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Cervical cancer screening rates in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde are among the lowest in the country, Scottish Conservative MSP Jamie Greene tells the Holyrood chamber.

He says he has been contacted by women unable to get a smear test appointment at their local GP for up to six months.

"How do we ensure that in our earnest efforts to tackle this Covid virus we are not inadvertently creating a legacy of people who'll also die of undiagnosed cancers, knowing that for some it may already be too late," he asks the first minister.

Ms Sturgeon says this is an issue that has weighed very heavily on her during the pandemic.

She said it was important that people can get an appointment and it was important that the government encouraged uptake of the screenings.

"It's an issue of great priority," she adds.

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Nicola Sturgeon says she hopes there is no impact on compliance with Covid safety measures in the wake of the Downing Street Christmas parties row.

Answering a question by SNP MSP Jim Fairlie, Ms Sturgeon says people have the right to be "angry at politicians" but it's important to keep going with Covid rules for "for their own safety and the safety of others".

The first minister reveals she will be holding a briefing for opposition party leaders on the Omicron Covid variant which she says is spreading rapidly.

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Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar returns to ongoing concerns about the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.

Mr Sarwar says an oversight board installed to monitor NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde when it was put into "special measures" has not met since March.

Nicola Sturgeon says it is "not about meetings, it’s about actions" and points out that 80% of the recommendations made by an independent probe into the flagship Glasgow hospital have been implemented.

Douglas Ross moves on to the budget, asking whether the Scottish government will take the opportunity to kick-start the economic recovery - or will they give in to the Greens?

Nicola Sturgeon says she is proud of the budget the finance secretary will present later - pointing to the doubling of the Scottish Child payment to £20.

Douglas Ross replies to say it was "very distasteful" for the first minister to laugh and joke at the comments made by the Scottish Greens as they had been "very hurtful" to people working in oil and gas.

Referring to events at Westminster, Ms Sturgeon replies saying: "We are witnessing many disgusting things in politics right now but none of them are from this Scottish government.

"i almost feel a little bit of sympathy for Douglas Ross today because I know he must be deeply mortified by the actions and behaviour of his colleagues in the UK government."

What is putting jobs at risk is the UK government's failure to invest in the Acorn carbon capture project in the north east, the first minister tells Holyrood.

She returns to the subject of a "just transition, saying they must ensure no-one is left behind as they move away from oil and gas, but also ensure that Scotland's energy needs are met in a renewable and low carbon way.

"That will be reflected in the budget this afternoon," she adds.

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Speaking to the parliament virtually, Douglas Ross raises the reaction of the SNP's coalition partner, the Scottish Greens, to the withdrawal of Shell from the Cambo oilfield plans last week.

He said the party's spokespeople "celebrated" and said that supporting the oil and gas industry was a policy of the hard right.

That was an "insult to every single worker in the North Sea sector and should be condemned by the first minister", he added.

"What matters more? Jobs for the Scottish Greens or jobs for north east workers?" he asks.

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Ms Sturgeon replies saying that she supports a "just transition" from fossil fuels to renewable and low carbon energy.

"For the sake of our planet, for the sake of future generations, we must accelerate that transition," she adds.

She says she was at the demolition of a chimney at Longannet earlier, which proves that Scotland can move away from coal-fired power without the lights going out and causing mass unemployment.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross asks First Minister Nicola Sturgeon whether it is a "hard-right policy" to support the oil and gas industry.

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Westminster, and specifically Downing Street, has been the main focus of the political world in recent days.

This will be intensified with news that an official investigation into government staff parties is to now focus on three events that took place last year instead of one.

Tory leader Douglas Ross has distanced himself from Boris Johnson and said there had clearly been a party of some sort, which would have been against Covid rules.

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With the announcement of more Covid restrictions in England, the battle to slow the spread of the Omicron variant in Scotland is likely to feature in FMQs.

The "Plan B" changes happening south of the border are similar to what is already in place in Scotland.

But Deputy First Minister John Swinney has said Scotland could return to tougher restrictions used in the past if the Omicron variant spreads out of control.

Scientists believe Omicron could spread more easily than Delta.

Image source, PA Media

Hello and welcome to the live page where First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will be taking questions in the weekly session at 12pm.

Scottish Conservatives leader Douglas Ross will not be in the chamber as he's waiting for the results of a Covid PCR test after a staff member tested positive for the virus.

Today's live page will also cover the Scottish budget which is expected to begin at 3.25pm.

You can follow all the action using the tabs above.