Chamber and committees

Under the provisions of the Health Protection (Coronavirus)(Restrictions and Requirements)(Local Levels)(Scotland) Amendment (No.3) Regulations 2020, there are exemptions around travel to or from Level 3 and 4 areas for activities in relation to the purchase, sale, letting, or rental of residential property that a person owns or is otherwise responsible for. This includes viewing a residential property for sale, as set out in the accompanying guidance (https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-travel-and-transport/#exceptions).

Schools and local authorities retain the main responsibility for arranging remote learning for those at highest clinical risk, including people with cystic fibrosis.

In order to broaden the options available to schools the national e-learning offer provides access to live lessons, recorded lessons and online learning and teaching materials across the Broad General Education and the Senior Phase. https://education.gov.scot/improvement/national-e-learning-offer/

Similarly, schools and authorities are responsible for providing direct advice and support to parents and carers on how to support their child’s learning. In order to complement and support the advice from schools and authorities, the Scottish Government’s Parent Club website provides advice on working from home whilst caring for children, advice on helping children with remote and blended learning as well as links to additional learning resources from third sector organisations which can help to complement the learning activities and advice provided by schools. https://www.parentclub.scot/topics/coronavirus/learning-at-home?age=0. Parent Club also includes tailored advice to parents who are supporting children and young people with additional support needs

https://www.parentclub.scot/articles/supporting-children-and-young-people-with-additional-support-needs

Education Scotland’s Scotland Learns website also provides learning resources and advice and support to parents and carers via online newsletters.

https://education.gov.scot/improvement/scotland-learns/ In addition, the National Parent Forum of Scotland have developed “Nutshell” advice pamphlets on “Learning at Home During Lockdown” and Online Safety. https://www.npfs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/edd/2020/05/NPFS_learning-at-home_E.pdf and

https://www.npfs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/edd/2020/05/NPFS_online_safety_E.pdf

The Scottish Government guidance on Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance on reducing the risks in schools takes into account the arrangements for children and young people who may be asked to shield at protection level 4.

During lockdown, when schools and childcare settings were closed, critical childcare was provided for children of keyworkers to allow parents to continue to attend work which was critical to national infrastructure.

Reopening of the regulated childcare sector, including Early Learning and Childcare (ELC), school age childcare and childminding services, has taken place in stages since June. This has reinstated childcare options to working families.

Scotland’s Strategic Framework emphasises that we will prioritise keeping schools and regulated childcare, including early learning and childcare, open while ensuring the safety of children and young people and the staff who have worked hard to keep settings open.

In partnership with local authorities, we have continued to progress the expansion of statutory ELC entitlement to 1140 hours despite the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 14 councils are already delivering 1140 hours to all families, with more on track to move to full roll-out of 1140 in the new year. All local authorities have been providing at least the 600 hours existing statutory entitlement to families since August.

Most families are also able to continue to access informal childcare, although this is restricted to essential childcare only in level 4 areas. However, this will still enable most families who require informal childcare to support their employment to continue to access this.

We also continue to ensure that families can access up to date information about childcare by regularly sharing information via the Parent Club website.

All of the guidance and restrictions on childcare provision is based on scientific and expert advice including advice from the Advisory Sub-Group on Education and Children’s Issues.

The most recent advice from the Advisory Sub-Group , published on 30 October, states that given the evidence base they support a move to cohort sizes for children under five in line with those aged 5-12 assuming the level of infection remains low, appropriate surveillance, test and protect and all the other appropriate mitigations and measures are in place.

The guidance on reducing the risks in schools states that in primary schools it may be appropriate to have groups organised according to full-class sizes. Full class sizes in primary schools are governed by Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers agreements and regulations, and range from 25-33.

The guidance for the Early Learning and Childcare sector outlines that it would be reasonable for children to be managed in groups up to the size encountered in primary school, for example no more than 25 to 33 children in any one group. The adult to child ratios in the national care standards must continue to apply.

All of the guidance and restrictions on childcare provision in response to COVID-19 is based on scientific and expert advice. Scottish Government guidance does not restrict children within one household from attending separate ELC settings. The most recent guidance for Early Learning and Childcare sector states that in order to minimise the number of contacts and risk of transmission, attendance at multiple ELC settings should be reduced as far as possible. Parents and carers are encouraged and should be supported to limit the number of settings their child attends, ideally ensuring their child only attends the same setting consistently.

