A cancer survival gap is growing between people living in the most and least deprived parts of Scotland, a charity has warned.

Analysis of survival rates for six common cancers found wide variations depending on where patients lived.

Macmillan Cancer Support said there needed to be a major step-up in cancer screening in deprived areas.

The Scottish government said it recognised the need to tackle such variations.

Ms Sturgeon highlights the Scottish government's cancer strategy and there are signs of a narrowing of that inequality gap.

The first minister says it is not just about resources, it is about changing attitudes and the culture.

SNP MSP John Mason asks the first minister what the Scottish government's response is to the report by Macmillan Cancer Support, which highlights the disparity in cancer survival rates between people from more and less deprived areas. 

Labour MSP Rhoda Grant says there was a vote last year that seafarers should get a fair pay settlement but Marine Scotland has not done this.

The first minister says she will look into the matter. 

Scottish Lib Dem Leader Willie Rennie says 2,000 valuable police civilian posts have been lost.

Mr Rennie says, mentioning the M9 crash, that this policy is crucial.

The first minister says if and when there are major policy changes they will be discussed in parliament.

Ms Sturgeon says next week Police Scotland and the SPA will publish their draft strategy for consultation. 

She says the resources are being put into the police service.

Image source, Getty Images

In August we reported that the number of police officers in Scotland had fallen to its lowest level since the end of 2010.

There were the equivalent of 17,242 full-time police officers in Scotland between April and June.

This represented the lowest number of officers since the last quarter of 2010 when there were 17,217.

However, the figures, external showed police numbers were still up by 1,008 since 2007 when the SNP pledged to increase the total number of officers by 1,000.

Scottish Lib Dem Leader Willie Rennie says the SNP government has instructed the chief constable to employ 1,000 extra officers for years, is that still the case.

Ms Sturgeon says there are 1,000 more officers than the SNP inheritied at the moment.

The first minister says Police Scotland and the SPA will soon publish their strategy for going forward.

SNP MSP Kenneth Gibson says the Clydesdale Bank and the TSB are closing branches in his constituency.

Ms Sturgeon says the closures are "very disappointing for customers affected" and she urges banks to consider bank closures as a last resort.

Image source, Thinkstock

Owners of air weapons are now required to have a licence following a tightening of firearms legislation.

From midnight it became illegal to keep a weapon without a permit.

The Scottish government has estimated there could be up to 500,000 air weapons in Scotland, but only 100,000 have been accounted for so far.

The new legislation, passed last year, came in the wake of the killing of two-year-old Andrew Morton who was shot in the head with an airgun pellet.

Conservative MSP Jamie Greene raises the issue of a wedding care company owner which faces additional licensing charges due to the Air Weapons and Licensing Bill, external.

The first minister says the legislation was brought in for public safety and the Tories voted for it.

She says the justice secretary will look at mitigation for the business.

Image source, PA

Maternity services in Scotland are "beginning to buckle", according to a new report by the Royal College of Midwives.

The report said more complex births, older mothers and an ageing workforce were adding to the pressures.

It also showed that more than a fifth of pregnant women in Scotland were obese.

The Scottish government said it had consistently increased midwife numbers over the past few years.

Ms Dugdale says parents of sick children don't want to hear a 10 year old story about keeping hospitals open they want to hear about the future of the children's ward.

She highlights threats to maternity wards at the Vale of Leven and Inverclyde Royal Hospitals.

The first minister says the health board is reconsidering the proposals for those units after the maternity and neonatal review.

She accuses the Scottish Labour leader of being "utterly disgraceful" in her last question and says Ms Dugdale should be "deeply ashamed of herself".

Ms Dugdale asks if the first minister will listen to Gordon Clark who asked the question last year on live TV.

She says he is in the gallery.

The first minister again says there were no proposal last year and these proposals have been designated as major service change and will now be considered by the health secretary. 

Scottish Labour Leader Kezia Dugdale says earlier this week a proposal to close the children's ward at the Royal Alexandria Hospital in Paisley was passed by the health board.

She says: "It was the wrong decision."

Ms Dugdale says last year, on live TV, the first minister promised a voter there were no proposals to close that ward.

Ms Sturgeon says this was a proposal voted on by Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board this week, so there was no proposal the government could have looked at last year.

The first minister says the health board has voted to put this proposal and it is in the context of there being a new children's hospital just a few miles away.

She says the proposal has been designated major service change which means it now comes before the health secretary for consideration.

Ms Davidson says judges do not have the tool of a whole life sentence at their disposal.

The Scottish Conservative leader says if the government won't act her party will push forward with a member's bill to introduce whole life sentence.

She says we should change the law so families like Paige Doherty feel justice is tipping back in their favour.

The first minister says the government will continue to look with an open mind at reform.

Ms Sturgeon says if whole life sentences were in place there is no guarantee that the judge would have opted for that sentence.

Ms Sturgeon says if the Sentencing Council brings forward proposals for change the government will consider them.

Scottish Conservative Leader Ruth Davidson says there are too many families that feel they are not getting the justice they deserve and calls for for whole life sentences.

Ms Sturgeon says the government will continue to consider openly and frankly any changes proposed, but they must comply with ECHR.

The first minister says one serious crime is one too many, but there is a reduction in crime rates.

She says there will always be decisions by judges that we think are wrong as that is in the nature of an independent judiciary.