 That concludes the First Minister's statement on Covid-19 update, and we will move to the next item of business, which is a debate on motion 2926, in the name of Nicola Sturgeon, on appointment of Scottish junior minister. I shall invite the First Minister to move the motion, and I then intend to invite each party to make a short contribution, and I would invite members who wish to speak in the debate to press their request to speak buttons, or enter R in the chat function. I call on the First Minister to speak to and move the motion. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I rise to move the motion in my name that Neil Gray be appointed as a Scottish junior minister. Let me first of all, though, pay tribute to the minister departing the Scottish Government. During his four years as a member of my Government, Graham Day has performed excellently in very demanding roles. In a period of minority government, he built trust and constructive relationships with parties across the chamber. He worked with Parliament to adapt to the early demands of the pandemic and ensure that members could continue to scrutinise and hold government to account. His skills also helped to ensure that, as a minority government, we were able to deliver on key legislation for the country. Graham also served as veterans minister, and I know how much that meant to him, and I am sure that he will continue to be a strong advocate for our veterans from the backbenches in Parliament. As transport minister, Graham's significant achievements will leave a lasting legacy. Not only has he set out strong plans to reduce car use to help meet climate targets, he has also delivered concessionary bus travel for under-22s and laid the groundwork for Scotland's publicly-owned railway company. Graham leaves Government with many achievements to be proud of. He also leaves with my very best wishes, and I am sure that I have the best wishes of everyone across the chamber. I have asked Jenny Gowruth to take on the role of transport minister. As minister for culture, Europe and international development, Jenny has worked hard and well to preserve close links with her friends in Europe during the Brexit transition period. She has also worked to maintain our international development programmes and to support the culture sector during the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic. In her new role, Jenny will play a critical part in our national efforts to become net zero by 2045. Of course, as the MSP for Mid-Fife and Glenrothes, which sits in between the Forth and the Tay bridges, Jenny understands very well the vital importance of our national transport infrastructure. Indeed, she played a key part in securing the leave-and-mouth rail link for her constituents, a service that she is very much looking forward to using herself. Those changes have left a vacancy in the ministerial team. I am therefore delighted to nominate Neil Gray to replace Jenny Gowruth as minister for culture, Europe and international development. Neil served as an MP at Westminster for a number of years before being elected as a member of the Scottish Parliament in last May's Scottish election. In both roles, he has been a long-standing supporter of Scotland's relationship with Malawi. More recently, as deputy convener of the SNP's social justice and fairness commission and then as convener of the Scottish Parliament's social justice and social security committee, Neil has proven his ability to navigate complex and often very sensitive issues, ensuring that competing points of view are listened to carefully and helping to bring people together to build a consensus. Those are all skills that will serve Neil very well in government. In my estimation, Neil is highly able, and I have no doubt that he will be a strong asset to my Government. Neil, I know that I cannot wait to get formally started as a minister, and as he does so, I know that the whole chamber will wish him the very best of luck. With those comments, it gives me great pleasure to move the motion in my name. I now call on Jackson Carlaw. I begin by thanking Graham Day, on behalf of the Scottish Conservatives, for his service in government. He brings a rather rare quality, I thought, to government, and that is a general bonnet on me and a sense of humour. He never unknowingly did not promote assiduously the cause of his party, but he was a widely performer, demonstrated in a very recent debate that I was engaged in with him on the East Kilbride railway line, where he was very quick to suggest that I write to him about a potential extension to that line through my constituency. I realised that he knew that he would be away before the letter arrived. Jenny Gilruth, I congratulate on her subsequent appointments. I do not think that anyone could pay more effusive tribute to Jenny Gilruth than her partner, Kezia Dugdale, on Twitter, so I would simply direct the chamber to her comments and happily endorse them and wish her well with her new responsibilities. I met Neil Gray for the first time in the House of Commons when I was attending a mesh event with Alex Neil, his predecessor. In fact, I had a very convivial supper with him and his colleagues, Mary Black and Chris Law, which I think caused some consternation on the Conservative whips at the time. Alex Neil was quick to tell me that he was a talent that was one to watch. As I recall, Mr Gray agreed and told me that he expected to be fast-tracked to ministerial office fairly quickly. Clearly, a man who is as good as his word. He is, I think, bright and able from the conversations that I had with him, but I only caution him not just always to rush in. 48 hours before the First Minister made a speech at the start of the year on how Scotland would have to learn to live with the virus, Mr Gray tweeted, learning to live with the virus is still code for being willing to let many of your fellow citizens suffer hospitalisation or death. That is quite a challenge to the First Minister's integrity and common sense, but I am sure that it will be overlooked and my only advice to him in future would be possibly to be slightly less brave. However, I do wish him well in his new responsibilities and can assure him that that letter that was going to Mr D will now be coming to him. Whether it will get a more favourable response, I have no idea, but we happily support the nominations made by the First Minister. I now call on Neil Bibby. