. Your Excellency, Mexico, a proud Caribbean country, drives to be a close and reliable partner for the Caribbean nation, for the eastern Caribbean states, and for San Lucia in particular. And we look forward to working closely with the countries of the region. Therefore, your Excellency, rest assured that San Lucia can always count on Mexico as a friendly and close partner. I thank you. Your Excellency, I am quite pleased to welcome you to San Lucia for a second tour of your duties. Though doubt the allurement of our tiny Helen must have played on your senses, as has done throughout history, to every visitor to our shores. The letters of credence by which your President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, accredits you as ambassador to the United Mexican states of San, to San Lucia, is received with thanks. These will be laid in your course before Her Majesty the Queen. Your Excellency, since establishing diplomatic relations with San Lucia in 1979, our two countries have embarked on a path of peaceful cooperation together that has resulted in positive benefits to commercial and industrial sector, particularly in art and craft. Between 2018 and 2019, San Lucia representatives participated in various training and the capacity-building workshops organized and funded by your government, covering a range of disciplines such as diplomacy, education, culture, health, and climate change. The Government of San Lucia welcomes this assistance as the training received will enable participants to contribute meaningfully to our development. On behalf of the Government of San Lucia, I would like to place on record our gratitude for those sterling gestures, not forgetting the areas of importance, such as health and human resource development, where your government has also ably assisted us. We must highlight your country's contributions to St. Jude's Hospital, the rehabilitation fund after the passage of the trough system on December 24, 2013, and the implementation and commissioning of the Denver Water Supply Redevelopment Project. Mexico's support in funding COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021, providing ventilators, the vaccines and technical training will always be remembered. Your Excellency, we note that one of the strategic points of foreign policy of the government of your president is to establish stronger and more profound relations with St. Lucia and other Caribbean nations. Our government and people have already experienced your country's generosity in so many ways. Welcome this policy with open arms. Some of our domestic policies, such as our government strategy in building a viable youth economy where participants can realize their dreams in an enabling environment, may call for continuous training of our young nationals beyond our shores to deliver alone in such a major economic area. I expect that our officials will be engaging you during your tour of duty as they seek your further assistance to identify and approach institutions that can provide special training to develop those innovative concepts that will entice school leavers and others to become willing participants in the areas of endeavor. Your Excellency, you will appreciate that a small island development state hindered by the economics of size and critical mass, we must depend on innovation and the goodwill of friendly nations such as Mexico. If we are to outlast the threats that confront us daily of which climate change remains a real and present danger to our survival. In recent years, we have seen a rapid policy shift towards a greater level of interaction between Caricom, of which St. Lucia is a member seat, and Latin American nations such as Mexico. In March this year, we appointed Mr. Peter Lansico as the non-resident ambassador to the United Mexican States in a move that will serve our two countries well in terms of communications and quick access. The warm relations which exist between our two countries can only grow stronger as we continue to interact based on mutual cooperation. Furthermore, our commitment to the pursuit of peace and security through active multilateral and bilateral engagements and issues of mutual interests and concerns such as sustainable development, climate change and renewable energy can only enhance bilateral relations and development. Finally, I wish you your Excellency a rewarding tour of duty. Please convey my very best wishes to President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador for continued peace and prosperity, and I also ask that you extend our well wishes to the government and to the people of St. Lucia, from the government and people of St. Lucia.


Gŷnodd yn rhowbwynt, ond beth dyma i ei finol gyda'r perthysgwydau eich Plwyllol iwn i'r gwleidio yma i wellaeth. Edych chi'n gweld i'n gweithio fynd i'r uwch o gwstu'r Gymdeithasgwyd yn yourth nifer dwy dwych i menyro, dydyn ni'n gweithio'n golygu i'r cyffredinadau i'r cyfrifio. Dw i'n ddefnyddio'r cyfrifio i'r gweithi gael sut i'n fynd ychydig, a all maes y cwylwch chi'n gyfnod i ddweud i'r hwnnw, i ddim yn cael ei ddweud. Fy hoffi'r hyn yn maen nhw'n gweithio erbyn gweithio ar gyfer gwaith cymdeithasol. Mae hwnnw'n gweithio ar gweithio ar 55-fawr Richard Brown. Rwy'n gweithio ar 5 eich gwaith ar gyfer yng nghymru. Fy hoffi'r gweithio ar ôl, rydyn nhw'n gweithio'r ddwyng Cymru o'r teimlo'r byddwyr yn gyllidol. Y cw��研or arweithio darwng i uchydigol ac y natru wnaeth yr hollwch ar Richard fel hefyd yn gweithio. Mae ein sefydlu yn bwrw hwn. Gweithio'r diwrnod? Gweithio'r diwrnod waving i Scottland? Gweithio'r diwrnod? Beithio'r diwrnod, rwy'n digwydd i'r Prifysgol sydd yn ei ffôr arddangos ar y cwmnyddiadau a undertaking bydd i mi, mae angen i chi i ei ddal i'u rhan gwaith. Mae aeth yn gweithio fod â'u chi i chi i ei ddod yn adnid yng nghyf유�naeth, ac rydym yn ddod i gael eich ddisgwyd wedi cael ei bwysigol. Yn ymgyrchu 100 yma o ddod i'r Prifysgol Lleidgen Sgolwyr ac'r Polly a Polly yn y cyfnod, rydw i'r prifysgol sy'n gweithio i gyffredinol o gyllideb amddangosol, mwyaf, ffermysgol ac i'r pwyllgor. Rydw i'n gweithio i'r ffermysgol i'r ffrindig i'r ffaith ac i'r prifysgol i'r prifysgol a'r gwaith yn unig i'r Lleidgen Scottyn i'r unig i'r cyfnodol, a'r cyfnodol i'r cyfnodol i'r personal ym mwyaf. Felly, mae'n gwaith yn y gwaith o'r First Minister, sydd yn y ddigwydd o'r partydd yn Glasgow. Mr Ross rwyf yn gyfnodol i Richard Brown. Rwy'n gweithio i fynd i'r cyfnodol i'r Ffamilio Mr Brown. Rwyf yn gweithio i'r Ffamilio Mr Brown i'r cyfnodol, I am very sorry that Mr Brown's family are enduring the added agony that they are having to endure, in addition to the loss of Mr Brown. An investigation into the circumstances relating to the delay in reaching Mr Brown has been launched, and all findings and licence will be shared with Mr Brown's family as part of that process. First of all, I recognise the enormous pressures that are faced by the Scottish Ambulance Service and the Government has been clear in that recognition. I think that part of the explanation perhaps is from the level of demand that has been placed on the Scottish Ambulance Service as a consequence of the pressures that there are on the whole healthcare system within Scotland. As an illustration of that, in August 2018, the Scottish Ambulance Service responded to 5,788 immediately life-threatening incidents. By October 2021, that figure had reached 10,733. It had almost doubled. I say that simply to explain and quantify the