Image source, Getty Images

Ruth Davidson says the SNP is behind the rest of the UK in terms of rolling out the vaccine.

The Scottish Conservative leader at Holyrood asks if the first minister will let family doctors order stocks of the vaccine directly.

Discussions with those on the frontline on how to improve the programme are ongoing, replies the first minister.

Ms Sturgeon points out vaccinations in care homes have been completed, whereas in England that is not the case.

The first minister points out the vaccination of people in care homes has been effectively completed.

"We are on track - though not to just meet, but I would hope exceed our targets for the other cohorts we are now vaccinating."

Around half a million people have been vaccinated in total, she adds.

The vaccination programme in Scotland has a "sustainable pace", Ms Sturgeon says.

Ruth Davidson says: "There is genuine concern across Scotland about the pace of the roll-out."

The Scottish Conservative Holyrood leader says prioritising care homes is not an excuse for the slower roll-out across the general population.

She asks if concerns from GPs on the frontline are wrong.

"No, but I do think Ruth Davidson is again mischaracterising the position to some extent," replies Ms Sturgeon.

The first minister says she makes no apology for prioritising care homes first as the JCVI recommended it and they are the most vulnerable to the virus.

Image source, Getty Images

Due to a hold-up in the processing of data, the first minister is unable to provide the latest figure on the total number of people receiving their first vaccines.

But Ms Sturgeon says around 60% of over-80s living in the community have had their first jabs.

The government is "on track" to complete its target of vaccinating all over-80s by the end of next week, but anticipates the vast majority will have theirs by the start of next week.

The over-70s will also start having their first vaccine next week, the first minister adds.

Image source, Scottish government

The Scottish government will set out tougher travel restrictions in the next few days, says the first minister.

There will also be further improvements to the Test and Protect system.

Ms Sturgeon says the single most important thing we can all do is to follow the current rules, stay at home as much as possible and of course FACTS.

She says: "Stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives."

A further 82 people who tested positive have had their deaths registered, taking the total by that measure to 5,970.

Nicola Sturgeon confirms a further 1,201 people have tested positive for Covid-19. That is 5.6% of the total number of tests carried out.

This takes the total number of positive cases in Scotland to 176,533.

1. Scottish government: Coronavirus (COVID-19): what you can and cannot do, external

From Tuesday 5 January, mainland Scotland moved from Level 4 to a temporary lockdown, with new guidance to stay at home, external except for essential purposes. Some islands remain at Level 3, external.

FIve new rules have come into force to tighten restrictions around certain areas including click and collect, takeaways and alcohol consumption outdoors.

2. Postcode checker, external for Covid restrictions by protection level in areas of Scotland

3. NHS Inform, external

The latest from NHS Scotland and the Scottish government, including social distancing, face covering and stay at home advice.

4. Test and Protect, external

If you have Covid-19 symptoms go immediately to NHS Inform online or phone 0800 028 2816 to book a test

The latest from NHS Scotland and the Scottish government, including social distancing, face covering and stay at home advice.

5. The ready.scot, external website

It has been updated with the latest help and advice and how you can help others. The helpline number remains: 0800 111 4000

6. The Clear Your Head website, external

It's ok to not feel yourself right now, here are some tips to help get you through the pandemic.

12.30pm: First Minister's Questions. Nicola Sturgeon will give an update on the latest coronavirus situation before taking questions from opposition leaders.

2.00pm: Finance Secretary Kate Forbes will set out the draft Scottish budget in a statement to the Holyrood parliament.

It will include spending plans on health, education and for other devolved areas and proposed rates of income tax and land and buildings transaction tax for 2021/22.

It will also detail spending to tackle the ongoing Covid-19 emergency and allocations to prepare for what Scotgov style as a “fairer, greener” recovery.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, Getty Images

Nicola Sturgeon will address the Scottish Parliament shortly, where she will provide an update on the latest coronavirus figures in Scotland.

The first minister will then be questioned by the leaders of the opposition parties - Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives in Holyrood, interim Labour leader Jackie Baillie, Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie and Scottish Liberal-Democrats leader Willie Rennie - about the latest Covid developments.

You can follow First Minister's Questions on this page, and watch or listen by clicking on one of the tabs above.

