Chamber and committees

Unaccompanied Asylum-seeking children are able to access GP and NHS dental services on the same basis as domiciled residents.

GP practices receive a share of overall general practice funding from the Scottish Government based upon their estimated workload. This would reflect any unaccompanied asylum-seeking children registering with a GP practice.

Dentists are paid a range of fees and other payments by the Scottish Government for providing care and treatment to NHS patients.

We continue to engage with businesses including the hospitality sector about the Covid-19 status certification scheme. We have published the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment which considered the potential impacts on businesses.

Full details of how to access your Covid Status can be found on NHS Inform. This includes downloading the NHS Scotland Covid Status App or accessing your status on the existing online portal. From this portal, you can generate a downloadable PDF or request a printed copy to be posted out to you. See https://www.nhsinform.scot/covid-19-vaccine/after-your-vaccine/get-a-record-of-your-coronavirus-covid-19-vaccination-status/ .

The draft National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4), which was laid in the Scottish Parliament on 10 November, sets out how our approach to planning and development will achieve a net zero, sustainable Scotland by 2045.

The draft NPF4 proposes a new policy which will ensure significant weight be given to the Global Climate Emergency in planning decisions. It also includes green energy policies which support renewable energy development other than in National Parks and National Scenic Areas, subject to an assessment of their impacts on a case by case basis. Through the draft NPF4, we are also proposing to designate a national development which would establish the need for a large increase in renewable energy generation and substantial reinforcement and expansion of grid infrastructure throughout Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-04586 on 6 December 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 .

Crown Estate Scotland administer the ScotWind seabed leasing process. Crown Estate Scotland have stated an intended announcement date of mid-January 2022

Ministers and officials are in regular contact with Police Scotland and other stakeholders on a range of issues associated with the COVID-19 Status Certification scheme, which includes but not limited to security of the certification.

The app has a number of counter fraud elements built in. This includes a secure QR code, visual motion elements including a ‘shimmer’ icon, and a clock showing the current time which protects against screenshots being presented as certificates. In addition, we have a secure identification verification process.

Although not a requirement for business to use, we also encourage use of the NHS Scotland Covid Check App as it is specifically designed to verify the authenticity of a certificate by checking that the QR code was issued by a trusted authority (e.g. NHS Scotland, or any of the countries linked to the EU Digital Covid Certificate).

The Scottish Government does not publish information on the costs of rural crime. However, I am aware of the most recent NFU Mutual Rural Crime Report, published in August, which suggested that rural theft cost the UK an estimated £43.3 million in 2020.

The report noted that this was a fall of 20.3% on the previous year, making it the lowest annual cost recorded in five years. While this can be seen as encouraging, we are well aware of the impact of criminal activity in rural areas and are not complacent on this issue. We are therefore committed to supporting Police Scotland and all its partners in tackling all forms of crime and disorder which affect our rural communities.

In particular, the Scottish Government participates fully in the Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime (SPARC), which is chaired by Police Scotland.

SPARC draws together key stakeholders from across the justice and rural sectors to provide a robust, multi-agency approach to rural crime and to support activity at local level. This includes preventative action such as the development of Rural Watch Scotland, which has been delivered by Neighbourhood Watch Scotland working with other partners through SPARC.

Furthermore, the link between rural crime such as machinery theft and serious organised crime is well recognised. The work of SPARC makes a valuable contribution to securing some of the outcomes set out in Scotland's Serious Organised Crime Strategy by helping rural communities become more aware of serious organised crime and how to mitigate its risks.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-04586 on 6 December 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 .

We published an updated evidence paper on the Covid-19 status certification scheme on Friday 19 November 2021.