 That concludes topical questions. The next item of business is a statement by Nicola Sturgeon on Covid-19 update. The First Minister will take questions at the end of her statement, and so there should be no interventions or interruptions, and I call on Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister. Many thanks, Presiding Officer. I will give a further update today on the latest Covid situation. I will provide an assessment of the current course of the pandemic and, in light of that, confirm that there will be no immediate changes this week to the remaining, albeit fairly limited, Covid regulations that remain in force. I will then give a reminder of the new arrangements for international travel, which took effect yesterday. Finally, I will provide an update on the implementation of the Covid certification scheme so far, including the progress made in resolving the initial difficulties that many people experienced in accessing the Covid status app at the end of last week. First, I will report on today's statistics. 2,056 positive cases were reported yesterday, and 10.3 per cent of tests carried out. 998 people are currently in hospital with Covid, which is three fewer than the figure yesterday, and 65 people are receiving intensive care, which is two fewer than yesterday. Sadly, although a further 21 deaths have been reported in the past 24 hours, that takes the total number of deaths registered under this daily definition to 8,687. Of course, my condolences yet again go to everyone who has lost a loved one. More positively, the vaccination programme continues apace and is making good progress. 4,223,719 people have so far received a first dose, and 3,849,656 have now had both doses. Of course, that means that they are fully vaccinated. In total, 92 per cent of the over 18 population is now fully vaccinated with two doses. That includes 96 per cent of the over 40s, 75 per cent of 30 to 39-year-olds and 64 per cent of 18 to 29-year-olds. In addition to that, 72 per cent of 16 and 17-year-olds and 26 per cent so far of 12 to 15-year-olds have had a first dose. Of course, for most people in these age groups, only a single dose is currently recommended. Most 12 to 15-year-olds only became eligible for the vaccine two weeks ago, and appointment letters were sent out to them last week. The fact that more than a quarter in that age group have already received the vaccine is highly encouraging. I would again encourage all 12 to 15-year-olds and their parents and carers to read the online information about vaccination so that they can take an informed decision about getting the jag. I would also remind those in that age group and their parents and carers that there is also the option of asking further questions when attending an appointment, and I would encourage anyone with concerns to do so. I am confident that our experienced vaccinators will be able to answer any questions and address any concerns. As I indicated last week, the programme of booster vaccinations is also under way. Those over 70 and those on the highest risk list are now receiving booster jags. People on the highest risk list who are immunosuppressed or immunocompromised are being invited separately for a third dose. This weekly update coincides with the latest three-week review point for the remaining Covid regulations. As I indicated earlier, I can confirm that, at our meeting earlier today, the Cabinet agreed to continue in force with no immediate change the current regulations. That decision reflects firstly that the number of cases is continuing to fall, so our judgment is that there is no need to introduce any tighter restrictions, but secondly that the level of infection, though falling, remains relatively high. We consider that it is prudent at this stage as we approach winter to keep in place the remaining mitigations, face coverings for example, for a further period. I will give a bit more detail now of the trends that we are seeing in cases and in the associated impacts. In the past seven days, the number of cases has reduced by more than one-fifth, and cases are now more than 60 per cent lower than they were at the peak of the latest wave of infection back in early September. Although there are daily fluctuations, the trend in test positivity is also firmly downwards, from a peak of more than 13 per cent in late August to just over 8 per cent now. Significantly and positively, the falling cases continues to be apparent across all age groups. The most significant decline this week again has been amongst 15 to 24-year-olds. Cases in that age group have fallen by almost 40 per cent in the past seven days and by more than 80 per cent in the last five weeks. It is also worth highlighting that in the zero to 14-year-old age group, which currently accounts for almost 30 per cent of all new cases, there has nevertheless been a reduction of more than a fifth in the past week and of more than a half in the last three weeks. That is important because, although children are much less likely to fall seriously ill from Covid than older people, they can of course fall ill and also they can and do pass on the infection to others who may be more vulnerable to serious illness. The reduction is positive, though we should of course continue to guard against any complacency. The advisory subgroup on education and children's issues is meeting this afternoon and it will be considering the mitigations that are currently in place in schools, including the requirement to wear face coverings in class. It may well be that they recommend keeping the current mitigations in place for longer, given the risks of the winter period. However, should they advise that any easing is possible following the October half term, the Government will consider that carefully and advise schools of any changes as soon as possible. I speculated last week that the recent fall in cases is likely driven by two factors and that remains our view this week. The first factor is an increasing level of immunity as a result of high vaccination rates and, albeit to a lesser extent, infection with the virus itself. That underlines again the critical importance of all of us getting vaccinated if we are eligible and that includes, of course, getting a booster jag when invited. The second factor is our individual and collective behaviour. I am grateful once again to everyone who has taken extra care in recent weeks in an attempt to stop and then reverse the spike in cases. That includes the many businesses and other organisations who are continuing to implement and promote the basic mitigation measures that are still in place, such as face coverings, hand hygiene, good ventilation and, where possible, continued home working. The significant and sustained fall in cases over recent weeks is now. I am very relieved to report feeding through also into a fall in hospital admissions. In the second week of September, an average of 150 people a day were being admitted to hospital