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BBC Scotland News

All times stated are UK

  1. Highlights from FMQs

    Here are the main points from today's session of First Minister's Questions:

    • All the main party leaders agreed on the sheer horror of events in Ukraine
    • Conservatives' Douglas Ross said events had reached a new low with Russia bombing a children's and maternity hospital, calling it despicable and appalling
    • SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said she was horrified and deeply distressed by what she had witnessed in reports
    • Labour's Anas Sarwar said Vladimir Putin had to face justice as a war criminal
    • Nicola Sturgeon said the Scottish government was updating its energy strategy
    • She said that reintroducing nuclear power or exploiting new oil fields would take years, if not decades to come on stream and that we must accelerate the move to renewables and low-carbon energy
    • Talking about the Stonehaven rail crash RAIB report, Anas Sarwar asked for old trains to be removed from service and for a guarantee that safety-critical staff would not be made redundant
    • Mr Sarwar said the Stonehaven report left unanswered questions and said it should not become "another public scandal where no-one is held to account and where institutions protect themselves"
    • The first minister said the report was there to establish no-blame facts and that a further investigation would determine if prosecutions or a fatal accident inquiry should take place.

    That's all from FMQs today. We will be back with more live coverage from the chamber next week.

    Until then, take care.

  2. Spring Covid boosters being offered to most vulnerable

    Vaccination

    Scottish Conservative MSP Donald Cameron asks about the spring booster Covid vaccination programme.

    The first minister says a spring booster is being offered to the most vulnerable and has just started in care homes.

    People in the most vulnerable risk categories will be eligible for a booster when they reach six months from their last dose.

    Those who qualify are:

    • adults aged 75 years and over, residents in a care home for older adults
    • individuals aged 12 years and over who are immunosuppressed, as defined in in the Covid 19 healthcare guidance green book
  3. Women turned away from IVF over consent form

    IVF procedure

    Labour's Jackie Baillie asks the first minister about IVF treatment for women who were not up-to-date with their Covid vaccination.

    She says it was announced on Christmas Eve that it was being suspended, the only service in the NHS to require vaccination before treatment.

    Ms Baillie says the service resumed last week but women were sent away from IVF clinics because a consent form from the Scottish government central legal office had not yet been formally processed.

    The first minister says the temporary suspension of treatment was a clinical decision on the basis of risk to women and babies.

    She says she was not aware of the administrative issue that Jackie Baillie was referring to but would seek to rectifying it as soon as possible.

  4. Rail report leaves unanswered questions - Sarwar

    Mr Sarwar says the report leaves unanswered questions. He says we cannot allow this to become "another in a long line of public scandals and tragedies in Scotland where no-one is held to account and where institutions protect themselves rather than the public".

    The first minister says the rail family is close-knit and she understands their feelings.

    She says the report was there to establish no-blame facts and that the further investigation would determine if prosecutions or a fatal accident inquiry should take place.

    Quote Message: We must never forget that at the heart of this is victims and families who have been failed by a powerful corporation and public bodies who shouldn't have to wait years to get answers. from Anas Sarwar Scottish Labour leader
    Anas SarwarScottish Labour leader
  5. Government urged to make no redundancies in safety

    Mr Sarwar says three families - and other staff - have been failed by being asked to operate trains whose safety standards were set in 1994.

    He brings up Network Rail plans for staff redundancies and says the Scottish government has not ruled out compulsory redundancies when it takes over control.

    He asks the first minister to commit to zero redundancies in safety-critical roles.

    Ms Sturgeon says lessons will be learned. She adds that negotiations will continue with unions and that the government has a very strong record of no redundancies within agencies it has responsibility for.

    View more on twitter
  6. Stonehaven derailment report - background

    Train derailment

    A series of failures contributed to a rail crash in Aberdeenshire which claimed three lives, an investigation has found.

    A report said the train hit a landslide near Stonehaven in August 2020 after heavy rain in an area where a drainage system had been incorrectly installed.

    Investigators also highlighted problems with operational procedures in dealing with the effects of severe weather.

    Train drivers' union Aslef said it was a "damning" report.

    Read more

  7. Sarwar asks if old trains will be withdrawn from service

    Stonehaven rail crash

    Anas Sarwar's main question is on the results of the report into the Stonehaven rail crash.

    He says there are questions for the Scottish government and Abellio over the age of the train and asks why the government agreed to run trains which were over 40 years old and did not meet modern safety standards.

    He asks if Ms Sturgeon will withdraw them from service.

    The first minister says her thoughts are with the victims. She says the train was fully-compliant with legal safety requirements to operate but that standards had improved subsequently.

    She adds that the new publicly-owned ScotRail will take on responsibility in April for enforcing recommendations from the RAIB. And she ends by saying there is another report on the incident due by the office of rail and road which reports to the procurator fiscal later this year.

  8. Sarwar says Putin must face justice as a war criminal

    Vladimir Putin

    Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar echoes the feeling on Ukraine.

