Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is committed to meeting or exceeding the standards set out in the European Union’s Single Use Plastic Directive. We have already taken action to reduce consumption of some single-use plastics by banning plastic stemmed cotton buds and microbeads. In the Programme for Government we have committed to outline how we will give effect to the requirements of the Directive and, more specifically, to consult on banning a number of problematic plastic items, including cutlery and certain food containers, identified in the Directive.

Guidance on school reopening has been informed by the advice of the Advisory Sub-Group on Education and Children’s Issues, and developed in partnership with the Education Recovery Group. It sets out a range of important mitigations to allow schools to reopen safely and minimise risks for pupils and staff.

There are sound reasons for approaches to physical distancing and group gatherings to vary in different contexts, including the drawing of judgements about cumulative risk across the whole of society and the features of distinct environments.

In the school environment there is the potential for significantly larger numbers of children and young people to come together and mix on a daily basis than is normally the case in wider society. Our guidance on school reopening makes clear that, by keeping children and young people in consistent groups in the school environment wherever possible, the risks of direct transmission are reduced, and there can be quicker identification of those who need to self-isolate in the event of an outbreak, thus potentially reducing the overall number of children, young people and staff who cannot attend school in the event of a positive test for COVID-19.

Our school reopening guidance remains under constant review, as does advice on households meeting outside of school settings. If fresh scientific evidence emerges or the path of the virus alters, we will update guidance accordingly to ensure the safety of school communities and the general public.

The Scottish Government is continuing to review the effectiveness of the childhood seasonal flu programme, as per the approach previously agreed by the four nations of the UK. We will be led by the best clinical evidence on whether eligibility should be extended further.

Since that approach was defined, the UK Government has decided to extend eligibility to Year 7 – their first year of secondary school. This brings their position in line with Scotland, as both administrations now vaccinate their seven youngest school year groups.

I recognise the breadth of different activities that take place within church halls and community centres, and understand they are significant assets to faith groups and local communities alike. In many instances, these halls have played a significant role in Scotland’s response to Covid-19, hosting essential volunteer services including the preparation and provision of emergency food and household supplies.

Church halls and community centres are able to reopen for any activity that is currently permitted to resume as part of Scotland’s route map out of lockdown. Organisers of those permitted activities should follow the relevant sector guidance for the particular activity taking place.

At this time, permitted activities include, but are not limited to, the delivery of essential non-NHS support services, provision of regulated childcare services and the delivery of some community learning and development services. Further activities will be permitted as we move through the route map out of lockdown.

I appreciate that the hiring out of these buildings is vital to sustain their upkeep and I know that they host indoor activities that are of huge value to children, young people and families across Scotland. On 20 August the First Minister announced that unregulated children’s activities will be allowed to resume from the 31 August. The scope of unregulated children’s activity is wide and will allow for the resumption of activities such as youth clubs and youth drama clubs. Appropriate guidance should be followed by any organiser opening for these activities.

In line with the route map, non-professional drama groups involving adult participants should not currently meet indoors unless the gathering is of three households or fewer. Guidance has been published for the performing arts and venues sector, and adult drama groups should refer to it before restarting any activity.

I would urge anyone responsible for managing a community centre or church hall to consult the upcoming safe opening and use of community centre guidance, which will be published on the Scottish Government website in the near future.

Milk is an integral part of the school food and drink regulations given its benefits as part of a balanced and nutritious diet.

Schools across the UK can no longer receive subsidised milk under the EU School Milk following the EU’s decision not to provide funding to the UK beyond October 2020. The EU Decision not to provide funding to the UK for the EU School Milk is a result of the UK Government’s decision to leave the European Union. The Scottish Government is continuing to engage with the UK Government on this issue.

Local authorities still retain the power to provide a subsidised milk scheme within their area based on local needs and circumstances.

On 1 September 2020, the Scottish Government published the ‘Coronavirus (COVID-19): universities, colleges and student accommodation providers guidance’, which came into effect immediately.

The guidance:

• Reiterated the importance of forming and adhering to established and agreed student households to mitigate the risk of infection and reduce the size of any outbreaks which may occur.
• Explained that

o Where accommodation is provided in the form of flats with shared cooking and bathroom facilities each “cluster flat” will normally be considered a household.

o If student accommodation is provided in a different format, for example longer corridors of single rooms, the composition of “household” will be informed by the areas shared by groups of students. In these circumstances, the size of the household should be considered carefully to ensure students can access facilities safely and in line with physical distancing guidelines.

• Set out requirements in relation to physical distancing in accommodation, the use of face coverings and enhanced clearing regimes for all shared areas of cluster flats.

This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government, as data is only collected at speciality level.

This information may be available upon request from individual Health Boards.

The Scottish Government are however presently working with Health Boards to deliver a Once for Scotland ophthalmology electronic patient record, which will assist in providing this information. We are also continuing to work with Health Boards to prepare and put in place local mobilisation plans for the phased reintroduction of previously paused NHS services including Ophthalmology.

There are no plans to introduce a separate reporting system for people to report concerns about others breaking the quarantine rules. We expect people to abide by the rules that have been put in place in order to protect public health and, ultimately, save lives. This ‘self-policing’ approach has proved successful throughout our efforts against coronavirus and a large majority of the population appear to be complying with the quarantine arrangements.

If individuals have concerns that others are not self-isolating, they can contact the Police through the 101 number or via the contact form on Police Scotland’s website at https://www.scotland.police.uk/. Public Health Scotland are also conducting follow up calls and emails with those self-isolating, and refer any concerns they have to the Police.

Guidance has been updated for the tourism and hospitality sector which sets out how premises covered by regulations can keep a record of customer and visitor contact details safely and securely, ensuring data protection principles are upheld. That guidance is available at:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-tourism-and-hospitality-sector-guidance/pages/collecting-customer-contact-details/

The section entitled ‘How to collect data’ outlines steps to take to utilise existing booking systems, implement digital solutions, or keep a paper record of visitor contact details.

In addition, the Scottish Government has published a template privacy notice alongside this guidance, setting out the terms of how data should be gathered, stored, used and disposed of. The privacy notice can be viewed online, downloaded and made available in each establishment.

Following the return of schools after a prolonged break, it is common for colds and similar viral infections to circulate. In many cases, children will be well enough to attend school and continue their learning with little or no interruption to their education. In other cases, for instance where they have quite a heavy cold with a runny nose, headache etc, they may need to take a day or two off to recover. There is no need to self-isolate for 14 days, no need for their household to isolate, and no need to get tested for COVID-19.

When a child or young person is absent from school due to ill health, there is a statutory duty for education authorities to ensure that they continue to receive educational provision whilst they are absent from school (if there absence is expected to last longer than 5 days). Guidance is available in relation to the education of children and young people unable to attend school due to ill health, which offers a reference source to education authorities. This guidance is on our website: https://www.gov.scot/publications/guidance-education-children-unable-attend-school-due-ill-health/pages/2/ .

Guidance on Children and young people or staff displaying Covid-19 symptoms is available on our website: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-reopening-school-age-childcare-services/pages/infection-prevention-and-control/#illness