Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-11493 and S6T-00915 answered on 26 October 2022 and 25 October 2022 respectively.

The answer to Topical Question S6T-00915 can be found here: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/meeting-of-parliament-25-10-2022?meeting=13939&iob=126317#16180

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/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-11493 and S6T-00915 answered on 26 October 2022 and 25 October 2022 respectively.

The answer to Topical Question S6T-00915 can be found here: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/meeting-of-parliament-25-10-2022?meeting=13939&iob=126317#16180

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/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The member can find details on the progress of the High Level Masonry inspections and the reopening of sites on the Historic Environment Scotland website at – https://www.historicenvironment.scot/conservation-works-happening-at-our-sites/

Historic Environment continues to review the budgetary requirements as the inspections programme delivers its findings, considering both capacity needed as well as funding. Against a challenging financial backdrop, the Scottish Government will continue to support Historic Environment Scotland to maintain Scotland’s heritage and historic environment, and I will continue to engage regularly with Historic Environment Scotland to discuss the closures and restrictions.

Consideration for temporary releases will be undertaken by a multi-disciplinary Risk Management Team consisting of appropriate officials from SPS, Justice Social Work and key stakeholders. Temporary release and home leave form part of a phased reintegration programme which provides an opportunity to work towards safe re-integration, using a robustly risk assessed process, involving multiple key stakeholders.

Decisions as to whether or not to recommend a life sentenced prisoner for temporary release are informed by a range of assessments, including risk of serious harm assessments, where required. The risk of serious harm assessment examines the risk of serious harm that the individual would present in the community. It does not, in itself, recommend whether they should be released.

Decisions as to whether to release a life sentenced prisoner on parole are a matter for the independent Parole Board for Scotland. The Parole Board may take into account any matter which it considers to be relevant in their decision making process.

The Scottish Government is refreshing the non-statutory guidance for Local Child Poverty Action Reports (LCPARs) to support local authorities and health boards to deliver focused reporting on their actions to support priority families. CRER and other stakeholders representing priority families have been consulted in drafting the guidance. This is part of our work with stakeholders to strengthen targeted action for priority groups. We welcome the opportunity to work with CRER to enable a greater focus on BME families in our national and local practice and reporting.

The Scottish Government, in collaboration with other national partners, review LCPARs and engage with local authorities and health boards, offering feedback and sharing learning across areas. This process provides a further opportunity to support local focus on the six priority family groups.

The non-statutory guidance also highlights that the intersectional approach needed to support priority families is best served by person-centred, holistic action. We will continue to support local leads to engage directly with priority families in their areas who have direct experience of poverty to understand, design and deliver the tailored support needed.

This government welcomes CRER’s assessment of Local Child Poverty Action Reports (LCPARs) which recognises the vital role which local authorities, health boards and local partners play in our national mission to tackle child poverty.

Tackling child poverty is a national mission for this government and our Tackling Child Poverty Delivery plan, ‘Best Start, Bright Futures’ focuses on the six priority family types at highest risk of poverty, including minority ethnic families. We know we cannot tackle child poverty without a clear focus on supporting priority families, including minority ethnic families, to increase their income from employment and benefits, and reduce their living costs.

We are refreshing our non-statutory guidance for LCPARs to support local authorities and health boards to deliver focused reporting on their actions to support priority families. CRER and other stakeholders representing priority families have been consulted in drafting the guidance.

This is part of our wider programme of work supporting local action to tackle child poverty. Through our partnership with the Improvement Service and the peer support network for child poverty leads from each Local Authority and Health Board we will continue to encourage and support local action to tackle child poverty amongst priority groups.

Local authorities, as both the statutory housing and planning authority, are responsible for assessing housing requirements.

The Housing Need and Demand Assessment (HNDA) process seeks to use the best available data to reach robust and credible outputs.

The HNDA Tool which forms part of the assessment enables the use of quality assured recognised national datasets. The HNDA tool also provides flexibility to incorporate a variety of types of housing need where there is robust local information and evidenced policy drivers.

Any decision by a local authority to use local information should weigh the value of the data with sourcing, cleaning and inputting the data into the HNDA process bearing in mind HNDAs aim to provide a broad range of housing estimates rather than a single precision, or actual, housing estimate. The methodology used by local authorities should be included in the HNDAs allowing for transparency.

The loss of a baby, at any stage of pregnancy, is a significant and traumatic event that affects many parents and their families throughout Scotland. In our 2021 Manifesto we committed to emulate New Zealand where families who sadly experience miscarriage or stillbirth are entitled to three days of paid leave. We will implement this commitment by delivering it within the public sector.

We are also calling on the UK Government, who have the reserved powers to make the necessary changes to employment law, to make this provision available for everyone.

As an employer, the Scottish Government bereavement leave policy already provides two weeks leave, at full pay, to those staff who experience the loss of a baby through miscarriage in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. The NHS and other public bodies are separate employers and determine their own terms and conditions of employment.

Updated guidance on the expanded criteria is being finalised and agreed with local government partners and will be published on the Scottish Government website in the coming weeks.

( A)Within the Scottish Government funding of health and care research falls under the remit of the Chief Scientist Office (CSO).

As part of the Scottish Government response to the pandemic, in October 2020 CSO launched a funding call seeking applications which aimed to investigate the longer-term effects of COVID-19. Following an independent expert review process, 9 projects were funded with a total funding commitment of £2.5 million. The funding outcome was announced in December 2020.

https://www.cso.scot.nhs.uk/funded-research/long-covid-call/

All of the above 9 projects have completed their 6 month and 1 year progress reports. On 31st March 2022 CSO hosted a virtual symposium where the lead investigators for each of the 9 projects presented the results obtained to date to an audience of researchers, policymakers and patient groups.

(B)Currently, there is no single diagnostic test that health professionals can use to identify long COVID. In the first instance, clinicians will try to rule out any other possible causes for symptoms as part of a thorough clinical assessment, tailoring tests and investigations in line with the person’s presenting signs and symptoms.

All NHS Scotland Boards are providing assessment and support for people with long COVID, delivered across the full range of services provided by our NHS. This includes local primary care teams, community based rehabilitation services and referrals for further investigation delivered in secondary care settings where needed.

We are providing NHS Boards and partners with additional resource to deliver the best local models of care for assessment, diagnostic tests, and support for the treatment or management of symptoms.