Justice Secretary Michael Matheson confirms the Scottish Police Authority met last week and -approved an implementation plan for the strategy.

He also points to the funding backing this.

Mr Johnson asks if the Scottish government is committed to meeting the costs of new technology and queries whether BTP integration could harm reform plans given costs are coming out of the reform budget.

Mr Matheson expresses confidence that the BTP integration will not impact wider reforms.

The justice secretary also says the IT funding will be considered by the SPA.

He highlights £5m investment in core operational policing systems.

Police Scotland outlined plans in February 2017 to cut officer numbers by 400 as part of its 10-year policing plan.

Then-Chief Constable Phil Gormley said recruitment levels would remain unchanged in the current year, but would begin to slow between 2018-20.

He said resources would be re-directed to frontline operations, amid big financial challenges.

As part of a new strategy, external, Policing 2026, he said police officers would be released from corporate and backroom roles, with priority given to frontline operations and a more visible community presence.

Read more here.

Labour MSP Daniel Johnson asks about progress in delivering the Policing 2026 strategy.

Green MSP John Finnie asks about the involvement of trade unions in procurement discussions.

Mr Yousaf confirms he recently met with RMT and Unite, with discussions ongoing.

The next contract is the Northern Isles contract and discussions with unions will be part of this, he states.

Image source, bbc

Transport Minister Humza Yousaf says investment has been made into habours and fleets, pointing in particular to two new duel fuel ferries being built at Ferguson shipyard.

We are also committed to rolling out road equivalent tariff to the northern isles, he adds.

When will to two ferries be ready for services, Mr Cameron asks.

The minister refers the member to the published timetable.

Image source, CalMac

A study looking at the future of ferry services for the Western Isles has begun.

It is looking at potential improvements such as new timetables, buying new boats, redeploying existing ferries to other routes and upgrading harbours.

Consultants commissioned by Transport Scotland will seek feedback from island communities who rely on the services and also visitors to the isles.

A report on the study will be published next year.

Read more.

Tory MSP Donald Cameron asks about improvements to ferry services in the Highlands and Islands.

A child contact centre provides a safe and neutral meeting place for families that have experienced an acrimonious divorce or separation.

There are more than 400 contact centres across the UK, used by more than 20,000 children each year.

There are two types of contact centres; supported and supervised.

The latter are used where child protection concerns have been raised about one of the parents.

Read more.

Image source, bbc

Legal Affairs Minister Annabelle Ewing says centres are covered by guidance on practice and procedures.

The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 review will also look into child contact centres, she adds.

SNP MSP Bob Doris asks how centres that provide a supervised contact facility for absent parents to spend time with their children are inspected and regulated.

Image source, PA

Companies who do not offer employees flexible working fail to recruit and retain the best talent, a report has said, external in September.

Demand for flexible jobs massively outstrips supply, according to recruitment agency Timewise.

The report said 11.9% of jobs are advertised as flexible, while 34% of jobless Scots sought flexible work.

The Scottish government said flexible working boosts productivity and is good for workers.

Scottish ministers have launched a £10m flexible workforce development fund that will allow employers to apply for up to £10,000 each to deliver in-work training.

The fund will be run in partnership with colleges and aims to make skills development available to staff and comes in response to the introduction of the UK Apprenticeship Levy.

Read more.

Image source, bbc

Employability and Training Minister Jamie Hepburn answers that the pilot is in the first year and an evaluation is due shortly.

Tory MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston seeks an assessment of the effectiveness of the flexible workforce development fund.

Image source, bbc

Legal Affairs Minister Annabelle Ewing says the first phase of the review will begin shortly, looking in particular at parental rights and child welfare.

Ms Denham suggests caring professionals would be better placed to assess children's needs and seeks confirmation this will be considered.

Ms Ewing confirms this, adding the regulation of child welfare reporters will be covered.

Tory MSP Gordon Lindhurst queries training for the reporters.

The minister says the review will cover this and urges stakeholders to suggest what training would be most appropriate.

SNP MSP Ash Denham asks about putting a professional system, such as the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service in England, in place for family courts in Scotland, in light of the ongoing review of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.

Image source, bbc/PA/Scottish Parliament

After general questions we will bring you extensive coverage and live reaction to first minister's questions.

Lib Dem MSP Tavish Scott will then lead a debate on car parking charges at island airports - though we will take off after the opening speech and touch down in in the Europe Committee, which is taking evidence from Scottish Secretary David Mundell over lunchtime.

Image source, bbc

The rest of the afternoon will be dominated by a debate on energy efficiency.

Image source, Energy Saving Trust

Image source, Thinkstock and BBC

Ms Marra ask why the transfer of endowment funds took three years and suggests it is due to a lack of transparency in health board papers, running to hundreds of papers.

The committe convener says she believes these papers are designed to obfuscate issues.

Mr Gray agrees some of the papers he has seen are opaque and hope that things will be made simpler and more clear.

Agendas with 20 items on them will not lead to a successful business, he ponders.

The evidence session draws to a close.

Convener Jenny Marra moves on to what the likely outcome of the investigation will be.

Is it likely to result in two boards, one managing charitable funds and one core budget, she asks.

Paul Gray says there must be a clear line between the two.

The constitution of endowment committees must set out their independence and ministers must not be able to direct where they are spent, he says.

This is already the case but we need to make assurances that endowment funds are free from external influences, Mr Gray adds.

He states that separation must be as clear as possible, working with OSCR.

Ms Marra seeks clarification that Mr Gray is waiting for the OSCR report.

The chief executive tells the committee that if wider changes are suggested, there is no reason for some of the smaller changes to be delayed until everything can be done.