 The next item of business is consideration of business motion 2544 in the name of George Adam on behalf of the parliamentary bureau on changes to today's business. Any member who wishes to speak against the motion should press their request to speak button now. I call Alex Cole-Hamilton. No? That was an act. Thank you. I will not call Mr Cole-Hamilton, but I will call on the minister, George Adam, to move the motion. Thank you. No member has asked to speak against the motion. Therefore, the question is that motion 2544 be agreed. Are we all agreed? The motion is therefore agreed. The next item of business is a statement by Nicola Sturgeon on Covid-19 updates. The First Minister will take questions at the end of her statement, and so there should be no interventions or interruptions. I will give a general update on Covid today and share the latest information that we have on the Omicron variant. I will also set out the further protective measures that we consider necessary to help to slow its spread while we accelerate the pace of booster vaccines. First, today's overall statistics, 3,177 positive cases were reported yesterday. 11.3 per cent of all tests carried out. The number of PCR tests yesterday was slightly lower than in recent days, and I therefore want to take this opportunity to appeal to people not to put off going for a PCR test if you have symptoms or a positive lateral flow test. I know that no one wants to test positive or isolated Christmas, but testing is a vital part of our defence and there is no shortage of capacity, so please do get tested. 541 people are currently in hospital with Covid-19, 20 fewer than yesterday, but I can also confirm that we now know of two confirmed Omicron cases who are in hospital. Sequencing of other possible cases continues and the actual total is likely to be higher. 38 people are in intensive care with Covid generally, which is one fewer than yesterday. Sadly, a further six deaths have been reported taking the total number of deaths under the daily definition to 9,725. I want again to send my condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one. On Omicron specifically, our current assessment is that it is spreading very rapidly in Scotland. The best indicator of that is the proportion of cases showing what is called the SgN drop-out. For about 95 per cent of all cases in Scotland, tests are currently processed in a way that allows us to know if the SgN is present or not. That shows that Omicron cases are increasing exponentially faster than any variant that has gone before it. When I made a statement to Parliament this time last week, around 4 per cent of cases showed this SgN drop-out. By Wednesday, that was 7 per cent. On Friday, it was above 15 per cent. Today, it is 27.5 per cent. We estimate that the doubling time is two to three days, more rapid than anything experienced in the pandemic so far. We expect Omicron to become the dominant strain circulating in Scotland within days. That matters because Omicron is significantly more transmissible than Delta. The R number associated with Delta is around one, but the R number for Omicron appears to be well over two, and it is possibly above four. Cases in Scotland in total have increased by a quarter in the past week. They have risen in all age groups except the over 85s, and Omicron is already contributing to that increase. However, as it becomes the dominant strain, its much higher R number will also dominate, and that will drive a much steeper increase in cases. That is why I warned on Friday that we are facing a likely tsunami of cases in the weeks ahead. Some are suggesting that Omicron may be milder in its impact on individual health than Delta, and obviously we all hope that that is the case. However, we do not yet know that that is the case. Indeed, there is some initial evidence from Denmark that may suggest otherwise. However, even if it proves to be milder, simple arithmetic means that the challenge that it poses will still be very significant. Let me illustrate that. In recent months, the proportion of Delta cases needing hospital care has been around 2 per cent. That means that an average daily case number of around 2,700, as has been the case in recent weeks, will result in around 400 hospital admissions a week. However, if cases rise significantly to, say, 10,000 a day because of Omicron's much greater transmissibility—this is well within the model estimates in the evidence paper that we published on Friday—even if the hospitalisation rate turned out to be half that of Delta's at just 1 per cent, we would see 700 hospital admissions a week. The basic and very hard fact is that a much more transmissible infection, even if milder, in terms of severe illness, can still place a much bigger burden on the national health service. More people infected will result in more severe illness and, tragically, more people will die. A surging level of infection will also result in many more people being off work due to mild illness and isolation, so the impact on our economy and on our ability to deliver critical services will also be severe. Indeed, we are starting to see those impacts already. All of that explains why we must take Omicron extremely seriously. That is not a choice between protecting health and protecting the economy. Let me turn to what in the Government's judgment we need to do now to mitigate this challenge. In doing so, I ask everyone again to think in terms of a race between the virus and the vaccines. Our vaccination programme is running fast. We are currently the most vaccinated part of the UK. 46 per cent of the over 12 population have had booster jags already. However, just as vaccines started to win this race, the virus learned to run faster. That means that we must deliver boosters even faster. That is all the more important in light of early data, telling us that the protection that we have against Omicron infection with just one or two doses is significantly lower than it is for Delta. We need a booster jag to ensure a substantial level of protection against Omicron infection. We are taking steps now to get boosters into arms much faster. Getting fully vaccinated is the best thing that any of us can do to protect ourselves, our loved ones and the country, so please book your booster jag as soon as possible. Speeding up vaccination is essential. I want to assure the nation today that it is the Government's top priority. I will shortly set out more detail on exactly how we are going about doing that. However, while that is necessary, our judgment is that in the short term it will not be sufficient. While we are speeding up vaccination, we must also try to slow down Omicron. That is why we are also proposing today, albeit very reluctantly, some further protective measures. I am appealing to everyone to follow today's advice to help to slow Omicron down while more of us do get our boosters. Let me be clear that we do not do that lightly. I know how hard it is. Please believe me when I say that I would not be asking for yet more sacrifice if I did not genuinely consider this to be necessary in the face of a threat that is very real. Let me set out now what is being asked. First, we want to keep businesses open, but to help to achieve that, we are asking them to step up the protections in place in their premises. We intend to amend regulations to put a legal requirement on those running businesses or providing services to take measures that are reasonably practicable to minimise the risk of transmission. We will issue guidance this week to make clear what that means for different sectors. For example, in retail, it will involve a return to the kind of protections in place at the start of the pandemic, for example, measures to avoid crowding and bottlenecks. That will include physical distancing, measures to control the flow of customers and protective screens. For hospitality, it will mean, for example, measures to avoid crowding at bars and between tables and a reminder of the requirement to collect contact details of customers to help with contact tracing. For employers more generally, the guidance will make clear that enabling staff who were working from home at the start of the pandemic to do so again is now a legal duty. I am hugely grateful to employers who are already allowing staff to work at home where possible, but we are not yet maximising the impact of home working to reduce the overall number of contacts that we are having. We recognise, of course, that there are people who cannot work from home, for example those who work in manufacturing, hospitality and key public services. We are asking anyone in this position to test regularly before going to work. We have extended the workplace testing scheme, which delivers lateral flow kits twice a week to all businesses who have signed up to it. I would encourage urgent indeed any business with 10 or more employees to join up and encourage staff to test regularly. We will also be reinforcing the rules and public health messaging on the importance of wearing face coverings and wearing face coverings properly. My hardest request today is of the general public. I want to be clear that I am not asking anyone to cancel Christmas, but in the run-up to and in the immediate aftermath of Christmas, I am asking everyone to reduce as far as possible and, to a minimum, to the contacts that we have with people in other households. I will say more about Christmas Day in a moment. We are not banning or restricting household mixing in law as before. We understand the negative impact that this has on mental health and wellbeing, but we are asking everyone and we will issue strong guidance to this effect to cut down as far as possible the number of people outside our own households that we are interacting with just now. That will help to break transmission chains. My key request today is this. Before and immediately after Christmas, please minimise your social mixing with other households as much as you can. However, if you plan on socialising either at home or in indoor public places, we are asking that you limit the number of households represented in your group to a maximum of three and make sure that you test before you go. I know that this is a tough thing to ask people to do, especially at this time of year, so I want to be clear why we are making this request. One of the things that we have already learned about Omicron is that it has a very high attack rate. That means that if just one person in a gathering is infectious, that person is likely to infect many more people in the group than was the case with the Delta variant. By reducing the number of people in households gathering together, we help to limit the extent of its spread. Turning to Christmas Day specifically, or Christmas Eve or Boxing Day or whenever you have your main family celebration, we are not asking you to cancel or change your plans and we are not proposing limits on the size of household gatherings. Places of worship will also remain open with appropriate mitigations, but we will issue guidance to help you to make Christmas safer. Reducing your contacts in advance of and after Christmas, as I have just strongly advised, will help to do this. Keeping your celebrations as small as your family circumstances allow is sensible too. Make sure that everyone in your gathering is vaccinated and has done a test in advance. Keep rooms ventilated and follow strict hygiene rules. I know how much I am asking of everyone today after a difficult and painful two years. I would not be doing so if I did not believe it to be absolutely necessary. Indeed, it could be argued that we should be going further, which is why I need to also explain a significant limitation on our ability to act in the way that we think is necessary to protect public health. In this context, I am genuinely not seeking to make a political point simply to set out the factual position. Many of the protections that help curtail Covid come at a financial cost to individuals and businesses, so