Hello everyone, I am Sanjay Gupta. I welcome you on Sanjay Gupta Tech School. So today we are having day number 87 of this Salesforce Learning Bootcamp. And from today onwards, like this week and next two weeks, you are going to learn about Salesforce QA. And for the same, I have Irwin with me. So welcome Irwin on the platform. And Irwin will introduce himself first to you so that you get to know who is your instructor for next five to six sessions. So Irwin is basically working as a Salesforce QA and he will be sharing his knowledge. So over to you Irwin, please introduce yourself to the community. Thanks, Sanjay. Thanks so much. So hello everyone. I am Irwin. I am someone who belongs to a one tech background for the starters. So it hit me back in 2020 that, you know, the passionation for the technology world chimed in. And I started witnessing people working on Salesforce. And that's when I actually got intrigued and wanted to learn about it. So as you can see that I am someone who is a Salesforce QA certified illustrator, a defense podcaster certified nutritionist and a personal fitness trainer. The professional journey started back with the fitness feed. Where I started as a nutritionist, then I got certified as a person for this training. And then eventually I got introduced to Salesforce in 2020. And that's when I got to know about the CR platform, which was quite intriguing. And eventually I got my hands dirty. And recently I've also launched my own podcast, which is a military podcast that goes by the impression docs. And yeah, that's all about me. Okay. Thank you Irwin for letting people know about you. And I am happy to say like Irwin switch from non technical background to technical background. And as you can see, he's having one plus years of experience and like you can search Irwin's name on LinkedIn and you will, you will be able to follow him on LinkedIn as well. Just verify whatever is written here, you will find it as true. And like he's working on like lots of projects as a QA. So whatever he has learned from those projects. So he will be sharing that knowledge with you so that as a beginner, if you want to think as a QA, so you will be able to understand those terminologies. Right. So moving forward, I just want to give you an insight like how our upcoming weeks will look like. So in next slide, I think you will be able to see. So even okay, before that, like if you have any doubt, any question you want to ask. So this is a telegram community where lots of more than I think 3000 folks are connected. They're interacting with each other sharing their experiences knowledge. So all 3000 folks are bigger. Those are maybe associated with any organization or searching for a job.  So even please next slide. So I think, yeah, in this slide, you can see in last two weeks, we have done LWC deployment. This week we are going to have two sessions on QA. Next week also two sessions on QA. Then again, next week, we'll be having two sessions on QA. And good news is like after completion of all the QA sessions, Irwin will be sharing his own professional journey with you. Like how he managed to become QA Salesforce QA export or consultant being associated as non technical background. So I requested Irwin like, please share your insight in one of the sessions. He decided like, let's have some knowledge sharing session first so that you will be having enough confidence and Irwin like really he has lots of knowledge. So in first five sessions, he will be sharing that knowledge. And then at last he will let you know like how you if you are belonging to non technical background and how you can jump to Salesforce ecosystem and can become a Salesforce QA or you can also switch to any other roles. There are lots of rules available. And after those sessions, we'll be having mock interview sessions where I will become the beginner, right? I have lots of experience, but I will become a beginner and I will let you know how you can crack interviews, how to answer difficult questions in interview, how to relate your simple project works that you have done in internships or training, right? So those kind of sessions I will be doing. So this is our upcoming timeline. And in next slides, like if you have not followed Sanjay Gupta Tech School, so just follow it on YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Telegram and all the important links are available in videos description. So next slide please. And in next slide, you can see feedbacks and reviews are very much important. So I think for tech people, Irwin is doing it for the first time with this big community. Although he's already having his YouTube channel doing some podcasts, but if I'm not wrong like Irwin is doing it for the first time for tech folks sharing his technical knowledge related to Salesforce QA. So please share reviews feedback so that I can share those with Irwin and he can also get motivated like whatever he's doing for community. It is benefiting people, right? So with this note, I hand over a mic to Irwin and now Irwin will explain what QA is and whatever questions you are having, just type that question in the chat. And at the end of the session, it will gonna take all those questions and will be answering each and every question to you, right? So over to you Irwin, please go ahead with the session. Thanks Sanjay. Thank you. Okay, so introduction to quality analysis role. You know, before we actually dig in, I would like to say something like, you know, in our day to day life, we do have a habit that, you know, if someone is not doing right, we tend to correct them. Like, you know, buddy, don't do it like this. Do it like that. It's not the right way of doing it. You might not achieve what you're trying to achieve in that manner, right? Over there, we can say that we have like unofficial QAs of a life, right? And of others lives as well. But over here, as you know, we actually talking about the official, you know, a role, a persona that we play in our companies while being a QA. The most important part is that QA and testing is the most significant phase of the software development cycle, right? Because it helps us determine the product's quality. Also the fact that when we hand over the product to our customers during the UAT phase and post that, the customer should receive the functionality as they expected based on their requirement. In other words, if I say our actuals that should always be at par with their expectations, which also means that whatever they have requested us through their requirements, we should have developed that without having any sort of errors that, you know, goes beyond our ground boundaries to theirs. And before the sign off, everything works properly. When I say everything works properly, I would also like to mention being a QA, you just cannot cover each and everything. When I say you just cannot cover each and everything, I also mean there are n number of factors. Of course, we have to cover the highly important ones, the what we call it as a big functionality, right? The related functionality so that our main functionality does not break. But there are some subtle factors sometimes which get mixed, which is absolutely fine. Coming to the fact that, you know, when I said that our product's actual result should be at par with the expected result. Expected result is basically the requirement that we have received in articles, right? All I mean is that suppose let's take an example. We have got a requirement that let's have a candidate object where we have the minimum pay, maximum pay, and a few more fees like let's say email is our name and address. Where we do have a consideration to consider that the minimum pay should not be greater than the maximum pay. So over here, our main aim is to make sure that the minimum pay's value is, if at all is greater than the maximum pay, then a validation or an error message gets hit and the user should be prompted there and then itself. That's where we are actually stopping the user from having that kind of a value populated. And that's where our actual result is actually being at par with the expected result, which is the requirement of our customer. Also, you know, there's a fact that, you know, that broken product or we can say that even non-working or partially working product is not actually delivered to the customer. They are raised scenarios where we actually deliver something which has a minor defect. But in that case, we do have something which is called a conditional sign off. We've covered it ahead for starters for conditional sign off. All I would like to say is that conditional sign off is scenario or a document where, you know, you clearly state that during the phase of security, what thing has not been coming completely corrected is going with the package that has been delivered to the customer. Right? Coming to the next slide. Now as we are talking about Salesforce, right? Salesforce do have sandboxes. So what are sandboxes? Sandboxes, like, you know, we say people have doppelgangers, right? They have some lookalike moving around in the world. So these sandboxes, we can say in a way a copy of our production environment. Production environment is basically the original environment, or you can say the actual environment on which the customer is having their own actual data. Or it can be of their customers, it can be of the students, etc., etc. These four environments helps us throughout the entire journey of the development process. To begin with, we have developer sandbox, then we have developer pro sandbox, then we have partial sandbox, and then we have full copy. Which is more or less like a replica of the production environment. Why I said that it's a replica of the production environment? I'll get that. I'll get to it very soon. For now, let's start with developer. Developer sandbox is, you can say, you know, more or less the basic sandbox or with the most minimal amount of data storage capacity. It is basically for the developers who are working on it, so that they can at least have the metadata copied or made or fields or objects or metadata created over there. Which in a way would help the QA further to test each and everything that developers and figured in his own environment, which is usually the partial environment. So as you can say, read that it's fine data storage is only of 200 MB of file storage and 200 MB of data storage. And what you can copy over there is just the metadata. We cannot have the entire data over there. Now what is the refresh interval? It's just one day. That is, you can refresh it within a gap of one day's time. That's the smallest limit for any sandbox. Moving to the next one, we have developer pro sandbox. The advantage of this is that the storage capacity of this particular sandbox has increased to one GB in both the