Summary

  • The first minister is being quizzed by opposition party leaders and backbench MSPs during FMQs

  • Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has accused Nicola Sturgeon of using Covid as an excuse for long-standing issues with the NHS

  • Ms Sturgeon said the problems are not unique to Scotland, and the global pandemic is putting extreme pressure on the health service

  • Labour leader Anas Sarwar asked why Scottish ferries were not being built in Scotland - describing it as an "international humiliation"

  • Mr Sarwar claimed that the "only thing being manufactured in SNP Scotland is grievance"

  • The first minister said Labour had "always stood by and let industry go to the wall" when it had been in power

  • Ms Sturgeon also said she would be happy to consider a parades commission in the wake of reports of sectarian singing at recent Orange Walks in Glasgow

  1. Watch: Highlights from today's First Minister's Questions at Holyroodpublished at 13:03 British Summer Time 23 September 2021

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post
    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post 2

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post 2

    That's all from the Live Page team today. Please take care and stay safe.

  2. Energy crisis will add to 'more difficult winter than most of us have remembered'published at 12:58 British Summer Time 23 September 2021

    frying panImage source, Getty Images

    SNP MSP Fiona Hyslop asks about the current energy issues in the UK.

    Nicola Sturgeon says that she will continue to chair the Scottish government's Resilience committee to make sure ministers will do what they can to help those impacted by rising prices.

    Ms Hyslop asks what assurances she has had from the UK government that people will not have to choose between heating and eating this winter.

    Ms Sturgeon says she has had no assurances that choice will be avoided.

    She says for many reasons this winter period ahead will be "more difficult than most of us have ever remembered".

    And she says it is up to governments to do what they can to help the public, including scrapping plans to end the universal credit uplift.

  3. FM responds that 'Labour let industry go to the wall'published at 12:46 British Summer Time 23 September 2021

    Ferguson shipyard

    Anas Sarwar asks what would it take for the first minister to come down on the side of a Scottish industry, a Scottish shipyard and Scottish jobs?

    A visibly angered Nicola Sturgeon says her government has saved hundreds of jobs.

    She says: "Compared to Labour who always stood by and let industry go to the wall, this government has got a track record of standing up for industry and standing up for manufacturing jobs across the country."

  4. No contract for Fergusons is a 'national scandal and international humiliation'published at 12:43 British Summer Time 23 September 2021

    Anas Sarwar responds to Nicola Sturgeon by saying that saving the yard is one thing, sustaining it is another.

    He says the failure to deliver new ferries is a result of ineptitude on the part of the Scottish government. He adds that the fact that a Scottish government-owned company can't win a Scottish government contract to build ships is a "national scandal that is now an international humiliation".

    He insists there is enough work in replacing Scotland's 15 ferries to keep Fergusons in work and expand the industry.

    Quote Message

    This government has no strategy to expand services, no fleet to meet Scotland's needs and no plan to fix the problem

    Anas Sarwar, Leader, Scottish Labour

    The first minister hits back by saying if she had taken Mr Sarwar's advice back in 2018, ministers would not have saved Ferguson's from closure.

    She says she will continue to support the shipyard and the workers to make sure it is in a position to compete for and win contracts in the future.

  5. Labour: Why did yard owned by the Scottish government not make ferry contract shortlist?published at 12:39 British Summer Time 23 September 2021

    Ferguson ShipyardImage source, Getty Images

    Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar begins his questioning of the first minister by asking about the state of Scotland's Calmac ferry fleet. He asks why the contract for new vessels for island routes have been awarded to shipyards in Europe.

    He calls on the first minister to explain how Fergusons - a Scottish yard supporting Scottish jobs and owned by the Scottish government - did not make the shortlist for the contract.

    Nicola Sturgeon responds by saying the Scottish government has protected shipbuilding jobs and insists there are hundreds who would not have jobs if the Scottish government had not stepped in.

    She says the Ferguson yard is on its way back to recovery. She says she hopes the work ongoing at the yard will equip the company to compete for new orders and contracts in the future.

    Quote Message

    Without the intervention of this government there would be no Fergusons shipyard and the hundreds of jobs currently dependent on it wouldn't even exist

    Nicola Sturgeon, First minister

  6. Sturgeon defends her government's response to the pandemicpublished at 12:35 British Summer Time 23 September 2021

    The Scottish Conservative leader accuses the Scottish government of "scrambling about putting on sticking plasters over each new crisis instead of planning to stop them in the first place".

    "They're only reacting when disaster strikes," he argues.

    The first minister says anyone who stands up in the chamber and says the pandemic has not had an extremely significant impact is insulting people's intelligence and lacks any credibility.

    Ms Sturgeon says the government has adapted and been flexible in responding to the pandemic, during an "unprecedented set of circumstances".

  7. Tories: Why have cervical cancer screenings dropped so dramatically?published at 12:30 British Summer Time 23 September 2021

    screeningImage source, Science Photo Library

    Douglas Ross tells the chamber that 200,000 women were excluded from Scotland's cervical cancer screening programme.

