Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-30834 on 12 August 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 indicative date for the reopening of indoor sport and leisure facilities including swimming pools is 14 September. However the Scottish Government will continue to review the situation to see if earlier reopening is possible, with the intention to provide a further update on 20 August.

In terms of competitive swimming our performance swimmers have already been given permission to start training and careful consideration is being given to indoor competitive sports – including swimming.

We have been working with the sector to develop robust guidance and protocols that will allow necessary preparation for reopening indoor facilities and swimming pools and provide confidence for the public and members and staff to return with physical distancing and enhanced hygiene measures.

Our Learning Estate Strategy sets out a range of outcomes for Scottish educational buildings, including an ambitions energy efficiency target to make learning environments greener and more sustainable, contributing to our commitment to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. We are also developing a benchmark standard for new public sector buildings that will ensure the heating systems of new educational buildings are renewable or zero carbon.

Support for Public and Third Sector organisations to improve the energy efficiency of existing buildings is available through our Non-Domestic Energy Efficiency Framework, which has been designed to support organisations procure Energy Efficiency retrofit work. Funding for these projects is available through Salix Finance interest free loans for up to 50% of eligible costs through the Scottish Energy Efficiency Loan Scheme (SEELS) funded by Scottish Government.

Higher Education Institutions in Scotland have also been able to access support and finance for carbon reduction projects through our Universities for the Future: Decarbonising Scotland Fund and the £20 million University Carbon Reduction Fund, funded by our Scottish Funding Council, with both funds managed by Salix Finance.

The number of home tests carried out was not reported via Scottish Government data until the 8 July. Up until this point the number of home tests was reported in data from the Department of Health and Social Care at the UK level. From the 8 July all testing carried out for residents in Scotland, including the number of home kits ordered (or simply home kits) are now included in the data reported daily in the Scottish Government website.

The data provided by Public Health Scotland is for home tests that have produced a valid laboratory result, not the number of kits sent out.

More information can be found here : https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-daily-data-for-scotland. Definitions are available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-data-definitions-and-sources.

467 members of staff from Health Boards were placed in temporary accommodation, organised by the Health Boards, between the start of lockdown and 1 July 2020.

The accommodation provided to staff included hotels, self-catering accommodation and residences. Two Health Board used their own, vacant student accommodation on an as-needed basis. One Health Board does not hold data on how many staff have accessed this accommodation due to reasons pertaining to Covid-19.

All Health Boards put in place their own policies and processes for organising accommodation for member of staff who needed to stay away from their main home to protect themselves, their family or the public. We have received assurance that these policies included protecting the emotional and physical wellbeing of staff, and only using accommodation where infection control procedures could be put in place.

Decisions on what sectors and activities to re-open on our route out of lockdown were guided by the principles set out in our Framework for Decision Making. Proposals are technically assessed using the best available evidence and analysis of their potential benefits and harms to health, the economy, and broader society to minimise overall harm and ensure transmission of the virus continues to be suppressed.

Public health and wellbeing remains a key priority and we must all continue to play our part in supressing the spread of the virus. Everyone should continue to adhere to the guidance to ensure the transition back to sport is as safe, swift and effective as possible.

The Phase 3 route map, published on 30 July, notes that certain restrictions on sports coaches may be relaxed from 3 August once relevant guidance is agreed and implemented. sport scotland is working closely with the sporting sector and will provide coaches with the necessary guidance to enable a return to outdoor fitness classes, once the parameters and guidance documents are approved by Ministers.

We have been working with sport scotland and the sporting sector throughout the pandemic.

sport scotland has produced guidance for coaches, leaders, personal trainers, and instructors, which can be found on its website at: https://sportscotland.org.uk/covid-19/getting-coaches-ready-for-sport/ . This will be updated to reflect additional changes as soon as possible after changes are announced.

We are continuing to work with sport scotland and our sporting governing bodies to enable all sports to return when it is safe to do so. Should the virus continue to be controlled, inter-club matches should be permitted to take place.

sport scotland will continue to liaise with Cricket Scotland, who will continue to provide clubs with updated guidance.

Healthcare in Scotland is following the clear Scottish Government guidelines to protect all members of the public from the Covid-19 virus.

People who are shielding need to receive the care they need in the safest way possible and clinicians will assess their needs as part of any GP or hospital care and undertake a risk assessment and decide where, when and how they are seen. This could be over the telephone or via Near Me (a video calling service used by the NHS) or a face to face consultation or appointment may happen at the person’s home. Equally, after assessment of infection risk and clinical need, the shielded person may need to go to a practice, health centre or hospital.

We have ensured that they have the most up to date and relevant information available to support decisions in requiring treatment.

As the restrictions on the shielded community are lifted there is ongoing advice provided through a variety of websites operated by NHS inform, Public Health Scotland and the Scottish Government. In order to ensure the shielded community know the latest details of the routemap those registered on the shielding list have been issued with letters updating them at the various phases.

We announced recently because the infection rate in Scotland is low enough, we were able to pause shielding from 1 August. I should note that the changes to the shielding advice will not apply to people in care homes who are shielding.

We have written to people who are shielding to inform them of these changes and have stressed that their needs, care and treatment remain a priority for the Scottish Government and the NHS in Scotland.