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The sheriff must make an order (a “first order”) initiating the inquiry within 14 days of receiving the first notice from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

If the sheriff orders that a preliminary hearing is to be held, it must be ordered to take place within 56 days after the date of the first order.

The purpose of a preliminary hearing is to - ensure that the purpose of the inquiry is achieved when the inquiry takes place, consider the scope of the inquiry and identify the issues which are in dispute, and consider the information likely to be presented at the inquiry and the manner in which it should be presented.

The sheriff may order as many preliminary hearings to take place as is necessary to achieve that purpose.

Crown Counsel issued an instruction on 16 June 2021 that that a Fatal Accident Inquiry take place in relation to the deaths of Richard Dyson and Simon Midgley.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, Health and Safety Investigation Unit is investigating the deaths of Mr Dyson and Mr Midgley and is preparing to lodge a first notice with the court. The first notice will set out any issues identified by the procurator fiscal which it is anticipated the inquiry should address.

The sheriff will appoint dates for the Fatal Accident Inquiry to take place after the first notice has been lodged.

We have gathered a range of evidence and in considering the venues and settings we must also consider the behaviour, activities, and interactions that occur within those settings.

Research evidence indicates that being vaccinated reduces the risk that a person will become infected with the virus, and likely further reduces their risk of transmitting coronavirus. Ensuring only those who are vaccinated attend higher risk venues and events therefore directly reduces the risk of transmission.

We will publish a full assessment of the evidence for certification, based on the four harms model that we have used throughout the pandemic, in advance of the scheme coming into force.

Once again, I want to thank our health and care staff for their magnificent work to date. Whilst we are beginning to see a reduction in the numbers of new Covid cases, the last few weeks have been enormously difficult and our health and care services are continuing to deal with a challenging combination of issues.

With the continued increased demands on services across health and social care, we must ensure that the vital services provided by our NHS are protected as we move into a challenging winter period. This means we must continue with a measured and consistent approach to remobilising and renewing across our system, learning from the pressures we were subjected to over the last year and maintaining the ability to quickly respond and intervene, where necessary. I am also mindful of the impact of these pressures on our excellent health and care staff, many of whom have been on the frontline of the Covid response for a considerable period.

It is clear that as we move into the winter period, we need to continue to balance the capacity of the NHS to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic against increasing demands of emergency, urgent and planned care and delayed discharges.

With this in mind, I have decided that the NHS will remain on an emergency footing until at least 31 March 2022.

I thank the members of the Legal Aid Payment Advisory Panel for the careful consideration taken over the recommendations in its report.

We will carefully consider the recommendations in the Report and these will help shape future reform to the legal aid system.

In particular, I welcome the recommendation that further research is needed to ensure that fees are set at appropriate levels, therefore we will now begin the process of commissioning that research and will continue to engage with stakeholders throughout that process.

Legal Aid Payment Review Panel: report to the Minister for Community Safety

I have today launched a consultation on the next Fire and Rescue Framework for Scotland which invites comment on our future strategic priorities for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. I encourage everyone who has an interest in this important consultation to have their say. You can access and respond to this consultation online at https://consult.gov.scot/safer-communities/fire-and-rescue-framework .

Home owners are responsible for the costs of on-going work needed to protect and preserve their own property, which includes the costs for the fire alarms to meet the new standard. We have provided £0.5 million additional funding for Care and Repair Scotland to provide help installing alarms for older and disabled homeowners on low incomes. We have also provided £1 million to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to provide alarms for owners who are considered most vulnerable to the risk of fire. Local authorities also have broad discretionary powers to provide advice and support to owners.

The Scottish Government has undertaken a comprehensive awareness raising campaign across a range of channels including TV, Radio and digital to ensure people are aware of the new legislation and encourage compliance. This includes material to support third sector stakeholders and messaging on the importance of using reputable tradespeople, including signposting to local government Trading Standards.

The Strategic Framework within Scotland’s Scams Prevention, Awareness and Enforcement Strategy, published in 19 March 2021, focusses on prevention, disruption, awareness, education and enforcement. This is intended to help all consumers with practical steps they can take to recognise common scam tactics and avoid the risk posed by this criminal activity.

Further advice can be obtained from https://consumeradvice.scot/ , which is a free consumer helpline funded by the Scottish Government.

We are aware that, following our successful public awareness campaign, there is significant public interest in carrying out work to comply with the new standard for fire alarms in all Scottish homes. It is, therefore, possible, that some retailers will have short term supply issues. However, we have been assured by manufacturers that there is a sufficient supply of alarms available to meet the expected demand by 1 February 2022, when the new standard comes into force.

All women in Scotland should have access to abortion services without feeling harassed or intimidated when accessing these services. Local authorities may wish to consider using their byelaw powers to put in place protest-free buffer zones outside clinics that provide abortion services where the specific circumstances justify imposing those measures. We have made a commitment in our Programme for Government to support any local authority who wishes to use bye-laws in this way.

The Single Building Assessment (SBA) pack contains the current criteria and guidance which will used by those undertaking the SBA in conjunction with the Scottish Advice Note. Visual and physical inspections will determine, as part of the SBA process, what needs to be removed on a building by building basis.

The Scottish Advice Note is used to help inform this process by determining the fire risk posed by external wall systems in multi-storey residential buildings. This process will determine which properties require mitigation or remediation.