Here are the highlights from today's FMQs session at Holyrood:

• John Swinney apologised to a footballer who waited five hours for an ambulance after breaking her leg during a match.
• Labour leader Anas Sarwar said reports that long A&E waits led to more than 800 deaths was “heartbreaking”.
• Conservative leader Russell Findlay accused the Scottish government of “stifling” innovation in Scotland.
• The first minister said the country’s gaming industry was proof of a “culture of business growth”.
• Swinney said he was “sympathetic” to families being pursued for up to 20 years over council tax debt following a question from the Scottish Greens’ Ross Greer.
• The first minister defended a change to the way A&E wait times were recorded and said it would have little impact on wait lists.
• Swinney acknowledged an estimated increase in Scotland’s dementia cases by 2044 and said support would be available to patients and carers.
• The Scottish government promises assistance to those affected by cuts at STV News and the Daily Record newspaper.
• Swinney said the Scottish government was looking at ways to enable the nationalised Ferguson Marine shipyard to receive work.
• The first minister praised ScotRail after new figures revealed Scotland was the best performing part of the UK when it came to train cancellations.

That's all for today's live coverage of First Minister's Questions. The editor was Paul McLaren and the writers were James Delaney and Rachel Grant.

The SNP's Claire Haughey points out Scotland has the lowest rate of train cancellations in the UK, according to figures by the Office of Rail and Road.

She asks what the government makes of the figures, which showed a 2.2% cancellation rate in Scotland, compared to 4.1% in the rest of the UK.

Swinney says the data is “very significant” and congratulates state-owned ScotRail on the results.

He praises staff for delivering a “first class rail service” which is “outperforming the rest of the UK”.

The lack of government contracts for government-owned Fergusson Marine shipyard is raised by Lib Dem MSP Jamie Greene, who asks when the government will give "adequate weighting to the economic benefits" this work would reap.

Swinney points out that the nationalised yard did not bid for the Northern Isles freight contracts, which went to companies in China and Turkey, because the required ships were too large.

But he says the government is looking at ways to enable the yard to receive work.

Greens looking to show voters they can deliverpublished at 12:54 BST 25 September

12:54 BST 25 September

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Scottish Green co-leader Ross Greer was chiefly seeking to promote one of his amendments to the housing bill, but his questions also felt a bit like an opening salvo in budget talks between the SNP and Greens.

With the budget process set to be delayed into January by the late publication of the chancellor’s own fiscal plans, the government is hoping to lay the groundwork of a deal as early as possible.

Meanwhile, the new Green co-leaders will be pondering how to secure “wins” that they can show to voters next May.

It may be that support for housing initiatives and council tax debt becomes part of those budget negotiations - particularly now that Swinney has said he is “sympathetic” to them.

Labour’s Carol Mochan cites new National Records of Scotland figures on alcohol-related deaths last year.

She says 48 deaths occurred in her constituency in Ayrshire and South of Scotland region and asks what action will be taken to address targeted support for deprived communities, which are worse affected.

Swinney says strategic interventions including minimum unit pricing have already been taken and public health education steps will be introduced.

He says there is also a need to work together with the private sector to address the harms caused by alcohol.

Douglas Lumsden follows up and adds that the decision will mean less relevant local news for those in the north of Scotland, particularly in rural communities.

The Tory MSP asks whether the first minister agrees it should be reconsidered “as a matter of urgency”.

Swinney says he shares Lumsden’s concerns.

He says he will make sure the culture secretary makes that point during his representations.

Former news reporter Rhona Mackay asks what steps are being taken to preserve local journalism following the announcement of job cuts at STV and at the Daily Record.

Swinney says "sustained media engagement" is a "vital part of our democracy", and says culture minister Angus Robertson will be highlighting concerns about STV cuts to the company, Ofcom and trade unions.

He says they will give whatever assistance they can to support those affected.

Conservative MSP Annie Wells asks what action the government is taking to support unpaid carers of those living with dementia.

She cites the predicted rise in dementia cases across Scotland.

Swinney says that support is available for carers in Scotland that is not available in other parts of the UK.

He adds that Wells could persuade her party to stop arguing for cuts to social security so that support can be preserved.

Foysol Choudhury, who represents Lothian for Scottish Labour, asks how the government is acting to support people with dementia, quoting Public Health Scotland's estimate that dementia cases in Scotland are set to rise by more than 50% by 2044.

He says it is a "timebomb" in Scotland.

The first minister says the government is looking to "unlock innovation" to support patients, and is trying to better understand people's dementia risk.

Scottish Conservative MSP Brian Whittle asks for Swinney’s response to reports that proposed changes to the counting method for NHS waiting lists will result in numbers falling despite no more patients being seen.

He says “substantial plans” need to be brought forward to modernise the NHS, including the use of tech and AI.

Swinney says the change is to ensure patients’ waits are reflected “accurately” and was made by Public Health Scotland in 2023.

