John Swinney has answered questions In the first FMQs session since MSPs returned to parliament after the summer break.

• Scottish Conservatives leader Russell Findlay accused him of being obsessed with pursuing Scottish independence while ignoring "day job" issues that mean more to ordinary Scots.
• Swinney gave the scrapping of peak rail fares as an example of practical help being given, but said independence offered a "fresh start".
• Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the state of the NHS was the issue most commonly encountered on the doorstep and that NHS waiting lists were imploding.
• Ross Greer, newly elected Scottish Greens co-leader, demanded reform of council tax debt collection rules and an end to tax breaks for shooting estates owned by billionaires.
• Tory and Alba MSPs accused the FM of failing to act after the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman - but Swinney insisted these were complex matters and said the guidance was being looked at.
• A number of MSPs expressed concern about water shortages after one of the driest summers on record
• Asked about pressures on Glasgow due to high numbers of asylum seekers, Swinney said Home Office policies were to blame.
• He said he shared concern that the saltire could be hijacked by far right groups and insisted that he wanted Scotland to remain a cohesive and welcoming country.

That's the end of our coverage of FMQs. The writers were Calum Watson and Rachel Grant, and the live page was edited by Catherine Lyst.

Image source, PA Media

Glasgow SNP MSP Bob Doris tells how hundreds of saltires have been put up in his consituency recently.

He says the saltire is inclusive and tolerant but he's worried the far right are trying to hijack the country's flag.

He describes incidents in which his constituents in Maryhill have been subjected to racist taunts.

Swinney says he agrees with Doris - that the saltire should be an inclusive flag - and he praises a community event he attended recently in Maryhill which promoted cohesion.

"Scotland is best served by being an inclusive welcoming country. It has been in the past and it must be in the future," the FM says.

Scottish Conservative Sandesh Gulhane says the SNP's open-door policy on asylum seekers is a "sham" and that even the SNP leader of Glasgow City Council is worried about the situation.

He asks Swinney to admit that illegal immigration is "crippling' services in Glasgow".

Swinney says Gulhane's contribution is unhelpful as he tries to ensure Scotland is cohesive and united on such issues.

He says the pressures on Glasgow are due to the inadequate approach of the UK government's Home Office.

"I think Scotland is a welcoming country, under my leadership it will remain a welcoming country and that should be something we are proud of as a country," he says.

Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Willie Rennie says he usually speaks about the risk of flooding on the River Eden and the dramatic impact on the people of Coupar.

"But now it's about the dramatic impact on farmers", he says, adding that broccoli, potato and cereal crops have been affected this summer by "these extremes of climate change" and a river catchment could be needed.

Swinney says Rennie is "absolutely right" that they need to get everybody round the table to solve these problems.

Following a sweltering summer it was announced last week that six areas of Scotland were experiencing significant water scarcity - the highest level - as prolonged dry conditions continue.

The Lower Tweed catchment was escalated after the Upper Don and Lower Don in the north east of Scotland also reached significant scarcity.

The North Fife, Ythan and Deveron catchments had already been announced by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) earlier.

It means restrictions to limit the removal of water from the natural environment around the rivers for industry and agriculture, a process known as abstraction.

The alert means that rivers have reached a critical level after being very low for 30 or more days.

Read more.

Swinney responds to a question from Labour's Alex Rowley on water scarcity in Scotland, saying he recognises the seriousness of the situation.

He says Sepa is working with farmers and whisky producers to minimise the impact.

Scotland is able to maintain supplies over prolonged dry periods, he says, but resources are not infinite and he urges people to use water responsibly.

Swinney says briefings on water scarcity began in April this year, when they usually begin in August - an indication of the impact of climate change.

The first minister says he is happy to engage in discussions on water resilience, including Rowley's suggestion of increased capacity of reservoirs.

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Campaigners today gathered outside the Scottish Parliament to demand the government implements the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman.

The court ruled in April that women should be defined in terms of biological sex for the purposes of the Equality Act.

First minister John Swinney said the government accepted the judgement and was doing “careful, detailed legal work” to see it implemented through guidance for public sector bodies

But the group that brought the case, For Women Scotland, has threatened to go back to court if ministers do not take immediate action.

Swinney says he is committed to ensuring the guidance on transgender pupils is fit for purpose.

He says there is "complex work" under way to look at what changes in the guidance might be required.

His answer fails to impress Alba MSP Ash Regan who says the Supreme Court ruling is very clear:

"Sex in law means biological sex and single sex provision must be respected," she says.

Regan says the Equality and Human Rights Commission instructed his government not to wait before acting, but it has allowed confusion to continue.

Swinney sticks to his theme that careful and complex legal work is required before making changes.

Image source, EPA

In April, judges at the UK Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a woman is defined by biological sex under equalities law.

It marked the culmination of a long-running legal battle with major implications for how sex-based rights apply across Scotland, England and Wales.

The Scottish government argued in court that transgender people with a gender recognition certificate were entitled to the same sex-based protections as biological women. The judges, however, sided with campaign group For Women Scotland, which argued sex was an immutable biological fact.

Judge Lord Hodge said the ruling should not be seen as a triumph of one side over the other, and stressed that the law still gave protection against discrimination to transgender people.

Read more.

Scottish Conservative MSP Tess White asks for an update on what action the government is taking after the Supreme Court judgement on the definition of a woman under equalities law.

Swinney says updated guidance has been issued regarding representation on public boards, and on recruitment policy. Consultation is also taking place with Police Scotland on stop-and-search policy.

White says his answer is "a huge insult to women" and that children have gone back to school while there is still outdated guidance on transgender pupils being followed.

