I wish everyone the next item of business in this afternoon is portfolio questions and in order to get as many people in as possible, I would be grateful for our short, succinct questions and indeed answers, we now move to portfolio questions, which is questions on social justice, communities and pensioner rights question 1 Liz Smith. Thank you debut, Presiding Officer, to ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with third sector organisations cael ei gwithio i gael gynhyrchu i gynhyrchu i ddynch gennymau sydd yn gynghyd infuaredd. The minister mark Obiagi. In a challenging funding environment the Scottish Government is committed to supporting the development of a capable, sustainable and enterprising third sector. We recognise the pressures faced by the third sector at a time when it has a key role to play in helping drive forward public sector reform and prevention and will continue to invest in supporting third sector capacity and sustainability. The Cabinet Secretary will join the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance at a meeting with the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations and other third sector leaders on 11 November to discuss the spending review. We will continue to work collaboratively with the sector on a strategic approach to social enterprise and with a wide range of stakeholders, including big Scotland and independent funders, to explore opportunities to maximise the resources available to support the work of the sector. I ask the question on account of concerns that have been expressed by groups such as Perth Autism support, which have found it very difficult to access the community innovation fund despite their belief that they are actually fulfilling the relevant criteria when they support 400 families in the Perth and Cynrosary area affected by autism and when that support is actually not available through other statutory partners. Could I ask the minister to look at this as it is obviously a very serious concern for the families affected and the groups doing their level best to help them? In our Scottish landscape, there are, in fact, two community innovation funds. I am assuming that the one that is being referred to is the one from the NHS Tayside. The fund in question was developed in response to the consultation, which showed that people were concerned not just with health but with wider environmental factors and groups were invited to apply for a share of funds on that basis to establish projects to take action to affect everyday lives of people in communities under those headings. That is an important fund that has recently been relaunched and I would be happy to look at how NHS Tayside is operating and the concerns that the member highlights. To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that charities with social welfare objectives should make ethical investment decisions that are consistent with those objectives rather than seek to maximise income at all costs. Minister Margaret Burgess. The legislative framework for Scotland's charities is the Charities and Trustees Investment Scotland Act 2005. The act sets out the general duty of care that charity trustees must follow, which includes a requirement that the charity trustees act in the interests of the charity and seek to ensure that the charity acts consistently with its purposes. The trustees of a charity are free to make decisions for their charity as long as they are within the powers of the law and the terms of their governing document. The Scottish Government expects trustees to select investments that are right for their charity. That means taking account of how suitable any investment is for the charity and to take advice where appropriate from someone experienced in investment matters. I thank the minister for that answer, but given that some charities seem to think that they are obliged to achieve the maximum income possible when they dispose of assets or make investment decisions, will the Government issue guidance, making it clear that it is perfectly proper for charities, especially charities with social welfare objectives, to take account of community benefit and community harm when disposing of assets and making investment decisions? I will certainly discuss that with my colleague Fergus Ewing, who is responsible for the charities and how they operate. Clearly, that is clear that they are not required to make those investments, and that is clear in the charities act. However, I will discuss with my colleague to see if there is anything that the Scottish Government can do to make that clearer to charities. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of local government budget reductions on poverty rates. Despite the significant cuts that Westminster has imposed on this Parliament's budget, the Scottish Government has protected the funding that it provides to local authorities. The local government finance settlements have been maintained over the period 2012-16, with extra money for additional responsibilities, and as a result, the total settlement in 2015-16 now amounts to over £10.85 billion. I am grateful for that reply. Does the Government agree that cuts made to local government finance plus the centralised council tax freeze has forced up carecharges on some of the most vulnerable, elderly and disabled people in Scotland? Will the minister indicate support from my colleague Siobhan MacMachan's bill, which seeks to address this growing problem? First, it should be said that local government in Scotland does very well financially and has done much better than English local authorities, according to any independent analysis of how the two Governments have responded to the same financial pressures. As my colleague Shona Robison has said on the issue of carecharging at the Public Petitions Committee, we are looking at the budgets ahead in discussions with COSLA extensively on this and have taken some early steps to address some of the issues that have been highlighted. The Cabinet Secretary for Health, Shona Robison, has met with campaigners on this on a number of occasions and will continue to have that discussion, both with campaigners and with COSLA. Does the minister agree with me that the UK Government's policies for the next five years, particularly in relation to cuts in welfare, will push more households, especially those households with carers and people with long-term conditions, and especially our children into further poverty? I completely agree that we have the evidence in front of us on the tax credits as just one example that, next year, if they do somehow go ahead following a fiat of the Westminster Constitution, they would cost the families that are affected £1,500 a year on average and they would affect a quarter of a million. What we are not talking about here is that having been stopped, it has simply been delayed. Even Ruth Davidson has joined in the criticism of those measures, and I would hope that we could have those powers here so that we could choose a different way on child and family poverty. Does the minister accept the conclusions of the recent report from SPICE, which found that, although the UK Conservatives have passed on a 3 per cent cut to Scottish Government funding, the SNP ministers have, in turn, passed on a 6 per cent cut to local government finance? What impact has the cuts had on vulnerable, elderly and disabled citizens in local areas? I would not agree that the Dell reduction of the Scottish budget has been around 10 per cent, but I would perhaps agree with another point in the SPICE report, which highlights that the council tax freeze, which I cannot remember if Labour are in favour of or against it this week, has been overfunded by an estimated £165 million. To ask the Scottish Government when it last met Fife Council and what issues were discussed. The Scottish Government engages regularly with Fife Council and all other local authorities in Scotland on a wide range of issues. Housing will play an important part in the successful delivery of integrated health and social care. Fife Council is investing significantly in affordable housing, but the complex needs of, for example, suitable retirement housing that might require some kind of care element is what will be needed in the future if the joined-up social care agenda is going to work. What discussions is the minister and the whole team having with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Well-being to support the role of local government in delivering integrated social and healthcare? The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Well-being herself met the chair of NHS Fife and the leader of Fife Council to discuss delayed discharges, but the wider operation of integration joint word on 8 October is an area that we pay particular attention to, in part because of the importance of delayed discharge, but also because this is a key part of public sector reform that we want to get right. I would be happy to have discussions with the member if there are specific obstacles or specific issues about that programme that need to be highlighted and addressed. To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made towards achieving its target that no person will live in fuel poverty by November 2016. The Scottish Government is committed to eradicating fuel poverty as far as is reasonably practicable by November 2016 and is making available a record budget of £119 million this year to help achieve that. However, the major challenge is to meeting the target at household incomes and rising fuel prices over which we have no control. I thank the minister for that answer. Winter deaths in Scotland last year were at their highest for 15 years. Figures show that, far from reaching our achieving fuel poverty target, fuel poverty peaked in 2013 with almost a million houses or four in ten of all households in Scotland living in fuel poverty, with 252,000 of those in extreme fuel poverty. Does the minister agree with Theresa Fife of the RCN saying that it is indefensible that cold, hard-to-heat homes continue to leave the most vulnerable in our society at the mercy of cold weather each winter? What assurances will the minister give that the target is now going to be back on track and will be met by November 2016? As I said in my original answer, we are spending a record amount of £119 million this year on dealing with fuel poverty, but that is against a background of very substantial cuts in welfare benefits and the impact that that has had, as well as the impact of the recession over the last five years in terms of the increase in unemployment, which is fortunately beginning trend-wise to come down again, and also the impact on the standard of living, particularly the incomes of low-paid people. That is why fuel poverty has been a much greater challenge in recent times than it had been prior to the recession. Could the cabinet secretary provide an estimate of how many people would be in fuel poverty if the cost of fuel had increased in line with inflation since 2011? Presiding Officer, our initial estimate is that if the cost of fuel had increased in line with inflation since mid-2011, there would have been 743,000 households in fuel poverty in 2013. That is equivalent to a fuel poverty rate of 30.9 per cent, which is 2.3 percentage points lower than the fuel poverty rate in mid-2011, and would have been 9 percentage points lower than the fuel poverty rate for 2013. I am just happy to have that information ready to hand. Well done. Liam McArthur Thank you, Presiding Officer. I am looking for the same level of spontaneity. The cabinet secretary will be aware of the remarks of Norrie Kerr from Energy Action Scotland that the likelihood of us hitting that target by November next year is slim to vanishing. Does he not accept that it may be valuable at this stage to reappraise that target so that everybody involved in this sector can read double efforts and focus on an achievable target, not just for next year, but for the medium to longer term? Presiding Officer, we have well over a year to go before the target has to be met, and any reassessment will be done much nearer the time once we know the situation after the spending review on 25 November and then after the budget next year, because all of those decisions will impact on the level of fuel poverty in Scotland. If I may say so, if the reductions in tax credits go ahead, that further will aggravate the fuel poverty problem in Scotland, and it is a great pity that the Liberal Democrats sustain the Tories in power for five years because it is a result of the measures introduced in some cases by Liberal Democrat ministers. That is the reason why fuel poverty is so high in Scotland today. Neil Findlay Given his tremendous powers of recall, I wonder if he could tell us the five years prior to the ones that he has just read out. Presiding Officer, to save your time, I will write to the member. To ask the Scottish Government how