cases, file storage and data storage. It again helps the developer in order to create the metadata, get that copied over there in a bigger amount. The refresh interval remains the same. That is one day. That is in a gap of one day's time, you can refresh it. Moving on to the next slide, here comes the time where the QA actually changes it. That is the partial sandbox of Salesforce. It has a refresh interval of five days, which means that in five days time, you can actually refresh the sandbox. Data storage, you can see, has increased from one GB to five GB for both file storage and data storage. How that is very much helpful for the QA is because when we test, we make sure that we try to break the functionality. Of course, we work with a constructive mindset, but we work with a destructive approach. We want to entertain the smallest vulnerable point of the functionality that we have. That is only possible if we are able to create as many records as possible. Had it been a developer sandbox, we wouldn't have been able to do that. Therefore, partial sandbox comes into the picture and plays the major role for us to do the needful and make sure that our functionality is working as expected. You can see that what can be copied over here is metadata plus some sample data. Because it has that much storage that can hold both of them in a good quantity. Even if you want, we can create more. Many times it happens that while testing, it's not only about the basic manual testing, where we are just creating records and we are testing them. But it's more or less with regards to doing some bulk testing as well. When we have to upload many records, records in some big numbers. So that we can check that our functionality is working in that case as well or not. There is one question related to sample data. Someone is asking what is sample data, if you can elaborate. So sample data is like our test data, we would say. It's not the actual data for customer. Those aren't the actual records which our customer would be holding for their business. Isn't that what we are creating for our testing purposes? Again, it can be created manually or it can be uploaded to any of the platforms. It's either import wizard or data loader or even Salesforce inspector. So that's where our sample data comes in. And that's what sample data is. Going to the next sandbox, which is full copy. In the beginning I said that full copy is more or less like a replica of the production. The reason is whenever we refresh the full copy sandbox, it gets everything from the production environment, the actual environment of the customer where he or she would be holding each and every record of his business or her business. You can see that the refresh interval has increased to 29 days. We are not refreshing it on a very frequent basis. We do have almost a month's gap so that the data and data basically produced by the customer in there all can be pulled down to the full copy in a good number. Also you see that the storage, there's more option. There's a good option to have either 5GP or even more of storage than that. In here we can have all the data. The person who raised the question for sample data, I'll give you more clarity that you see here that it's meta data versus all data. When I say all data, I mean it's our testing data or sample data and other data. Other data means which is actually brought down from the customer's production. We aren't having to bring the customer's org and the customer's record which he or she is actually holding on for their business. We are just having a copy of that in our full copy sandbox. That also helps for one more aspect. That our data is in a way aligned to their data so that we could get to know what kind of values in the fields they actually feed in and what would they require so that this thing can be more accurate and we can understand their idea of generating values into those fields. Any questions so far for the sandboxes? Are we good? Yeah, I think Irwin will take all the questions together at the end so you can proceed. Okay, so let's move on to the next slide. Okay, so before we begin with regards to what exactly QA is, what exactly QA practices are, let me just show a situation in front of you. We have a number, a range of number between 1,000 to 100,000. And the QA needs to actually test that you know all the number fall between the range of the accepted range mentioned above in the fields, right? When I say this, I'm actually talking about the number of all the sizes. All the sizes or we can say of all place values between the shared range. So the question for you people is how will you approach this? I'm not literally asking you to answer that right away. We'll take it later on works. It's just a question, walk on it, think the best possible way out. Like what would you do being a QA, right? Because moving forward, we are going to learn about some good QA testing techniques as well. And that might help you figure out. But we would need the answer, you know, before that.  Okay, so we go to this moving on to the next slide. Let's talk about tech case design techniques, right? So my very first question to you is like, you know, you must have heard about test cases, right? So what are those test cases? I'm not digging in deep right now because we have a separate section for test cases and everything, but just to be a little specific in a brief context, I would say test case is a collection of steps of actually executing the functionality that has been developed based on the requirement, right? So then what is basically a test case design technique? Test case design technique is basically, you know, the aspect of functionality, right? Which can be covered through various approaches, right? With a similar end result. In other words, our aim is to achieve the same end result, but we try that out, try stretching that out with different kind of QA test case design techniques. So that we have a larger test case coverage. By test case coverage, I mean testing the functionality from most possible ends and aspects, right? And every single, you know, individual technique is good in terms of finding a particular defect, right? And in a particular way, you'll get this small manual actually deep dive in the test case design techniques. And this will also help you understand the scenario which I have shared before jumping on to this slide. Moving on to the next slide, this is black box testing. It's a kind of testing and a testing technique. So over here, when we do black box testing, it is more or less with regards to the fact that we are just considered and very much concerned about the outcome of the functionality. We aren't concerned about what the code is, how the code is written or how well the code is written, right? But we are only concerned about the fact that we are getting the desired output. For instance, let's say, you know, you're logging into Instagram, okay? You enter your username, enter your password, you click the login button. What is the desired output? It is that we are actually logged in and we go on to our feet. All we are concerned about during black box testing is that we are actually in. We are not concerned what's going in the back end, you know, how the code is running or how the code is actually written. But we are just concerned that yes, we are successfully logged in. We are on the feet and we can go ahead and do a good scrolling over there. Similarly, if I talk about Salesforce, let's say we have an action button that says create a candidate from a position, right? So that over here, our desired end result would be that a new dialog window emerges that is either named like, you know, say new candidate or new candidate record. We fill the entire fields with the required information. When we click save, a new record should be populated. That's what black box testing is all about. Now comes the part where we talk about white box testing. White box testing, this is the time or this is the testing technique where we are actually concerned about the code. When I say we are concerned about the code, we are actually talking about the fact that was internal structure design of the code that has been written down. By our dear developers, we are talking about, you know, what input is going in and what all it's going through and then how we are getting input. Before taking an example of Salesforce, let's talk about, you know, we, there are many machines, right? So we, let's say we slide a 10, 10 rupee coin and we, you know, get a 10 rupee pack of lays. So over here, in the initial phase, all we are more or less concerned about the fact that we should be up. The lays, the packet of lays should be there in a hand once we drop down the coin in the machine.  How is it going there? What if it is triggering that our lays packet is coming out in the bucket below that we are able to pick it up from there? That's where white box testing comes in. Also the fact now that if I talk about that, you know, let's say we are working on Salesforce. We are more or less like, you know, we are trying, we are creating a candidate record and from a position. And over there we have a contact related as well, which is of hiring manager. So when we have created a candidate record, we did not have any look up fee for the hiring manager, any kind of contact. But when the record is created, we have that contact record populated in the field hiring manager for that candidate. So how come did that happen? That's where we do white box testing. We'll be very much concerned about the flow that okay. In the first step, it was given a command that this record is created from this very position record. Candidate record is created from position record on this position record. This was the contact record of that very hiring manager. And that hiring manager record should be picked up onto the candidate record basis. The fact that we look up is populated. So we have considered about each and every single step that is going in that code. Also, in many cases, that is the case that we are concerned about the fact that the code should be well written. Even in that case, white box testing comes in for today, like I would say that this should be enough because let's just process it first. There will be a set of testing techniques with some kind of good examples and then we can try to dig into more practical sessions. Yeah. So with this note, like even we have a few questions in the chat. So it would be better if we can go through them one by one. So there is one question that I also want to understand. Like there is two terminologies, one is QA and one is testing. So both are similar or somewhere different. Okay. A very interesting question and thank you so much for who served as this. When you talk about QA, QA is more or less like quality