FMQs has drawn to a close.

Here are the key lines from today's proceedings:

• Russell Findlay called for the first minister to back a "full and fearless" inquiry into grooming gangs
• The Scottish Tory leader highlighted the case of Taylor who wrote to the FM to tell her story, which included claims of being given alcohol and drugs and being sexually abused by 10 Pakistani men, and urged him to set up an inquiry
• John Swinney confirmed he had received the letter from the "courageous" Taylor
• The first minister told the chamber his government was looking at past and current investigations and "remains open" to a grooming gangs inquiry
• The Scottish Labour leader argued the NHS was in "permanent crisis" under the NHS as winter approaches. Anas Sarwar said: "Our NHS is not safe in John Swinney's hands"
• The first minister highlighted the progress being made in the NHS in Scotland
• John Swinney uses his answer as an excuse to highlight the chaos in Labour with Number 10 briefing against the UK health secretary
• The failure of the SNP government to meet its manifesto pledge on cutting teacher's class times was highlighted by Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton
• The FM argued the government was awaiting progress with local authorities on the issue
• There were a number of questions on income tax but of course no answers ahead of the Scottish budget on 13 January.

That's all from the live page team today. Catherine Lyst was the editor. Katy Scott and Craig Hutchison were the writers. Thanks for joining us.

Scottish Conservatives MSP Murdo Fraser has a question about a recent Supreme Court ruling about evidence in sexual offence cases.

He says the courts have a difficult task in balancing the need to protect complainants while guaranteeing the accused a fair trial.

Fraser asks how the Scottish government will respond to the ruling, and Swinney says the judgement is clear that there is no need for a change in the law.

However, judges in sexual offences cases should reflect the ruling in the handling of such cases, he adds.

Scottish Labour MSP Claire Baker also asks Swinney what assurances he can give to women who are concerned about the risk of appeals.

The first minister says this is about court procedures, however the conduct of cases in court can cause distress to victims who are often women.

He says the government will consider the implications of the ruling but adds that it will be “deeply regrettable” if there is a return to practices in court which are “deeply distressing" to victims.

David Wallace Lockhart
Political correspondent

Shona Robison is facing what she calls a "nightmare situation".

A bunch of financial changes could be made by the chancellor which, once all the complex calculations are done, will result in the Scottish government losing money.

This is how the "Fiscal Framework" works. Though that's not satisfying Shona Robison, who says the entire formula must be revised.

But the Scottish government can't entirely wash their hands of this. It was John Swinney who negotiated this framework.

And raising taxes while cutting National Insurance isn't so wacky an idea that it could never have possibly been conceived.

The key question now is what does the Scottish government do to plug the potential gap?

Ministers are now openly conceding that a pledge not to raise income tax is being reconsidered.

But governments tend to try and avoid this type of action so close to a Scottish election.

For now, there's not much Shona Robison can do beyond lobby the chancellor. And try to delicately move the Scottish government away from tax promises it may no longer be able to keep.

The focus on the economy continues with Tory MSP Rachael Hamilton asking whether the Scottish government will maintain its manifesto commitment to freeze income tax rates and bands.

The first minister gives the standard response that he the SNP government's income tax plans will be outlined in the Scottish budget on 13 January.

Hamilton highlights the SNP manifesto pledge to freeze income tax and says Rachel Reeves will break Labour''s manifesto pledge on income tax.

"There's a lot of talk about tax just now," he says.

He reiterates the Scottish government will outline its approach next year.

Scotland's finance secretary has said she may "have to revisit" a promise not to raise income tax in Scotland before the next Holyrood election.

Shona Robison warned she faces a possible "nightmare situation" where funding from Westminster could fall by £1bn due to decisions Chancellor Rachel Reeves could make in her upcoming Budget.

Speculation is mounting that Reeves will raise income tax but she may also offset the impact on workers by cutting national insurance contributions.

Robison is seeking an "urgent meeting" with her UK counterpart to discuss how that would affect Scotland's finances.

