Chamber and committees

Starting from 3 August 2020, a week before schools in Scotland are due to return, it is expected that rail passenger services will return from approximately 60% to approximately 91% of pre COVID-19 levels, with peak services across Scotland running at almost 100%.

Further service changes will be kept under consideration as conditions require.

On 18 June, the Scottish Government announced a £2.6 million animal welfare fund for zoos and aquariums. This is in addition to the other forms of support available to visitor attractions and businesses in Scotland. We will continue to assess the need for further support for this sector.

The regulation of the veterinary profession is reserved. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) is the regulator in the UK.

The Scottish Government has worked with the RCVS, in consultation with the British Veterinary Association (the professional representative body) to make sure the advice they have produced is compliant with Scottish Government (general) Business advice.

As we have started to relax lockdown requirements this has moved from only carrying out work which is an emergency or essential to the food chain to providing as full a range of services as possible, whilst working safely.

All veterinary services must be provided in a manner that supports social/physical distancing, and good hygiene and biosecurity. Practices have to consider the individual premises layout and specific disease/welfare pressures in their geographical area, while prioritising the health of their teams, clients and the wider public adhering to the latest government guidelines.

The Scottish Government engages regularly with the banks through the Banking and Economy Forum and the Financial Services Industry Advisory Board (FiSAB).

While people are being encouraged to use contactless payments as a result of the health crisis, we recognise that this may not be possible for everyone. However, there are already a number of measures in place to help young and vulnerable members of the community access bank accounts. For example, accounts are available for under 19 year olds that can provide free every day banking with access to debit cards to pay for items in shops, on the internet or access money at cash machines.

Banks provide a range of options for young people and full details can be found on their websites.

Guidance on the provision of B12 injections has been produced by the British Society for Haematology ( https://b-s-h.org.uk/media/18275/bsh-guidance-b12-replacement-covid-1901052020finalv.pdf ). This advises that GPs should use their clinical judgement to consider if changes are appropriate during the pandemic and to discuss and agree a personalised plan with individual patients that are affected. This may be to decrease the frequency of injections to minimise visits to GP practices or hospitals. Alternatively, there are situations where it is possible for people to self-inject hydroxocobalamin if their GP or health professional agree this would be suitable.

On 31 May 2020 we published our framework for re-mobilising our health services, “Re-mobilise, Recover, Re-design.” Health Boards are using this Framework alongside other national and clinical advice to safely and gradually prioritise the reintroduction of some chronic disease management services including treatment room services such as for B12. This is happening now and will continue to expand in coming weeks and months, whilst continuing to protect emergency, urgent and maternity care, as well as retaining sufficient capacity for COVID-19.

This information is not collected or held by the Scottish Government. However, there have been no reported outbreaks of Covid-19 among people experiencing homelessness in Scotland.

The Scottish Government took swift and effective action to ensure that all those experiencing homelessness and living in situations where it would be difficult to follow public health guidance were provided with alternative accommodation; and that frontline services and their staff had the right support and tools to both respond to this crisis and continue to deliver their vital services throughout this difficult time. We are continuing to support people experiencing homelessness as well as all of our partners and stakeholders as we move through and out of the crisis.

Following the announcement by the First Minister on the 9 th of July, it was confirmed that driving lessons will not resume before 31 st of July. An update will be made at the earliest opportunity to ensure driving instructors will be able to return to work when possible.

Guidance is currently being developed, based on the best available public health advise and will be published in due course.

An update to the guidance which provides up-to-date information for professional dog walkers, among other animal-related businesses, was published on 24 July 2020 and is available at https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-animal-owners/ .

Updated guidance for the retail sector, which includes close contact services, such as beauty salons, was published on 17 July. This includes a section on services offered in the ‘high risk zone’, defined as ‘the area in front of the face where splashes and droplets from the nose and mouth may be present’. It also contains a checklist for those providing close contact services to help them assess that the therapies and treatments they are providing are safe.

Following an announcement by the First Minister on 9 July, beauty salons offering services including nail treatments are permitted to reopen from 22 July.

The Scottish Government has published guidance for close contact services based on a risk assessment process which business owners should use to identify which treatments and activities can be offered. Further guidance will be issued to provide clarity around businesses operating from home.