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If you're just joining us, or returning after this week's session of First Minister's Questions, Scotland's social justice secretary will shortly give a ministerial statement on winter fuel payments.

An estimated 900,000 people in Scotland are losing out after Chancellor Rachel Reeves cut universal provision of the benefit.

However, BBC News understands Shirley-Anne Somerville will announce a new payment to help pensioners when she speaks before MSPS at the Scottish Parliament from about 14:40.

We'll bring you reports and analysis and if you want to you can follow the statement by clicking on the Watch Live icon at the top of this page.

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We're pausing the live page for a short while, but we'll be back shortly to bring you coverage of the ministerial statement on winter fuel payments from 14:40.

Scotland's social justice secretary, Shirley-Anne Somerville, is expected to announce a new benefit to help pensioners who lost their winter fuel payments.

BBC News understands the new devolved benefit is to be ready in time for next winter.

The existing winter fuel payment has been cancelled by the UK and Scottish governments this winter, except for those already in receipt of Pension Credit.

We'll bring you reports and analysis and if you want to you can follow the statement by clicking on the Watch Live icon at the top of this page.

This week's First Minister's Questions draws to a close. Key lines that emerged today:

• Russell Findlay raised the case of Claire Inglis, who was murdered by her boyfriend while on bail. The Tory leader said her parents, sitting in the public gallery, were still waiting for answers.
• The Tory leader also asked for a decision on whether rape victim Denise Clair, who was also in the gallery, will be given legal aid for a private prosecution.
• Findlay says the SNP's early release law does not give prisons the power to block the release of dangerous inmates.
• The FM made commitments to both families and said early release was due to the rise in the prison population.
• Anas Sarwar brought up NHS recovery, after a report stated that Scotland's NHS is "lagging behind" England.
• The first minister said the NHS was "making progress" and said some waiting lists are getting smaller.
• Swinney said his government was committed to investing in renewables when quizzed on a new energy strategy.
• The FM also said the UK Government was "short changing" public services over £300m funding that he says is not enough to pay for addition public sector staffing costs.

That's all from the live page team for now. The editor was Paul Hastie. The writers were Craig Hutchison and Megan Bonar.

Tory MSP Tim Eagle reminds the chamber he is a farmer and turns his attention to hundreds of fellow farmers gathered by NFU Scotland outside Holyrood today.

He says Labour's "family farm tax" was cruel and he adds that farmers are worried about the future and he calls for reassurances to be given ahead of next week's budget.

The first minister criticises Eagle for using terms like "lost or stolen money".

He insists £46m will be put into the rural affairs budget.

"The inheritance tax changes will be catastrophic for the sustainability of family farming," he adds.

Labour MSP Jackie Baillie asks why at least 69,000 patients reportedly waited more than an hour to be triaged in A&E departments in the first half of this year.

The FM explains the initial triage will start with paramedics before they arrive at hospital and any unnessary delay is unacceptable.

Baillie argues the NHS in Scotland is underperforming and after 17 years in power it is his government that is failing the NHS.

Swinney hits back saying the performance in Scotland's A&Es is better than the rest of the UK.

Scottish Conservative MSP Meghan Gallagher asks what the government is doing to reduce the time children are placed in temporary accommodation.

Gallagher says over 16,000 people are currently living in temporary accommodation.

She says one child in Edinburgh spent seven years living in temporary accommodation and another person in the city who went over 2,000 days without a permanent home.

The first minister says an additional £42m has been given to five local authorities this year to tackle the issue.

Scottish Labour MSP Michael Marra asks for a government response to a report that states that without tax changes governments would see debts “rise and rise forever”.

Swinney says Scottish Labour MSPs are not “innocent bystanders” and asks them to support the Scottish government by voting for their budget to ensure funds are given to public services.

Not surprisingly the FM agrees with Kenneth Gibson that independence can't come soon enough.

Tory MSP Craig Hoy is next and says "it's good to see the SNP hasn't changed the record".

He argues the SNP has made the policy decision to have a larger public sector and to pay indiduals more who work in it.

The FM hits back lambasting Hoy for lecturing him about economic incompetence.

Andrew Kerr and Angus Cochrane

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Scottish Finance Secretary Shona Robison has warned a £300m increase in UK government funding is "simply not good enough" and will not cover a planned rise in employer National Insurance contributions.

