Chamber and committees

Do you want to add anything, Tracy?

Women’s health and wellbeing has to be an absolute priority during pregnancy, and I was pleased that pregnant women were last month added to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s priority list for the vaccine and the booster.

Can the First Minister confirm whether the rate of vaccine uptake among pregnant women has increased since they were added as a priority group, and will she join me in encouraging pregnant women to come forward for their first, second or booster vaccination in order to provide them and their babies with the strongest possible level of protection against the virus?

I have one further question, which has sort of been raised already. When will the guidance around the suspension and ending of benefits be publicly available? Will it be in an easy-read format so that everyone can understand it? It must not be full of jargon and it should be in a user-friendly form; otherwise, it could just lead to more uncertainty. Will the minister consider ensuring that the guidance that is available to the public will be in an easily readable format, and will be clear and, as far as reasonably practicable, easy to understand?

If we get to the point at which an applicant’s payment is suspended, I believe that, legally, they would have to complete the review within 31 days. That is an extremely long period for someone to go without their income when they might be entitled to it. To clarify, if they give the information earlier in that time period, would that start the process of getting their payments back or would they have to wait for 31 days? If it is the latter, would it be possible to shorten that time?

I absolutely agree. Thank you.

I am not sure whether you heard my question, Ailsa. If you have anything else to add, you are welcome to.

Essentially, we have spoken about some of the biggest challenges that communities face, such as finance and volunteers and relationships with local authorities. My question was trying to focus more on the positive side, looking at the opportunities for community-led emissions reduction and in which sectors there might be opportunities for innovation, learning and partnership that stem from that.

Thank you.

[Inaudible.]—touched on some of the challenges that communities face, such as finance, volunteers and relationships with local authorities. I am not sure whether you feel that there are further challenges, or whether we could focus more on the positive side. Are there any opportunities for community-led emissions reductions and the just transition that is associated with that? In which sectors are there opportunities for innovation, learning and partnership? That question goes first to Mark McRitchie.

I am interested in climate change reporting. Will you provide extra information on how public bodies have responded to statutory emissions reporting requirements? Are there gaps in calculating and reporting on emissions? If so, how might they be addressed?

Has the duty to act sustainably made a material difference to the way that public bodies plan and operate?

Additional requirements for climate change reporting were introduced last year. How have they been received and how are they being implemented?

I am sorry if I cut off Lorna Jarvie there.