Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government provides funding to both homeowners and landlords of properties through the Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme and the Private Rented Sector Landlord (PRS) Loan Scheme respectively.

For homeowners who already have a heat pump installed in their property, the HES Grant and Loan Scheme currently offers up to £6,000 (£4,750 interest free loan and £1,250 grant) funding for solar PV and up to £6,000 (£4,750 interest free loan and £1,250 grant) for battery storage as part of a package.

For landlords who already have a heat pump installed in their property, the PRS Loan Scheme offers funding of up to £5,000 loan for solar PV and up to £6,000 for battery storage. Loans to landlords with five or fewer properties are interest free whereas loans to landlords with six or more properties in their portfolio will attract an interest rate of 2.5%APR.

A financial modelling exercise for the cost of re-opening the Independent Living Fund (ILF) 2015 Fund was carried out for the Independent Review of Adult Social Care (IRASC) and explored the number of people in receipt of care packages over a range of support costs. This analysis suggested £32 million per annum was required to re-open the ILF 2015 Fund based on an indicative care package value of £600 per week.

Subsequently the SG undertook further analysis to better understand the data relating to the costs of care packages offered by Local Authorities (LAs). This identified significant variations in how these costs are recorded and therefore uncertainty around likely costs of reopening the ILF 2015 Fund. Work is ongoing to improve social care data more broadly to support the establishment of the National Care Service in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has commissioned the Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) to identify treatment options for patients across Scotland, including in NHS Tayside, who are currently on waiting lists for the following urogynaecology procedures:

• Urethral Bulking
• Laparoscopic Colposuspension
• Fascial Sling

Working Collaboratively with clinical colleagues across NHS Scotland and CFSD we have agreed a plan that sets out how and when these patients will be treated by adopting a national approach to clear the waiting list. We aim to ensure all patients requiring a procedure is appointed and treated by late summer.

To provide future resilience, the national unit, based in CFSD, will support increased capacity for treatment within NHS Scotland and enable the development of training to build future sustainability within this highly specialist clinical area.

In terms of NHS Tayside, there are eleven patients waiting who required fascial sling surgery. These patients now have a treatment plan and will be seen by Spire Healthcare, Edinburgh. Spire Healthcare is expect to be able to treat all eleven patients by the end of August 2023.

As set out in a letter I sent to Pam Duncan Glancy MSP on 27 June and as covered during portfolio questions in Parliament on 28 June https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/meeting-of-parliament-28-06-2023?meeting=15400&iob=131343#orscontributions_M16199E320P809C2508836 I remain committed to working with the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers to explore how we can progress a reduction in teachers’ class contact time by ninety minutes per week (from the current contracted figure of 22.5 hours to 21 hours). To help inform this discussion and ensure effective and evidence-informed workforce planning I will be commissioning an external piece of work which will consider and bring together a range of factors, including effective local and national teacher workforce planning, pupil teacher ratios and the projected decline in the number of school-aged children in Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6O-02398 on 21 June 2023 which is available at Meeting of the Parliament: 21/06/2023 | Scottish Parliament Website .

We are engaging with public sector organisations to seek reassurance of both their awareness and any action identified on this issue. Building owners and employers are responsible for managing the condition of buildings within their ownership or control, including duties under health and safety legislation to maintain a safe workplace.

As noted in the reply to S6W-19672, five organisations have contacted The Scottish Government on the presence or suspected presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete within their building estate.

At this time, the following public sector buildings are reported to us as partially or fully closed:

It is the statutory duty of local authorities to manage and maintain their own buildings. Scottish Government officials continue to engage with local authorities affected by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

The identification, assessment and management of people with long-term effects of COVID-19 in Scotland is guided by the recommendations of an evidence-based UK-wide clinical guideline developed by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN), the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Royal College of GPs (RCGP). The guideline provides clinical case definitions for ‘Acute COVID-19’, ‘Ongoing symptomatic COVID-19’ and ‘Post-COVID-19 syndrome’, to support the identification and diagnosis of long-term effects of COVID-19.

The guideline was first published on 18 December 2020, was last updated on 11 November 2021 and is being reviewed as new evidence, policy and practice emerges. The guideline can be accessed at https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng188 .

The recommended clinical case definition to identify and diagnose Post-COVID-19 syndrome is signs and symptoms that develop during or after an infection consistent with COVID-19, continue for more than 12 weeks and are not explained by an alternative diagnosis. It usually presents with clusters of symptoms, often overlapping, which can fluctuate and change over time and can affect any system in the body. Post-COVID-19 syndrome may be considered before 12 weeks while the possibility of an alternative underlying disease is also being assessed. In addition to the clinical case definitions, the term ‘long COVID’ is commonly used to describe signs and symptoms that continue or develop after acute COVID-19. It includes both ongoing symptomatic COVID-19 (from 4 to 12 weeks) and post-COVID-19 syndrome (12 weeks or more).

The International Classification of Diseases provides a common language that supports health professionals to share standardised information across the world, containing around 17,000 unique codes for injuries, diseases and causes of death.

The World Health Organization made available a diagnostic code for ‘Post COVID-19 Condition’ within the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10 th Revision (ICD-10) in January 2021. Further information can be accessed at https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/updates-3-4-in-relation-to-covid-19-coding-in-icd-10 .

On 11 February 2022, the World Health Organization’s Eleventh Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) came into effect. Post COVID-19 Condition has the code RA02 and is listed in Section 25 ‘International provisional assignment of new diseases of uncertain aetiology and emergency use’.

The Scottish Government recognises the inclusion of Post COVID-19 Condition in the International Classification of Diseases and the importance of coding diagnoses to support a range of processes that require classification of diseases.

The Scottish Government recognises the important role that bank branches play in Scottish communities. Despite financial services regulation being reserved to the UK Government, we have sought to engage with the banking sector following decisions they have made to close Scottish branches in recent years.

Through these engagements Ministers have reiterated the importance of bank branches to individuals and local businesses across Scotland - particularly for our rural and island communities, vulnerable individuals and digitally excluded consumers. We have also sought assurances that impacted employees from branch closures would be offered roles elsewhere in the business should they want them. Banks have confirmed they make regular contact with affected customers to inform them of the alternative services available to them, including through initiatives such as shared Bank Hubs, improved Post Office services and Community Bankers.

Most recently, I met with Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) on the 27th of June following the company's announcement to close 17 Bank of Scotland branches. LBG emphasised the support that they are providing communities and expressed their willingness to work with local representatives to ensure that the support provided is sufficient for the local area. Officials are also working with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to arrange a meeting between myself and Nikhil Rathi, Chief Executive of the FCA, to discuss the work of the FCA in Scotland with a focus on understanding how the unique cash access requirements of Scottish communities and businesses are being addressed.