Summary

  • Nicola Sturgeon says Scotland is facing a watershed moment, following the SNP's comprehensive win in Scotland in last week's general election

  • Ms Sturgeon tells MSPs plans will be published later this week on transferring powers to allow Scotland to stage a further independence referendum

  • The first minister urges those who oppose the Tories to "come together" in pressing for indyref2

  • UK ministers are opposed to such a move with Michael Gove saying the vote in 2014 should be "respected"

  1. 'The election was comprehensively won in Scotland by the SNP'published at 14:25 Greenwich Mean Time 17 December 2019

    Nicola SturgeonImage source, bbc

    Nicola Sturgeon says it is important to note turnout in Scotland actually increased and adds "the election was comprehensively won in Scotland by the SNP".

    The first minister tells the chamber the vote was an endorsement of the SNP message that Scotland does not want a Boris Johnson government, wants to remain in the EU and "wants Scotland’s future to be in Scotland’s hands".

    She says while the Conservative Party won a majority UK wide, they were once again heavily defeated here in Scotland.

    The Conservatives have now lost 17 consecutive elections in Scotland, losing more than half it seats in this one, she says.

    We are set to be dragged out of the EU against our will, she adds.

  2. Nicola Sturgeon will now respond to the election resultpublished at 14:18 Greenwich Mean Time 17 December 2019

    Nicola Sturgeon joined the SNP’s newly-elected MPs for a group photo outside the V&A MuseumImage source, GETTY IMAGES
    Image caption,

    Nicola Sturgeon joined the SNP’s newly-elected MPs for a group photo outside the V&A Museum

    Nicola Sturgeon will now respond to the result of last week's general election in a statement in the chamber.

    The first minister will warn of the "new danger" posed by Boris Johnson's government.

    She will urge those who oppose the Tories to "come together" in pressing for another independence referendum.

    This week the Scottish government will publish the "democratic case" for the transfer of power to hold such a vote.

    UK ministers are opposed to such a move and have said the 2014 vote should be "respected".

    Read more here.

  3. 'Absolutely unacceptable that families can't afford the basic necessities'published at 14:18 Greenwich Mean Time 17 December 2019

    Communities Secretary Aileen CampbellImage source, bbc
    Image caption,

    Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell

    Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell says it is absolutely unacceptable that families can't afford the basic necessities, particularly warmth and food at Christmas.

    Ms Campbell outlines mitigation the Scottish government has put in place, including funding for tackling food insecurity in the school holidays.

    She says the government has also brought forward the Scottish child payment to be in place by next Christmas.

    The communities secretary says the government can only mitigate around the edges due to the austerity measures from the UK government.

  4. Background: One million children face 'Dickensian poverty'published at 14:15 Greenwich Mean Time 17 December 2019

    More hard up people are relying on food banksImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    More hard up people are relying on food banks

    A million children under the age of 10, in England and Scotland, are facing "Dickensian" levels of poverty as they prepare for Christmas, a charity says.

    Action for Children, external drew on government figures for the number of low-income families with children of that age that are experiencing material deprivation.

    The charity also highlights a 30% rise in the demand for financial advice over the past three years.

    The government said since 2010, 300,000 fewer children were living in poverty.

  5. Children deprived of food and warmthpublished at 14:14 Greenwich Mean Time 17 December 2019

    Labour MSP David Stewart ask what the Scottish government's response is to research suggesting that one in 10 children will be deprived of warmth or fresh food this Christmas.

  6. Opposition MSPs query cash for climate objectivespublished at 14:13 Greenwich Mean Time 17 December 2019

    Green MSP Mark Ruskell highlights a quarter of the European budget will go towards climate change initiatives but he asks what will be done after Brexit.

    We will continue to engage as directly with the EU as possible, replies Ms Cunningham.

    Tory MSP Maurice Golden asks about budgets and the cabinet secretary says the UK government must "get on with its budget".

    Labour MSP Claudia Beamish raises money going towards developing countries to support climate objectives.

    It is important COP26 in Glasgow next year is as inclusive as possible, opening the door to the global south and indigenous people from around the world says Ms Cunningham.

  7. Call for greater ambition and action from COP26 in Glasgowpublished at 14:10 Greenwich Mean Time 17 December 2019

    Roseanna CunninghamImage source, bbc

    Roseanna Cunningham says she was concerned key agreements needed for the Paris Agreement rule book were postponed until 2020 at the meeting in Madrid.

    The climate change secretary says there must be greater ambition and action from COP26 in Glasgow.

    Ms Martin asks about meetings with other nations in Madrid and if the UK government has clarified future funding of environmental programmes post-Brexit.

    Ms Cunningham says she had bliateral meetings including with Norway and US politicians.

    She explains she has called for clarity from the UK government on future funding and highlights a Scottish government consultation that has been launched.

    "It is past time we had greater clarity from the UK government."

    She expects all costs of COP26 in Glasgow to be covered by the UK government.

  8. COP25: Longest climate talks end with compromise dealpublished at 14:05 Greenwich Mean Time 17 December 2019

    Some of the difficult issues proved impossible to resolve in MadridImage source, bbc
    Image caption,

    Some of the difficult issues proved impossible to resolve in Madrid

    The longest United Nations climate talks on record have finally ended in Madrid with a compromise deal.

    Exhausted delegates reached agreement on the key question of increasing the global response to curbing carbon.

    All countries will need to put new climate pledges on the table by the time of the next major conference in Glasgow next year.

    Divisions over other questions - including carbon markets - were delayed until the next gathering.

