Chamber and committees

On 16 March the First Minister outlined some indicative dates for the resumption of sport and physical activity in Scotland. From Monday, 26 April indoor facilities including leisure centres, gyms, and swimming pools can reopen. When they reopen, children and young people under 18 can return to group classes and contact sport, and adults can resume activity in line with the rules around meeting other households. From Monday 17 May, adults can resume indoor group activity including non-contact sport. Indoor contact sport for adults is expected to resume in late June.

The indicative dates above are dependent on continued progress in suppressing the virus and rolling out vaccines.

From Friday 12 March, outdoor exercise classes can take place of groups up to 15 people, so a fitness coach can lead a class of 14 others.

The Respiratory Care Action Plan will set out the priorities and commitments to support the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of respiratory conditions including bronchiectasis. We are committed to building a data set to inform the implementation of the Plan and this will also allow us to monitor progress over time.

Data since w/c 01-03-21

Complaint - 23

Concern - 16

Compliment - 1

Feedback – 3

The Scottish Government is providing as much support as possible to ensure that the public have access to the required support and appointments services throughout the vaccination programme. We are aware of the unprecedented volumes of correspondence and communications that both the Scottish Government and the NHS are receiving at this time and we are focussing our efforts on responding to as much of it as possible within a reasonable timeframe.

As of 22 March 2021:

• 33,409 first dose vaccinations of all care home residents have now been completed, exceeding the initial target for all care home residents. This is a cumulative count of all residents since the vaccination programme began and may include some residents who have since died.
• 26,354 current care home residents in older adult care homes have received their first dose vaccination (96%) and 22,359 current care home residents in older adult homes have received 2 doses (82%).

There are individuals in care homes who have not received the vaccine for valid medical reasons, or where consent to receive the vaccination has not been received. Other reasons for some individuals in care homes not receiving a vaccination yet may include:

• clinical guidance sets out that where someone has tested positive, vaccination should be scheduled for four weeks later;
• If a care home has only one case of COVID-19 infection in a resident or staff member, other residents and care home staff may be offered vaccination as long as they have not been close contacts of the positive case. If a care home has more than one case in an ongoing outbreak or incident, residents who are symptomatic, positive or close contacts who are self-isolating would not be eligible for vaccination; and
• Care homes should undertake a risk assessment on whether or not the outbreak or incident cases are segregated sufficiently for other residents and care home staff to be offered vaccination. It may be safer to schedule the vaccinations once the outbreak or incident is over – this would be 14 after the last positive test or symptoms, and following a further risk assessment.

From 12 March, contact sport for under 12s, such as football, was permitted to re-start, in accordance with the Scottish FA guidelines. Football for young people between 12 and 17 is scheduled to re-start on 5 April. On 16 March, the First Minister set out a firmer timetable for the easing of restrictions adding that a revised Strategic Framework document will be published in due course.

Outdoor play and learning is an integral part of the early learning and childcare offer in Scotland and it is common for children to experience free-flow access to the outdoors in these settings. The Coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance for early learning and childcare services also explains that, given that the risks of transmission are much lower outdoors, ELC provision should maximise opportunities for outdoor play and experiences. The ELC guidance therefore makes no distinction between children mixing indoors and outdoors. Children should remain within the same groups wherever possible. The appropriate size of groups will depend on the age and overall number of children, and the layout of the setting but the guidance states that it would be reasonable for children to be managed in groups up to the size encountered in primary school, for example no more than 25 to 33 children in any one group. Children in ELC are not required to physically distance from each other, or from adults, either indoors or outdoors.

Similarly, the Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance on reducing the risks from COVID-19 in schools explains that, on the basis of the scientific advice, and subject to all other risk mitigation measures, there is no requirement for physical distancing between primary school children. On 16 March the First Minister announced children younger than 12 remain able to mix in larger groups and do not count towards the limit placed on groups of adults or older children.

The Scottish Government recognises that graduation is an important moment in a student’s life, offering students a chance to celebrate their hard work and achievements. The hosting of graduation ceremonies is an operational matter for individual institutions to determine, and any ceremonies this year will of course have to be planned in line with public health measures. Many colleges and universities have adopted innovative approaches to hosting graduation ceremonies virtually to ensure that the hard work of students is rightly recognised.

The Scottish Government continues to work closely with colleges, universities, NUS Scotland, and trade unions to ensure that guidance is in place to support the safe return of students, with decisions informed by the data on virus prevalence and in line with our updated Strategic Framework. To ensure the continued safety of staff and students, we have published sectoral guidance for colleges and universities, which also signposts to other relevant sectoral guidance for the range of activities institutions may be engaged in.

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. As set out in our guidance, essential work includes domestic cleaning in support of a clean and safe living environment for people in vulnerable circumstance or living with a disability, where as a result of that vulnerable circumstance or disability are unable to clean their own home.

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.

Current guidance for delivery of maternity and neonatal services throughout the Covid-19 pandemic states that Boards should offer both virtual and in-person group antenatal sessions, in protection levels zero to three. Once the geographic protection levels have been re-instated, areas designated protection level three or below should start to plan to resume in-person antenatal classes, subject to risk assessment and physical distancing, in addition to any virtual group sessions currently offered. To ensure that all pregnant women across Scotland have access to antenatal information and advice throughout the pandemic, the Scottish Government has made available an online antenatal course. The course is free to access, provides expectant parents with practical information about pregnancy and birth and covers all of the information given in a traditional in-person antenatal class.

We are hugely grateful to the efforts over recent months of the many key workers in different sectors across Scotland as they have risen to the challenge of responding to the pandemic. Shared Lives carers are eligible for the payment. We are working through the practical and logistical issues of the payment process with stakeholders and will provide further details in due course.