Chamber and committees

We turn to agenda item 2. The committee will take evidence from the Scottish Government on its budget for 2023-24. I welcome to the meeting John Swinney, the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery; Simon Mair, deputy director of Covid recovery and public sector reform; Christine McLaughlin, director of population health; and Jamie MacDougall, deputy director for budget and public spending. I welcome you and thank you for your attendance this morning. Deputy First Minister, would you like to make any remarks before we move to questions?

Good morning, and welcome to the first meeting in 2023 of the COVID-19 Recovery Committee.

We have received apologies from Alex Rowley. I welcome Jackie Baillie, who is attending as his substitute, and I invite her to declare any interests that are relevant to the committee’s remit.

That is a helpful update. Thank you. Will you provide an update about news reports that the coronavirus and Covid-19 infection survey for Scotland, which is carried out by the Office for National Statistics, might be shut down in the spring? What implications would that have for the monitoring of and recovery from Covid?

We have taken evidence on surveillance, so the committee is familiar with that.

Thank you. I will begin the questions.

With the Covid-19 rules and restrictions lifted in Scotland, there has been a reduction in the quantity and the quality of available data, although I know that data is still being published on a weekly basis and that it still offers some insight into Covid-19 trends and cases. Álfrún, what is your view of Scotland’s Covid-19 recovery dashboard during the height of the pandemic and following the lifting of restrictions?

Thank you, Deputy First Minister. I think that we all appreciate how challenging circumstances are at the moment for the Government.

We move to questions. I will begin. The latest data estimates that one in 25 people in Scotland currently have Covid. Due to the vaccinations, we are in a much better place than we were in 2020 but, sadly, in Scotland, we lost 2,864 people to Covid in 2022, and 81 people have lost their lives to it so far in 2023. Our thoughts go out to every family, but behind those statistics is the stark reality that Covid is still a threat. Can the Deputy First Minister give us an update on the Scottish Government’s plans for the next round of booster vaccinations, including the predicted timing, targeted groups and estimated funding requirements?

Sorry, Jackie, but can I move on to John Mason? We will come back to you if we can. We are short of time.

Thank you, Álfrún. That is really helpful. I will move on to Murdo Fraser.

Thank you, Álfrún. That is really helpful, and you have also answered my second question with that answer.

In a previous evidence session in September, you gave evidence on the committee’s pre-budget scrutiny, and you mentioned that many nations are now looking at scaling up their spending review process. First, how simple would that process be, and how well placed is the Scottish Government to do that? In order for that to happen, would changes need to come from both the United Kingdom Government and the Scottish Government? Indre or Álfrún, would you like to come in on that?

That brings our questions to a close. I thank Álfrún Tryggvadóttir and Indre Bambalaite for their evidence and for giving us their time. If you would like to provide any further evidence to the committee, you can do so in writing, and the clerks will be happy to liaise with you on how to do that.

I will briefly suspend the meeting to allow for a change of witnesses.