Here's a quick recap on the main points to come out of today's First Minister's Questions, which was once again dominated by Covid WhatsApp messages.

• Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross brought up statements in the Covid inquiry that former first minister Nicola Sturgeon deleted WhatsApp messages despite telling the chamber she had nothing to hide
• Ross said Ms Sturgeon broke promises and "may have broken the law"
• The first minister said Ms Sturgeon would appear in front of the Covid inquiry next week but said WhatsApp was not a decision-making tool
• Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar asked the first minister if he knowingly misled parliament and questioned how the people of Scotland could ever trust him again
• Yousaf said the government handed over the messages it had - 28,000 messages, adding that those who did not have their messages would have to account for that when they appeared at the Covid inquiry
• Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer asked the first minister how the Scottish government would protect tenants in the private sector after the expiry of the rent cap
• Yousaf pointed out that the government had extended the legislation for a year and would work with responsible landlords, tenants and other stakeholders

Thank you for joining us today. The editor was Giancarlo Rinaldi and the writers were Ashleigh-Keenan-Bryce and Catherine Lyst.

Image source, Richard Dorrell

Scottish Conservative MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston asks the first minister for an update on Belford hospital, a replacement hospital for the people of Lochaber.

The first minister says: "We will of course provide this chamber with an update on our capital projects including health.

"What I will say is...in the face of a real terms cut not just to our resource budget but a 10% cut to our capital budget over the coming five years, we are continuing to ensure our NHS gets a pay uplift."

He says that is a "very, very stark contrast" to the Conservative UK government.

Image source, PA Media

The SNP’s Christine Grahame asks the first minister about the XL Bully ban.

She says there could be between 5,000 and 15,000 of this type of dog in Scotland and asks what help there is for existing, and mainly responsible, owners to help identify if their dog fits that breed type.

She also asks about the influx of dogs to welfare charities and the fact that vets may find themselves euthanising perfectly healthy dogs.

Yousaf says the Scottish government has to think about the impact on owners and the potential impact on animal rehoming centres and vets, adding that all those matters were being considered.

It comes after police shot and killed a large bulldog-type dog after it attacked two men in Hamilton on Tuesday.

It is not yet known if it was an XL Bully.

Scottish Conservative MSP Annie Wells asks the first minister, following the announcement of the first safe drug consumption rooms in Glasgow opening in 2024, what steps the Scottish government will take to ensure spaces like residential rehabilitation will not be deprioritised.

She says it is a vital way in helping drug users not just beat addiction, but get their lives back.

The first minister says drug deaths remain a public health emergency and he remains committed to investing an additional £250m in the national mission to reduce the harm and deaths caused by drugs.

He says rehab capacity will be increased by 172 beds by 2025/26 from 425 to 597.

Scottish Labour MSP Paul Sweeney says the safe consumption rooms in Glasgow are a "critical part" of the effort to tackle the drugs death crisis but many complimentary tools are needed to address the issue effectively.

He points to Turning Point 218 support centre in Glasgow, set to close next month due to funding cuts.

The first minister says he has been in communication with Glasgow City Council to ensure there are appropriate services implemented for the women affected by the closure.

Image source, Getty Images

As the cost of living rose and energy prices began to bite, the Scottish government put in place a temporary freeze on rent rises and evictions in October 2022 following the passing of the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) Act.

It then imposed a 3% rent cap last April which, in itself, caused problems such as a "joint-tenancy loophole" which meant that in many flat-shares, landlords were free to increase the rent by as much as they wanted when one person left.

This is because the emergency legislation only applies to tenancies, rather than properties.

In one case reported by BBC Scotland News a woman's rent went up by 35% when one of her flatmates gave notice to move out, ending the tenancy agreement.

The 3% rent cap was later extended, external but will come to an end in March.

Image source, Scottish Parliament TV

Scottish Green MSP, Ross Greer, asks the first minister for an update on how the Scottish government will protect tenants in the private sector after the expiry of the rent cap.

The first minister says the Scottish government has "led the way" more than any other part of the UK in protecting private tenants against rent rises and eviction during the cost of living crisis.