town centres could benefit from business rates being set by local authorities. The Scottish Government is committed to giving communities real control over their own futures. This substantial new power delivered under the Community Empowerment Scotland Act 2015 will give councils more control over business rates and an opportunity to tailor them to their local area. With those new flexibilities, councils could, for example, use their local knowledge to attract new investment into town centres and help to create vibrant communities where people want to live, socialise and do business. Thank the minister for his answer. When I first opened up my office in Paisley's Johnson Street, there were many empty shops, but we now have almost full occupancy. Although I would like to claim credit, I cannot do not believe that it is all my doing. Does the minister agree with me that policies such as the small business bonus and the devolution of business rates to a local level will encourage businesses to open in our town centres? Yes. The benefits of the small business bonus scheme are very clear, having reduced or removed business rates bills for more than two in every five rateable properties in Scotland. The FSB has commented that the small business bonus continues to give most Scottish model firms a competitive advantage over counterparts in other parts of the UK. However, with the newly devolved power for councils to reduce rates bills, councils could use their powers as they choose, whether for town centres or other localities, for individual properties, particular growth sectors, etc. I really look forward to some further innovative thinking in that regard. The ball is in the court of the local authorities that have had this power decentralised to them, and the Scottish Government will continue to work in partnership with any councils that are interested in using this power to explore further opportunities. Town centres can indeed benefit from locally set up business rates as long as they are lowered to incentivise businesses to set up and prosper in the area. However, will the Scottish Government specifically assess how business rates being set by local authorities could benefit the local consumers? We will be producing some factual guidance on the power that councils will be able to use. We will keep it broadly under review as we do any power, but it is a power to vary business rates downwards, which I am sure the member would applaud, which will probably only assist businesses, and which we have very high hopes for when councils apply it creatively. We do not want to stifle their innovation of it, so a few years down the line it would be appropriate to consider that again, but this is very much a ball that is in the court of local authorities, and I trust them to use it very well. To ask the Scottish Government how many council tenants it estimates would have exercised their right to buy, but will no longer be able to after 1 August next year. The Scottish Government estimates over a 10-year period that up to 15,500 houses will not be sold as a result of ending right to buy in 1 August 2016. Those homes will be kept within current stock to the benefit of tenants and local communities across Scotland. I have been contacted by a number of constituents who have expressed an interest in buying their homes have had this right to postpone because the local council has designated their homes as part of a pressure area. Since the Scottish Government has moved to end the right to buy policy for all council and housing association tenants in Scotland on 1 August next year, those constituents have now discovered that having already expressed an interest in buying their homes has now been totally removed. What advice would the minister give to those tenants who clearly want to own their homes and who now have no other route to achieve that aspiration? What it would say when local authorities create pressure areas because of the supply of housing stock in their area and can continue to extend that, so in any case those tenants could have had that extension of the pressure area continued year on year on year so that they would not have had the right to buy in any case. However, I can say to the member that the Scottish Government has a number of other schemes in place to help people on to the housing market. We have our open market shared equity schemes for people who want to move into owner occupancy. We also had the help to buy scheme, which the First Minister announced will continue with the help to buy scheme for those who want to purchase a new home. I would also say that our abolition of right to buy was a very popular measure among tenants, among all housing associations and housing professionals and has allowed local authorities given them the confidence to build council houses now without losing them to their stock. There are other measures in place for those who want to buy their homes. To ask the Scottish Government what its plans are for carers allowance when it is devolved. The Scottish Government recognises the vital role that carers fulfil by caring for their family, friends and neighbours and they make a tremendous contribution to our society. The support that they receive in the form of carers allowance is the lowest of all working-age benefits. Our view is that it is simply not fair. I am delighted that the First Minister announced recently that when powers over carers allowance are devolved, an SNP Government will begin to increase carers allowance so that it is paid at the same level as jobseekers allowance. That will give carers around £600 more a year. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I declare my interest as my wife as a recipient of carers allowance. However, I welcome the announcement from the First Minister. The Cabinet Secretary agree with me that it would be welcome if, either the autumn statement or the upcoming budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer were to take the position that carers should have carers allowance uprated. Does he agree that, given over the many years that SNP members, including my late colleague Brian Adam, have been raising this with the UK Government, it has failed to happen? It is more likely that we will have to wait for this Government and this Parliament to have the powers before carers get the equality that they deserve. I wholeheartedly agree with every point that Matt MacDonald makes. We now move to the second set of portfolio questions on fair work skills and training. The Scottish Government, when the Long Anis task force and PACE team were reporting the interventions that they have made with the workers and apprentices affected by the power station's closure. The Scottish Government's PACE team has been in discussions with Scottish Power and supply chain companies to offer PACE support and is implementing tailored programmes of support for affected workers where the offer of support has been accepted. I can confirm that there are no apprentices at Long Anis. Long Anis power station is going to remain fully operational until 31 March next year. However, a resource centre is being established to provide direct support on-site for employees of Scottish Power and for employees of on-site contractors. That will be in place from mid-November 2015. In addition to the range of PACE support that will be provided, plans are also being developed for a jobs fair to be held on-site in January 2016. We monitor the impact of our PACE interventions on affected employees and regular progress reports are provided in the Long Anis task force chaired by the Minister for Business. The next meeting of the Long Anis task force is scheduled to be held early in 2016, and I will ensure that the member receives a copy of the PACE update from that. Can I thank the minister for that response? I think that it is extremely useful. Can the minister clarify how much financial and staffing resource has been invested to engage with the workers at Long Anis? Particularly given that I understand that over 50 per cent of them are over 50, to ensure that we can tailor that assistance and retain their skills in Scotland's energy sector, and to make sure that we can make the economic transition that we need to make in terms of renewables and green energy in Fife in particular. Information on how much is being spent on the resourcing of the PACE involvement. We are conscious of the age range of the employees and the significant number who are over 50, which is why so much work is being done in respect of employee support. There is a draft economic recovery plan being considered. That was looked at on 29 September, which is when the task force last met. The meeting of the task force in January 2016 is to allow officials to progress a variety of work in that intervening period. For example, there has been another meeting directly affecting employee support just on 20 October. The support will continue to be put in place for affected employees. We are cognisant of the fact that the age range is as high as it is, as I indicated, that is evident in the fact that there are no apprentices, so that is a factor in what is being looked at. In terms of the support that is being provided for those who are going to be made redundant as a result of the longannate closure, will the report also include the support that has been given to those in the supply chain, such as those at Hunterston in my constituency? As the member might have, if he had been listening to my initial answer, will know that I am not actually on the task force. They are currently looking at a variety of different options. They are working very closely with the contractors as well as with Scottish Power directly, and all those who are directly affected by the closures, regardless of where they might be, will be taken into consideration. I am absolutely sure, but I would advise the member to take up perhaps with Fergus Ewing more directly if he has very specific concerns around detailed aspects of that. That might be useful. To ask the Scottish Government how it is reducing youth unemployment in west Scotland. The Government has invested in a wide range of employment initiatives that are directly helping to create sustainable employment opportunities for young people in the west Scotland constituency. Those include supporting over 10,000 modern apprenticeship starts in the last three years, supporting 621 young people through community jobs Scotland in the last three years, and the allocation of funding to support 329 young people with particular barriers to employment and at the same time to support employers to recruit modern apprentices from July 2015 to March 2016 through the Scotland's Employer Recruitment Incentive, just as a point of information. I would point out that that information was collected, obviously, at the local authority level, for including Inverclyde, Westin Bartonshire, Eastin Bartonshire, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire and North Ayrshire. Can I thank the minister for that detailed answer? Is the minister aware that Renfrewshire Council has reduced youth unemployment in the last three years from 10.9 per cent to 2.2 per cent, now below the Scottish average, but stands at 2.6 per cent? Will the Scottish Government take any lessons from the excellent work of my colleagues in Renfrewshire Council and its business partners to replicate those successes across west Scotland? I thank the member for her information about the work of the local authority that she referred to, and obviously we welcome any initiative from whoever it comes from that will help to ensure that young people have access to a job, because I think that's what everyone across the chamber wishes to see. I would just also, in terms of us exchanging help for information, point out that I was recently able to launch at West College Scotland the West region developing Scotland's young workforce regional grouping, which of course is to be a bridge as between employers and schools in particular. That's a very significant development for the west of Scotland, and I'm sure that we all wish to see the regional group have continued success in its work to get young people into the world of work. To ask the Scottish Government what role it considers colleges play in providing skills and training opportunities for people in west Scotland? West College is Scotland's second largest regional college, delivering education and training to 30,000 students around 500 modern apprenticeships and providing 12,000 hours of learning to 3,000 school pupils from their three main campus areas. The college works closely with industry partners to ensure that each curriculum sector is aligned to both local and national industry skills development opportunities for students are a priority, including work placement and industry-related skills development. Recently, I've heard from a number of people who are concerned about the widely felt impact of college cuts on