analysis, right? Or the process is called as quality analysis. Over here, we are making sure of the fact that while the functionality is being developed and it's in the early stages of the software development, we make sure that we are detecting the defects. We are suggesting the best possible way of having the things well up. And so that in the later phase, we aren't actually experiencing or, you know, getting a big number of defects at that time, because everything is sorted in the earlier phase itself. So that the functionality does not break at that time while it's there in the testing phase. Talking about testing, testing is more or less a practice wherein we are actually executing the functionality on IM to test out and find that whether the actual result is at the power that they expect result and logging the defects or bugs as and when required. That's where the difference comes in. Yeah. So I hope with this difference, people are able to kind of understand the difference because I think testing is more doing some hands-on work, whatever we have developed, right? And the outcome of that testing process, if we do some analysis, then comes QA in picture, right? Yes. And maybe in some of the cases, one people might be doing both the things, right? It might be possible. Exactly. In the initial phase, yes, it is possible. So it happens when the functionality is great and it is being well up in chunks and we prefer to prevent the defects from coming in the earlier future. Right. One more question is there like, what do you mean by positive and negative scenarios? Like if you are testing something that is built, so with the help of an example, if you can elaborate what is positive testing and what is negative testing? So as the name suggests, right, just for in the layman terms, if I say positive testing is just, you know, inputting the kind of a value which is expected to be put in the field. And negative value is more or less a value which is not expected, but we would want to know that that value is not at all accepted when the user feeds the field with it. Right? Supposedly an example, let's take an example. We were talking about the fact that, you know, minimum pay should not be paid in the maximum thing. And now what, first we're talking about the positive scenario, right? Positive testing. What we're doing is we are in minimum pay we are saying is $1000 in maximum pay we are saying is $15,000. So that's a positive scenario, a happy flow. Everything works quite well, right? Now comes the point when I say that, okay, let's do one thing. Let's have the minimum pay as $15,000.01, right? And let's have the maximum pay as $15,000. Over here what we're doing is we are just increasing the minimum pay, right? We are trying to figure out that whether it's going to work or not. So in that case, it should actually hit at the validation rule error that the minimum pay cannot be greater than the maximum pay. Also the fact, let me give you one more example. Let's say we are logging into a website, right? Or any kind of an account. We know that, you know, for logging in successfully, we need both password and the username to be fed into the fields, right? So supposedly we just fill in the password, we don't fill in the username and we just hit login. It should not let us log in. We should have different scenarios as well where the user name is there but there is no password. Or they are incomplete values in either of the two fields. Right. Yeah. So I hope Ranjit asked this question basically. So I hope your question is answered. One more interesting question is there like, if I'm good in Salesforce admin, so how to become good in Salesforce QA? So any tips, those who are working as an admin, so will they be able to switch to Salesforce QA or what? Okay. If you're an admin, then that means you hold a real good grip on the Salesforce functionality, right? And a QA who is working either on Salesforce or on any other platform should know that very particular product or the software. Like you can say that, you know, as good as the person knows the back of their hand. Right. So you be the admin, it's very easy for you to become a QA. All you need to do is you have to learn the QA process, understand it basically and understand why QA, the importance of QA and be a little more creative when you're doing the functionality. Because as I said in the beginning, you know, we are working in a constructive approach but with a destructive mindset. You have to cover as much as possible as much as vulnerable aspects of the functionality, happy flows, edge cases so that we can check more and more aspects of that functionality. So all you need to do is practice the QA process, understand it, the significance of it. That's it. You're on good with the source of functionality. Yeah, I think this makes sense and Deepak asked this question. So I hope Deepak, you have answer now. And Jai is asking, we use any tool in Salesforce testing? So without any tool, we do testing. Okay. So if it's about manual testing, I would like to mention that, you know, when you're doing manual testing, you're more or less doing the functional kind of a testing that you would just want to consider, concerned about that the functionality is working quite well based on the requirement. All you do is you create records, you execute the functionality and you check the output or the end result, as we said. Talking about the fact that if you're actually asking me about the tools which are with regards to, you know, maintaining the test cases or, you know, updating the Gira tickets or any kind of tickets where we are actually maintaining our records or data around our functionalities which are being tested. And that is their various tools. Let's say there's Gira, there's test rate for test cases. But if you're only talking about execution and testing, then it's just you. I would say that, you know, as we say that we are the weapon, right? So in that case, you are the weapon. You are firing it up over there in the software and you are getting the end result. Okay, so one more thing, who is responsible for white box testing, tester or developer? Okay, so if you talk about white box testing, the testers do that, right? Because in most cases, there is a requirement that, you know, customers ask that the developers code should be reviewed before being tested. Okay, so one more question like which sandbox is used by QA? Is it partial copy sandbox or anything else or like all can be used? Okay, so QA is generally work on partial copies because they get a bigger, you know, data storage capacity where they can either bulk upload records, they can create as many records as they want so that they can test a functionality in a proper manner. QA has also worked on full copy environments, but that's when the case where they're actually hitting a regression suite. Once everything has been approved by the QA and the partial copy, things get deployed in the full copy. The testing is done in order to make sure that everything is working as it was in the partial copy. There are scenarios when the testing on a very lighter note is done in the production environment as well. Production environment, which is the environment of the customer, the actual or the original environment. In that case, the QA does testing, creates some records, notifies the customer or the project manager and then in most cases, the records are deleted post testing. So Suresh is asking with certificate required for QA, so is there any certificate that Salesforce offers for QA? No. Unfortunately, in Salesforce, you won't get any certificate, but if you actually want to become a certified QA, I would recommend do ISTQB certification. Yeah, ISTQB, that is for testing. So it is not related to Salesforce, it is related to QA role. The QA practice. Right, QA practice, exactly. Manu is asking, is there any automation in Salesforce testing, like manual as well as automation or we do manual testing only? No, there is automation testing as well. It depends upon the need and sometimes even the customers ask for the automation part. Right, and in continuation with this question, Sangeeta is asking, what's the most automation tool used for Salesforce testing? Okay, you know, it's more or less, I would say the testers choice. Okay, because after it requires language and every tester or every being cannot have a good commander each and every technical language. So most preferred combination is usually, you know, Selenium plus Java, that's what people pick up the most. Yeah, or it's Python plus Selenium, of course. Right. So Sangeeta is also adding in her question, like is there more vacancies for Salesforce QA now? So who? With time, yes, things are going better and Salesforce QA is also being interviewed. Right, and Sangeeta is asking, who is responsible for demo to the client QA or developer? Okay, a very good question. Like, honestly speaking, Sangeeta, for this question, when you're demoing the client, it's actually the QA response. The reason being, he has tested it out in a way that every single vulnerability of the functionality is the sender. Right. Of course, the happy parts are tested, but vulnerabilities play a major role. So the QA can actually, at that moment, you know, explain better, help them out with the what's the edge case, what can actually break their functionality and actually, you know, get them at a halt while leveraging whatever they have got to a lot. Yeah, exactly. And I think in real-time scenarios, when we work on the project, so we do not have one QA for one developer. Instead, like for three, four developers, or maybe two to three developers, we have one dedicated QA. So like developers develop one requirement, right? So let's say we have two weeks of sprint. So three, four developers are developing different, different pieces. And one QA is basically testing whole functionality end to end. So in that case, like you is having more insight, more broader picture as compared to developers. So QA is the best resource who can go and showcase whatever is being developed throughout that particular sprint. And hello, Irvin, am I audible? Yes, now you are. Yeah, actually there is power cut. So Internet disconnected and I don't, I'm not sure people are able to see the screen. So can you please confirm? Yeah, I think yes. And I am in like in dark room. So okay. So I just want, yeah, I was just explaining about QA thing. So one thing I want to add here, like if you are a good QA, so in that case, like there is one more role opportunity for you guys. QA becomes very good business analyst. Right. So they have end to end understanding of the project. So we have one more role in Salesforce that is business analyst. So if you're a good QA, so you will be like becoming a good business analyst as well and maybe in future project manager. Okay, so just would like to add one thing to what Sanjay said, you know, as the QA holds that end to a knowledge of functionality of the entire project. When the QA test, the QA is actually testing with the mindset of being the end user of that product.  