Boris Johnson visited the Lighthouse Laboratory in Glasgow where PCR samples are tested.

The centre is on the site of Scotland's largest hospital - the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

The prime minister was told that the small team are able to unpack about 1,000 kits an hour. When lab staff started to handle Covid tests 10 months ago they worked on just 41 per day.

It currently processes 85,000 tests daily - from Scotland and other parts of the UK - and it will soon scale up to 100,000 a day.

Image source, PA Media

The UK government has a series of lighthouse labs around the country to carry out PCR tests for Covid.

Mr Johnson visited the one situated at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus in Glasgow.

It is a Glasgow University lab that has been repurposed to process Covid test swabs.

The lab opened up back in April, external, the third lighthouse lab to be set up.

It is stocked with equipment pulled together from around the university - including PCR machines and RNA extractors.

100 employees keep the lab running round the clock.

Image source, PA Media

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has begun his visit to Scotland at the Lighthouse Laboratory, which is used for processing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) samples for coronavirus.

Mr Johnson arrived in Glasgow by plane before taking the short trip to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus in Glasgow.

Image source, PA

At her daily briefing on Wednesday, Nicola Sturgeon suggested that Boris Johnson should not visit Scotland as it was not an "essential" journey.

The prime minister is travelling to Scotland on Thursday for a visit in which he is expected to emphasise the strength of the UK working together in the fight against Covid-19.

But Ms Sturgeon said she was "not ecstatic" about the plan, saying leaders should abide by the same rules as they ask of the general public.

Asked about the trip, the UK government's Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said Mr Johnson would go "wherever he needs to go in his vital work against this pandemic".

And Downing Street has insisted that it is important for the prime minister to be "visible and accessible" during the pandemic.

The prime minister's official spokesman did not confirm details of the visit, but said: "It remains the fact that it is a fundamental role of the PM to be the physical representative of the UK government".

• Read more here
• Scotland 'could go further' on quarantine rules

House of Commons
Parliament

The prime minister’s visit to Scotland today has been criticised in the Commons for “undermining the public health message” of Covid-19.

The SNP’s House of Commons spokesman Tommy Sheppard said that in normal times he would be delighted for Boris Johnson to visit Scotland because it resulted in a boost in support for his party.

But, he said, now was not the time for such a visit and people should be maintaining social distancing protocols.

In reply, the leader of the Commons, Conservative MP Jacob Rees Mogg, dismissed the criticism.

He described Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon as “Miss Moan A Lot”.

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

It is a sign of these lockdown times that there is a bit of a row over whether the prime minister should be visiting Scotland at all on Thursday.

While London and Edinburgh debate whether the visit meets Covid guidelines, many unionists now believe making their case increasingly falls into the essential category.

For months, polls have suggested support for Scottish independence is higher than that for staying the UK.

We at the BBC like to be cautious around polls, but there is now a pattern: support for the union looks weaker than ever.

There are two key reasons for the increase in support for independence, which come up time and again in conversations. Both are linked to Boris Johnson.

The first is Brexit. A comfortable majority of Scottish voters backed Remain in 2016 - and some of the increased support for independence appears to come from that group.

That's unlikely to be helped by the fact that the most prominent Brexit backer is now prime minister.

The second reason is the way the pandemic has been handled. Health is a devolved issue, so the Scottish government has been making most of the big decisions on it for the past 10 months.

Although Scottish ministers admit mistakes have been made, polls suggest Scots are happy Ms Sturgeon is making the decisions and not Mr Johnson.

Read more from Nick.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to visit Scotland later, where he is expected to emphasise the strength of the UK working together in the fight against Covid-19.

The SNP said the prime minister was panicking as opinion polls show declining support for the Union.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has also questioned whether his trip is "essential".

• Read more here
• Sturgeon: Johnson trip to Scotland 'not essential'
• Will there be a Scottish independence referendum?
• The UK government's Scottish independence dilemma

Boris Johnson will be north of the border on Thursday where he is expected to emphasise the strength of the UK working together in the fight against Covid-19.

It is also budget day in Scotland. Finance Secretary Kate Forbes will deliver the Scottish government's spending plans. Before that First Minister's Questions will take place at 12:30pm