skills and training opportunities. The cabinet secretary will be aware that her Government's cuts have resulted in the college budget being slashed by over 100 million pounds in real terms since Labour was last in power. Will the cabinet secretary therefore give students and staff a commitment that there will not be another? Real terms cut to the college budget next year? If not, given that the importance she places on colleges providing skills and training opportunities, will she lobby the finance secretary against further real terms cuts? I'm in regular conversations with the finance secretary about a very great many things, as the member might be aware, but I simply don't recognise the caricature that he's painting about college funding. We are investing more in colleges than Labour ever did—a college resource budget of £526 million in 2015-16, while above Labour's highest level in 2006-07. We have invested over £530 million in college estates in that same period of time, and that is £230 million more in cash terms and during Labour's time in office. Will the cabinet secretary admit that, in order to reach that figure, she's ignoring inflation, capital and the last year of the Labour administration? One could argue that Labour is just as keen to ignore any and all of those things when it suits them. We have invested record amounts of money into college funding. We are making huge dividends in terms of the refocusing of the way that the college system works in Scotland. We have far more full-time equivalent students, as the members know perfectly well. The work that colleges are doing is now focused on employment and education, which is where it should be focused. Question 5, Linda Fabiani. Task the Scottish Government when it last discussed the trade union bill with the UK Government. I discussed the trade union bill with Nick Boles, Minister for Skills, on 8 October in a telephone conversation. That was followed up by my letter of 12 October, highlighting my concern that the bill that is currently drafted leaves far too much scope for abuse in the future. That legislation is an unwarranted ideological attack on the recognised rights of trade unions. The proposals that it sets out are completely out of step with the partnership approach that is taken by this Government. There is a real risk that this could undermine what we are trying to achieve in Scotland. We, along with the STUC and many others, consider the bill to be highly regressive. I have asked the UK Government to completely exclude Scotland from it. Linda Fabiani, again? That is very nice of you, Presiding Officer. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer and ask that next time she meets the UK Government, she tells them about Graham Smith, general secretary of the STUC, addressing the SNP conference and saying quite clearly that this bill should be of concern not just to unions and their members but to anyone concerned about democracy, human rights and civil liberties. Does she agree with me that all of those in Scotland who care about these things should join in opposition to this blatant attack to the rights of the people in Scotland? Of course I agree with all of that and I would have anticipated that at least my colleagues on the left over here might have agreed as well, particularly given the comments by Graham Smith. I am sure that they agree with him regardless of the platform on which he chooses to express them. I have made it clear on several occasions that I believe that the trade union bill proposals have the potential to undermine the effective engagement of trade unions across Scottish workplaces and in particular across the Scottish public sector. The proposals are in stark contrast with the work that we are trying to do, work that we set out through the working together review response and the fair work convention, where we are trying to build a stronger, more collaborative approach to the relationship between unions, employees and employers. Our strategy reflects that of many of the most successful European countries. I believe that that is the only way in which we will be able to maintain the integrity of our more progressive approach of working in partnership with unions. I hope that everybody else here would encourage every person who is in a workplace to join a trade union, and that would be the best response to what is now emanating from Westminster. To ask the Scottish Government in which month the evaluation of the Youth Employment Scotland Fund will be completed and whether it will publish the full evaluation. The evaluation is scheduled to be completed by end December 2015 and will subsequently be published in full thereafter. Why did the Scottish Government not evaluate the fund before replacing it? First of all, in terms of where we are with the evaluation, after an initial delay into the procurement process, which I think that the member may be aware of, the contractor now in place has reported that they have been having difficulties in receiving responses from some local authorities, so that has impacted on the timescale that dictates when we will receive the evaluation. In terms of the direct question that the member asked, I suspect that he is referring to perhaps the recently launched Scotland's Employee Recruitment Incentive programme, but I am not entirely sure, because we have proceeded with that Scotland's Employee Recruitment Incentive programme picking up lessons of good practice from where we have been to ensure that we have a more straightforward, easy to operate, simple, flexible scheme that will focus on helping those with the most challenges to obtain a work experience and a job and to focus on micro and small businesses in order to provide them with the support that they may need in order to meet the cost of taking on somebody in those circumstances and also that it would be support provided for a duration of a longer period than the Youth Employment Scotland Fund. I am not entirely sure if that addresses the member's question. I am trying to be helpful, but the question was rather vague in its terms. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the Cabinet Secretary for Fair Work, Skills and Training has had with the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Investment in cities regarding the impact of public sector procurement on employment policy. Regular discussions with the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities on those issues. I am particularly conscious of the significant role that public sector procurement can play in promoting fair work, which is why I have been pleased to work with the Cabinet Secretary on the development of the statutory guidance that addresses fair work practices through public procurement. That is an important step forward, in particular as a way of encouraging more organisations to pay the living wage. It is through cross-government activities such as this that we are helping to create and nurture a culture of fair work that will ensure that work improves people's lives and strengthens businesses so that everyone shares the benefits of a stronger, growing and more inclusive economy. On 16 October this year, BAM more awarded £170 million contract to upgrade the Aberdeen to Inverness rail line. How can it be that companies who are blacklisted workers are, one after another, being awarded multi-million-pound contracts and clear defiance of Scottish Government procurement guidance that says that they must take appropriate remedial action, which would include owning up, apologising and paying compensation, and proving that they have self-cleansed by employing some of the very people who they are blacklisted in the first place? It is estimated that the AWPR will generate over £6 billion additional income for the north-east, and I think that the member needs to remember that 14,000 jobs are expected to be generated along with that. It is anticipated that around 1,500 employees will work on this project. Forgive me, cabinet secretary, for your point of order from Mr Finlay. Deputy Presiding Officer, I never mentioned the AWPR and my question. Not a point of order. Please continue. My apologies, as far as I'm coming up. Right. I'm sorry if I've addressed the wrong issue. The principle is the same, but the issue is one about if it's the network rail upgrade, the BAM contract. I think that the member needs to be aware that we have no authority over network rail procurement in the first place. It effectively remains an arms-length body of the UK Department for Transport with no direct accountability to the Scottish Government. Network rail also retains full operational and commercial responsibility for managing the railway infrastructure within defined regulatory and control frameworks, including all procurement activities related to their regulated infrastructure programme. Presiding Officer, I can't be responsible for an organisation over which I'm not responsible. Point of order, Mr Finlay. I wonder if I may be of help to the minister, Presiding Officer. The contract was awarded by Transport Scotland. That is not a point of order nonetheless. As you will be well aware, Mr Finlay, the answers that ministers choose to give are a matter entirely for the ministers. Question 8, Willie Coffey. Thank you very much to ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting young people into employment in the Comarnock and Irvine Valley constituency. The Government has invested in a wide range of employment initiatives that are directly helping to create sustainable employment opportunities for young people in Comarnock and Irvine Valley within the East Ayrshire local authority area. Some of those activities include over the last three years, supporting over the 1900 modern apprenticeship starts, and in the last three years, supporting 138 young people through Community Jobs Scotland. To support the allocation of funding for 77 young people who face particular challenges in terms of employment and to support small employers to recruit MAs from the period of July 2015 to March 2016 through the Scotland's Employment and Recruitment Incentive. I thank the minister for that answer. She will be aware that, since 2008, the number of school leavers and positive destinations in Comarnock and Irvine Valley has increased by 4.7 per cent, but the number of school leavers in employment has increased by 4.2 per cent, which are both welcome, if still slightly below the Scottish average. Can she outline what further measures the Government might be taking to close this gap, and in particular, how we can assist youngsters with a disability to overcome their own particular barriers to employment? I know that the member takes a keen interest in the key issue of youth employment. What I can say is that the Government will do all that it can to ensure that young people can access the world of work and find sustainable employment. As I am sure members will be aware, we have set a very ambitious target to reduce youth unemployment by 40 per cent by 2021. Although we have made considerable progress in terms of some of the initiatives that are referred to in my first response, we recognise that there is more work always to be done. With respect to the specific issue of young people with a disability, we have embarked on a number of initiatives, including the CERI project, which I referred to a moment ago in answer to Mr Brown. In addition to the general approach of that employment recruitment incentive, at the same time, there is a specific additional in-work support package available to support access for disabled young people. We will continue to proceed with such initiatives to ensure that young disabled people have access to employment. Thank you to ask the Scottish Government whether it is on target to create 30,000 apprenticeships a year by 2020. We currently are on target to deliver 30,000 new modern apprenticeship opportunities each year by 2020. In 2015-16, we have increased the number of opportunities to 25,500. Thank you for that response, Minister. I welcome the fact that last year's target was met, and I appreciate the new target that you have told us about. However, I have a concern that there appears to be a significant gender gap, gender imbalance and very low numbers of people with disabilities undertaking apprenticeships. Can I simply ask what the Minister might take to help to address that imbalance? We are taking a number of initiatives to look at gender segregation, gender balance and access on the part of, for example, people with disabilities to the modern apprenticeship programme. There are a range of activities that I can write in detail to the member because I think that I am running out of time, but I would say also that we expect to see published in a reasonably near term the equality action plan that we had promised to produce, and we will propose a number of initiatives in that as well. We now move on to the next item of business, as that concludes questions.


