That concludes our live coverage of FMQs.

If you're just joining us or need a recap, here are the main headlines from the session:

• Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross challenged the first minister on the strength and legitimacy of the hate crime bill.
• He questioned whether a two-hour online training course on hate crime was enough for police to understand a “complex and controversial” piece of legislation.
• Ross said “innocent people will be prosecuted” by the act's impact on free speech and said the first minister was setting the police up for failure.
• Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar questioned the first minister on a report by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), external, saying the report indicated a “clear failure” of the government to protect Scottish children.
• Sarwar raised the case of a woman who was forced to borrow money to pay for private care after being told her son face a three-year wait for tonsillitis treatment.
• The first minister told the chamber the Scottish government had prioritised investment in public services.
• He said this included an increase to the NHS, education services and social security which will lift 100,000 Scottish children out of poverty.
• Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton highlighted a recent report warning the Scottish government's 2030 target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions is now out of reach.
• He said bringing the Scottish Greens into government had done “precious little” to tackle the climate emergency.

Thank you for joining us. The editor was Paul McLaren and the writers were Mary McCool and Ashleigh Keenan-Bryce.

Clash on child health ended messily and angrilypublished at 13:03 Greenwich Mean Time 21 March

13:03 GMT 21 March

Andrew Kerr
Scottish political correspondent

Much of the talk this week has been about the first minister's ambition to target Tory seats in the forthcoming general election.

But the real fight and real tension is probably more SNP vs Labour - and that spilled over into today’s session.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar picked up on a report from the Royal College of Paediatric and Child Health.

He said 10,000 children are waiting for medical care in Scotland and quoted one expert who said that if you miss the right window to treat a child, the consequences can be irreversible.

The first minister said he took the issue very seriously indeed.

But those clear tensions between the two men erupted when the first minister questioned if an incoming Labour government at Westminster would reverse cuts which impact healthcare provision.

Mr Sarwar accused him of being out of his depth for asking questions of an opposition party rather than dealing with his own party's record in government.

But Mr Yousaf hit back and said Mr Sarwar was unable to respond.

It all ended very messily with the presiding officer angrily ruling the first minister out of time as he neared the end of his answer.

Returning to the new hate crime laws, Labour’s Pauline McNeill asks what resources will be given to police to deal with complaints.

She says some organisations are concerned the legislation could be used maliciously to silence legitimate opinion and it would be useful if the government engaged with those groups.

She says her concern is that police may not have been adequately trained to enforce the act “as it was intended”, and points out that an officer’s interpretation of the law as well as their training is key.

The first minister reiterates that some commentary around the act has not been accurate.

Yousaf says he wants to give assurances to McNeill and again states that there are multiple safeguards in the law for freedom of expression.

In terms of enforcement, he says the law has been effectively policed since 1986 in relation to race. He says there is record funding for Police Scotland in next year’s budget and he has “every confidence” in its training of officers.

Meghan Gallacher from the Tories asks whether the Scottish government will engage with the NHS on ending puberty blockers after the policy was introduced by NHS England.

Yousaf says the details are being closely considered in Glasgow’s health board, which provides gender services at Sandyford. He says any decisions will be made by individual health boards.

He points out it was the government’s interim position last year that such medication is only accessed after a research programme, which is still taking place.

Gallacher says we don’t know whether the medication has "long-term, life-changing consequences" and asks if the FM will publish all evidence on the safety of puberty blockers. She asks if he has no evidence, why are the drugs being prescribed at all?

Yousaf says clinical experts should be the ones to determine whether puberty blockers are prescribed and says the government is “well engaged” with research that is ongoing.

Image source, PA Media

Unions and environmental groups have made a joint call for peak-time train fares in Scotland to be permanently scrapped.

A pilot scheme running on ScotRail since October made fares the same at all times of the day.

This was due to end in the spring, but the Scottish government extended it until 28 June.

Transport Scotland says the impact of the pilot on the publicly-owned rail operator will be "carefully" considered.

Read more here.

Kevin Stewart asks the first minister for an update on passenger behaviour since the inception of a pilot programme which scrapped peak-time rail fares.

The first minister says the pilot continues until the end of June and it would be inappropriate to comment on the permanent abolition of peak fares at this stage.

He says data from the pilot will be analysed to see how much it has helped people during the cost of living crisis.

Alex Cole-Hamilton questions the first minister on a recent report from the government’s independent advisers, who warned that the 2030 target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions is now out of reach.

The Scottish Lib Dem leader asks where the Scottish Greens are in all of this, saying bringing them into government has done "precious little" to tackle the climate emergency.

Yousaf says the report raises a serious point but that the climate change committee had made clear it would be “extremely difficult if not impossible” to hit the target. The FM says that parties had nevertheless agreed it to embed the target in legislation.

He mentions a number of policies the government has brought forward such as free bus travel and the installation of free electric vehicle charge points. However, he says opposition from the Tories has made reaching the target more difficult.

