FM quizzed over 'cover-up culture' at hospital

1. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon took questions from opposition parties in the weekly FMQs
2. Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross asked why rapist and murderer Jason Graham had been released early from a previous sentence for raping a woman
3. Graham was jailed for 19 years on Wednesday for the rape and murder of pensioner Esther Brown
4. Labour leader Anas Sarwar quizzed the first minister about the death of government official Andrew Slorance at a troubled Glasgow hospital
5. Mr Sarwar said there had been a "culture of coverup" at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and questioned why no one had lost their job over it

The headlines

Here are the headlines from First Minister's Questions:

• Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross challenges Nicola Sturgeon over the fact the man who raped and murdered 67-year-old Esther Brown was released early from a previous jail term.
• Ms Sturgeon says a significant case review will investigate the circumstances surrounding the monitoring arrangements that were in place for convicted sex offender Jason Graham.
• Mr Ross says new proposals to release some criminals after serving just a third of their sentence would "take the justice system in the wrong direction and risk public safety".
• The first minister says the consultation seeks views on whether certain prisoners could be release early than half way if "this was felt to better support their reintegration into society.
• Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar says he has repeatedly brought up "tragedy after tragedy" at Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital but says there is still a "culture of cover-up, denial and families being failed".
• He highlights the case of her official spokesman Andrew Slorance, who died in December.
• Visibly upset Ms Sturgeon says she has read the words of Louise Slorance and adds Mr Slorance is deeply missed. She adds the government "will not tolerate cover-ups or secrecy on the part of any health board".
• The first minister over the availability of Covid boosters after it emerged a vulnerable patient in NHS Ayrshire and Arran can't get an appointment until mid-January.
• Ms Sturgeon dismisses claims she has turned her back on oil and gas workers by opposing the Cambo development, off Shetland.
• The first minister is also challenged over minimum alcohol unit pricing, amid calls for it to be increased from the current rate of 50p.
• She says a Public Health Scotland report on the issue is due to be published in 2023 and notes any change must have a "robust evidence base".

That's all from today's live page. Join us again next time.

What is happening with minimum unit pricing for alcohol?

PA Media

SNP MSP Stuart McMillan asks what consideration the Scottish government has given to increasing minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol.

Scotland became the first country in the world to bring in MUP for alcohol in May 2018, currently fixed at 50p per unit.

The first minister says she is "absolutely committed" to having a price that, going forward, is effective for reducing alcohol-related harms.

She adds that the pandemic has had an impact on the use of alcohol and adds an evaluation into pricing is "ongoing".

She says a Public Health Scotland report on the issue is due to be published in 2023 and notes any change must have a "robust evidence base".

In a follow-up question, Liberal Democrat MSP Willie Rennie urges the first minister to "move faster" in increasing MUP to 65p.

What will be the lasting impact of COP26?

Getty Images

The SNP's Kaukab Stewart asks what the first minister thinks will be the lasting impact of COP26 for the people of Glasgow and Scotland.

Ms Sturgeon thinks we can all feel pride in the leadership Scotland and the people of Glasgow have shown during COP26.

She says the outcome, while not going as far as we would have wanted, will accelerate our delivery to net zero and it is important that communities are at the heart of that.

Ms Stewart says we have a moral responsibility to help people in the global south and says Scotland's contribution to the loss and damage fund has been welcomed. She asks how the FM will push for climate justice globally.

The first minister says she has had discussions with other governments and there is a willingness to step forward on loss and damage and she will continue to press for that. She says the developed world has a moral obligation to step up.

What impact has the reduction in face-to-face advocacy services had?

PA Media

Labour MSP Pauline McNeill asks what assessment the Scottish government has made of the reduction in face-to-face advocacy services for vulnerable people, such as victims of domestic abuse.

The first minister commends the work of such services, especially given the challenges of the pandemic.

Ms Sturgeon says an additional £10m has been invested over the last 18 months.

She adds this has allowed the rapid redesign of services and helped address backlogs for organisations such as Rape Crisis Scotland and Scottish Women's Aid.

'What is being done to prevent infection deaths now?'

Labour MSP Paul O'Kane challenges the first minister on another death linked to the Queen Elizabeth University hospital.

He describes a newspaper report about Theresa Smith whose daughter Sophia died at the hospital in April 2017 aged 12 days old from an infection contracted there.

The family said they were not informed about the infection and had to fight for a post-mortem examination to find the truth.

He says the public inquiry did not save Andrew Slorance and would not save patients now and asks what is being done immediately to prevent further deaths.

Ms Sturgeon says that infection prevention and control is a daily priority for hospitals, as is learning lessons from when things go wrong. She conveys her sympathy to Sophia's family and says the statutory public inquiry was the right thing to do.

FM accused of turning her back on oil and gas workers

PA Media

Scottish Conservative MSP Douglas Lumsden accuses the first minister of turning her back on oil and gas jobs in the north east.

Earlier this week Nicola Sturgeon said the proposed Cambo oil field off Shetland "should not get the green light".

The first minster says everyone has a responsibility to address climate change.

She adds that the transition away from oil and gas "must be a just one" that doesn't put 100,000 people out of work or increase reliance on foreign imports.

FM questioned over Covid booster jab availability

Reuters

Scottish Conservative MSP Brian Whittle questions the first minister over the availability of Covid boosters.

He highlights the case of a constituent in NHS Ayrshire and Arran who is in the vulnerable category but has been told there is no availability until mid-January.

The first minister says she will look into the case and the situation in the health board area.

She confirms plans are in place to increase availability to those who are eligible as soon as possible and, ideally, before the end of the year.

Ms Sturgeon adds: "People should be getting appointments quickly."