Good morning, everyone. Welcome. Thank you for joining. Good to see you. Good to see you. Hi, Thomas. Hi. Hello, Kannan. Nesidharth. Thanks for joining. Hope you're doing well. Great. Let's quickly pray and we get started.  Lord, we ask for you to come and lead us, guide us, teach us, help us to be sensitive to the leading of your Holy Spirit. I pray. I submit the next two hours into your hands. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. OK. So, we finished with page 51 in the last session. In Chapter 4, the Worship Ministry, the organizational aspect of it. In your notes, we've concluded the last session with page 51. So, let's just do a quick recap of just that one page. Page 51, if you can use your notes. We serve to establish God's blueprint for APC as a local church. We serve to establish God's blueprint. And what was that blueprint is mentioned in the image below? God's blueprint for the local church. We are called to be the bride. We are called to be a house of prayer and worship. A temple of God, the vine and the branches. The lamp stand. The body of Christ, the family of God, the pillar of truth. God's chosen people. And finally, we are called to be an army of the Lord. Amen. So, that's what we concluded with. I just want to quickly put my phone in silent mode. All right. Now, let's continue to on to the next page, page 52, page 52 of Chapter 4, Worship Ministry, the organizational aspect of it. I'll go ahead and share the screen. But actually, before I go ahead and do that, we're going to be talking about commitment to the local church. Requirements for of a worship team member at APC. The point, the first one is commitment to the local church, right? I hope you all in your notes can see that. I'll go ahead and share my notes. But before that, I want us to look at another document. OK, so there's this APC publication called The Power of Commitment that you can download for free. And that's what I want to look at. But if I were to ask you, what do you what is your understanding of the word commitment? What does it mean to you? What does commitment mean to you? Dedicated. Dedicated, OK. Dedicated to something, someone, all right. What else? Commitment, committed. What does it mean to you, Siddhartha Kiran, Kanan? You guys can hear me, right? All right, I see the chance action. OK. Kanan, what does commitment mean to you? Kanan, can you hear me? You guys can hear me, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yes, yes. OK, OK. Commitment means giving assurance to something. Yeah, thanks, Kanan. Thomas, what do you make of it? Commitment means if you are you're agreed to do something or if you're agreed to be regular or something, you have to keep the word, what we've given the word or what we are agreed to do, we have to commit it to those things.  Right. I don't know how to put it in the sentence. Yeah. Yeah, but yeah, thanks. I mean, I think we all get the gist of it from dedication to giving your assurance like Kanan was saying and and and just doing what you said you will do, isn't it?  Yeah, I mean, they're all correct answers. Yeah, so what I want to do is let me just quickly share and I'd like to just glance at this. This publication, OK, because there's some before we go ahead and understand what is, you know, commitment to the local church really means we need to understand the power of commitment, isn't it? And it is our responsibility as leaders to teach worship team members in this context of this course on the power of commitment.  OK, so it's a it's like 20 pages long. That's it. So let's just glance through it.  Let's see. OK, so it starts off by saying, commitment is a virtue that is hard to come across these days, both in the secular world and in the church. Most of us want to do what is convenient and finding people who are committed becomes increasingly difficult. And so what does it mean to be committed? It means to be faithful and loyal to a certain cause. It means that we have a sense of responsibility. We are committed when we make a deliberate and unchangeable choice about something and stick to it. If we decide on it and we stick to it, to be committed is to express our diligence towards something. A very nicely put across across it, isn't it? As always, OK, simply means to be faithful and loyal to a certain cause. It means that we have a sense of responsibility, accountability and sense of ownership and stewardship, isn't it? So that's what commitment is highlighted here as. OK, let's just go on. Let's look at the first chapter. It says the characteristics of a committed person.  OK, if I were to ask you a question, hey, Siddharth, are you a committed person? And you say yes, then this will be the characteristics that will be expected of you or this will be the characteristics that will be seen in you, right? So how can we tell if we are really committed to something? OK, the first point, the highlighted there is willingness to pay any price. Willingness to pay any price. The Bible, the scriptures quoted there is and they overcame him, the devil by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony. And they did not love their lives to the death. That's from Revelation, chapter 12, verse 11. So these people, the day that is mentioned, right, they overcame that these people were so committed to the Lord Jesus Christ that they were willing to lay down their lives. So if we are committed to the Lord Jesus Christ, there is no price too great to pay. OK, so one of the first characteristics we see is you are willing to pay any price. OK, next, willingness to overcome all obstacles, all hindrances, all challenges, right? You are willing to overcome them all. So person who is committed is willing to overcome all obstacles to keep that commitment, right? We make, we do everything in our power to reach the airport on time, so we will not miss the flight. But do we do the same for everything else? Are you committed, you know, or do we just say use the excuses too much traffic or, etc., etc. But are we willing to overcome all of those challenges or obstacles just to be committed, right? And then the next point there goes on to say ability to stay focused on the commitment. Saying that you're committed is one thing and then being focused on that is a completely different all game, isn't it? Now, when a person is committed, he will be focused and not easily distracted. So a committed person is not easily distracted. This is another third characteristic, but the one who is committed to anything will just drift along and go where it is convenient. But the one who is sorry, not committed to anything will just go wherever the wind takes them, as they say, right? This passage from Luke, we nicely mentioned where people say, I will follow you and telling Jesus, I will follow you wherever you go and whatnot, but when the time comes, they say, okay, I will follow you Lord, but first let me go and bury my father. Okay, let me just go and take care of certain family business and then I'll do that. So they want to be committed, but then you see that they are kind of easily distracted and that's the passage coded here, okay? So a recap of this first three points, the characteristics of, sorry guys, characteristics of a committed person is, one, they're willing to pay any price. Two, they're willing to overcome obstacles. Three, they're able to stay focused and not easily distracted. Okay, let's move on to the next chapter. The value of being committed, the value of being committed. What is the value of being committed? When everyone is doing what is convenient, why should you and I be different and become people of commitment? What are the benefits of being committed? What is the value of being committed when everybody is choosing convenience? So being a committed brings a degree of strength, stability and uncertainty into our lives that will make us unshakable during difficult times that we may go through. Okay, three things, being committed brings in these three things, strength, stability and certainty, okay? James 1-8 says he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. He's distracted, he's not able to overcome any obstacles. He's not willing to pay any price, a double-minded person. So another word for a person who is not committed is a double-minded person. Okay, they just don't know where to be. They just, you know, what not. So, sorry, we're just discussing about the value of being committed, isn't it? Let's move on. I don't want to go into much detail here. Sorry, guys. Yeah, actually, let's just go to the... I'll share this PDF with you and you can also download it for free. I'm just going through a quick glance that will help us. Step three is all about some questions that we can ask ourselves. Are you committed? Okay, if someone were to question our commitment, we will probably be quick to answer that saying we are committed. And so, how can you ask yourself and know that you are committed? You can ask the following questions. Are we people of commitment or do we live by convenience? What does that mean? Are we people of commitment or do we live by convenience? Or in other words, you know, are you committed to a church, to your church because you want to be committed or are you committed to your church so that you can gain some of the benefits of being part of the church? Okay, you know, my wedding can't get solemnized if I'm not part of the church. I can't, I will not get legal rights to conduct, to bury the dead in a cemetery if I'm not part, if I don't get a letter from the church, et cetera, et cetera, things like that. That is all convenience, isn't it?  It's convenient for me. Or are you part of a church because you want to serve the church? That's just an example of, you know, between commitment and convenience, right? Another question is, are we committed to doing what is right? Are we committed to righteousness, doing what is right all the time, everywhere in every situation? Or are we committed to the Lord Jesus Christ? Are we committed to our local church, to the body of Christ? Are we committed to the promises we make? Are we committed to our place of work, to our boss, our coworkers, our friends? Are we committed to spending time with God, et cetera, et cetera? Okay, so this, I stopped sharing this document now, but I wanted us to go through that, you know, just so we understood what the word commitment really means, you know, before we just go ahead and went ahead and looked into commitment to the local church, right? So we need to understand what a committed person looks like and the characteristics of a committed person. So that's why I wanted to share the document, all right? Now I'll go ahead and share the lecture notes, okay? So now we see that one of the requirements of, see that. So one of the requirements of a worship team member at APC is that a commitment to the local church. Okay, commitment to the local church. Can someone quickly read Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 10, verse 24 and 25, please. Hebrews chapter 10, verse 24 and 25. Hebrews chapter 10 and 24 and 25. And let us consider one another in order to stay up low and good works. Not for seeking assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of some, but exerting one another and so much the more as you see the approaching. Thank you, Kiran, okay? So I want to read the same scripture in the message version, okay? Hebrews 10, 24, 25 in the message translation. It was a little interesting and I based that in the chat section, okay? So let's do it full of belief, confident that we are presentable inside and out. Let's keep a firm grip on the promises that keeps us going. He always keeps his word, see commitment. He always keeps his word. He's committed to keeping his word. Let's see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshipping together as some do, but spurring each other on, especially as we see as the big day approaching, okay? Let's say, don't avoid worshipping together, okay? And there's another translation that says, don't neglect of meeting together. Don't neglect it, okay? So that's the thing. So commitment to the local church is we should not neglect the meeting of one another. And so a couple of points mentioned there is we must first be committed