pressures that the Scottish Ambulance Service is under. The Government has provided increased investment of £20 million to support the staff, and staff recruitment is under way. We will continue to invest in the work of the Scottish Ambulance Service to make sure that it has the capacity to undertake the task that it needs to undertake and to ensure that other families do not have the experience of Mr Brown's family. The problem is that other families are having that experience, because that is not the first time in this chamber that I have raised a distress in case like Richard Brown's. We have raised several of those cases of lives unnecessarily lost. This week, Dr John Thompson of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine told a Scottish Parliament committee that excessive waiting times are resulting in avoidable deaths. He laid out the grim facts. For every 67 people that wait at A&E for more than eight hours, somebody dies. If we look at just the last two months, according to Dr Thompson's estimate, there will have been more than 200 avoidable deaths. Lives are being lost that could have been saved. Will the Deputy First Minister therefore accept that the Scottish Government simply isn't doing enough to support our emergency health services in their time of greatest need? The research that Mr Ross cites is based on data and experience within the ambulance service and experience within England. We are engaging with Mr Thompson to establish the comparability issues that will arise out of that information. First of all, I do not want in any way for it to be suggested that I am not recognising the pressures that there are on the health service in general and the ambulance service in particular, because I acknowledge that at the outset of all of my answers. That is why the Government has put in place increased investment of £20 million. We have already seen 179 new staff joining the Scottish Ambulance Service over the course of the last two months, and that will rise to £356 by the spring. The Scottish Ambulance Service budget has risen under this Government. It has sustained investment over the course of our period in office, but we have to make sure that we take forward a series of measures at every stage in the health service to try to reduce the immediate burden on the national health service. That means that we have to have whole system solutions in place about boosting social care capacity to make sure that people are better supported in their own homes and therefore have less need to use the Scottish Ambulance Service or about ensuring that we have improvements in the level of delayed discharges, which is a focus of great attention by the health secretary and by COSLA, on reducing delayed discharges so that our hospitals are less congested and crucially that we can make sure that people have a swift journey through accident emergency when they are required to be there. Those issues are all the subject of on-going attention by the health secretary and by ministers. The health secretary met with the Scottish Ambulance Service yesterday on those questions, and that dialogue will continue. Douglas Ross has to continue, but we need action from that dialogue, because this morning there are worrying reports from paramedics and ambulance staff that they are at breaking point. A survey found that more than half of ambulance staff here in Scotland have seen patients die or become seriously ill because of long waiting times. Pat Rafferty, Secretary of United Scotland, said that the workers at the Scottish Ambulance Service are sending out their own 999 call to the Scottish Government, saying that they are undervalued, stressed and exhausted. How will the Scottish Government answer that emergency call? It is very important, given the fact that ambulance personnel, as with many in the health service, are dealing on a constant basis with trauma. Over the past 18 months, the experience of trauma by our health service professionals has been even greater because of the significant burden of Covid. That is why the Government has invested £12 million in supporting the wellbeing of members of staff, because we have to have a healthy population. Those individuals have to be able to exercise their functions and responsibilities and be supported in doing so. I have seen the survey evidence that Mr Ross cites this morning. I am troubled by it because, quite clearly, I want staff to feel valued. I can say it from this podium. We can reinforce it by the investment that we make over the course of the Government's period in office investment in the Scottish Ambulance Service has risen by 74 per cent. Staffing has increased by 62 per cent, but I acknowledge that there are significant demands and pressures on the Scottish Ambulance Service. We have put in place that investment. We are seeing staff numbers rise and the staff are doing a magnificent job in really difficult circumstances. Given the assurance that the Government is not looking at the challenges just about the Scottish Ambulance Service, because the self-same staff that completed that survey to which Mr Ross refers will also be aware that meeting the challenges that they face requires a whole health service system solution, which is about social care, accident emergency, tackling delayed discharges, and those are all the issues that the Government is prioritising. The Deputy First Minister is right that this is not just about ambulance staff, but about workers across our NHS, including nurses who are considering strike action. Doctors, medical students, paramedics, nurses, and everyone in the NHS are all desperately trying to save lives, but they do not have the resources that they need. They are crying out for help. Frontline staff has sent out their own 999 call to this Government. Scotland's NHS needs more support. This winter is going to be its toughest ever test. There is an extra £605 million coming to the Scottish Government this year. How much of that money will his Government commit to Scotland's NHS right now? Mr Ross will appreciate that, although I used to be close to decision-making on financial issues, I am no longer the finance secretary. I will leave those questions for the budget, which will take place on 9 December. What I can say to Mr Ross is that employment in the national health service has never been higher than it is today. There has been a consistent increase in employment in the national health service in all areas of responsibility. I talked about the Scottish Ambulance Service personnel a moment ago, in consultants, in nurses, in every area of the national health service. There has been growth in the number of staff recruited and employed. Employment in the national health service has never been higher on the question of pay. Our nurses are the best paid in the United Kingdom, and we have given the best offer of an increase to nurses. I appreciate that there are many strains within the national health service and many strains that members of staff are feeling. What I want to make absolutely clear today is that the Scottish Government values every single individual that makes a contribution to the operation of the national health service. We applaud what they are doing in very difficult circumstances. We give them the assurance that we will resource them to enable them to be able to continue to do that work so that, together, we can as a country overcome the enormous burdens that we have faced with Covid and