Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is not able provide this information; this would require minute by minute analysis of all data held for the specific areas and all surrounding areas as the Scottish Ambulance Service operates a national service.

Vehicle cover provided is dynamic and fluid with ever changing variables.

The Scottish Government met with the EIS on 8 September for their bi-annual meeting with the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills. Education recovery, Staffing and COP26 were discussed.

The Scottish Government has regular meetings with the EIS to discuss a range of issues relating to education.

Information on how many people have received a dementia diagnosis in each year since 2007, broken down by NHS board, is not collected or held centrally.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-02419 on 21 September 2021. 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

Local authorities are independent corporate bodies with their own powers and responsibilities, separate from the Scottish Government. As such, the information requested is not held by the Scottish Government and would have to be obtained directly from individual local authorities or from COSLA.

Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics is an annual publication providing a comprehensive overview of financial activity of Scottish local authorities in 2019-20 based on authorities' audited accounts.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-02838 on 21 September 2021. 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 .

Emerging data suggests that some individuals with suppressed immune systems may not mount a full immune response to COVID-19 vaccination.

The multi-centred OCTAVE study led by colleagues from Glasgow University published their preliminary findings with widespread media coverage. The study funded by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Medical Research Council (MRC) was designed to evaluate the immune responses following COVID-19 vaccination in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases including inflammatory arthritis and Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) (an auto-immune disease affecting small blood vessels) who have received Rituximab treatment, along with a host of other conditions with various degrees of immunosuppression.

Initial findings suggest that in total about 40% of those across the patient groups studied produced a low antibody response to two doses of COVID-19 vaccine, and the proportion varied depending on the nature of the immune impairment.

The OCTAVE group presented their findings to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and the Committee took into account these findings to make their recommendation on a third primary dose of COVID-19 vaccine for severely immunocompromised people.

A second study called OCTAVE DUO, led by the same researchers and also funded by UKRI, is examining whether a third dose will give a stronger immune response in people with impaired immune systems.

Information about these studies is available at: Vaccine responses in patients with impaired immune systems – UKRI

New study tests third jab for people with weakened immune systems – UKRI

The COVID pandemic has inevitably affected A&E attendance and the pressure is being felt across the UK. Our NHS staff have faced unprecedented pressures over recent weeks as they work tirelessly and consistently to respond to the pandemic whilst continuing to provide vital treatment and optimal patient care. We are in daily contact with every Board, including NHS Forth Valley, and are monitoring the situation closely.

The significant pressures currently presenting in Health Boards, including NHS Forth Valley, are primarily as a result of reduced capacity due to infection control, staffing pressures as a result of self-isolation and annual leave, and an increase in attendances to A&E by those who are much sicker and require higher levels of care.

In July, NHS Forth Valley received their share of the additional £12 million in funding for Boards to support non-COVID emergency care by increasing staffing resource, recruitment is underway.

We are in daily contact with NHS Forth Valley and continue to support improvement work with the Board and the Health & Social Care Partnerships to minimise delays for patients no matter where they are in the system.

The Scottish Government and Public Health Scotland do not currently hold data on the number of people eligible for a Covid-19 vaccine who are unable to receive one due to needle phobia.

As every individual case is different, all those who suffer from needle phobia should initially seek support from their GP, clinician or local health board so that adjustments can be made to accommodate their specific needs. Their local medical team will be more aware of their specific requirements. The staff delivering the vaccines are skilled and experienced, and will be used to dealing with more nervous patients, some of whom have phobias.

Phobias are not covered under the current version of the vaccination certification policy, and are therefore not considered a valid exemption.

Health Boards throughout Scotland are asked to record any wastage on an online waste recording tool. However in providing some context to the Member there are a number of limitations; it is not mandatory for GP Practices to use the recording tool and most GP Practices do not record waste on the online reporting tool. The vaccine tool was launched in late January; some but not all Boards chose to record wastage from the beginning of the programme (entering data retrospectively)

The total number of vaccine doses recorded as expired since the start of the programme under the reason code ‘expired shelf life’ is 23,312 doses (11,700 Moderna, 5696 Pfizer and 5,917 AZ) however as above, this is not comprehensive.

In terms of stock that will go out of date by 30 September 2021, there is ongoing work to minimise any wastage including sites only drawing down stock where there is certainty that it will be used before expiry.

Given the scale of the COVID-19 vaccination programme, some vaccine wastage has been unavoidable for a variety of reasons. Wastage has remained well below the 5% planning assumption throughout, however, we continue to work with Health Boards to ensure wastage is at a minimum, and maximise the availability of vaccines to the people of Scotland.

Weekly updates on the number of vaccine doses allocated and delivered to Scotland are published at Coronavirus (COVID-19): daily data for Scotland - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) – see COVID-19 Vaccine supply data in the Vaccination section.