Minutes: 04 November 2021

1. Decision on taking business in private:

The Committee agreed to take item 6 and all future consideration of evidence in private.

2. Ministerial statement on COVID-19; the Coronavirus Acts: Two-Monthly Reports to the Scottish Parliament; COVID Recovery Strategy; and Subordinate legislation:

The Committee took evidence on the Ministerial statement on COVID-19; the Coronavirus Acts: Ninth Two-Monthly Report to Scottish Parliament and Eighth FOI Report; the COVID Recovery Strategy; and the following instruments—
The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Directions by Local Authorities) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021 (SSI 2021/329)
The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Requirements) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 2021 (SSI 2021/349) from—

John Swinney, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for COVID Recovery, Professor Jason Leitch, National Clinical Director, Elizabeth Sadler, Deputy Director, Covid Ready Society and Graham Fisher, Deputy Director Scottish Government Legal Directorate, Scottish Government.

3. Subordinate legislation:

John Swinney, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for COVID Recovery moved—
S6M-01399—That the COVID-19 Recovery Committee recommends that the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Directions by Local Authorities) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021 (SSI 2021/329) be approved.

The motion was agreed to. 

4. Subordinate legislation:

John Swinney, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for COVID Recovery moved— S6M-01529—That the COVID-19 Recovery Committee recommends that the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Requirements) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 2021 (SSI 2021/349) be approved.

After debate, the motion was agreed to (by division: For 4 (Siobhian Brown MSP, Jim Fairlie MSP, John Mason MSP, Alex Rowley MSP), Against 2 (Murdo Fraser MSP, Brian Whittle MSP), Abstentions 0).

5. Baseline health protection measures:

The Committee took evidence from—

Professor Tim Sharpe, Head of Architecture, University of Strathclyde;

Dr Hywel Davies, Technical Director, Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers;

Dr Shaun Fitzgerald OBE FREng, Director, Centre for Climate Repair at Cambridge, University of Cambridge;

Professor Catherine Noakes OBE FREng, Professor of Environmental Engineering for Buildings, University of Leeds.

6. Consideration of evidence (In Private):

The Committee considered the evidence heard earlier in the meeting.