to APC as a local church before we can be part of APC's worship ministry, okay? We've highlighted this point before is that before an individual can join a worship team, they will have to be committed to the APC as a church first before they can start serving in the worship team, okay? And that is the exception part. And all the other teams, there are other teams that like the ushering team or a team that helps with the parking teams that helps with the first time visitors and all of that. They can kind of pretty much join those teams pretty much immediately, as in at least, we'll observe them for a month, ask them if they've been attending APC for at least a month or two. But for when it comes to the worship ministry, that person must be attending APC for at least six months, right? That's when we take that call. So commitment to the local church means that APC is our church family. If we are committed to growing in this church family, receiving nurture and care and in turn nurturing and caring for others in the family while we grow to be spiritual fathers or mothers in the house, okay? Commitment to the local church means APC is our church family, okay? What does family do? We support one another. We encourage one another, right? We fight with each other. We stand with that person. We intercede for that person. We stand in the gap, isn't it? There's so many things we help. We go that extra mile and we go, like the first point, the characteristic is mentioned that was mentioned in APC publication is that we are willing to pay the price. We are willing to help that person overcome any obstacles. Okay, that's what a family does, isn't it? So they help us to overcome certain challenges, certain obstacles in our lives. And so we are committed to growing in this church family, receiving nurture and care and there's a transaction happening and in turn nurturing and caring for others in the family while growing to be spiritual fathers, right? One of the greatest scriptures or passages ever written on love, let me just read that for us. One of the greatest passages, right? Chapters ever written on love is first Corinthians 13. Isn't it? Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. This chapter was written in the context of a church. So Paul, when he wrote this wonderful chapter on love, he's just not writing to an individual. He's addressing it to a church. And so here we see that commitment, when we are committed to a local church as part of a family, all of this is released in the context of the church. That's wonderful, isn't it? Yeah. Let's move to the second point that I mentioned there is commitment to the local church means that APC is our church body. APC is our church body, okay? Can we quickly go to another epistels or Ephesians, please? Book of Ephesians chapter one, Ephesians chapter one was 22 and 23. Can someone read that, please? God plays all things Sunday, Christ's rule. He appointed him to be ruler over everything for the church. The church is Christ's body. It is filled by Christ. He fills everything in every way. Thank you, Aaron. Okay, and God placed all things, okay? Not one or two things, not a few things. Not a few things here and there, but he says, and God placed all things under his feet and appointed him, Jesus, he head over everything for the church, which is the body, okay? So church is the body of Christ, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. Okay, the significance of church as the body of Christ. So when you say that you are committed to local church, which is, you're just saying that you are committed to the body of Christ, right? So we are committed members of this body. We find our place and fulfill our role and function in this body, drawing spiritually from this body and contributing to this body with the grace, gifts and anointing God has placed in our lives, amen? And serving, just being available to serve in your church, in your local church and being committed to the team that you are serving in goes such a long way. Just something very interesting happened last week is I was having a conversation with one of the person from the setup team, you know, the APC, we have a setup team that helps in setting up the equipments before the service starts, you know, setting up the speakers, some of you have helped in that, right? You know, rolling the cables, fixing the mixer, the sound and everything. And this person, you know, very casually, very casually said, I asked the person, like, hey, are you tired? Are you okay? And the response was amazing. You know, this person said, I'm fine. I'm absolutely fine. I love doing this, you know? And then he went on to say, we don't get to do this. We will not get a chance to serve like this in heaven.  Like, hey, yeah, I mean, we are giving God something on earth that we cannot give him in heaven. I mean, we're not going to be lifting speakers and setting up the cables and cleaning the chairs and the bathrooms and whatnot. And that really touched my heart, isn't it? And then I was immediately reminded of this woman in the Gospel of Luke where she breaks that alabaster jar at the feet of Jesus. And then the Bible says that she wet his feet with her tears and wiped it with her hair. And I was wondering, why is it, why such details are recorded? Why small details like that is recorded in the Bible? And then there's a psalm that says, he collects our tears in a bottle, isn't it? He collects our tears in a bottle. I'm like, okay, what's so special about tears, Lord? Why would you collect something salty?  Why, what's so precious about it?  Because in the book of Revelation, it says one day, the day is coming that there will be no sorrow, no pain, no shame in the heaven. He's gonna wipe away our tears forever. And so the day is coming where we will not be able to worship him with our tears. But when we worship him with our tears, when we do certain things like setting up the chairs, cleaning the chairs and, you know, pews and serving the church, you know, in so many ways, you are, we are really worshiping him in a way that we cannot worship him in heaven. And I think that's just amazingly beautiful, right? So being committed to the local church means there's so much more than just a definition. It is a privilege. It is an honor to be part of the local church, to serve the church, to serve the body of Christ. It's just an incredible honor, isn't it guys? Okay, we go to the third point. See, commitment to the local church means that we are committed to the leadership God has placed at APC and we are 100% aligned to APC's statement of faith, the vision, values and culture of APC. Gets a self-explanatory point. You know, you humble yourself and submit yourself for under the leadership of the pastors that God has placed in the church, okay? And then finally, commitment to the local church means that we receive what God is releasing to us as a local church. And we flow with, join in and actively participate in the work God is releasing through us as a local church body. A very important point, okay? Commitment to the local church means that we receive what God is releasing to us, okay? You come in agreement, you say amen to what God is doing in the church as a local church. If we flow, we flow with what God is doing, okay? We actively participate. You're not just a spectator. It's like, okay, I will come Sunday and I'll just go back. I don't care what everything else that's happening. But you actively participate, you partner with what God is doing, okay? We are partnering with what God is doing in the church. So that is another perspective of being committed to the local church. Are you guys with me so far? Yes, brother. Okay, super. Our commitment to the local church is expressed by the following things. That's the next section, right? How do we express our commitment to the local church? How is it seen? Our commitment to the local church is expressed by one, our attendance at all Sunday services. To worship God with the body, to receive the ministry of the word and the spirit being released to the body and to fellowship with other believers in the local church body. Now we understand that at times you may miss attending a Sunday service due to work or travel or health challenges. You're not well, et cetera, et cetera. That is all understandable, valid and genuine. Legitimate reasons, right? However, for the Sunday you miss attending the service, we request you to download and listen to the sermon preached and to stay connected and be in sync with what is happening in the church. Okay, if you've missed a Sunday church, we expect is like, hey, you know, yeah, it's cool. But then try and catch up, see what happened in the last Sunday service because you were not able, now everything is available online. So we encourage them to do that, right? Another thing why we emphasize this to our worship team members is attending all Sunday services in the second chapter, we looked at the band mentality and the worship team mentality, isn't it, if you remember the second chapter? And it is possible for worship team members to think of themselves as an elite group of people. Okay, hey, I'm part of the worship team.  And because of that, it's like, okay, I will come to church only on the Sundays I'm leading worship or playing an instrument. Every other Sunday that I am not playing, I'm not going to come to church. Okay, simple question guys, is that a right attitude? It's not a picky question, isn't it? Yeah, I mean, it's not a right attitude, isn't it? It's nothing right about it. So that's what we expect, you know, we encourage our team members to do is like, you know, hey, on the Sundays you were not serving, you can still come to church. Okay, and be part of the fellowship. Second is connecting with the rest of the church family by fellowshiping with other believers through life groups, personal meetings, and other events held at ABC. Okay, connecting, okay, wherever you are, okay, with your mics muted, say connecting. Thank you. Okay, connecting with the rest of the church family by fellowshiping with other believers through life groups, personal meetings, and other events. Guys, I cannot emphasize or stress enough on the importance of this. I'm sorry, guys, there seems to be some kind of a distance. Okay, sorry. Now, there is a sense of community, okay, that is important here. And I'm very often, I mean, we will find people that says there is no sense of community, you know, here. And we need to have a sense of community. And some time ago, we did a series saying, community starts with you, okay, community starts with you. So if you are a part of a church and if you think, okay, there is this lack of community, there is this lack of fellowship. And the question should arise, okay, so what are you going to do about it? Are you just going to sit there and complain and not be happy about it? Or are you going to initiate something? Because community or connecting with the rest of the church family is also your responsibility. It's not just the church's responsibility, right? Are you guys with me? Okay, one of my favorite preachers, he said the church is like a Noah's Ark. Okay, the church is like what? It's like a Noah's Ark. He said, Noah's Ark was not like a five-star cruise ship. Like everything is beautiful with a swimming pool on top and it just looks immaculate. Everything is clean and spotless, amazing food and whatnot. Noah's Ark was not like a five-star cruise ship. You know, it was, it hit the Ark, that ship was filled with animals, right? Animals of all kinds. And with the animals, it also comes their smell and also their dung, you know, their waste. And so it was, it is not a very pleasant, it would not smell very good, I would imagine, right? And then he goes on to say, yeah, you know, Noah's Ark is like a church. It might not be, you know, the most pleasant thing all the time and, you know, but it was the safest place on earth and that struck me home, you know? So how often do we expect our churches to be perfect, right? How often do we expect our churches to be perfect? We search for churches. We want the perfect church. Yes, we need to find a church that is Bible believing with the right doctrine, with the sound theology. All of that is very important. And that does not mean, you know, they can necessarily be perfect. That is different, isn't it? But the church is the safest place on earth. So connecting with the rest of the church family by fellowshiping with each other, with personal meetings with life groups, you will be empowered, you know, to take on life. You will have the help to overcome the obstacles and whatnot, right? And finally, being involved in ministries at APC where we can serve as part of the worship ministry or in other ways. Some of these includes the secret place, the five days of prayer, youth services, conferences, missions, et cetera, et cetera. There are always platforms in the church for you to serve. Always, always, you can always serve somewhere. You can always help somewhere. Okay, being involved in the ministries of APC is just a wonderful thing to be.  