ensure that we support the population to health, and we need the national health service to deliver on that objective. Today, on 11 November, we honour and remember those who have served and served in our armed forces. We pause to reflect on their duty and courage and to make clear that those have made their ultimate sacrifice that we will always remember them. We should also thank our armed forces for all their incredible contributions throughout the Covid pandemic. I want to go back to the issue of the national health service, because, to be frank, the answers were not good enough, there were just words, and what we need is action. Last Saturday, a 55-year-old man, Richard Brown, died on the stairs of his tenement in Glasgow. Mr Brown had waited five hours for an ambulance that did not arrive. Our NHS is in crisis. Mr Brown is not the first avoidable death this winter, and if action is not taken, he will not be the last. People are dying not because we don't have the treatments to help them, but because help isn't coming fast enough. Even when an ambulance does arrive, people are spending hours sat outside of hospitals waiting to be seen. The support announced by the Government in September is not good enough and is not making a difference. When will the Government come forward with a sufficient package of support so that we can prevent unnecessary suffering and deaths this winter? In my answers to Douglas Ross, I will often say that he reiterates some of those points, because they relate directly to Mr Brown. The circumstances of Mr Brown and where his family experience is unacceptable and the matter is being investigated and I extend my sympathies to Mr Brown's family. Part of the reason why the ambulance service is under so much pressure is because of the significant increase in demand for its services, because of the increase in demand in general for healthcare services as a consequence of the pandemic. The pandemic has put enormous strain on the NHS workforce, which has performed magnificently throughout an incredibly difficult 18-month period. There will continue to be demands placed on them because of the fact that we are going into winter. The Government has responded to that by putting in place £20 million of increased investment just in September. New staff have been recruited and are now operating within the Scottish Ambulance Service. We have seen an increase in the budget consistently of the Scottish Ambulance Service over the period in which the Government has been in office. We will continue to have dialogue with the Scottish Ambulance Service about how we can support their efforts. We have obviously secured some military assistance, as Mr Sarwar properly paid tribute to, to assist us in that task. The Government is taking the necessary action to address those circumstances. We want to ensure that every individual is able to receive the healthcare that they require in the appropriate circumstances, and that is the focus of the investments that the Government is making. Given that answer from the Deputy First Minister, you can understand why 88 per cent of the staff say that they do not feel valued by the Scottish Government. You can understand why 98 per cent of the staff say that the announcements in September were insufficient. We hear all the talk about record numbers of staff. 79 per cent of the staff believe that they are understaffed and are not enough of them. Listen to NHS staff, do not ignore them. I am sorry, Deputy First Minister, that Covid cannot be the cover. Those are pressures that were existing in the national health service even before Covid. Yes, Covid has exacerbated the problems, but let us not pretend that those problems started with Covid. That survey that was released this morning by United Trade Union outlines the challenges faced by ambulance service staff and the pressures that they are under and the risks that that means for patients. More than 70 per cent of the staff said that their calls had taken more than six hours to complete. A shocking 16 per cent of staff said that at least one of their calls had taken over 20 hours to complete. More than half said that delays had led to an adverse clinical event. That is a situation such as a patient having a cardiac arrest and an ambulance when they could have been in the hospital. The Deputy First Minister points to that Government's announcement in September. 98 per cent of staff say that that is insufficient. Paramedics have made clear that they need a commitment from the Government of a maximum 30-minute turnaround so that ambulance staff are saving lives, not queued outside hospitals. Will the Deputy First Minister, if he is sincere about actions, not words, make that commitment today? It is abundantly clear that I and the Government want to make sure that ambulance time and capacity are used as efficiently and effectively as we possibly can do. Ambulances waiting at accident and emergency and not out-collecting patients and providing support in the community are ambulances that are not in the right place. The Government is intensely focused with the Scottish Ambulance Service on making sure that ambulances are operating in an efficient and effective way so that they are not delayed by congestion in the accident and emergency departments. However, as I said to Mr Ross a moment ago, all of this is tied up with the fact that there is a whole system solution required. We need to make sure that patients are able to leave hospital to go into the community with social care packages. We need to make sure that accident and emergency has the capacity to ensure that patients can be moved from A and E into hospital wards if they need to be or to be discharged as efficiently as possible. That is why the Government put in place a £300 million NHS and winter care package back in September about recruiting an extra 1,000 NHS staff, about making sure that there were £40 million for step-down care, £60 million to maximise the capacity of care at home services and £48 million available to boost the pay of social care staff to make sure that we can deliver more social care packages and £28 million to support primary care and community solutions. All of that investment has been made right across the health service to make sure that the Scottish Ambulance Service can make its contribution as efficiently and effectively as it possibly can do. I assure Mr Sarwar and the public that the Government is absolutely determined to ensure that we use all the resources available to us to make sure that individuals receive the care that they require. The Deputy First Minister says that the system is broken. Who has been in charge of the system? You have been in the Government for 14 years. Let's not pretend that this is some kind of new problem that has just appeared. He lists all the actions from September. I repeat, 98 per cent of the Ambulance Service staff say that that response is insufficient, so let's be absolutely clear. People are dying because of those choices, and NHS staff have been warning about them long before Covid, because there is a pattern here. The Royal College of Nurses tells us that there is not enough nurses, and the Government denies it. Emergency medicine doctors say that delays are causing deaths. No acknowledgement of that from this Government. Consultants are telling us that hospitals need at least 1,000 more beds to keep up with demand. That Government cut beds by 1,300 over the last decade, and