Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government greatly values the work of Scotland’s offshore workers and have been in regular discussions with Oil and Gas UK throughout this pandemic. Scottish Government appreciates and values the work that offshore workers are doing in what can be difficult circumstances.

The order in which people will be offered the vaccine in Scotland is based on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The Scottish Government is vaccinating in line JCVI priority as quickly as supply allows us to do so.

Decisions to prioritise one population group over another are not taken lightly, nor are they straightforward. That is why prioritisation decisions are guided by the independent expert advice from the JCVI. Currently there is a mass vaccination centre open at the P&J Live at TECA in Aberdeen. If any offshore worker cannot attend their appointment, they should contact the helpline to reschedule.

We recognise the importance to sustainable aquaculture of high fish health and welfare standards. We will therefore consider the EU’s Strategic Guidelines on Sustainable Aquaculture alongside other sources of advice such as the UK Animal Welfare Committee, the British Veterinary Association and the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission.

Ministers have not discussed the outcomes of the Island Communities Impact Assessment on HIAL’s Air Traffic Management 2030 Strategy with HIAL. Officials attended the HIAL Board meeting on 25 February 2021 where the issue was discussed. The minutes of the meeting are available on the HIAL web site at https://www.hial.co.uk/downloads/file/295/hial-board-minutes-february-2021 .

The Scottish Government is making good progress with the development of a Women’s Health Plan and aims to publish it within the first 100 days of this new government.

The Scottish Government remains committed to implementing the licensing of driven grouse shooting and is currently developing proposals for a full public and stakeholder consultation with the aim of bringing forward legislation during this parliamentary term.

The timing of the consultation will depend on the legislative programme for the Parliament, which will be set out in due course.

Current JCVIadvice does not cover vaccination in those under 18 years old, so far only 16 and 17 years olds in groups 1-9 are covered.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises that only those children at very high risk of exposure and serious outcomes, such as older children with severe neuro-disabilities that require residential care, should be offered vaccination with either the Pfizer-BioNTech or the AstraZeneca vaccine. We will continue to review our approach in line with JCVI advice.

Clinical trials are currently underway for vaccination of children and young people.

We will continue to engage with vaccine developers, and the JCVI so that if trials are successful we are ready to vaccinate younger age groups, if that is what the clinical and scientific evidence supports.

The information requested is not held centrally. All Boards are currently offering a mix of online and face to face appointments in CAMHS. It is a matter for individual Health Boards and clinicians to determine how autism assessments are administered.

Face to face appointments for CAMHS autism assessments can take place under all levels of COVID-19 protection, subject to clinical need and adherence to Covid-safe practices.

The Scottish Government has been exploring with the university sector how student accommodation could be used for the purposes of managed isolation for students returning to Scotland after a period of study abroad.

Restrictions around international travel are in place to limit the risk of importing new cases and variants to Scotland. Currently, only students arriving back in Scotland from studying abroad in a ‘red-list’ country need to go into managed isolation in a hotel. Students arriving from amber list countries can complete their period of self-isolation at their home address.

The Scottish Government has been working with the university sector to explore what measures can be put in place for students returning to Scotland after an education exchange programme, who may be subject to managed isolation arrangements.

These students can apply for financial hardship support from the £22 million Higher Education Coronavirus Discretionary Fund and £3m Further Education Coronavirus Discretionary Fund. These funds were allocated to the universities and colleges in February. Institutions' assessments and awards are based on the individual circumstances involved. However, the eligible scenarios can include costs associated with travel to and from Scotland if their travel is essential and in line with current travel restrictions / exemptions, and they are in financial hardship and can demonstrate this through the institution's hardship assessment process.