Chamber and committees

New data released by the university admissions service UCAS on Thursday 18 February show that the application rate for Scottish students has increased by 3.9 percentage points to 35.8%, with a 16% increase in the number of 18-year-old Scottish domiciled students applying to university.

The statistics also show continued increase in applicants from the most disadvantaged background with a 15% increase (1,100 people) in the number of applicants. 21.1% of 18-year-olds from SIMD20 backgrounds are applying to university, demonstrating that efforts to widen access are encouraging people of all backgrounds to apply.

We remain absolutely committed to the principle that access to education should be based on the ability to learn and not the ability to pay. Every child growing up in Scotland, regardless of their background, should have an equal chance of attending university and participating in higher education. We continue to work with the sector to maintain our commitment to the widening access agenda.

Unlike elsewhere in the UK, Scottish students studying in Scotland do not incur additional debt of up to £27,000. Average student support provided per full-time student was £6,140 in 2019-20, an increase from £6,010 in 2018-19.

We know that this year has not been the educational experience that students expect and deserve, and we are grateful to them for the sacrifices they are making to protect themselves, their fellow students and the wider community. Through our Learner Journey Task Force we are urgently working in partnership with colleges, universities, staff and student representatives to investigate all practical solutions to enable students to continue and complete their learner journeys, and move into employment or further study.

a) The following table shows the number of emergency hospital attendances with a main diagnosis of COPD. Please note that the data for 2020 only covers up to September as the data for October 2020 onwards is not yet complete.

Table: Number of emergency admissions with a diagnosis of COPD in the main diagnosis column between January 2017 and September 2020* for hospitals in Scotland

Since the publication of the COPD Best Practice Guide in 2017, which was backed with a £200k investment, there has been a reduction in hospital admissions including COPD and overall time spent in hospital.

The Scottish Government has been supporting Health Boards to undertake a rapid expansion of Community Services for COPD patients over the last 12 months. Digital support services specific to COPD have been rolled out at pace, providing remote monitoring for COPD patients with clinical support in the event of deterioration. Other ways to support patients in the community, such as virtual pulmonary rehabilitation and provision of rescue packs have also been introduced over the last 12 months.

The Respiratory Care Action Plan which was published in December 2019 sets out actions to support the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of COPD as a key priority. The lessons learned from the last 12 months in terms of reducing hospital admissions and exacerbations will help inform the Respiratory Care Action Plan which is currently under review.

In terms of funding, in 2020-21 we provided additional investment of £6.7 million to support improvements in unscheduled care; a key priority area of focus was to improve pathways of care for high volume and complex pathways such as respiratory with an aim to deliver care as close to home as possible by working across the whole system.

Statistics relating to the progress of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme are published quarterly on the Scottish Government website. These figures relate to the number of approvals, site starts, and completions of homes. They can be accessed using the following link: https://www.gov.scot/publications/housing-statistics-for-scotland-new-house-building/

The next set of quarterly affordable housing statistics (October to December 2020) are due to be published on 23 March 2021 as part of the Housing Statistics Quarterly Update.

It is expected that affordable housing statistics for the full financial year (2020-21) will be published in June 2021, and formal plans for this will be pre-announced when these are finalised.

In addition to these quarterly statistics, a more comprehensive annual breakdown of approvals, site starts and completions by local authority and programme type, including expenditure, is made available each year in the published Scottish Government Affordable Housing Supply Programme Out-turn Reports. Out-turn reports can be accessed using the following link: https://www.gov.scot/policies/more-homes/affordable-housing-supply/ .

The Respiratory Care Action Plan for Scotland is not intended to be a replacement of current clinical guidance.

The purpose of this Plan is to set out our vision for driving improvement in the diagnosis, care, treatment and support of people living with respiratory conditions in Scotland.

We are working with the UK Government to put in place support for people who are unable, because of financial hardship, to afford the fees associated with managed isolation. The current UK position is that a payment plan can be taken out at the booking stage for those on qualifying benefits, with fees to be repaid over a period of months. The Scottish Government is seeking to waive fees for those on qualifying benefits, those facing hardship who are not on qualifying benefits but are unable to pay, and those on family reunion visas, arriving to join a person with refugee status already in Scotland. Changes need to be made to the UK operation in order for fee waiver to be possible.

Separately, the Coronavirus Discretionary Fund recently provided to Scottish universities and colleges can be used to support international students and students returning to Scotland at the end of exchange programmes, such as Erasmus, who can demonstrate the charge would cause them financial hardship.

There are two routes to exemptions on compassionate grounds regarding the cost for provision of managed isolation. The first route is set out in the following regulations: The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (International Travel) (Managed Accommodation and Testing) (Scotland) Regulations 2021. This enables Scottish Ministers to use their discretion on a case by case basis to make exceptional arrangements for individuals on compassionate grounds. Where Ministers use their discretion in this way, the existing managed isolation requirements and associated fees can be replaced with alternative arrangements. The second route is via the booking portal through which passengers entering Scotland can book their managed isolation package – this booking portal is the responsibility of the UK Government. We are actively working with the UK Government so that their portal can be adjusted to enable passengers to seek exemption from fees where they are experiencing financial hardship, while still being able to book their managed isolation package. As part of this, we are seeking to exempt those travelling on 'family reunion' visas.

The Scottish Government has listened to business is providing support on a sector-by-sector basis so that it is appropriately targeted. This includes up to £15m for mobile close contact services as well as £30 million to local authorities to provide additional support for businesses where they consider that necessary or justified. In addition we have has set aside up to £15 million for a second iteration of the Newly Self-Employed Hardship Fund that we introduced in April 2020 in order to mitigate the financial challenges for those who are unable to access the UK Government’s Self Employed Income Support Scheme.

We continue to do all we can to support business. The £30 million discretionary fund has been provided to enable local authorities to provide additional support for businesses where they consider that necessary or justified. We have also created a new package of business support worth over £185 million to provide much needed support to several sectors. This includes, but is not limited to, support for licensed taxi and private hire drivers, mobile close contact services, tour operators and breweries, all of which are not covered by the Strategic Framework Business Fund.