Chamber and committees

On wider reform of education including potential reform of the SQA, I note that the Parliament will debate those issues this afternoon, and the education secretary will say more about all of that when that debate happens later.

We will continue to listen to young people, teachers and parents and continue to address concerns as far as we can. This is—I am afraid that this is inescapable—a highly imperfect situation because we are in the midst of a global pandemic that has made exams impossible, so we have to put in place an alternative. As Jim Thewliss, whom I quoted earlier, said, no alternative is going to be perfect, but nobody has suggested a better one than this.

I recognise that we have different education systems, but all the things that Douglas Ross says are fundamentally wrong here are actually, by and large, exactly the same arrangements that are being put in place in England and Wales under Governments of different parties. That reflects the fact that we are all trying to do our best for young people in very difficult circumstances.

We have learned lessons from last year. Teacher judgment has replaced last year’s algorithm approach, which was fundamentally flawed. We have recognised that there must be a much more accessible appeals system, but also that at its heart must be the attainment of pupils.

This approach has not been easy for anybody, and particularly not for young people. Of all the impacts of the pandemic that I wish I could take away, the impact on our young people is very near the top, if not at the top, of the list. We are all doing the best that we can, and we will continue to engage with young people as we seek to do that.

If Miles Briggs wants to send me the detail of the specific issue, I will be more than happy to look at it. The matter is principally for the council, but I am happy to look at what the Scottish Government might be able to do more generally. At the start of the pandemic, through a lot of joint working, we made significant inroads into reducing homelessness and rough sleeping. It is essential to continue that as we come out of the pandemic; that is a key area of work for the Government and we will publish our updated plans as quickly as possible. As I said, I am happy to look at the specific detail and to reply in more depth, if that is necessary.

I reassure anyone who might be in that position that it would not be breaking the law to travel to another area for an essential purpose such as getting a vaccine. Of course, that is not what we want in the bulk of cases.

We are restricted by supply, and that factor is outwith our control, unfortunately. We are trying to strike the right balance. There will never be a perfect balance between very local access and mass vaccination clinics that get people through as quickly as possible. There will be some people for whom travel to a mass vaccination clinic is not desirable or possible, which is why people have the ability to reschedule and rebook appointments.

Introducing and implementing a programme at such a scale and pace means that it will not be absolutely perfect for everyone on every occasion—I wish that I could say otherwise. There are many people—including in the Government, although that is the least of it—across the country who are working hard to avoid difficulties for individuals. The programme is going well and we continue to try to improve it and to iron out any issues that individuals are experiencing.

I am happy to write to Gillian Martin with specific details on the oil and gas sector. Generally, we ask people to comply with the rules that are in place for red, amber and green list countries. We continue to discuss with the UK Government how we can ensure that the controls at the borders are as tight as they need to be. I will not go into detail now, but I have spoken about the frustration that I have had about that in the past. We continue to try to make sure that we have as tight a system as possible.

Gillian Martin is absolutely right to draw attention to the fact that the global pandemic is not over. The World Health Organization is at pains to remind countries, almost on a daily basis, that we are not out of it yet. The UK as a whole is in a relatively strong position because we have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, but we also have the new variant—the Indian variant, or the delta variant as it is now called—which is spreading quite significantly.

There are upsides, as I said, but there are also significant challenges, which means that we must continue to abide by all the rules—particularly those around international travel, which are important. My advice remains that, unless it is essential, people should not travel overseas right now. Not doing that is another important way in which we can reduce the risk that new variants of the virus pose to us.

If any individual finds it difficult for whatever reason to access their appointment, that is stressful. A minority are affected but, to someone who is in such a position, it does not matter if I say that a minority are involved.

The overall programme is working incredibly well. It is not just me who says that; it can be seen from the figures that we report every day. As we go through the programme, we are making changes where we can if that will improve people’s experience. We are trying to make it more flexible. The walk-in vaccination clinics that have been operating in Glasgow are an example of that. We want to see more of that flexible walk-in approach across the country.

Having said that, we also need to ensure that we stick with the systems that we have in place so that we get through the programme as quickly as possible. When we get to the end of the first programme—I suspect that it will not be a one-off vaccination programme—it will be important to reflect and take stock, hear people’s experiences and try to evolve and develop the system if we have not been able to do that as we go along.

Notwithstanding the difficulties that some individuals are having, I pay tribute once again to the people who are working so hard to deliver the vaccination programme in every community across Scotland.

I thank Neil Gray for two very pertinent questions. I set out two or three weeks ago that we intend to have an overall review of physical distancing. We have not concluded that yet, but when we do so, we will publish the outcome. As we go further into the summer, and if we stay on track, as I hope we will, I hope that we will be able to reduce the distancing requirements in many settings, if not immediately in all settings. I know that churches have a particular interest in that, so it is very much something that is under review.

