If you're just joining us here's a recap of today's first minister's questions:

• Douglas Ross pressed the first minister on the ditching of primary school meals for all and the attainment gap
• The Scottish Tory leader accused John Swinney of abandoning the pledge for universality in the provision of school meals, arguing his government has "overpromised and under-delivered for Scotland's children"
• Swinney hit back arguing that it was Tory austerity at Westminster that had caused much child poverty
• Anas Sarwar said one in six Scots remain on an NHS waiting list
• The Scottish Labour leader said the NHS is peforming 50,000 fewer operations per year than before the pandemic and added "saying sorry doesn't cut waiting lists"
• The first minister defended NHS improvement measures arguing his Programme for Government set out a range of measures to ensure waiting times were reduced
• The Scottish Greens co-leader also raised the universalilty of primary school meals
• Lorna Slater accused the Scottish government of ditching progressive policies
• Swinney defended his government arguing fair pay deals would erode poverty

That concludes our live coverage of First Minister's Questions.

Ashleigh Keenan-Bryce and Craig Hutchison were the writers.

Image source, Getty images

The Scottish government's spending plans will not "move the dial" on child poverty, campaigners have warned after the first minister said it was his top priority in yesterday's programme for government.

Swinney was also criticised for ditching a commitment to expand free school meals in his new programme for government.

Save the Children Scotland said the programme was missing the "funded pledges" to meet child poverty targets.

The Scottish Greens, who are also angry about cuts to environmental initiatives, have hinted they will not support the upcoming budget. But the Scottish government has said its finances are "extremely constrained".

The government has announced £500m of cuts as it aims to plug an almost £1bn hole in public finances.

Read more here.

Image source, Scottish Parliament

SNP MSP Kevin Stewart asks the first minister what analysis the Scottish government is undertaking on the impact of the reduction of winter fuel payments on people in Scotland.

Swinney says analysis shows between 110,000 - 130,000 pensioners will remain eligible for the winter fuel payment this winter, a reduction of about 900,000 pensioners.

He says the UK government's decision to restrict the eligibility criteria for winter fuel payments, "taken without the consultation with the Scottish government", has and will have devastating impact.

The first minister says the cut represents a 90% reduction in the budget for a universal payment.

"This is another example of Scotland being at the mercy of Westminster decisions, leaving us with no choice but to follow the UK government decision," he says.

Slater accuses Swinney of scrapping progressive policypublished at 12:39 British Summer Time 5 September

12:39 BST 5 September

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

There were sharp exchanges with the Tory and Labour leaders but perhaps the most concerning for John Swinney will be the row with Lorna Slater.

The Scottish Green co-leader accused the government of scrapping progressive policies as soon as her party was out of the room.

The Greens are still smarting from the end of the Bute House Agreement – but make no mistake that they are furious about the events of this week too.

That’s a problem for a first minister running a minority administration. The Greens remain the most likely source of votes to get legislation – and indeed a budget – through parliament.

Swinney will need to work fast to build bridges with his former partners, or they could threaten to derail his agenda.

In response to Lorna Slater of the Greens, the first minister says the government is progressing with the legislation to ban conversion therapy.

Swinney adds it is a pragmatic approach to work with the UK government on the issue.

He argues his government has put in place pay deals that will lift families out of poverty.

"Poverty will be eroded," he says.

He goes on to say: "We are still bound by the shackles of austerity."

The first minister reiterates the fact that the government is facing acute financial challenges because of austerity, inflation and public sector pay claims.

John Swinney explains that the government has to face up to difficult financial challenges.

The Scottish Greens co-leader says all the work of her party on issues like banning conversion therapy and providing free bus travel to asylum seekers has been undone by the SNP.

"And now the betrayal of free school meals," Slater says.

Image source, Scottish parliament

Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater also opts to ask about the ditching of the pledge to offer school meals to everyone in primary school, saying her party secured the policy of universality in 2021.

She says: "The Scottish Greens champion free school meals for all."

Slater argues that as soon as the Greens left the room the SNP have dumped the policy.

She calls on the first minister to explain how MSPs are to take his pledge to tackle child poverty

Anas Sarwar rolls out his greatest hits in FMQspublished at 12:35 British Summer Time 5 September

12:35 BST 5 September

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

This felt like a bit of a greatest hits of Anas Sarwar’s FMQs topics over the years.

He focused on health, threw in a case study of a suffering patient, and challenged the government over its long term record in office.

John Swinney’s responses too were familiar; he apologised to affected patients, cited the impact of Covid, and said work is under way to fix things.

But perhaps the familiarity was the point. Mr Sarwar was making the argument that we have had this conversation so many times that the government has become “desensitised” to failure.

Swinney may be new to the job of first minister, but he is under no illusions about the challenges in the health service – which after all is always the top priority when it comes to services being protected when budgets are tight.

Swinney says he is sorry to hear the details of Mr Rodgers' case and if Sarwar would pass the details of this specific case, he will explore it and determine if anything more can be done.

The first minister says it's important to recognise the aftermath of the Covid pandemic is still having an impact.

He says he offers Sarwar the assurance that the government will continue to invest in the NHS, trying to deliver the treatment people require as timely as possible.

"I accept there will be cases where that is not so and I endeavour to do all I can to try to resolve those issues on behalf of Mr Rodgers and patients like him," he says.

Anas Sarwar says the first minister does not understand "waiting lists are actually getting longer".

He cites an example of former footballer Mark Rodgers. He was told he needed surgery in April for prostate problems, Sarwar says.