  9. COP25 reactionpublished at 14:04 Greenwich Mean Time 17 December 2019

    SNP MSP Gillian Martin asks what the government's response is to the outcome of COP25.

  10. Topical questions is next.....published at 14:03 Greenwich Mean Time 17 December 2019

    Topical questions collageImage source, bbc/Pa/Getty images
  11. Postpublished at 14:03 Greenwich Mean Time 17 December 2019

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post
  12. Time for reflectionpublished at 14:02 Greenwich Mean Time 17 December 2019

    Rev. Robert JM AndersonImage source, bbc
    Image caption,

    Rev. Robert JM Anderson

    Time for reflection is delivered by Rev. Robert JM Anderson, the minister for Knockando, Elchies and Archiestown with Rothes Parish Church, Moray.

  13. Coming up.... Nicola Sturgeon responds to the electionpublished at 12:58 Greenwich Mean Time 17 December 2019

    First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will tell MSPs there is growing support for an independence referendumImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will tell MSPs there is growing support for an independence referendum

    The statement from Nicola Sturgeon has been confirmed and will kick off at 2.20pm.

    • 2.05-2.20 pm: Topical Questions
    • 2.20-2.50 pm: Ministerial Statement: Outcome of the UK General Election
    • 2.50-5 pm: Stage 3 Proceedings: UEFA European Championship (Scotland) Bill
    • 5.05 pm: Members’ Business: Alex Rowley – A Menu for Change’s Report, Found Wanting
  14. Caveated support for specialist family courtspublished at 12:32 Greenwich Mean Time 17 December 2019

    Having a family court in densely populated areas is feasible, but it may be more difficult in rural areas, Prof Sutherland says.

    A "floating family court" may be an appropriate option which moves around rural areas but that would mean certain areas would not be covered at certain times, she adds.

    She suggests there could be greater use of technology to resolve this.

    Dr Whitecross adds that it seems preferable that an experienced family law practitioner is sheriff, but agrees there is an issue with rural areas.

    Specialist judges are really helpful in changing cultures and practices, but there are practical issues he adds.

  15. 'What about the guy who's malicious?'published at 12:30 Greenwich Mean Time 17 December 2019

    Prof SutherlandImage source, bbc
    Image caption,

    Prof Sutherland

    Prof Sutherland says the bill team was correct not to simply give automatic rights to anyone who just claimed to be the father.

    "What about the guy who's malicious?"

    This brings us on to the evidence of paternity, she says and points out the bill could have gone further in terms of DNA testing.

    The Stirling University academic says the mother can refuse to give consent to having a child tested and the court at the moment has no power to overrule that.

    She says not including this power in the bill was a missed opportunity.

  16. Broad support for Vulnerable Witness Actpublished at 12:27 Greenwich Mean Time 17 December 2019

    SNP MSP Fulton MacGregor pivots to the Vulnerable Witness Act, external.

    Prof Sutherland broadly supports what the Act does and says there is a gap in terms of protecting vulnerable witnesses, particularly in child welfare hearings.

    Dr Whitecross reiterates he has heard from too many women that they have not been able to raise domestic abuse at child welfare hearings.

    He calls for a cultural shift so lawyers can bring up domestic abuse at the early stages of the hearing.

  17. Contact centre provider facing funding issuespublished at 12:24 Greenwich Mean Time 17 December 2019

    Toys in child contact centre
    Image caption,

    Contact centres provide a safe neutral meeting place for children and adults

    Who provides the majority of contact centres, asks the convener.

    Prof Sutherland says she believes it is Relationship Scotland, which currently is having some issues with funding which is "worrying".

    Ms Mitchell confirms the committee has been considering this as part of its pre-budget scrutiny.

    Read more about child contact centres here.

  18. Background: What will the Children Bill do?published at 12:14 Greenwich Mean Time 17 December 2019

    Child with parents arguing in the backgroundImage source, Getty Images

    According to a SPICe briefing on the Children (Scotland) Bill..., external

    "The Bill would make some important reforms. It aims to encourage the court to hear the views of younger children (under 12s) before reaching its decision. It would require courts to explain (most) court decisions to (most) children.

    "The Bill would also introduce practical measures to improve the experience of vulnerable people in the courtroom, such as parents affected by domestic abuse.

    "The welfare of the child, as the paramount consideration, is a key principle of the 1995 Act which the courts apply. The Bill would introduce two new statutory factors to guide the court's assessment of welfare in an individual case."

  19. Only a handful of imprisonments due to non-compliancepublished at 12:11 Greenwich Mean Time 17 December 2019

    Margaret Mitchell asks how many people have been imprisoned for non-compliance.

    Prof Sutherland says she does not have systematic statistics but has come across some imprisonment cases.

    She speculates there have been a handful of such cases over the last five to ten years.

  20. Imprisonment for non-compliance may harm childpublished at 12:06 Greenwich Mean Time 17 December 2019

    Dr Whitecross says the number of adults not complying with a court order is actually quite small.

    Imprisonment due to non-compliance would harm the child, he suggests, and therefore it may be preferable to look for reasons why.

    Mr Kerr says sanctions do not appear on the face of the bill.

    Prof Sutherland says she would have concerns about ways to deal with non-compliance being explicit in the bill, but she agrees courts must have its usual range of measures for dealing with it.

    These measures may include prison, fines and unpaid work but she expresses concern about how these would negatively impact the child.

    She highlights parenting classes may be considered a good option, but she warns this could see such classes becoming stigmatised rather than a positive choice available to parents.