Qualified dyslexia assessors have contacted me to tell me of the significant difficulties that many people are having in booking their appointments for assessments during the pandemic, which have in some cases worsened the mental wellbeing of people who are already vulnerable. With a severe backlog in face-to-face assessment bookings, which will not resume until phase 4, what detailed support can the First Minister offer to professional assessors who feel that they cannot do their jobs to the best of their ability?

I thank the member for raising what is a really important issue. I think that everybody appreciates the reasons why face-to-face assessments are not always possible at the moment, but we want to get those services back to normal functioning as soon as possible.

I am very happy to take away the particular issue of dyslexia appointments and to write to the member in more detail, giving as far as I can some detail on the likely timing of the restoration of face-to-face assessments and the steps that we can take in the meantime to support people who do not have those opportunities. I will make sure that that is done as quickly as possible.