wherever we can, we put in place financial packages to protect people's health, jobs and livelihoods. However, the Scottish Welsh and Northern Ireland Governments do not have the ability to borrow to meet the Covid funding challenge. UK funding arrangements mean that we rely on the Treasury to do so on our behalf, and the Treasury has responded well throughout this pandemic. Although Scottish taxpayers foot our share of the bill, money only flows to the devolved Governments when the UK Government makes decisions. Financial support is not triggered if the devolved Governments take decisions that we consider appropriate for public health reasons, even though it is our responsibility to do so. Because the UK Government is at this stage not proposing any further protections—a position that I do not agree with—there is no funding generated to compensate businesses for any protections that we think are necessary and wish to put in place. That is not acceptable in current circumstances, and with the Welsh and Northern Irish Governments we are pressing for a fairer approach that takes account of our devolved responsibilities for protecting public health. However, for now, this is the situation that we are in, and it means that our public health response is curtailed by lack of finance. There are further steps that we could and would have considered today, particularly around hospitality, had we the financial ability to do so, but we do not. However, I can confirm that, with some considerable difficulty, we have managed to identify within our own resources around £100 million that we will use to help businesses, mainly those in hospitality and food supply and in the culture sector, affected by our advice last week on work Christmas parties and further affected by what I have said today. The finance secretary and her officials will be engaging with affected sectors immediately to consult on and confirm the details of support. We will work to make money available as soon as possible. Businesses who previously receive support through the strategic framework business fund will be contacted directly. We have identified an additional £100 million to ensure that the self-isolation support grant is available for those who need it, given the expected increase in the number of eligible people who will be asked to isolate. Making this money available will involve difficult reprioritisation, but we recognise the importance of providing as much help as we possibly can. However, this is the limit of what we are able to do within our own resources. I know that it does not go far enough in compensating businesses for what we are asking of them now. Of course, no Government can rule out having to go further in the weeks ahead, so we are continuing to press the UK Government to increase support to enable us to respond adequately to the public health challenges in the weeks ahead. I will turn now to our actions to speed up delivery of booster vaccinations. Anyone aged between 40 and 60 who has not already booked an appointment has now received an invitation to do so. In addition, since yesterday, all 30 to 39-year-olds have been able to book their booster jags online, and I can confirm today that 18 to 29-year-olds will be able to book online from tomorrow. Our aim is that by 31 December, everyone over 18 will have been able to book a booster appointment. It is not possible to guarantee that absolutely everyone over 18 will have been vaccinated by 31 December. For a variety of reasons, some appointments will run into the new year. For example, some people will not be eligible by the end of December because it will still be less than 12 weeks since their second dose. Some people have not yet come forward for a first or second dose, and despite our best efforts, some will not come forward to book a booster either. In addition, despite the strenuous work that is under way, we know that some capacity challenges between now and the end of the year are inevitable. For example, vaccinators' staff absences due to Covid. However, notwithstanding all of that, we are aiming to reach as close as possible to 80 per cent uptake by the end of December with the balance of appointments taking place in January. I do not underestimate the challenge of this. Vaccination teams are already making a herculean effort, and we are asking a great deal of them. In addition, reaching that level of uptake depends on people continuing to come forward to get jags even over the holiday period. That will not be easy. We know that, but we are working on the basis that the higher we aim, the further we will get. Let me now therefore set out the steps that we are taking to create the additional capacity needed. Firstly, given its vital importance against Omicron, we will prioritise the Covid booster programme over the remainder of the flu vaccination programme for the next few weeks. That will allow many more booster appointments to be made available. Let me stress, and this has informed our clinical advice, that for those in the highest-risk groups for flu, uptake of the vaccine this year is already high. For over 65-year-olds, it is 88 per cent, which is higher than last year. Secondly, and in line with advice from the UK chief medical officers, the requirement for people to wait in a vaccine centre for 15 minutes after they receive an mRNA vaccine is being removed. That will speed up vaccination times and enable many more appointments. Thirdly, health boards are working to offer additional drop-in capacity within local vaccination centres. Additional venues for vaccination are also being identified. That will include mass vaccination centres in areas where that is considered appropriate. In terms of human resources, we plan to extend the number and role of volunteers to ensure that clinical staff can spend as much time as possible supporting the administration of vaccines. We will continue to expand the size of the overall vaccination workforce as much as possible and make full use of any military support that is available. We will, of course, keep Parliament updated on the delivery of these plans. However, at this stage, I want to again thank everyone who is working so hard to design and deliver the biggest and the most important logistical project in our peacetime history. Let me also stress that, although the focus of my statement today is on boosters, if you have not had your first dose yet, please do book it now. It is more important than ever to do so. In the new year, we will also complete second doses for 12 to 17-year-olds, and I hope—very much hope—that we might also soon get regulatory approval to offer vaccination to under-12s. Before I close today, there are some further issues that I want to highlight. First, let me reiterate the changed advice on self-isolation. For now, household contacts of a person who tests positive for Covid are being advised to self-isolate for 10 days. That advice applies to everyone in a household, regardless of age, vaccination status or PCR test result. Businesses and organisations providing vital services can apply for an exemption to allow essential workers to return to work, subject to them being symptom free and taking certain precautions, including daily lateral flow tests. Second, beyond that advice, we are not recommending that entire school classes are required to isolate when a pupil tests positive. The advice on school isolation will continue to be risk-based. More generally, a key aim is to ensure that schools stay open, if at all possible, to minimise further disruption to education. However, it is vital that schools are safe for pupils and for staff. To help achieve that, we continue to ask secondary school pupils and all staff to take lateral flow tests regularly, including during holidays and before returning after the break and to wear face coverings. In addition, the advisory subgroup on education is meeting today to provide further advice on how schools can operate safely in the new year, and we will send that advice to schools by the end of this week. Thirdly, we will continue to consider appropriate protective measures for people in institutional settings such as care homes, while ensuring that visits can continue. Last week, we recommended that care staff take lateral flow tests on a daily basis. We are also now recommending that individual visits in care homes should not involve any more than two households visiting any patient at a time. We are asking anyone visiting a care home to test before every visit. For hospitals, we are recommending that no more than two people visit a patient at any one time. Again, we are recommending a lateral flow test before each visit. Finally, I fully understand that Omicron will be especially concerning to people on the highest risk list. I therefore want to give an assurance to all of you that the chief medical officer will be writing to you shortly with further advice and assurance. It is an understatement to say that this is not the update that I wanted to be giving just a few days before Christmas, and I am painfully aware that it is not an update that anyone wanted to hear. However, we have a duty to take decisions, no matter how difficult or unpopular, that will get us through this as safely as possible, and I will not shy away from that responsibility. The fact that I am asking for further sacrifice today underlines how severe we think the risk posed by Omicron might be. Please do follow the advice that I have set out today. Although that is without doubt a very difficult juncture in the course of the pandemic, please remember that vaccination still puts us in a better position than last year. Also, hard and very wearying though that is, we are not powerless in the face of the virus, we know the steps that we can take to slow it down. I will stress again what we need to do. Firstly, please get fully vaccinated as soon as possible. Secondly, please test regularly if you are going to meet other people, and our advice, remember, is to minimise this as much as possible, take a lateral flow test before you go every time. The tests are easy to take, and despite an issue with online ordering yesterday, they are easy to get hold of. Tests can be collected from local pharmacies and testing centres without a booking, and the online portal is open again today. We are face coverings on public transport in shops and when moving about in hospitality settings, and make sure that your face covering fully covers your mouth and nose. Keep windows open if meeting people indoors, even at this time of year. Follow all advice on hygiene, work from home whenever possible, this will soon become a requirement anchored in law. Please follow the new advice that I have outlined today. Although guidance is, please do not think of it as optional. Cut down unnecessary contacts as much as possible. In the run-up to and immediately after Christmas, please avoid socialising with people in other households as much as you can. If you are socialising indoors at home or in public places, limit the number of households that are represented in your group to a maximum of three and test before you go. Please follow the advice that we will give to keep Christmas day as normal but as safe as possible. We face an extremely difficult period ahead again. I cannot tell you otherwise, but I know that we will get through it more safely if we do right by each other, as we have done all along. Please get vaccinated, test regularly, and follow all the other rules and guidance that I have in place for our own protection. Let us pull together again and let's help each other through. Thank you. The First Minister will now take questions on the issues raised in her statement. I intend to allow around 70 minutes for questions, after which we will move on to the next item of business. I would be grateful to members who wish to ask a question where to press their request to speak buttons now, and I call Douglas Ross. The situation with the new Omicron variant has changed the circumstances in which