Chamber and committees

Mr Fraser will appreciate that there is a hypothetical element to his question. Decisions relating to litigation would be taken in the context of that litigation. Wider consideration of such issues that might be relevant to the inquiry that is being conducted by Lady Poole would be a matter for her; it would definitely not be for ministers to take or express a view on that. In a sense, I would separate those questions entirely. If litigation comes, it will have to be addressed, but any implications of such a situation would be for Lady Poole to determine, as part of her independent judgment.

I would rather address the question that Mr Nolan has raised through the route of rearrangement of the appointment on the basis of clinical advice, which I know from other experience is happening. The circumstances that Mr Nolan faces are not particularly different from the circumstances of many other people who have other clinical treatments and where the clinical advice is that they should continue with the treatment that they are getting—for whatever non-Covid issue it is—and get the benefit of the Covid booster vaccination at a different time. That is not an uncommon situation, so I am troubled to hear that, on the basis of that clinical advice, Mr Nolan was not able to readily rearrange his appointment.

That would be the more appropriate and reliable route, rather than having drop-in provision, which might or might not be available. I have previously gone over with the committee some of the challenges of drop-in provision. I would much rather that the circumstances of people such as Mr Nolan were addressed by rearrangement. If Mr Fraser would like to drop me some details about that, I will see what can be done to address the issues.

I ask Professor Leitch whether he would like to add anything.

I am not sure that I can subscribe to the argument that there is evidence of something better being done in England. I can subscribe to the argument that something different is being done with the establishment of long Covid clinics. However, I come back to the answer that I just gave Mr Mason, which is that our health service is founded on the principle that patients should get the treatment that they require and see the people who they need to see to ensure that interventions are appropriate. That founding principle must be honoured, and we must constantly explore whether there is a more effective approach that we could take. That is what the research projects that we have commissioned are all about.

Research work is under way to look at different models and approaches. If there is learning to be gained from examples in other parts of the United Kingdom and across the world, we will be open to that. Our health service is constantly engaged with other health systems to identify the most appropriate interventions to support individuals.

I am grateful to the committee for the opportunity to provide a short update on Covid-19.

We have now reached a stage at which all legal restrictions relating to protective measures have been lifted. Although Covid has not gone away, that is a positive and welcome step in the right direction.

Through guidance, the Scottish Government will continue to recommend that people take a proportionate and risk-based approach to reducing the likelihood of getting or transmitting the virus. For example, our advice remains that it is sensible to continue to wear a face covering in some public indoor spaces and on public transport.

Getting vaccinated and receiving a booster vaccine remain the most important things that any of us can do to protect ourselves and others. The vaccination programme is continuing at pace.

In line with our test and protect transition plan, and informed by advice from public health officials and clinicians, we are adapting our testing programme to support the effective management of the virus as it becomes endemic. For example, although regular lateral flow testing is no longer recommended for the general public, some groups will remain eligible for free lateral flow testing. That includes unpaid carers and people who are visiting a hospital or care home.

The Scottish Government’s revised strategic framework will continue to inform our approach to managing the virus in the longer term. The framework of threat levels and potential responses provides as much clarity as possible for planning purposes while retaining crucial flexibility to ensure that any necessary responses are effective and proportionate. We will continue to monitor the prevalence and risk of new variants to ensure that we can respond to outbreaks and future health threats.

As we welcome the proportionate changes to our pandemic response, the Scottish Government continues to focus its efforts on supporting Scotland’s recovery and creating a fairer future for everyone—especially for those who have been most disproportionately affected during the pandemic. Our Covid recovery strategy sets out an ambitious vision for recovery that is shared by local government. Alongside the president of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, I am overseeing a programme of activity that will increase the financial security of low-income households, enhance the wellbeing of children and young people, and create good, green jobs and fair work.

I am very happy to answer any questions that the committee might have.

This is a disgrace.

What a lot of absolute baloney—by Mr Hoy’s standards, it is a colossal amount of baloney.

Mr Hoy must surely understand the basics of this point: regardless of its domestic application, the Covid status app was necessary to enable people to travel from Scotland to other countries. Surely the Conservatives must understand that point. The costs that have been incurred were necessary to enable us to produce an app that would allow Scottish people to visit other countries. If the Conservatives are saying that they did not want people in Scotland to have an app that allowed them to travel internationally, that is an interesting message. I would be fascinated to know whether any Conservative members have used their app for international travel in the past few weeks and months. It would be fascinating to have an answer to that question.

As for the Government “quietly” making an announcement about the domestic app, the Government published its stance on the domestic app openly and transparently, just as it always does in relation to our policy agenda.

As I delicately explained to Mr Hoy, the app was originally designed to be used for international travel, and we expect that the app will continue to be required for that purpose until at least June 2023. To repeat the point in case the Conservatives did not understand it, the app enables people from Scotland to travel to other countries and to access venues, because countless other countries require individuals to demonstrate their Covid vaccination status in order to gain entry.

As I said in my original answer to Mr Carson, the Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill will help us to build resilience against future public threats, so it needs to be taken seriously and engaged with by Parliament. Without those legislative protections in place, the speed of our response to a pandemic and our ability to respond to its changing dynamics would be limited. I therefore encourage members of Parliament to engage constructively with the Government on the bill to produce a statute book that will simply bring us into line with powers in relation to pandemic management that have existed in England and Wales for more than a decade.

The Scottish Government is acutely aware of the impact that increases in the costs of energy, food, transport and other essentials are having on people across Scotland, and we are taking immediate action to support those who are most impacted by the cost of living crisis.

Our £290 million cost of living support package is supporting 1.85 million Scottish households, we are investing up to £113 million of additional investment through our tackling child poverty delivery plan and we have increased the value of a further eight Scottish social security benefits.

The key levers to address the cost of living crisis are reserved to the United Kingdom Government, but it has repeatedly failed to take the steps necessary to address the crisis. I take this opportunity to urge it either to take the steps that are required to protect people, or to devolve the powers that would allow this Government to take further action.