Chamber and committees

Thank you for that, Presiding Officer.

Before I update the Parliament on Covid protections in schools, I take the opportunity to pay tribute to Her Majesty the Queen, following the 70th anniversary of her accession. Becoming the first monarch to celebrate a platinum jubilee represents a unique and remarkable record of service. [Applause.]

In recent weeks—and as recently as Tuesday—I have committed to keeping the Parliament and school communities updated on Covid protections in schools, including the use of face coverings in classrooms. I have been clear that we do not want to keep those measures or any others in place for longer than is necessary but that we must continue to be led by scientific and expert advice and must put the safety of our young people first.

On Tuesday, the advisory sub-group on education met to discuss a number of issues, including the use of face coverings. The group reiterated its previous position that the removal of mitigations in schools should be phased. It also advised that the next step of the phased approach could begin after the February half-term break, starting with the removal of the requirement to wear face coverings in the classroom.

The sub-group has advised that that change should apply to both pupils and staff in classrooms and should take effect from 28 February, when all schools will have returned from the half-term break. That change will reduce barriers to communication in the classroom and reduce any wellbeing impacts that arise from the use of face coverings—for example, through their use in support learning and teaching. Of course—and it is a point that I stress—any young person or staff member who wishes to still wear a face covering in the classroom should be fully supported in doing so.

We currently expect that face coverings will still be required outside the classroom, in indoor communal areas of schools, for a period after 28 February. However, that will be kept under regular review.

In arriving at its recommendation, the advisory sub-group pointed to reducing case rates for secondary-age pupils, which is a recent development; falling hospitalisation rates across all age categories; and the fact that, at this stage, the estimated reproduction rate is below 1. In addition, vaccination rates for young people continue to increase.

In recognition of that encouraging situation, the sub-group also advised that the remaining restrictions on school assemblies should be lifted, and that school visits that are linked to transitions—for example, primary 7 children visiting their new secondary school—should be given greater priority.

Those changes were all discussed with the Covid-19 education recovery group this morning. Our guidance will be updated next week, but I wanted to confirm the decision today in order to give children and young people, their families and school staff certainty about the forthcoming changes before the February break. They represent a further step in allowing children and young people to return to a more normal experience in school after many months of sacrifice. I hope that they will be welcomed not just across the chamber but, more importantly, across the country.

First, in response to Douglas Ross’s comments about my statement a few moments ago, I say that the fact that he has been urging that change for weeks is not a demonstration that he has been right; it is a demonstration of his deep irresponsibility. Had we made the change weeks ago, we would have done so at a time of soaring infection rates among school-age children and put school-age children and those who work with them in schools at greater risk. Secondly, had we done it before today, we would have been acting against expert and scientific advice, so it would have been the wrong thing to do. We are doing it now at the right time and in line with advice, and that marks the responsibility of the Government, in contrast to the irresponsibility of the main Opposition.

On the issue of ScotRail, first, I welcome the Minister for Transport’s confirmation yesterday that ScotRail will come into public ownership on 1 April; that upholds a manifesto commitment of this Government, which was overwhelmingly elected just under a year ago. We will continue to do what ScotRail is already doing—making sure that we have a railway that is fit for the future.

Travel patterns and the numbers of passengers have substantially and significantly changed in the course of the pandemic, so the pattern of rail services needs to reflect that, but we also need to keep that under review. Therefore, although we are still in a period of hybrid working, as people begin to go back to the office and passenger numbers increase on our railways, we need to ensure that the timetable and routes that are serviced by ScotRail remain fit for purpose. The Government will take on that responsibility to make sure that we have a railway that is fit for the future and is of the type and quality that the public have a right to expect.

First, of course I or the health secretary will be happy to speak to the teacher who was quoted, or indeed any professional who is working with young people. This is a really serious issue. I am not entirely sure whether the member is seriously asking me, or just quoting somebody else asking me, to rescind free bus travel. I think that that would be the wrong thing to do for the broader wellbeing of our young people. Perhaps that is something that the member could clarify at some stage in the future.

On the action that we are taking, the NHS recovery plan commits to providing extra funding for more than 300 additional staff in CAMHS over the coming years. That has the potential to increase the capacity to see cases by more than 10,000. Long waits are always unacceptable, but it is important to stress that long waits are not the norm. The median wait nationally for a first treatment appointment in CAMHS was seven weeks, and of course almost eight out of 10 children and young people—which is not good enough—are seen within the target that we set.

The final point that I make is that, while the investment that I am speaking about to tackle longer waits is really important, there is a bigger challenge here, which is to redesign and reform CAMHS so that there is more preventative treatment and more early intervention. That is why counsellors in schools are so important, along with the approach to a national wellbeing service and, indeed, policies such as free bus travel, which supports the overall wellbeing of young people.