Sarwar says the first minister "simply does not get it" and in every area of the SNP government, children are being failed with catastrophic consequences.

He goes on to say that 40% of school pupils need ASN support in school while 400 ASN teaching role cuts have been made in the last decade.

The first minister says the government prioritised in investing in public services, giving an increase to the NHS, education services and social security. He says estimates show 100,000 Scottish children will be lifted out of poverty by these actions.

Sarwar refutes that response and says this problem predates the pandemic.

He says it has been going on for 11 years - "and every day there has been an SNP government".

The Scottish Labour leader says the crisis in children's health goes further than the report warns, leaving children distressed and in pain.

He outlines the case of a mother who has been told her child will have to wait three years for treatment for tonsillitis, forcing her to borrow money to be treated privately.

The FM says he is happy to look at the case Sarwar has outlined for the "horrifically long" wait that no-one should endure. He reiterates that progress has been made in paediatric care including, investing in the workforce of nurses and surgeons.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar begins by questioning the first minister on a report by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, external (RCPCH), stating over 10,000 children are awaiting NHS care, with 50% waiting longer than the required 12 weeks. He asks for the first ministers response to Dr Mairi Stark's comments that this is a "clear failure" to protect Scottish children.

Yousaf says the findings of the report are being taken "extremely seriously" and will be examined in detail.

The FM says the "undeniable reason" for the significant increase has been the pandemic.

Yousaf says improvements are being made and the wait times are moving "in the right direction".

Ross wraps up his questions by highlighting the Offensive Behaviour at Football Act, which was repealed in 2018.

He asks whether the Hate Crime Act is "another bad SNP law" that will "descend into chaos".

Yousaf says the hate crime act has been debated robustly and extensively, that amendments had been accepted and what had come out of it was a "good piece of legislation".

He says it was only the Tories who had opposed it, which he says is "hardly a surprise" as the party have "actively created conditions for hatred to thrive".

Douglas Ross turns to the act’s impact on free speech. He says he is reiterating comments by the Scottish Police Federation who say officers can barely deal with existing crimes and that the act is a "recipe for disaster".

He also claims "criminals will be let off while innocent people will be prosecuted", asking the first minister whether the act is setting police up for failure and undermining public trust in policing.

The FM says Ross is undermining the fight against hate in Scotland with disinformation.

On freedom of expression, Yousaf says there is a “triple lock” in the act that safeguards people’s rights.

James Cook
Scotland Editor, BBC News

Image source, Police Scotland

What do a sex shop, a mushroom farm and a "hate monster" have in common?

They're all at the heart of a blazing row about prejudice, offence and freedom of speech in Scotland.

A public information campaign highlighting the introduction on 1 April of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act, external has begun — and is itself controversial.

It includes a Police Scotland video featuring a character called the hate monster, external who gets "bigger and bigger, "till he's weighing ye doon."

"Then, before ye know it," the subtitled video goes on, "ye've committed a hate crime."

The video has been ridiculed on social media as patronising.

Read more from James Cook here.

Mr Yousaf begins by also paying tribute to Mr Wuga, who recently celebrated his 100th birthday. He also congratulates Vaughan Gething, the new first minister for Wales, as the first black leader of a government in the UK.

Turning to the hate crime act, the first minister says there has been a lot of disinformation spread on social media, through “inaccurate media reporting” and through political opponents.

On the subject of police training, he says it is for the chief constable to decide whether it is sufficient, and that he has "absolute confidence" in the force to ensure appropriate training is in place.

Ross says police received a two-hour online training course on the subject of hate crime, and asks if this is enough for a "complex and controversial" piece of legislation.

After paying tribute to the late Henry Wuga, a Jewish refugee who fled to Scotland from Germany via the Kindertransport child safety mission, Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross turns his focus to the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act , externalwhich comes into force in Scotland on 1 April.

First Minister's Questions begins, as usual, with Douglas Ross posing the first question to Humza Yousaf.

Remember, you can watch events unfold by clicking on the Play icon at the top of this page.

Humza Yousaf has raised eyebrows within his own party and beyond by saying he wants voters to make Scotland "Tory free".

The first minister claimed the next general election in Scotland would be a "straight fight" between the SNP and the Conservatives.

Critics say he risks isolating the sizeable proportion of voters who currently back the Tories - while recent polls suggest it's Labour who are neck and neck with the SNP.

Meanwhile, the Scottish government has also come under fire over its new hate crime laws, which are due to come into effect from 1 April.

We can expect both issues to be raised at some point during FMQs.

Image source, PA Media

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of this week's First Minister's Questions, which will begin at about 12:00.

Humza Yousaf will be grilled by opposition party leaders Douglas Ross, Anas Sarwar and Alex-Cole Hamilton, before backbench MSPs get involved.

We will bring you full coverage and analysis here and you can watch events unfold in the Holyrood chamber by clicking on the Play icon at the top of this page.