    The Scottish Conservative leader says tragically lives were lost because of that.

    He asks why cervical cancer screenings have dropped so dramatically.

    The first minister says the error in cervical screening goes back many years, to before the SNP became the government.

    She says there are wider issues preventing women coming forward for screening and there has been an impact from the pandemic.

  8. FM says NHS is under pressure because of global pandemicpublished at 12:22 British Summer Time 23 September 2021

    Nicola Sturgeon denies she is dismissing the pressures faced by the NHS.

    The first minister says the NHS is under current pressure because of the global pandemic.

    She points out that staffing for the NHS and its budget are at record levels.

    There is work to do to redesign how patients are cared for, she admits.

    Additional bed capacity will be freed up by discharging patients to more appropriate settings, she says.

  9. Douglas Ross: 'Nicola Sturgeon is hiding behind Covid'published at 12:16 British Summer Time 23 September 2021

    patient being movedImage source, Getty Images

    Douglas Ross reminds Nicola Sturgeon that she used to be Scotland's health secretary and calls on her to take some responsibility for what is happening in the health service.

    The Scottish Conservative leader says: "Nicola Sturgeon is hiding behind Covid."

    He says that since 2015, 850,000 people have waited longer than four hours to be seen in A&E and the number of staffed acute beds has dropped by more than 2,500.

    Mr Ross adds the first minister has finally agreed that the NHS is in crisis and he calls for action now.

    The Royal College of Emergency Medicine has called for 1,000 more acute beds says Mr Ross, who asks how many of those beds have been identified.

  10. FM insists Scottish NHS is performing better than elsewhere in the UKpublished at 12:13 British Summer Time 23 September 2021

    doctorsImage source, Getty Images

    Nicola Sturgeon replies that since the Scottish government took office in 2007, the number of A&E consultants has increased by 242%.

    The first minister acknowledges that A&E departments are working under "intense pressure", considerably exacerbated by Covid.

    She accepts that waiting time figures are not good enough, but health services across the world are struggling with this pressure, she adds.

    The first minister says her government will continue to invest in the NHS and work on reforms to allow patient flow through the system to improve.

  11. Tories ask which decisions the FM regrets most when it comes to the NHS?published at 12:09 British Summer Time 23 September 2021

    a and eImage source, Getty Images

    Douglas Ross quotes Public Health Scotland figures saying that the number of patients waiting more than half a day to be seen at A&E departments is 10 times higher than it was two years ago.

    The Scottish Conservative leader says there are bigger and longer term issues facing the NHS than Covid-19.

    He argues the Scottish government has failed to properly resource the ambulance service, has reduced the number of hospital beds and did "not plug the gaps in the NHS workforce".

    "First minister, which of these decisions taken before the pandemic do you regret most?"

  12. NHS Scotland's biggest crisis: how bad is it?published at 11:50 British Summer Time 23 September 2021

    A&E waiting times

    Scotland's Health Secretary Humza Yousaf says the NHS is facing the "biggest crisis" of its existence.

    There's a shortage of beds, the demand for ambulances is soaring and waits in accident and emergency departments are getting longer.

    On top of that, Covid-19 admissions have been rising fast as the number of infections in Scotland spiralled at the end of the summer.

    BBC Scotland journalist Chris Sleight has created five charts to illustrate how a perfect storm of so-called bed-blocking, staff absences and increased demand for care is placing enormous pressure on NHS Scotland.

  13. What to expect today at FMQspublished at 11:45 British Summer Time 23 September 2021

    Alex Cole-Hamilton, Anas Sarwar and Douglas RossImage source, Getty Images

    Nicola Sturgeon faced fierce questioning from all parties at last week's FMQs on the challenges facing Scotland's ambulance service.

    By this weekend, soldiers will be driving Scottish ambulances in an effort to ease pressure on the service, with additional help from the fire service, the British Red Cross and taxi firms.

    But the FM is likely to face more grilling over the health service.

    Wednesday's announcement by Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain that people caught with Class A drugs in Scotland could be given a police warning instead of facing prosecution could also come up.

    The Scottish conservatives said the move amounts to "de facto decriminalisation" of deadly substances.

    Social care is also a hot topic after Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said he was doing everything he could to free up hospital beds, including moving more people into social care.

    However Donald Macaskill, the chief executive of Scottish Care, which represents care homes in Scotland, claimed his sector was in "dire straits" and needed an "emergency intervention".

    There could also be a question on the current energy crisis.

  14. Welcomepublished at 11:00 British Summer Time 23 September 2021

    Scottish Parliament main chamberImage source, Getty Images

    Good morning and welcome to BBC Scotland's Live Page coverage of FMQs on 23 September 2021.

    As ever you can watch or listen to the weekly questions session from 12pm right here with us.

    We'll bring you reports, analysis and reaction.