That's all from our live coverage of FMQs this week. Thank you for joining us.

Conservative MSP Liam Kerr asks about a "spate" of crashes on the A96 - two people were seriously injured a fortnight ago, three people were taken to hospital following a crash last week and a further two people were taken to hospital on Wednesday.

He calls on the government to dual "this appalling road" to improve safety.

Sturgeon expresses sympathy with those affected by road traffic crashes.

She insists the government is committed to dualling and upgrading the A96 but says suitability reviews and environmental impact assessments are being carried out.

Image source, PA Media

Scotland's education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville is preparing to intervene to stop local councils cutting teacher numbers.

The BBC understands that Ms Somerville is considering options and is likely to announce action within days.

She is also expected to prevent the number of school hours being reduced.

It follows reports that several local authorities, including SNP-led Glasgow city council, are considering education cuts to balance their budgets.

It emerged last week that Glasgow City Council was considering plans that could see 800 teachers cut and primary schools closing early on Fridays in a bid to make budget savings.

At present, Scottish councils offer 25 hours of primary school teaching a week, and 27.5 hours to secondary school pupils.

• Read more here
• Scottish teachers begin wave of rolling strikes
• School subjects 'could be axed due to cuts'

SNP MSP Kaukab Stewart says she is very concerned about reports of a potential reduction in teacher numbers, especially in Glasgow.

Sturgeon says: "The government will act to protect teacher numbers."

The FM says councils have been given additional funding specifically to deliver that.

The government will take steps to ensure the funding for councils will do just that.

The first minister announces that Professor Anna Glasier OBE has been appointed as the first Women’s Health Champion for Scotland.

She will work with partners in the NHS and across the public and third sectors to drive forward actions in the Women’s Health Plan.

Her appointment coincides with the publication of the first Women’s Health Plan report which details the progress made so far on raising awareness around women’s health, improving access to health care and reducing inequalities in health outcomes for women and girls.

The identity of the man behind one of the UK's most controversial dog breeding programmes is revealed in a new BBC documentary.

He is Gary Hemming, an Edinburgh man with multiple convictions for violence spanning 20 years.

Hemming uses the name Gari Ferrari to breed hairless French Bulldogs.

Animal welfare experts have called his breeding programme "simply unacceptable", "intentionally harmful" and "against the law".

Hemming is part of a world of extreme breeders who specialise in dogs such as American bullies and English bulldogs.

• Read more here
• Inside the world of organised crime and extreme dog breeding

Tory MSP Jamie Greene asks what steps are being taken to tackle illegal dog breeding after a BBC investigation exposed a network of extreme breeders.

He says he was "disgusted" by the practices shown in the programme. "These dogs are now more valuable to criminals than drugs," Greene says.

He urges the government to tighten rules on co-ownership and questions why more prosecutions are not being made against rule-breaking breeders.

The first minister says the BBC report was "alarming".

She says animal licensing regulations were introduced in 2021 to crackdown on illegal puppy farms.

The government will consult on further potential regulations on other practices, such as canine fertility clinics, later this year, Sturgeon adds.

Green MSP Maggie Chapman asks for the government's response to reports that dozens of people living in Scotland with no recourse to public funds are being made homeless and forced to sleep rough on the streets or in cars.

The first minister replies that stopping people who are facing destitution from accessing support when they need it most is "unacceptable" and "shocking".

Sturgeon says the UK government's policy of no recourse to public funds is the biggest barrier to ending rough sleeping.

Sarwar quotes a nurse who spoke to the Daily Record this week. They said patients were angry with the government and accused ministers of not treating them "as human beings".

The Scottish Labour leader says “it’s not good enough for the first minister to keep making excuses or keep talking about Covid” because demand on accident and emergency departments is down since 2019.

He says one in seven Scots are currently on an NHS waiting list as he attacks the government's management of the health system.

Sturgeon says every patient is a "human being", adding: "And frankly I think it demeans Anas Sarwar's argument to suggest that any of us don't think that that is the case."

The first minister says reduced demand at A&E departments is thanks to action taken by the Scottish government to ensure patients are dealt with without having to go to hospital.

She adds that A&E performance in Scotland is 6.2% better than in Wales, where Labour are in government, according to the latest monthly figures.

Sarwar questions FM on health for 13th timepublished at 12:41 Greenwich Mean Time 26 January 2023

12:41 GMT 26 January 2023

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

The count continues – Anas Sarwar has now asked about health at 13 sessions of FMQs in a row.

This is clearly a deliberate strategy from the Labour leader to build a platform on a particular issue, and hammer home a focused point.