we are all dealing with. The Scottish and UK Governments have examined the new variant and it is clearly more transmissible, with the potential to severely impact the NHS and other vital services. Let me reiterate the key request to everyone. Those who can go out and get fully vaccinated and get their booster jag as soon as possible. Take a Covid test as often as you can. Take a lateral flow test before you go to bars and restaurants, before you go to meet your family and before you go to work, and take every precaution possible to protect your family and the people around you. The Government must also live up to the end of the bargain, and the most important defence that we have against this virus is the booster vaccine. The vaccine booster scheme is going well and the volunteers and staff undoubtedly deserve our praise and thanks, but now we need to go even faster. Week after week, my party has come to this chamber and asked the First Minister to prepare to bring in mass vaccination centres, but only now, only today, has that been accepted. The Scottish Government has delayed and now they are scrambling to find venues at the last minute. So can I ask the First Minister why it has taken so long for the Government to accept our calls and agree to launch mass vaccination centres that were so crucial and successful in the original roll-out of the vaccine? My party has also called for extra support to be made available to protect Scottish jobs and to help the businesses who are already struggling and losing income right now, as we saw over the weekend up and down Scotland. Last week, we said that businesses would be impacted at one of their busiest times of the year and that they desperately needed financial support. Yesterday, we called for an emergency cancellation compensation fund to protect jobs, so it is very welcome that those calls have been listened to and support is coming from the Scottish Government for Scottish businesses. However, can I ask the First Minister to confirm that payments will reach those businesses before Christmas? I am sure that, like me, the First Minister, who said that she did not want to make a political point, will welcome the announcement from Rishi Sunak and the UK Government that additional funding will be made available to the devolved Administrations. During her briefing on Friday, the First Minister announced that, from Saturday, household contacts of a positive case of any variant had to self-isolate for a full 10 days. Meeting a single positive case would lead to a household of potentially four or five people having to isolate for that entire 10-day period, even if they tested negative. We agree for the need for caution that, at the level of cases that the Government is expecting by next week, that rule change could mean tens of thousands of Scots put into self-isolation every single day. We do not believe that this policy is sustainable. It will have knock-on consequences that could impact our transport services, police, schools, workplaces across the country and even our vaccination programme. I ask the First Minister to outline the science and data behind the change in policy that she announced last week and what impact the Scottish Government modelling says it will have on our economy and public services. Clearly, we have had today a change from the announcement on Friday. The First Minister is now saying that businesses and organisations that provide vital services can apply for an exemption to allow essential workers to return to work. How is that going to work? Where will organisations apply to for an exemption? What criteria will the exemptions be judged on and how quick will the turnaround be in the applications once they are made? Let me take that last point, because it is probably the easiest one to deal with as anybody who has been paying attention to this over the past few months would have known. We had an exemption scheme in place before, so the arrangements for the parts of the economy who can apply for that, the arrangements to apply and who they apply to are the same as before. We will make sure that that information is refreshed. On the other points, let me take them as fully but as quickly as I can. Our vaccination programme is currently the fastest in the UK. We have designed it carefully so that the right facilities are available in different areas. Mass vaccination centres are not appropriate in every area. They often result in very high do not attend rates, which means that we have appointments that are lost on a daily basis to the system. We flex the system to make sure that we are being appropriate to the characteristics of different areas. There are a number of health boards who already have drop-in clinics, but as we try to accelerate the programme, we look again at the additional things that we need to do. It will still not be the best use of resources to have mass clinics in every part of the country, but in some areas, perhaps here in the city of Edinburgh, in Glasgow, for example, that will add helpful capacity to what is already there. We will continue to do this in the best way possible. What I would say to people, not in any way to strike a note of complacency, because that is the last thing that we are around this, is that what we have been doing so far in the vaccination programme has resulted in the fastest progress of any of the United Kingdom nations. That does not mean that we will continue with that, we will have to work at that, but it gives some degree of confidence that the right judgments are being taken in how we proceed with the programme. However, it is now more important than ever, and as I said in my statement, it is absolutely the top priority for the Government in the days and weeks ahead. On the issue of money, I have just been passed a note. I did not have this information, because I do not think that it was announced before I came in, that the UK Government has announced that there will be additional funding made available to devolved administrations. I do not have any of the detail of that yet, but I do absolutely welcome that. I think that that is very good progress. It is a move that we have been pushing for for the last number of days. We have gone out of our way, rightly so, to find as much additional resource within our budgets as we can. I noticed that the Tory spokesperson calling for a fund of £10 million last night on television. Today, we have announced £100 million for businesses, and we will obviously look at the impact of the UK funding when we have the detail of that. On the isolation policy, the clinical advice right now is that, because of the faster transmissibility of that, releasing people from isolation within a household when they test negative is not as safe as it could be, because testing negative one day with this virus does not mean that you will test negative the next day. That is the basis of that advice, but we are keeping that under review. We have already started looking at when we might migrate away from that towards something that is more proportionate, because I absolutely understand—indeed, I have set it out myself—the impact that isolation may have on the economy. This is about taking appropriate steps now, but being flexible as we think that it is safe to do so, to move to more proportionate arrangements in the future. I want to start by sending my condolences to all those who have lost a loved one. The rapid spread of the Omicron variant is a real cause for concern, and we must be prepared as a Parliament to take the right decisions in the national interest. We may not yet know just how dangerous the variant is, but what we do know is that this virus risks lives. How hard this must be for families across Scotland after almost two years of the pandemic, but we cannot let our guard slip or let our resolve weaken at this crucial moment. We all have a duty to protect each other and do what is in the best interests of our country and our NHS. I urge the people of Scotland to do your duty. If you are eligible for a first or second dose, but have you not had it, please book that appointment now. For those eligible for a booster appointment, book it as soon as you can. As Christmas approaches, we all want to protect every precious moment that we may be able to spend with our loved ones. That means working from home where you can, wearing a mask where appropriate, and taking lateral flow tests before going to social events or visiting each other at home. It is also important that, when taking any decisions, we take people with us. That means sharing as much information as possible the data and the science. Hospitality is one of the hardest-hit sectors through this pandemic. Christmas is a time when many of those businesses would have been hoping to catch up on lost earnings in order to survive. They will need extra support. I welcomed the assistance outlined, but can I urge the Scottish Government to please engage with those businesses and deliver the timely support that they need? I also note what the First Minister said about wider support packages. If that means that the UK and the Scottish Government are working together to find a package, then that is what needs to be done in the national interest. A few specific questions. All over 18s are to be offered a Covid booster appointment by the end of the year, with a target of 80 per cent receiving it by the end of the year. That is only 18 days away. That means more than 75,000 vaccines a day. I welcome that there are plans for mass and drop-in vaccination centres. How quickly do we think that those will be operational, and will there be military assistance? Given that there will be higher demand, is the First Minister confident that we have an adequate supply of lateral flow tests and what steps have been taken to make them more easily accessible to people across the country? No-one should have to think of the financial impact of self-isolation on them or their family, so I note the additional money. I welcome it, but what considerations have we made to increase the eligibility and the amounts available to individuals who need them? Finally, again to the people of Scotland, stay safe, follow the advice that we will get through this. First, on hospitality, I do not think that I addressed the point that was raised in the previous round about whether the money will be delivered before Christmas. We will do our best to make sure that this money or as much of it as possible is delivered as quickly as possible and hopefully before Christmas. I absolutely agree that hospitality has had a sucker punch in the past couple of weeks because of the inescapable, unavoidable public health advice. We know that Omicron is spreading fast generally, but the high attack rate means that if there is a group of people at a Christmas party, for example, if one person has it, almost all of them are liable to be infected. That is the higher attack rate that has made this advice unavoidable. On the issues with the Covid booster, the additional capacity will start to become available over the next few days and over the course of this week in the form of extra centres and where necessary and appropriate mass vaccination centres and additional appointments at existing centres. We will make maximum use of the military. There has been UK Government commitments to make more military support available. Let me stress that the biggest increase in capacity that will be delivered and will be delivered most quickly are the changes that I talked about to prioritising Covid boosters over flu vaccination that will free up significant numbers of appointments and also removing on clinical advice in the four UK chief medical officers have given the go-ahead to this, removing the requirement for people to wait in vaccination centres for 15 minutes. Those two things will make the biggest immediate impact on increasing the capacity to do more booster vaccinations. I am absolutely well aware of the run rate that we have to get to to meet the targets that we have set today, although those targets also depend on people coming forward. We know that both supply and demand in a normal year for an immunisation programme would dip over Christmas, so we need to work to keep that as high as possible. Lastly, in terms of the self-isolation support grant, we have announced today additional funding to support the increased numbers that are likely to be eligible and asked to isolate. We keep the eligibility requirements under review and will look at that again, but we need to maximise the amount of the money that is getting to people who are most genuinely in need, so that is always going to be a fine balance that we need to try to strike. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Nobody wants to surrender the progress that we have all made over the last 18 months, but at moments like this, at times of crisis, we need clarity from the Government. We need businesses to get support, pound for pound, and we need both the Scottish and UK Governments to work together. People will struggle to understand why it is safe to mix with 400 people at a concert but not four families in their own home. The effect of this public uncertainty will see the event sector rocked and events cancelled. I want to bring a particular situation to the First Minister's attention. It concerns the event sector and our efforts to ramp up the booster programme. A rave of 3,500 people taking place this Saturday is set to displace the principal vaccination hub for NHS Lothian at the Royal Highlands showground. That will reduce vaccine capacity at that venue by 50 per cent until after Christmas. As of 2 pm, RHS had heard nothing from the Scottish Government and without clarity, it is contractually obliged to begin dismantling the vaccine operation this evening. That is urgent. I ask the First Minister what she should do. I first spoke to the health secretary about this first thing this morning. I cannot remember at what time action is under way to cancel the rave to make sure that there is full compensation for that and make sure that the vaccination centre and its current location continues. The health secretary has been working on this morning. I am sure that he will be happy to give an update when we are out of the chamber, but it is something that was planned pre-Omicron, but clearly in light of the Omicron developments, it is no longer appropriate because we want to increase the facilities for vaccination and not see them go in the opposite direction. I would like to ask the Scottish Government what advice it would give to parents who are concerned in relation to the Omicron variant and are considering keeping their children off school? I would encourage parents to continue to send their children to school. I absolutely understand the anxiety that parents will have at this time. It is important that tests and protect with local health protection teams work on a risk-based and targeted way to ensure that, where there are cases identified, the right approach has been taken to advice for self-isolation. There are also other mitigations in place in schools, particularly in secondary schools, around face covering and the requirement to take lateral flow tests regularly. I know that mitigations have been controversial in the past, but they are really important. As I said in my statement, the education advisory subgroup is meeting today to look at additional measures that we may advise schools to put in place for the new term. I am not going to pre-empt what those recommendations will be, but I suspect that they will include further advice on ventilation, for example, because we know how important that is. As I said earlier on, we will ensure that that advice is with schools by the end of this week. I completely understand the anxiety, but I know that parents will also be anxious about the disruption to children's education, and we want to work in a way that minimises that as far as possible during the next difficult phase. Sandesh Gulhane, to be followed by Bob Dorriff. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I listened with some concerns about the Omicron variant and want to reiterate the importance of getting vaccinated all the way to your booster jag. It's not too late. First Minister, a month ago I asked to reopen mass vaccination centres with local flexibility using volunteer support, and if you'd listened to me then, we'd be well on our way by now. I welcome the Scottish Government's listening now, and it's great that the First Minister listened to me on telling last night and found money for businesses that were much needed. I also asked to instigate mobile vaccination centres to help those 70 areas of Scotland where only 40 per cent of the population required a second dose and help our remote communities as well. I made these suggestions to help the people of Scotland. In addition to the measures that you have announced today, will you now commit to mobile vaccination centres to help those hearts who reach people yet to jag into their arms as quickly as possible? We already have mobile vaccination units, and there are plenty of clinics operating within more rural areas. What we need to do now is expand the capacity in those to make sure that they can do more appointments and, where necessary, open additional facilities. As I've said, we will do all of that. Mass vaccination clinics are not appropriate for every area, so that is not the best way to get everybody vaccinated. The appointment system is important, but we will continue to flex it. I absolutely take on board every suggestion that is made, but I think that we should reflect on the fact that, as I keep saying because it is important, that obviously what we have been doing up until now has been successful because our vaccination programme is further ahead, on boosters, quite a bit further ahead than England, Wales and Northern Ireland. That suggests that we are getting that balance right, but that was then, this is now, and we have got to significantly increase the pace, and therefore we look again across the whole of the provision and decide where and how we add the capacity that is needed. A constituent's elderly mother has advanced dementia and was admitted to the hospital a few days ago. On previous admissions, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde permitted visiting under an essential visitor policy, which specifically mentions both dementia and end-of-life care. However, my constituent is struggling to see his mother, someone who has left his mum distressed and anxious and the family worried. Of course I am communication with NHS First Minister, but can I ask the First Minister has there been any change to essential visitor guidance in the light of the omicron variant? And if not, can the Scottish Government work with NHS boards and staff to ensure guidelines are clear, well understood and applied to ensure emotional support and end-of-life care can be offered appropriately? We will ensure that refresh guidance is issued to health boards to ensure that they understand what the appropriate measures are with hospital visiting. I set out today that we absolutely do not want to stop visiting. It's really important that visiting goes ahead. It's important for people in hospital and for their loved ones, but we are suggesting a limit of the number of visitors for each patient at any one time. Visiting should continue with appropriate precautions and mitigations. Patients should not be denied visitors, except in very short-term, very specific circumstances, such as managing an on-growing outbreak, where, of course, hospitals can put in place temporary visiting restrictions. However, even when managing an outbreak, we expect essential visits to continue, and a person with dementia is a clear example of someone that we would expect to receive essential visits even during an outbreak. Care packages are being cancelled as we speak due to staff absence. I have a constituent who had carers coming in four times a day, and all of that support has been pulled. She has been told that this will last at least a week and to phone an emergency helpline if anything should go wrong. That puts her health at considerable risk. What can the First Minister say to those who feel abandoned as their care packages are withdrawn? What urgent support can she put in place, and can she confirm that exemptions will apply to health and social care workers from the 10-day self-isolation rules? On that last question, yes, that was the case previously, and that is the case now. I covered that at some length in my statement. That is part of the challenge that we are facing. The virus is not just through isolation, but if it infects people and people have mild illness, they cannot go to work. That is why we need to crack down on this virus, because otherwise we are going to see the impacts in our schools, on our public transports and on the part of people who rely on care packages. We will continue to work with the health service and social care to mitigate those impacts as far as possible. I absolutely understand the impact on anybody of not having their care package for a single day, let alone multiple days. The root of that is to get the virus under control. That is why what I set out today is so important, and it is why it is so important that we all continue to urge the people across Scotland to do the right thing by following all of that guidance. Christine Grahame, to be followed by Gillian Mackay. First Minister, those Tuesday Covid statements to Parliament are, of course, essential for Parliament to hold the Scottish Government to account. Public engagement and compliance is key, as it has been from the very start and very high. However, constituents tell me that they miss those regular lunchtime televised Covid information updates that were so important in the early days of the pandemic. In this past moving situation brought about by the Omicron variant, can those lunchtime public information broadcasts be reinstated? I could hear the enthusiasm from the Conservatives and Labour benches, as Christine Grahame was speaking. Whatever people might think, I do not miss having to do daily updates on Covid, although we do not know what lies ahead. I respect Parliament. I should come to Parliament, be accountable to Parliament, make announcements to Parliament. It is not for me to decide the days on which Parliament sits. If Parliament wants to recall that is a matter for the Presiding Officer, what I can do during a public health emergency is withhold decisions or advice to the public from 5pm on a Thursday evening until 2pm on a Tuesday afternoon. That would literally put lives at risk. It is also sometimes important for me to be able to communicate to the public with the chief medical officer and the national clinical director there to answer clinical questions. I will continue to do everything that I can to get key public messages across. I think that in an emergency like this, it is incumbent on all of us to try to put the differences to one side and unite to get those public health messages across. The Scottish Greens have advocated a cautious approach in dealing with the pandemic throughout, and that remains our position. Boosters will play an increasingly important role in providing protection against the Omicron variant, so I urge everyone who is eligible to book their appointment. I appreciate the further funding from the UK Government that was announced just after 2pm, but it would appear at the moment to fall short of furlough. A lack of furlough fundamentally limits the options available to both the Scottish Government and this Parliament to tackle the spread of the Omicron variant. Could the First Minister advise the chamber what work is on going to try to obtain the financial support that is required if further measures are needed? That is an issue that we have discussed constructively in four nations meetings over the course of the past week. It is an issue that has been raised, as you would expect, by me, by the First Minister of Wales and the First and Deputy First Ministers of Northern Ireland. As I say, I have not seen the detail of what the UK Government has announced, so I look forward to seeing that later. I welcome it. The basic principle here, and it should apply across all parts of the UK, is that if we feel it essential to take measures to protect public health, we should not be constrained in doing so because of the financial consideration. It should not be the case that money is only triggered if the UK Government decides to take steps. If the Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish Government acts within devolved responsibilities, I think that that is important. We should be able to trigger that support as well. It is about parity, not asking for one part of the UK to have an advantage over the other. We all pay for this, and it is important that we all have equal access to financial support for businesses and individuals whose livelihoods are on the line. I certainly think that everything should be kept open and under review, including the reinstatement of furlough over what we hope will not be, but it may be a really challenging period for businesses in the weeks to come. Paul McLennan, to be followed by Liz Smith. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I welcome the commitment of the Scottish Government to support the hospitality trade and indications of support from the UK Government. Given that Parliament does not have boring powers to fund the kind of response that is required, will the First Minister press the UK Government to advise the Parliament of details of its support package as soon as possible, and whether the Scottish Government has any specific asks for this funding? As I said, the Deputy First Minister is telling me that the detail that I have given the chamber is the detail that we have at the moment that more money will be made available, but we do not know how much that will be or indeed whether that is genuinely additional money or whether it will be netted off against expected savings elsewhere. I welcome it, I welcome any movement on that, but I hope that the chamber will appreciate that I really need to see the detail before I can comment any further on it. We want to be in a position where we can take necessary measures to protect public health without having to plead for financial support in a situation where, if the UK Government was taking those measures, they would be able to make that financial support available. It is about parity and the ability to protect the wages of workers, or to compensate hospitality businesses for the significant knock to their Christmas trade. Whatever it is, we need to be in an equal position to compensate for the necessary public health measures that we are taking. I hope that we have seen progress today and I am happy to report back to Parliament when we have more detail. Liz Smith, to be followed by Gillian Martin. Thank you, First Minister. I asked this question on behalf of two sets of constituents who have been in touch with me in the last 24 hours, whose family have just arrived home—obviously, they are working abroad, but they have arrived home for the Christmas break and they have had, in respective countries, two vaccinations. Will they be eligible for the booster if they are British passport holders? In principle, the answer to that would be yes, but there will be a caveat around that in terms of what vaccinations they have had in the countries that come for it. I do not know the detail of that and whether they can have the boosters here. If Liz Smith wants to write to me or the health secretary with the details, I am happy to give an answer, particularly to the case, rather than the general answer that I am able to give on the basis of the information that I have just now. Gillian Martin, to be followed by Monica Lennon. The First Minister has mentioned in her statement that, of course, the new variant presents a problem in terms of the capacity for the health service. I would like to—I mean, there are people watching us tonight who are maybe undergoing or looking for critical surgery or undergoing cancer treatment. Can I ask the First Minister what assistance we have been given to health boards and what the plans are to make sure that those people get the treatment that they need? Those who are vulnerable will leave in hospital what has been done to ensure that there are care packages in place so that they can leave hospital and they are not left in hospital blocking beds. Those are important issues in terms of critical care. NHS staff are obviously working extremely hard and are under intense pressure, but health boards will continue to prioritise critical patients and urgent care as much as possible. Of course, in line with the clinical prioritisation framework that was published back in November 2020, getting patients appropriately discharged from hospital is also important. We have invested significantly to enhance care at home services, although the issue of staff absences is one that is a concern for us. Those matters are all being given significant attention and priority. The health and care workforce are working above and beyond the call of duty right now. We are asking them to do more in terms of accelerating the vaccination programme, which is why I think that it is important, as I have set out today, that we try to free up capacity there in ways that do not ask them to pause other forms of care where that is avoidable, but we will continue to do everything possible to support them during this difficult winter. Monica Lennon, to be followed by Annabelle Ewing. NHS Lanarkshire declared code black 53 days ago. Staff are exhausted and they fear a trickle of omicron cases, never mind a tsunami of infection. What more will the Government do to support staff and patients in Lanarkshire, including chronic pain patients like Liz Barry, who has already waited 21 months for a steroid injection that she and many others should be getting twice a year? We will do everything we possibly can to support those who are working in the health service. I can even begin to find the words to express my appreciation of but understanding of the pressure that they are working under. Obviously, there are many patients, including the individual cited by Monica Lennon, who are having disruption to the care. We will do everything we can to mitigate those impacts, but we come back, as we so often have in the pandemic, to the hard reality at the centre of that. The impact on services is coming from the pandemic, and therefore, as cases go up, we see a bigger impact on people being off sick, having to isolate an inevitable impact on services. We need to come back, again, hopefully for the last time in this pandemic, although none of us know exactly what is ahead, but we need to come back to this need to pull together to do all the right things, to drive infections down again, because that will do more than anything else to allow us to get the NHS sustainably back on the path to normality. I can appreciate that no one has a crystal ball. Given that we are now just 10 days from Christmas eve, can the First Minister advise as to whether my Cowdenbeath constituents and indeed people across Scotland can now, in fact, reasonably start to finalise their Christmas plans, based, of course, on the series of protective measures that have been set out today? Yes, I think that that is a reasonable thing to say. I have tried to set out as clearly as possible today that we do not want to put limits on people's ability to gather in their families for Christmas day or if people celebrate on Boxing day or Christmas eve whenever they choose to have that main celebration. However, there are things that we need to do now, reducing our contacts, avoiding socialising with other households to make that safer. There are things that we need to do around testing and ventilation and hygiene on the day to make those things safer. I really want people to be able to do that, but I cannot stand here and tell them that there are no risks around Omicron. One of the darkest days, I think, for many people over the course of this pandemic, and certainly one of the darkest days that I experienced was on 19 December last year, having given people some limited normality to have to take that away from them before Christmas. Nobody, I certainly do not want to be in that position. Let us do the things that I am asking today around limiting contacts, limiting socialising in order to get through Christmas with that freedom to enjoy Christmas and then, after that, continue to limit socialising so that we do not see the surge in cases afterwards. That is my best advice to people right now in what is a really, really difficult situation. The financial support that has already been announced for the hospitality and food sectors is very welcome and, hopefully, there will be more coming. Losses consequent to the announcement on Thursday about Christmas parties not being recommended go far beyond that. I have been contacted by constituents in the hair and beauty sector who have suffered a whole range of cancellations of what would normally be their busiest time of year with the Christmas party season. Will there be financial assistance offered to those businesses as well? The 100 million pot that I have announced today is the limit of what we can do within the resources that we have. We are going to have to make really difficult choices in order to make that money available. I am being candid with people. Again, that is not insignificant. I am not genuinely trying to be political here, but the Conservatives spokesperson said that 10 million was what they wanted to see. We have delivered 10 times that today, and I think that that is right. However, that does not go near full 100 per cent compensation for the losses of business. I hope that what has been announced by the UK Government today—I will repeat what I have said a bit and not know the detail of that—allowes us to go further with compensating businesses for the losses associated with our current advice, and it also gives us the flexibility. I hope that we do not, but we need to go further in order to do more. I will look at that, and if we can do more, we will, but we have rightly made available today the maximum that we can do within the resources that we currently have at our disposal. To ask the First Minister whether further steps can be taken to encourage higher uptake of vaccines and boosters in minority ethnic communities and lower social and economic groups. I think that the answer to that is yes, more can be done and more needs to be done. We are working with NHS boards who have dedicated inclusion plans within the vaccination programme outlining how they will offer vaccination to people who often face barriers to uptake. Health boards plan location of clinics to suit the needs of their populations and often respond to evidence of lower uptake using available data and local insights. Mobile outreach units are provided by the Scottish Ambulance Service. Some health boards have partnered, for example, with local transport providers to use their vehicles to offer transport appointments for people who might struggle to get there. There is a lot of work to reach under vaccinated communities, and that work will continue, because it is really important that everybody who is eligible to get vaccinated comes forward and gets it, and they get the support to do so if that is needed. Craig Hoy, to be followed by Mule Gray. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Within hours of the public health guidance being issued, my constituent, Joe Lawrence, who runs the catering business in East Lothian, sent me this message. Here we go again, £8,000 of cancellations this morning, just as we are getting back on our feet. Last time around, many independent wedding, catering and hospitality firms like Joe's were excluded from major support schemes, so will the First Minister give a commitment to ensure that no such business is excluded this time around? I have set out very clearly and very candidly where we are with financial resources. We are making available every last penny of what we can do. When we have a pot of money, there are difficult decisions to be made about how thinly that is spread versus giving perhaps a smaller group of businesses more significant advice. The finance secretary and our officials will consult with affected sectors and get to the best possible outcome to that. We will help as many businesses as we can. If there is more money available now from the UK Government, I hope that that will allow us to do more, but we have to see the detail of that. Those choices and decisions are awful for businesses affected. I understand that. I think that it is perfectly understandable that members come here and read out those things, but nobody should be under any illusions that I do not know the impact of that, that I do not understand how awful that is. I do not have a choice because I cannot continue to tell people that it is safe to go to certain settings in groupings right now with Omicron running the way that it is. I cannot do that, so I have to make those choices. The Government has to make those choices, and we have to deal with the impacts to the best of our ability, and that is what we will continue to do. Neil Gray, to be called by Mark Griffin. Thank you, Presiding Officer. As the First Minister has made clear, the evidence shows that Omicron is a major threat to public health in Scotland, but while I appreciate what she announced today to provide some support to business, and the announcement from the Treasury released as the First Minister was on her feet, the Scottish Government's hands have clearly been tied and have been held up while the UK Government is unwilling to provide the necessary financial support. The Tory party is full of zealots who will not vote for public health measures, as we have seen over recent days at Westminster, and the Prime Minister does not have the political capital to push the necessary restrictions through, because last year was the 10th party through lockdown. Does the First Minister agree that the UK Government's intransigence is putting lives at risk and that it must urgently change course? There is a real issue here, and it is not being political to point it out. For whatever reason and whatever anybody's view of that is—and I am not going to comment on that—it is very difficult for the UK Government to impose more protective measures. My view is that those protective measures are essential. That is the right of the UK Government, just as this Government is responsible for protecting public health in Scotland, and it is responsible for that in England, and it is as entitled as we are to take the decisions that it thinks are right. What is not fair right now is that when they decide to do things, they can trigger financial support that is denied to us when we take decisions that we think are necessary. Now, hopefully, we get into a better position—I certainly have—and, hopefully, today's announcement is indicative of this, seeing more of a willingness to listen to this point in recent days than has been the case at some previous points in the pandemic. That is the basic issue of public health fairness at the heart of it, and that is the issue that it is not just me raising. The Welsh First Minister raises it, and the Northern Irish First Minister raises it. The devolved Governments are responsible for protecting public health, but if we are denied the wherewithal to do that, we are in an invidious position that is not just unfair to the Governments that are fundamentally unfair to the populations that we serve. Thank you. Before we take the next question, there are many members who would like to put a question in this session, and I will be grateful for short and succinct questions and responses. I call Mark Griffin to be followed by Audrey Nicholl. The duty to work from home is recognition. Workplaces are an increased transmission risk, and it has been raised before that many key workers can face a continued heightened risk of getting Covid at work and then potentially long Covid. Can the Government set out what support will be offered to key workers now on a able to work long term due to long Covid caught down their jobs? Does the First Minister accept that long Covid should be made an industrial disease in Scotland's benefits system? The UK Industrial Injuries Advisory Council refused to do so. I certainly think that there is an argument for that, and I would certainly be more than happy to look in more detail at that and consider the Scottish Government's position. It is absolutely right that, while we are advising people to work from home wherever they can and strengthening that requirement as of this week, on businesses, it is not just that it reduces the risk of transmission in workplaces, it reduces the number of contacts that people are having travelling to work or having lunch when they are at work, so it helps to take away some transmission risk. Given what we are facing right now, that is important. Those who have to work is important that there are appropriate mitigations. Testing is one of the most important mitigations. People who suffer from long Covid and have long-term implications that might affect their ability to work. Sickness pay is obviously reserved to the UK Government, and much of the benefits system is still reserved to the UK Government. There will be issues that we need to address, and I hope that this Parliament will come together to help us to put those issues very much on the radar screen of the UK Government. Audrena Cull to be followed by Ross Greer. Over the past few days, I have been contacted by some constituents who have been experiencing difficulty obtaining lateral flow testing kits from their local pharmacies. Can the First Minister provide an assurance that everything possible will be done to secure adequate supplies of kits that are available at pharmacies, especially for those who are unable to use alternative options such as ordering online? Yes, we will take steps to do that. I have not been aware of particular issues at local pharmacies. Over 1,000 community pharmacies and dispensing GPs across the country providing access to lateral flow tests. Community pharmacies and dispensing GPs can place daily orders to ensure sufficient supply that we are working with the UK Government to encourage pharmacies to place daily orders and to increase the amount of tests that they are able to order each day where needed. In the event of any supply issues in a particular pharmacy, people will be redirected to collect it at another local pharmacy or a local testing site. If you want to know where the nearest source of LFDs are to you, you can go on to the website, put in your postcode and that will tell you. Generally, I raise this at a Four Nations discussion on Sunday. We need to make sure that with the higher demand for LFDs—which is a good thing, a really positive thing—that the procurement and the supply stays healthy. I know that the team in the UK Government responsible for this is working extremely hard to do that. There was a temporary issue with the online ordering system yesterday, which has been rectified today, but it is really important that we keep the supply of these tests flowing because they are really important as part of our defence. Ross Greer, to be followed by Joe Fitzpatrick. Given that the one thing that we do know about the Omicron variant is its significant increased transmissibility, can I ask why the guidance for identifying close contacts in schools has not been immediately revised? Will that not result in more pupils and staff having to miss time from school because transmissions have been missed and outbreaks are worse than was otherwise necessary? We keep all of those things under review, and particularly with schools, it is a really fine balance to strike. We want to minimise the risk of children's education being disrupted. If we have a blanket self-isolation policy for a whole class where one pupil tests positive, we will very quickly see large numbers of pupils and classes isolating. On the other hand, as Ross Greer rightly says, we do not want to have a situation where we are allowing the virus to spread more easily in schools than it would otherwise do. That is why the risk-based approach that test and protect uses is so important, but as the situation develops, we are going to have to keep all of that under review to strike that right balance between protection and allowing schools and the economy and critical services to operate. None of that is easy, none of it has ever been easy. It will be tricky in the weeks ahead, but there is a real focus in trying to get those balances as right as possible. Hospitality businesses in Dundee have contacted me to express their concern about impact of the new variant on trading over the festive period. Those businesses will welcome the announcement of £100 million support today from the Scottish Government. Does the First Minister agree that, while that is welcome, today's Treasury announcement about unspecified financial support just moments before the statement highlights yet again that, while we are in the grips of this horrible pandemic, current funding arrangements across the UK are dysfunctional and that greater certainty is required from Westminster? Quickly, not only for the Scottish Government, but also for those businesses who are facing a festive period of challenge and that the Scottish Government really needs to press the UK Government for early clarity on this? Yes, I do agree and we are pressing both for funding arrangements that, even if just in the Covid context, are more appropriate to the situation that we face and for as much clarity as possible. I will repeat what I said about not knowing the detail of what was announced just after two o'clock. This is just a basic issue of good sense when it comes to dealing with a pandemic. We cannot have our public health hands tied by funding arrangements that are asymmetrical and unfair to the devolved administration, so hopefully we are going to see some progress here, but it is really important that we all have maximum ability to steer our way through this next phase of the pandemic without businesses unduly paying the cost of what we do because we do not have the wherewithal to properly compensate them. Liam Kerr, to be followed by Willie Coffey. The public health guidance on Thursday took many businesses, especially those in hospitality, by surprise, with absolutely no time to prepare. What action will the Scottish Government be taking going forward to ensure that this situation does not happen again and that all possible steps are taken to give businesses adequate time to prepare for new measures and guidance? We will do that as far as possible. I understand the frustration, the anxiety, the distress on the part of businesses that I have had two years now, as we all have, of guidance that changes as the pandemic changes. However, I would ask all members to listen to what I said earlier on. This variant of the virus, cases are doubling every two to three days. It is moving faster than anything that we have dealt with before in the whole course of the pandemic. That is quite a statement, because we have dealt with really difficult situations before. Speed of response right now is more important than it has ever been. I understand that businesses would prefer that we waited a few days to tell them what we were going to do a week hence and give them time to prepare. However, in a week, the virus will have doubled what, three or four times, the variant of the virus. That is why speed is so important. I do not say that with any—I wish that we were not in this situation, but we are, and we do not do businesses or anybody else in society any favours if we do not try to act as fast as the virus is replicating. First Minister, some hospitality groups