Wearing a T-shirt with "Woman" written on the front, she accuses his government of showing wilful ignorance and deliberately ignoring the rule of law.

In response to a question from the SNP's Evelyn Tweed about the number of road traffic incidents following the number of serious accidents over the summer, Swinney says they will look carefully at all the incidents "to identify where we can take action to improve road safety".

He did not commit to Craig Hoy's request to "expedite the dualling of the A75".

Greens aiming to push the government to go further and fasterpublished at 12:40 British Summer Time 4 September

12:40 BST 4 September

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

This was Ross Greer’s debut at FMQs as Scottish Green co-leader, having been elected Holyrood’s youngest ever leader.

There are some interesting questions about how he and Gillian Mackay move the party forward, after a term which has seen the party go into government and then be kicked out again.

There was a hint today in Mr Greer’s choice of question - focusing on council tax debt, and the housing bill which the Greens would like to see changed in a number of different ways.

The goal will be to pitch the party as one that can get things done and deliver on its policies - while also underlining their differences with the SNP, and how they can push the government to go further and faster.

And Mr Greer is particularly keen on rhetoric about taking the fight to billionaires and what he sees as a broken system.

This might have been an early taste of how the Greens end up positioning themselves in next year’s election campaign.

Greer stays on the theme of social injustice and inequality - saying billionaires are getting tax breaks from the Scottish government on shooting estates while there is a shortage of funding for health centres and libraries.

"It's absolutely indefensible that some of the richest people on the planet are getting 100% tax breaks from the Scottish government," he says.

Swinney says he is happy to engage on such issues ahead of the budget, then tries to turn the focus onto the Labour government at Westminster.

He says the situation hasn't been helped by the failure of Labour to deliver on promises such as cutting energy bills.

Swinney begins his reply by congratulating Ross Greer and Gillian Mackay on their election as co-leaders of the Scottish Greens.

He also speaks of his "admiration" for their predecessors, Lorna Slater- who was not re-elected - and Patrick Harvie - who decided it was time to step down from the role.

On council tax debt, the FM says the government is focused on tackling child poverty - and his housing secretary will be happy to engage in discussions with Greer on his proposals.

Next up is Ross Greer asking his first question to Swinney since he was elected co-leader of the Scottish Greens.

Greer says thousand of Scots are trapped in council tax debt, and he quotes families who have spoken of their worries to the charity Aberlour.

He says the rules on such debts here are "four times as harsh as they are in England" - and he calls for reform of the rules on debt collection in Scotland

"Will the first minister support our plan to break this cruel regime and end the cycle of poverty that many families are stuck in?," he asks.

SNP has failed NHS services - Sarwarpublished at 12:35 British Summer Time 4 September

12:35 BST 4 September

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

There was a constitutional twist to Anas Sarwar’s questions, with a similar charge about John Swinney being distracted from the day job.

But ultimately this was the same exchange the Labour leader has had with the first minister every week for a few years now.

Mr Sarwar uses the NHS as his key case study in his argument that the SNP has failed services over its years in government, with an example of an individual patient for good measure.

Mr Swinney hits back with statistics suggesting waiting times are being cut and that more operations are taking place.

To underline how repetitive this has come, Mr Swinney also threw in a barb about Labour not voting for his budget - seven months ago.

The crucial question when it comes to next May’s election is whether voters actually feel improvement in their experience of services, not just on paper.

The Labour leader highlights the case of a man who had to wait for 15 hours to be seen in A&E at Wishaw, only being seen after his family complained to the health board's chief executive.

"Isn't it the case that our NHS won't survive a third decade of this tired, knackered and out-of-touch SNP government?," he asks.

Swinney says that is an unacceptable amount of time to wait and apologises to people who have to wait too long.

But he says the performance of the A&E system has outperformed the rest of the UK and waits of between eight and 12 hours are falling. He adds that a million people are seen within four hours every year.

Sarwar points out Scotland's drug death figures and chastises Health Minister Neil Gray for making a social media post celebrating the "good news" about the NHS on the day the latest figures were announced.

He asks if it is any wonder that the Patient Safety Commissioner said there was a "beds crisis" and waiting lists were "imploding under the SNP".

Swinney points out that in-patient waiting lists are getting smaller.

"We put in place the largest financial settlement to expand the capacity of the National Health Service," he says.

He adds that Sarwar's criticism is "laughable" when he wouldn't even support the SNP budget that increased funding.

Anas Sarwar, leader of the Scottish Labour party, begins by saying that on his visits to "every part of the country" people's priority has been fixing the NHS, saying there were record waiting lists and high numbers of people paying for their treatment.

Swinney says he and the health secretary are "absolutely focused" on improving performance.

He says the number of operations performed in July was the highest in five years, average waits for a cancer diagnosis were down and 97% of patients did not experience a delayed discharge from hospital.

Independence question is 'not a distraction' - Swinneypublished at 12:24 British Summer Time 4 September

12:24 BST 4 September

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

John Swinney spent the morning making a speech about independence, and that carried over neatly into his first question session of the new year.

The Conservatives built their revival at Holyrood on opposition to independence, with “no to indyref2” at the heart of their campaigns in 2016 and 2021.

So for all that Russell Findlay says the SNP must “move on”, he will have been very pleased to have the opportunity to talk about the constitution.

His charge is that the first minister is being distracted from the day job of improving public services.

But Mr Swinney’s response is while he is clearly focused on the public’s priorities, independence is the answer to these problems, not a distraction from them.

To be honest both of these leaders are quite happy to have this debate - it plays neatly to their parties’ pro-independence and unionist voter bases.