He says that further regulation was laid, subject to approval by the Scottish parliament, to extend the life of the Cost of Living (Tenants Protection) (Scotland) 2022 act by 12 months.

Scottish Conservative MSP, Pam Gosal, says the SNP/Green rent cap has not only failed to address the rent cap but has exacerbated it. She says rent has increased by more than 14% despite the cap.

"Scotland is the only part of the UK where properties sold by landlords have gone up," Ms Gosal says.

She says the cap has been nothing more than a disaster and should be scrapped.

The first minister says Ms Gosal's contribution does not match reality or the facts of the damage caused by her party's "economic vandalism".

He says the number of registered properties for rent in Scotland in Scottish landlord register data has actually increased.

"We will work with responsible landlords, we will work with tenants and other stakeholders...but I'll never make an apology for making sure that we are on the right side of this argument," he says.

The first minister says he leaves the verdict of trust to the Scottish people and says that is why the Scottish government will comply with the UK and Scottish Covid inquiries which it instructed.

He says the fact the government has handed over 28,000 messages and 19,000 documents, as well as Nicola Sturgeon attending more than 250 media conferences, is transparency.

He says he can promise the families bereaved by Covid that when he appears in front of the inquiry later today they will get truthful answers to straight questions, not just “warm words”.

Sarwar says the SNP has created a culture of secrecy and cover-up that goes from the first minister down.

He says the rules don’t apply to the SNP and they have abused the trust of the people of Scotland.

He highlights the words of one of the Covid bereaved who said she trusted the government but found out “it was all a façade”.

“I don’t understand how they can hold their head up high,” he reads from her statement.

He asks Yousaf: “How can you ever expect the people of Scotland to trust you or your party ever again?”

Sarwar says Nicola Sturgeon and her deputy as well as the chief medical officer and national clinical director deleted every WhatsApp message at the time.

“If that is not deletion at an industrial scale I do not know what planet Humza Yousaf lives in,” he says.

Sarwar adds that key evidence has been deleted and misleading statements have been given to the press and public on Yousaf’s watch.

He also brings up the use of private SNP email accounts to conduct government business.

Yousaf says he has made it clear that regardless of the method of communication, any decisions must be recorded in the corporate record.

Image source, Scottish Parliament TV

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar also asks the first minister about the Covid inquiry.

He says he asked Humza Yousaf in June if all requested emails, texts and WhatsApp messages would be handed over in full, and says the first minister’s response was that he had.

He asks Yousaf if he knowingly misled parliament or if he was so “out of his depth” that he didn’t know what was going on.

The first minister says the government handed over the messages it had - 28,000 messages, adding that those who do not have their messages will have to account for that when they appear at the Covid inquiry.

Ross says the "evidence we have heard today is quite frankly shocking" and it confirms that pandemic decisions made by the SNP were made for political reasons.

He asks: "Is this the ultimate betrayal of the public who sacrificed so much?"

The first minister rejects this accusation and says the government published information regularly in relation to the four harms approach the government took and that the overarching priority of the government was to keep the country safe.

He said they will "rightly" be questioned over that at the inquiry.

Image source, Scottish Parliament TV

Ross quotes the first minister when he previously stated the Scottish government did not routinely make decisions over WhatsApp.

He asks: "Did the first minister mislead parliament when he said that or did he not realise Scottish government policy was being made over WhatsApp?"

The first minister says WhatsApp is a communication programme, not a decision-making tool. He points out that he said WhatsApp was not "routinely" used, if decisions were made this way, they would be recorded on the public record.

He acknowledges that this has not been the government's "finest hour" in handling the request for messages and has commissioned officials to lead an externally-led review into the use of mobile messaging apps and the use of non-corporate technology in the Scottish government.

Ross says a "culture of secrecy" runs through the entire SNP government.

The first minister repeats that 28,000 messages have been handed to the inquiry and this hardly rings true of the accusations the Scottish Conservative leader is making.

