When is FMQs today? How to watch live as Nicola Sturgeon attends First Minister’s Questions at the Scottish Parliament

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is set to answer questions from MSPs at Holyrood.

When is FMQs?

First Minister’s Questions will be held at 12:30pm today (Thursday, March 11).

What will Nicola Sturgeon say?

While it is not yet clear what questions Ms Sturgeon will be asked, the First Minister is likely to take questions on the phased return of pupils in Scotland’s secondary schools.

On Wednesday, speaking to Holyrood’s Covid-19 Committee, the First Minister defended plans for secondary school pupils to return to school part-time from Monday – despite being told some youngsters could spend less than two hours a week in the classroom.

The First Minister said that despite the fall in coronavirus case numbers, expert advice does not yet support all high school students returning full-time to face-to-face to learning.

While all children will be back in primary school from Monday March 15, secondary school pupils will only receive some in-school education, with a blended approach meaning they will continue to do some of their learning at home until after the Easter break.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon during First Minister's Questions at the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood.

Ms Sturgeon insisted: “We would not have been able to say to secondary school pupils everybody can be back full-time from March 15.

“So it was a choice between some limited in-school provision or no in-school provision at all.”

The First Minister said on Wednesday she hopes all of parts of Scotland can see a “substantial” easing of lockdown when the country returns to the levels system at the end of next month – and she is also likely to be quizzed on this.

Ms Sturgeon said while she wanted to adopt a national approach initially, those areas with lower rates on infection could hopefully “go faster”.

She has already announced the intention for Scotland to return to its levels system, with different tiers of restrictions applying in different areas, from April 26.

Ms Sturgeon usually begins FMQs by sharing the latest figures for Covid-19 in Scotland.

Where can I watch FMQs?

The weekly session of the Scottish Parliament will be live streamed on The Scotsman at 12:30pm, with up-to-the-minute news and analysis on our dedicated live blog.

You can also watch the announcement via the Scottish Parliament TV site.

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