Good afternoon, colleagues. We will start today’s business with First Minister’s question time, but before we turn to questions I invite the First Minister to update the Parliament on...

1. I add my condolences to those of the First Minister, for all those who have died, and I thank all those who are helping in the health and vaccine effort as we tackle Covid across the country....

2. I join the First Minister and Ruth Davidson in sending our condolences to all those who have lost a loved one and in saying thank you to all our heroes on the front line. There has been a lot...

3. What the First Minister has just described should be the spirit of the Scottish Parliament and we all have a responsibility to try and live up to that. In the past year, however, I am afraid...

4. I, too, send my most sincere sympathies to all those who have lost a loved one during the pandemic, and my most grateful thanks to all those who are working on the front line. The link between...

5. To ask the First Minister how many unpaid carers have been vaccinated to date. (S5F-04925)

6. To ask the First Minister for what reason more than 700 schools have not been inspected in over a decade. (S5F-04927)

7. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reports that local authorities with the highest deprivation rates are least likely to approve self-isolation...

Tuition fees in England and Wales have been mired in broken promises. Instead of keeping fees low, the Tories have bumped them up, making it much harder for students from deprived backgrounds and...

Less than two hours ago, Aberdeen was rocked by the announcement that, after more than 30 years in the city, John Lewis in Aberdeen will not reopen. That comes just two weeks after Debenhams shut...

Breast cancer waiting times in Tayside are now 17 weeks from general practitioner referral to first appointment. As the First Minister knows, that is a severe breach of Government-recommended...

Further to Liam Kerr’s question, how will the Scottish Government support town centres to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic?

On leaving the British armed forces, many veterans experience long delays in their general practitioner surgeries getting access to their military health records. That could delay GPs’...

The First Minister has acknowledged the catastrophic failure of the Scottish Government in the handling of harassment complaints, and I welcome her comments. The development of the policy was...

I note that the Scottish census has been deferred until March next year. Will the First Minister say whether that is a consequence of the Covid pandemic?

As we all know, the pandemic has impacted on much of our daily life. I have not heard mention of recruitment for clinical trials restarting. Such trials are crucial to the development of new...

In an interview with the BBC, Sir Keir Starmer has claimed that in the forthcoming Scottish Parliament election Trident is not on the ballot paper, because it is not a matter for Holyrood....

Last week, the First Minister’s statement on Covid-19 restrictions left our island communities in limbo. While the rest of Scotland prepares for such restrictions to be eased from 26 April,...

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. As we are going into recess for the election after today, can you advise on how the Scottish Government can be held to account on regulations? I am sure...

Good afternoon, everyone. I remind members that social distancing measures are in place in the chamber and across the campus. I ask members to take care to observe those measures, including when...

1. To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of the number of school pupils in Glasgow experiencing digital exclusion. (S5O-05138)

2. To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Glasgow City Council regarding the provision of Gaelic-medium education. (S5O-05139)

3. To ask the Scottish Government what resources it has provided for investment in the West College Scotland campus. (S5O-05140)

4. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support lifelong learning and reskilling. (S5O-05141)

5. To ask the Scottish Government what support it will provide to schools in light of its announcement regarding the full-time return of pupils in April. (S5O-05142)

6. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what it is doing to ensure that pupils are able to catch up on any learning lost as a result of school closures. (S5O-05143)

7. To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to assist children from the poorest backgrounds with their education. (S5O-05144)

8. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its road map for higher education students to return to university. (S5O-05145)

1. To ask the Scottish Government what financial commitment it has made to support the delivery of the refreshed heart disease improvement plan. (S5O-05146)

2. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is planning to address the backlog in cervical screening appointments that has arisen because of the Covid-19...

3. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure wider accessibility to organised sport for children and young people once restrictions on this are lifted. (S5O-05148)

4. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to research by the University of Edinburgh suggesting that more than half of severe Covid-19 cases were as a result of transmission in...

5. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the short review into cancer pathway arrangements and reimbursement of travel expenses for patients in Dumfries and...

6. To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to reduce hospital waiting times. (S5O-05151)

7. To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting mental health services in the Renfrewshire South constituency. (S5O-05152)

8. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage women and girls to participate in organised sport. (S5O-05153)

The Deputy Presiding Officer: Questions 6 and 8 have been grouped.

1. To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on increasing levels of community engagement since the enactment of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. (S5O-05154)

2. To ask the Scottish Government what support it will provide for the regeneration of the city centre and beachfront in Aberdeen. (S5O-05155)

3. To ask the Scottish Government when it last met Orkney Islands Council and what was discussed. (S5O-05156)

4. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its housing strategy. (S5O-05157)

5. To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to take forward the recommendations by the tenement maintenance working group in its strategy, “Housing to 2040”. (S5O-05158)

6. To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to increase the number of affordable homes. (S5O-05159)

8. To ask the Scottish Government how many affordable homes it has delivered since 2007. (S5O-05161)

7. To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent supporting communities affected by Covid-19 in the last year. (S5O-05160)

Right—back to normal. The next item of business is a statement by Fergus Ewing. The cabinet secretary will take questions at the end of his statement, so there should be no interventions or...

The next item of business is stage 3 proceedings on the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill. In dealing with the amendments, members should have with them the marshalled...

The next item of business is a stage 3 debate on motion S5M-24270, in the name of Emma Harper, on the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill. Members should note that the...

The next item of business is consideration of motion S5M-24442, in the name of Nicola Sturgeon, on a motion of thanks. All our party leaders will speak in the debate, and then we will take a...

There is one question to be put as a result of our business. The question is, that motion S5M-24442, in the name of Nicola Sturgeon, on a motion of thanks, be agreed to. Motion agreed to, That...

Thank you, colleagues. I thank Richard Lyle for voting for that motion single-handedly.