Image source, Getty Images

Social Care Minister Maree Todd is expected to halt progress on the National Care Service - a flagship scheme of the SNP government inspired by the NHS.

The service was intended to transfer responsibility of social care from councils to a new national board but plans lack sufficient support to get through parliament.

Opposition parties have consistently questioned whether the Scottish government can afford to set up and manage the service.

A source told BBC Scotland News an advisory board would be set up instead, meaning a number of the smaller reforms in the National Care Service Bill can become law.

Todd will update parliament on the future of the National Care Service in the chamber this afternoon and you can follow along by clicking Watch Live at the top of the page.

Social Care Minister Maree Todd will now deliver a statement on the future of the Scottish government's planned National Care Service.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance has told MSPs the government will address the systemic failures that led to the deaths of two young people at the Polmont young offenders institution.

She said she would also continue to pursue the removal of immunity from prosecution for the Scottish Prision Service, and announced a review of the fatal accident inquiry system.

Katie Allan, 21, and 16-year-old William Brown -- also known as William Lindsay -- took their own lives in separate incidents at Polmont in 2018.

Following a fatal accident inquiry, a sheriff found reasonable precautions could have been taken to avoid their deaths and identified a catalogue of failures in the system.

Scottish Conservative MSP Sharon Dowey says despite fatal accident inquiries being mandatory for all deaths in prison since 2016, Scotland has the highest rates for suicides in prison in Europe.

She asks if Constance would consider making implementation of FAI recommendations mandatory to allow lessons to be learned and future mistakes avoided.

The justice secretary agrees Scotland has the highest suicide rate within prisons.

Constance says she has considered making recommendations mandatory but has noted research on the variability of FAIs.

She says: "If (implementing recommendations) were mandatory, we may have the result of recommendations that are somewhat contradictory to each other."

Willie Rennie says it is very emotive to see the families of Katie Allan and William Lindsay in the Holyrood chamber today and he adds he is annoyed FAIs take so long to begin.

The Lib Dem MSP asks if the minister will consider removing the responsibility for FAIs from the Crown.

Constance says removing the responsibility has not been at the forefront of her thoughts.

She details increased funding for the Crown Office.

Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman says prevention is "paramount", both in preventing imprisonment initially and also to those incarcerated who require support.

She asks the justice secretary to elaborate on mental health services and whether the revision of the "Talk to Me" programme will be sufficient.

Chapman also asks for assurances that suicide prevention technology will not replace human, in-person support.

The justice secretary agrees that prevention is paramount.

She says suicide prevention technology cannot and should not prevent in-person contact and, while needing tested in a prison, it can potentially give more dignity and protection to those at risk.

Pauline McNeill says this must be a turning point for the Scottish prison system which "lacks transparency and accountability".

The Scottish Labour MSP says for too long the prison service has let families down while defending its own interests.

McNeill asks if the justice secretary will commit to legally supporting all families in the first 24 hours of a death in custody to ask immediate questions about the circumstances following the death of a loved one.

The justice secretary says she "very much embraces" McNeill's point in today marking a turning point for those in the care of the SPS and for actions in prevention of imprisonment.

Constance says she will consider McNeill's suggestion and acknowledges there is work to be done to deliver on the work proposed today.

The minister says it is imperative that everyone recognise that public trust is what binds people together.

Constance says she will come back to parliament with a more detailed timetable around FAIs.

She tells the chamber she wants to ensure the terms of reference will be set correctly to allow them to be timeous.

It is now the turn of MSPs to put their questions to the minister.

Liam Kerr asks the cabinet secretary to detail when we can expect real progress on the lifting of Crown Immunity.

The Tory MSP asks why it will take a year to report on investigations into the deaths of someone in custody.

Finally he also asks about what extra funding is necessary to allow concerns about legal aid to be delivered.

On the sixth action, the justice secretary turns to alternatives to custody.

She says since becoming justice secretary, she has maintained there needs to be a balance between custody and justice to the community.

Constance acknowledges while sometimes there can be no replacement for deprivation of liberty, in some cases that can achieved in the community. She insists this is not "soft justice".

She adds: "If we are of a mindset that jail is the only option, we will never be able to stop the impact on families and society that imprisonment can cause, leading to further societal costs we all pay for."

Turning to the fifth action, the minister says she agrees that the five years between the deaths of Katie and William first notice of a fatal accident inquiry was far too long.