patients are telling us of long delays at A&E, and the health secretary's answer tells patients not to go to A&E. The problem here is not patients or staff. The problem is this out-of-touch and hopeless Government that is providing over a crisis in our NHS, so I ask again what will it take for this Government to act? Why does this Government believe that they know best and not the nurses, the doctors and the paramedics on the front line of our NHS? I am afraid that Mr Sarwar is absolutely in denial about the impact of Covid on our national health service. That is the problem in this exchange. Mr Sarwar seems to think that the challenges that we face in our national health service today are somehow unique to Scotland. Every single healthcare system in the western world is facing the same problems, yet, apparently, according to Mr Sarwar, the impact of Covid is irrelevant to that process. I am not going to accept that skating situation that we face. The Government has made the investment new to engage in discussion with trade unions, with employees, with health boards, with the ambulance service to make sure that we have all the capacity in place to deliver on those services. However, we have to recognise that, and that is why the Government is taking the cautious steps that we are taking about Covid, some of which members of this Parliament tell us not to take, that some people are not prepared to support us when we take those steps. We do them to protect the people of this country, and we will make no apology for doing that. I welcome that Annan in Dumfries and Galloway has been selected for the Climate Action Towns programme, which will empower communities to engage in collective climate action, taking account of the unique challenges and opportunities that each town faces. Given the flooding Annan experience just last week, which washed away two of the town's footbridges in unprecedented water levels, can the Deputy First Minister outline further detail on how the Climate Action Towns programme will work to help to tackle the global climate emergency? The Climate Action Towns programme will work to support communities so that they can influence the steps that are taken to create better resilience against the climate. I saw first hand last week the damage that had been taken place in Annan. There was a tremendous community resolve to address those issues, as there had been a tremendous community resilience operation to protect households and businesses as a consequence of the flooding. Fundamentally, the Climate Action Towns programme will empower local communities to be able to take more of those decisions and to resource them to undertake that activity. At the Finance Committee on 31 August, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy gave the following commitment. The A9 is still going to be dualled and the A96 is referred to in the co-operation agreement in terms of the priorities of the next few years. In the chamber yesterday, the Minister for Public Finance, Tom Arthur, when questioned by Fergus Ewing and Jamie Halcro Johnston could not give any commitment. Can I ask the Deputy First Minister, will the A96 be fully dualled by the 2030 commitment date? Yes or no, Deputy First Minister. The member referred to the A9 and the A96. The A9 programme continues apace. I was delighted that the latest stage of the dualling of the A9 was opened recently in my constituency between Luncote and the Passive Burnham, and it has made a huge difference to the local community. The issues in relation to the A96 are covered in the partnership agreement, which sets out transport enhancements on the A96 corridor, including dualling from Inverness to Nairn, bypassing of Nairn, Keith Elgin and Inverury, accompanied by measures to remove through traffic from bypass town centres, targeted road safety improvements that were needed between Fockebers and Huntley, and Inverury to Aberdeen. The current plan is to fully dual the A96 route between Inverness and Aberdeen, but we agreed to conduct a transparent evidence-based review to include a climate compatibility assessment to assess direct and indirect impacts on the climate and the environment, and that will report by the end of 2022. In February, after the chief executive of NHS Tayside cast doubt on the future viability of breast cancer services in Dundee, the First Minister promised Parliament that she would act on the unfolding crisis. Instead, as reported in the courier this morning, a further resignation of a senior consultant has left the service on the brink of collapse and an urgent need of external support. That has been a catastrophic failure of leadership on behalf of the board and this SNP Government. What has to happen? How many lives will we put at risk before this Government steps up with a plan that guarantees the future of this vital service? I honestly do not think that Mr Marra is serving the people who he represents well by expressing this issue in that fashion. After February, a new consultant was appointed in NHS Tayside to provide the service. There is on-going recruitment for a further post and there is on-going clinical support provided by NHS Grampian. I hope that that provides the reassurance to members of the public in the Tayside area that Mr Marra's unfortunate expression of his question certainly did not. Deputy First Minister, a constituent received this text and I quote NHS, you are now eligible to apply for your NHS Covid pass. Failure to apply may result in a fine. Please apply for your Covid pass via and then it was addressed made to look like the NHS. Now, the constituent had the good sense not to click on the link, but since my office advised NHS borders and the police, there have been further instances. Can I ask what the Scottish Government is doing to alert the public to this more recent spate of scams? The Christine Grahame's right to raise the issue. There are some reports of scam calls and texts related to Covid-19. Let me be absolutely clear that neither the Scottish Government or any other agency will text individuals to invite them to apply for a Covid pass or certificate. Ofcom, the United Kingdom's communications regulator, have published information on their website on how to be vigilant against such activity, and any suspicious emails can be forwarded to the national cybersecurity centre and suspicious texts can be reported. However, I encourage members of the public to be vigilant and follow the fact that neither the Scottish Government nor any other agency will text individuals to invite them to apply for a Covid pass or certificate. My constituent Norma Dyrlton received her booster vaccine some time ago, but yesterday she received a fourth letter calling her for a jab. She's been a bit unable to cancel the appointment, but her 88-year-old neighbour has received no vaccine booster correspondence and she too has faced problems getting through on the appointment line. Despite attending a mobile vaccine bus twice last Thursday in Gullin, she had to leave due to the length of the queues, so will the Deputy First Minister urgently look into the on-going problems in the vaccine booster scheme across the audience? The vaccine programme in general has been rolled out very effectively and the booster programme is being rolled out across the country very successfully. Scotland is the highest-performing part of the United Kingdom in relation to the rolling out of the booster programme. However, there have