So we encourage our worship team members who also serve in one of the other ministry teams that they can help with, okay? So that's just the first point, guys. Commitment to the local church. We must first be committed to APC as our local church. What does that mean? Commitment to the local church means APC is a church family, APC is a church body, okay? And you come in agreement with the leadership and the APC's statement of faith and you are not just a spectator, but you actively participate. And how do you show that you are committed is that you show up on Sundays, not only on the Sundays that you play an instrument or lead worship, but you also show up on the Sundays that you don't play an instrument or lead worship. And we expect you to get connected to the life groups, be part of the youth meetings or whatever, right? Women's ministry, men's ministry, and being part of other ministries in the church that you can help. So all of that is just the first point, okay? Requirements of a worship team member at APC. Okay, we will continue with the second point in the next section, all right? So I'll stop sharing the screen now and I'll stop the recording. We will take a break and I'll see you after break time. Can we ask any questions? Oh, yes, please. Of course, sorry, yeah. Namaskar. When you say committed, as you said, and nobody's, we hardly see it to the committed people. Yeah. So Hong Kong was a pastor. It's, you know, to see those people, it's quite hard. I know, I have a question for you. As a pastor, if a person says, see, I have a band, I have a worship band. So I cannot commit 100% to the church even I cannot be come to church on every Sunday. But whatever the possible way, I will help. Yeah. And this person, not any under the spiritual authority or any under local part of the local church, but he connected to God and he listened word and he has a worship and team and he do the worship ministry. So how can we say you have to be in a local church or committed to the church? Yeah. Sure. I mean, if this person is just a random, you know, like a musician who is just talented and says that, you know, I will come only whenever I'm free and whatnot, but I'm not part, I'm not connected to any of the church ministries like, for example, life groups or men's ministry. You'll get what I'm saying. Right. So if there's no connection with any of these fellowships that's happening in the church, that means the person is really not connected to the church. And so it is, I wouldn't, this is just my thing. I would not have a person like that on my team. You know, however, if there is an individual who is, you know, who is part of a music band and we've had so many like that, you see, who is a professional musician? Let's say that, right? You know, I showed you that message that I sent out when I prepared the roster, right? So I sent it out to that individuals as well. And so they will tell is like, hey, I'm free on this Sunday and I will roster them. So I understand where they are and I let them be on the team because they're not just part of the worship team. They are connected somewhere and somehow to the other ministries of the church, like they are connected to a life group. You know, they serve in other ministries. They are available, you know, when the church needs them for the video shoots, for the recordings of a church songs and church albums, they are available for all of that. So that gives me a sense of confidence to know, OK, that person can be trusted and is committed and if they said something, they will do it. So that's when I will allow that person to be part of the worship team. But if the person is just not connected to any ministries of the church, I would not have them part of the team. No matter how good the musician they are. Because the burden for the souls, because when I see a person if not committed to the local church, part of the local church, but I do want to individual ministry means that's not, I personally feel that's not a right, you know, right thing for me. So how can we encourage them to be a part of some local church or grow and do your things as together? Yeah, yeah, that is, I mean, so look, there's a lot to do with the communication there and communication with maturity for me, Thomas, in a sense that I know of a lot of ministries, a lot of, say, missionaries or evangelists, right, who have their own ministry, not necessarily pastors, but who are also part of a local church, you know, they are accountable to the senior pastor of the local church. So I know of a lot of leaders and that is healthy and it is also healthy for the pastor to recognize the call on that individual's life, okay? Like, okay, you know, if that person comes, if they are accountable to you and saying, okay, pastor, this is what's happening in my ministry, this is what it is doing, and then you also see that they are committed, they are accountable to you as a pastor. So you let their fruits, right, the fruits of their life and their ministry speak for itself. So having a healthy conversation and an honest conversation, a conversation of maturity will always help, instead of coming to a conclusion thinking or under assumption, like, okay, you know, there's always going to be misunderstanding, which is not healthy, which is not healthy. Thank you, Master. Yeah, I'm not sure if I helped Thomas, but it's... I want to have a little chat with you more in any possible way if you can help and contact you. Yeah, sure, sure. You know, let me just stop the recording and take a break and I'll share my details with you. That would be great, Master. I'll see you, yeah.


This is stock number 10065. We are here at Summit Automotive in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. You're new and used. Heavy-duty RAM headquarters and heavy-duty truck headquarters for that matter as well. Today we are checking out this super clean 2016 RAM 3500 crew cab long box dual rear wheel. This truck has the 6.7 liter Cummins diesel high output motor. It's paired up with the Isen six-speed heavy-duty transmission. Flame red is the color and we shoot all of our videos in 1080p so if you have HD capabilities on your computer tablet or smartphone device turn them on right now because it's like you're right here looking at the truck with me and definitely your best way to check out the vehicle before you see it in person. Factory polished aluminum rims, front tires are Nitto, cross-tech LT26570R17s. Has probably about 60-70% of tread left on it. Front tires here. Frame and underbody is an excellent condition. Driver's side front fender, no dents or dings on that. Has the projected lamp headlamps, the LED running lights, front bumper parking sensors, chrome trim to grill, factory fog lights, no dents or dings on that front bumper and that lower valance is an excellent shape as well. Passengers side fender is in nice shape as well. No dents or dings and a passenger side rim. Pretty nice condition too. As you go down this side of the truck you can see just how clean the body is, how reflective and mirror-like that paint is. We take these HD videos so if you are far away or even if you're close by and just cannot make the trip down but you're still interested in purchasing the truck but don't have time to get here. You can see the video, see the truck, hear the truck and have confidence in the vehicle that you're looking at before you even get here. Very clean down this side. I didn't see any dents or dings. That's really something you just can't get with pictures that you can get with the videos. As long as we're on here we'll take a look at the frame and underbody. Super clean down here. Those box rails are like new. Has all the remaining factory exhaust and on the back we have some mudclaw extreme LT 265 70R 17 tires, polished aluminum rims on the back and these tires have right around 50% of the tread left. Inner tires look like they have maybe just a little bit more and once again that frame and underbody looking really good under here. Has the plastic wheel well liners which keeps your frame and underbody looking great. Rear bumper is an excellent shape didn't see any dents or dings on that. It does have the backup parking sensors. Has the backup camera that rear tailgate is an excellent shape didn't see any dents or things on that and it is a truck's port soft tonneau not I didn't see any rips or tears on the tonneau cover. Definitely not a brand new tonneau but looks like it's in pretty decent shape. It does have the goose neck fifth wheel prep package the seven pin wiring the LED bed lighting and it looks like it has a toolbox back here. I'm not sure if that toolbox has a auxiliary fuel tank on it or not it definitely might which might be what that pump is there. Not sure exactly if it does have that or not. Anyways down this side of the truck just as clean as the passenger side. It's got some heavy duty mud flaps back here as well. No dents or dings on that box or dewy side and for full disclosure this back rim. All right condition does have a little bit of clear coat peeling there. Not really sure what's that but that's from but do want to point it out. Down the rest of this side of the truck absolutely perfect. No major dents or dings. Has the nice chrome step bars and it does have the heated fold-out tow mirrors they have fold out like so they also fold in. Not sure if this one's got the power fold in we'll find out right now it does have the power fold in so power windows power locks. It's got the little arrow there next to the mirrors that means that it does definitely power fold in like so and it power folds out as well. Inside the Laramie package gives you the black leather interior there are no rips there are no tears on the seats they're in really really nice shape. Both these seats are heated both these seats are cooled or ventilated and it does have memory driver seat. Factory all-weather floor mats throughout and this one does have auto headlamps. As we hop inside the truck here you can see that this one has 58,717 miles you get the 7-inch TFT display digital spinometer outside temperature compass time and range to empty you can change those to whatever you want. Has the heated leather wrap steering wheel really nice condition on the steering wheel cruise controls on the right. Blue tooth and information center controls on the left and then audio controls on the back. Has the six speed ison automatic transmission you get the 8.4 touch screen radio this is the 3C radio comes with factory navigation you can do your heated and cooled seat buttons here as well. This one also has the backup camera also has the cargo cam so if you got the cargo cam you got the tonneau off you can see what's going on in the bed even if you're driving down the road.  