Chamber and committees

The number of wind farm applications approved through the appeal process in the last 24 months, by local authority area, are set out in the following table:

The information requested is given in the following table:

Scottish Government plans are at an advanced stage in respect to forward planning for international students. It is the intention to vaccine international students, who require the COVID -19 Vaccination. We are in discussion with other interested parties and public agencies, to ensure we have the optimum delivery pathways in place.

Eligible Scottish domiciled (home) students studying towards a degree in Paramedic Science (BSc) at Scottish universities will be eligible for a new paramedic bursary and the additional allowances which will fully replicate the funding and administrative arrangements to the bursary offered to nursing and midwifery students. This Bursary will be offered to all eligible students in time for the beginning of the 2021-22 Academic Year.

There are no plans at present to consult with SPS staff about the potential introduction of a four-day working week (32 hours), at no loss of pay.  However, parliamentary officials have held informal discussions with the trade unions about the 2021/22 pay award for SPS staff and are aware that this is an issue which trade unions are raising with the public sector.  The SPCB recently agreed to instruct parliamentary officials to enter into formal pay negotiations with the TUS with both sides committed to securing and communicating a deal as soon as possible. 

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-01146 on 1 July 2021. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

a) Assessment of the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; The Scottish Government continues to monitor evidence on the Four Harms of COVID-19. These are the direct impact of COVID-19, other health impacts, societal impacts, and economic impacts.

We are using this information to inform decisions about COVID-19, including how we move through phases of the Coronavirus Route Map .

The virus will impact different groups of people in different ways, and our society will be affected in different ways over time. We’re carefully monitoring the data and regularly update new evidence to COVID-19 in Scotland (data.gov.scot) .

b) Assessment of the potential impact of COVID-19 vaccines on i) Menstrual Cycles; The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have reviewed reports of menstrual disorders and unexpected vaginal bleeding suspected as adverse reactions to vaccination with the three COVID-19 vaccines currently being used in the UK: Pfizer/BioNTech, COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca and COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna.

These reports have also been reviewed by independent experts of the Commission on Human Medicines’ COVID-19 Vaccines Benefit Risk Expert Working Group and members of its Medicines for Women’s Health Expert Advisory Group.

A range of menstrual disorders has been reported as suspected adverse reactions after all three of these COVID-19 vaccines including heavy bleeding, delayed periods and unexpected vaginal bleeding. The number of reports of menstrual disorders and vaginal bleeding is low in relation to both the number of females who have received COVID-19 vaccines to date and the background rate of menstrual disorders generally.

ii) Menstrual Health; The current evidence does not suggest an increased risk of either menstrual disorders or unexpected vaginal bleeding following vaccination with the vaccines reviewed (Pfizer/BioNTech, COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca or COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna). The advice from the NHS remains that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks for most people. The MHRA will continue to closely monitor reports of suspected menstrual disorders and vaginal bleeding with COVID-19 vaccines.

Healthcare professionals are advised that anyone presenting with menstrual disorders and/or unexpected vaginal bleeding following COVID-19 vaccination should be treated according to clinical guidelines for these conditions, as usual.

The safety of all vaccines and medicines is monitored by the MHRA on a UK-wide basis. This includes reports from the Yellow Card Scheme which allows health professionals and patients across the UK to flag up suspected adverse reactions to any vaccine or medicine, as well as reports from worldwide use and on-going scientific evidence.

If a woman is concerned about changes to her period, she is advised to speak to her GP, especially if she experiences bleeding after menopause.

We can confirm that the first delivery of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine into Scotland, was on the 5 December 2020.

Driver and vehicle licensing and testing is reserved to the UK government. The UK government have advised that despite the circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent disruption to practical driving tests, the validity period of theory test pass certificates will not be extended. They have advised that their reasoning is that road safety knowledge and hazard perception skills need to be up to date (tested within the previous two years) when restarting driving lessons and driving tests. This is not an area that the Scottish Government has responsibility for. We are, however, in regular dialogue with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) who administer and deliver driving tests on behalf of the UK government to explore ways in which the number of practical driving tests being delivered in Scotland can be expedited. Our understanding is that the DVSA are recruiting additional driving test examiners to increase the number of practical tests that they can deliver including at weekends.

The UK government`s Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is responsible for the delivery of driving tests in Scotland, however the Scottish government works closely with the DVSA to ensure that waiting times to access a driving test are minimised as much as possible to the benefit of people in all parts of Scotland, including our rural communities. Working in collaboration with the DVSA we secured delegated authority earlier this year for some transport operators and the emergency services to undertake driving tests for their own staff, thereby reducing the numbers of people awaiting tests at DVSA test centres. In advance of driving tests resuming when Scotland moved to Protection Level 3 on 26 April 2021, we engaged with the DVSA on their remobilisation plans and the development of communications materials to ensure that candidates were “test ready” when they presented for a test. We continue to meet regularly with the DVSA to discuss ways in which we can expedite access to driving tests and are currently engaging with them on their plans to immediately increase the number of driving theory tests being offered when the rules on physical distancing within public indoor settings change.