been a number of issues in relation to NHS Lothian in connection with the appointment system, with which we are familiar. We are in discussion with NHS Lothian. Our officials met the chief executive of NHS Lothian earlier on this week to discuss the practical issues that Mr Hoy raises with me. If he wishes to provide me with specific details, I will look into the case and try to resolve it. I am sorry for the inconvenience that his constituent has experienced. They should not have experienced that. In general, the programme is being rolled out well, but there are some challenges in NHS Lothian with the appointment system. We expect those to be resolved very shortly, but if there are particular details that he wishes to share with us, we will act to resolve them. In mid-Scotland and Fife, as across the whole of Scotland, I think, the numbers of people who have been assessed as needing care packages and not being able to access those care packages is growing by the day. At the Covid recovery committee this morning, Dr Donald McCaskill of the Scottish Care was clear to the committee that the key factor in recruitment and retention issues is low pay. While welcoming the £10 to Parour, he said that it was not enough and that it will not fix a problem. At the same committee, Dr Andrew Buse from the GPs said that the key issue that had to be resolved for this winter is the social care backlog and social care problems. Will the Government, who are putting hundreds of millions of pounds into this area, listen to all those professionals from that sector and bring forward in the budget a care, a care, a wage increase for all carers in Scotland? Mr Rowley has made a number of contributions to Parliament on this question and a number of them I have handled and we have discussed it at the Covid recovery committee. I acknowledge the significance of the point that he makes. It has formed part of my answers to both Anasawa and Douglas Ross that, if we can address and build the capacity of the social care workforce that will give us some ability to withstand some of the other pressures that the national health service experiences, we have already put in place an increase to the salary of the social care workforce that has been put in place by the Government already to assist in resolving those issues. One of the other issues is the availability of people within our community. Mr Rowley, I am sure that we would accept that the ending of free movement of individuals across the European Union has diminished the size of the workforce that is available to us here in Scotland. It is posing a real and practical effect in a number of sectors. One of them is social care. That is why we encourage the United Kingdom to arrive at a more sensible position on free movement than it currently occupies. On Armistice's day, it is incumbent on all of us to pay respects to those who have paid the ultimate price to protect this country and to protect our freedoms. Can I ask the Deputy First Minister when the Cabinet will next meet? There is a muscle memory to those exchanges. Week after week, Opposition members ask the Government about the crisis in emergency care, and week after week, the Government responds by blaming the pandemic. The Deputy First Minister has doubled down on that today by accusing Anas Sarwar of being in denial. The former outgoing chief executive of NHS Scotland said that the crisis has been years in the making, but the pandemic has only hastened the date. I want the Deputy First Minister to put himself in the shoes of our hard-working emergency care staff. The call-handlers, Anceling, repeated calls asking again and again when the ambulance will come. Paramedics who are attending doors knowing that behind that door is somebody who has been waiting in pain for Arizona N. That must be absolutely traumatic. I have here a freedom of information response. We learned that the number of ambulance staff hours lost to mental ill health is now up 300 per cent since 2017. That is 40,000 hours between July and September alone. One paramedic told the daily record today that we feel as if we are failing the public even though it is not our fault. Presiding Officer, it is not their fault. Can I ask the Deputy First Minister to stop grasping its straws, to stop blaming the pandemic and to accept that his Government is letting the vital staff down? First of all, I value the contribution made by all healthcare staff to our national health service in all its component parts. We recognise the pressure on the wellbeing of members of staff. That is why we put in place the £12 million investment to make sure that staff wellbeing was supported and that individuals could be enabled to continue their activities. I also recognise, as members of staff do, the significant impact that Covid represents on the operation of the national health service. Anybody who comes to Parliament and seeks to diminish the enormous impact of Covid on our national health service is not recognising the reality of the situation that we are facing. For those reasons, that is why we have put in the extra winter care package of resources, that is why we have strengthened the resources that are available to the Scottish Ambulance Service and that is why the Government will continue to invest as assiduously in the national health service as it has done since the minute that this Government came to office, with a significant increase in the budget of the national health service over the length of this Government's term in office. Question 4, Fiona Hyslop. To ask the Deputy First Minister whether he will provide an update on the work of the Under 2 coalition at COP26. The Under 2 coalition of which the First Minister is the European Co-Chair, launched a new memorand of understanding at the General Assembly this week, setting out a higher level of ambition for the coalition and committing the coalition to net zero by 2050. The First Minister signed the MOU at the General Assembly this week and 27 Governments also signed up. We endorse the new, further, faster together statement outlining the actions that members are already taking to meet their ambitious 2030 targets. 41 Governments endorse the statement demonstrating the leadership of those Governments to this important objective. Fiona Hyslop, I welcome the announcement made today of the trebling of support for climate justice. What plans does the Scottish Government have to continue the discussions and networking that is established by the Glasgow climate dialogues, as we will discuss in our lunchtime debate, beyond COP26? In particular, will it use its role as the European Co-Chair of the Under 2 coalition of sub-state cities and regions to promote a similar dialogue among all the Under 2 members? In doing so, will the Scottish Government advance issues such as the loss and damage fund with them, following the First Minister's announcement of a now Scottish £2 million loss and damage fund? Yes, small in amount, but significant in terms of leadership on the issue. I am happy to confirm the Government's support for the objectives that Fiona Hyslop has set out. As European Co-Chair, Scotland is committed to promoting values of justice and inclusivity. We hope to build a lasting legacy for COP26 by building a just transition alliance with members of the Under 2 coalition. We are also championing issues of global importance to mobilise increased action from our fellow members. I recognise that there is a members' debate today, which will be initiated by Fiona Hyslop. It is focusing on ensuring that the global south is heard and understood and the Scottish Government and the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition has co-convened the Glasgow Dialogues to enable this to be the case. Of course, this is the first members' debate in 14 years that Fiona Hyslop has been able to lead in the chamber because of her service as a minister. I cannot think of a more formidable parliamentary voice to be leading on this topic than Fiona Hyslop. I wish her well for the debate that is about to come. Arrian Burgess The International Energy Agency says that development of new oil and gas fields must stop this year if we are to reach net zero by 2050, as advocated by the Under 2 coalition. That alone should rule out development of the camber oil field off the coast of Shetland. Camber would not only be bad for the climate, it would also be devastating for biodiversity. 