He has been using a catheter for month after being told it would be only weeks and is living in "unbearable pain", Sarwar adds.

The Scottish Labourt leader says NHS Lothian health board has confirmed it will not meet the treatment time guarantee for Mr Rodgers and apologised.

"But saying sorry doesn't cut waiting lists," Sarwar says.

He asks the first minister when the Scottish Government will "stop failing" Mark Rodgers and thousands of other patients like him.

The first minister echoes Sarwar's words of congratulations to Keir Starmer as the new UK Prime Minister, using the first FMQ's since the general election to do so.

"Frankly, it couldn't be any worse than it was before" Swinney says.

Responding to the Scottish Labour leader's question on NHS waiting lists, the first minister says there are significant challenges in the NHS.

Swinney says the Programme for Government sets out a range of measures to ensure waiting times are reduced, expand capacity to undertake treatment and improve steps in cancer diagnosis.

He says: "We are working very hard to reduce the waiting lists that have been created as a consequence of Covid and the health service is being resourced to enable it to do so."

Image source, Scottish Parliament

Anas Sarwar says the Programme for Government, unveiled in the Scottish Parliament yesterday, has "no vision, no strategy and no plan - and nowhere was that more glaring than for our NHS".

The Scottish Labour leader says one in 6 Scots remain on an NHS waiting list, a statistic which two prior first ministers vowed to improve. Instead, Sarwar says, the waits have got worse.

He says the NHS in Scotland is "unbelievably" performing 50,000 fewer operations per year than before the pandemic.

Sarwar asks the first minister by what date he expects patients to receive the "standard of care they deserve and are legally entitled to".

Fiery exchanges between Ross and Swinney on child povertypublished at 12:23 British Summer Time 5 September

12:23 BST 5 September

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

There wasn’t really anything new in the exchanges between Douglas Ross and John Swinney on free school meals – the government has admitted that it can’t afford to deliver its promise to make them universal to primary pupils in this term of parliament.

What this underlined was the strength of feeling about the row underpinning it.

Douglas Ross hammered away at the idea the government has “abandoned” its pledge, and that it has “overpromised and under-delivered for Scotland’s children”.

Ross won’t be leading them into it, but that has the ring of a Scottish Tory slogan at the next election.

Swinney meanwhile was fired up in his response, repeating what is again a familiar line – that fiscal pressures are the fault of the UK government – in strong terms.

That blame game will continue right through budget season, one imagines.

But will it be quite as salient by the time of the 2026 election, when Tory government will be a few years in the rear view mirror?

That is a debate which may have some way to run yet.

Ross asks again if the first minister will deliver free school meals to all primary pupils in this parliament.

And the Scottish Tory leader goes on to say the attainment gap in education between the richest and poorest pupils is at a higher level than ever.

"So, is John Swinney proud that his legacy will be Scotland's poorest children falling further behind?," Ross asks.

The first minister reiterates that free school meals will be available in P6 and P7 to pupils whose families are eligible for the Scottish Child Payment.

He says universal provision has been ditched due to the UK government's fiscal mismanagement and sky high inflation.

Swinney says that for pupils leaving school for positive destinations the attainment gap has been reduced by 60%.

The Scottish Tory leader turns to universal free school meals in primary schools.

He asks if the government will deliver his promise of free school meals for all in this parliament.

John Swinney hits back, saying: "We are taking action but we are having to swim against a tide of austerity and welfare cuts inflicted upon us by the last Conservative government."

Image source, Scottish Parliament

The first minister says he recognises the "enormity of the challenge that we face on child poverty".

John Swinney says Scotland has suffered 14 years of Tory austerity.

He points to his government's Scottish Child Payment which he says is keepng 100,000 children out of poverty.

The first minister argues child poverty has been made the crisis it is by the actions Douglas Ross voted for when supported the Tories at Westminster.

Image source, Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Tory leader challenges the first minister on his government's record on child poverty.

Douglas Ross quotes from Fiona King of Save the Children, saying: "There is nothing in this Programme for Government that truly shifts the dial on child poverty."

He also quotes from further charities expressing concerns about the cuts announced by the Scottish government this week.

Mr Ross asks who is right? Is it John Swinney or the experts who say his programme will fail to tackle child poverty.

The first minister is poised in his seat and Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross gets this week's FMQs under way.

Image source, PA

The Scottish government has ditched an unfulfilled commitment to expand free school meals to all primary school pupils.

The promise to expand eligibility to all pupils in primary six and seven was made in last year's programme for government.

This year's document said funding will be targeted at expanding the benefit only to P6 and P7 pupils whose families are in receipt of the Scottish Child Payment.

A Scottish government source said the intention remained to expand the policy to all pupils when financial circumstances allowed, though they were unable to say when that might happen.

Opposition leaders accused the first minister of being "out of ideas".

Read more here.

Budget cuts hang over everything at Holyroodpublished at 11:48 British Summer Time 5 September

11:48 BST 5 September

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

The first week back at Holyrood after a busy general election summer – a week and a summer which provide plenty of questions for John Swinney to consider.

The announcement of £500m of budget cuts this week hangs over everything at Holyrood.

It certainly hung over Swinney’s Programme for Government yesterday, which included various measures like free school meals being kicked into the long grass.

Straitened times bring priorities to the fore, and might show up the differences between the parties in the chamber. There is plenty for them to clash over.

And then there are perennial topics which have featured over the summer recess – NHS waiting times, spiralling drug death figures, further delays at Ferguson Marine.

Mr Swinney has not been in the top job for long, but the range of issues piling up in his in-tray is formidable.