Thank you very much, minister. I will turn to questions. We have about eight minutes each, this morning, so we will have to keep that in mind.

I come to where we are at the moment. We are aware that there are rising numbers: maybe one in 20 people in Scotland currently has Covid. Are there concerns about the latest spike and that it has happened early in the summer, which I do not think anyone was expecting? How is pressure on the NHS currently? I do not know whether that is for Professor Leitch or the minister.

Thank you. My husband and my six-year-old currently have Covid. I have to say that I tested my six-year-old at the weekend only because my husband was so bad. She was feeling totally fine, but she tested positive so I had to keep her off school. I was a bit confused about whether she should go to school or not go to school. After the restrictions of the past two years, we are now in territory where, with rising numbers, there has to be guidance that is quite clear, as it evolves.

That is brilliant. Thank you. This inquiry is primarily about misinformation and disinformation. I will distinguish between the two: misinformation is consumed and spread inadvertently and disinformation is in some way deliberate. I know that some countries are recognising that tackling what happens in online media and in fake news has become a new warfare. For example, back in 2019 Finland appointed a Government ambassador, with the specific role of protecting against attacks on social cohesion and public trust. Does the Scottish Government think that an independent fact-checking service, as has been suggested by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, should be established in Scotland?

Thank you very much. I am conscious of the time; we have gone slightly over. That concludes our consideration of the agenda item and our time with the minister. I thank the minister and her supporting officials for their attendance this morning. I briefly suspend the meeting to allow the witnesses to leave.

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with South Ayrshire Council regarding the current situation at Ayr cemetery. (S6O-01310)

Families in my constituency are completely devastated about what has happened to their loved ones, and resolution of the situation must be a priority for the council. I know that the council has ordered an investigation into how this happened. For their peace of mind, families need guarantees that coffins will now be airtight and watertight, as was first promised. Does the minister agree that the result of any investigation into how this has happened should be made public and that lessons should be learned so that this tragic situation can never happen again to any grieving family?

New detailed analysis shows that independent European countries comparable to Scotland are wealthier and fairer than the UK. Poverty rates are lower in those comparator countries and there are fewer children living in poverty. What would be the opportunities if we had those additional powers at our disposal?

As MSPs, we are all acutely aware that Scotland faces a workforce crisis throughout every industry and sector. With an ageing population, it is impossible for us to magic up people to fill those roles. Does the First Minister agree that it is only as an independent Scotland with normal powers over things such as immigration, employment law, energy and borrowing, to name a few, that we can start to recover from the Covid crisis and to address the cost of living crisis?

That is really interesting. I will open up the discussion and ask the other witnesses for their views on how the needs of high-risk individuals can be better communicated to the general public as we go on to the next stage of Covid.

Good morning and welcome to the 17th meeting of the COVID-19 Recovery Committee in 2022. This morning, we continue our inquiry into the communication of Covid-19 public health information. Unfortunately, Danny Boyle from BEMIS has had to offer his apologies. Murdo Fraser is running slightly late, but should be with us within 10 minutes.

I welcome Adam Stachura, head of policy and communications at Age Scotland; Gillian McElroy, policy and information officer at Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland; Dr Sally Witcher OBE, chair of the Scottish Commission on Social Security; and Professor Jill Pell, director of the institute of health and wellbeing at the University of Glasgow. Thank you for giving us your time this morning and for all your written submissions.

Our inquiry has three aims, and this evidence session is focused on the second aim, which is to consider whether public health information about Covid-19 is accessible to and meets the needs of specific audiences, including people in the shielding category and communities where there has been below average take-up of vaccination.

This evidence session will be the final stakeholder evidence session before we hear from the Minister for Public Health, Women’s Health and Sport on 30 June. We estimate that today’s session will run until 11 o’clock, and each member will have approximately 14 minutes to speak to the panel and ask questions. If you would like to respond to any issue being discussed, press R in the chat box, and we will try to bring you in. I am keen to ensure that everybody gets an opportunity to speak, but if time runs on too much, I may have to interrupt members and witnesses in the interests of brevity, so I apologise for that in advance.

Just to clarify, Dr Sally Witcher is attending in a personal capacity.

I invite witnesses to briefly introduce themselves.