16 marine and climate groups recently highlighted that the pipeline would cut through 22 miles of UK marine protected area and threaten hundreds of rare and ancient species in the Faro Shetland sponge belt. Will the Deputy First Minister raise this issue with the UK Government in order to uphold the NPA designation for this important area? The issues relating to camber are obviously for decision making by the United Kingdom Government and Arrian Burgess will be familiar with the fact that the Scottish Government has made clear our desire for the UK Government to subject that particular development to a climate compatibility assessment given the length of time that has taken place since its original consent. There will be specific issues in relation to marine protection areas that would have to be the subject of statutory dialogue where that development to take its course. Of course, the stance of the Scottish Government is to ask for a climate compatibility assessment to be undertaken before we get to that stage. To ask the Deputy First Minister how the Scottish Government plans to meet the requirement for electric car charging points by 2030. Over the past decade, the Government has invested more than £50 million in public charging points, creating one of the largest networks in the United Kingdom. We are working with industry, local authorities and technology suppliers to expand the network and, through a partnership approach, create opportunities for Scottish business, industry and communities. At the core of our approach is making sure that no one and no part of Scotland is left behind as we switch to electric vehicles. Liam Kerr. I thank you, Deputy First Minister. I am not sure that answer will give much confidence, because latest figures show that, of those already installed, the number of faulty charging points recorded this year far exceeds those recorded in 2020. Nearly 40 charging units per week are registered broken. The Press and Journal recently made an electric vehicle trip from Jonogrotts to Glasgow ahead of COP26, and they found significant numbers of charging points, particularly in Aberdeenshire, broken or inaccessible, leaving EV motorists stranded. Scottish Chambers of Commerce says that the situation is nowhere near good enough. Will the Deputy First Minister address those issues with Charge Place Scotland to ensure that Scotland has working infrastructure to support the roll-out of electric vehicles and meet our net zero targets? That is an important issue, and the transition has got to be made effectively. Scotland has the second highest number of public charge points for electric vehicles per 100,000 of the population, second only to the city of London. They have to be operational, and if Mr Kerr wants to furnish me with information about the particular examples that he is concerned about, I will certainly make sure that he is addressed. In relation to our dialogue with Charge Place Scotland, we will ensure that the issues that are raised here are raised with Charge Place Scotland in order to ensure that we have an effective network. In relation to the investment, the Government is making sustained investment, which gives us the position that Scotland has the second highest number of public charge points for electric vehicles in any part of the UK, other than London. Thank you. Mr Kerr does not wish to ask a question. I go on to question number six, which is Paul O'Kane. To ask what steps the Scottish Government is taking in response to reports of an increase in turnaround times for ambulances offloading patients at A&E departments. The Scottish Government recently announced a package of support for the Scottish Ambulance Service, backed by an additional £20 million, which will help to increase capacity and improve response in turnaround times and staff wellbeing. That includes the recruitment of additional hospital ambulance liaison officers who provide targeted support to ambulances at our busiest A&E departments to reduce turnaround times. We are working with health boards to reduce handover times within A&E departments by putting in place a range of measures, including decompressing the A&E department by focusing on flow, implementing Scottish Ambulance Service arrival screens and opening additional capacity for ambulances to safely and timidly offload patients. That will support our improvement journey, aiming to prevent ambulances being delayed at A&E departments. Paul O'Kane. In all of his answers to this subject, the Deputy First Minister has pointed to increase demand due to the pandemic, but I have statistics here from the Scottish Ambulance Service showing that turnaround times in any departments going back to 2014 have increased. In my own region, the Royal Alexandra hospital in Paisley, ambulance turnaround times have doubled from 22 minutes in 2014 to 43 minutes in 2021. That is simply unacceptable. What those statistics demonstrate clearly is that the crisis in ambulance wait times began well before the pandemic, with wait times growing year on year. In answer to Anas Sarwar, the Deputy First Minister would not commit to the maximum 30-minute turnaround time called for by ambulance staff. Can he tell the chamber then what he thinks is an acceptable turnaround time for ambulances at A&E? When is he going to listen to staff and get a grip of this crisis? I have set out in my answers to Douglas Ross and Anas Sarwar some of the substance of the issue, so I will not rehearse it again to Paul O'Kane. One of the important investments that we have made is the investment in the hospital ambulance liaison officer service. It has proven to be effective in a number of parts of the country to improve the turnaround of patients who have been brought to hospital by ambulances. We have also expanded the capacity of the Scottish Ambulance Service, which is the investment that we have made. The Government is taking practical steps in discussion with staff to ensure that we have the steps in place to ensure that people can be supported when they need access to ambulance services and that they do not spend any longer in the ambulance than they require. That will vary depending on the conditions and the circumstances of individual patients as they arrive and as they are presented to hospital. However, the clinical judgments that are made by staff in the national health service are judgments that I trust and I rely on to make sure that patients get the treatment and the care that they require. Deputy First Minister, you