with Covid. That has now fallen by more than a third, at this point fewer than 100 people a day are being admitted to hospital with Covid. As a result of the fall in hospital admissions, we are also now seeing a decline in hospital occupancy, which, of course, is the overall number of Covid patients in hospital at any given time. Two weeks ago, there were 1,107 patients in hospital with the virus. Last week, that was 1026, and today it is 998. At that time, the number of people in intensive care has also fallen from 94 to 65. Given that cases are continuing to fall, we hope and expect that the number of people in hospital will decline further and that the rate of decline will pick up pace. We also expect and very much hope that the number of people dying from Covid will reduce as well, given the reduction in cases over recent weeks. All of this is positive, and it is a source of great relief, I am sure, to all of us. That said, the number of people in hospital with Covid now is still higher than it was in late August, and the pressure on our national health service remains intense. NHS staff continue to deal with the combined challenge of caring for significant numbers of Covid patients, preparing for wider winter pressures, and dealing with the backlog of care built up during the pandemic months. Also, as we head further into autumn and then winter, we know that people will be meeting indoors more often, or travelling by public transport, rather than walking, for example, and that that will create the conditions for the virus to circulate. There is a risk that that will lead to a further rise in cases over the winter, and that would, of course, put further pressure on the NHS. For all the improvement that we have seen and collectively helped to achieve, at least until we are well through the winter, we must remember that the overall position remains fragile and potentially still very challenging. That is why we continue to stress the importance of taking basic precautions such as good ventilation, wearing face coverings and keeping a safe distance from others, if possible. In short, it is vital that we all continue to be mindful of the virus and its likely presence around us as we go about our everyday lives. In light of that, we continue to behave in sensible ways that can reduce Covid's ability to spread from person to person. If we all do this, notwithstanding the welcome fact that we are all living lives that are much more normal than was the case this time last year or even earlier this year, but if we all continue to take these sensible precautions, we do stand a much better chance of keeping the number of cases and the associated pressure on the NHS under control even as winter conditions kick in. There are two further issues that I want to briefly cover today. First, international travel. Proportionate travel restrictions will continue to be an important baseline measure to protect against Covid. They help to reduce the risk of people coming into Scotland with the virus but also help us to identify quickly any new variants of the virus. However, just as we have worked hard to get domestic life back to normal as much as possible, so too do we want in an appropriately careful way to bring greater normality back to international travel as well. Yesterday, the arrangements for international travel changed in Scotland and indeed across the UK. Where the green and amber lists have now been merged, that means that there are now only two categories of country, those on the so-called red list, which are of course the highest-risk countries at any given time, and then secondly all other countries. Passengers travelling from countries that are not on the red list and who can show that they have been fully vaccinated or who are under the age of 18 no longer need to provide proof of a negative test result before they travel to Scotland. In addition, 18 countries, which includes Canada, Australia and New Zealand, have now been added to the list of countries whose vaccination programmes are recognised for purposes of travel to the UK. It is important to note, though, that despite the change of position on pre-departure testing, there is still a requirement at this stage for passengers to take a Covid test on the second day after their arrival here. This test must meet very high sensitivity standards, which means that in practice it is likely to be a PCR test. We are working with the UK Government on possible future changes to the position on post-arrival testing, but for now it remains the case that someone arriving in Scotland from outside the UK must take a PCR test or equivalent on day 2 after their arrival here. We will continue to work with the UK Government, the other devolved Governments and the travel sector to ensure that the position on international travel is proportionate, that it is helping to guard against new variants and that, as far as possible, it is consistent across all four nations of the UK. The final point that I want to cover today is the Covid certification scheme. The scheme came into force as planned at 5am on Friday, although, as I said last week, the enforcement provisions will not come into effect until 18 October. I am grateful to all businesses, organisations and individuals who are working to implement the scheme. The app that we can opt to use to show evidence of our vaccination status became available for download last Thursday afternoon. I am, of course, well aware that many people found it extremely difficult to use the app initially. In particular, many found that the app was unable to locate their vaccination record from the information that it had provided. This problem was especially acute over Thursday evening and Friday. I know that that caused extreme frustration for users who wanted to download the app as quickly as possible and also for businesses and events organisers who were planning to test their certification arrangements over the weekend. I apologise for that. The problem was not with the app itself but with the NHS systems that it links to. Essentially, the high level of demand after the launch of the app combined with an error in one part of the NHS system meant that information was not being sent quickly enough from the NHS system to the app. That also, for a period, caused problems for those who were requesting paper copies of vaccination certificates or seeking to download a PDF. However, improvements to remedy the problem were made to the NHS system on Friday evening. Indeed, I can report that the initial backlog of people waiting for their information to be matched had been cleared by Saturday lunchtime. We will, of course, continue to monitor the performance of the app and we will continue to engage with businesses and sectors subject to the requirement for Covid certification. In relation to football fixtures over the weekend just passed, for example, while they had agreed that no fan would be turned away if they were unable to provide