Chamber and committees

I thank Jim Fairlie for his question and for his efforts on behalf of his constituents. I know that he is joined in those efforts by Pete Wishart and the Deputy First Minister. Obviously, we are very concerned about the proposed job losses at OVO Energy. This is an anxious time for the staff who work there, for their families and, given the importance of the company to the local area, for the wider community.

Last Wednesday, the Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise spoke with the CEO of OVO retail, exploring and interrogating the rationale behind the decision. OVO advised that the voluntary redundancy programme had not been open for long and that it was speaking to staff and to the Unite union. The business minister will continue to press OVO on all relevant points and has asked that it remain in contact with Scottish Enterprise to explore ways of mitigating the impact on jobs.

We will do everything that we can to seek a reversal of those decisions, if that is possible, or their mitigation. We will also do everything that we can, through the partnership action for continuing employment initiative, to support those who might be affected by redundancy. However, I appeal to the company—indeed, I say that it is an expectation of the company—that it engages with local representatives and the Scottish Government and makes sure that its decisions are fully transparent to its workers and to the wider community.

We welcome Sheriff Principal Pyle’s report and support the recommendation, which could deliver significant benefits for victims by reducing the traumatising impact of the court environment. I recognise the potential for the proposal to mitigate the impact of the pandemic and court delays, which is to be welcomed for that category of vulnerable victims in particular.

Although the court programme is a matter for the Lord President, I hope to see such courts utilised more widely as an element of the courts recovery programme. We will be happy to consider the possibility of future primary legislation to support the proposal in due course, subject to consultation and further discussions with victim support organisations.

Those are all really important points. On the specific issue of trauma-informed practice, the work of the victims task force is informed by the voices and experiences of victims and survivors. We recognise the impact of trauma on those giving evidence in court and have committed to developing a trauma-informed and trauma-responsive workforce in the justice system.

Our programme for government commits to a new framework specific to justice, to give staff the knowledge and skills to understand and adopt a trauma-informed approach. That work has been taken forward by NHS Education Scotland, with direct input from victims.

Current legislation allows the virtual trial model to be used in any category of case. Although, as I said a moment ago, the court programme is a matter for the Lord President, the model has the potential to benefit a range of victims and witnesses in the justice system.

Yes. In principle, I acknowledge that reality and agree that the model could offer at least a partial solution. That is another reason why it is important to treat the matter very seriously.

In relation to children in the criminal justice system, we are developing the barnahus model, which is really important in trauma-informed practice.

I agree with Maggie Chapman on the more general point. None of us wanted to live through a global pandemic, but, as we come out of it, we should open our minds to doing things differently from how we did them going into it. I think that we would all reflect that some of the things that we have had to do by necessity because of the pandemic are perhaps better ways of doing things. That is one area in which that may absolutely be the case.

I refer Jackie Baillie to the public contracts Scotland website, where the details that she has asked for are published.

It is entirely appropriate for the Government to procure specialist services to support the development of our national care service proposals. We must ensure robust review of the evidence and future principles for outcome-focused person-centred design to ensure success. All contracts awarded by the Scottish Government are subject to robust contract management and adhere to the principles of transparency. Any outputs procured in relation to the national care service will be published to ensure that they are publicly available.

That is a really important point, and one that it is vital that we do not just pass over. The majority of us are really keen to get back to as much normality as we can, as quickly as possible. We are desperate to do all of the things that we enjoyed doing before Covid. However, there are some people in our society, particularly those at highest clinical risk, and also many older people, who feel very nervous about getting back to normal and who still worry about the risk that Covid presents. In the spirit of solidarity that has served us well, we have to try to strike the right balance, so that everybody can feel confident about the path that lies ahead.

The distance aware scheme is a really important initiative in that context. It is voluntary, but it allows us to support anyone who might be a bit more worried about mixing with others or who perhaps just wants a bit more time to adjust to the transition. The badges and lanyards that can be acquired will help people in those circumstances, if all of us respect the wishes of those wearing them. That is one way of helping to ensure that we make the transition back to normality in a way that is as inclusive as possible and recognises the impact on mental health, wellbeing and anxiety levels among many people who are particularly vulnerable to the virus.

I recognise that concern and, to some extent, I share it. As I said earlier, our preference would have been not to remove the testing requirement until we had a new surveillance system in place. On the other hand, we recognise the benefits and, to some extent, the practical necessity of having common travel requirements in place in all four nations of the UK. These are difficult balances that we try to strike as well as we can.

PCR tests are important because they enable genomic sequencing, which is very important in the detection of new variants. Work will be taken forward—as quickly as possible, I hope—to get a proportionate and targeted new surveillance system in place, and we will keep the Parliament up to date as that work proceeds.

Fiona Hyslop is right to say that the possibility of future variants remains the biggest risk that we face. As an aside, I should say that the UK Health Security Agency confirmed at the end of last week that it has designated a sub-lineage of omicron as a variant under investigation. We think that there might be a small number of cases in Scotland and we are monitoring that carefully. I say that simply to illustrate the wider point that the global nature of this is important. None of us will be completely free of the pandemic until everyone is free, which means that the importance of extending vaccination globally cannot be overstated.

In December, I wrote to the Prime Minister to urge the UK Government to end its opposition at the World Trade Organization and join more than 100 other countries who support a temporary waiver of trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights. That is important and I repeat that call.

Although Scotland is not part of the COVAX scheme, we provided international development funding to support vaccine preparedness and delivery in our partner countries. We have a responsibility and will exercise it, but we will also continue to call on other Governments to take responsible action to extend vaccination across the globe as quickly as possible.

As I said in my statement, we have agreed with the other UK nations to relax international travel requirements from 11 February, which means that fully vaccinated travellers will no longer need to take a test on arrival here. That will benefit Scottish residents who want to travel abroad, whether that is to visit loved ones whom they have not seen in some time or to have a summer holiday that they have not had the opportunity to have for a couple of years.

It is possible for people to look forward to this summer with much more confidence about booking summer holidays, but we are still in a global pandemic, and the situation in other countries is changeable, just as the situation here is still prone to change. People must recognise when they book a holiday that, although the rules might say one thing, the rules might be different in the country that they wish to travel to by the time they go. It is common sense to bear that in mind, but there is much more optimism about the prospect for summer holiday travel this year than there was in the past two years. I am sure that many people are looking forward to getting overseas and possibly even getting some sun.

First, there is very strong published international evidence that face coverings are one of the most effective non-pharmaceutical interventions to have been used throughout the Covid pandemic in helping to reduce transmission.

Secondly, on children and young people being under more restrictive measures in relation to face coverings, let us not forget that, because of the phasing that is in the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s advice—I am not criticising the JCVI—children are not as vaccinated as adults are, so there is a need to ensure that we seek to protect them in other ways.

I respect the individual whom Stephen Kerr cited and I understand that people have strong views about face coverings. However, even if I was to say today that children and young people no longer need to wear face coverings, I know from the young people to whom I speak that many would continue to do so, because it makes them feel safer.

This is about trying as hard as we can, while we are still in this pandemic situation. I point Stephen Kerr to one of the statistics that I cited in my statement. In the past week, while cases in every other age group in our country have declined, cases in the under-15 age group have increased by 41 per cent. We need to continue to take sensible measures to protect children and young people while—I hope—we get vaccination rates in that age group higher and are able to vaccinate some younger children.

As far as I can recall, the Tories have never supported face coverings in schools. On that issue, as on so many other things, they are way out of touch with the majority opinion in Scotland.