The Treasury said it would not comment on speculation about the Budget but claimed its previous "record settlement" for Scotland meant it receives 20% more funding per head of population than the rest of the UK.

Read more here.

Scottish Conservative MSP Craig Hoy asks the first minister if he will stop playing the “dafty laddy” on income tax.

He asks the first minister to accept that he has broken his manifesto pledge to freeze income tax and he has misled the parliament on how many Scots pay more tax than if they lived in England.

Swinney says the Scottish government has maintained its manifesto pledges on tax.

He adds that the Scottish Fiscal Commission indicated “quite clearly” that the majority of taxpayers in Scotland were paying less in taxation than if they lived in the rest of the UK.

Cole-Hamilton says it’s “pathetic” to pin the blame on councils when many of these councils are run by the SNP.

He asks the first minister to guarantee that there will be no strikes in the new year.

Swinney says he cannot instruct councils to reduce class contact time, it has to be done by agreement.

The first minster says they have reached this agreement and he now wants local authorities “to keep their side of the bargain”.

Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Alex Cole-Hamilton is up next with a question on education.

He says the SNP made a commitment while Swinney was education secretary to cut teacher's class contact time by 90 minutes to allow for class prep time.

Five years on, Cole-Hamilton says this not happened and teachers are prepared to strike. He asks why Swinney has not delivered on this pledge.

The first minister says the government is awaiting progress with local authorities on this and he had made it clear to Cosla that this must happen quickly.

He says he wants to make progress and does not want to see education interrupted.

Swinney takes a dig at the ongoing chaos with UK Labour Partypublished at 12:31 GMT 13 November

12:31 GMT 13 November

David Wallace Lockhart
Political correspondent

If you want to guess what Anas Sarwar will bring up at FMQs, the health service is normally the safe bet.

Mr Sarwar has questioned how ready Scotland is for the winter ahead. And he's got a selection of stats to suggest the NHS is already struggling as the busy season looms.

But, as is the case so often in this debate, the first minister has his own selection of numbers that suggest things are going in the right direction.

And there's a slight dig from Swinney about ongoing "chaos" in UK Labour (a useful reminder that problems in Downing Street can often make Scottish Labour's life a bit more difficult at Holyrood).

"Every part of our NHS is now at breaking point and all because of this SNP government," argues Sarwar.

He says the NHS is in "permanent crisis".

"Our NHS is not safe in John Swinney's hands," he adds.

The first minister again highlights progress being made in the NHS in Scotland.

Sarwar moves on to A&E and cancelled operations, with A&E performance worse than last year.

He adds that the picture around cancelled operations is also worse this year and the Scottish Labour leader argues that Swinney has failed.

The first minister hits back highlighting the "chaos of the Labour government in London".

Swinney argues the pressure throughout the NHS is increasing.

He warns that the flu season will be particularly bad this winter and insists that the number of GPs will increase.

Image source, Getty Images

Earlier this week, the health secretary announced that almost 100 new ambulance staff had been recruited to help the NHS cope with the traditional surge in patients at this time of year.

Last winter, the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) was placed on the highest level of emergency due to the "significant pressure" placed on services.

Neil Gray also confirmed that more than 250 newly-qualified paramedics were also expected to be recruited this year.

But Scottish Conservatives health spokesman Sandesh Gulhane said the numbers were a "drop in the ocean".

Meanwhile, SAS chief executive Michael Dickson warned that there was already an increase in demands on the service compared with last year.

Read more here.

The first minister says the government is focused on doing a number of things to reduce pressure in the NHS.

That’s why long waits are coming down and waiting lists are coming down, he adds.

He highlights the frailty of services introduced in all Scotland’s A&Es.

It’s now the turn of Anas Sarwar to put his questions to the first minister.

The Scottish Labour leader focuses on the forthcoming NHS winter resilience plans.

The health secretary will outline the plans from 14:25 in the chamber today.

Sarwar says the crisis continues every year and he highlights delayed discharges.