evidence of vaccination status, both hearts and rangers tested their certification arrangements and managed to check around 20 per cent of their crowds. Scottish Government officials met yesterday with those clubs, together with Aberdeen, Celtic, Hibs and the managers of Hamden, to consider and learn any lessons from those weekend experiences. We are also continuing to engage with the other sectors that are required to implement certification. Covid certification remains in the Scottish Government's view a proportionate way of encouraging people to get vaccinated and also of helping large events and night-time hospitality to keep operating during what will be a potentially very difficult winter. The scheme is now operational. The provisions are in place, which require businesses to keep data safe and to use it only for certification. People are now able to access and use the proof required. In addition to getting the app, as many people have now been able to do, it is also possible to download a PDF or order a paper copy of a vaccination record from the NHS-informed website. Those will continue to be options for anyone who is not willing or able to use the app. As indicated last week, the first two weeks of the scheme will be a grace period in relation to enforcement, while businesses and users become accustomed to the new rules. However, during this period, we expect businesses to implement and test their approach to certification and to prepare their compliance plans so that they are fully prepared by 18 October. At that point, the regulations will become enforceable by local authority officers. Those officers, as has been the case throughout the pandemic, will use what is called the four-ease approach. They will engage, explain and encourage, and only then, if those options are exhausted, will they enforce. In fact, their engagement work has already started. The Scottish Government will also continue to engage in the days and weeks ahead with businesses who are subject to the certification scheme. I remain grateful to them for everything that they are doing to help to ensure that it works effectively. The final point that I want to make is to address individuals rather than to businesses. There will be many of us who, at some point in the coming months, will want to attend a concert or go to a big football or rugby match or visit a nightclub or other late night venue. I would encourage everyone to get a copy of their vaccination record as soon as they can, either through the app or by getting the PDF or a paper copy from NHS-informed. I know that the early experience of the app was not a good one, but it works now well and the alternative options continue to be available too. In conclusion, overall, the position that we are in now is much, much better than we had feared it might be at this time last month. Cases have more than halfed in the past four weeks, and the number of people in hospital and intensive care is also now starting to decline. The efforts that have been made by so many over the past month in particular to step up compliance with mitigations and to drive up vaccination rates seem to be working. However, as we head into autumn and then winter, we have no room for complacency. Cases are still high, hundreds of people each week are still being admitted to hospital with Covid, and of course the NHS is still under pressure. We must seek to maintain the progress of the past few weeks. Of course, all of us have a part to play in doing that. I will close with the reminder of the three things that we can all do to help to protect each other. First, please get vaccinated if you are eligible and you have not done so yet. That remains the most important thing that anybody can do. Second, please test regularly with lateral flow devices. Those can be ordered through the NHS-informed website or collected from a local test site or pharmacy. If you test positive or are identified as a close contact or have symptoms, please self-isolate and book a PCR test. Third, please comply with the mitigations that are still in place for now. We face coverings in indoor public places, shops, public transport and moving about in hospitality settings, wash hands and surfaces thoroughly and regularly, meet outdoors if you can, although we all know that that is getting increasingly difficult. When you do meet indoors, open windows if you can and try to keep a safe distance from people in other households. All of those precautions do still really matter. We can see that in the data being reported each day right now. They will help to protect you, protect other people and crucially, they will also help to protect our national health service. I would ask everybody to stick with it and let's get cases down even further. Thank you. The First Minister will now take questions on the issues raised in her statement. I intend to allow around 40 minutes for questions after which we will move on to the next item of business. I would be grateful if members who wish to ask a question could press their request to speak buttons now. I call Douglas Ross. I would like to start on a positive. It is really encouraging to see case numbers, hospital admissions and intensive care admissions falling. However, the positive direction of travel that we are seeing in the First Minister has announced in her statement raises even more questions about the justification for the SNP's vaccine passport scheme, a scheme that has been in utter shambles from day one. The app was delayed and only came into force less than 12 hours before the scheme began. It was instantly a disaster. People couldn't find the app. They couldn't get the app to open. There were issues with facial recognition, even when people completed all— The Transport Minister is waving the app from the back of the chamber. Others tried to do this on Thursday and they were embarrassed a few hours later with the chaotic scene that they saw. People are messaging just now to say that they are still putting in all of their details correctly and they cannot get their vaccine passport up on the app. There are continued to be issues days on. There was no public information campaign. Businesses had absolutely no idea what they were supposed to do. Then we had the farcical scenes, as one club after another across Scotland came out to say that they would not refuse fans entry because so many spectators had had problems with the scheme. What an avoidable own goal this was, First Minister. In her statement today, what does the First Minister say? The scheme came into force as planned. It turns out that Nicola Sturgeon planned for this chaos. She planned for hundreds of thousands of people to try to download an app and fail. She planned for Scottish football clubs to ignore it. She planned for businesses to be up in arms. She planned for a scheme that was a shambles on day 1. It seems that the Government did not foresee the high demand over an app, that it wanted everyone who goes to