Chamber and committees

To date, over 75 expressions of interest have been submitted by local authorities. Zero Waste Scotland is currently working with local authorities to develop detailed bids. These will be reviewed in line with the fund’s governance arrangements before a decision is made on initial funding awards.

The Scottish Government has worked in partnership with COSLA, SOLACE and Zero Waste Scotland to develop arrangements for the fund. More information on the aims, scope and distribution of the fund is available at: https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/local-authorities/recycling-improvement-fund

In line with Investing for jobs: Capital Spending Review , the table outlines the distribution of the £70 million fund over the 5 year period:

The information requested is not centrally held by Scottish Government regarding clinician led case reviews. Information on case reviews is held by the appropriate health board for local learning and quality improvement purposes.

Further to the information highlighted by Mr Fitzpatrick in answer S5W-32985, please see the updated figures below as requested:

Public Health Scotland do not hold information to the level of detail required in order to confirm numbers of hernia and rectopexy procedures that involve the use of surgical mesh.

The HMICS Assurance review of Police Scotland demand analysis and management offers a positive outlook on Police Scotland’s efforts to develop its understanding of demand put on its resources. Its recommendations are for the Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland to consider.

The HMICS Assurance Review - Policing of COP26, published on 26 June 2021, provides a high level of confidence in the preparation and planning to date for COP26 and I have no doubt this work will continue at pace. The single recommendation in that report and the areas for continued development are for Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority to consider and where appropriate, act upon.

The Permanent Secretary wrote to the Public Audit and Post-Legislative Scrutiny Committee on 19 February 2021 on how the Scottish Government is strengthening its approach to providing support and managing its on-going interests in businesses. Please find a link to the letter here .

Data from National Records of Scotland show that over the ten year period 2010 to 2019 inclusive there were three instances of death certificate records (one each in 2016, 2018 and 2019) that mention either exposure to natural heat or the effects of heat and light.

The Scottish Government is committed to continuing to build resilience to the impacts of global climate change, as part of a just transition to being a net-zero nation. This includes managing the risks to human health, wellbeing and productivity from exposure to heat in homes and other buildings, the increasing urgency of which has been identified by the Climate Change Committee in its Independent Assessment of UK Climate Risk published in June 2021.

Our draft Heat in Buildings Strategy, published in February 2021, recognises the impact that climate change may have on the need for cooling in Scotland’s buildings. The draft Strategy sets out our proposals to introduce regulations requiring existing buildings to achieve a good level of energy efficiency and to install zero emissions heating and cooling systems. We will be consulting in 2021-22 on the assessment of the energy performance of existing buildings as a basis for future standards, and such assessments will continue to take into account issues of ventilation, heating and cooling of buildings. In addition, we will now take forward further research to better understand the future cooling needs of Scotland’s building stock in order to strengthen our policy response. We will also consult later this year on a new Housing Standard for Scotland, which will support measures being developed in the Heat in Buildings Strategy and include consideration of additional safety standards.

For new residential buildings, including care homes, we are considering an assessment of overheating risk to be carried out through Scottish building regulations. Such an assessment could help identify instances where passive cooling measures may need to be introduced.

We know that people experiencing homelessness are more likely to have chronic health problems, which can increase the risk of heat-related illness. We are working in partnership with local authorities and frontline homelessness services, who provide year-round health and wellbeing support to people who are rough sleeping. During hot weather this includes the provision of water, sun-cream and well-being checks. Anyone who is suspected to be suffering from a heat-related illness will be supported to access the appropriate medical support.

NHS Scotland National Procurement works with NHS Boards to assess and evaluate all supply requirements, this includes an assessment of product substitution and material choice. Where replacement of a single use item is practical and meets infection control and regulatory requirements, then this is undertaken. Where product substitution is not possible, National Procurement works with manufacturers and suppliers to look at increasing recyclability and circular supply systems, ensuring the value in the material is maintained.

The Scottish Government has liaised with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Board, and the analytical data captured by the management information tool records that staff are a health or social care worker, not their work location or clinical status. The Member will be aware that employees of the health board can access a dedicated email address, if they have not received a second dose of the COVID-19 Vaccine.

At a national level, 373,715 health and social care workers have received their first dose and 357,486 are fully vaccinated. This includes the 94% of specified frontline health workers, who have had their first dose and 89% that have received their second too. The COVID-19 Daily Dashboard | Tableau Public provides the latest figures.

Due to the presence of new and emerging COVID-19 variants of concern, vaccine efficacy is continuously monitored and assessed. Public Health England (PHE) monitors the efficacy of COVID 19 vaccinations currently approved for use in the UK.

On 14 June PHE published its most recent analysis on the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against hospital admission with the Delta (B.1.617.2) variant, first identified in India. The analysis suggests the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 96% effective against hospitalisation after 2 doses and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is 92% effective against hospitalisation after 2 doses.
‎ Note: These data remain subject to peer review.

Table 1: Estimated vaccine effectiveness against hospitalisation