Chamber and committees

Despite progress, we know that the impacts of Covid continue to be felt acutely by many individuals, businesses and other organisations across Scotland. We are working closely with local government to implement the shared vision and outcomes of the Covid recovery strategy and we will continue to work with local authorities, including Perth and Kinross Council, to shape the recovery activity that will support the rebuilding of local public services, create and sustain good, green jobs and fair work, drive financial security for low-income households and improve the wellbeing of children and young people.

There will be an on-going campaign to make sure that awareness is high. We will monitor the pattern of applications, and we have a good benchmark from the advance payment scheme of what may be a reasonable expectation of applications to come forward. We have to make sure that the work that surrounds the survivors forum is inclusive and gives a platform for survivors to have their input. I hope that what I have said today gives reassurance that the Government is interested on a continual basis to listen to survivors and understand how we can support the enhancement of the delivery of the scheme to make the maximum impact on individuals who have suffered in the past.

The Government’s regional resilience co-ordinators are in place and are supporting local responders across Scotland, including in the Dumfries and Galloway area. I recognise the challenges from coastal flooding that will have taken place in those communities.

In relation to financial support, my colleague the Minister for Public Finance, Planning and Community Wealth, who is sitting alongside me on the front bench here, has activated the Bellwin scheme in relation to both storm Arwen and storm Barra. That opens up the opportunity for local authorities to put to the Government legitimate financial claims for consideration.

The contact points that I mentioned in my statement will be available for individuals. However, I will write to all members to provide the necessary information that Sarah Boyack requests. It fits in with Mr Marra’s point about the importance of there being wide awareness of the scheme. I will write to all members shortly with all those details so that they can share the information widely in their local interactions.

There will be two elements to that. First, the panellists will determine the applications independently of Government. The Government will do a lot of the work to prepare applications and support individuals to be application ready, but the decisions will be taken independently of Government in Redress Scotland.

The second element is that the panellists will be able to bring a fantastic range of expertise from a number of disciplines—social work, clinical psychology and legal services—and lived experience to the scheme’s operation. It is important that we hear and understand those messages.

I am delighted to give that commitment. As Mr Carson might recall, a few weeks ago, in the aftermath of a previous storm incident, I visited Annan. One of the issues was the loss of two significant footbridges, and I agreed to engage constructively with the local community once it had had an opportunity to consider its next steps.

With regard to the circumstances at Drummore, the involvement of a community group is a welcome endeavour, and we will happily engage with it to see what we can put in place to practically support its efforts.

I will bring in Professor Leitch on part of that question, because we will get into the assessment of clinical risk. I will explain the thinking behind the programme.

This year, we took a decision to vaccinate more people than ever before for flu, and we had a commitment to administer the booster jags for a range of population groups. Our judgment was that the most effective and efficient way of doing that was to combine, as far as possible, the flu and Covid booster vaccination programmes to ensure that we were using resources wisely and calling in people when they could get two doses together. I had my flu and booster jags on Sunday, in a very efficient programme in Blairgowrie town hall.

The programme is designed to enable us to make as much progress as possible, but there will be some people who will get a flu jag slightly later in the year than they would have done under a stand-alone programme. Professor Leitch can set out the clinical issues around that.

We are trying to maximise the protection that is available to individuals and within society by having as efficient a programme as we can. I accept that some individuals might get a flu vaccination slightly later than they would ordinarily have received it.

We are awaiting advice on that point from the JCVI, which has been exploring the issue—

No, convener—I am satisfied with what I have said.

That is nothing new. However, I am taking tests more frequently because of the degree of interaction that I now have in the course of my responsibilities.