gigs, everyone who goes to football, everyone who goes to night clubs to download. Did it really not foresee the demand? As the First Minister's statement just about acknowledges, it was not just about demand. There was an error with their system. Now that she talks of a new approach, the four E's. First Minister, we do not need four E's to describe the scheme. We only need one. Embarrasment—a complete and utter embarrassment. When the Scottish Government paid £600,000 of taxpayers' money to a Danish app developer, how many people were expected to try to download the app? How many people tried and failed to download the app? To return to the same question that I asked just hours before the scheme went live last week, will the First Minister now accept that the scheme was not ready to be launched and should have been delayed? Is it about time that she listened to businesses and scrapped it all together? Before I address all the points that Douglas Ross has made, I will pick up on one. If Douglas Ross thinks that four E's is a new approach, the only question that begs is where has he been for the past 18 months? That is the approach that the police, environmental health officers have been using day in and day out around all the regulations that have been in place. Perhaps Douglas Ross might want to reflect a little bit on that in future, before he poses his questions. It is the case that we now have an extremely positive trend in cases and all the associated impacts that flow from Covid cases, hospital admissions, occupancy, intensive care and, hopefully, we will start to see a reduction in the number of people dying. That is really positive. When I was standing here a month, even three weeks ago, I would not have been entirely confident that that is the position that we are in. I understand that people will look at that and say, why do we need any mitigations or any restrictions to try to keep cases under control? It is not an illegitimate question, but the answer is very clear. We do not know, no country does, what pressure we are going to be under over this coming winter from Covid. That is not the first winter that we have lived through this pandemic, but it is the first winter in which we will have Covid circulating and no lockdown restrictions in place in terms of our everyday lives. It is prudent, in my view. I wish that it was not necessary, but it is prudent to have in place proportionate steps so that we have the best possible chance of keeping cases under control, so that we do not have a health impact or people losing their lives or more pressure on the national health service, but at the same time keeping our economy fully open and trading. That is why we are asking people to continue to wear face coverings, to do all of these other basic things that are really tedious for everybody but still important. It is also why we consider—we are far from the only country in this position—that Covid certification has a part to play. That is why we think that it is important to have this in place over these winter months. The app did not work as we intended to do last week. There is no point in trying to say anything differently. I have tried to set out here as clearly as possible the technical reasons for that. It is deeply regrettable, but action was taken to resolve the issue. The issue, in essence, was the linkage between the app and the NHS systems. That action has been taken to address and resolve that. When we are in a position to, we will publish data around the app, the downloads, those successfully downloading the QR codes. In terms of the position, this is a figure and we rely on Google and Apple, of course, for some of the download information. As of midnight, on 3 October, almost 380,000 people had downloaded the app, so we will continue to monitor that and we will continue to publish information as we are in a position to do that robustly. We will continue to make sure that we have those proportionate mitigations in place. If we do not—and I reflect again on a point that I made last week—if I cast my mind back to those statements going back probably months now, almost every mitigation that we have put forward to try to keep cases under control has been opposed by Douglas Ross and the Conservatives. We are not in a position of being able to do nothing in the face of this virus over the winter, so what we seek to do is the most proportionate things possible and that is the action that we will continue to take. Anna-Sarwar. I start by sending my condolences to all those who have lost a loved one to Covid. The Government's vaccine passport roll-out is a complete shambles. Not my words, but the words of those left to implement this chaotic scheme. Mike Graves of the Night Time Industries Association's words, nobody knows what is going on, confusion reigns and we are stuck, we are trying to enforce this on the streets. His venue at the weekend was filled to capacity of 410 but only six people attending had the new vaccine app. That was a predictable disaster and it is the consequence of an arrogant Government forcing through its ill-thought-through plans despite concerns from the public, public health experts and businesses. The promised app was rushed out last minute and it crashed just minutes later. There are also severe equality issues here. The app requires a driving licence or a passport. Almost a third of Scolts adults do not have a driving licence. Over 20 per cent do not have a passport and that figure is likely to be higher in the very communities that have higher levels of vaccine hesitancy, not to mention the issues with digital exclusion because you still need to go online to get the PDF. Now we discover that when thousands of people descend on Glasgow for COP26, they will not require a vaccine passport to attend. They will need to provide proof of a negative lateral protest instead. First Minister, you are making this up as you go along, so will you either change or ditch this system? Finally, we all want to increase vaccine uptake. That should be the focus, so we should be making it easier for people to get the vaccine. Does the First Minister agree that we should be opening more drop-in centres, mobile centres and not closing them or reducing their hours? As more and more people are vaccinated, of course health boards will change the configuration of the facilities that they have available. However, we will continue to ensure that the facilities are available across the country to allow access as easy access as possible for vaccination. I have not got the figures in front of me for today, but I think that certainly in the last few days Scotland became the country of all four nations with the highest proportion of the adult population vaccinated. The vaccination programme is a roaring success, but of course every single person that remains unvaccinated when they are eligible to be vaccinated is providing themselves with a vulnerability and adding to the overall vulnerability