FMQs gets under way...published at 12:02 British Summer Time 27 April 2023
Humza Yousaf is sitting poised and ready for the fray and Douglas Ross gets to his feet to ask the first of his questions.
Summary
Humza Yousaf is facing questions from opposition party leaders in the weekly Q&A of first minister's questions
Douglas Ross pushed the first minister on the delayed and over budget contract to build two new CalMac ferries
Mr Ross said "only a party that bought a campervan for £100,000" could think that spending hundreds of millions of pounds on building two ferries is a good deal
The first minister said it was "unacceptable" that costs had increased so much and that the project was so far behind schedule
His predecessor, Nicola Sturgeon, was not in the Holyrood chamber for the session
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar asked about the increased cost of the project to replace Barlinnie Prison in Glasgow
The session is being held as police continue their investigation into the SNP's finances
FMQs gets under way...published at 12:02 British Summer Time 27 April 2023
What can we expect from today's FMQs?published at 11:52 British Summer Time 27 April 2023
Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondentHumza Yousaf’s third Holyrood question session is the latest step on his learning curve as first minister.
It’s a week without a really obvious stand-out topic dominating the news agenda. That means Mr Yousaf needs to prepare for a huge range of different potential topics.
The binder of facts and figures which the first minister carries into the chamber is apparently enormous this week, because so many issues have had to be packed in.
This can be even tricker than coming up with a solid reply to a really difficult story; Mr Yousaf has had to swot up on a series of different topics which might not even come up.
And inevitably, he will need to think on his feet when some unforeseen freedom of information request or case study comes up which he is completely unprepared for.
Will there be more protests in the gallery this week?published at 11:44 British Summer Time 27 April 2023
Image source, PA MediaImage caption, Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone has introduced measures in an effort to address protests from the gallery
Protests have become a regular feature of FMQs in recent months, but Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone has introduced plans to try to crack down on this:
- The use of mobile phones in the chamber has been banned
- Anyone booking a ticket for FMQs now has to give their name and address
- Group bookings require names and addresses for everyone in the group
- All individuals collecting a ticket for FMQs have to show identification
- Anyone disrupting business will face a six-month ban from the public gallery
- Protests repeatedly halt first minister's questions
- Humza Yousaf's first FMQs hit by a series of disruptions
Welcomepublished at 11:15 British Summer Time 27 April 2023
Image source, PA MediaGood morning and welcome to our live coverage of First Minister's Questions.
This is the third FMQs for Humza Yousaf and you can watch it live here with us by clicking on the play icon at the top of the page.
We'll bring you reports and analysis throughout.