Chamber and committees

The Covid recovery strategy highlights the importance of charities to community resilience. Our social enterprise and volunteering action plans will strengthen that role.

We have committed £120 million of recurring funding to support mental health and wellbeing, including £36 million over two years through the communities mental health and wellbeing fund for adults. The fund recognises the role of community groups and supports nearly 1,800 projects.

We are providing local authorities with £15 million per annum to fund more than 230 community mental health supports for children and young people, where the third sector is a delivery partner.

I would be keen for the type of projects that Mr Kidd mentioned to be reflected in the whole family wellbeing fund. It provides us with an opportunity to recognise that some of the mental health challenges that individuals face are a consequence of a multiplicity of factors. It is by taking a holistic and, in some circumstances, a whole family approach, that we will address the issues.

During the pandemic, I had the pleasure of visiting an excellent project in Drumchapel in Mr Kidd’s constituency. That art-based project has been immensely successful in stimulating community engagement and helping to address the wellbeing of individuals. There is some very good learning from Mr Kidd’s constituency, which we can build upon.

We are in the hands of the JCVI on this question. Liz Smith will understand that we rely on the JCVI for its advice. All Governments have followed its advice and that has served us well. We expect the advice to be with us so that we are in a position to roll out the programme, probably around the end of September or early October. However, I stress that that is conditional on us receiving the advice from the joint committee, which we do not yet have.

We have strong facilities in place around the country to enable us to deliver the vaccination programme. It has been an extraordinary success and we are keen to make sure that the population’s protection is boosted as a consequence of the decisions that we take in consequence of the JCVI advice.

The Government is absolutely committed to the fair work agenda, and the issues that Jackie Baillie raises are ones that would be addressed by that agenda. Individuals who face challenges with their health are entitled to support from their employers as part of that activity. I reassure members of staff that that is the case.

If Jackie Baillie is concerned about particular instances that have been drawn to her attention, I would be grateful if she would share those with ministers. We will certainly explore any anxiety that is in the minds of staff as a consequence of the guidance to which she referred.

The Covid recovery strategy is focused on bringing about a fairer future, particularly for those who are most affected by the pandemic. We will do that by transforming public services to ensure that they are person centred in design and delivery and that they support communities and the most vulnerable to thrive.

As part of that transformation, the Scottish Government is committed to improving and embedding inclusive communication within Government and across public bodies, and it is currently reviewing the effectiveness of the public sector equality duty in Scotland. Analysis of consultation responses on proposals that are designed to support public bodies to better meet PSED and the Scottish specific duties requirements is expected to be completed by August 2022.

I welcome the work that is undertaken by sessional interpreters at all times, but particularly the work they have done during Covid. That work would have been particularly significant for individuals during Covid—and, in the context of welcoming our guests from Ukraine, it is ever more important in our communities.

Monica Lennon properly reflects the Government’s support for the fair work agenda. Last week, I had a discussion with the STUC on relevant issues, and I would be happy to explore a meeting with ministers to address any of those concerns. I will make sure that that is taken forward as a consequence of this exchange.

Our ventilation short-life working group made 10 recommendations aimed at improving the following: awareness of the contribution that ventilation has in reducing the risk of transmission; regulations; guidance; technical skills; and air quality in buildings. Work is in hand to take forward the recommendations.

We are prioritising actions that can be taken quickly to improve ventilation, ahead of this winter, to improve our resilience against Covid-19 and other infections. I will write to all MSPs this afternoon to provide more detail than I can put on the record now on the Scottish Government’s progress on the recommendations.

I acknowledge the importance of the point that Sarah Boyack has raised. The working group gave us very clear recommendations, and I will set out in a letter to members this afternoon the steps that we are taking.

Fundamentally and in principle, we accept the group’s recommendations about the importance of taking forward the ventilation strategy, improving ventilation in our buildings and recognising the benefit that improved ventilation has for the wellbeing of individuals—and for the wellbeing of the economy, into the bargain.

We have to be careful about distribution of public money. On any other day, Mr Fraser would be citing to me the Audit Scotland report that demanded more information about distribution of public funding. On this occasion, he is asking me, in essence, to gather less information. On another day, he would demand that I collect more information.

We have committed to evaluating the 2021 business ventilation fund and we will consider the recommendations of the ventilation sub-group in light of that evaluation, while acknowledging that the Government has every interest in making sure that funding schemes that we make available are impactful in the business community, as was the case with Covid recovery funding. If there are lessons to learn about the administration of individual funds, we will learn them in order to make sure that the processes of the Government are efficient and smooth in all circumstances.

Since its inception, the Scottish Government’s Covid-19 vaccination programme has been guided by expert advice provided by the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation. The JCVI is reviewing the emerging clinical evidence, including about vaccine waning, infection rates and hospitalisation.

In the interim advice in May, the JCVI recommended an autumn/winter 2022 booster programme for those at higher risk of severe Covid-19. Once the JCVI has reached a final position, we will confirm booster arrangements as quickly as possible to make sure that those who are most vulnerable have the protection that they need by this winter. We will continue to be guided by the JCVI advice and by that evidence, as we have been throughout this pandemic.