of the country. We will continue to make sure that we take those steps to get vaccination rates up as high as possible. Indeed, that is one of the reasons for vaccine certification, to provide that added incentive to get those vaccination rates as high as we can do. On the certification scheme, I have already made very clear that I do not consider the experience of the launch of the app last week to be remotely satisfactory. We have taken action to resolve the initial problems. The app is working well. We will continue to monitor it. On the issues of equity, and before I come on to that, the reason why we decided to leave a two-week gap between the legal requirement coming into force as planned at 5am on Friday and enforcement is to give the ability for individuals and businesses to test arrangements and get used to those rules. On the equity issues, we have taken extremely seriously, but the reason why it is possible, if you do not want to use the app, as some people will not want to use an app, or if you are unable to use an app, if you are one of the people in the country who does not have a passport or a driving licence, that is why, as alternatives to the app, you can request a paper copy or download a PDF. It is important that we continue to have those alternatives in place, and they will be in place for anybody who needs them. We, of course, are working with the UK Government, with the United Nations, in terms of the overall mitigations in place around COP26. There are arrangements around testing and other mitigations that those attending COP will be required to comply with. Those are arrangements in which we are co-operating with others. I know that all of us, for all sorts of reasons, want COP26 to be a success. I heard the First Minister tell Douglas Ross that many other countries are adopting vaccine certification, but Scotland, which we learned last week, is the only country in the whole of Europe to do so in isolation without the alternative of the lateral flow test verification. The information commissioner said last week that trust is key to the success of vaccine certification, and that people should be able to, and I quote, enjoy a night out without wondering if their data is at risk. Well, what little confidence existed crumbled on Thursday night. The launch was shambolic. Thousands of attempts to access Covid ID cards hit the buffers. I warned that the Government's IT system would not be up to the job when the First Minister first unveiled this. The Government has had a litany of tech problems during and before the crisis. Once again, it cannot even get the very basics right. Is the First Minister confident that the scheme enjoys public trust? Is it finally clear and practical guidance to support venues that are required to carry out those checks in accordance with the information commissioner's rule? We have guidance in place for the sectors that are required to do Covid certification. As I said last week, as I said again today, the reason why we have left the two-week gap between the introduction of the scheme and the enforcement provisions coming into force is to allow that testing and for that guidance to be properly applied and understood by the businesses that are required to undertake that. In terms of public confidence, I accept the point that Alec Cole-Hamilton has made, which is why the early experience of the app was deeply regrettable, but also why it was important that we quickly rectified that and continued to take steps to ensure that we monitor and rectify any issues that arise. I do not think that the public, after 18 months of this pandemic, particularly want to be in a position of having any restrictions like that in place. Equally, I think, and certainly is my view from the interactions that I have with people, is that there is a pragmatic understanding on the part of the majority of the public that we cannot simply bury our heads in the sand over the virus as we go into winter. If we want to live as normally as possible while keeping the virus under control, there are some compromises that we have to accept. I think that most people, in my experience, accept the Covid certification. I noticed on some of the media coverage on Thursday into Friday that the interviews and the Vox Pops that were being done were very pragmatic about the acceptance of showing vaccination status as an alternative to some of the more restrictive options. None of that is a position that any of us want to be in. I wish, possibly more than most in this chamber, that we could just wash our hands of the virus and stop having to consider any of that, or stop having to deal with some of the headaches and the teething problems around the things that we have to introduce. We are doing this to try to get ourselves through a winter with Covid kept under control and the economy and our lives operating as normally as possible. Is that easy every single day for anybody? No, it's not, but I'm afraid that it is essential while this virus continues to circulate as it is. I call John Mason to be followed by Murdo Fraser. The furlough scheme has helped us through Covid and yet Covid continues and the furlough scheme has stopped. Can the First Minister give her impression as to how that is going to impact on Scottish workers? I've got significant concerns. I know I'm not alone in this chamber in having those concerns about the impact of the withdrawal of furlough while there is still an impact on the economy and businesses and workers more generally of the pandemic and what we're having to do to control it. I think that we will need to see over the weeks and months to come exactly what that impact is. I would expect that there will be an impact in terms of jobs lost. Of course, we also have acute labour shortages across our economy. One of the things that the Scottish Government is anxious to do is make sure that we are through our skills development agency and the other work that we do around employability is trying to match available skills with the job vacancies that are there. However, we are going into a very uncertain period in terms of employment, labour shortages and the overall impact on the economy. It would have been preferable had furlough remained in place for longer, but that is not a decision that was at the hand of the Scottish Government. The First Minister in her statement mentioned the issue of face coverings in schools. I've had constituents who are parents asking me why their children have to continue wearing face masks in schools even when seated at desks. When they saw the First Minister and many of her colleagues at the weekend on social media in the building meeting members of the public, they were not wearing face coverings or exercising any social distancing. Is there one rule for their children and a different rule for the First Minister and her colleagues? No, there is not. I think that people know that. Many of Murdo Fraser's colleagues—I'm very delighted about