3. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to empower local authorities to make decisions that will strengthen their communities as they move on following the Covid-19 pandemic. (S5O-04535)

Our communities have responded to Covid-19 in partnership with local authorities, the third and voluntary sectors and others, and we want to build on that as we move forward into recovery and renewal. As part of the joint local governance review with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, we will work with councils, wider public service partners and our communities to develop place-based proposals for alternative governance arrangements that reflect the principle of subsidiarity and our commitment to local democracy.

Restrictions are increasingly being imposed on the basis of local authority areas, but the rate of Covid-19 cases broken down by local authority is not publicly available. Will the Scottish Government commit to publishing that information as soon as possible so that councils can respond to a rise in cases quickly, ministerial decisions can be understood and scrutinised, and funding can be allocated to support local communities that are going back into lockdown?

I will certainly endeavour to see whether any improvements can be made around the information that is available. The Scottish Government has been pretty open about what it has been seeking to do and the balancing act that is involved in reaching decisions to protect people from the continued spread of the virus.

In the Aberdeen example, we made resources available to support some of the restrictions that had to be put in place. If more can be done to support those decisions and increase awareness, I am sure that the Government will continue to look at that.

I note that the First Minister answers questions daily about the decisions that she has to make. She is open about how she makes those decisions, which are based on the advice of public health experts, and she makes judgments in order to protect the public.

If there is more that we can do, I am sure that we will look at that. Again, I point to the example of Aberdeen, with resource going to support the city during that difficult time.