Chamber and committees

Yes, in summer 2021 our current vaccination status letters will be replaced by fully digital Covid Status Certificates to be used for outbound international travel. The World Health Organisation is currently developing international standards for this, and it is expected this will include either a QR code or 2D barcode. We are working across the Common Travel Area and our four nations to put in place our fully interoperable digital solution that aligns with these international standards being developed. This digital solution will also have an accessible option for those that need it, such as those who do not have a smart phone.

Tim Hair, Turnaround Director of Ferguson Marine, updated the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee on the delivery timetable and budget for vessels 801 and 802 in March 2021. The next of the regular quarterly updates on progress, as requested by the committee in their report on ferry procurement is expected at the end of June 2021.

The previous Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science was in regular contact with both the Employers’ Association and EIS-FELA in relation to the national dispute regarding instructor/assessor roles in the college sector, which has now been resolved.

The Scottish Government has been clear throughout this dispute that both the employers and trade unions must continue with negotiations in an attempt to resolve this situation, which is absolutely not in the best interests of our learners. EIS-FELA have suspended local industrial action at Forth Valley College to allow the matter to be referred to the National Joint Secretaries for review and I urge both sides to resolve this dispute without the need for further industrial action.

The Scottish Government remains firmly of the view that it is for the college unions and the employers to negotiate pay and terms and conditions voluntarily in the spirit of collaboration and co-operation. We do however continue to work with the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), who work closely with the sector, to ensure any actions taken are compliant with the Scottish Public Finance Manual, the SFC Financial Memorandum and are in line with Fair Work principles.

To progress the implementation of this policy ahead of August 2023, the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) have agreed a Joint Implementation Plan under which five local authorities will pilot early implementation of this obligation in 2021-22. Those authorities are: Angus; Argyll and Bute; Falkirk; Scottish Borders; and the Shetland Islands. The Scottish Government has committed £3 million to support this early implementation.

We have committed to seek to add further pilots in August 2022 to further inform full implementation of the obligation. Local authorities would be selected based on their suitability for evaluation purposes, and on their readiness to deliver the obligation early. We anticipate that the pilot authorities for 2022-23 will be announced in Autumn 2021 following engagement with local authorities and CoSLA.

The SPCB has agreed to write to all passholders encouraging them to use lateral flow testing as part of a range of measures that will help keep those attending Holyrood and local offices to undertake parliamentary work as safely as possible and help prevent community transmission. 

This will be voluntary.  Anyone who attends Holyrood who has a positive lateral flow test should follow public health advice and also contact the Parliament for any specific advice in relation to their recent visits to the building. Lateral flow test packs can be obtained at testing centres and by requesting a pack via NHS Inform. More information can be found here. 

The Scottish Government does not hold any official information about the number of persons who may have undergone mesh removal surgery privately in the past and as a consequence, cannot confirm how many people may be eligible for reimbursement under the proposed legislation. The Government believes at the moment that there may be a very limited number of persons who have arranged such surgery in the past. If the Parliament approves the legislation that the Government plans to propose, arrangements will be made and publicised to allow for potentially eligible persons to apply for reimbursement.

The removal of all dental charges for NHS dental treatment is a Scottish Government manifesto commitment and will take place in the lifetime of this parliament.

As part of the 100 Days Commitment the Scottish Government, young people with care experience are to be exempted from NHS dental charges. This commitment has now been widened to include all young people between 18 and 25 years of age (inclusive).

Children and young people who require inpatient support for an eating disorder will be admitted to either one of the 3 regional Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) inpatient units, as outlined below, or be admitted to a paediatric ward.

• 24 beds - Skye House Regional Adolescent Unit, Stobhill Hospital, Glasgow
• 12 beds - Dudhope House, Dundee
• 12 beds - Young People’s Unit, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Edinburgh

Similarly, adults who require inpatient support will be admitted to general adult mental health wards locally, or to one of the 3 adult specialist inpatient units in Scotland:

• The Regional Eating Disorder Unit at St John’s Hospital, Livingston, which is a 12 bed unit.
• The North of Scotland Eating Disorder Unit (Eden Unit), Royal Cornhill Hospital Aberdeen, which is a 10 bedded specialist eating disorder unit.
• There are also 4 specialist eating disorder beds in general adult psychiatry ward in Stobhill Hospital, Glasgow.

The appeals process was developed following consultation and stakeholder engagement. This included consideration of teacher workload.

Teachers are encouraged to have discussions with their learners in advance of submitting their provisional grades and, if learners are unhappy with these results, will have a further dialogue in advance of any appeal to advise on the process.

Schools and colleges are expected to support their learners in accessing the appeals service where needed and, where a learner is appealing against the academic judgement made, will be asked to provide all the necessary evidence and materials that were used to determine the learner's result.

SQA will review the learner's submission and may, if necessary, discuss aspects with the relevant teacher.

The deadline for priority appeals was originally set as 16 August to ensure that SQA and their appointees have sufficient time to process these cases to meet with UCAS deadlines of 8 September.

Following discussion with education partners on the National Qualifications 21 Group, this date has now been extended to 24 August to ensure that there is sufficient time after the start of the new session for centres to submit appeals and supporting evidence for those learners with immediate progression needs for further education, higher education or workplace progression. In moving to this date, the proposal is that centres will submit evidence digitally.