    He says he continues to be horrified and heartbroken by the images we see on our screens.

    He says Vladimir Putin must fail and must face justice as a war criminal.

    He thanks Scots collecting for appeals and says that refugees fleeing war need sanctuary, joining in to call on the home secretary to do everything necessary to allow people to make homes in Scotland.

  9. Ross says Russia has changed energy situation

    The Scottish Conservative leader says Nicola Sturgeon does not seem to realise that the situation has changed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

    Douglas Ross says we could end the need for importing foreign oil and gas if we maximise production in the North Sea.

    Nicola Sturgeon says she is not being ideological about her opposition to more oil and gas.

    She says existing fields are not operating under capacity so new oil fields would be needed.

    She adds that for a new oil field like Cambo it would be 2026 before any oil would come ashore even if it was approved today.

  10. Should nuclear energy be in the mix?

    Douglas Ross asks if nuclear energy should not be in the mix if Scotland wants to reduce dependence on oil and gas to move to net zero.

    The first minister says we need to look at our energy mix for the future.

    Ms Sturgeon says she does not support new nuclear but even if it got the go-ahead today it could be a decade before it came on stream.

  11. Sturgeon - We must accelerate the move to renewables

    Wind turbines

    The first minister points out that new oil and gas fields can take years, if not decades to come on stream.

    She says we should not be looking at solutions which do not stand scrutiny around the practicalities and the realities.

    Ms Sturgeon adds that action from the chancellor is needed to shield people from rising prices.

    In the longer term, we must accelerate the move to renewables and low carbon energy, she says.

  12. More North Sea production is not the solution, says Sturgeon

    Nicola Sturgeon says that for the UK the issue is not one of security of supply.

    Only about 3% of the UK's gas and 8% of petroleum supplies come from Russia, much less than many European countries.

    "But we will all bear the burden of global price increases for energy," she says.

    The first minister says there are environmental concerns over increasing fossil fuel production but even if they were put to one side, it would not be a short-term solution to the current problem.

    She said expanding existing oil and gas fields would take months, if not years.

    View more on twitter
  13. Ross says it is time to maximise oil and gas production

    Oil platforms

    Douglas Ross agrees with Nicola Sturgeon that more needs to be done to welcome Ukrainian refugees to the UK.

    He goes on to say that Russia's actions in Ukraine have put a renewed focus on energy security.

    Mr Ross says Scotland can protect its own energy supply.

    He says now is the time to maximise oil and gas production in Scotland, using the energy on our own doorstep.

  14. Energy strategy will need to look at Ukraine situation

    In response to Douglas Ross's question on whether the Scottish government will update its energy strategy, Nicola Sturgeon says it is in the process of doing so.

    "That work commenced prior to the horror in Ukraine that is now unfolding," she says.

    But she says the situation in Ukraine has implications for energy prices in the UK.

    She says these developments will be factored into the work on energy strategy.

    Read background on energy prices

  15. Nicola Sturgeon says Ukraine attacks are a new low

    First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says she is horrified and deeply distressed by what we are witnessing in Ukraine.

    She says yesterday's developments were a new low, the targeting of children and babies.

    Ms Sturgeon says Putin is committing war crimes and he must pay the severest price.

    The first minister welcomes the limited movement from the UK Home Secretary on refugees but says it needs to go further.

    She says she will write to the prime minister later today and would welcome Douglas Ross's signature as well as those of Anas Sarwar and Alex Cole-Hamilton.

  16. Ross condemns despicable attacks in Ukraine

    Bombed hospital
    Image caption: Three people, including a child, died when Russia struck a hospital on Wednesday

    Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross starts First Minister's Questions by saying the events in Ukraine have reached a new low with Russia bombing a hospital, targeting children.

    He calls it despicable and appalling.

    Mr Ross urges action to support refugees.

  17. Ukrainians to be able to apply online for UK visas

    Priti Patel

    Ukrainians with passports will be able to apply for UK visas entirely online from Tuesday, Priti Patel has said.

    They will not have to visit a visa application centre and can give their biometric data in the UK, meaning centres can be reserved for the most complex cases and those without ID.

    The changes have been agreed following advice from the security services, the home secretary added.

    Labour's Yvette Cooper said the UK's response had been a "total disgrace".

    Read more

  18. Welcome to the FMQs live page

    Nicola Sturgeon

    Good morning,

    Nicola Sturgeon will be taking questions from opposition parties at noon in her weekly session of First Minister's Questions.

    The Ukrainian refugees situation could be brought up as the UK government comes under increasing pressure to do more to help.

    Home Secretary Priti Patel has this morning announced that Ukrainians with passports will be able to apply for UK visas entirely online from Tuesday.

    However, Scottish politicians are among those calling for all visa rules for refugees fleeing the Russian invasion to be scrapped altogether.

    You can follow all the action from the Scottish Parliament here or by using the tabs above.