Chamber and committees

Universities began the asymptomatic testing of students on 30 November. Testing is being offered on a voluntary basis to all university and college students who are changing households or returning home at the end of term and is being administered by individual institutions. Two tests will be necessary, 3 days apart, with PCR confirmation for positive results.

We have published guidance and an FAQ document for students, which sets out more detail on the testing programme. We are committed to working with universities to offer testing on a similar basis to students on their staggered arrival for the start of next term and will provide further detail on the testing arrangements in due course.

NHS Scotland Virology experts recommend that the LumiraDX SARS-CoV2 Antigen Test is used for symptomatic individuals showing clinical signs or symptoms compatible with COVID-19 on admission to hospital.

This will help ensure symptomatic patients are tested quickly and results returned rapidly, preventing unintended consequences relating to patient flow and reduce the risk of backlogs in our emergency departments.

Adoption of the LumiraDx Test for testing symptomatic patients on admission will remain a decision of the local Health Board in the context of their infrastructure, local systems, processes, pathways and workflows.

Plans for the expansion of testing – including patient testing on admission to hospital – were set out in Parliament on 25th November 2020

Viral culture is not recommended diagnostic practice, as outlined in current advice on diagnostic testing for SARS CoV-2 by the WHO, as linked below. RT-PCR tests are used to identify and amplify specific sections of the viral genome “targets”. The document can be found here: - https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/diagnostic-testing-for-sars-cov-2 .

A total of three applications were either withdrawn or declined funding under the Saltire Tidal Energy Challenge Fund. One of those applicants was offered funding and subsequently withdrew its application, with the other two applications being declined on the basis of not meeting either the eligibility or essential criteria.

The two projects funded by the Saltire Tidal Energy Challenge Fund are either ongoing or yet to be deployed. It is therefore too early to fully measure the Fund’s success in relation to a number of its aims.

As a condition of grant funding, projects are required to submit a report to Scottish Ministers summarising the outcomes and performance of the project, as well as disseminating successful learning points from the project for benefit of the wider tidal energy sector.

The Fund fulfilled the Scottish Government’s commitment to review and relaunch the Saltire Prize. In the absence of a route to market as a result of the UK Government’s withdrawal of revenue support for the sector, the Fund provided a fair and competitive route for the Scottish Government to support the further deployment of tidal energy in Scottish waters. The Fund is enabling two of Scotland’s leading tidal energy developers to innovate and take steps to reduce the levelized cost of energy for tidal stream energy, as well as stimulating Scottish supply chain activity.

The Saltire Tidal Energy Challenge Fund was launched on 10 February 2019 with a closing date for applications of 6 December 2019. The closing date for applications remained unchanged throughout the call for applications.

The date by which projects supported by the Fund were required to be deployed in Scottish waters was changed from March 2020 to no later than September 2020 following feedback from stakeholders, including comments received at an information event held on 6 March 2019.

The Saltire Tidal Energy Challenge Fund was overseen by a recommendations panel consisting of representatives of the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, and Wave Energy Scotland. The panel met six times, including on a monthly basis between March and June 2019 and on two occasions thereafter to discuss applications and agree its recommendations to Scottish Ministers. In addition, the panel were consulted by correspondence throughout the assessment process. Given the commercial nature of the projects discussed, it would be inappropriate to place the minutes of meetings on SPICe. There are no plans for the panel to meet again, following the closure of the Fund to applications on 6 December 2019.

Orbital Marine Power were awarded up to £3.4 million for the Orbital O2 2MW Tidal Turbine Project. This award is equal to the total amount applied for to support a project with a total cost of approximately £13 million.

MeyGen Plc were awarded up to £1.545 million for the Subsea Hub Project. Total projects cost were approximately £2.6 million. The total amount applied for was reduced by the applicant during the application process, and the funding awarded was equal to the amount applied for to deploy the Subsea Hub as part of the wider MeyGen project.

The Saltire Tidal Energy Challenge Fund, which was launched on 10 February 2019 with total of up to £10 million available to help accelerate the commercial deployment of tidal energy in Scottish waters.

Following a process of evaluation and due diligence, two projects were supported under the Fund, with total funding of up to £4.945 million. Three further application for funds were received but were either withdrawn or not allocated funding. The Fund closed for applications on 6 December 2019 and no further funding will be distributed. The Scottish Government is considering the scope of future support for both the tidal stream and wave energy sectors in Scotland to ensure they can progress to commercialisation.