First minister's questions

Alex Salmond told MSPs he has ordered a new independent inquiry into the death of a woman who fell down an Ayrshire mineshaft during first minister's questions on 17 November 2011.

Mr Salmond said that Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Fire and Rescue Services would look at the circumstances surrounding the death of Alison Hume.

The move comes after a fatal accident inquiry highlighted several failings in how the emergency services responded.

Mrs Hume, who was 44, lay for six hours after health and safety rules delayed a rescue at Galston in 2008.

Earliter the first minister insisted his government was taking "real action to help real people" in the face of rising unemployment during first minister's questions.

Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray told the chamber "in the last two years the number of people unemployed is worse, the unemployment rate is worse, the employment rate is worse, the economic activity rate is worse."

Mr Gray went on to say the SNP's economic plan was "nothing but a lot of MacMince".

The latest jobless figures show unemployment in Scotland had reached 215,000, with 100,000 young people among those who are out of work.

Mr Salmond hit back at the Scottish Labour leader saying: "Unemployment is down in Scotland over the last year and employment is up, uniquely in the United Kingdom."

He also said that faced with a "Westminster cutback in capital spending", his administration was re-allocating £750m of revenue spending for capital investment projects."

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson asked about plans for Scotland's rail services claiming Scottish ministers were "talking our railways down".

The first minister said people would see the contrast between rail services in Scotland and Engand in terms of ticket prices and investment.