Chamber and committees

I acknowledge the importance of ensuring that every part of the country is supported to recover, and it is vital that that is the case in Glasgow and the city region. The Government is engaged with the city region partnership. We use a range of interventions and measures to enhance transport infrastructure and ensure that there is adequate connectivity. Ministerial colleagues are actively involved in discussions on these matters with the relevant organisations.

We have made significant skills investment in the college and university sector in Glasgow and the west of Scotland, to make sure that the skills that are required for the future are adequately delivered and to support the recovery of key sectors that have been affected by the pandemic.

If we look at the overall position on economic recovery, we see that the economy is broadly back to where it was before the pandemic. The key challenge is to make sure that the many strengths of the city of Glasgow and its surrounding areas are built on, to ensure that all citizens can appreciate and enjoy the opportunities of economic growth. That is at the heart of the dialogue between the Government and local authorities.

The funding to which Mr Kidd refers is important, and we have to consider the ways in which it can have an effect on economic opportunities in the city of Glasgow. Applications are being assessed by officials, and I can confirm that Glasgow has submitted an application. Decisions will be made in due course and applicants will be notified.

The objective of the partnership is to support internationalisation of the regional economy and ensure that the foundations of the city and regional economy are secure for the long term. That will lie at the heart of decision making about the fund.

The Scottish Government has made available a number of funding streams in the South Ayrshire area. As part of the local government finance settlement, South Ayrshire Council is receiving funding of £247.6 million, which represents a real-terms increase of 8.2 per cent, and cost of living support of nearly £5 million will be made available to South Ayrshire.

In addition, South Ayrshire Council was allocated £533,000 from the flexible element of the winter support fund. We also allocated more than £1.7 million in discretionary housing payment to the council to fully mitigate the damaging effects of the UK Government’s bedroom tax.

Our strategy is focused on those who have been most affected during the pandemic and on creating a fairer future for everyone who has been affected. We will do that by transforming public services to ensure that they are person centred in design and delivery, and by working closely with our partners, including the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, local government and the third and private sectors. That will multiply the impact of our actions and support communities and the most vulnerable to thrive.

The Government has declared tackling child poverty to be a national mission and is working to mobilise all of Scotland to help us to achieve that goal. We will publish the second tackling child poverty delivery plan tomorrow, which will outline the transformational action that we will take, alongside our delivery partners, to tackle child poverty, which lies at the very heart of the Covid recovery strategy.

The Government will, of course, consider carefully the views of Parliament as it completes its stage 1 scrutiny of the bill, but I must stress that removing key provisions from the bill in the way that Ms Baillie suggests would mean that Scotland would not have the public health protection measures in place that are needed to counter future public health threats, and I do not believe that that is in the public interest.

I am not ignoring them—I am addressing them. I understand the perspective of commentators and commissioners, but ministers have duties to protect public health. Members such as Mr Rennie come to the chamber and complain, if ministers do not act quickly enough to protect public health. I see that Mr Rennie is shaking his head, but I have sat here and listened to him complaining about ministers not acting quickly enough to do certain things.

I am happy to engage in discussion and dialogue on the provisions of the bill, but there is one fundamental point: we must have in place a legislative framework that will allow us to act quickly, should appropriate circumstances arise. That is the purpose of the legislation, and the Government will engage constructively with Parliament to try to achieve it.

The statute book in England and Wales contains many such provisions, and they have enabled the UK Government and the Welsh Assembly to act, within their legal framework, swiftly and immediately.

Mr Mason has characterised how the Opposition parties sometimes contribute to the debate. I will not comment on his assessment, but I will say that Opposition parties often come here and ask us to learn lessons. We have learned a lesson from the pandemic, which is that our statutory framework was not adequate to deal with the issues, which is what I am trying to address in the legislation that is before Parliament.

Across Government, we are working closely with our partners in local government and the third sector to deliver outcomes that will bring about a fairer future, particularly for those who have been most affected during the pandemic. By working together, we will align services around the individuals and families who need them.

The “Covid Recovery Strategy” sets out clearly the outcomes that we will improve for communities. We will increase financial security for low-income households, enhance the wellbeing of children and young people and create good green jobs and fair work through a package of targeted actions. Alongside the president of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, I chair the Covid recovery strategy programme board, and we met last week to progress further that ambitious transformation of public services.

I have not had a lengthy opportunity—because of other business—to take in all the details of the spring statement. I have not heard enough in that statement to be confident that businesses have been protected from the challenges that they face. Some measures, such as the reduction in fuel duty, will have an effect, but the implications of Brexit, particularly on the availability of labour, are colossal challenges for the business sector. I hear about that issue every week in my constituency from organisations that cannot recruit enough staff because of the removal of free movement of European Union citizens. What I have heard so far today does not give me confidence that the business community has been given the support that it requires to address the challenges that businesses currently face.

We have lifted the legal requirement for venues to operate a Covid certification scheme, but some venues might opt to use certification to make their customers and staff feel safer.

The Covid status app will remain in place for as long as it is needed to facilitate international travel. A domestic certification scheme will remain in our package of protective measures and might be used if it is required in the future to manage Covid outbreaks, although we hope that that will not be necessary.