Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) Wednesday 12 August 2020 Session 5 © Parliamentary copyright. Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Information on the Scottish Parliament’s copyright policy can be found on the website - www.parliament.scot or by contacting Public Information on 0131 348 5000 Wednesday 12 August 2020 CONTENTS Col. ONE MINUTE’S SILENCE ..................................................................................................................................... 1 FIRST MINISTER’S QUESTION TIME ..................................................................................................................... 2 School Exam Results ................................................................................................................................... 5 School Exam Results ................................................................................................................................... 9 Housing (Evictions) ..................................................................................................................................... 12 Test and Protect (Schools) ......................................................................................................................... 15 Preventing Covid-19 Transmission (Bars) .................................................................................................. 17 Culture and Leisure Trusts ......................................................................................................................... 18 Housing (Evictions) ..................................................................................................................................... 19 St John’s Hospital Children’s Ward (Reopening) ....................................................................................... 21 Dyslexia Assessments ................................................................................................................................ 21 Party Houses (Covid Security) ................................................................................................................... 22 Rest and Be Thankful (Closure) ................................................................................................................. 22 Social Security Support (Return to School) ................................................................................................ 23 Aberdeen Lockdown (Guidance) ................................................................................................................ 23 Aberdeen Lockdown (Hospitality Restrictions) ........................................................................................... 24 Raptor Persecution ..................................................................................................................................... 25 Adult Day Care and Respite Services ........................................................................................................ 25 NHS Dental Services .................................................................................................................................. 26 Domestic Abuse (Clackmannanshire) ........................................................................................................ 27 Teachers (Shielding) .................................................................................................................................. 27 Schools (Reopening) .................................................................................................................................. 28 Train Derailment (Contact Information) ...................................................................................................... 29 RETURN TO SCHOOL ........................................................................................................................................ 30 Statement—[John Swinney]. The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (John Swinney) ...................... 30 ECONOMIC RECOVERY IMPLEMENTATION PLAN ................................................................................................. 49 Motion moved—[Fiona Hyslop]. Amendment moved—[Maurice Golden]. Amendment moved—[Richard Leonard]. Amendment moved—[Andy Wightman]. The Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture (Fiona Hyslop) ............................................ 49 Maurice Golden (West Scotland) (Con) ..................................................................................................... 54 Richard Leonard (Central Scotland) (Lab) ................................................................................................. 57 Andy Wightman (Lothian) (Green) .............................................................................................................. 60 Willie Rennie (North East Fife) (LD) ........................................................................................................... 62 Willie Coffey (Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley) (SNP) .................................................................................... 65 Dean Lockhart (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) ............................................................................................ 67 Gillian Martin (Aberdeenshire East) (SNP) ................................................................................................. 70 Sarah Boyack (Lothian) (Lab) ..................................................................................................................... 72 Annabelle Ewing (Cowdenbeath) (SNP) .................................................................................................... 74 Claudia Beamish (South Scotland) (Lab) ................................................................................................... 76 John Mason (Glasgow Shettleston) (SNP) ................................................................................................. 78 Alexander Burnett (Aberdeenshire West) (Con) ......................................................................................... 80 Stewart Stevenson (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP) ........................................................................ 82 Willie Rennie ............................................................................................................................................... 84 Andy Wightman .......................................................................................................................................... 86 Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab) ............................................................................................... 89 Donald Cameron (Highlands and Islands) (Con) ....................................................................................... 91 The Minister for Business, Fair Work and Skills (Jamie Hepburn) ............................................................. 93 BUSINESS MOTION ........................................................................................................................................... 98 Motion moved—[Graeme Dey]—and agreed to. DECISION TIME .............................................................................................................................................. 100 1 12 AUGUST 2020 2 Scottish Parliament First Minister’s Question Time Wednesday 12 August 2020 12:21 The Presiding Officer (Ken Macintosh): [The Presiding Officer opened the meeting at Before we turn to First Minister’s question time, I 12:20] invite the First Minister to update Parliament on One Minute’s Silence coronavirus and a very serious rail incident. The First Minister (Nicola Sturgeon): Thank The Presiding Officer (Ken Macintosh): Good you, Presiding Officer. Before I give an update on afternoon, colleagues. Before we begin, as coronavirus, I want to address briefly the impact of members might know, Saturday 15 August marks the serious storms across Scotland last night. the 75th anniversary of VJ—victory over Japan— There has been significant travel disruption, and day. I invite members to join me in observing one efforts are under way across the country to restore minute’s silence to remember and thank those services and roads to normal. who fought for our freedom. However, of most urgent concern is an extremely serious incident on the rail line west of Stonehaven, where a ScotRail passenger train derailed earlier this morning. The emergency services are currently on site, and a major incident has been declared. I have just come off a call with Network Rail and the emergency services. Although details are still emerging, I am afraid to say that there are early reports of serious injuries. The Scottish Government resilience room is operational, and I will be convening a SGoRR meeting with partner organisations as soon as possible this afternoon. Updates will, of course, be provided as they become available. However, my immediate thoughts—and, I am sure, the thoughts of everyone across the chamber—are with all those who have been involved in the incident. I turn to the daily update on Covid. An additional 47 positive cases were confirmed yesterday. That represents 1 per cent of the people who were newly tested yesterday, and it takes the total number of cases to 19,126. A full health board breakdown will be available later, but my provisional information is that 24 of the 47 new cases are in the NHS Grampian health board area. It is not yet clear how many are connected