FMQs has drawn to a close. Here are the key lines that emerged during this week's political jousting:

• Russell Findlay asked if the early release of the teenage killer of bus driver Keith Rollinson could be seen to be justice
• The FM agreed the killing was "unforgiveable"
• The Scottish Tory leader pressed Swinney on whether the killer would get a free bus travel pass on his release
• Swinney said the issue of removing a free bus pass after anti-social behaviour would be looked at by a Holyrood committee next week
• Anas Sarwar said children died because the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow was opened when it was not safe
• The FM hits back saying Sarwar's revelations "smack of desperation".
• The Scottish Labour leader said an official tried to bribe grieving families with cash and a holiday,
• Swinney says the government respects the independence of the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, and will not interfere with it
• Consent and respect should be at the heart of teaching guidelines aimed at schoolboys, argued Scottish Greens co-leader Ross Greer

That's all from the live page team covering this week's FMQs. Today's editor was Paul McLaren. The writers were Rachel Grant and Craig Hutchison. Thanks for joining us.

The Liberal Democrat MSP Jamie Greene asks if there will be changes to the draft budget relating to business rates, hospices and the care sector.

Swinney says an extra £2.9m will be allocated to hospices and councils will get £20m for social care.

Measures to reduce rates for licenced premises and music venues will be announced later today, he adds. Their relief will will increase to 40%, subject to a £110,000 cap.

Rachael Hamilton ask the first minister whether the Scottish government will provide an update on the Service Delivery Review of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

The Tory MSP points out the "review has been shamefully delayed until after the elections in May".

She highlights the cut in firefighter numbers and asks if the FM will shoulder the blame if something "catastrophic" happens.

Swinney hits back saying he believes that an effective fire and rescue service is in place in Scotland.

Michelle Thomson says she is concerned about the price Scottish industry has to pay for problems in Westminster.

The SNP MSP for Falkirk East says UK tax on Scottish whisky and energy is "destroying jobs and hammering our economy".

She asks how the first minister is working to protect Scotland's premier industries.

Swinney says there will be little attention to Scottish issues from PM Keir Starmer "now that we know from Anas Sarwar that the Labour government is absolutely useless in the United Kingdom and the prime minister should leave office".

He adds that he is undermined by the government in London that Sarwar "encouraged everyone to support".

Greer asks if the first minister agrees that every boy should learn about consent and respect before they leave school.

The FM replies the Relationship and Sexual Health Partenthood Education Programme aims to inform pupils about consent.

Image source, Scottish Parliament TV

Scottish Greens co-leader Ross Greer turns his attention to the scandal of Peter Mandelson's and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's links with Jeffrey Epstein.

it comes after former Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the Metropolitan Police should interview Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and "urgently" re-examine its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein's victims possibly being trafficked in and out of the UK.

Greer asks what the FM's message is to women and girls who survived and continue to endure violence.

The FM agrees the suffering of Epstein's victims is of the highest level of concern.

All of these concerns were bypassed by the PM when he appointed Lord Mandelson as the UK ambassador to the US, which was "jaw dropping", says Swinney.

Hospitals scandal is an issue that won't go awaypublished at 12:39 GMT 12 February

12:39 GMT 12 February

Phil Sim
Scotland political correspondent

Anas Sarwar has campaigned on the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital for years, and he has been raising the inquiry at FMQs for weeks.

John Swinney’s responses are fairly familiar by now - that the SNP is dedicated to transparency because it set up the inquiry, and that people should wait for Lord Brodie’s report.

Sarwar is determined, though, to pin this issue to the government in some way, even just by sheer repetition. Each week he brings up fresh evidence to try to do this, but each week Swinney bats it away as being nothing new.

You could feel a little frustration building from the first minister in that he openly accused Anas Sarwar of interfering with the inquiry and “playing politics” with it.

But it remains an issue of enormous seriousness - both leaders know that families of those affected will be watching.

So it remained a very focused debate about the hospital and the inquiry itself - and the more political barbs the first minister had scripted about Sawar’s chaotic week had to wait for a later question.

Angus Cochrane
BBC Scotland News

Image source, PA Media

An alleged comment made by Scotland's former chief nursing officer about families affected by a hospital infection scandal being offered a trip to Disneyland was described as "shameful" in parliament last week.

Fiona McQueen is said to have questioned why the local health board did not offer affected families £50,000, reportedly noting it would cover a holiday at the US theme park, instead of denying that safety defects had caused harm.

A public inquiry is looking into the design and construction of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow following deaths linked to infections.

McQueen previously said she did "not recall" making the comment and insisted her priority had been patient safety.

Read more here.

Image source, Scottish Parliament TV

The Scottish Labour leader reminds Swinney that bereaved families are listening.

He tells Swinney that an official is alleged to have tried to bribe families with cash and a holiday "rather than confront the truth".

He asks what Swinney would say to those families.

Swinney says the government respects the independence of the inquiry, and will not interfere with it.

And he adds that when they are aware of issues they will act, in the way they halted the opening of the children's hospital in Edinburgh.

He adds that the QEUH water system management and ventilation has had significant improvements and is "exceeding standard guidance".

The health board has had two independent reports in recent months which were both positive, he adds.

Sarwar accuses Swinney of "denying reality" about political pressure being applied to open hospitals too early.

He points to documents he has produced in previous First Minister's Questions and asks why Swinney is insulting families and "exacerbating their pain".

The first minster says the documents are not secret because they had already been revealed to the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry.

He says Sarwar's revelations "smack of desperation".

