Summary

  • The weekly report on Covid-19 linked deaths show that there has been a total of 4,070 fatalities

  • The figure from National Records of Scotland is calculated up to Sunday, 14 June. Between the following Monday and Wednesday a further 14 deaths were registered

  • Scottish Conservative leader Jackson Carlaw has accused First Minister Nicola Sturgeon of "dithering" over plans to unlock education

  • Labour's Scottish leader Richard Leonard added that Ms Sturgeon had "contradicted her deputy, contradicted her advisers and then contradicted herself"

  • Scotland's GDP falls by 2.5% in first three months of year - UK GDP fell by 2%

  • Output across the Scottish economy was down 18.9% in April, and 5% in March according to new 'experimental' data

  • Scotland's finance secretary blames furlough "cliff edge" for job losses

  • Scottish retail sales slump by more than a quarter compared with 2019

Live Reporting

BBC Scotland News

  1. Home tennis lesson with Judy Murray

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  2. 'The pandemic and its challenges are not over' - Freeman

    Holyrood Live
    BBC Parliaments

    Health Secretary Jeane Freeman

    Ms Freeman is giving evidence to Holyrood's health committee

    Holyrood's health committee

    Health Secretary Jeane Freeman explains the government had a resilience plan in place for a flu pandemic, the principles of which have been in place despite Covid-19 not being influenza.

    These have ensured supply chains are not disrupted, there is sufficient NHS capacity and communication with the public is proactive she says.

    "But the pandemic and its challenges are not over," she says.

    Ms Freeman emphasises the need for continual learning and she points to a "lessons learned process" for local resilience plans.

    The health committee is streaming here on the live page with us.

  3. 'We must stick with plan to suppress'

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  4. Scotland's music, theatre and film-making industries on course for 'catastrophic' hit

    maskGetty Images

    A report's warning Scotland's music, theatre and film-making industries are on course for a "catastrophic" hit to earnings and jobs as a result of the coronavirus lockdown.

    The Creative Industries Federation findings suggest 7,000 posts are at risk -- with Scotland hit harder than any other part of the UK.

  5. Mornings With Kaye Adams is looking at schools...

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  6. How much wriggle-room is there to allow businesses to reopen?

    Finance Secretary Kate Forbes says the government has "always been flexible" about when some business sectors could reopen. But she says health concerns must come first.

    It's really dangerous to suggest that it's a livelihood versus lives argument right now. We recognise the harms that are being done to the economy. We recognise the social harms. But we also know that the virus is still with us.

    Kate Forbes, Finance secretary

  7. MSPs take evidence on easing lockdown and pandemic resilience

    We begin this morning with two important coronavirus evidence sessions at Holyrood:

    • 9am: Health Committee: Looking at resilience and emergency planning during the pandemic with: Health Secretary Jeane Freeman, Scotland’s National Clinical Director Prof Jason Leitch and NHS Scotland’s interim chief executive John Connaghan. You can watch this here on the live page with us.

    • 9am: Covid-19 Committee: MSPs look at easing the lockdown restrictions with Highland Council, NFU Scotland, Scottish Renewables and the STUC and the Scottish Retail Consortium. You can watch at Scottish Parliament TV
    Man in a maskGetty Images

    A busy day ahead in terms of Covid-19 politics

    Here's what else is on the Covid-19 politics agenda today:

    9.30am: GDP Figures –Scottish govt figures published at 0930

    12pm: Weekly data published by the National Records of Scotland (NRS) showing deaths where Covid is suspected as well as confirmed with a test.

    12pm: Westminster PMQs

    12.20pm: First Minister's Questions – preceded by an update from Nicola Sturgeon on daily stats

    3.00-3.30 pm: Ministerial Statement: Justice Sector Response, Recovery and Renewal

    3.30-4.00 pm: Ministerial Statement: Mental Health – Transition and Recovery

    5pm: UK government coronavirus daily briefing: led by the PM today

  8. Should schools go back full-time in August?

    Good Morning Scotland
    BBC Radio Scotland

    learningGetty Images

    Kate Forbes is asked if schools could and should go back full-time in August if levels of coronavirus are low - allowing parents to get back to work and spend.

    "A lot of this is contingent on the rate of infection and how we progress. At the moment our priority is that robust plans are in place from each local authority to be scrutinised carefully and make sure they are resourced to enable kids to go back to school."

    She confirms that would most likely be a blended model initially, before returning "100% of the time as quickly as possible."

  9. Listen again: Scotland's finance secretary says looming closure of Job Retention Scheme hitting jobs

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  10. Kate Forbes: Jobs being lost 'because of furlough cliff edge'

    Good Morning Scotland
    BBC Radio Scotland

    graphicGetty Images

    Scotland's finance secretary responds to new figures showing Scotland's unemployment rate is higher than any other part of the UK.

    She says businesses have been making "very difficult decisions about redundancies now" because they know the furlough scheme is at "a cliff edge".

    That's why we are calling for the furlough scheme to be extended. If you don't do that in some sector-based way, then all you have done is pay wages for a few months rather than save jobs.

    Kate Forbes, Finance secretary

  11. Scotland's finance secretary: We have to invest while creating job certainty

    Good Morning Scotland
    BBC Radio Scotland

    signGetty Images

    The Scottish government has announced a £230m Return to Work scheme, which the finance secretary insists will "directly create jobs" in business and construction.

    We have to invest as we are providing that certainty in order to restore confidence and get the economy up and running again.