Right. So Deepak, I already answered how to become a business analyst.  So if you if you have like some experience, I would say like if you have some experience working as a developer, then you can become a QA or if you sorry, then you can become a BA or if you have QA experience, then also you can become a BA. So it depends on your interest, but I would prefer like if you have a QA, then you will become a good BA. Because QA has end to end knowledge is respective to developers. Right. Yeah. So there is one more question. What is the difference between Salesforce BA and consultant? So Praveen basically consultants are those who has complete knowledge of particular cloud. So you might have heard about sales cloud consultant service cloud consultant. So consultant means who can consult about a product. Right. And Salesforce BA is like business analyst, the person who knows about the product and dealing with the client gathering the requirement. But consultant who can provide solutioning as well who can provide some suggestions as well. So you can say like if you are a consultant, so you can work as a BA. But if you are a BA, then it is not sure like you will be able to work as a consultant because consultant means, you know, a lot of things.  So that is basically a consultant thing. So I think even we have covered all the questions which are available in the chat and yeah, so we can wrap the session here only. So thank you so much guys for joining this session live and I know lots of people will be watching this session as a recorded video as well. So thank you for joining it live and if you're watching recording, so thank you. Thanks to you as well and use thanks to Irwin for delivering whole insight related to QA and I know this is just a beginning and you will be delivering four more sessions in future. So that will be covering all the aspects of QA and very less platforms are having QA related stuff. Right. So I'm thankful to Irwin like he accepted my offer like to come on this platform and to deliver his knowledge. So I'm grateful enough like he's there and sharing his knowledge with the community.  Just for the viewers, a real quick word. So me coming into the technical world holding a grip onto the sales force. It goes to Sunday. Like I have been mentored by him. I've learned everything by him from him. So thanks to him and yeah, that is something you know, which is the kicking force behind me. I think we'll cover lots of things about it in in our last session. So I will reveal like we have like four to five years of bond like we know each other from last four to five years. And I saw like how Irwin worked as non technical workforce and then I saw and I was part of that transition from non technical like as a people who is working. In non technical area and converted into technical stream that twin sales force. So we'll we'll discuss this in detail. And I think Irwin story will inspire lots of folks who are learning sales force being a non technical guy and like never never lose hope because even tried tried a lot and prepared a lot. So he will be sharing all the insight with you. So maybe like after 15th of August that session will gonna happen. So you can ask any kind of questions related to that. So so I won't be telling much right now because if we discuss lot here so that that session won't be having much content. So we'll be waiting for that. So right now I can just thank you. And thank you Irwin. And let's connect tomorrow same time and lot more things will be sharing with the community. Okay. Okay. Thank you everyone. Thank you Irwin. See you tomorrow. Thank you so much. Bye. Thank you.


1. Douglas Ross I ask the First Minister if she has full confidence in the Scottish Qualifications Authority. Yes, I do. On the issue of qualifications this year, it is important that I and the Government recognise first of all that this is a really anxious and a really difficult time for pupils and indeed for their parents across the country. It is really important that we and indeed the SQA continue to listen. We are doing our utmost to deliver fair grades in what are very difficult circumstances. I will try, if there are further questions on this today, to answer all of the questions as clearly as possible, because scrutiny and understanding is really important. I am going to try to stay away from partisan politics, not least because many of the arrangements that we are putting in place are very similar to those being put in place in England and Wales under Governments of all parties. I think that reflects the fact that this is a difficult situation. Perhaps, in setting the context for this, I can do no better than, quote, Jim Thewlis, who is, of course, the General Secretary of School Leaders Scotland. He said this, and I think that this is an important context as we go into, I am sure, some of the detail of this. He said that the system that replaced exams was never going to be perfect, but all of the way along no one has come up with a better way of doing it than the alternative certification model. This is a difficult set of circumstances, but the Government is continuing to do all that we can to support pupils in these difficult times, and that approach will very much continue. Douglas Ross said that the First Minister has full confidence in the Scottish Qualifications Authority. That answer will not be shared by tens of thousands of pupils and parents across Scotland who were so badly let down by the SQA and its exam-grade disaster last year, and it will not be shared by thousands more who are now facing what looks like another year of grades chaos and confusion. Last night, Leon Cameron of the Glasgow Youth Council said, and I quote, "...we are extremely angry at the people with authority, the Scottish Government, the SQA, that they keep saying that everything is okay when it's not. They are clearly in denial over this issue." Leon continued, "...we have been put through hell." The First Minister said that she would answer all questions clearly on this issue. Who does the First Minister agree with Leon Cameron that her Government and the SQA are in denial about this? I do not agree with that, but it is my duty to persuade young people and their parents across the country that, although no Government can take away all the impacts of a global pandemic on our young people, this Government, working with teachers, with local authorities, with representatives of pupils and parents and, of course, with the SQA, is doing everything we can in a highly challenging set of circumstances to deliver fairness for pupils. That work will continue. The alternative certification model was developed by the national qualifications group that brought together teacher representatives, parents and pupils. We are often asked rightly to listen to teachers and say that it gives pupils the best opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned. The Government will continue to listen to young people. That is why, for example, the SQA has put in place an appeals process that gives every young person a direct right of appeal free of charge. There have been some very difficult decisions to take around, for example, whether there is a no-detriment appeal system or a symmetrical appeal system. The SQA has proposed a symmetrical system, which is the same as in England and Wales. There is also concern being raised—we are listening very carefully to this—about the specific grounds of appeal and the specific point that has been raised that there is no ground of appeal that takes account of exceptional personal circumstances. The reason for that is that we do not think that a young person who has suffered exceptional circumstances should have to rely on an appeal. That is why an exceptional circumstances arrangement has been built into the model, so that if somebody has, for example, a bereavement that means that they cannot put forward assessment by the date in June, they have a window of time until September. We continue to work to try to take account of the concerns and put in place the best possible arrangements in a highly imperfect set of circumstances. I take very seriously the responsibility that we have as a Government to listen on an on-going basis to young people. Last year, for example, it was unacceptable. One of the key changes this year is that grades are based on teacher judgment, not on algorithms, not on statistical models, not on historical performance of school. Teacher judgment informed by the work of pupils. Those are important changes. Of course, we continue to work hard with everyone in the education system to make sure that concerns are properly addressed. The First Minister will not agree with young people. Instead, in her own words, she will try to explain to them and persuade them while they are wrong. That is absolutely appalling from a First Minister who is unwilling to listen to criticisms of her Government and their handling of that from the young people who have been most affected. Last summer, it took a week before the SNP finally admitted that their grading system was broken and that it had a U-turn. This year's children should not have to go through the same issues all over again. When he is out, summerable is in, but it is the same old shambles. This SNP Government needs to learn from its mistakes, but it is determined to repeat them. The Scottish Children and Young People's Commissioner has said on the threat of downgrading that it is an unnecessary and disempowering barrier to young people. That is a concern that will be echoed in homes and classrooms right across Scotland. Is the First Minister seriously going to defend an appeal system that risks pupils receiving lower grades and demands a gamble on their future? What is appalling is for Douglas Ross to mischaracterise what I have said. I did not say that the Government's job was to persuade young people that they were wrong. What I said is that the Government's job is to engage with young people. Yes, to seek to persuade that the arrangements that are in place are the right ones, but to listen as we go. For example, it is because we have listened to young people that there is a fundamentally different system in place this year, not one based on algorithms but one based on teacher judgment informed by the attainment and the work that young people have done. We are often challenged to listen more to teachers. Some schools make use of SQA assessment instruments, but teachers are able to draw on whatever evidence they regard as valid in determining grades. Unlike exams, the