The waiting times target we generally talk about – the four-hour standard – has actually improved this week, albeit still lying far short of the target.

But Mr Sarwar was able to draw out a different figure, about longer-term waits.

Because this comes up every week, Ms Sturgeon is well used to answering these questions by now. She ticked off answers about the impact of the pandemic, about winter pressures, and government investment in health.

So these were familiar exchanges – and we have doubtless not heard the last of them, given this is clearly not an issue which is going to go away overnight.

Sarwar says that 6,362 people waited more than 24 hours in A&E last year. He compares that to 48 people in 2019.

He says 1,356 people waited more than 36 hours, while 390 people waited more than 48 hours.

"This is the worst it has ever been," the Scottish Labour leader says, warning of staff burnout and patients being put at risk.

Sturgeon says her government is investing in its winter plan to help tackle waiting times, including extra funding for care home beds to speed up discharges from hospital.

She says long waits are "unacceptable" and tackling them is her government's priority.

Waiting times at Scotland's A&E departments have improved, according to the latest figures.

Public Health Scotland data, external showed that of the 20,580 people seeking emergency care during week ending 15 January, 64% were seen during the target time of four hours.

This was an increase from 57.2% the previous week and is the best performance since November.

However the number of people going to A&E has been decreasing for weeks.

Read more here.

Image source, Getty Images

Anas Sarwar again questions the first minister about pressures on the NHS.

He points to the latest weekly accident and emergency figures, which show that one in three people waited longer than the four-hour target time in Scotland's emergency departments.

The Scottish Labour leader warns "long waits cost lives".

He asks how many people waited more than 24 hours in A&E in last year.

The first minister says pressure on A&E departments remains "acute" but waiting times over both eight and 12 hours have fallen by about 40% since the start of January.

Sturgeon drawing a line in the sandpublished at 12:33 Greenwich Mean Time 26 January 2023

12:33 GMT 26 January 2023

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Douglas Ross has homed in on an issue which is a hot topic in political circles right now. There has been no shortage of controversy about the case of Isla Bryson.

It is important to note that this is not directly linked to the Scottish government’s gender reforms; it has happened under the existing UK-wide system.

But it still plays into the wider debate about rights and protections.

Nicola Sturgeon has now stressed that Isla Bryson will not be incarcerated at Cornton Vale longer term – but that was never going to be the case, given the prison is closing in the coming weeks to be redeveloped.

What is probably more significant is her broader point, that she doesn’t think it’s possible to have a rapist housed in a women’s prison.

For all that ministers do stress that decisions and risk assessments are for the prison service to carry out, this does seem like the first minister drawing a line in the sand.

The first minister insists her expectation is that this prisoner will not be in Cornton Vale Prison.

Sturgeon says there is a very small number of trans women in custody and many are in male prisons.

She reiterates there is a robust assessment process and says predatory men are the risk to women, not trans women.

The first minister replies: "This prisoner is not going to be incarcerated in Cornton Vale, either short term or long term."

These are operational matters for the SPS, she adds.

Ross presses the first minister and asks: "Where is this double rapist at the moment?"

The Scottish Tory leader says ministers could intervene and he argues rapists are abusing the current laws.

Will the FM go to Cornton Vale to explain to other prisoners why a rapist is allowed to be next door?, he says.

Ross says the double rapist Isla Bryson only decided to change her gender after she was charged by the police.

He tells the chamber: "The first minister is hiding behind the Scottish Prison Service, but they are a government agency accountable to Scottish ministers."

The Scottish Tory leader asks if there was any ministerial influence in the decision to send the rapist to Cornton Vale and asks if the first minister will step in to ensure this prisoner is removed from the prison

Sturgeon reiterates that a risk assessment is under way but says the SPS will act before it is concluded if necessary.

She says the SPS must be allowed to do its operational job.

The FM points out if any prisoner poses a risk that prisoner is segregated from other prisoners.

Ross points out Isla Bryson is in Cornton Vale now and the reality is "this double rapist, this beast is in a women's prison right now".

The Scottish Tory leader points out that a rapist having access to a women-only space is a threat.

He asks if the FM believes it is possible for a rapist to be held in a women's prison and not be a threat to a woman.

Image source, PA Media

Sturgeon says she heard the chief executive of Rape Crisis Scotland say: "I don't see how it's possible to have a rapist within a female prisons."

The FM says she agrees with this statement.

In the case that has been in the media that risk assessment is under way and the SPS will not wait until it is completed if it needs to act, she explains.

"I can confirm to parliament that this prisoner will not be incarcerated at Cornton Vale women's prison," she adds.