    Kate Forbes, Finance secretary

  12. Should we be opening up the economy more quickly?

    Good Morning Scotland
    BBC Radio Scotland

    signGetty Images

    Retail sales are down by more than a quarter on last year and other sectors have been hit even more severely.

    But Scotland's finance secretary says moving through the phases of easing lockdown restrictions should be done carefully.

    I would be cautious against any reckless reaction. We want to get the economy moving and we want to get businesses open and that is why we have set out the route map to give businesses hope. But it is precisely because of our cautious approach that the R number is being managed.

    Kate Forbes, Finance Secretary

  13. Scotland's finance secretary says economy 'can bounce back in sustainable way'

    Good Morning Scotland
    BBC Radio Scotland

    Kate Forbes

    Further detail on how Scotland's economy performed in the first three months of this year will be released later.

    Finance Secretary Kate Forbes says she expects GDP figures to be "broadly in line with the rest of the UK" but that Scotland's economy will have been more exposed in some sectors."

    We've got a higher proportion of tourism, we've clearly seen a big hit to oil and gas, and so there is likely to be a different impact in Scotland But if we can get managing the health crisis under control, our economy can bounce back in a more sustainable way and ensure that consumer confidence is restored and people can get back to work.

    Kate Forbes, Finance secretary

  14. SSE pressing ahead with plans to build UK’s biggest onshore wind farm

    Andrew Black
    BBC Scotland Business Presenter

    wind farmSSE

    The 103-turbine Viking energy project on Shetland will cost £580m and is expected to generate 1.9 terrawatts of power each year (one terrawatt = one trillion watts)

    SSE now needs the energy regular Ofgem to back the building of a cable to take the power from Shetland to the mainland. SSE is confident that will get the green light.

    The company’s chief executive Alistair Phillips-Davies told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme the project was part of a £7bn investment in green and low carbon energy projects.

    As the economy emerges from the effects of coronavirus, it’s very important we go back to recognising the climate emergency and build a recovery around investment in green infrastructure

    Alistair Philips-Davies, Chief executive, SSE

  15. 'Don't rush out to get new Covid-19 test drug'

    Good Morning Scotland
    BBC Radio Scotland

    Dr Chris Smith

    A word of caution as Dr Chris Smith says dexamethasone would only be used in the most serious coronavirus cases, where people are in intensive care and on ventilators.

    In people who don't need to be in hospital or don't need supplementary oxygen, it doesn't change the outcome. So for people who think they might have a mild coronavirus infection, you shouldn't go and try and get dexamethasone because it won't make you any better and it may actually make you worse.

    Dr Chris Smith, Clinical virologist

  16. Cheap durg could have major impact on fight against Covid-19

    Good Morning Scotland
    BBC Radio Scotland

    testGetty Images

    A cheap and widely available drug can help save the lives of patients seriously ill with coronavirus.

    The low-dose steroid treatment dexamethasone is a major breakthrough in the fight against the deadly virus, say UK experts".

    So how big a development in the battle against Covid-19 is it - and how soon could it widely used?

    Clinical virologist, and presenter of The Naked Scientist Radio Show Dr Chris Smith, says by controlling the body's immune response to the virus, it could make a huge difference.

    "The major hurdle is proving a drug is safe. If you find a new use for an old drug, most of the hurdles are't there because you already understand the drug and you've got a licence."

  17. How important has the furlough scheme been?

    Good Morning Scotland
    BBC Radio Scotland

    graphicGetty Images

    With the job retention scheme set to be phased out, economist Andrew Wilson says it has proved to be extremely successful so far. It has been very important to relieve anxiety and pressure on businesses and households, he adds.

    But you saw the numbers out yesterday - there are now 2.8m people unemployed across the UK. When we got to the peak of he 1980s de-industrialisation which has harmed communities across central Scotland in particular - it peaked at 3.1m. So we're not far off that, and that's before furlough is withdrawn and the full effects of redundancies and business failures are seen.

    Andrew Wilson, Economist and former SNP MP

  18. 'This is going to be a long haul back for the economy'

    Good Morning Scotland
    BBC Radio Scotland

    Economist Andrew Wilson tells BBC Scotland the economic slump and recovery will not be "V-shaped" as some politicians and analysts have suggested.

    "This is a long haul back. The prospects are that we need a monumental effort - politicians and governments working together to get the measures in place that we need to rescue business, because the outlook for people and families is bleak."

  19. GDP figures: Real picture will emerge over time, says ex-SNP MP

    Good Morning Scotland
    BBC Radio Scotland

    signGetty Images

    The latest GDP figures for Scotland are set to be announced later for the first three months of the year.

    Economist and former SNP MP Andrew Wilson says he doesn't think we should be looking for "too much accuracy in the figures".

    He says the UK overall is set to be the worst-performing economy in the developed world "and Scotland is probably going to be a bit worse because of the nature of our sectors and how the virus has behaved north of the border".

    I don't think we should be comparing north and south with too much rigour. The picture will emerge over time.

    Andrew Wilson, Economist and frmer SNP MP

  20. Restrictions 'bringing many shops to the brink'

    Magnus Bennett
    BBC Scotland News

    Buchanan Street in GlasgowPA Media

    Scottish retail sales improved last month but still slumped by more than a quarter, according to a regular survey.

    Total sales in May were down year-on-year by 27.6%, although this was an improvement on the record low recorded in April (32.2%).

    Overall food sales rose 3.6%, with grocers reporting a higher basket spend than before the Covid-19 crisis, the SRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor found.

    But there was a 53.2% drop in total non-food sales.