“Why are we facing another winter unprepared?”

David Wallace Lockhart
Political correspondent

The Conservatives are calling for a Scottish inquiry into grooming gangs.

This is something that's come up before, and John Swinney has previously said it's not currently needed.

But now, with a letter from an alleged victim imploring the first minister to reassess, the Conservatives clearly think there's a bit more pressure to be applied on this topic.

Swinney adds that there's a strategic group looking at what further actions are needed. And that he remains potentially open to establishing an inquiry. So perhaps this is an issue that could yet develop.

This essentially boils down to Swinney suggesting there are other ways to look at grooming gangs - through policing and justice in the here and now, rather than a dedicated inquiry.

But Findlay is fairly adamant that an inquiry is the one way to get to the root of this issue.

The Scottish Conservatives leader says the same authorities who failed victims, sit on the child abuse strategic group in Scotland.

He asks if Swinney agrees that grooming gangs are a problem in Scotland and not just elsewhere.

Findlay asks how Swinney can hope to stop child abuse now when he won't support a "full and fearless" investigation into the "industrial" scale of abuse of recent years.

Swinney says he is prepared to ensure that significant efforts are made to address abusive conduct in society.

He says the strategic group is actively looking at this.

The first minister says they remain open to an inquiry on grooming gangs but he is satisfied that the police and judicial system will address these issues.

Findlay says Taylor, the anonymous victim, was failed by police who could have stopped the abuse.

He says another victim was trafficked to Glasgow from England and police were aware of links to Scotland, and asks if Swinney has spoken to police about these investigations.

Swinney says in Taylor's case, police received a complaint in September. However, no report was made in reference to a crime, so it did not fit criteria for a complaint about police and it was closed.

The first minister says the police and the Crown Office have successfully prosecuted child abuse cases and he hopes that will give victims reassurance.

Findlay says child victims should not be blamed and grooming gangs are not a historic problem.

Swinney adds that he is not shifting the blame, but putting factual information on the record.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced an inquiry into grooming gangs in England and Wales in June.

The Daily Record, external reported yesterday how an alleged victim of a grooming gang had written to the first minister, calling for a similar inquiry in Scotland.

The newspaper said the unnamed woman claimed she had been abused while living in a Glasgow care home.

The Scottish Conservatives previously tried to add an amendment to the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Bill in September calling for a grooming gangs inquiry, which was rejected by the government.

The bill, external included major changes to Scotland's legal system, including the removal of the not proven verdict, and came into force at the end of October.

But Scottish Conservatives leader Russell Findlay described it as a "massive missed opportunity".

Findlay said he hoped the letter would "shame John Swinney into doing the right thing" and provide Scottish grooming gang victims with "the same transparency, answers and justice as those in the rest of the UK".

Scottish Conservatives leader Russell Findlay kicks FMQs off with a question about grooming gangs.

He speaks about an alleged victim of a grooming gang in Glasgow, "Taylor", who asked First Minister John Swinney to launch an inquiry into child exploitation.

Swinney confirms he has received the letter and says he admires her courage on speaking out.

He says he is saddened to hear of any cases of sexual abuse and that the government is taking action on the issue through the work of the National Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Strategic Group.

He says the group is looking at previous evidence and practices to establish what further action is required.

The first minister also says police are reviewing current and previous child abuse investigation to determine what issues need to be addressed.

The forthcoming UK budget has cast a long shadow over Scottish politics this week, with Labour and SNP promises not to raise income tax coming under scrutiny.

Scotland's finance secretary has said she may "have to revisit" a promise not to raise income tax in Scotland before the next Holyrood election.

Shona Robison warned that she faces a possible "nightmare situation" where funding from Westminster could fall by £1bn due to decisions Chancellor Rachel Reeves could make in her upcoming Budget.

Speculation is mounting that Reeves will raise income tax but she may also offset the impact on workers by cutting national insurance contributions.

Other issues dominating the political agenda this week were the early release of prisoners and a potential teacher's strike looming.