Chamber and committees

The First Minister announced on 16 March that Stay at Home regulations will be lifted on 2 April and replaced with guidance to Stay Local, with more services able to open from 5 April. The First Minister also announced further expected easing’s from 26 April including the anticipated restarting of driving lessons and tests. The only current exceptions for driving lessons are lessons provided by a member of the same household and where an organisation has delegated authority to do so from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. This includes Scottish Fire and Rescue Services, Police Scotland and bus operators.

The Scottish Government has engaged with animal welfare groups as new firework regulations have been progressed through secondary legislation. A meeting took place on 17 December 2020 with the Scottish SPCA to discuss the measures that were being introduced. The Scottish SPCA indicated support for the new regulations and the impact they will have on animal welfare.

The Scottish SPCA and British Veterinary Association were also represented on the Firework Review Group. Animal welfare concerns were a key area of consideration for the Group, including the impact fireworks use has on pets, wildlife and livestock. Both organisations supported the Group’s final recommendations for change in how fireworks are sold and used in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has not investigated or undertaken any feasibility work for a fixed link (bridge, sea crossing or tunnel) between Scotland and Northern Ireland and has no current plans to do so.

Transport Scotland officials have had limited discussions with the UK Government regarding the publication of the interim report of their Union Connectivity Review (UCR). On 26 November 2020 I spoke to Sir Peter Hendy, who is leading the UCR, to discuss this work. Subsequently, on 9 March 2021, I (separately) spoke with the UK Government as well as with Sir Peter Hendy, and relevant officials from the Department for Transport – the matter was discussed in that context on each occasion. I have also had various discussions with Nichola Mallon, Minister for Infrastructure in the Northern Ireland Assembly, on the UCR, some of which have made reference to a potential fixed link – on 6 March 2020 we both wrote to the Secretary of State for Transport setting out joint views on the matter.

We seek to engage constructively with the UK Government, however, not in a way that undermines the devolution settlement. The second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) is ongoing and is the method by which the Scottish Government will assess how best to influence the demand for travel, how to better maintain and make best use of existing transport assets, what new capacity is needed, and what may or may not need to be built. This work will appraise potential transport interventions and make recommendations for investment in transport in Scotland over the next 20 years – a fixed link to NI has not been identified as a priority throughout the course of STPR2.

The Scottish Government does not hold data about how many businesses have been ineligible for any form of assistance from its COVID-19 support schemes.

Work to review the Minimum Unit Price (MUP) level was paused in order to respond to the urgent demands of handling the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. This has restarted in order to review the level of the MUP in the course of this year. The price level will be considered in line with the latest evidence on the affordability of alcohol. Should the Scottish Government consider that an amendment is required to the MUP level, any proposals would of course be brought to Parliament for full consideration.

We expect Health Boards to ensure their staff are appropriately trained and developed for their roles, as per the Staff Governance Standard. The standard complements the training expectations set out in individual professional and regulatory requirements.

Introduced in February 2018, the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) developed a clinical guideline, about the use of medication to manage migraines. The clinical guidance is based on what we know from current medical research. It also gives advice based on the opinion of healthcare professionals who are trained on how best to manage people's care.

All boards have been encouraged by the Scottish Government to establish care interface groups, which will cover work in improving the management of headaches. the Royal College of General Practitioners Scotland have also been supported by the Scottish Government to develop tools and resources to support boards establish these groups.

The Scottish Government remains committed to improving neurological care and support in Scotland, including for people with migraine. The Neurological Care and Support Framework includes a commitment to promote and support the implementation of Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) General Standards for Neurological Care and Support 2019. General standards for neurological care and support (healthcareimprovementscotland.org)

These standards articulate what people with neurological conditions should expect to receive in terms of high quality care from the health and social care organisations that support them, and it is intended that organisations use these standards to demonstrate that they are delivering this. Standard 3 states that organisations should ensure that staff have the education, training and information to deliver care and support to people living with neurological conditions, appropriate to roles and workplace setting. The accompanying criteria states that this should be aligned to appropriate guidance, standards and best practice, where available. Discussions to explore the introduction of quality assurance arrangements for the standards are being taken forward with HIS. The Scottish Government expect Health Boards to ensure their staff are appropriately trained and developed for their roles, as per the Staff Governance Standard. The standard complements the training expectations set out in individual professional and regulatory requirements.

The monitoring of the impact of gambling across the UK during the pandemic, is carried out by the Gambling Commission, which published and updated the following report . The Commission also alerts stakeholders to other academic assessments carried out across both the UK and internationally.

Gambling has the potential to negatively affect physical, psychological health, and the social functioning of the people who gamble and others around them. In April 2019 the Gambling Commission, with the support of GambleAware, published its “National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms”. That new industry-led strategy for England, Wales and Scotland aims to respond to growing concerns about the harm caused by gambling through improving prevention and educative approaches, and through developing and increasing access to evidenced-informed effective treatment and support.

The Scottish Government are currently working with the Commission and other stakeholders in Scotland, to assess existing evidence on which pathways to treatment are likely to be most successful in Scotland, this includes the evaluation of pathways being trialled in other nations. In addition, we are keen to understand why some people with problematic gambling are not accessing treatment and support services, to ensure our pathway options take these reasons into account to provide the correct approach for the people of Scotland.

Work on implementing the provisions of Part 3 (Bus Services) of the Transport (Scotland) 2019 Act was paused while officials had to prioritise the Scottish Government’s response to the Coronavirus pandemic. However, work has now restarted and an online stakeholder workshop was held on 17 March 2021 which covered the range of options, including local authority run bus services. Stakeholder views will inform the development of a public consultation exercise to run later this year. This consultation will, in turn, inform the development of secondary legislation and guidance. The date of coming into force will depend on a number of factors including the time it takes to consider the outcomes of the consultation, as well as Parliamentary scheduling.

The update on the funding for Autism Network Scotland is that I met with Richard Ibbotson on 18 March 2021, to set out the reasons for the withdrawal of funding and to allow him an opportunity to convey his views directly to me. I explained the decision and that I had considered this carefully but concluded that my decision remained.

The Scottish Government remains committed to improving the lives of autistic people in Scotland.

The current regulations limit the entry of other people into homes for the purpose of the upkeep, maintenance or functioning of the house to where the work is essential for that purpose in level 4. These restrictions have been put in place to limit the transmission of the virus.

The Scottish Government has reviewed the Strategic Framework. As part of this, we have indicated the steps required for the easing of restrictions. As set out in the First Minister’s statement on 16 March, we expect the restrictions on working in other people’s homes to be relaxed on 26 April. The updated Strategic Framework sets out the conditions on easing, including meeting the WHO’s six conditions and all JCVI Priority Groups 1-9 having been offered the vaccine.