I understand the second point, as I know people in my own life who have that tentative feeling about getting back to normal again. It can make people anxious and stressed. What I would say to people is this: take comfort from the fact that we are continuing to take a cautious approach to it. If you have had your two doses of the vaccine, you have significant protection against the virus. However, it makes sense to continue to be cautious about face coverings, hand hygiene and distancing for the moment, because those are the things that we know help to keep people safe from getting and transmitting the virus.

First, I welcome Paul O’Kane to the chamber. We are certainly considering extending online registration as we go into another round of the vaccination programme and we will perhaps consider online booking, too. Those developments will be kept under review.

On the over-30s, all appointments should have been scheduled. If anybody in that age group has not had a letter, rather than wait for an online registration system, I would encourage them to go through the vaccinations page to check what has happened and, if there has been a missed appointment, to get that scheduled as quickly as possible. Yes, we will consider extending online registration, but that is not the solution right now for anyone in that age group who has not had the appointment that they have been expecting.

I hope that Stuart McMillan will forgive me, because I know that that is under consideration, but I am struggling at the moment to remember whether we have taken a final decision and notified it, or whether we are still in the process of doing that. I will check that after I leave the chamber following my statement, and I will write to him. The cruise sector is important economically and for people who enjoy taking cruises, but we also know from experience at the outset of the pandemic that cruises can be a high-risk environment, which is why continued care and caution about the necessary mitigations will be required. I will get back to Stuart McMillan as soon as possible.

This is the first opportunity that I have had to formally welcome Elena Whitham to Parliament; it is good to see her here.

As I have just reflected in response to Willie Rennie, the Covid pandemic has had an effect on everyone, but in different ways, and that undoubtedly includes the impact of decreased activity on mobility and independence. The rehabilitation framework highlights the importance of access to rehabilitation and self-management for everyone, which includes access to services such as physiotherapy, to supported activities in a community and to supported self-management across the health and care system. Supporting such activities and getting them back to normal as quickly as possible remains a priority for us.

Let me say, first, that whether people in this Parliament and across the country agree or disagree with the decisions that I have taken—and it is perfectly legitimate to question and indeed to disagree with them—I hope that everyone accepts that the Government and I do not take any of these decisions lightly. I absolutely long for the day when I can stand here and say, “No more restrictions are required anywhere in Scotland.” There is no part of me that wants to hold us back from that for a single second longer than is necessary.

However, at this juncture, if we are to maintain progress overall in the right direction, it is important that we are cautious and careful. I have been criticised for erring on the side of caution—again, criticism is perfectly legitimate—at various points over the past 14 months or so. I do not pretend that the decisions that the Government and I have taken have been perfect—far from it. However, every time we have erred on the side of caution, I think that time has told that that was the correct or necessary thing to do. It is important that we do that now.

We are not taking a one-size-fits-all approach to this. If we were taking a pure public health approach—indeed, some public health voices might prefer us to be doing that today—we would simply have held the whole country in the levels that they are at right now. On some of the raw figures, it could be argued that some areas should be at a higher level. We are taking all the different factors into account, not least the progress with vaccination.

I can give an example to illustrate that. Case numbers in Highland look as if they are going in the wrong direction quite fast, but we know that there is an issue particularly in the Fort William area that we know is being managed. We are not applying higher restrictions to Highland overall. We are allowing the public health interventions to do their work, just as we did in Clackmannanshire and East Renfrewshire in the past few weeks. We are taking a targeted approach, but we also have to recognise travel patterns and the interactions between different areas. This is not perfect and it is not ideal, but we are taking the most proportionate and balanced approach that we can.

I will briefly refer to some of the other points. We do not have to go very far to hear public health experts warning against a lack of caution right now but also pointing to the fact that, although vaccination is proving to be effective—all the news on vaccination is good—slightly more than 50 per cent of the adult population has not had both doses. While that is the case, we remain vulnerable to the new faster-spreading variant. That is why we need to be cautious.

Vaccinations are speeding up. For example, today we have reported just under 31,000 second doses; yesterday the figure was 21,500. We are speeding up on vaccination, and we continue to do that and to make the process more flexible, too.

I did not say that the health service was at “imminent” risk of “severe pressure”. What I said—again, it is based on public health advice—is that, if we do not act with caution, it is possible that, from the unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated pool, we will still start to see hospital numbers go up.

The other key point that I made is that although, earlier this year, the NHS coped at 2,000 Covid patients at peak, we do not want to get back to anything like that, because that means that the health service can do virtually nothing else. We are trying to get the health service back to normal.

Presiding Officer, I am sure that I have missed some points, but I will end with this. I do not want to keep a single part of this country in tougher restrictions—or any restrictions—for longer than necessary, but I have a duty to continue to navigate us through this safely and, where necessary, cautiously, so that we can keep to our progress overall.

My very last point in response to Douglas Ross is that level 2 is still tough. I do not pretend otherwise. However, it is not lockdown, and we do nobody any favours by suggesting that it is. We can go into one another’s homes and hospitality can stay open indoors. There are significant steps forward there that are important for businesses and for the mental and physical health of the population.