He adds that reform in the NHS is under way, and a record funding settlement has been put in place for the health service.

Elena Whitham, SNP MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, asks about work to address poverty amongst older people, following a report saying that the majority of people on a low-income pension in the UK are unable to cover basic living costs

Swinney says the government's provisions to support pensioners could be under threat from other parties, but commends the support payments the SNP government has in place.

Image source, Scottish Parliament TV

Scottish Greens co-leader Ross Greer has an opportunity to raise a question today, and he says one in five children in Scotland still live in poverty.

He says many families are living in homes hampered by council tax debts and asks Swinney whether the 20-year holding of such debts in Scotland is fair.

Swinney says eradicating child poverty is a key tenet of his government and says he has “a lot of sympathy” for those struggling with council tax debt.

He says “provisions” are being considered in a new Housing Bill but have not been subject to the same amount of consultation as other parts of that legislation.

Sarwar again puts a human face on NHS problemspublished at 12:28 BST 25 September

12:28 BST 25 September

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Anas Sarwar took a familiar tack this week - criticising the government’s record on health, and particularly waiting times.

He often brings along a case study, and today it was a youth footballer who had to wait five hours for an ambulance with a broken leg, and a mother who had to give birth in a farm drive.

The Labour leader does this for a reason. Citing individual cases puts a human face on the issue and makes the first minister respond personally to real citizens.

John Swinney invariably responds with an apology to them.

But his broader riposte tends to take the form of figures which show parts of the health services are achieving a turnaround.

The trouble is, what do people connect with more - a personal anecdote, or a statistic?

Sarwar knows that the way people feel about services is often more important than what the figures say about them - and that’s why he follows this same formula almost every week.

Image source, Scottish Parliament TV

Maternity facilities in rural areas are addressed by Sarwar, who highlights a facility in Stranraer that has been closed for several years.

He refers to a woman who had to pull into a farm driveway to give birth when she could not make it to a maternity unit in Dumfries in time, saying the services are on "life support".

Swinney says the the SNP government is improving many services and adds that the health and care services rely on workers from abroad and insists the UK government should review its immigration policies to make that less difficult.

Sarwar highlights the case of teenage footballer Brooke Paterson, who waited five hours for an ambulance after she broke her leg during a match in North Lanarkshire.

He asks if Swinney should be apologising to her.

Swinney does offer his apologies and says it looks like an error was made in categorising the call and steps need to be taken to remedy that.

The first minister points out that there are "whole system challenges" in the NHS after Covid, which the government is addressing.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar is next up and he questions the first minister on NHS performance.

He quotes the Royal College of Emergency Medicine's report saying long waits in A&E led to more than 800 deaths, saying it was "heartbreaking".

He asks why this is happening year after year.

Swinney says he accepts people are waiting too long and the government is addressing the issues, while 12-hour waits last month were the lowest since 2023.

These were Tory questions - but Swinney takes aim at Labourpublished at 12:17 BST 25 September

12:17 BST 25 September

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Russell Findlay’s attempt to get four questions out of the government’s innovation scorecard was at least an example of creativity in itself.

It all comes back to a traditional Tory argument though, about growth and the SNP administration’s stewardship of the economy.

It’s perhaps notable that the government has been putting out releases about “innovation week” for several days now, and yet John Swinney seemed quite surprised when it came up at question time.

He had clicked into form by the final question, though - and it tells you a lot about the first minister’s political priorities that he chose to attack the “hopeless” economic policies of the Labour government at Westminster, rather than falling back on his usual Liz Truss references when sparring with the Conservatives.

Ultimately he’s not hugely worried about the Tories - even when debating Findlay, he would rather use his time to turn his fire on Labour.

Findlay accuses the SNP of being “anti-business” and “putting jobs at risk” through red tape and income tax rates.

He says the government is creating “fewer opportunities” for Scots to get on in life.

Swinney says he does not accept Findlay’s “doom-laden analysis”.

He says GDP per person and productivity has gone up since the SNP got into power and says growth is being stifled by the UK government’s National Insurance contribution increase.

Image source, Scottish Parliament TV

The Scottish Tory leader says the SNP “marked its own scorecard” when it comes to measuring innovation, and still it shows the country is behind.

He says high-growth business performance is improving but says Scotland ranks behind Romania, Bulgaria and Lithuania and challenges the FM on whether that is a record to be proud of.

Swinney says high-growth company activity is at its highest level since 2019.

He says the other European countries are independent nations with a full range of economic powers and Findlay has “helped make the economic case for Scottish independence".

Findlay says the number of Scottish businesses “innovating,” as measured by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) ranks the country behind every single region of England.

He asks Swinney why Scotland is trailing so far behind.

Swinney says recent data shows Scotland has a higher number of start-ups than every part of England bar one.

He says it creates a “culture of business growth and expansion” and points again to the example of the gaming industry.