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Education Secretary John Swinney says the priority of the local authorities was long term solutions for every young person and he adds every family was offered support and education.

Moorhouse has successfully registered an independent day school on the same site, with 13 pupils now attending, 11 of whom previously attended the New School Butterstone.

Mr Ruskell says many families are still looking for answers as to why their children did not receive education for up to six months in some cases.

He calls for support for an independent inquiry into the actions of Perth and Kinross Council, the Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland.

The education secretary says that is an issue he is considering right now.

Green MSP Mark Ruskell asks the Scottish government whether it will provide an update regarding the status of the New School Butterstone.

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MSPs quiz education and skills ministers during portfolio questions.

Check out the full list of questions here., external

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Lib Dem MSP Liam McArthur says clearly the tragic deaths of Katie Allan and William Lindsay ensure that we must learn the lessons.

Mr McArthur welcomes much of the cabinet secretary's statement.

However two years ago we were told Scotland's prisons would share in the roll-out of 800 mental health workers, he adds.

The Lib Dem MSP asks how many of the 800 will be in our prisons.

Mr Yousaf says he will ask the mental health minister to write to him with the answer to that and accepts that prisons are a priority.

Green MSP John Finnie calls for "creative thinking" on alternatives to remand as part of a compassionate justice system.

He says safer spaces does not always have to be confinement.

Mr Yousaf says he couldn't agree more with the member, adding a safer space does not necessarily mean a sterile space.

Labour MSP Pauline McNeill says these tragedies highlight wider problems of custody.

Ms McNeill calls on the government to accept all seven recommendations in the report.

She calls for reassurance that Talk To Me is not simply a tick-box exercise and asks when staff will get the training in dealing with mental health.

Finally she asks when the appropriate placing of young people in secure places will be made more widely available, citing the tragic death of William Lindsay.

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The justice secretary says Talk To Me is about addressing the immediate vulnerability of an individual.

The SPS will develop a bespoke mental health strategy for young people in custody, he reiterates, adding training is well underway.

There has been action on secure places since the tragedy of the death of William Lindsay, he adds.

The minister insists there are enough secure beds in the estate at present.

Tory MSP Annie Wells begins by offering her condolences to the family and friends of Katie Allan and William Lindsay.

Prevention is key says Ms Wells and she asks when the SPS strategy can be expected.

She also asks about action to support young people specifically in the first three months of custody and about improving recruitment.

Mr Yousaf says the SPS is talking with partners to develops the strategy and adds he will ask the chief exec to write to Ms Wells about the timeline.

He points to efforts to bring forward alternatives to remand, such as supervised bail and electronic monitory.

Health boards have been written to, to ask what action they are taking on recruitment this year.

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Mr Yousaf says supporting family contact has benefits to the individual and their families.

He confirms he has asked the Scottish Prison Service to run a pilot to introduce in-cell phones in Polmont.

The justice secretary says the prison service will continue to have control over this.

He tells the chamber: "It should not take the tragedies like the deaths of Katie Allan and William Lindsay to improve services."

He reiterates that he is "deeply saddened" by their deaths.

The justice secretary highlights efforts to recruit additional mental health workers in prisons.

Everyone entering prison is assessed for suicide risk, he tells the chamber.

However remand can be particularly damaging to the mental health of young people and we will continue to look at alternatives, Mr Yousaf states.

He announces that routine body searching of under 18s will end, as confirmed by the Scottish Prison Service, and a more trauma informed approach will be taken.

Mr Yousaf says no-one going through the justice system should be harmed by the failure of agencies to fully share information where allowed.

The justice secretary tells the chamber ministers will work with agencies to see how best to take forward the recommendations.

The Scottish Prison Service has confirmed it will create a new health and wellbeing strategy, with a bespoke young person's element, he says.

Mr Yousaf says work will be done to ensure improvements in the prevention of suicide and there will also be work on self-harm.

Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf tells the chamber he requested this review take place last November, following the suicide of two young people held in custody in 2018.

Its purpose was to consider the mental health arrangements in place and a separate fatal accident inquiry will look at the specifics of Katie Allan and William Lindsay's deaths, he explains.

Our priority must be to prevent the circumstances that give rise to suicide, Mr Yousaf says.

The justice secretary says there are positives in the review but an action group has been convened to oversee progress on tackling the challenges.

He confirms he has written to the families of Katie Allan and William Lindsay to include them in the process.

A review ordered after the deaths of two young people in custody has called for the creation of a stronger suicide and self-harm strategy.

Katie Allan, 21, and 16-year-old William Lindsay died at Polmont Young Offenders' Institution last year.

The review did not examine the specific circumstances of their deaths.

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However, it said social isolation should be minimised, external- particularly for those on remand or in the early weeks of a custodial sentence.

The report, by the Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland, also found "systemic interagency shortcomings" in communications and the exchange of information about young people entering and leaving Polmont.

HMIPS also published a separate inspection report on Polmont, external a couple of weeks ago.

It said considerable progress had been made in the last three years at the national facility for young offenders, aged between 16 and 21.

• Read more here
• Holyrood Live coverage of Justice Committee HMYOI Polmont

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Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf will now give the Scottish government's response to the Expert Review of Mental Health Services for Young People Entering and in Custody at HMP YOI Polmont.

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Here's what's coming up in the chamber this afternoon:

• 1.30-2.00 pm:Ministerial Statement: Mental health services at YOI Polmont
• 2.00pm:Portfolio Questions

• 2.20-7.00 pm:Stage 3 Consideration of Amendments: Planning (Scotland) Bill

• 7:00pm:Members’ Business - Protecting Children and Young People from the Marketing of Health-harming Products

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After a fairly lengthy session the rural economy committee draws to a close.