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Firstly, can I pass on the best wishes of the Scottish Labour Party to Graham Day, who has resigned as Minister for Transport and recognises service in that role? As Minister for Parliamentary Business, we hope that he has a speedy recovery. I would like to welcome Neil Gray at his appointment as junior minister for Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development. Mr Gray brings experience in both his time as an MP and an MSP. I recognise the courage of his convictions to resign his seat at the House of Commons to be elected here, which shows character and principle that will stand him in good stead for his new role. I understand that he also worked for Alex Neil when I think I speak for all opposition members when I say that we really hope that some of Alex's rebellious tendencies have rubbed off on Mr Gray. On that note, he has been appointed as minister for Europe. It would be interesting to know whether he voted in the same way as Mr Neil in the Brexit referendum. We wish him well in his new role. The culture sector, our venues, staff, artists and musicians have been under huge pressure as a result of the pandemic, and they need our support now. Scottish Labour also commits to working with the minister to ensure that the Covid vaccine is rolled out in the developing world, not only is there a moral imperative to do so. We are not safe until everyone is safe. I also congratulate Jenny Gilruth on her appointment as minister for transport and wish her well in her new role. I recognise the leadership in her leadership in the leave-and-move rail campaign. This is an opportunity for a change of approach on transport. A new transport minister, we hope, will bring a new way of thinking in a fresh perspective, which is badly needed. There is a big job ahead for Ms Gilruth and big questions to answer. For example, will the new transport minister stop the ScotRail cuts to services and booking offices? How will the ferries that we ask will be fixed? What will be done to support the creation of locally-run bus services? When will we finally see the delivery on the First Minister's promise for a national smart ticketing card? Scottish Labour looks forward to working with the new transport minister on all of those issues. Presiding Officer, we have raised concerns previously about the number of ministers in government and the associated costs to the taxpayers. Those concerns still stand, but let me be clear that they are not a personal reflection on the ministers being appointed today. Those are serious issues and serious times for the country. Whoever takes on the responsibility of government, we wish them well. We, therefore, wish Neil Gray and Jenny Gilruth the very best and every success in their new roles. I start by echoing the sentiments that express Graham Day. Graham has that rare quality in the chamber of being able to reach out across the aisle to all corners of the chamber. He is always greeting people with a warmth and decency that is all too uncommon in Scottish politics. I salute his difficult decision to step down. I think that self-care and staying well are all too often things that play second fiddle to the way that we do in this place and in the halls of government. I recognise the immense contribution that he has made in his time in government. I thank him for his work and look forward to what is next for him. Jenny Gilruth, who, according to her mum, has far more affection for Willie Rennie than her boss evidently does, given the tenor of the last statement, moved to the transport brief, which can be the graveyard of careers, as we know, but it can also be the springboard to Cabinet Office. I highly expect that it will be the latter for Jenny. We both went to Madras College. That is something that people do not know about, as we are both alumni of that Augustine Andrews institution. Sadly, she is far more successful than I am, so she still keeps being invited back. I wish them well for me next time that you are there, Jenny. I congratulate Neil Gray, who today Liberal Democrats will claim as one of those, given that he was actually born in Orkney. We welcome him to his ministerial office. I have heard about Neil long before I met him, which means that his meteoric rise to office is also unsurprising. I wish him well. That has actually become a difficult brief, not least given the impact of the pandemic on the cultural sector. There is a lot of pain and hurt out there that I hope he will bring south, too, but also in respect of this country's commitments to Malawi, not least since the Conservative Government cut the international aid budget that the plight of that nation and nations like it have become all the more difficult. I wish them all well and congratulate them today. Thank you. The question is that motion 2926, in the name of Nicola Sturgeon, on appointment of junior Scottish minister, be agreed. Are we all agreed? The motion is therefore agreed. There will be a brief pause before we move to the next item of business.