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We advised in our consultation on the draft Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill that all responses would be analysed, an analysis report published and the responses considered along with other evidence available to help progress our commitment to reforming the Gender Recognition Act 2004.

Work on the draft Bill, including the consultation analysis, was paused in April 2020 as a result of the pandemic. In November 2020, we announced that we were taking forward work so that the consultation responses would be analysed independently of Scottish Government.

Analysts commissioned by the Scottish Government to review consultation responses are required, under the procurement arrangements, to carry out a transparent, robust and systematic analysis of all responses. As a condition of the contract, they are also required to produce a balanced and impartial report for publication, ensuring that the full range and nature of views are presented.

We will publish the analysis report and the responses from organisations and groups, where we have permission to do so, in due course.

Today I am announcing up to £35.4 million in further funding to support bus operators maintain services between 28 June and 3 October. This is in addition to up to £61.4 million that the Scottish Government has already made available in 2021-22, and up to £191.3 million that was available in 2020-21. This funding is subject to regular reconciliation to ensure we are not over or under paying operators and actual spend in 2020-21 is forecast at £119.5 million. Funding only covers the gap between additional Covid-19 operational costs and lost fare revenue due to physical distancing.

The Ferries Plan (2013-2022) published in 2012, following a 4-year review, set out the Scottish Government’s strategic approach for the provision and support of ferry services to 2022. It has led to increased frequencies and capacities on numerous routes, reduced fares and introduced new services. The Scottish Government has not specifically assessed the impact of these measures on resilience and intends to produce a progress report on the implementation and outcomes of the Ferries Plan as part of its work on the Islands Connectivity Plan.

Work on finalising the review had been on hold due to other animal welfare priorities arising from the Covid pandemic but this is now almost completed and the report is expected to be published this month.

Through the Rural and Islands Housing Fund and the wider Affordable Housing Supply Programme, over 4,800 affordable homes were delivered between 2016-17 and 2019-20 in rural and island communities across Scotland.

Housing to 2040, published in March 2021, includes an ambition to deliver a further 100,000 affordable homes across Scotland up to 2032, that will continue to deliver for rural communities, with at least 70% of these for social rent, once the current 50,000 affordable homes target has been delivered.

We will invest £3.5 billion in housing in this Parliamentary term, £3.44 billion of which will deliver more social and affordable homes in urban and rural areas across Scotland.

In November 2020, we announced that the demand-led Rural and Islands Housing Fund, which aims to increase the supply of affordable housing across all tenures, would continue beyond March 2021 with up to £30 million being made available as part of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme.

The Scottish Government recognises the additional barriers that Scotland-based touring musicians are likely to face as a result of the UK’s exit from the EU, including the potential need for visas and work permits. We are working closely with the sector to consider urgently what additional support can be provided to musicians and others working in the sector to mitigate these barriers.

The Scottish Government has already provided funding for Arts Infopoint UK, which will provide advice and support to cultural and creative professionals on obtaining visas and other requirements for working in the UK.

The Scottish Government has repeatedly called on the UK Government to negotiate with the EU to seek visa- and work permit-free arrangements for cultural and creative professionals working in EU countries on a short-term basis, for activities including touring. Scottish Ministers are continuing to make the case for such arrangements to be sought in engagements with UK counterparts.

All of our decision making in the approach to responding to Covid-19 is guided by the latest scientific evidence from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) , advice from Health Protection Scotland and our Chief Medical Officer. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) provides advice on immunisation to all UK Health Departments, including on the efficacy and safety of vaccines.

Decisions to prioritise one population group over another are not taken lightly, nor are they straightforward. That is why our prioritisation decisions have been, and will continue to be, guided by the independent expert advice from the JCVI.

The JCVI priority groups are based on either vulnerability to Covid-19, or on interacting with (and therefore possibly spreading to) people who are vulnerable to Covid-19.

The JCVI’s recommendation continues to be that an age-based approach is the best way to address the risk of severe illness and mortality.

