The Scottish Government is examining the possibility of a more hybrid home and office working plan going forward.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon discussed the matter at the Scottish Parliament after a question from  West of Scotland Conservative MSP Pam Gosal.

Ms Gosal said: " The First Minister said that workers would begin to return to offices from June. We are now in August, and office working has still not restarted.

"I know from speaking to the Scottish Chambers of Commerce last week that businesses are eager to get staff back into their offices.

"Will the First Minister commit to publishing a plan for staggering the return of office workers and to publishing the data behind her Government’s approach to the sequencing of the phased return?

Ms Sturgeon replied: "Employers and, indeed, some workers will be keen to get back to the office, but we must ensure that we do that at the right pace.

"I have had conversations with some businesses, and I know that most businesses are not planning a wholesale return to the office.

"Most businesses are thinking about a new normal. They would like to see more of their workers back in the office, but they recognise that the position might not be exactly as it was before Covid.

"That approach is to be encouraged. The Scottish Government is looking at a more hybrid model of home and office working, and it is not doing so only for the purpose of controlling Covid—there are issues of wellbeing and environmental issues that inform those debates.

" "Working in the office is one of those areas where it is appropriate to have a bit of a pause for thought and consideration of the best way of working in the future.

"There are other reasons to want to have people back in offices, such as the benefits that it brings to city centre economies.

"We cannot dismiss any of those reasons, but this is a moment to think seriously about the balance that we want to strike in the future."