Sturgeon says hospital inquiry must be allowed to do its work

Nicola Sturgeon again highlights the current independent statutory public inquiry. She says if she was to start to pre-empt its findings they would be interfering with that inquiry.

She says findings will be acted upon and the inquiry must be allowed to do its work.

Sarwar: 'How many families have to lose loved ones?'

Mr Sarwar notes the first minister did not answer the question about the leadership of the health board in Glasgow.

He says the response has not been good enough and asks her to take ownership of the issue and "get it sorted out".

He says the whole hospital scandal has happened under Nicola Sturgeon's watch.

He lists water reports ignored, deadly building flaws, patients getting infections, wards closed, patient deaths, staff bullied and silenced, an independent review, a case note review, a public inquiry, criminal investigations, continued failings, continued cover-ups, and families still having to go public to fight the system and get the truth.

He says enough is enough and that in any other country in the world there would be resignations and sackings. He asks how many families have to lose loved ones.

Despite the tragic loss of life, despite the cover-ups and despite the denials, not a single person has been held accountable for the catastrophic errors at this hospital

Anas SarwarLeader, Scottish Labour

Sarwar: 'What chance does anybody else have?'

Mr Sarwar asks that "if even the widow of Andrew Slorance can't get the truth and justice she deserves when he was at the heart of this government, what chance does anyone else in our country have?"

He brings up the case of Milly Main, who died at the same hospital after catching an infection.

He asks if the FM will agree to requests from Mrs Slorance for a case note review, and for an investigation into the infection caught by Mr Slorance. He also called for it to be added to the current Scottish Hospitals Inquiry and asks why the health board's leadership is still in place.

Ms Sturgeon says she will consider what additional steps are required, along with the health secretary.

She says the Crown Office will decide which areas to investigate and that the independent hospitals inquiry will make its own decision on whether to look into the issue.

Government 'will not tolerate cover-ups or secrecy on the part of any health board'

Slorance family

Andrew and Louise Slorance with three of their children

A visibly upset Nicola Sturgeon says that indeed she has read the words of Louise Slorance.

She says Mr Slorance is deeply missed and he made an exceptional contribution to the Scottish government's work and her thoughts are often with his family.

She says she has engaged with Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board already today and will consider whether the concerns raised need to be addressed in a wider context.

She says that she and the government "will not tolerate cover-ups or secrecy on the part of any health board". She hopes the current public inquiry is a sign of her determination to properly investigate any issues.

Sarwar asks about hospital's culture of 'cover-up, secrecy and denial'

BBC

Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sarwar says he has repeatedly brought up "tragedy after tragedy" at Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in the chamber but says there is still a "culture of cover-up, denial and families being failed".

He brings up the case of Andrew Slorance, who died in December, saying he was the FM's official spokesman.

He says he went into the hospital for treatment to prolong his life but contracted Covid and a fungal infection which led to his death.

Mr Sarwar asks why there is still a culture of cover-up secrecy and denial.

FM: Consultation will examine 'better reintegration' of offenders into society

BBC

The first minister says the government legislated to end automatic release for certain categories of prisoner, those serving four years or more.

She adds that the Scottish Conservatives did not vote for those changes at the time.

Ms Sturgeon says the consultation seeks views on whether certain prisoners could be release early than half way if "this was felt to better support their reintegration into society."

Ross: 'Some of our worst offenders' have been freed early

Mr Ross says the processes and procedures in place did not save Ms Brown from being raped and murdered.

He says the government pledged to end automatic early release six years ago but now rather than keeping dangerous criminals off the streets it is proposing to let them out even earlier.

Mr Ross puts it to the first minister that the system has put "some of our worst offenders" back on the streets and free to commit further offences.

'System must have risk assessment and victim safety at its heart'

We want to have a system of release from prison that firstly has risk assessment and victim safety at its heart and also that looks at what is most effective to reduce reoffending.

Nicola SturgeonFirst Minister

FM: Processes and procedures did not work in 'tragic' Brown case

The first minster says there are processes and procedures in place "which clearly did not work in this very tragic case".

She is referring to Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA).

On the issue of automatic release she says her government did not introduce the previous arrangements but it did legislate to end them.

Ms Sturgeon says the system must punish those who deserve to be punished but also tries to reduce reoffending.

She adds that Scotland imprisons a higher proportion of its population than any other nation in Western Europe.

Ross: Proposals to cut jail terms 'risk public safety'

Mr Ross says Graham's minimum 19-year jail term was not nearly enough for "such a horrific crime".

He adds that proposals to release some criminals after serving just a third of their sentence would "take the justice system in the wrong direction and risk public safety".

This case is another damning example of the glaring flaws in Scotland's justice system. Jason Graham was released early. He wasn't monitored properly.

Douglas RossScottish Conservative leader

Sturgeon: System will strive to protect people and deliver justice

The first minster says early release has long been an issue of contention in parliament.

Ms Sturgeon adds that she will continue to ensure the justice system protects people from criminals and that victims get the justice they deserve.

But she says rehabilitation and a bid to stop re-offending must also be at the heart of the justice system.

FM: 'Essential' lessons are learned from Esther Brown murder

Police Scotland

Jason Graham had been released from jail for raping a woman in 2013

The first minister begins by expressing her sympathies to Ms Brown's family and friends.

She says nothing she can say will ease the pain of those who knew the retired librarian.

Ms Sturgeon adds she cannot comment on individual cases but notes that a significant case review will investigate the circumstances surrounding the monitoring arrangements that were in place for Graham.

She says: "It is essential that lessons are learned and acted upon as appropriate."

Ross: 'Is your approach to justice keeping the people of Scotland safe?'

Mr Ross says Ms Brown, who was brutally killed in her Glasgow flat in May, was remembered as the type of person who would help anyone.

He asks: "First minister can you honestly say your approach to justice is keeping the people of Scotland safe?"