evidence does not need to be produced in a one-off event. That was a critical point, and in fact the judgment of teachers cannot be challenged by the SQA. On appeals, giving young people the direct right of appeal, free of any cost, was also something that was called for. On this important issue of whether we have a no-detriment system where appeals can only be upgraded, not downgraded or a symmetrical system, I would make three points on that. First, the symmetrical system is one that ensures that the attainment of pupils is central to this process. That is the fairest way of proceeding. That is not new, and that has been the approach taken in past years. Douglas Ross says that it is indefensible. Is it exactly the same approach that has been taken by the UK Government for the English system? That is another important point. However, this one is perhaps more important for pupils. The downgrading of grades and past experience shows that this is exceptionally rare. If you take 2019 out of more than 11,000 appeals, only two of them were downgraded. In 2018, 13,000 appeals, seven were downgraded. That is an exceptional occurrence, but it ensures that we have a system that, from start to finish, is intended to focus on the actual attainment of pupils. Of course, the appeals system should only be used in exceptional circumstances, not because we want to put pupils off using it, but because we want to get the grades right at the first time, which is why the judgment of teachers at the centre of that is so important. This year has been difficult for everyone, but especially so for young people. What has this Government and the SQA done for them over the past 15 months? Exams replaced by exams, an appeals process, late and flawed, no lessons learned, no understanding, no fairness, pupils dismayed, punished for being ambitious, teachers scunnered, their concerns ignored, parents furious with this Government not listening to them. Will the First Minister do the right thing? Conceit that she has got this bad way wrong? Guarantee that no pupils who appeal will be downgraded, because no matter how rare she says it is, it will be a risk for young people if they appeal. Once she does that, finally agree that no pupil who appeals will be downgraded, will she start to fix the deeper problems in Scottish education, beginning by replacing the SQA? Wider reform of education, including potential reform of the SQA, this Parliament will debate these issues this afternoon. The education secretary will say more about all that when that debate happens later today. We will continue to listen to young people, to teachers, to parents, and we will continue to address concerns as far as we can. I am afraid that this is inescapable. This is a highly imperfect situation, because we are in the midst of a global pandemic that has made exams impossible. We have to put in place an alternative. As Jim Thewlis, who I quoted earlier, said, no alternative is going to be perfect, but nobody has suggested a better one than this. All of the things that Douglas Ross says are fundamentally wrong here are the same arrangements, by and large, recognising that we have different education systems, but by and large, exactly the same arrangements that are being put in place in England and in Wales under Governments of different parties. That reflects the fact that we are all trying to do our best for young people in very difficult circumstances. We have learned lessons from last year about teacher judgment and replacing the algorithm approach that was fundamentally flawed last year, recognising that there must be a much more accessible appeals system, but also recognising that at the heart of that has to be the attainment of pupils. That approach has not been easy for anybody, particularly for young people themselves. Of all the impacts of this pandemic, I wish I could take away the impact in our young people is very near, if not at the top of that list. We are all doing the best we can, and we will continue to engage with young people as we seek to do that. Last week, we heard damning evidence from Dominic Cummings about the UK Government's response to Covid-19. He painted a picture of chaos and confusion, poor preparation and almost criminal levels of negligence that led to avoidable deaths. He outlined a series of failures, a lack of PPE, insufficient testing, Covid-positive patients being sent into care homes and inconsistent and delayed decision making. Last week at First Minister's Questions, the First Minister was rightly critical of the chaos that Dominic Cummings described, but does she accept that many of the same decisions were made in Scotland by the First Minister and the Scottish Government? I have always accepted that we made mistakes in the handling of the pandemic. I have never tried to shy away from that. The point that I was making last week was not to point the finger at any politician. It was to make the general point that one of the lessons all of us in decision making positions should have learned over the past more than a year now is that taking quick decisions is really important. That applies to me just as much as it applies to anyone else. We have sought to learn lessons as we go, as our understanding and knowledge about this virus has developed. As we have candidly said that we perhaps made mistakes in how we did things in the early parts of that. I have been candid about that. There will be, as I think is right and proper, a process of full, robust scrutiny of that, both for the interests of accountability, which is really important, but also in the interests of learning lessons for the future. We need to make sure that the lessons of this pandemic are there for, hopefully, future generations to use, because hopefully none of us will have to deal with another pandemic. All of those things are important. I have not, and I will not shy away from the responsibility I bear for every aspect of the handling of that. I welcome the First Minister's response, and I recognise what she says about the importance of having good decisions being made really quickly and how important they are. Today, we are publishing a timeline comparison, which shows that at key moments and on the big decisions, the UK and Scottish Governments were in lockstep. It is important to stress that none of that is the fault of our hardworking NHS and care staff. What we are questioning is the decision-making of the Scottish Government. Let's look at some of those specific decisions. In early March, both Governments were talking of a strategy of herd immunity. On March 12, 47,000 fans attended a European football match in Glasgow. That same day, the Scottish Government said that stopping mass gatherings was not the best way to contain the virus. They were made illegal 11 days later by both Governments. Untested and Covid-positive patients were being sent into care homes. The UK Government announced routine testing on 15 April. The Scottish Government waited until 21 April. The result is one in 10 of our care home residents in Scotland losing their lives to Covid. That is not a protective ring—3,774 deaths, a third of the total. Does the First Minister accept that those were decisions made in Scotland by the First Minister and the Scottish Government? I am glad for him that the NSRO has got the time to do timelines. He has just told me that I do not know. There is nothing that I have sought to shy away from. I lived through that period as the lead decision maker in the Scottish Government. I take responsibility for all the decisions. I have never tried to shy away from them. I will live with the consequences of those decisions for as long as I live. Those decisions will be subject to serious scrutiny. That is right and proper. We sought all along to do the right things based on the knowledge and the understanding that we had in light of developing knowledge—some of those things—if we could turn the clock back, we would do differently. In addition to that, as I have said all along, we will have made straightforward mistakes, and I will regret any mistakes that we have made forever. I do not know what point Anna Sarwar is seeking to prove. I have taken responsibility and will continue to take responsibility. I have done my level best every single day of this pandemic to get the decisions right. If I could turn the clock back, would we go into lockdown earlier than we did? Yes, I think that that is true. We did move on mass gathering slightly before the UK Government, and we announced the position on school slightly before the UK Government. When we look at the different pandemic curves, although we went into lockdown on the same day as the rest of the UK, it was slightly ahead of the pandemic curve for Scotland. If I could turn the clock back, there are many things that I would love to have the opportunity to do differently. Of course, the irony now from many of the same people who criticise me perfectly legitimately for not acting quickly enough or for being not cautious enough at an earlier stage are the same people who often criticise me now for being too cautious and for going too slowly in lifting lockdown restrictions. That is what comes with the responsibilities of this job. I am not complaining about that, but this is not an easy situation for anybody to be in. I will continue, as I have done from day one, to take the best decisions I can, and I will never shy away from the responsibility for that. I am not sure why the First Minister is critical of the development of a timeline, but I hope that, given the scale of the civil service, there will be a Scottish Government timeline about decision making so that we can learn from mistakes and so that we do not repeat those mistakes again. Large events matter because, on the day that we had 47,000 fans in Glasgow, Ireland was announcing an end to large gatherings. It heard immunity matters because New Zealand took a very different approach and had very different outcomes. The Edinburgh University study has shown that, if Scotland had acted earlier, we could have prevented 2,000 Covid deaths. Those are important points that we should be bringing to the chamber and asking for a response from Scotland's Government. I gave three examples of decisions that were made in Scotland about strategy, mass gatherings and care homes. I could have given more, a failure to have adequate PPE supplies, a failure to adequately ramp up testing, a failure to introduce strict testing in quarantine at our airports, and an ineffective contract tracing. NHS and social care staff and the Scottish people deserve more than just rhetoric—they deserve answers. They deserve more than being told that the Government cares—they deserve answers. We cannot allow Scottish exceptionalism to stop us from learning critical lessons. It is always easier