NICOLA Sturgeon must have felt like a teenager who thought they could get away with revising one topic for a school exam, only to turn up on the day to find it missing from the test paper.

Ignoring the 'tax chaos' warnings that dominated the news agenda, Jackie Baillie lobbed a curveball in the form of fuel poverty.

The number of people who couldn't afford to keep warm had risen by almost 300,000, or "the size of Livingston, Hamilton, Cumbernauld, Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and Ayr all put together", she said.

The Labour stand-in had apparently been studying the tried-and-tested Alex "one hundred, thousand, million pounds" Salmond trick of magically making the same number seem bigger.

Sitting alongside Ms Baillie, Neil Findlay looked on impassively. He will find himself firing the bullets next week if he wins the top job tomorrow, and was perhaps wondering whether he could do a better job.

"It's always someone else's fault" scowled Jackie, as the FM called for a united front against the real granny-chillers at Westminster.

It was an appeal that fell on deaf ears, provoking a fresh icy blast. "Labour stopped being the Labour Party, Labour has become the anti-SNP party," the FM barked, in one of the few lively moments of a forgettable affair.

Ruth Davidson went with plummeting teacher numbers, prompting an admission that they were a concern in response.

The FM must have been cursing her luck. It at least sparked the interest of her notable predecessor, who treated Graeme Dey to a running commentary for the remainder of the proceedings on the SNP back benches.

Then, just when it seemed a lost cause, it was Willie Rennie to the rescue, saying something about Revenue Scotland and contingency plans. Close enough.

"I'm glad Winnie Rennie has raised this issue" said the FM, apparently forgetting that this was not exactly a good news story for her administration.

She then gleefully rattled off facts of mornings meetings with tax chiefs, job offers, IT systems and even when adverts for staff were going up. "I hope Willie Rennie appreciates that update" she said, before remembering his actual question, and answering it in seven seconds.