have just given a list of things that you are looking to do. Clearly, they are not working. Ambulance turnaround times are rising. Will you accept that the plans that you have put in place are not working and will you look to improve and make tangible differences to the ambulance turnaround times right now? The investment has been made and we are obviously seeing an expansion in the number of staff and personnel able to be working in the Scottish Ambulance Service. We are also seeing the recruitment of individuals who are designed to support the flow of patients from ambulances into accident emergency and onto destinations, either within the hospital or to a return home. Dr Gilhane will accept—I would have thought—that this is a whole systems issue. It involves the roles and responsibilities of general practitioners. It involves the roles of social care. It involves the role of hospitals. It involves the role of delayed discharges. It involves the role of accident emergency. The Government is taking sustained action in a number of areas to ensure that we deal with that within the context of a national health service that is under colossal pressure because of the impact of the pandemic. We are working our way through those challenges to ensure that we meet the needs of patients in all circumstances. To ask the Deputy First Minister what his response is to the comments by the Lord Advocate to the Criminal Justice Committee on the potential for new proposals regarding use of drug consumption rooms and whether non-prosecution is in the public interest. The Lord Advocate statement confirms a new opportunity for new proposals to be considered regarding safer drug consumption facilities. We have been clear on the benefits that safer drug consumption facilities would bring to reducing drug-related deaths in Scotland, and we are actively exploring how we can overcome the existing legal barriers that will allow us to progress the use of those facilities. There is clear evidence that those facilities mitigate the chances of a fatal overdose, provide additional support to including that around reducing harm-related injection practices and allow for connection with wider treatment services. We see problem substance use as a public health issue, and there is a growing recognition of the harms that punitive drug policies cause. Providing individuals with options for treatment rather than a route into the criminal justice system is our priority. Thank you. The statement from the Lord Advocate is very welcome, and I welcome the Government's commitment to address the issue. We all recognise the significant problems that Scotland has with drug fatalities, and we have been critical of the Government's approach to this so far, but we are looking to work constructively. I hope that the Lord Advocate will be aware of the plan that was rejected by the previous Lord Advocate from Glasgow City Health and Social Care partnership. I am looking for some assurances that a proposal from the Government this time, although it was not new previously, will be robust and will be an indication of when we can have some conclusions. I am very happy to give Clare Baker the assurance that the Government is taking forward active discussions to establish what could be an acceptable route to enable the appropriate use of drug consumption rooms as part of a public health strategy to tackle the drugs problems that we face in Scottish society. That involves a great deal of dialogue with a range of different organisations, Police Scotland, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, the Crown and various other organisations, to ensure that we can establish and propose an appropriate and sustainable route. That work is under way. As for a timescale, if Clare Baker will forgive me, I cannot give a definitive timescale today, but I assure her that that is being actively pursued as a consequence of the remarks that were made by the Lord Advocate. That concludes First Minister's questions. We will now move on to members' business.


Today, we're conducting our combined arms live fire here in support of Operation Super Gurus Shield. We're here at MFP3 looking to provide IDF assets in support of the maneuver forces on the lane. We've heard it a lot throughout our time here so far. Fighting by yourself is one thing, but fighting with allies is another. So that's really what we're working here is the whole interoperability concept and bringing that to the fight. As part of Super Gurus Shield 2022, we're combining live arms fire, supporting indirect fire with the TNI Army. It's important to practice this with other partners because it lets us know how they work and how we work together as one.


Got some old June bug right here, just taking selfies with the worm. Yeah, man Let's make it great one across like a month. Guys. I'm telling you that's Better pepper that like but everyone we got a different episode today So today guys, we're gonna be doing something a little bit different instead of going out to a pond doing a challenge You're going on the lake on the boat whatever it is We actually have a hurricane blowing in right now and the weather is really bad as you guys can tell It's pretty windy outside. We're at bass push-off today.  So let's go ahead and head inside So we all know I'm buying fish and tackle it can be really expensive So you guys suggested one thing is pretty much a budget fishing challenge We're gonna go and show you guys pretty much inexpensive baits that you can purchase at local tackle shops and gas per shops Walmart, Dick's Sporting Goods Academy, Cabela's that whole deal So I'm gonna be traveling around this is a new series onto the channel We're gonna be looking at some inexpensive baits today and only spending $25. Let's get it. One bait that I absolutely love This is an old DC6 our Apollo wrap-up whatever you guys want to call it This is a killer bait right here, especially on the river. I kept some big ins on this Some big some big and school redneck came out if I kept some big ones on this bait This bait is about $9. It's gonna range between eight to ten dollars and sometimes you don't want to pay that much Sometimes you don't want to pay that much There's a lot of people in Bass Pro Shops on this Saturday people. This is a hard one All right, so smash that like but a lot of people don't really want to pay that much for a bait So I have a little I have a few options for you guys Let's come over here. So one bait that they actually sell at Bass Pro Shops that I pretty much substitute for that You know GT6 is pretty much this little bomber right here as you guys can tell this is the model a That's a solid little crankbait. This is actually only you're only gonna be $5.99 So then again, you're gonna be saving, you know two to three you're saving three bucks right there But then again, if you're wanting to save even more money you can go this series right here This is actually the whole Bass Pro Shops brand. They're only $3.99 Obviously the quality is not gonna be as good.  