that—introduced me to their guests here on Saturday. There were moments where photographs were taken in the building where face coverings were not on. That does not mean that the rules apply to one person and not to another. I don't want to be in a position of having to wear face coverings for longer than necessary, and I certainly don't want to be in a position of asking anybody else to do that. However, that comes back to the central point. We can't simply pretend that this virus does not exist. What are the proportionate, least restrictive measures that we can take to keep it under control? Murdo Fraser, I guess, is perhaps making the point for me that I was making to Douglas Ross. We know what the Conservatives do not want us to do in terms of mitigations. What we do not hear from them is how they think that we should keep this virus under control over the winter. In terms of schools, many of us will have school-age relatives and friends. If there was a setting in which I would like, first and foremost, to lift the requirement to wear face coverings in the classroom, because it is far from ideal from young people. However, we have to take advice, we have to listen to that advice. As I said earlier on, the advisory subgroup is meeting this afternoon, and we will await their latest advice and share it with Parliament in due course. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. First Minister, I refer to your statement that the over-70s are now receiving booster jags. Can I ask for clarification if the timing of that booster is dependent on when you receive the second vaccine, and that you might then be offered your booster and flu-jag on the one visit? It is entirely possible—in fact, I know some people who are already in this category who will get their booster vaccine and their flu-jag in the same visit, and where possible that will happen. There is a recommended time gap between the second vaccine and the booster vaccine. The JCVI set that out in the advice of six months, and that will then guide the timing of booster vaccinations, which is why somebody in my age group will wait longer than somebody in my parents' age group for that booster vaccination. Those vaccinations are under way. Health and care staff, those over 70, those at the highest risk group are, of course, being given the booster vaccinations first, and then we will work through the rest of the recommended population in the order that they got their initial vaccination to take account of that recommended time gap. A number of health boards, including NHS Lanarkshire and Dumfries and Galloway, do not currently have any drop-in clinics for Covid vaccinations and have returned to an appointment system. At a time, the Government says that it wants to boost the number of young people being vaccinated. Is the First Minister concerned that this decision, no doubt due to staff shortages, will have an impact on a quick roll-out of the booster and flu vaccine programme this autumn and winter? Again, those are important issues. I would want to stress, though, that decisions that individual health boards are taking about the best way to deliver vaccinations as we get to the very high uptake levels that we are seeing now are not driven by staff shortages, they are driven by considerations of the most effective use of resources. When we are at a point, as we are, in many age groups where there are relatively small numbers of people who are not yet vaccinated, drop-in clinics open all day may not be the most effective way to reach those people. Offering appointments are more effective. In bigger health board areas, that will be a different consideration. That is simply about recognising the progress that has been made, the state of the situation right now, and how health boards are best placed to reach those who are not yet vaccinated. The percentages are small, but, in those percentages, there are still lots of people that we want to reach. Therefore, it is important that we allow health boards to exercise some judgment and discretion given their different geographies of how best to reach those people. Of course, the health secretary stays very close to those discussions with all health boards. To ask the First Minister what data the Scottish Government holds and the levels of public compliance with mandatory wearing of face coverings in indoor public places and on public transport. We carry out regular surveys of public opinion and, in terms of the most recent surveys that I think take us up towards the end of September, more than 80 per cent of respondents agreed that wearing a face covering was either very or fairly important, and more than 90 per cent said that they were wearing face coverings when required to do so very or fairly well. That illustrates the point that, while I am sure that you asked people to say whether they liked wearing face coverings or not, the numbers would be much lower. However, I think that there is a very pragmatic acceptance on the part of the public that certain mitigations are still required if we are to get through this next, hopefully final phase of the pandemic over the winter, and I think that those numbers on face coverings demonstrate that. Rachel Hamilton, to be followed by Fulton MacGregor. The constituent recently wished to travel to Germany to see her family, however she was unable to get a Covid passport and feels discriminated. Can the First Minister give the chamber a progress update on the steps that it has taken to improve transfer of international and cross-border data to enable people like my constituent who received one vaccine in England and one vaccine in Scotland to obtain proof of their vaccination status and access a vaccine passport? I am happy to write to the member and put more details of that in Spice in order to keep my answers brief as possible in terms of the interoperability between England and Scotland. Those issues have been addressed. We continue to add other countries. People from other countries can get proof of vaccination in their own country for use here. Obviously, I do not know the circumstances in which the member's constituent was unable to get a Covid passport, but if you want to pass those details to me, I am happy to have that looked into. However, what I undertake to do is set out for Spice the different categories of people who live here who might have been vaccinated somewhere else or visitors here and what the current arrangements are in terms of accessing the status of vaccination. Fulton MacGregor, to be followed by Ross Greer. Thank you, Presiding Officer. The First Minister might be aware that the United Dance Organisation's European and World Dance qualifiers require to be held in November and December, or Scottish Dancer will not be able to take part. To date, my constituent, Michelle Connelly, the designated organiser of the Scottish qualifiers, has been unable to secure a suitable venue as all councils across central Scotland are telling her that