Chamber and committees

The R number is calculated for Scotland and we publish it on a weekly basis. The R number is not calculated for smaller areas such as Scottish local authorities as the ranges around the estimates would be very large and it would not allow us to understand the differences between different areas of Scotland. We are looking at other means of monitoring and forecasting the levels of COVID-19 infection in local authority areas.

We are building surveillance systems to ensure that, not only at a national level but at a local level, we can monitor and, where possible, predict what happens with the virus in the weeks and months to come.

We have a range of powers under the Coronavirus Act 2020 that would allow us to take appropriate and proportionate actions as might be necessary.

The investment expectations are set out in the Decision Papers “Asset Replacement” and “Prospects for Prices”, available on the Water Industry Commission for Scotland’s website. As noted in the answer to S5W-30017 on 2 July 2020, Scottish Water had estimated investment of £730 million in 2020-21.

The Commission estimates that £1 billion - £1.1 billion annual investment will be required by 2040. The actual investment level at 2027 will depend on price profile, growth assumption, growth starting point, borrowing available and Scottish Water’s cash balance at the start of the 2021-2022 financial year. It is expected that further clarity on the investment profile will be provided when the Commission publishes its draft determination.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

The COVID-19 data and trend charts for Scotland are published daily and provide a range of information, including the number of care homes notifying cases of COVID-19 and the number of suspected cases of COVID-19 in care homes. The data also includes the daily number of people in hospital with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 but does not include details on how many of these are care home residents or staff. The cumulative number of people tested and the number of positive and negative tests is also provided.

Weekly data on COVID-19 in adult care homes in Scotland is available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-additional-data
-about-adult-care-homes-in-scotland/ .

You can find figures updated every day at 2pm (including care home data) here: Coronavirus (COVID-19): Daily data for Scotland .

NHS Board Laboratories - We have NHS labs operating in all 14 health board areas: Together, these have a maximum normal lab capacity for more than 10,000 tests a day.

Supporting Laboratories - Our testing capacity is supported the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service lab and non-NHS labs at the University of Edinburgh and University of Aberdeen.

Lighthouse Laboratory - The Lighthouse Laboratory, based at Glasgow University is one of three Lighthouse Centres across the UK. It has a testing capacity of around 20,000 tests a day.

There are 6 drive-through testing centres in Scotland as part of the UK Government’s Expanded Testing Programme. These are located at Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen airports, the Highlands and Islands University campus’ in Inverness and Perth, and Prestwick Airport.

The UK Government's Expanded Testing Programme also provides Mobile Testing Units. Mobile testing units (MTU) were deployed for the first time in Scotland on 30 April. On Wednesday 10 June, 9 Mobile Testing Units were operational at: Dornoch, Galashiels, Fort William, Stirling, Motherwell, Prestwick, Greenock, Dundee & Glenrothes.

Mobile Testing Units are deployed on a rolling programme around the country, and decisions on deployment are made in conjunction with Local Resilience Partnership and Regional Resilience Partnership. These decisions are informed by local factors of public health, population, rurality, access to testing and need for specific responses to outbreaks. We are working with local authorities and health boards to ensure Mobile Testing Unit deployment is publicised locally.

We are continuing to work with partners to increase testing pathways in the community to widen availability to testing for people going forward in addition to the testing which takes place within care homes and our NHS hospitals.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-29039 on 2 July 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

The COVID-19 data and trend charts for Scotland are published daily and provide a range of information, including the cumulative number of people tested for COVID-19 in Scotland and how many of the tests had a positive result. The link to the daily data update is: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-daily-data-for-scotland/ .

In addition, Test and Protect was rolled out across Scotland on 28 May 2020 and the Test and Protect data is published on Public Health Scotland's website at:

https://beta.isdscotland.org/find-publications-and-data/population-health/covid-19/covid-19-statistical-report/

Health Protection Scotland are conducting surveillance swab testing in the community for individuals with mild to moderate symptoms. Testing commenced on 27 April and results are available a week later by HPS report for internal planning and surveillance purposes. Details of this can be found at: https://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/a-to-z-of-topics/enhanced-surveillance-of-coronavirus-covid-19/

Antibody testing will help us understand if a person has had the infection and will enable us to learn more about the virus and gain an understanding of how it is spreading through the population in Scotland. Health Protection Scotland commenced antibody testing on 6 May. This will inform wider published information on the Government's response to the virus. Evidence is evolving on whether the presence of antibodies indicates that someone is immune, and if so, for how long that immunity would persist.

The COVID-19 data and trend charts for Scotland are published daily and provide a range of information, including the number of care homes notifying cases of COVID-19 and the number of suspected cases of COVID-19 in care homes. The data also includes the daily number of people in hospital with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 but does not include details on how many of these are care home residents or staff. The cumulative number of people tested and the number of positive and negative tests is also provided.

Weekly data on COVID-19 in adult care homes in Scotland is available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-additional-data-about-adult-care-homes-in-scotland/

You can find figures updated every day at 2pm (including care home data) here: Coronavirus (COVID-19): Daily data for Scotland .

The Water Industry Commission for Scotland (WICS) has worked with Scottish Government, Scottish Water, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Drinking Water Quality Regulator to identify the future investment requirements. The minutes of key meetings are already published on its website and it has published a range of relevant papers.

This is a matter for the Water Industry Commission for Scotland, and I have asked them to respond directly in writing to your question.