That's some absolute juice So we're gonna go with this. This is $5.99 first lure in the bucket, baby The next little bait I'm gonna be going with is pretty much some little beavers Yeah, you get these this little tournament series Bass Pro Shops brand and they're fairly inexpensive as you guys can tell $3 and 80 cents Not too much, but I tend to go towards these colors right here. Let me see if it has the juice real quick Obviously, you got a straight little june bug right there. We're gonna grab this pack $3 or $4 this one's actually $4 and 39 cents. This is the bigger one But I want to go with that one drop that one in and also you got this little let me show you as you guys can tell it's a little green It's a darker green. It's not like a standard little watermelon. It's got some red in there as well It's a little darker color that baits on me great as well one other bait that I really like in clear water Is this one right here as you can tell it's like a little green pumpkin with some blue in it That's a really good color if you're looking at different brands and different companies It's usually called a green pumpkin blue swirl. That's a stellar bait. I'm telling you especially if you're clear water I would definitely get that one to try but I'm gonna buy a few packs of these Obviously, we need some old stick baits you guys know my cheapest is expensive fishing challenge with the Sankos Gary I'm a motors are around $9. All right, I'm gonna tell $8.79. They're about 10 bucks All right, $7 for a pack of Sankos is a good bit of money And if you guys go watch that video you can tell I go in-depth on pretty much breaking it down like whether it's baits more durable than this one Or you know, if it's softer salty or whatever it is And if you guys want to check that out be sure to go check out that video But as you can tell $8.79 so we do not want that we're gonna be going with the old young dingers Which are $3 and 49 cents you can actually get these cheaper at Walmart if you find some in the clearance bin They're only like a dollar. We're gonna get a few packs of these Got some old Right here. Yes taking selfies with the worm.  You're looking for one Green pumpkin blue swirl. I'm telling you those are just juicy if you're looking for more of a variety here at Bass Per Shop another good selection is obviously the Bass Per Shop brand because only five dollars and ninety nine cents And then again, you get sixteen of them in a pack I mean, that's fairly inexpensive and they have so many of them if you guys watch my secret tackle box We're pretty much built an old Sanko box for the river I bought a ton of these because they're pretty inexpensive. You got a lot of them. They're very durable They're decent decent little Sankos and they got so many different colors here. I can tell you that but we're not gonna get any today We're gonna stick with the young dingers. I kind of like I like the young dingers You know, they're pretty inexpensive and you know, they get the job done As you guys know frog fishing can be very very very expensive As you guys can tell if I was gonna stand if I was just gonna go buy a frog It's gonna cost me about $10. This is 1099 then they have some more there even more money And this is just a little bronze I pop and frog right there, but Then again, they have some more selections here at Bass Pro Shops And they got the striking ones that are actually $9 So they're a dollar cheaper and then they have some of the boo-yahs that are actually $7 But then they got some of the old Bass Pro Shops brand that are only six to seven dollars right here I'm obviously the Bass Pro Shops brands gonna be a little bit cheaper But that's the point of this video because it's a budget fishing challenge So I'm actually gonna go with this one. I've actually used it a few times the quality is not as good as the spro It's not gonna be outstanding like the spro, but then again for the price for half the price I'd rather buy two of these than a spro, so we're gonna be going with this just old standard Kermi top-water frog right there So I actually bought some little weights and hooks.   I'm gonna warn you guys on that So maybe when buying hooks you don't want to buy probably the cheapest out there But you want to stick to you know a moderate a moderate hook like an expensive hook in my opinion is Probably the trokars like a trokar I obviously use a trokar in like a tournament situation But those are amazing hooks and then I have these little creature baits right here that would be amazing for You know flipping a crawl up on some trees also punching and these are just in dunebug As you guys can tell right there and this is the tournament series by Bass Pro Shops Another you know more inexpensive than the other brands Just got some little lead weights simple simple as you can get and those are by Bass Pro Shops as well I feel like everything we got is by Bass Pro Shops the old yum dingers right there Those are in dunebug as you guys know this comparing this I have the cheapest expensive sanco challenge I actually just dropped my last video if you guys haven't checked that one out be sure to go check it out Comparing that to a Gary Yamamoto you get these for around two to three dollars a pack Gary Yamamoto's are gonna range from seven dollars I've seen them all the way up pretty much ten dollars like nine dollars and something since especially with tax These are going to be way cheaper and the dunebugs are going to be great for dirty water And then I actually picked up some of the green pumpkin blue swirls We're going to be amazing and clear water as well. That's that's one of my go-to colors You will wax some fish on that so the total for this sanco right here pack of yum dingers pack of yum dingers right here Some weights some ewg hooks some crawls a crankbait and a topwater frog This is all going to equal out to around 30 dollars. I was going to do 25 But when I realized I had to buy hooks and weights it did push it up to 30 bucks But that is a decent bit of tackle especially a variety, you know, we got the topwater We got a moving bait, which is a crankbait. I was going to go with, you know, spinnerbait or chatter bait I ended up not getting one And I got some little crawls two packs of sancos and a big pack of weights and a decent little pack of hooks And that equaled out to around 30 dollars But then I went back and I was like man I gotta buy something juicy for you guys and I'm gonna have a cool video on tuesday with this tackle Let me show you guys real quick. As you guys know, I absolutely love speed crawls You can see speed crawls are one of my favorite baits out there And I decided that I want to make a pretty much a little crawl box right here This is not going to be in this video. This is actually going to be on tuesday So if you guys want to see that be sure to pepper that like button up This is going to be, you know, a little tackle box Organization video that I think you guys will enjoy it's going to be something different I just got the regular ultra wide speed crawls right here. These are uh dream pumpkin These are green pumpkin magic. So it's just green pumpkins a little bit of flake with a little bit of sparkle to it Then I got two black and red flake Right there and then one pack of dune bug This is for a whole another video which is going to be coming out tuesday So be sure to press that notification bell and also hit that subscribe button So you guys can see the tackle organization video on that because I think that's something that you guys like I haven't done in a while It's been like fishing challenge after fishing challenge after fishing video every single video So I was like why not switch it up especially when this hurricane is here. This is super windy outside But thank you guys so much for watching. I love you guys so much. Thank you guys so much for the support I'll catch you guys in the next video