Factory brake control you got more heated and cooled seat and heated steering wheel buttons right there stability control tow-haul factory exhaust brake and you can turn those rear and front parking sensors on and off does on a 115 volt 150 watt plug-in and finally it does have the Alpine premium sound system up here you have the 911 and assist buttons in the mirror those are features of the vehicle that you never have to pay a subscription for. Has your homelink buttons power sign rear window and your map lights the power sunroof and headliners and excellent condition passenger side seat is really nice and clean as well I don't think this truck's ever been smoked in smells very clean inside here and you do get the factory all-weather format on that side and the dual gloveboxes. We'll take a quick look at the back seats and then we'll check out under the hood the back seats are just as clean as the front seats no rips no tears back here does have the latch child safety system for your car seats powers sliding rear window these seats fold up for extra storage there is a load floor here they say what's a load floor it's a floor that you put down makes it nice and flat back here so if you got pets or tools or muddy boots whatever you can put them on here not going to ruin your nice leather seats pets can have a nice flat place to lay it does have the winter front right here as well you have an all-weather format that goes all the way across these back seats are heated on the outboard side and you do get two in-floor storage bins with easily removable bins like so for using clean they say you can put ice and drinks in there and you can make yourself some coolers anywhere you go anyways we'll take a quick look under the hood I would personally like to thank you for checking out the video today hopefully from this HD video you will have been able to tell just how clean this truck is all the way around inside a note under the hood we have a 6.7 liter Cummins diesel engine bay very very clean runs very smooth this truck has been fully safety and inspected by our service shop has a fresh oil and filter change all the fluids have been checked and topped off truck has been gone through mechanically 100% and is 100% ready to go to see more pictures of this super clean truck or one of our other 450 new and used cars trucks SUVs minivans Wranglers you name it we got it go to our website www.summitauto.com full pictures and descriptions of every single vehicle on our lot from both of our locations all at summitauto.com if you'd like to check out more HD videos you can go to youtube.com slash summit auto remember to like subscribe and share on this video and all the videos that you see there in fact in a second you will see link to subscribe to our YouTube channel on your left a link to more heavy duty truck videos like this one on your right if you have not been to our website on the bottom link to this vehicle on our website click those checks out we really look forward to helping with this super clean 2016 ram 3500 crew cab long box dual rear wheel Laramie thanks again


laces and I'm taking him straight over his head, right here, taking his laces, taking him straight over my head. Now, I can hear, I push himself on my elbow, start slipping around all over his body. So, partner's giving me a referee's position, we're going to step on the leg, I'm off to the side that I'm on. I'm going to flow, flow, flow. We can hit my stone top, sandbag and all that. I should be able to finish him right there. Go!


The chairman of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA Bubba Marua, has promised to go tougher on anti-drug war in 2023. Marua stated this in YOLA during an honours bestowed on him by Adamawa Honours Society in recognition of his outstanding service to the nation. He disclosed that no fewer than 18,940 suspects were arrested for drug-related offences in the last two years. He explained the NDLEA under his watch in 2022, secured 3,324 convictions, seized 5.4 kilograms of different controlled drugs, narcotic substances, and rehabilitated 3,326 drug abusers in the year under review. The 2023 efforts are going to be redoubled and very important for this to be clear, that the cartels were given them a strong warning to quit while they can, because it is clear, isn't it, based on evidence that you can't get away from us, we will always reach you. We are also looking at a situation of crop substitution. This is one of the things I want to focus on next year, crop substitution, if we can persuade those cannabis growers to shift to other cash crops. That is going to help us tremendously. It's going to be a training here also, we are going to do a lot of training to up the ante of professionalism. We are going to do more recruitment so that we can get more officers down to our various communities. I do not have the statistics, but from what the professor presented here, the statistics actually dropped from 14 percent of Nigerians on drugs down to about 8 percent, and that is a huge success. So it goes along the territory of what was in everything it does. Hello, hope you enjoyed the news. Please do subscribe to our YouTube channel, and don't forget to hit the notification button so you get notified about fresh news updates.


President Barack Obama visited Naval Station Rota to meet with base leadership, tour the guided missile destroyer USS Ross, and speak to service members and their families at an all-hands call. The President thanked the Spanish for being great partners, hosts and friends to all the American personnel stationed in Spain, and said the U.S. couldn't ask for a better ally. President Obama, but day in and day out, Americans and Spaniards like you served together shoulder to shoulder. Not only here, but in missions for our common security. We have great partners around the world, and I am absolutely confident that people of good will will ultimately overcome those forces that seek to divide and destroy us. Petty Officer Valerie Carson, Naval Station Rota. God bless you. God bless the United States of America. God bless Spain. Thank you very much.


Hello. In this video, we're going to take a quick look at drafts. drafts are a way where you can start a post or a page and then you can go ahead and come back to it later. So there are a couple of different ways to go about this. We're going to focus on doing drafts for posts, but I will talk about drafts for pages right at the end of this video. So the first thing here is we're on our dashboard and this is something that has changed from the 3.x versions of WordPress. So some of you may be useful, used to that, to the 4.0 version. And now there's what's known as the quick draft area. And so what you can do here is you've got an idea. You want to kind of like leave yourself a note saying, hey, I want to write a blog post about this. You want to get into this system, but you don't want actually people to see it yet. So I'm just going to go ahead here and this is an example draft post. And I've already got some dummy text that I'm going to just go ahead and paste in here. And you'll notice the box expanded as we did that. Now all those red lines are because it's spell checking for English and I've actually pasted in some Latin. So what's going to happen here is I'm going to go ahead and click save draft. Now that did not publish a post for me. What it did was it started a post, left it in the system, but did not publish it for people to see. And you can see here I now have a list of one draft that is actually available to me. So that's one way to create a draft. I'll show you how to get back to it in a minute. We'll talk about another way. I'm going to go ahead and go over to posts and then add new. And I'm going to create another post here. And so this is another post or draft post. And I'm going to go ahead and paste my text in there. Now in this case, as we talked about in the post video, you would want to set a category. You would want to choose your format possibly. And then generally, if this was done, you would now click publish. But what we're going to do instead, instead of clicking publish, we're going to say, hey, I'm not done with this yet. I want to get back to it later. So I'm going to go ahead and click save draft. Now what's going to do here is it's going to say right up at the top post draft updated. And here is it's my title and my description. So at this point, whether I'm now at the, if I go back to the dashboard, in fact, let me do that. I'll go to the dashboard and you'll see here I now have two drafts listed. I can do a couple of things. One is if I wanted to work out neither of these drafts, I could go ahead and click on the titles that would bring up the edit page for me and excuse me, the edit screen for those, these posts, and I can go ahead and edit them. Also now if I go ahead and view all posts, you will see here that my two newest posts, these are ones that I've published previously. And here are the two that I just created and they are both listed as draft. So at this point, what I can do if I want to edit one of these is I can go ahead and select edit. This will open it up, allow me to edit it as I see fit. Let's say in this case, maybe I want to bold this sentence, we'll just do something nice and simple here. And now if I want to publish this, I can go ahead and click publish. It will publish my post. It will now be up for people to read. And if I go back to my all posts lists, you will see here that this one is now published. It is no longer listed as a draft. Here this one is listed as a draft. If you want, you can actually go ahead and just excuse me, I'm clicking on the wrong spot. Go ahead and just view the drafts. Notice here we have all published and draft. Now when you only have five total posts, this isn't very useful, but when you get it into hundreds of posts, this might be, and we can go ahead and click on draft right here and see only the posts that are currently listed as drafts. I'm going to go back to all here, and remember I only have my one draft post now. If I go back to my dashboard, you will also see I only have my one draft post because the other one is published. Now when it comes to pages, this pretty much works exactly the same way. If I was to go ahead and add a new page, and so this is a draft page, and I'm going to go ahead and paste my text into there again. Just like with posts, I can publish it, or I can save it as a draft. I'm going to go ahead and save that as a draft, and then if I go back and look at all of my pages, you will see that this is a draft page here. It's listed as a draft. If I want to edit it, I can go ahead and edit it, and then publish it once I've made those changes. Now, one other thing I want to show you here with pages, which this will also apply to posts, but more useful for pages. Let's say you've created a page about what's going on for the summer at your library. You've got a regular event that's going to come up every summer, probably summer reading set. You could go ahead and create a page about summer reading, have it show up, and then when summer reading is over, you might want to take that page down until you're ready for next year's summer reading program. But you don't necessarily want to delete that page because you want to reuse a lot of that content. So what you can do here is you can find that page, and I'll use my draft one here as an example. Here's my quick edit, and if I click on quick edit, there's a couple of things I can do here. Some of these I've explained already in the pages post, but here on either both a page or a post, you can change the status from draft to published or pending review if you set up a review process, which we talked about in the users page when it comes to users, or excuse me, the user's video, when it comes to user rights. So I can right here set this to publish, and go ahead and click that, and then if I move my camera out of my way here, you will see update. Now, this is another way I can publish something. So I've published that. If this was my summer reading program, I could go ahead and quick edit that. Summer reading program is over. I'm going to go ahead and save that back as draft. So change the status to draft and update. That will take the page out of the system, excuse me, out of the public view, but leave it here in the system. So under quick edit, you can use published and draft to turn pages on and off. You can also do that with blog posts, but I would say usually once you've published a blog post, you generally don't want to retract it. So that's how you can use drafts to do certain things with both pages and posts. Basically, what it boils down to is I'm not done with this yet, or I want to take it out of circulation, and I'm going to put it back again later. As usual, if you have any questions, just go ahead and leave a comment below this video, and I will be happy to help. And thanks for watching.


