Good afternoon, colleagues. Before we go to First Minister’s question time, I ask the First Minister to update us on the Covid-19 situation.

1. The approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for widespread use is the news that millions of people across the country have been waiting for. Now, we need to make sure that it gets...

2. I begin by sending our condolences to the family of Maria Fyfe. Maria was a pioneer, who fought for what she believed in to the very end. She was an inspiration to generations of Labour Party...

3. Naturally, I share the optimism that has been expressed about the vaccine approval. I offer my sincere thanks to the researchers, the regulators and the many thousands of vaccine trial...

4. I have to agree about the exams. On any given day, up to 30,000 pupils and 1,500 teachers are absent for Covid-related reasons. Some have had to self-isolate for a fortnight many times, while...

5. To ask the First Minister how many people have been cautioned by Police Scotland for travelling between areas with higher and lower Covid-19 restriction levels since the current legislation...

6. To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government plans to mitigate the impact of any reduction in services due to the Covid-19 pandemic on the lives and mental wellbeing of disabled...

7. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to the IPPR Scotland research suggesting that youth unemployment could reach over 100,000 in the coming months, the...

What support can the Scottish Government give to the BiFab workforce and any parties interested in investing in the yards following this morning’s news that the company has filed for...

I remind members that I am a practising solicitor. On Monday, several bar associations took strike action over the legal aid system and the future of the legal profession. In October, a Scottish...

I declare my membership of GMB Scotland, which represents Centrica’s British Gas workers, who are being threatened with sweeping and unwanted changes to their terms and conditions as well...

I am aware that the Scottish Government is considering what further support can be provided to help spectator sport to get through the winter. Does the First Minister understand that football...

I draw members’ attention to my entry in the register of interests, which relates to tourism. Many businesses in level 2 areas that can open are nevertheless losing revenue due to the...

Scotland’s coach operators are facing a cliff edge, with thousands of jobs on the line. Some 80 per cent of their income derives from tourism. However, despite the tough restrictions on...

As the member serving Maryhill, I send my condolences to Maria Fyfe’s family and the wider Scottish Labour community for their sad loss. I have been contacted by several constituents who...

Last week, the Scottish National Party Government overruled a key recommendation of the Werritty report and announced that it will issue licences to grouse moors before the suggested five-year...

On Friday last week, staff in the Fruin and Katrine dementia wards at the Vale of Leven hospital were told by their managers that the wards would be closing and that patients would be transferred...

As we mark small business Saturday this weekend in a year that has been especially tough for small businesses, what is the Scottish Government doing to encourage and support people to buy and...

My constituent Hazel and her husband are both doctors. Between them, they are working four of the five days of lockdown relaxation over Christmas. She has elderly parents in Northern Ireland and...

Good afternoon. I remind members to observe the social distancing measures that are in place throughout the campus, in particular when they are entering or leaving the chamber.

1. To ask the Scottish Government what changes to taxation it can make to address the reported widening inequality between small retail businesses and large corporations as a result of Covid-19....

2. To ask the Scottish Government what its latest engagement has been with the United Kingdom Government regarding the funding provided to support the economic recovery from Covid-19. (S5O-04818)

3. To ask the Scottish Government how much it has allocated to the strategic framework business fund. (S5O-04819)

4. To ask the Scottish Government what financial support it can give to businesses that face an increase in their non-domestic rates because they have invested in renewable energy and...

5. To ask the Scottish Government what its latest engagement has been with the United Kingdom Government regarding plans to replace EU funding. (S5O-04821)

6. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it is having with local authorities regarding their future funding settlements. (S5O-04822)

7. To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it plans to allocate to projects in Lothian that will help support people and jobs. (S5O-04823)

8. To ask the Scottish Government what additional funding it has made available to its enterprise agencies, which have been supporting economic recovery during the pandemic. (S5O-04824)

The next item of business is a statement by Jeane Freeman, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport, on the delivery of the Covid-19 vaccine. The cabinet secretary will take questions at the...

The Convener (Linda Fabiani): We turn to stage 2 consideration of the Scottish Parliament (Assistance for Political Parties) Bill, which we will consider as a Committee of the Whole Parliament....

The Convener (Linda Fabiani): E veryone should take care to ensure that safety measures—social distancing and so on—are maintained when they leave the chamber, please. No amendments...

I remind members who are leaving the chamber that social distancing measures are in place.

The next item of business is a debate on motion S5M-23014, in the name of Christine Grahame, on the final stage of the Solicitors in the Supreme Courts of Scotland (Amendment) Bill. Before the...

The next item of business is a debate on motion S5M-23564, in the name of Paul Wheelhouse, on stage 1 of the Heat Networks (Scotland) Bill.

The next item of business is consideration of motion S5M-23140, on the financial resolution on the Heat Networks (Scotland) Bill. I call Ben Macpherson to move the motion. Motion moved, That the...

The next item of business is consideration of two Parliamentary Bureau motions. I call Miles Briggs to move motions S5M-23574 and S5M-23589, in the name of Graeme Dey, on behalf of the...

There are four questions to be put as a result of today’s business. The first question is, that motion S5M-23014, in the name of Christine Grahame, on the Solicitors in the Supreme Courts...