to focus on failures elsewhere. We must learn from mistakes here at home. We do not need to wait for the UK Government. Work can begin right now to establish a judge-led Scottish-specific public inquiry on the decisions that are made in Scotland. Surely, after everything that the First Minister just said in those answers, she agrees. People can make up their minds whether they are hearing from me an inability to face up to mistakes or Scottish exceptionalism. I think that what they are hearing from me is a candid admission that we would not, like many other Governments across the world, have got everything right and not just a willingness, but a desire to face up to that and learn from that. I could paper the walls with bits of papers and timelines, but my focus right now, as First Minister, is getting the vaccination programme delivered to keep people safe in the future, to make sure that we are taking the right decisions, criticised by many for being too cautious and too slow, to keep people safe, as we could be in the foothills of a third wave of this virus. That is my responsibility as First Minister. Of course, we have lessons to learn, and I have never said otherwise. Perhaps Anas Sarwar was standing here and saying that, if he had been standing here back then, he would have got everything right. Who knows? Maybe he would have done, but I suspect that, just like everybody else, he would have grappled with those difficult decisions. On the issue of a judge-led public inquiry, I have given that commitment, that commitment stands. I want to see that up and running before the end of this year. The UK Government has announced plans for a public inquiry and has asked for four nations discussion about remit and where there might be overlaps. Usually, from the Labour benches here, I am being encouraged to take part in constructive four nations discussions. We have agreed to do that, but the commitment to a public inquiry is firm and strong. I think that I was the first of the First Ministers across the UK to give that commitment. Having led this country to the best of my ability, far from perfectly, through this pandemic, I want, as much as anybody wants, to make sure that we learn the right lessons. It is very easy—if I was in opposition, no doubt I would be doing the same—it is very easy when you are not the one taking the decisions and when you have the benefit of hindsight to tell us what we should have done. However, when you are taking the decisions in the moment, you have to act on the basis of the best information and advice that you have. That is what we have done. We will learn lessons and we will be judged. We have just been judged on our leadership of this so far in an election and we will be judged with the fullest possible scrutiny. Right now, my focus is on continuing to lead this country as best I can through an on-going pandemic. Before I move on to question 3, I am very eager that we involve as many members as possible in First Minister's questions, and I would be most grateful for succinct questions and more succinct responses. I call question 3, Lorna Slater. Today, the First Minister will attend the UK Recovery Summit, and I welcome that she will be asking for furlough to be extended. That is essential for Scottish workers, but we need so much more. The TUC published analysis this week of public spending on the green recovery and job creation in the G7 countries. Predictably, the UK is far behind, with Germany investing three times more per person and France four times more. Failure to invest in a green recovery would be a disaster for our planet and for our economy, as businesses and workers are held back by Tory austerity while our European neighbours race ahead. Yesterday, Parliament voted in favour of my call for a major increase in public investment in Scotland and across the UK to secure a green economic recovery. Can the First Minister assure us that she will make this demand at the recovery summit later today? Yes, I will. Within the Scottish Government's own resources, we are maximising our investment in the actions needed to support a green recovery and transition to net zero. In the last session of Parliament, we have established the Scottish National Investment Bank, which has that transition as its primary mission. We should continue to be challenged to do everything that we can within the powers and responsibilities and resources that we have. However, there is no doubt—this is not my choice, but much of what we are able to do in terms of spending is determined by the spending decisions of the UK Government. We are asking to ensure that we can continue to lead through this pandemic with public health absolutely at the fore, that furlough is extended for as long as necessary, but that there are commitments given on public spending so that we have certainty and clarity about public spending for the future and clarity that we are not going to see austerity cuts imposed by the UK Government. That is important for green recovery, but that is important for so many other reasons as well. I share the doubts that the UK Government will deliver, but that could not be more important. I hope that the First Minister will keep demanding the investment that we need, working in partnership with the other devolved countries just as the Scottish Government did to secure an extension to furlough last year. However, there is still more that we can do here in Scotland with the powers that we have to secure a green recovery. Look at the industry that I come from, as noted in my register of interests. Scotland could be a world leader in marine renewable energy, but the industry was undermined by the Tory Government when it scrapped essential tariff support in 2015. The Scottish Government have long committed to a public energy company that could provide the tidal energy with the demand that it needs. Tidal energy technology was developed in Scotland. We are the world experts, but if we do not act now, we will lose this industry to other countries. First Minister, when will you deliver a public energy company? We will take forward a range of different ways in which we are going to support the vast renewable energy potential that Scotland has, and, honestly, it is absolutely right to point that out. Indeed, I hope that those are issues that will feature in the discussions that we have about the co-operation between our parties over the course of this Parliament. Scotland is a world leader in renewable energy, but there is much more that we need to do, both in terms of the generation of the energy, but also in making sure that we properly seize the economic benefits that come from that. That is one of the areas where, candidly, we have not yet done well enough, so there is lots of work to be done here. We are determined to get on with that as we lead up to COP and then beyond COP. I very much look forward to working with the Greens and, indeed, with others across the chamber, to make sure that Scotland continues to lead the world in renewable energy, but also on that wider transition to net zero. Can I ask the First Minister what engagement the Scottish Government has had with the UK Government regarding the extension of the deadline for applications of the EU settlement scheme? Can I take the opportunity to welcome Siobhan Brown to the chamber and congratulate her on her first question. We have been very consistent in calling for the EU settlement scheme to be replaced by a declaratory system that would alleviate the risks of EU citizens becoming unlawfully resident here. In my view, EU citizens simply should not have to apply to retain their rights. Due to the pandemic, many people have struggled to obtain identity documents or retrieve required evidence, and we know that many have yet to apply that there is also a backlog in processing applications. We will continue to do all that we can to support EU citizens. The Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development has already raised the issue with the UK Government on more than one occasion, but let me put this simply. The UK Government, I hope, has learned the lessons from the Windrush scandal, and it must make sure that it does everything to avoid repeating that scandal, and part of that must be extending during the 30th deadline. Siobhan Brown, I thank the First Minister for that answer. There are grave concerns that some EU citizens, such as the elderly or infirm and children in care and foster homes, will fail to apply for settled status by June 30, because they are either incapable of doing so or their guardians are unaware of a deadline at all. Can the First Minister advise how the Scottish Government, together with local authorities, has worked with local care homes and children's care services to prevent any potential miscarriages of natural justice over the issue, especially given the life-changing consequences that missing the deadline can have? That is such an important question, and it potentially impacts on the lives of many people across the country. The Government has worked closely with local authorities and care providers to increase awareness of the settlement scheme. That has included funding a case worker at COSLA to assist vulnerable people who have contact with local authorities. There has been a particular focus on identifying and supporting looked-after children. In addition, citizens advice Scotland has written to care homes to alert them to the upcoming deadline. The Stain Scotland marketing campaign has also restarted as well as using social media, the campaign uses radio and local press to reach people who might not be online. We will provide support and information, but it is really vital that we also continue to press the UK Government to make changes to the scheme that are so important to safeguard the rights of EU citizens here. To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is taking to ensure that there are sufficient resources in place to prevent schools from exceeding maximum class size limits during the next academic year, in light of reports that a number of schools are currently exceeding those limits. We are determined to do everything that we can to ensure that schools have the resources that they need, but it is important, first of all, to note that the law here is clear. Other than in very specific circumstances, class sizes are mandatory and must be adhered to. On resources, last year, teacher numbers increased for the fifth year in a row. There are now more teachers than at any time since 2008. The ratio of pupils to teachers is at its lowest since 2010. We have provided, since the start of the pandemic, over £200 million to councils, which has supported the recruitment of 1,400 additional teachers and over 200 support staff. Of course, over the first 100 days of this term, we