The state of Minnesota will allow off-sale liquor stores to be open beginning July 1st. But for the immediate future, it appears the city of Bemidji's municipal liquor stores will remain closed. Josh Peterson was at tonight's work session where city council members looked at the possibilities. We want to be open and for a long on Sunday. With just over one month away from the first Sunday liquor sales, the question to be open or to remain closed was placed before the Bemidji city council. With support on both sides of the issue, the city finance director says he would not recommend Sunday sales for city-owned liquor stores. The overall impact would not add to the bottom line, so we're recommending to council that they not open on Sunday. The city of Bemidji was presented with three options to choose from when it comes to Sunday liquor sales. The first option is to remain closed. The second is to be open for the hours stated in the new law, which is from 11 a.m. until 6 o'clock p.m. And the third option includes being open for a reduced amount of time on Sundays. For some council members, not being open on Sunday could be a big risk. It could be a big deal for us too. We don't know. We just are saying that it will be by Sunday when the ones we're going to buy on Friday, so we won't make it, but this could be a home to market. Kevin Fener, who oversees Bemidji's liquor department, says that while sales may be up a few Sundays, it may not sustain itself. I just don't see that it's, you know, yeah, it's, you're going to see it sales because it's going to be something new. People are going to, you know, just stop and see it, but I think the thing is you're selling the convenience. It's unclear if privately owned liquor stores outside the city limits will be open on Sundays. If they do, the city could lose sales by staying closed, but if they're going to be open, you're not going to make consider. Yeah, then I think at that point you'd have to almost consider at least one. Another city of similar size to Bemidji with municipal stores, Detroit Lakes has decided to authorize Sunday sales with one alderman telling Forum News Service that he expects the uptick in sales revenue from having the liquor store open on Sundays will more than compensate for the expense of keeping it staffed seven days a week. But Bemidji Mayor Rita Albright says she is not convinced that Sunday sales will work. I just don't see it as, you know, if I'm in business and thinking, okay, what's going to increase my bottom line? Will this do it? I haven't been convinced that this will do it. In Bemidji, Josh Peterson, Lakeland News. Four out of the seven city council members were at today's work session. Council members Michael Mealhouse, Roger Hellquist and Nancy Erickson were unable to attend the meeting. Now the city of Bemidji can choose to open city liquor stores on Sunday at any time after July 1st. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.


Okay guys, it's on its way What time is it home about 10? 10.58 so Here it comes. It's About one. I think they're saying one 30 or something like that No, you guys can't see this. Yes, it's starting to get nasty out here. I'll set that tent down No But it's still gonna get nasty Yeah They're stuff falling down over here. Yeah There they are. I don't know how well you guys can see this They are moving Just one time I'd like to film a damn Purr came in the day time Yeah, so I'm gonna keep you guys posted as this unfolds and If it gets really really bad, we'll walk up on top the hill live-streaming, huh?  There you are. I should go over in the The treehouse Yeah, you could that thing would be moving. Yeah, when you get in it. Yeah All right, I'll be back with you. Okay guys, it's been about 30 minutes maybe 20 something like that The power has been flickering on and off so The last time it did that whoa, they just did it again the last time it did that I heard a big boom up here And as you can see it's very dark up here So I think a tire I think a transformer blue There's a big boom They still got power So and it was close so it may have been that pole, but it's still got power of the light still dim there That's something blue see each one each one of these poles Has a transformer going to the house so I'm up on top the hill right now There's a house right over there in that dark spot. I don't see any any lights so It might have been the transformer that blew Wow kind of hard to see with this light on me so Yeah, it's getting Getting bad Listen There's some tree limb Small tree limbs down here. I wasn't down before Nightjerry Take a look in here He built all in cabinets. He was a cabinet maker Make sure no one's there In there All right, well, so I don't know what that noise was Yep, it's still there check this out. Oh shed Tree is falling on it Look inside there Isn't that cool? So I don't know what that boom was, but it was loud smells I think it was a transformer because I smell something that Kind of smells like electric And the rain is starting to come Yeah, I'm guessing that John Deere is probably from the 60s John Deere 112 I'd have to look it up but I Lowered the The thing down on on the vet so it wouldn't Wouldn't blow away I thought she had power on a minute ago But anyway, we're like keep flickering so I know you can't see them trees Even with this big light Just too far up Yeah, it's getting bad Yeah, I put the canopy down So that way It doesn't blow away Yeah, we heard a big ass boom get around back so I Didn't see any I Didn't see any big sparks or anything like that.  Sorry We did hear a big boom though. I can hear egg horns and stuff coming down onto the shed and These three limbs here Well, these are cut up.  I Don't remember that being there must come out of that tree right there shit, I Need to do something with this thing Still runs Yeah, that's what I'm talking about right there that bang stuff I don't even know if you guys can hear me or not, but yeah We'll have a We'll have a lot of palm fronds like we usually do down so Hopefully I'll get to some live-streaming hell. It's only like 1130 ish. I think Ask a monkey. She's got the window open Hey, Mon What time is it? 1138 Okay, so it's 1138 so just a quick update for you guys I'll Be back again there's that Yeah, rain drops on my I gotta go clean my filter Okay, guys, so here we are This is us right here right there tropical storm force winds peak winds forecast 35 to 45 mile per hour with gusts up to 55 mile per hour But it has the potential for winds 58 to 73 miles an hour Let's go see what's going on outside and power still holding out so far See we're blocked by these trees, but up through there It's hard to just hit hard up in there I think maybe I'll I'll take a walk up there and let's see what's going on See for you there. It's time to go live guys. Okay guys, so It's the next day After the live stream everything kind of went calm and it's been calm since but It's like two o'clock in the afternoon right now. It's still a little breezy But it actually hit landfall Northwest of me where it was supposed to come in at it hit Cedar Key and When it hit Cedar Key and Cedar Key is just a small little like a fishing village type thing and When it hit there, I guess immediate reports of roofs blowing off and streets flooded and stuff like that So I don't know how bad it is.  It's the built right over top of the water, but So apparently they got hit pretty hard, but you're not hearing anything about that I looked it up on my phone and found it But so I mean we didn't get No, we have no issues here Like I said as soon as I quit the live stream that was pretty much it So we didn't get hit. So hopefully everybody's all right out there and Thoughts and prayers go out to you guys over in Cedar Key area, but so yeah, I guess they got hit pretty hard but So we are now all of our warnings and watches are all canceled. So still haven't heard back from The water management wildlife management about the camping. So I don't know if our I Mean, I don't know if if our reservations for tomorrow are still gonna be good or not I can't call in because their office is closed today. So I'll call in. I Don't know maybe first thing in the morning We're gonna take a walk out there and see what it's if there's anybody there or whatever and see what's going on But anyway, so that was pretty much it for us It was it was just considered a tropical storm when it came through here But the eye didn't come across us like it was supposed to like I said it it hits Cedar Key and They got hit pretty hard. So hopefully everybody's all right out there And you know that place don't that place does not need it. I mean, it's just a small it's struggling to survive as it is a couple hurricanes got it before and Irma did some damage there and So anyway, we're all good here It was one It's like almost two now.  So that's where she took him He's got another shot to get and they want to check up a couple other things, you know that they want to see Because you know his allergy issues They want to make sure the fish oil is doing good They want to check his ears and make sure they're getting better, but she hasn't been shaking his ears much at all So I think they're better monkey says they look better. So She's going in have him checked out. So anyway, that's the update. I mean it's still breezy They're calling for no rain tomorrow no rain Saturday Like 55% Sunday, of course, you know, we're in Florida that can change in three hours and no rain Monday May get some thunderstorms Sunday, but you know, I mean it's still it'd be all right camping weather. The winds aren't going to be too high I think five to eight miles an hour gusts. So it should be okay. It's supposed to be in the 80s so We'll see Sun's coming out now and like I said, it's still a little breezy, but now the the next one What is it? I Oda? I Oda is the one There they said to watch there. They're worried about it too. So We'll see what happens there. But anyway guys, thanks for watching live stream. Thanks for watching this video appreciate it and We'll see you guys on the next one. Take care. Shea bear the myth man the legend. I'm out for now. See y'all soon. Bye. Bye You