Chamber and committees

Testing is one of the ways of getting us through the crisis—it is really important—but I would not want to give the impression that it is the only way. Getting vaccinated is also really important. Following the advice to slow transmission is also vital.

As I said in response to a previous question, as demand was constrained for England last night, an administrative error led to slots also being removed for the other three nations. That has been resolved.

There will be fluctuations in availability. Sometimes, slots will be available in places that are not easily accessible. That is why I say to people to go back and check later, because new PCR test slots are made available throughout the day.

The work goes on of ensuring that there is an adequate supply of testing—from the sampling capacity, which is the local test sites and the mobile testing units where the tests are taken, through to the laboratory processing capacity—and that all of that is fit for purpose.

Because we know that, for some people, getting speedy access to test results is even more important than it is for everybody else—and it is important for everybody—we are making sure that, within the available capacity, priority is given to essential workers, those who are most clinically vulnerable and those who are now eligible for some of the new treatments for Covid. Those are on-going issues of priority work for the Scottish Government. However, it is a UK system, so we require to ensure that that is done in partnership with the UK Government and the other nations.

I say to people that the testing capacity is there. If you have a positive LFT, if you have symptoms or if you are advised to get a PCR test, please make sure that you book one. There is also a supply of lateral flow device tests from test sites or pharmacies or by ordering online, so please make sure that you make full use of that.

We have reviewed the WHO recommendations from last week and noted that it has not changed its position on the route of transmission of Covid. We are therefore satisfied, at this stage, that those areas are covered in the winter respiratory guidance that was published at the end of November. That guidance provides staff with the opportunity to risk assess what level of personal protective equipment is required, so it already allows for healthcare workers to wear FFP3 masks or masks of similar standards in settings where care is provided to patients with suspected or confirmed Covid.

The Health and Safety Executive is frequently consulted and it supports the guidance in place. We will continue to review all the international evidence and to advise on any required changes through the Covid-19 nosocomial review group.

Since the start of the pandemic, we have provided more than £4.4 billion in support to businesses across the country. That help has been vital, but I recognise that it does not go far enough to compensate every business for every loss that has been suffered.

The Treasury has responded well in the pandemic to date. However, in this phase, we are seeing the limitations of the way in which funding decisions are taken across the UK. Whatever one’s view of the Barnett formula, it is not fit for purpose in the face of a public health emergency. The formula depends on the UK Government taking decisions for England, which is its responsibility. When Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate responsibilities to take public health decisions, but cannot access funding when we do so, there is clearly an asymmetric funding arrangement that constrains our ability to take those decisions.

Notwithstanding that, we have, as I have set out over the past two weeks, made available £375 million to support businesses. That is proportionately significantly in excess of the money that has been made available by the Treasury. On the decisions that the Treasury has taken, not all of that money is new money, as I have covered before, and there are still questions about whether any of it will have to be paid back. We are acting now to maximise the support that we can provide to businesses and to get it to businesses as quickly as possible.

On the first part of the question, I note that we previously made funding available to local authorities for acquisition of CO₂ monitors. We look to local authorities to ensure that proper assessments of ventilation are undertaken and that any changes that are required are made. Ventilation is a key part of how we ensure that schools are kept as safe as possible. Updated guidance around safety in schools and other education settings was issued just before the end of term, in order to give local authorities and schools clarity on the steps that they are required to take in advance of the new term.

I repeat that it remains our priority to keep schools open in order to minimise further disruption to children’s education. However, in doing so, it is vital that we ensure that schools are kept as safe as possible.

On the question about the JCVI, some recommendations have already been made on vulnerable young people and access to vaccines. Obviously, there are issues to do with ensuring that we have adequate supplies of vaccine; I point out that there are adequate supplies of vaccine for the programme at the moment. I hope that we will, in the not-too-distant future, be in a position in which we can start, at least, to offer the possibility of vaccination to five to 12-year-olds. However, we will obviously continue to be informed by the recommendations of the JCVI, in that regard.