it is out with the current Covid guidance as the event requires an attendance of up to 2,000. I can send the First Minister's office more information if required, but I wonder if the First Minister could investigate this issue and ensure appropriate guidance is issued to local authorities to allow these talented young people the opportunity to join their counterparts from the countries across the globe and to represent Scotland in the world stage. I'm more than happy if Fulton MacGregor wants to send me details of this to look into it further and issue whatever guidance we may deem necessary as a result of that. I would remind the chamber though that there are currently no limits on the size of events that can take place in Scotland as a result of Covid rules. Of course, certain events over a certain number of people, based on whether the events indoors or outdoors, will be subject to Covid certification. Last week, I set out the fact that, because of the introduction of Covid certification, the rules around needing permission for the size of events were being removed, so there is no overall limit on the size of events that can take place. Ross Greer, to be followed by Karen Adam. Next week is the deadline for ventilation improvements in Scottish schools. Could the First Minister provide the chamber with an update on how much of the funding allocated for those improvements has been spent, if a report will be produced on how it was spent and what measures are in place to monitor the effectiveness of the improvements that were made? The announcement of the £25 million fund to support small businesses enhance ventilation has been very warmly welcomed by a number of stakeholders, including the Federation of Small Businesses. Since making that announcement, as I indicated, we have been working with delivery partners to take forward the next steps, recognising the importance of this work as we enter the winter months, when it might be less practical for businesses to keep windows and vents open. We will set out the further details of the grant and funding scheme, and, of course, as we have done against previous funding streams for businesses, we will report against uptake and spend around that particular fund. Karen Adam, to be followed by Rona Mackay. To ask the First Minister what reassurance is the Scottish Government can provide for people with medical exemption from the Covid-19 vaccine, that they will be treated with dignity and respect as we transition to the full vaccine passport programme? There are a very—I stress a very small number of people in Scotland who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons. There may be people who believe that they cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons, but in very few cases will that turn out to be the case. However, medical exemptions allow those who cannot be vaccinated due to a health condition access to settings that would otherwise require vaccination. People who are known to health boards to be in that category are being notified of that, and, of course, over a period it will also be possible for people who think that they are in that category and who have not had that notification to apply for it. It is important that people in that position are treated with kindness and with dignity and with understanding. I stress again that there are very small numbers of people who cannot be vaccinated for health reasons. Recently, I was contacted by a constituent who was a participant in the NovaVax Covid vaccine trials. The vaccine is yet to be approved, but my constituent has been unable to access her vaccination status via the app and has not been issued with a QR code within our vaccination letter. Can the First Minister outline what supports available for trial participants to ensure that they are not disadvantaged during the roll-out of the certification programme? Work is on-going. I covered that in response to a question last week to ensure that the vaccine status of those who volunteer for clinical trials is correctly presented on the vaccine database. A letter confirming someone's involvement in trials has been issued to those who participated in the trials, and any participant who has not yet received a letter should contact their respective research team. That letter can be used for domestic purposes as proof of trial status. Individuals travelling abroad will still need to meet the requirements of their destination country when travelling—for example, a negative pre-departure test if that is the arrangements and if that is stipulated by the respective country. I stress that anybody here who took part in a trial will not be disadvantaged. That would be deeply unfair, given the great service that they have done to the rest of us. They should have had a letter, and if they have not had a letter, they should contact their respective research team. The head of health intelligence for NHS Grampian commented last week that there has been a reduction in lateral flow testing with many people only using those tests once they become symptomatic. What action is the Scottish Government taking to ensure that the public is aware of the clinical guidance on lateral flow tests and to encourage its uptake? We are taking a range of steps and have been, for some time now, to encourage people to use lateral flow devices to ideally use them twice a week. There are particular groups that we give particular advice to pupils and staff in secondary schools, for example. Every time I stand here, I remind people about the importance of using lateral flow devices, the importance of LFD testing has featured in a lot of our marketing and advertising campaign around Covid, so we will continue to encourage people. It stands to reason that, when cases rise, people, because understandably they are more anxious, are possibly likely to do it more when cases fall again, there may be a tendency to fall back in that. That is why a really important message for me, for the Government and for all of us to give is, do not drop your guard as cases continue to fall. It is still important that we do all of those things to stop them rising again, and testing yourself with LFD devices is one important way of doing that. Emma Harper, to be followed by Paul Sweeney. Just on the back of Tess White's question, around one in three people with Covid-19 do not have symptoms but can still infect others. Particularly as we head into winter, and the likelihood of people gathering indoors, I am sure that the First Minister will want to reiterate how important it is for people to take rapid lateral flow tests every three or four days to check for Covid-19, even if folk do not have symptoms. Can she confirm that those tests will still remain free of charge in Scotland? We absolutely intend that those tests remain free of charge. They are an important part of our protection against Covid. Emma Harper is right that there are a significant number of people who will contract Covid