Chamber and committees

The next agenda item is consideration of motions to recommend approval of the made affirmative instruments that we have just discussed. Deputy First Minister, would you like to make any further remarks on the SSIs before we consider the motions?

We turn to questions. I remind members that we have approximately six minutes each for questions, so it would be helpful if we could keep our questions and answers concise. If there is time for supplementaries, I will indicate that once all members have had a chance to ask questions.

I will ask the first question, which is on something that you just touched on, Deputy First Minister. The Scottish Government committed to establishing a cross-party steering group on Covid recovery, which met before the summer. What role do you see the steering group playing, and how will that differ from the role of this committee?

Are members content for motions S6M-00695, S6M-00694, S6M-00693, S6M-00692, S6M-00702, S6M-00701 and S6M-00901 to be moved en bloc?

Members indicated agreement.

Motions moved,

That the COVID-19 Recovery Committee recommends that the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 27) Regulations 2021 (SSI 2021/238) be approved.

That the COVID-19 Recovery Committee recommends that the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 28) Regulations 2021 (SSI 2021/242) be approved.

That the COVID-19 Recovery Committee recommends that the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 29) Regulations 2021 (SSI 2021/252) be approved.

That the COVID-19 Recovery Committee recommends that the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 30) Regulations 2021 (SSI 2021/255) be approved.

That the COVID-19 Recovery Committee recommends that the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 31) Regulations 2021 (SSI 2021/262) be approved.

That the COVID-19 Recovery Committee recommends that the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 32) Regulations 2021 (SSI 2021/263) be approved.

That the COVID-19 Recovery Committee recommends that the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Requirements) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 (SSI 2021/277) be approved.—[John Swinney]

Motions agreed to.

I appreciate that we are running slightly over time, but I hope to fit in two more short questions. I understand that, in the previous parliamentary session, the Scottish Government routinely provided the COVID-19 Committee with draft regulations for consideration before they were made law. Do you envisage that the committee will continue to be provided with draft health protection regulations on Wednesdays by 4 pm, ahead of our meetings on Thursday mornings?

Thank you. That concludes our consideration of the first agenda item.

Thank you. Other members have questions.

Thank you, and good morning to the committee. As per my entry in the register of members’ interests, I am a councillor at South Ayrshire Council and, until I resigned on 7 May, I was a part-time caseworker for Allan Dorans, the member of Parliament for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock.

I agree with that. I wonder whether that is where there might be a bit of a blur between the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee and us. However, I am sure that the clerks will point us in the right direction with regard to our remit.

No member has indicated that they wish to contribute further, so I thank you for all your comments. We all agree to hold a business planning session and to take evidence from the Deputy First Minister in due course. The clerks will take note of the suggestions for the business planning day and will provide further information and arrangements to members in due course.

That concludes the first meeting of the COVID-19 Recovery Committee.

Thank you, Murdo.

Agenda item 4 is consideration of our approach to developing a work programme. The clerks and the Scottish Parliament information centre have provided some background information on the committee’s remit. Members have also been provided with a copy of the session 5 COVID-19 Committee’s legacy report.

Members will have seen that there is a suggestion that we delay making longer-term plans on the committee’s work programme until after the summer recess, when we will know more about the priorities of other committees for their scrutiny of Scotland’s Covid recovery and about the Covid situation more generally.

In the meantime, there are in paper 3 two action points on the work programme for the committee to consider. There is a suggestion that we may wish to hear from the Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery in early course after the summer recess. The purpose of that session would be to receive an update on the Scottish Government’s priorities and commitments for responding to Covid-19. The other suggestion is that the clerks arrange a business planning session towards the end of the summer recess, during which we could explore in more detail our remit and priorities for scrutiny.

I invite members to comment on those two suggestions and to provide any other general comments about our remit or areas that they may wish the committee to explore further in future business planning sessions. I ask Murdo Fraser, as deputy convener, to go first.