Questions and answers

Question reference: S5W-32287

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 29 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost is of providing non-domestic rates relief for Scotland's airports.

Question reference: S5W-32867

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 29 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the full minutes and records of the Scottish Government COVID-19 Advisory Group.

Minutes of the COVID-19 Advisory Group’s meetings, papers considered by the group at their meetings and the group’s full remit and membership are published on the Scottish Government website at https://www.gov.scot/groups/scottish-government-covid-19-advisory-group/ . With effect from the group’s next meeting, the format of the minutes will be expanded to provide more detail than the current summary form.

Question reference: S5T-02478

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 26 October 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of the impact of the most recent restrictions on both health and the economy.

Question reference: S5W-32252

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 21 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has allocated to each local authority to fund the Self-Isolation Support Grant.

The Scottish Government will reimburse local authorities for the cost of the payments, as well as additional administration funding to manage the scheme. The distribution methodology is currently being considered by the joint Scottish Government and COSLA Settlement and Distribution Group, with a view to seeking COSLA political leaders approval on 30 October. Subject to approval, individual local authority allocations can be provided shortly after this date. Our current estimate is that the grant payments could cost £11 million for the remainder of the current financial year.

Question reference: S5W-32251

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 21 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has received from the UK Government to fund the Self-Isolation Support Grant.

The UK Government recently confirmed an additional £700m guaranteed consequential funding for Scotland, but has not provided a breakdown of how any of the consequentials provided so far relate to particular announcements in England. We will continue to press the UK Government for further support so people will not be forced into hardship because they are doing the right thing by isolating and stopping the transmission of the virus.

Question reference: S5W-32253

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 21 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether local authorities have received funding for the Self-Isolation Support Grant and, if not, by what date they will receive this.

Question reference: S5W-32250

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 21 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many people it estimates will claim the Self-Isolation Support Grant.

Question reference: S5W-32254

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 21 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it received funding from the UK Government for the Self-Isolation Support Grant.

The UK Government recently confirmed an additional £700m guaranteed consequential funding for Scotland, but has not provided a breakdown of how any of the consequentials provided so far relate to particular announcements in England. We will continue to press the UK Government for further support so people will not be forced into hardship because they are doing the right thing by isolating and stopping the transmission of the virus.

Question reference: S5O-04673

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what additional support it is providing for frontline policing, in light of the impact of reduced income streams from areas such as football and airports.

Question reference: S5W-31500

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 28 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will outline the modelling system that it has used to determine its testing programme; how many tests it estimates need to be undertaken to keep key workers in post; how it expects testing to be accessed; when all testing will be delivered locally; what the anticipated waiting time is (a) for local testing and (b) to receive results, and what advice it has issued on how to access tests.

The Scottish Governments approach to modelling COVID-19 testing draws together a number of data sources, and is reflected in the our current Testing Strategy. We continue to work closely with colleagues across the NHS to further understand testing demand from all eligible groups, including pandemic curve modelling and the testing capacity required to deliver this.

In the initial stage of the pandemic, a key focus of the testing strategy was to test symptomatic key workers and their family members, allowing negative-cases to return to work quickly. Currently testing of asymptomatic key health and social care workers is driven by regular testing of Care Home staff and NHS workers in critical pathways. As the pandemic progresses, the Scottish Government is constantly reviewing the list of key workers that should be tested on a regular basis. As with the general public, symptomatic key workers should isolate and arrange a test as soon as they develop symptoms, this can ensure they can return to work quickly if the test is negative.

Anyone in Scotland who develops symptoms of COVID-19 should isolate immediately and book a test. A COVID-19 test can be booked online using NHS Inform or by calling 0800 028 2816. Anyone who requires support to book a test can call 0300 303 2713. Once a test has been booked it can be taken at a drive-through site (Regional Testing Site or Mobile Testing Unit), at a walk-in site (Local Test Site) or by using a home testing kit. The test kits are then analysed at UK Government run Lighthouse laboratories.

Information is published on the Scottish Government website on both how to arrange a test and how to access the test once it has been arranged. This information can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-
getting-tested/pages/overview/ .

Testing for COVID-19 is available through the NHS in Scotland to all symptomatic Health and Social care staff or symptomatic household members (where a negative test will support their return to work). Further information on how to arrange a test can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-
getting-tested/pages/arrange-a-test/ or by calling 0300 303 2713.

Routine asymptomatic testing is being offered to some health and social care staff working in high risk settings as part of a wider range of interventions appropriate because of particular concerns about transmission in these contexts including care homes, specialist oncology wards, long term care of the elderly wards, and long term care wards in mental health facilities. Testing for care home staff is mostly arranged through the UK social care testing portal with some testing now being organised and managed by NHS Boards where they have local capacity. Testing for healthcare staff is organised and managed by NHS Boards.

Testing for some key workers, for instance staff in schools and childcare settings is accessed through the Employer Referral Portal.

The Scottish Government is working to ensure that testing is accessible across the country and is currently introducing Local Test Sites to improve local access to testing. The Scottish Government is keeping the accessibility of testing under constant review.

The majority of people who are tested get their test results the day after taking the test. Whilst some results may take longer, we expect all test subjects get their results within 72 hours.

Testing is one important tool in our overall approach to managing the pandemic in Scotland and reducing as far as is possible all of the harms caused by COVID-19. Our testing strategy will be updated as the evidence base continually builds; as innovations provide new, better and faster possibilities; and as we continue to move through and out the pandemic.

Chamber and committees