However, the balance of scientific advice supports the use of more settings where required to ensure high quality childcare is available to children and in support of parents’ need.

Scotland’s Strategic Framework emphasises the commitment to prioritise keeping schools and regulated childcare, including early learning and childcare (ELC), open while ensuring the safety of children and young people and the staff who have worked hard to keep settings open. This recognises the unique impacts of closures on children and young people, and ensures that the virus does not prevent them receiving the best start in life.

While the current public health measures set out in the ELC guidance may have some impact on capacity, we have removed earlier measures that reduced number of children that could be accommodated for in each setting, while maintaining a package of age appropriate public health measures based on the latest expert advice from the Advisory Sub Group on Education and Children’s Issues. The guidance allows services to continue safely, without reducing access even in the highest level tier set out in the Strategic Framework. The recent Delivery Assurance assessment of 1140 with Local Authorities shows that the ELC guidance is not significantly impacting capacity for the sector .

To support the ELC sector the Transitional Support Fund was launched to help day care of children providers in the private, voluntary and not-for profit sectors, including out-of-school care providers, meet the extra costs incurred to comply with public health guidance in response to COVID-19.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-32875 on 11 November 2020. The answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

Contacts are traced from information collected and made available to Test and Protect by Incident Management Teams. This allows Test and Protect to contact those who may have been exposed to the virus in a particular setting, and request them to take appropriate steps to prevent potential onward spread.

Public Health Scotland has produced a table of settings and events that index cases have attended over the previous 7 days. This is based on interviews conducted with cases identified in the Case Management System and involves cases recalling where they have been in the 7 days prior to symptom onset (or date of test if asymptomatic).

https://beta.isdscotland.org/find-publications-and-data/population-health/covid-19/covid-19-statistical-report/

However, Public Health Scotland cannot infer from the figures whether a specific setting or an event indicates where the COVID-19 transmission took place. This is because cases may have attended multiple settings or events within a short space of time, some of which may be low risk settings and events where it is highly improbable that transmission took place. In addition, it is possible that even though a case visited a few settings and events, transmission may have taken place within their home setting.

I recognise that this has been and continues to be an extremely difficult time for students, particularly for those who would normally have taken up employment opportunities during their studies.

Eligible students in Further and Higher Education have continued to access bursary, grant and loan payments throughout the pandemic.

In addition to that, the Scottish Government provided emergency funding earlier this year of £5 million to support students impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. We also provided early access to £11.4 million of Higher Education Discretionary Funds to support students over the summer period and into this academic year. £2M was brought forward for Further Education students at college by the Scottish Funding Council.

I also announced a Digital Inclusion Fund of £5 million to support access to digital equipment and tackle digital poverty.

Finally, the First Minister announced £1.32 million of additional funding to help students deal with the mental health impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

If students are facing financial hardship due to the reduced employment opportunities as a result of Covid-19, they should continue to apply for discretionary fund support from their college or university.

Our Strategic Framework states clearly that if a local authority area has been placed in level 3 or 4, there should be no non-essential travel in or out of the area. This applies to use of campervans for overnight stays, as the purpose of travel would be leisure which is deemed non-essential.

Travel between devolved nations is restricted unless for essential purposes.

Leisure travel and overnight stays are permitted within areas designated as level 0,1 or 2, so campervan users residing in these levels may travel between them freely, including staying overnight. Covid guidance and restrictions must be respected at all times. Transit through areas designated as level 3 or 4 is also permitted, provided you do not stop.

Users residing in level 3 may only use a campervan for leisure purposes, including overnight, within their own local authority area (other than when being used for essential travel purposes). Use of campervans (other than when being used for essential travel purposes) is discouraged in level 4 areas, in line with restrictions on tourism.

If users elect not to use a formal campsite they should be aware that the Scottish Outdoor Access Code does not cover vehicular camping, and should follow normal good practice for ‘freedom camping’, including seeking the landowner’s permission, and respecting local communities.

The Scottish Government has now introduced short term regulations that will make breaching travel restrictions a punishable offence. We would ask therefore that those undertaking such trips ensure that they plan their trip in advance and keep up to date with the information to ensure any travel for leisure purposes is compliant with the Strategic Framework.