Presiding Officer, I will try to be brief, but I repeat my offer to stay here for as long as is required in order to answer all the questions that members have for me, rather than stint on the answers. However, that is, of course, a matter for you.

We need, and are seeking, to get the balance right between providing funding support that is available to all businesses—the support will never be enough to fully compensate them, but the grant approach, with standard levels of grant, is an important way of providing funding—and, over and above that, looking at businesses across or within sectors that are being disproportionately impacted.

As well as announcing additional funding for the hospitality sector today, I have announced another £10 million for businesses in the hospitality sector that are most impacted by the return to table-only service. Many of those businesses will also be among those that are most impacted by the return to some form of physical distancing. That funding will allow a slightly more targeted approach to augment the general baseline level of grant support that is available. We will seek to be as generous as we can be, but we will also seek to make funding as targeted as we need it to be. The discussions that we have with individual sectors will allow us to tailor the response appropriately.

There is no doubt that the advice that we are giving has an impact on isolation and loneliness. It will be exacerbating that for many people, and that is one of the reasons why I hope that we do not have to give this advice for very long. The more we all stick to it now, the quicker we will get through this.

A range of support is available. I highlight the national assistance helpline, which is available Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm. That can assist with practical support, such as that which people need while they are self-isolating, and it can also link individuals to local support services to help reduce social isolation. The number for that is 0800 111 4000.

We have also committed to additional investment to tackle social isolation and loneliness, and have already made an additional £1 million available to support the work of organisations that are involved in that area. Lastly, support is available through a range of different organisations. I highlight Breathing Space, Clear Your Head, the Scottish Association for Mental Health and Samaritans, which, of course, has a 24-hour phone line. This is a tough time for everybody, and I recognise that it is particularly so for those who are living alone and are already isolated. Support is out there if they need it, and I ask people please to make sure that they use it.

I apologise to Willie Rennie; his line broke up a little in the middle of his question. I think that I got the gist of it, but, if I appear to be answering a question that he did not ask, that is the reason. I think that he asked me about comments at the weekend, which I think came from the chief executive of Scottish Care, about the need to perhaps stop care home visiting. If I am misquoting anybody, I apologise for that.

I do not want us to go back to a position in which we do not have visiting in care homes. The safety of residents in care homes is, for reasons that we all understand, vitally important, but we want to continue to support safe visiting.

As we have faced omicron, we have issued guidance about what safe visiting means when it comes to numbers and suchlike. For the mental health of residents in care homes—and for the mental health and wellbeing of their families and loved ones—it is important that we continue to support safe visiting. I give an assurance that that is a priority for us.

No, I will not, because we need to publish figures when they are robust. Public Health Scotland is working to break down the figures as much as possible. We publish data at a level of granularity that is probably among the best anywhere, but we always want to understand it carefully. It takes work, effort and a lot of expertise to do that in a way that is robust and therefore reliable.

I absolutely refute the suggestion that, somehow, Public Health Scotland has been dragging its feet on that. The organisation is full of people who are literally working around the clock to help with the response to Covid. The wealth of information that it already publishes has helped to inform our response, as will that data when it becomes more robust. I thank everybody in Public Health Scotland for the work that they are doing, literally as we speak.

It is important to highlight the plight of small businesses—particularly those on our high streets—and how important they are to the economy overall. Back in August, I think, we announced a £10 million Scotland Loves Local multiyear programme. That includes the Scotland Loves Local fund, a national marketing campaign and a loyalty card scheme. All those will be really important as we go into the new year and try to promote the benefits that people bring to our high streets by choosing to shop locally whenever they can.

Scotland Loves Local is about building the wealth of local communities and revitalising town centres. We will keep the effectiveness of that campaign under review and look at how we can ensure that the funding flows as quickly as possible to businesses. Therefore, we will keep the phasing and profiling of that under review over the early part of next year.