"It is clear the process is letting families down and the time taken for FAIs to start and conclude needs to be addressed," she adds.

She says she is commissioning a review of the FAI system.

Image source, scottish parliament tv

Constance now turns to point four, legal aid for families participating in fatal accident inquiries (FAIs).

She says financial support is currently means-tested with the majority of families receiving support.

She adds: "Recognising the special significance of a death in custody, we will change the legal aid system to make legal aid free and non-means tested in relation to deaths in custody fatal accident inquiries."

The minister turns to the third action which relates to death in prison learning and audit reviews (DIPLARS).

These will now include an assessment of the safety of the prison environment and the means of which they died by suicide.

They also will now allow for the input from families.

"The independent chairing of DIPLARS (Death in Prison Learning Audit & Review (DIPLAR) Guidance) will now be extended to all deaths in custody with immediate effect."

The justice secretary acknowledges that, sadly, William's case was not unique and the teenager was "let down" by several services prior to his death.

She says there were failings in sharing information about his needs.

Constance adds: "The Scottish government, SPS, NHS and the Scottish courts will work urgently and immediately to ensure that all of the written information and documentation available to the courts is passed to the Scottish Prison Service at the time of a person's admission to prison."

The justice secretary explaining the first action is with regard to the physical environment in prison, focusing on ligatures and risk assessments.

"SPS (Scottish Prison Service) will urgently and immediately review and revise its policy on items that can be used as ligatures," she says.

Trauma-informed training will be introduced and an anti-ligature risk assessment will be created.

The justice secretary says the government accepts Sheriff Collins' findings that these deaths were preventable and that there were systemic failures contributing to the deaths.

"We must and we will take action," says Constance.

She says she accepts the 25 recommendations made by Sherriff Collins.

The justice secretary will now detail six actions which must now take place.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance begins by expressing her deepest condolences to the families of Katie Allan and William Lindsay.

"The deaths of these two young people should not have happened while they were in the care of the state," says Constance.

The justice secretary will shortly address MSPs on the Scottish government's response to the joint Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) into the deaths of two inmates at a young offenders' Institution.

Katie Allan, 21, and William Brown, 16, also known as William Lindsay, took their own lives in separate incidents at Polmont Young Offenders' Institution in 2018.

The FAI heard how both inmates were vulnerable while being detained at the facility near Falkirk.

In a damning assessment of the Scottish Prison Service and healthcare services, the sheriff also found reasonable precautions could have been taken to avoid their deaths.

Sheriff Simon Collins KC has made 25 recommendations, including for the prison service to make definite and practical steps to make cells safer.

The sheriff criticised the failure for this to happen in the years since Katie and William's deaths.

Read more here.

First Minister's Questions usually dominates proceedings at the Scottish Parliament on Thursdays, but today there will also be two hugely significant ministerial statements delivered in the Holyrood chamber.

Firstly, Justice Secretary Angela Constance will update MSPs on the government's response to a joint Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) into the deaths of two young people at the Polmont Young Offenders' Institution.

Then, Social Care Minister Maree Todd will give a statement on the future of the Scottish government's planned National Care Service.

Things will get under way at about 14:25 and we will bring you full coverage and analysis throughout.

You can also follow by clicking on the Watch Live icon at the top of this page.

If you're just joining us, here are the key lines that emerged during this week's FMQs.

• Russell Findlay and Anas Sarwar both called on the FM to sack Health Secretary Neil Gray
• John Swinney insisted Gray had acted "entirely appropriately" in apologising for having misled the parliament over meetings held at football matches he attended
• Findlay accused Gray of being "dishonest, disgraced and distracted" and reiterated his call for him "to be given his P45"
• Sarwar also called for the sacking of Gray, before arguing "no good idea survives SNP incompetence" with regards to the expected "gutting" of the National Care Service Bill
• The FM said he and his health secretary were focused on the NHS issues that mattered to the people of Scotland
• Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater called for the capping of bus fares at £2 and Swinney agreed to look at the proposal
• The FM said he would engage with Donald Trump to protect Scotland from tariffs

That ends our coverage of FMQs.

We're heading off for a quick breather but we'll be back shortly to bring you full coverage of two ministerial statements.

The first, from about 14:25, will be on the findings of the Fatal Accident Inquiries into the deaths of Katie Allan and William Brown at Polmont Young Offenders' Institution, before another from about 14:55 on the future of the Scottish government's planned National Care Service.