Chamber and committees

I recognise that children and young people with additional support needs, including those with complex needs, will require support to return to school. Schools and local authorities are best placed to identify how to meet the individual needs of their pupils and have been working hard to develop plans to do so for the reopening of schools.

In June, we published continuity in learning guidance, which sets out what education authorities and schools should consider for pupils with additional support needs, including those with complex support needs. This focuses on reviewing individualised plans in discussion with parents, carers, children and young people, with support from partner services. It also recognises that some children and young people will have new needs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the guidance outlines, individual provisions and interventions will require constant review to ensure they continue to meet children and young peoples’ learning and wellbeing needs as schools reopen.

The Scottish Government has been working with partners to publish expert advice and good practice in supporting children and young peoples’ learning throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. My answer of 24 June outlined the ways in which this information has been made available.

Schools and local authorities are best placed to identify how to meet the individual needs of their pupils and have been working hard to develop plans to do so for the reopening of schools.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-28900 on 15 May 2020 and also S5W-29660 on 10 July 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

On the 30 th of June 2020, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport announced during the daily media briefing that visiting restrictions were being relaxed in hospitals, in line with Scotland’s Covid-19 Route Map.

Additional guidance has published specifically for visiting in maternity and neonatal units. From 13 July, in addition to a birth partner (who has always been deemed as an essential visitor throughout the pandemic), women throughout their labour can have an additional birth partner provided they are not unwell or have any symptoms of Coronavirus. Birth partners and one other nominated person are also now allowed to visit the postnatal ward. In addition, the updated guidance allows for one person to able to accompany a pregnant woman to an antenatal clinic or scan appointment. In some areas there may be some local restrictions, for example in relation to available space in waiting areas and women are advised to speak with their midwives to see how these changes affect their local areas.

Starting from 3 August 2020, a week before schools in Scotland are due to return, it is expected that rail passenger services will return from approximately 60% to approximately 91% of pre COVID-19 levels, with peak services across Scotland running at almost 100%.

Further service changes will be kept under consideration as conditions require.

On 18 June, the Scottish Government announced a £2.6 million animal welfare fund for zoos and aquariums. This is in addition to the other forms of support available to visitor attractions and businesses in Scotland. We will continue to assess the need for further support for this sector.

The regulation of the veterinary profession is reserved. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) is the regulator in the UK.

The Scottish Government has worked with the RCVS, in consultation with the British Veterinary Association (the professional representative body) to make sure the advice they have produced is compliant with Scottish Government (general) Business advice.

As we have started to relax lockdown requirements this has moved from only carrying out work which is an emergency or essential to the food chain to providing as full a range of services as possible, whilst working safely.

All veterinary services must be provided in a manner that supports social/physical distancing, and good hygiene and biosecurity. Practices have to consider the individual premises layout and specific disease/welfare pressures in their geographical area, while prioritising the health of their teams, clients and the wider public adhering to the latest government guidelines.

The Scottish Government engages regularly with the banks through the Banking and Economy Forum and the Financial Services Industry Advisory Board (FiSAB).

While people are being encouraged to use contactless payments as a result of the health crisis, we recognise that this may not be possible for everyone. However, there are already a number of measures in place to help young and vulnerable members of the community access bank accounts. For example, accounts are available for under 19 year olds that can provide free every day banking with access to debit cards to pay for items in shops, on the internet or access money at cash machines.

Banks provide a range of options for young people and full details can be found on their websites.

Guidance on the provision of B12 injections has been produced by the British Society for Haematology ( https://b-s-h.org.uk/media/18275/bsh-guidance-b12-replacement-covid-1901052020finalv.pdf ). This advises that GPs should use their clinical judgement to consider if changes are appropriate during the pandemic and to discuss and agree a personalised plan with individual patients that are affected. This may be to decrease the frequency of injections to minimise visits to GP practices or hospitals. Alternatively, there are situations where it is possible for people to self-inject hydroxocobalamin if their GP or health professional agree this would be suitable.

On 31 May 2020 we published our framework for re-mobilising our health services, “Re-mobilise, Recover, Re-design.” Health Boards are using this Framework alongside other national and clinical advice to safely and gradually prioritise the reintroduction of some chronic disease management services including treatment room services such as for B12. This is happening now and will continue to expand in coming weeks and months, whilst continuing to protect emergency, urgent and maternity care, as well as retaining sufficient capacity for COVID-19.

This information is not collected or held by the Scottish Government. However, there have been no reported outbreaks of Covid-19 among people experiencing homelessness in Scotland.

The Scottish Government took swift and effective action to ensure that all those experiencing homelessness and living in situations where it would be difficult to follow public health guidance were provided with alternative accommodation; and that frontline services and their staff had the right support and tools to both respond to this crisis and continue to deliver their vital services throughout this difficult time. We are continuing to support people experiencing homelessness as well as all of our partners and stakeholders as we move through and out of the crisis.