Treasury officials in London are said to have told their counterparts in Edinburgh that they should receive between £295m and £330m extra to pay for additional public sector staff costs.

A UK government source told BBC Scotland News there is "hundreds of millions of pounds" heading to Holyrood.

However, Robison said more than £500m would be needed to cover the staff costs of those directly employed by in the public sector, rising to £750m when indirect employees such as those in childcare, colleges or social care are included.

Read more here.

SNP MSP Kenneth Gibson asks about a £300m UK government increase in funding to Scotland that would help cover NI national insurance contributions.

Mr Gibson says employees would be £800 worse off and business investment will fall as a result of the Labour budget.

The first minister says if the figures are correct, the chancellor is “short changing” public services by £400m.

Swinney replies that his government has published its green industrial strategy which highlights its devotion to a "just transition" to renewable energy generation.

He says: "All of these themes will be reflected in the government's budget next week."

He says the energy strategy will be published when its conclusions have been reached.

Patrick Harvie puts his questions to the first minister.

The Scottish Greens co-leader focuses on the recent COP 29 and says world leaders failed to make progress on tackling climate change.

He points out the Scottish government has not published its new energy strategy.

The number of patients “stuck” on a waiting list for more than a year has risen to more than 100,000 says Sarwar.

The Scottish Labour leader says the “first minister has his head in the sand”.

Swinney said almost three quarters of cancer patients were treated within the 62 day timeframe recent figures show.

“The government is delivering the progress that people in Scotland require,” says Swinney.

He says the Scotland doesn’t need change under a UK Labour government but “progress” under the SNP.

Image source, Getty Images

The recovery of Scotland's health service from the pandemic has been slower than that of England, a leading think tank has said.

A briefing by the Institute for Fiscal Studies as part of a series ahead of the Scottish Budget next week has shown the performance of the health service in key metrics remains worse than before the pandemic, and has continued to decline in all but one in the past year.

The report focused on how both nations have improved compared to their own previous record, rather than comparing the performance of the two to each other, which cannot be easily done due to differences in collecting data.

The size of the elective care waiting list and length of time patients are waiting on the list, as well as A&E performance and cancer treatment waiting times, have all declined in Scotland, while the proportion of people waiting six weeks or less for a diagnostic test has improved.

England has seen a similar performance dip compared to before the pandemic, but in the past 12 months there have been signs of improvement in all of the studied areas except the percentage of people waiting more than 18 weeks from referral to elective treatment.

The first minister says the NHS is still recovering from the pandemic and is “making progress”.

He notes there have been improvements in reducing waiting lists and cancer performance.

“We know there is more work that needs to be done,” Swinney says, but insists that his government in putting in investment and focus.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar next asks the first minister about NHS recovery.

It comes after a report, external by the institute for fiscal studies found that despite Scotland spending more money on health and having more staff, NHS recovery since the pandemic is "lagging behind England’s”.

He asks Swinney if he agrees that SNP mismanagement is “bad for Scotland’s health”.

John Swinney says he is aware Denise Clair has spoken to ministers to try and ensure a private prosecution can go ahead and apologises for the delay.

"That issue is being considered by the government.

"I think the government has taken too long," says the first minister.

Russell Findlay says no credibile explanation has ever been given as to why the Crown Office did not prosecute Goodwillie and Robertson.

"Frankly the case stinks," adds the Scottish Tory leader.

He says Denise has asked the government to fund a private criminal prosecution "but continues to be left in limbo".

Findlay asks if the FM will do the right thing and support a prosecution.

Image source, Ciaran Donnelly

Russell Findlay also raises the case of Denise Clair. She too is in the Scottish parliament gallery today.

Denise was the victim of rapist footballer David Goodwillie. She says she has been "left in limbo" by the Scottish government's failure to reopen criminal proceedings against him.

A civil action found the former Scotland striker and then-Dundee United teammate David Robertson had raped Denise Clair in 2011.

Her legal team say government ministers have failed to respond six months after their official request for legal aid to fund a private prosecution in a criminal court.

The Scottish government has said it was working "as quickly as possible" to make a decision.

Read more here.

Image source, SNS

The first minister expresses his deepest sympathies to Claire Inglis's parents Fiona and Ian, who are sitting in the Holyrood gallery.

John Swinney says that his government has asked Stirling Council to engage with Claire's parents.

He says: "I remain commited to making sure that the family recieves the answers that they understandably deserve."