are saying that you have just asked people and a quote to stay away from their restaurants and facilities. Do you mind clarifying this so that everyone is totally clear what is being asked and what is not? I think that I made it clear in my statement. I am not trying to override the judgment of every person. We have two years into this. People have a lot of experience of this, and people need to be able to make judgments. However, I am saying in the run-up to Christmas and that, after the core celebrations of Christmas, people should reduce their contacts with people in other households as far as possible. That means minimising socialising. That will help us to slow down the virus while we get more and more people boosted. Secondly, because I appreciate that some people will want to socialise and will socialise, so if that is the case, and my advice is to minimise that, but if you are doing that, whether that is in your own home or in hospitality, try to limit the households that are in your group to a maximum of three. I am trying to explain why that is important. That kind of thing has always been important with an infectious virus, but the attack rate of Omicron means that, if you are in a group of people—we have seen that in outbreaks over the past two weeks—if you are in a group of people where one person is infected, all of our evidence since the emergence of Omicron is that the majority of people in that group are being infected. That almost took out an accident emergency unit in Lanarkshire last week. That is why we are giving this advice. It is horrible advice. It is the last thing that people want to hear, but it is essential if we are to get on top of this virus before it overwhelms us. In her statement, the First Minister advocated continued lateral flow tests for secondary school pupils. School testing figures currently sit at below 4 per cent. Test and protect has been abandoned in classrooms and there has been no action beyond opening some windows on classroom ventilation. Further to this, the promised laptops for all are not in the hands of pupils. The Government has done nothing to help to keep schools open and to help to prepare them in case of closing. Can we assume that the Government will be working now to ensure, after two years, that maximum safety measures are in place so that schools definitely reopen in January? I am just going to be blunt. I think that that was a deeply irresponsible contribution. I am not only irresponsible because it mischaracterises the position of test and protect. It is an insult to those who are working in test and protect to help schools to stay safe every single day on a risk-based approach, trying to strike the right balance between protection and keeping children's education. We distributed laptops and connections to tens of thousands of children at an earlier stage in the pandemic, having identified those most at risk. We will continue to do everything that we can to keep schools open. As we see today in the attainment figures, that is really important for the sake of children's learning and education. I absolutely accept that schools must also be safe for children and staff, which is why we have given local authorities additional resources to help with ventilation. The education advisory subgroup is looking at all that right now. I mean to scrutinise this, but do not please, in the midst of the crisis, come to the chamber and irresponsibly mischaracterise the situation. Stuart McMillan, to be followed by Tess White. I am grateful that the First Minister could provide an update as to whether any consideration has been provided to give new guidance to large-scale events, including sporting and recreation, to help to slow down the transmission of the new variant. The guidance that we have given today is to people around the interactions that they have with people in other households, specifically for indoor events. We are also looking, as I said, at strengthening face covering requirements, and we will be looking as part of that in terms of whether we want to encourage people to wear face coverings even outdoors in some crowded events. We are not cancelling events at the moment. We will continue to look particularly if we have more financial will with all to compensate companies and events, whether there is more proportionate action that we can take. The advice that we are giving today is the advice that has been set out in my statement, which will be backed up with more detail and guidance to be issued over the course of this week. Tess White, to be followed by John Mason. First Minister, as we know, the size of the vaccination workforce is pivotal to the delivery of the accelerated booster programme. This afternoon's statement indicated that the Scottish Government's will to extend the number and role of volunteers. Would it be possible to provide more details of how and when this is likely to be achieved? As we speak, I would encourage all MSPs to think about maybe volunteering over the Christmas break in a local vaccination centre if there is a need of volunteers. I have asked all ministers to think about doing that if it would be helpful. Last week, in terms of the full-time paid professional workforce, we had already increased that by 300 full-time equivalent posts. Many people who want to volunteer right now will make available details of how people go about registering their interests. Obviously, volunteers are restricted in what they can do, but the activity and the contribution of volunteers can help to free up some of the time reception tasks or stewarding people who are turning up for vaccination. That frees up time of clinical staff to actually do the vaccination. All hands on deck over these next few weeks to get these booster jigs into as many arms as we can, as fast as we can. John Mason, to be followed by Graham Simpson. Thank you. On Saturday, I was at the Theatre Royale in Glasgow and they insisted on people who either had a vaccine or a negative test, which I thought was extremely good. Would the First Minister agree with me that if venues should go above and beyond what the law says? I congratulate any venues, and I know that there are many of them who are really going the extra mile to try to keep the venues and those who go to them, either performers or spectators, as safe as possible. I would encourage, in fact, what I refer to today. We will be putting a legal obligation on those who run businesses and provide services to make sure that they are taking all practical measures to keep their premises as free from transmission as possible. We know that nobody can eradicate the risk of transmission. It is really important to be clear about that, but there are lots of things that we know that we can do to reduce the risk. I would pay credit to and give my appreciation to businesses the length and breadth of the country for seeking to do that. Graham Simpson, to be followed by Collette Stevenson. Thank you. I had my booster jab yesterday. The guy who put the needle in my arm was at the start of a 12-hour shift. You are not going to be able to do too many of them without getting exhausted, so what are we doing to protect the army of heroes who are delivering the vaccination programme, and how many extra vaccinators do you think we need? We have already increased the number, as I said. Last week I have just repeated today, and we have already added 300 full-time equivalents. Health boards are training new vaccinators, and we are recruiting extra volunteers. All of us are having to do that. My appreciation knows no bounds to those who are doing the vaccination. I had a good conversation when I went for my own booster a week or so ago with the lead nurse there about the pressures that they are under and about the heroic work that they are doing. It is often glib that we talk about the contribution that NHS workers make to all of our lives. Right now, everybody who is helping with this vaccination effort is literally saving lives and helping the country to get through the most difficult period. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude, but the Government owes them the support that they need. That is what we are absolutely focused on providing, as we ask them to do even more over the next few weeks. Collette Stevenson, to be followed by Paul O'Kane. Presiding Officer, it has been reported that around 120 staff from University hospital here Myers in my constituency are isolating following a Covid outbreak. What discussions has the Scottish Government had with NHS Lanarkshire on this matter, and what support, logistical or otherwise, will be provided to ensure that patients are seen? We are aware of the situation at here Myers through the daily contact that the health secretary and or officials have with health boards. NHS Lanarkshire is under significant and sustained pressure, but I have confirmed that it is deploying staff from other areas to ensure that services can deliver key and effective patient care. We will continue to work closely with all boards, including Lanarkshire, to review their contingency plans and assist in any way possible, for instance, where appropriate through mutual and military aid, but also making sure that appropriate use is made of the exemption system to allow critical workers to return to work on the basis of certain precautions. Paul O'Kane, to be followed by Claire Adamson. I have been contacted by constituents and there have been pressure reports in the past few days of people deeply concerned that an elderly relative has not received their booster vaccination due to a prolonged stay in hospital. Despite being in hospital through autumn, many have been told by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde that they can only be vaccinated in the community. With the huge problem of delayed discharge and the imperative to ensure that everyone has a booster, can the First Minister confirm if clusters will be administered urgently to those in hospitals if it is clinically appropriate? There is no blanket policy that says that elderly patients in hospital cannot be vaccinated in the hospital down to the clinical decision and judgment. I will certainly ask the health secretary to look to see whether we need to issue any more guidance to help boards to ensure that that happens. First Minister, we have talked a lot about the impact that this has had on our health service, but it is also impacting other public services, such as our court system. What has been done by the Scottish Government to deal with the significant backlog of cases and ensure that a criminal justice system can start to clear the backlog? The courts and tribunal services are working very hard on plans to clear the backlog, which is more in the criminal side than in the civil case. A lot of civil businesses continue to happen online. Of course, there have been measures in order to minimise the impact on criminal business so that that has been more severe. I discussed the issue directly with the Lord President just last week. Obviously, the budget helps to ensure that there are resources there for the court service and the Crown Office to continue with their recovery work. Given that the guidance set out today relies heavily on everyone taking personal responsibility and that changing rules around Covid can be confusing, providing good easily understandable information is key. That certainly was not the case in Thursday evening, with the public and businesses being hugely let down by the lack of clear guidance. I assume that the First Minister agrees that good communication is critical. Why has the Scottish Government once again removed ITV border from TV advertising schedules, meaning that viewers in Dumfries and Galloway in the Scottish border will not see the Scottish Government Covid and other related public information messages on channel 3? Why is providing information in the south of Scotland less important than elsewhere, given that it continues to spend on STV? Can I ask members why on earth would I want to stop public health messages getting to people in every part of Scotland? What could my possible motivation be? In coming from Conservatives, to spend a lot of their time trying to prevent me giving public health messages to the public, it's a bit rich. I don't know why that's the case. I will look into it urgently, but not all, but many of our public health messages are being done on a UK-wide basis. We're co-operating with the UK Government to ensure consistency of messaging. By all means, yes, raising those things, but raising them in a tone of voice that suggests that somehow I've got a motivation to stop people in the south of Scotland getting public health messages, is utterly ridiculous. Katie Clark, to be followed by James Dornan. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Further restrictions are clearly necessary, but does the First Minister agree that people are willing to comply with restrictions when they think that they are consistent and fair? It's going to be difficult to explain why people are allowed to mix at large events when small family gatherings are having restrictions put on them. We are going to, in guidance, be asking public places where people are gathering to start to introduce measures to ensure safety. I talked in particular about hospitality and the need to ensure that there's not crowding between tables because we're asking people to stay in smaller groups if they are in those places. We will be giving that message consistently whether you're in your own home or in a public place. I've set out very candidly today why we can't do more around some of the public places for financial reasons, although, as I've said, we'll look again at that to see if there is any more we can do to support some sensible measures there. I understand the importance of people understanding, that's why I'm setting out today, the reason for what we're asking people to do, but this is about just all of us trying to reduce our contacts as much as possible. If we all reduce our contacts a bit and as much as we can, we will reduce the overall ability for this virus to spread. If that is easier for somebody to do by not going to hospitality, or if it's easier for them to do in their own home, whatever works for us, let's do it and all just take our contacts down in the run-up to Christmas, then we can hopefully enjoy Christmas and not have that surge of infections after. None of that is guaranteed. This is a highly infectious variant of this virus, but that will give us the best possible chance of achieving a smoother path through this winter. Can the First Minister provide an update as to what support the Scottish Government is making available to GP surgeries in Scotland to expand the level of care provided to patients? We're providing funding of £30 million to support GP practices to continue providing a high level of care to patients through winter. The funding will help with the provision of existing services. It will include supporting more face-to-face appointments, extra GP sessions, practised nurse time, non-core hours covering all appointments, for example. We do want face-to-face appointments to resume and to happen as necessary. I think that it will be the case that many people will continue to prefer online or telephone appointments with their GP, but we need to make sure that that balance is right. GP's have been working extremely hard over the course of the pandemic, providing essential services, and it's right that we support them with that funding to help to ensure that they continue to do so. Willie Rennie, to be followed by Maurice Golden. I think that the First Minister knows that there is a glaring inconsistency between the household and the events gathering, as Katie Clark has just pointed out, and that she would like to go further if money is available. Now the UK Government has indicated that there will be funds. Will she be returning to the chamber tomorrow to give us greater certainty for businesses and jobs? I think that events are going to be cancelled on today's guidance, and we do need guidance to be updated very quickly to avoid that. First Minister, I don't know because I have no idea what money is on the table, so when I get out of the chamber and back to my office, maybe I'll have that information, but maybe I won't. If there is more money, if that enables us to take other decisions that we think are appropriate, we have to go through a decision making process when we arrive at further decisions. Yes, I will come to Parliament, whether that will be tomorrow, I cannot say at the moment. What I would say to all MSPs is that we all have a choice. Those are difficult decisions, and when we are dealing with a pandemic, there are always inconsistencies, no matter what you do, because we are all trying to reduce contacts as much as possible. All of us have a choice where we can go around telling people about the inconsistencies or we can help to explain why things are as they are and encourage them to comply with the advice that we are giving, because that is in the overall national interest. On what date will the guidance for businesses be issued and what leak time will they have to implement it? At this stage, we are intending for the changing regulations to take effect at the end of this week Friday and the guidance will be issued before that. I come back again to the point that I made to one of the member's colleagues. We want to give businesses as much time as possible, but let's just not lose sight of the fact that we are facing a variant of the virus right now, where cases are doubling every two to three days, but it is closer to two days. That is moving very fast, and if we do not try to move as fast as it is, then we are going to have very serious problems. Emma Harper is to be followed by Sue Webber. First Minister, constituents have contacted me, who have family members flying into Scotland for the festive season and are due to arrive on December 23. That means that family members will not be able to obtain the required UK Government PCR test on December 26 for eight hours after arrival due to the PCR providers being closed between Christmas and New Year, except for urgent reasons. The First Minister outlined whether discussions are taking place with the UK Government about the issue and whether she will encourage people to ensure that they are aware of the current travel advice, especially regarding the PCR test requirements for persons coming to Scotland for the festive season, because many will have already booked their travel already. First Minister, I think that this is an issue that I have addressed in the chamber before. We encourage people coming into the country to take the PCR test on day 2 after their arrival, but they are able to take it. The regulations have always allowed that within two days of arrival, so they do not have to wait until Boxing Day if they are arriving in the timescale that Emma Harper has set out. They should make sure that they know how they will get their test. A list of testing providers is available on the UK Government's website. A 21-year-old constituent has contacted me asking something that the First Minister can clarify. She has asked me and I am quoting verbatim. Am I being stupid? Pubs and restaurants have to socially distance and you cannot order at the bar, but you can still go to a nightclub, so it comes back down to nightclubs again. What are the recommendations for this already hard-hit hospitality sector, given the on-going specific pressures on nightclubs? I would have encouraged the member to listen to the statement. We will issue guidance. We are asking businesses and hospitality to take measures that will avoid crowding at bars. We have not asked so far to go back to table service. We are trying to be as proportionate as possible while having an impact on transmission. If the member wants to say to me that we should close nightclubs, she should perhaps say that. If there is funding there, we can consider that. I do not want to close any business again. Let me add if it can be properly avoided. There is never going to be 100 per cent consistency. There has never been on this. Since the days when we simply made everybody stay at home all day, apart from going out for one walk. As elected representatives, we have a duty right now to help to explain to people why there has been asked to do certain things and why one thing might look a bit inconsistent to another. We are political opponents across this chamber. We have vigorous disagreements, but we are again in the teeth of a serious public health crisis. Our overriding duty is to unite to help to explain the advice to the people of Scotland so that they have the best chance of following it. I ask the First Minister for further detail about the supply of lateral flow devices. Although the website is back up and running, it is currently stating that there are no lateral flow devices available to order. Is she confident that there is sufficient supply both in current circulation and on-order to enable people to lateral flow as frequently as we all need them to? Yes. I will come on to the point with the online system in a moment. Supplies are under pressure because demand is rising, and that is a good thing. As a statement of fact, although all the devolved nations contribute financially to that, the procurement and distribution is done on a UK-wide basis. Yesterday, with the online system, and it may be that that issue has kicked in again while I have been in the chamber, it is not supply, it is distribution. There is work under way to increase that. There has been a limit to the number that can be distributed through the Royal Mail on a daily basis, and that number has been breached in recent days because of the increased demand. That is a distribution issue, not a supply issue. Because it is not a supply issue, we can say with confidence, although I know that there are other procurement efforts under way. If people can order online, they can go to a local pharmacy or test site and get supplies. Supplies are being distributed to local authorities to be made available in other areas as well. As I said to partner a four nations call on Sunday, where the head of the testing system went into a lot of very helpful detail about the work that is under way to increase supply and ensure that the distribution is sufficient, but it is not a problem with supply that led to the issue on the website. That concludes the First Minister's statement Covid-19 update. I inform members that members may find it helpful to know that the Parliamentary Bureau has met six times since Sunday for the sole purpose of ensuring that the Parliament has the appropriate opportunity to scrutinise the Scottish Government on any significant announcement about Scotland's response to Covid-19. The Bureau agreed to propose that the statement in question session today be extended until I was as many members as possible to put questions, and through those discussions the Government is fully aware that, as far as possible, all significant announcements should be made to the Parliament. I want to ensure that members have the opportunity to scrutinise the Government's response to on-going developments relating to coronavirus and to represent their constituents. That may include meetings on Mondays and Fridays to maximise those opportunities. The Bureau will continue to monitor the situation closely and on a daily basis, not just during the remaining two weeks of this term, but also during the recess when Parliament can be recalled as required. We will now move on to the next item of business, which is topical questions, but can I remind members of the Covid-related measures that are in place and that face coverings should be worn when moving around the chamber and across the Holyrood campus? I call it question number one. Actually, Mr Balfour, I will give you a moment until the chamber quietens down a little. Thank you. We will just give colleagues a moment to move places.