Chamber and committees

The regulation of financial services is reserved to the UK Government, meaning Scottish Ministers are unable to directly intervene in the commercial decisions made by financial services companies. However, Scottish Ministers are engaging closely with the banks and are pressing the industry to do all that it reasonably can to support people and businesses through the pandemic crisis. This includes fair interest rates and Ministers are happy to raise any individual cases with the banks concerned.

You may be aware that, on 9 April, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) provided firms the flexibility under their rules to provide temporary financial relief to those facing payment difficulties during the crisis. Firms are expected to:

• offer a temporary payment freeze on loans and credit cards for up to three months, for consumers negatively impacted by coronavirus;
• allow customers who are negatively impacted by coronavirus and who already have an arranged overdraft on their main personal current account, up to £500 charged at zero interest for three months;
• make sure that all overdraft customers are no worse off on price when compared to the prices they were charged before the recent overdraft pricing changes came into force; and
• ensure consumers using any of these temporary payment freeze measures will not have their credit file affected.

These are positive steps, but we continue to monitor the position closely and will not hesitate to raise any examples of poor practice with the industry.

In recognition of community pharmacy’s response to the COVID19 pandemic we have provided additional financial support measures to ensure that the network is able to continue to operate safely and that those who need their medicines continue to get them.

I announced on 7 April 2020 initial funding of £5.580 million to support the unprecedented increase in dispensing activity, additional staff related costs and appropriate changes to premises to ensure members of staff and patients adhere to social distancing advice.

We continue to work with Community Pharmacy Scotland to ensure that a stable pharmacy network is able to provide access to patient medicines and advice. The Scottish Government will meet in full any necessary additional costs incurred by community pharmacies in supporting the NHS at this time.

All community pharmacies have been issued with 2 x boxes of 50 fluid resistant (type IIR) surgical facemasks in line with the updated Health Protection Scotland guidance on personal protective equipment (PPE). Advice accompanying the distribution of masks reiterates that masks should only be worn where 2 metres social distancing cannot be maintained, and every effort should be taken to maintain the 2 metres social distancing at all times. A dedicated telephone number has been established from Monday 20 April to allow community pharmacies to reorder facemasks.

Community pharmacies were also issued with 1 box of disposable gloves and 1 roll of disposable aprons for decontamination purposes where a patient or member of the public has spent time in a room whilst symptomatic with an infectious agent such as a respiratory pathogen.

Pharmacists and community pharmacy staff responding to Coronavirus (COVID-19) are defined as category 1 key workers for the purpose of access to childcare. The Scottish Government guidance outlining the key worker definition includes in Category 1 ‘critical primary and community care provision’. The reason for inclusion within category 1 is that through their role in ensuring the supply of medicines, they are essential to the health and welfare of the country during this crisis. However decisions around eligibility for critical childcare for key workers are being taken locally and will differ by local authority to address local priorities.

The Scottish Government are currently dealing with an unprecedented health emergency (COVID-19) and therefore all activities associated with the Waiting Times Improvement Plan are presently on hold to allow NHS Scotland to concentrate on the immediate care of those affected by the current outbreak. Following the conclusion of the crisis, the Scottish Government will continue work on the Waiting Times Improvement Plan again, which will include the allocation of resources to NHS Boards to improve waiting times across all their services, including chronic pain.

The Scottish Government is working closely with HIE to identify opportunities to manage the in-year financial pressures so that they can continue to meet the needs of businesses and communities across the region.

We are treating the Covid-19 outbreak as an economic emergency and our main focus is to re-align and focus efforts and resources, to protect the nation’s heath, well-being and economic future.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise are working with their regional partners to reprioritise and support businesses and communities with a focus on mitigating the effect of COVID-19 on the economy of the Highlands and Islands.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-27826 on
‎ 18 March 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.

Annual funding is provided to NHS Boards through the Outcomes Framework, a single source of funding for strategic priorities focussed on prevention and reducing health inequalities – including adult and child healthy weight. The Outcomes Framework provides local flexibility on how best to deploy this resource against clearly defined outcomes.

Following publication of the Diet & Healthy Weight Delivery plan in 2018, we have also provided additional funding to NHS Boards to ensure a quality, consistent and equitable approach to the delivery of weight management services for children and adults:

1. Funding to support the implementation of the Type 2 Diabetes Prevention, Early Intervention and early Detection Framework , published in July 2018. The framework sets out national guidance on a weight management pathway and evidence-based interventions for people with, or at risk of type diabetes. In 2018-19, implementation was led in 3 early adopter areas, NHS Ayrshire & Arran, NHS Tayside and the East Region.

The Director General for Health and Social Care and Chief Executive of NHS Scotland wrote to NHS Highland on 21 February 2020 confirming that financial provision to support NHS Highland’s culture commitments, specifically the implementation of a dedicated healing process, would be made available in accordance with NHS Highland’s financial request. Accordingly a maximum of £1,030,000 will be made available to NHS Highland in the period to 31 March 2021. This will support the delivery of NHS Highland’s healing process commitments.

Funding will be made available on the basis of actual expenditure in connection with the delivery of this programme of work.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-27728 on 18 March 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