Yousaf says: "For all the accusations that he is throwing at the former first minister, at the former deputy first minister...I'm assuming those same accusations ring true for his colleague the prime minister who hasn't handed over a single WhatsApp message."

He adds that that isn't just political opportunism but "breath-taking hypocrisy".

Image source, Scottish Parliament TV

Humza Yousaf is in the chamber for FMQs and Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross asks the first question.

He begins by bringing up statements in the Covid inquiry that former first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, deleted WhatsApp messages despite telling the chamber she had nothing to hide

"She broke promises to broken families, she may have broken the law." says Mr Ross.

The first minister replies that Ms Sturgeon will appear in front of the Covid inquiry next week and will answer those questions herself.

He added: "Any decisions, whether it's made over WhatsApp, telephone call, email...it's so important that those points are uploaded to the corporate record."

He says the Scottish government has handed over 28,000 messages to the inquiry.

A key revelation from the UK Covid inquiry today came during evidence from Nicola Sturgeon's former chief of staff Liz Lloyd - again over WhatsApp messages.

The inquiry lawyer picked up on the messages between Lloyd and Sturgeon on communications from the UK government when Boris Johnson was prime minister - warning there may be some bad language.

Tariq quoted Sturgeon who wrote: "He is a [expletive] clown".

Lloyd says this was the end result of a day that had been "quite shambolic from the UK government".

"We were clearly not very complimentary about their communications handling that day," she says.

Tariq asks if the relationship between Boris Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon had broken down.

Lloyd says Johnson "did not want to be on the calls" and "engagement came to be seen as slightly pointless".

You can follow more from the UK Covid inquiry on our live page here.

Image source, UK Covid-19 inquiry

As well as Prof Leitch, the UK Covid inquiry this week heard from Scotland’s chief medical officer (CMO), Prof Sir Gregor Smith, that he deleted his WhatsApp messages “on a frequent basis” and told colleagues to do so “every day”.

This was in line with Scottish government policy, Prof Smith said, and that all “pertinent” and “definitive” decision making was recorded via email.

Jamie Dawson KC, counsel to the inquiry, said it appeared as though former first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, appeared to "have retained no messages whatsoever".

The inquiry also heard that Deputy First Minister John Swinney's WhatsApp messages were either deleted manually or by the app's auto-delete function.

Retired civil servant, Ken Thomson, told the inquiry that electronic messaging grew very rapidly during the pandemic.

The inquiry was shown Mr Thomson's messages to a "Covid outbreak group" chat in August 2020 which included Prof Smith and Prof Leitch reminding them that the messages are "FOI discoverable" and urges participants to use the "clear chat" button, remarking: "Plausible deniability is my middle name".

Image source, Getty Images

The UK Covid inquiry was high on the news agenda this week.

Today’s FMQs come ahead of First Minister Humza Yousaf facing questioning at the inquiry in Edinburgh. He will be asked about his time as justice secretary and later, health secretary.

The inquiry this week heard from Scotland's chief medical officer, Prof Sir Gregor Smith, that he deleted his WhatsApp messages "on a frequent basis" in line with Scottish government policy.

Scotland's national clinical director, Prof Jason Leitch, also appeared at the inquiry and denied giving Mr Yousaf, then health secretary, a "workaround" to avoid wearing a mask when not seated at a dinner in November 2021.

Prof Leitch was also asked about his use of WhatsApp where, in a May 2021 chat, he said: "WhatsApp deletion is a pre-bed ritual".

He told the inquiry: "This was a flippant exaggeration in an informal messaging group and it wasn't done every day before I went to bed."

The inquiry also heard from Prof Mark Woolhouse, a member of the Scottish Government Covid-19 Advisory Group (SCAG) that there was "very good evidence" that Covid transmitted poorly outdoors and therefore "pretty much zero public health benefit to keeping us indoors".

Image source, Getty Images

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of First Minister's Questions.

We'll bring you the live action from Holyrood as Humza Yousaf faces his weekly grilling by opposition leaders.

The session starts at noon and you can follow it here or watch live from the chamber by using the play icon in the tabs above.