Calling people forward in age cohorts is operationally very simple and this process has already worked well during the earlier stages of the programme. This approach will be taken by the 4 Nations across the UK and we will continue to vaccinate as quickly as supplies allow.

We are adhering to the priority list devised by the JCVI which has been designed to target those at greatest risk from COVID-19 and is estimated to address over 90% of preventable mortality from the virus in Scotland. This is the priority rollout all nations of the UK are working towards and it is extremely important that we adhere to these lists in order to avoid more lives being lost. It would be a dereliction of our duty to the people of Scotland to deviate from the JCVIs expert advice.

Scottish Government officials are in regular contact with UK Government departments, including the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), regarding support for touring musicians and others working in the sector, who are based in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK. Ongoing discussions aim to ensure that support for touring musicians from the Scottish Government and UK Government is coordinated where necessary.

Scottish Government officials and representatives of Creative Scotland are members of the DCMS Touring Working Group, which is currently considering a range of options for supporting touring musicians based in the UK, and to mitigate the impacts of EU exit.

The Scottish Government has made clear to the UK Government that any potential UK-wide initiatives to support international touring must take a 4-nations approach, respecting the devolved nature of culture, and include a meaningful decision-making role for Scottish Ministers.

I am due to meet the UK Minister of State for Digital and Culture on 17 June 2021 to discuss international working in the culture and creative sectors, including how touring musicians and others working in the sector can best be supported.

I’m sure you can appreciate the vaccination program has been delivered at a pace and scale we have never experienced before and as such this is one of the largest and most complicated logistical exercises ever undertaken in peacetime. Over 3,267,290 people have received the first dose and 2,075,231 people have received the second dose of the Covid vaccination in the period 8 December to 7:30 am Tuesday 01 June. This is over 71% of our eligible population for the first dose and 45% for second doses.

With any operation of such scale, it is regrettable the administrative errors have occurred.

In a small number of cases across different health boards, some people have received letters incorrectly saying that they had not attended their first vaccination appointment, when they had.

If someone has received one of these letters, and they have had their 1st dose vaccination – they should phone the national phone line on 0800 030 8013 – to help us make sure your central record is up to date and ensure your 2nd appointment is provided for you. We apologise for the inconvenience or confusion that this has caused.

We acknowledge how challenging these past 15 months have been for everyone in our society, including our faith and belief communities who have not been able to come together to celebrate important occasions as they normally would.

Ceremonies that take place within places of worship to mark religious life events and that form part of a wider service (including baptisms, christenings and coming-of-age ceremonies) have been permitted in accordance with the guidance on the safe use of places of worship since the resumption of congregational worship in March 2021, and are subject to the guidance on calculating physical distance based capacity .

Marriages, civil partnerships, and funeral services are exceptions to the general restrictions on gatherings in public or at private dwellings in the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) Regulations 2020 at all the protection levels of the updated Strategic Framework, along with receptions and post-funeral gatherings in public places at protection levels 0 to 3. We have also published guidance on these events, including on the numbers who can attend at the different protection levels. Marriages, civil partnerships and funerals are of particular importance to people and society and they are protected under the European Convention on Human Rights. Additionally, funerals are extremely important events with every funeral celebrating and commemorating a life lived and a loved one no longer with us. There are also very practical reasons why funerals cannot be postponed for any significant length of time.

However at this time, there are no specific exceptions for other religious life events, or any associated receptions and celebrations following them, outwith a place of worship. These remain subject to the general restrictions on gatherings, including in public, for example at a hospitality venue.

While the Scottish Government appreciates these would normally be occasions which are shared with families and loved ones, the Covid situation is still serious, and we need to continue to minimise the spread of the virus, balancing the harms from the virus which are potentially fatal, with the impact on faith and belief communities of the restrictions on places of worship.

We will continue to engage with our faith and belief stakeholders and we keep this under constant review as we cautiously progress out of lockdown.