Chamber and committees

That is a really important point. We must and do recognise the possible longer-term impacts of Covid, including on heart disease and stroke. We continue to work with Public Health Scotland, for example, to understand that wider impact on the population as deeply as we can, but it will be some time yet before we properly and fully understand the impacts of the pandemic.

That underlines the importance of continuing to be very vigilant about any future threats that the pandemic presents for us, because such threats will also have long-term consequences. At the heart of living with Covid, which is the phrase that we hear more and more, must be a very robust and very developed system of surveillance, so that we can identify new risks very quickly and respond quickly to them to minimise the impact that they have on the population.

I hope that our discussions with the UK Government in the period ahead will allow us to have the clarity that enables us to set out our plans for a longer-term testing infrastructure that meets all those needs.

I will take that point away and give it consideration, but the question is likely to be whether there is anything that we can do within the funding that has already been announced.

In addition to that funding, the money for local authorities that we announced yesterday gives local authorities additional flexibility to meet the needs of any businesses, organisations or events that have not been properly catered for by other funding streams. Local authorities will have the ability to look at music festivals in that context.

Beyond that, I will take the point away, give it further consideration and ask the minister to write to the member in due course.

That is possibly the most important point to make as we go into the next phase. Governments cannot impose legal restrictions that are not proportionate, which is why we are lifting the legal restrictions. However, that does not mean that the risk of the virus has gone away. Therefore, we will continue to encourage voluntary compliance.

Christine Grahame is absolutely correct in the point that she makes. We do things such as wearing a face covering, getting vaccinated and testing regularly to protect ourselves, obviously, but also to protect others and, in particular, those around us who—we may not have knowledge of this—may be clinically vulnerable and who, despite being vaccinated, may be at risk of serious illness or death if they get the virus. Therefore, taking such measures is about solidarity and looking out for—and looking after—one another. That will become more important as we go into the next phase, so I encourage everybody to continue to do all the right things for all the right reasons.

I thank Paul O’Kane for that question and take the opportunity to support the organisations and campaigns that he has cited. They are important.

There is continuing stigma in our society and in sport. Perhaps in some sports in particular, that stigma remains strong. All sportspeople should be encouraged to be themselves and to be open about themselves and, when they do, it is incumbent on us all to show them full support and stand shoulder to shoulder with them against any discrimination and stigma.

We will continue to work with a range of organisations to consider what more the Scottish Government can do to support that. I know that many of us, and I include myself, feel passionately that there is still work to do, and the Scottish Government is committed to playing its full part.

Since 2012, we have funded the restoration of 30,000 hectares of degraded peat. We are committed to significantly increasing that activity to help meet net zero targets.

In 2020, we announced a record funding package of £250 million to support the restoration of 250,000 hectares of degraded peatland by 2030. That commitment is helping to grow a new industry. It is supporting a pipeline of multiyear landscape-scale restoration projects, it is boosting the confidence of contractors to invest in the people, skills and machinery that are needed to get the job done, it is attracting private finance into the sector and, by supporting green jobs in communities across rural Scotland, it is helping our just transition to net zero.

Of course we will respond to and indeed listen carefully to the views that are expressed in that communication, but I am really proud of the fact that, since last August, all councils have been offering 1,140 hours of funded early learning and childcare to all eligible children and that the private, third and childminding sectors are playing a vital role in the delivery of that, and are increasing choice and flexibility for parents. I thank everybody across the sector for that.

We are investing more than £1 billion in early learning and childcare in the current financial year. It is important to stress that the funding agreement between the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities enables local authorities to pay sustainable rates to private nurseries that provide free early learning and childcare places, as well as to childminders. That is an important principle, but of course we will play close attention to the points that are made in the letter and respond as quickly as possible.

We know that the pandemic has been exceptionally difficult for the mental health and wellbeing of many children, young people and families. We have allocated almost £40 million of additional funding in 2021-22 to national health service boards to improve CAMHS. That comes from our overall recovery and renewal fund. More than £4 million of that allocation is directly focused on offering treatment to those who are already on CAMHS waiting lists, in order to tackle the longest waits. We are working closely with all national health service boards, particularly those with the most significant challenges, to develop and implement detailed local improvement plans to clear backlogs and meet targets.

In 2019-20, the peatland restoration programme funded by the Scottish Government funded work at Langlands Moss to the value of £63,800. I certainly agree that the Friends of Langlands Moss is an excellent example of the type of partnership that is needed to allow communities to make decisions about the management of their local environment and to help address the twin climate and biodiversity crises.

First, let us talk in terms of reality rather than the mischaracterisation and misrepresentation that we have just heard. The timetable—[Interruption.] I know that Douglas Ross will not want to hear this, but I will persevere in answering the question. The timetable, which was initially supposed to add 100 extra services compared with December 2021, is now adding nearly 150 services, following the consultations. From May 2022, ScotRail will operate around 2,150 daily services, providing almost 600,000 seats.

However, the key point is that I am not sure whether Douglas Ross or anybody else in the chamber is suggesting that there should not be changes to ScotRail timetables to reflect changes in passenger usage. We saw a significant and substantial change in that during the pandemic, and that change will continue to some extent after the pandemic. Usage of services might also revert to being more like it was before the pandemic, and the timetable will need to adapt to that. That is the sensible and responsible approach to take.

We will continue to take steps to keep rail fares affordable. That will be one of the key benefits of public ownership in the years to come. I will end this answer with a reminder that rail fares on average are significantly lower already in Scotland than they are where the Conservatives are in power in England.

I agree very strongly with the sentiments and the substance of that question. I condemn all hate crimes and all forms of hate crime, prejudice and discrimination. We should never be complacent, and it is an important lesson for Scotland and many other countries, right now, at this moment in history, that we should never assume that progress is not reversible. We have to fight for progress each and every single day.

The Scottish Government and, I am sure, everyone in the chamber stands shoulder to shoulder with the LGBTI community in condemning any and all hate crime.

Later this year, the Scottish Government will work with partners to publish a new hate crime strategy to guide how we tackle hatred and prejudice, including when it is directed at LGBTI communities. We will also work with the Parliament’s Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee to introduce legislation that is as comprehensive as possible within our devolved powers to ban conversion practices by the end of next year. They are harmful, discriminatory practices that have no place whatsoever in our society.