Image source, Getty Images

Next up is Anas Sarwar, who also starts by paying tribute to Jeanne Freeman, saying he will "forever be thankful" because as health minister she was willing to listen to families and staff at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow and "willing to act".

The Scottish Labour leader then returns to questions over what the SNP government knew about the QEUH "being opened before it was ready".

He says in independent report in 2015 that stated that the children's hospital on the QUEH campus was not safe, and there was a high risk of infections, was ignored and the hospital opened anyway.

"Children died as a result," Sarwar says, calling for Swinney to apologise.

The first minister says these are issues being considered by the public inquiry.

Emotions, not statistics resonate most when it comes to crimepublished at 12:24 GMT 12 February

12:24 GMT 12 February

Phil Sim
Scotland political correspondent

Russell Findlay brought up a selection of different justice issues, which he says show the SNP is soft on crime.

It’s worth unpacking each of them, because there are complexities to each.

On the question of prison sentences, Swinney insisted that decisions are taken by the independent judiciary.

But Findlay’s point is that the judiciary is informed by sentencing guidelines which the government CAN influence.

Indeed, just last week an independent report on sentencing rules was published - with Justice Secretary Angela Constance saying it will be for whoever wins the election to decide what to do about them.

There is complexity around the issue of bus passes too.

Secondary legislation has been drawn up to take free passes off young people who are guilty of antisocial behavior.

But an accompanying code of conduct has not yet been completed - which meant minister Jim Fairlie opted not to bring forward a vote on that secondary legislation in a committee meeting, because he had sensed members might not back it without the code in hand.

Swinney says that will be completed shortly, and that the committee will have a chance to sign off the new rules.

Beyond all of those technicalities, though, there was a more emotional point from Findlay, who quoted the widow of bus driver Keith Rollinson - whose case he has brought up at FMQs previously.

And ultimately it is the human side of these questions of crime which will resonate far more with people than the technical details or indeed the statistics John Swinney read back in response.

Findlay accuses the SNP of botching legislation that would take away a bus card if a crime was committed.

The Scottish Tory leader points out Sue Rollinson will be rightly "furious" that her husband's killer will get a free bus pass when he is released.

The FM says the steps to remove free bus travel will be put to committee next week.

"The SNP - stronger for criminals," hits back Findlay.

Swinney says he has every sympathy for Mrs Rollinson.

Image source, Scottish Parliament TV

Findlay says the early release of the killer would be "sickening" and an "affront to Sue Rollinson".

The Scottish Tory leader says judges are told not to jail criminals aged up to 25.

He accuses the SNP of spending many years "weakening the Scottish justice system" and he calls on the FM to scrap "these disgraceful guidelines".

Swinney replies the Independent Sentencing Council takes a view at arms length and the young persons' sentencing guidelines makes it clear that all sentencing options, including imprisonment, remain open the court.

Beofre answering Finday's questions, John Swinney begins by highlighting his sadness at the death of Jeanne Freeman.

The former Scottish Health Secretary, who was a key figure in the response to the Covid pandemic, died at the age of 72.

The first minister then turns to the case of Keith Rollinson, and he says he knows his justice secretary met with his wife Sue and Findlay.

"What happened to Mr Rollinson was absolutely and completely unforgiveable," he says.

With regards to when the killer could be freed, Swinney says the parole board is responsible for the length of sentence.

Image source, POLICE SCOTLAND

Last November, the widow of a bus driver who was killed at work criticised the justice system after being told the teenage attacker was set to be released early.

Keith Rollinson, 58, died of a cardiac arrest in hospital following the incident at the bus station in the St Giles Road area of Elgin in February 2024.

The attacker - a boy aged 15 at the time who could not be named - was originally charged with murder, but admitted the lesser charge of culpable homicide. He was sentenced to four years and four months in custody last year.

Sue Rollinson said she was told under the victim notification scheme that he was due to be freed this year - which she described as a "disgrace".

Read more here.

The Scottish Tory leader outlines the case of bus driver Keith Rollinson, who was killed in 2024.

Findlay points out his killer did not spend a single night in jail and stayed in a charity-run block with a swimming pool. He could be freed within weeks.

"Does John Swinney think that's justice?" asks Findlay.

Russell Findlay gets FMQs up and running by targeting what he has described as Scotland's "soft touch justice system".

John Swinney is in his chair and preparing for Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay to kick off this week's session of First Minister's Questions.

One election battle, but two very different forms of attackpublished at 11:56 GMT 12 February

11:56 GMT 12 February

Phil Sim
Scotland political correspondent

It's been quite a week in Scottish politics - and while Holyrood has played a relatively minor part, the themes we have seen playing out are familiar from these Thursday sessions.

Anas Sarwar's decision to throw a grenade into the election campaign by coming out against Sir Keir Starmer underlines how desperate the Scottish Labour leader felt his party's position was.

Every week, he throws questions at John Swinney about the performance of the Scottish government - and every week the first minister throws back barbs about the performance of the UK government.

With Labour activists hearing the same thing on the doorsteps, Sarwar took the decision that he just wouldn't defend the prime minister any more.

What he termed the "distraction" of Westminster politics won't have gone away entirely, but he will be seeking to return the focus to devolved matters today - presumably continuing his campaign about the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.

John Swinney, meanwhile, has remained relatively distant from Labour's internal rows, leaving direct attacks to the likes of Stephen Flynn while he beavers away at the day job.

This week he has visited a site where the A9 is being dualled, the first of a promised network of walk-in GP centres, and announced a 12-month freeze on rail fares.

Both leaders are setting themselves up for the coming election campaign - in rather different ways this week.