will fund councils to increase teacher numbers by a further 1,000. That is part of our commitment to 3,500 additional teachers and classroom assistants over the parliamentary term. Of course, that is over and above those recruited during the pandemic so far. Oliver Mundell, thank you for that answer, but let's talk about reality, not ratios. While the First Minister seeks to manipulate the figures by including those whose main job is supporting classroom teachers, schools across the country are left with no choice but to cram extra young people into classrooms, going against everything that the SNP used to promise. How does the First Minister explain reports suggesting that numerous schools have over 30 primary school children in a class at a time while the attainment gap widens? With qualified teachers across Scotland currently looking for teaching posts, why won't the First Minister move faster in reversing teaching cuts and guarantee that this will be the last year that we see our young people so badly let down? Teacher numbers have increased for five years in a row and the commitment to continue to increase teacher numbers is there. On the issue of class sizes, I was talking about teachers and classroom assistants in terms of the numbers of teachers and classroom assistants that we were recruiting. However, the point that I was making on class sizes is a clear one. Class sizes are mandatory. Primary 1 to 3 class sizes are set in statute and class sizes for primary 4 to 7, including composite classes, are part of the terms and conditions of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for teachers. Councils have a duty, a legal duty in many cases to ensure that those limits are adhered to. We will continue to work hard often over the past years. We have worked hard to deliver that in the face of the austerity cuts that have been imposed on this Government by the Conservatives at Westminster. We will continue to work hard to ensure that there are more teachers in our schools and that we support councils to deliver the education that children and their parents want and deserve. To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will consider issuing a formal apology to the historic victims of forced adoption. Yes, we will consider that. Like everybody else, I feel deep sadness that, in the past women were forced to give their children up for adoption due to the prevailing moral and social attitudes of the time. Major shifts have occurred in adoption policy and practice and that ensures that focus is now placed on providing secure permanent relationships for some of our most undersupported children. We are engaging with the campaigners calling for an apology so that we can better understand their experiences in order that we can then consider the issue more fully. I give the commitment that we are and will continue to do that. We have come a long way in recent years in improving outcomes for looked-after children and young people, but I know that there is still much more to do, which is why I and the Government have committed to implementing the findings of the promise to ensure that all looked-after children grow up safe, happy and loved. Neil Bibby. I thank the First Minister for her response. My constituent, Mary McMillan, was one of 60,000 Scottish mothers compelled to give up a baby for adoption simply because they were unmarried. What they went through was horrific and many have experienced a lifetime of grief and pain. Mary has worked with victims of forced adoption from around the world, reunited mothers with children and given evidence that helped secure the world's first Government apology for forced adoption in Australia in 2013. Yet there has never been a formal apology for the injustice of forced adoption here in Scotland in the UK. Marion is now in her 70s. She is eternally ill. Her dying wishes that the victims of Scotland receive the apology they deserve and that it happens soon. I therefore urge the First Minister to take swift action to confront this shameful chapter in Scotland's history and deliver as soon as possible a formal statement to Parliament issuing a Government apology for forced adoptions on behalf of our entire nation. I will give that commitment. I take it seriously, but I hope that Neil Bibby and I am sure that he will accept that it is important that, if we are doing something like this, we get it right and that we listen to those who understandably are calling for an apology. I have also read Marion McMillan's experience. It is absolutely heartbreaking and it is not isolated and unique. That happened to too many women back in days when attitudes were very different to those that prevail today. I do not know all the detail of that, but I know that in the Republic of Ireland, for example, there was a concern that work around that did not deliver what campaigners had been calling for. It is really important that we understand what an apology would seek to cover, how that can be framed in a way that gives the campaigners the closure if that is an appropriate word that they are looking for. I am very committed to considering that properly and fully, to doing it quickly but to doing it in a way that delivers what the campaigners actually feel is important to them. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to a recent survey stating that 29 per cent of police officers are experiencing moderate burnout and a further 16 per cent are enduring high levels. As I am sure, we all do appreciate the hard work and dedication of our police officers and, indeed, police support staff at all times, but especially throughout the pandemic. I support the initiatives being undertaken by the chief constable to ensure that officers and staff are physically and mentally healthy. That includes, for example, the introduction of wellbeing champions in a wellbeing hub to raise awareness of the support available. In addition, Police Scotland was one of the first police services in the UK to implement mental health and suicide intervention training for all officers. Officers and staff are doing an excellent job in difficult circumstances, and I welcome the fact that Police Scotland provides their workforce with a range of services to help them to look after their mental and physical health. When we highlighted devastating research 18 months ago, ministers told us that they were very satisfied with the mental health support that is available for officers. Now-experts researchers have again concluded that many front-line officers are suffering from chronic stress associated with their circumstances at work. Police Scotland was co-sponsor of this long-term research, but I have learned that support was withdrawn because the research programme was keen to understand the impact of Covid on the workforce, but Police Scotland said that it was, quote, too soon and so withdrew support. Does the First Minister accept that Scotland's police officers have been badly let down and that they do not have the mental health support that they so obviously need? The chief constable and the Government have a duty to listen and to respond. We take that very seriously. Liam McArthur talked about 18 months ago, which predates Covid, which has exacerbated the stress, anxiety and trauma of many of our public service workers, including the police and their support staff. There is a range of support services in place. I mentioned some of them in my initial answer, and it is really important that the chief constable—this is a matter for the chief constable, first and foremost—continues to listen to the experiences of the police service and deliver that support to make sure that, in the very challenging work that they do, our police officers have the support to keep themselves mentally and physically healthy. That work will continue, and I fully support the efforts that the chief constable is undertaking. Thank you. We move on to supplementary questions, and I call Alastair Allen. Last weekend saw a major disruption to the haulage from the technical issue with envy, heavy and being aisled to a backlog of lorries, many of which contain perishable goods and had to be left behind. While the return of envy locks eforce to the route should help, this incident does raise wider concerns about what happens when the next Kalamac vessel either goes into dry dock or suffers a similar breakdown, such as the one that is seen of seaforth out-of-actions for seven weeks. Given all this, will the Scottish Government consider the chattar of a freight vessel for this runway that all is going through it? Let me say that I absolutely recognise and understand the frustration of communities at this and, indeed, at other recent disruption and the impact that that has had. In relation to the issue with the envy hebridean aisles, I understand that all goods were shipped early Saturday morning on the envy aisle of Lewis. I can also update the chamber that the envy lock seaforth returned to service on 31 May, and, as of today, all vessels are now back in position. Transport Minister has met the member and, indeed, with constituency MSPs and other stakeholders to hear concerns and has agreed to continue regular dialogue. We are actively exploring opportunities for chartering additional tonnage, and, in addition, have confirmed new investment in ports and vessels to support and improve Scotland's ferry services over the next five years as part of our wider infrastructure investment plan. Thank you. Jamie Greene, to be followed by Faisal Cowdery. This week, Chief Superintendent Mark Richards said that a marked increase in body-worn cameras on police officers will, in his view, see a spike in guilty cases and reduce pressure on our much-backlawed criminal courts. However, he did warn that financial and structural constraints seem to have prevented their roll-out thus far. Will the First Minister agree with that assessment of the situation? Are there any imminent plans to increase police protection and speed up the justice process by heeding his recommendation? We will continue to discuss these matters with the chief constable. I certainly welcome Police Scotland's on-going work to consider how newer and improved technologies can be harnessed to further strengthen its ability to keep the population safe. We will continue to support that, but we will also consider the implications of that for police officers. It is important that we take the time to discuss and consider all of those issues fully. Faisal Cowdery, to be followed by Emma Harper. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I congratulate you on your new role. With the spread of new variant, the need to address low uptake on the Covid-19 vaccine amongst particular ethnic group is crucial, especially for those who may be at higher risk. To do so, the programme must be accessible. In which translation is information about the vaccine programme available and what targeted action is being taken to reach a diverse minority group within our communities? First, I welcome Faisal Cowdery to the chamber. I agree very much with him on the importance of accessibility to the vaccine programme. I will write to him personally or ask the health secretary to do so to give detail of the various ways, including materials being available in different languages that are being made to ensure high uptake in our minority ethnic communities. I represent a constituency with a very high proportion of ethnic minorities living within it. I also represent a constituency where there has been a significant outbreak of Covid in recent weeks. Some of the work that has been done there around surge testing and, particularly, approaches to improving uptake of the vaccine—a vaccine clinic, for example—based inside Glasgow Central Mosque is an important part of that. There is learning that we can take from that to apply to other parts of the country. Overall, uptake of the vaccine is extremely good at the moment, and we need to make sure that that national picture is fully reflected in all of our different communities. The vaccine really is the most important thing that we can do now to guard against this virus and to get the country back to normality. Overall, in Scotland, taking today's figures into account, there is now more than 60 per cent of the total population of Scotland, and 60.2 per cent has had a first dose of the vaccine. Obviously, we are speeding up the administration of second doses as well. However, the points that the child rate has made are important, and we will continue to take them into account. To ask the First Minister what her response is to the eight cases of Covid-19 delta, B1617.2 variant, formerly known as the Indian variant, which has been identified in NHS Dumfries and Galloway health board area, which has been described as a variant of concern by the world health organisation. The First Minister is telling me that he spoke to Dumfries and Galloway yesterday. It is important that everybody recognises right now that the new variants are going to unfortunately happen with the virus, but it is really important that we take the same basic steps to contain new variants as we have taken to contain the virus all along. In respect of the delta variant, we now think that it represents well over half of all new cases in Scotland, so we will see that in many different parts of the country, including NHS Dumfries and Galloway health board area. However, the way that we stop the virus spreading is the same for every variant. It is all of the basic measures that we know about—hand hygiene, face coverings, distancing and making sure that we are all following the guidance that is in place. Of course, testing regularly—everybody can access lateral flow tests now—and also coming forward for vaccination as soon as you are invited. The two-rosies of the vaccination is the best protection that any of us can have against the virus. Presiding Officer, the latest figures for waiting times for child and adolescent mental health services are deeply disturbing. In NHS borders, the average wait for CAMHS is 31 weeks, and only 48 per cent of young people are being treated within the 18-week target. In NHS Lothian, the target was missed by over a third. The figures also showed that one in five children are still being turned away from CAMHS completely. Three years ago, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport described the present system of rejecting referrals as completely unacceptable, yet there has been no improvement. When is the First Minister and her Government going to get a grip of the children's mental health treatment crisis in Scotland today? I welcome Craig Hoy to Parliament. On the issue of mental health waiting times for children and adolescents generally, but also on the issue of rejected referrals, I will turn to those in reverse order. The Scottish Government, of course, accepted all of the recommendations in the 2018 audit of rejected referrals, and we are working to deliver on all of those recommendations, including asking Public Health Scotland to work with health boards to develop a new patient-level data set so that we do not just understand the overall numbers, but the reasons for rejected referrals. There is also the service standard, which makes it clear what should happen if a particular referral does not require specialist treatment. There is on-going work to tackle rejected referrals. On the issue of waiting times more generally, in summary, our approach is twofold. First, more investment into CAMHS, but secondly, redesigning the service so that there is much greater support provision for young people in communities so that, hopefully, they do not then require specialist services. I am happy to ask the health secretary to provide more detail of all of that, given that I have limited time here, but this is an important strand or strands of work that has been taken forward with urgency. To ask the First Minister whether attendees of the Euro 2020 fan zone in Glasgow will require testing for Covid-19 ahead of entry, given conflicting information provided by the Scottish Government and the organisers' Glasgow life. I will write to Pam Duncan-Glancy and make this available to the whole chamber of the arrangements that are in place. Those arrangements are still under consideration to make sure that any fan zone proceeds safely with all the correct mitigations in place. On the issue of testing, let me repeat again that not just for people attending a particular event, our advice to the whole population now is to order them free through the NHS informed website, lateral flow tests and test yourself twice a week so that, if you have the virus without symptoms, that can be identified. You can go for a confirmatory PCR test if the LFD test is positive and that helps to break the chains of transmission. It is really important to get that message across to the public at large, not simply in relation to particular attendancies at particular events. Jackie Dunbar to be followed by Liam Kerr First Minister, Scottish communities are, to this day, paying the price of the Scorched Earth Policy inflicted on Scottish industries in the 1980s by Thatcher and our hypocritical Scots Tories. What assurances can the First Minister provide to my constituents working in the oil and gas sector that no one will be left behind as we make a necessary and just transition to renewable energy? First Minister, can I take the opportunity to welcome my good friend Jackie Dunbar to this chamber? I think that she has just demonstrated in that question what a powerful contribution she has going to make here and I'm not sure that the Tories are going to like it but I think that most of the rest of us will. This is a really important issue. I grew up in Ayrshire in the 1970s and 80s and I saw first hand the impact on communities when a Government did not care about protecting individuals and communities from the impact of economic transformations. We must not make that mistake again. Failing to plan for the transition to net zero is not an option. That's why we are working with trade unions, businesses and communities to develop just transition plans to ensure that our approach is a fair one. That commitment to just transition is vital. I have already appointed our first just transition minister. We will implement the recommendations of the just transition commission and maintain the commission to advise right throughout this Parliament. I believe that a majority in this Parliament are committed to that transition to net zero but I also hope that a majority are committed to making that transition fairly because that is in the interests of every individual and community across our country. In February, I asked the First Minister when there would be a review into oil and gas work at quarantine to avoid them spending in some cases 10 out of 14 days and three quarters of their wages in a hotel on return from work overseas. I received no clear answer. I asked again in March no clear answer. As travel restrictions ease, is the First Minister now in a position to give our key energy workers the review that they so desperately crave and at least permit those essential workers to isolate at home? We will continue to keep all of those things under review but my principal obligation, and we have just heard from an earlier part of FMQs, perfectly legitimate questioning and criticism over the suggestions that decisions we might have taken at an early stage were not cautious enough. We need to make sure that first and foremost we are protecting people as much as possible against the spread of this virus. That is particularly important when it comes to international travel because that is the key risk right now of importing new variants. Those are all difficult issues for anybody who is having to quarantine in a hotel. It is really difficult but public safety and public health is paramount here and I would hope that the Tories would accept that. As with last week, I have been unable to call all the supplementary questions that I would prefer to. I therefore intend to discuss that with business managers. I will look at ways in which I can ensure that more members are able to participate in FMQs. That concludes First Minister's questions and I suspend this meeting until 2 pm.


But you got a point.    Chips on, come on, come on, this bunch, sit down. Alright, run away, run away, you're shooting at me.   I'm just gonna sit here. Oh, we got this, we got this pretty slow. We got this pretty slow. Here we go, here we go, here we go. Boom.   Oh, I see you. Uh oh, I see you.   We worked him, we worked him. Anybody else? Chips on, burgers motherfucker. I'm wrecking him this game, I am.   I'm on a one hit. There we go, here we go, here we go. Sit here, sit here.     Are you telling me he just spawned there? He just spawned there?  One out of two, I can't believe it. Come on now, man.   I even, I even.  Cross back, cross map.  Space.   And the asses, and the asses. What is he supposed to do to me?   That one of them, that one of them, that one of them. Let's go. He just spawned there then. I just killed a guy. What can I do, what can I do? I'm in the vacant seat. Based?  I'm wrecked, I'm wrecked, I'm wrecked. I'm wrecked. You two are scrubs. You're asking me to get, you're asking me to get. He's gone.  I don't see him lost. This is A. I called you C last time, didn't I? A.  Do anything against them. Oh I see him with my fist panic. I'm gonna take some more then.     In bubbles again. Let's do it again. I like the whole team. I got him again. I got three of them.   I'm happy, that was badass. I see you, I see you.   I'm a boss, I'm a boss.