This is something that we need to address on all those fronts, and this Government is doing exactly that.

First, on railways, this Government has connected or reconnected more of Scotland to the railways in the past number of years. Since 2009, the communities of Alloa, Laurencekirk, Armadale, Blackridge, Caldercruix, Conon Bridge, Shawfair, Eskbank, Newtongrange, Gorebridge, Stow, Galashiels, Tweedbank and Kintore have all been reconnected to the railways through the reversal of Beeching cuts. In the next three years, Reston, East Linton, Dalcross, Cameron Bridge and Leven will all follow in being reconnected to the railways. This Government has a record to be proud of and we will build on that record.

Going back to the workplace charging issue, I think that, from listening to Douglas Ross, it is quite clear what his approach is. He will empower local authorities—if he ever gets the chance, which I humbly suggest is unlikely—only if they then do exactly what he instructs them to do. That is not empowerment. We have given powers to local authorities. It is up to them to judge whether and to what extent to use them, in line with their local circumstances. That is empowerment.

We will get on with improving public transport and meeting our net zero targets. That is why people continue to put their trust in this Government.

It actually beggars belief that a Tory MSP is getting up to talk about taking climate change seriously. [Interruption.] Clearly, they were not listening to the questioning by their leader at an earlier stage. The Conservatives’ approach is, of course, to say that we should take climate change seriously but then opportunistically oppose every measure that we take to tackle climate change when it suits them to do so. We saw that very clearly earlier.

This Government’s record on peatland restoration is a good one. I have already spoken about the restoration of 30,000 hectares and the record funding package and all that it is enabling. We will continue to get on with taking the actions to tackle climate change. Perhaps it is the Conservatives who need to learn to take it a bit more seriously.

The finance secretary will set out additional plans this afternoon. We will, of course, consider carefully any proposals that come from Labour or anybody else. Like most Labour proposals, that plan lacks any indication of how it should be paid for—the Scottish Government has to fund the things that we do.

We have already taken significant action. For example, we have provided pandemic support payments to more than half a million households; delivered the Scottish child payment and bridging payments for older children; continued to increase funding for discretionary housing payments—that is, of course, how we mitigate the Tory bedroom tax, which would not even be there if more powers were in the hands of the Parliament; delivered our £41 million winter support fund to help people to heat their homes and meet the rising cost of food; and continued investment in the Scottish welfare fund. We also support debt and welfare advice services.

We are taking a range of actions on the back of the chancellor’s announcement last week. We assumed that additional money would come to the Scottish Government, but it now looks as though a net increase will not take place. Notwithstanding that, we have committed—and stand by the commitment—to deliver an additional £290 million-worth of support, which would be the equivalent of the consequentials had they been passed on to us.

The finance secretary will set out the details of that commitment this afternoon, balancing helping as many people as possible with getting the support to people as quickly as possible. We will continue to do everything that is within our power and our financial resources to help people.

The Scottish Government has a strong commitment to advancing LGBTI equality, inclusion and rights. We work closely with national LGBTI organisations to protect, promote and improve equality. We also show support for key events, such as LGBT Youth Scotland’s annual fundraising day, purple Friday.

We recognise that many people feel that they are underrepresented or misrepresented in history, so LGBT history month gives us an opportunity to reinforce the sense of belonging, value and respect that everyone has a right to feel. It is also a time to reflect on what more we need to do as a society to ensure that Scotland is truly equal and inclusive, and a place where everyone feels safe and valued for who they are.

First, this is an incredibly difficult situation for residents of Trinity tower and those who have been evacuated from their homes in surrounding buildings and remain out of their homes. I know that Kaukab Stewart, the constituency MSP, and Alison Thewliss, the constituency MP, have been and will continue to be involved in supporting their constituents.

We will continue to liaise with Glasgow City Council and offer any reasonable support that we can to rectify the situation and get people back into their houses as soon as possible.

I want centres to get back to normal, as I want the economy and society generally to get back to normal. There is no reason—subject to all the on-going precautions—why local authorities cannot open centres such as the member describes, and I encourage them to look carefully at doing so. There have been previous phases during which 2m physical distancing made that practically difficult, but physical distancing has now been reduced and some of the wider precautions are no longer in place.

I encourage local authorities to get those services back to normal as quickly as possible for the people who rely on them.

Yes, I agree with that, and I have made comments to that effect today. I think that many employers are and will be engaging closely with workers, workers organisations and trade unions, in particular, and I encourage all employers to do that. There are particular issues that need to be taken into consideration for employees in higher-risk groups, and it is important that plans for hybrid working properly reflect that.

As I said, guidance is available on the Scottish Government website to assist employers and workers in reaching the right decisions, to allow people to get back to work—as I think that most people want to do, to a greater or lesser extent—and to do so safely, with their needs properly catered for.