Thank you. That concludes general questions. We move to First Minister's questions. At

question number one, I call Douglas Ross.

Thank you very much, President. Public Health Scotland figures show that delayed discharge,

also known as bed blocking, is at a record high. And another set of new figures reveal,

according to the charity Macmillan, their words,

devastating delays in cancer treatment.

Right now, one in seven of our fellow Scots is on an NHS waiting list.

So given all of this, why does our health service not make it

onto the first page of the SMP's priorities?

First Minister.

As I've explained to Parliament before, the issues that Douglas Ross raises with me of

delayed discharges, which I accept are far too high and the

government is in active dialogue with local authorities and health boards to reduce those

numbers.

Cancer waiting times, we are treating more patients with cancer, with increased personnel

in the health service working to deliver on cancer care and within the health

service as a whole we are allocating more resources to ensure that the health service is

able to meet the rising demand which has increased in the aftermath of COVID and with

the health service occupying a much larger proportion of our budget than was

the case before.

But there is, of course, a link between the condition of the health service and the question

of independence, and that is the question of financial control.

...