who do not display symptoms and certainly do not display symptoms in the early part of their period of infection. That is why lateral flow testing is so important. Our advice is to do it twice a week. I would also advise people to do that, and in addition to do that before you perhaps go somewhere, or if you forget to do it once or twice a week, do it if you are due to visit somebody or go to a particular event. The other part of the advice, of course, is that if your LFD is positive, then make sure that you book a PCR test to get confirmation of that result and, of course, isolate immediately. It is really important that we all continue to do those things over the winter, and if we all do follow all of this advice, we do have the best chance of keeping cases on a downward track. Paul Sweeney, we need to be followed by Jim Fairlie. As Mr Sarwar previously mentioned, a third of Scots do not have a driver's license, and a quarter of Scots do not have a passport. Given that those are integral to the app logging in to this app, is there a potential digital exclusion issue there with the design of the app, and can the First Minister agree that that perhaps indicates design immaturity in the app, and will she take steps to address that potential flaw in the system? First Minister. We have addressed the fact that not everybody will have a driver's license or a passport and therefore will not be able to use the app. That is why, not just for a few days but throughout this, we intend to continue to offer the alternatives of somebody being able to order a paper copy of their vaccination status or to download a PDF so that both of those things can be done without using the app at all. It is important that those alternatives are there and people are aware of them. We are all aware of how difficult things have been during the pandemic and the restrictions and the need for a good recovery. Businesses across my constituency have been impacted by the 7.5 per cent rise in vat that the UK Government imposed at the start of October. That is in addition to the pressures caused by rising wages and rising inflation. Indeed, Douglas Ross said in First Minister's questions last week that businesses have never had a tougher time than right now. Given that many hospitality businesses in my constituency are reporting that they did not experience the staycation bounce this year, does the First Minister agree with me that the supposed party of business in this chamber should speak to colleagues in London about the impact that those vat changes are having on businesses in Scotland? It would be good if, occasionally, the Scottish Conservatives raised any of those concerns with their counterparts in London. I am not convinced that their counterparts in London pay any attention to them, incidentally, but that is another matter altogether. However, there is a serious issue at the heart of that. The Tories are right now raising taxes on businesses and on individuals. It is a really difficult time for the economy as we try to recover from this pandemic. Brexit has also caused, as we know, acute labour shortages across our economy, which is making it difficult to get certain foodstuffs to supermarket shelves. It is making it difficult for people to access fuel reliably. Those problems are going to simply increase and get worse over the winter, unless the UK Government really stops and thinks about the impact of its actions and comes up with solutions. I think that all of us should be demanding that they come up with solutions and come up with these solutions quickly. Alexander Stewart is followed by Willie Coffey. Thank you, Presiding Officer. With reports this morning that police officers are now routinely filling in for ambulance crews by transporting patients to hospital, does the First Minister accept that this Government waited too long to tackle the crisis in the ambulance service? The police are not routinely filling in for the ambulance service. The Scottish Ambulance Service has not asked the police to take patients to hospital. Of course, it may well be, and I am not sure if the member is suggesting that this should not be the case, that if a police officer comes across somebody who needs to go to hospital they will opt to transfer them to hospital without, but that is not as a result of a request from the Scottish Ambulance Service. We have big challenges across our ambulance service and our national health service, just as England, Wales and Northern Ireland in many countries across the world do. We are taking action to respond to those challenges. We are rightly and properly, and this will continue, I am sure, throughout the winter, being robustly scrutinised on that, but let's not claim that things are happening that are not happening across the country. Willie Coffey, to be followed by Graham Simpson. Can I ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government is aware of reports of some families being prevented from travelling abroad because their teenage children may still test positive for Covid many weeks after their first positive test, despite no longer being infectious? And to ask what can be done to remedy this situation with the school holiday period, almost upon us. We do recognise, and obviously this is a clinical reality, that someone who has recently had Covid may continue to test positive for some time and, depending on the rules in countries to which they are travelling, that could prevent them from travelling. People need to check the entry requirements for countries that they are planning to visit before arranging a trip. This is one of the issues where we will look on an on-going basis at things that we can do to try to ease the difficulties that are being caused here, but it is just one of the features of Covid that people have to think about when they are making decisions about travel or, indeed, making decisions about doing things here. The Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee earlier today rejected the Government's vaccine passport regulations on the basis that they were rammed through without proper parliamentary scrutiny. There has been ample time to show Parliament the respect it deserves and allow MSPs to scrutinise the deeply flawed scheme before it came into force. Given that a committee has now said, hold on a minute, will the First Minister agree to rescind the regulations so that MSPs can do our job? No, I will not agree to do that. I will agree to follow the process that is in place for this eventuality. I am sure that the member knows, absolutely convinced that he knows that, in those circumstances, what has to happen is that, within 28 days, the regulations have to come for a decision of the whole Parliament. That is what will happen. I am sure that all MSPs of all parties will fully and properly do their jobs. That concludes the First Minister's statement, Covid-19 update. There will be a short suspension before we move on to the next item of business.