Chamber and committees

I refer to my letter sent to all members on 16 July 2020 which confirmed that EU citizens who hold Settled Status under the UK Government EU Settlement Scheme will continue to be eligible to access home fee status and support from Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS).

Hepatitis C treatment is provided by territorial NHS Boards in Scotland, using funding from the core grant they receive from the Scottish Government. Each board decides how to allocate the funding to deliver healthcare services in line with the needs of their local populations.

Since the Hepatitis C Action plan was published in 2019, we have provided over £1.2m of funding to support Third Sector organisations for projects working to tackle blood borne viruses, including Hepatitis C.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has had considerable impact on sexual health and blood borne viruses (SHBBV) services this year, the Scottish Government and partners remain committed to eliminating Hepatitis C by 2024.

We have made two commitments in our 2020-21 Programme for Government that will directly impact our progress towards that goal. The first is to develop a Recovery Plan for SHBBV services to help respond to the impacts of COVID-19 in 2021. The second is towork with the Scottish Health Protection Network, third sector and people who use services to understand how the Tayside approach, which resulted in the elimination of Hepatitis C 11 years ahead of the 2030 World Health Organisation target in that health board area, can be replicated across Scotland.

The Scottish Government does not have current plans to review restorative justice or diversionary measures specifically for young people who commit violent offences. However, we continue to promote and support high-quality restorative justice and the use of diversionary measures for young people who offend, where appropriate.

Sentencing decisions are a matter for courts. These decisions are taken within the overall legal framework, taking account of all the relevant facts and circumstances of each case. The independent Scottish Sentencing Council are currently developing guidelines on the sentencing of young people and recently undertook a consultation on a draft guideline. Further information can be found at: https://www.scottishsentencingcouncil.org.uk/sentencing-guidelines/guidelines-in-development/sentencing-young-people-guideline/ .

In 2019 the Scottish Government published the Restorative Justice Action Plan . It sets out how services will be developed to achieve our commitment to having restorative justice services widely available across Scotland by 2023, with the interests of victims at their heart. This includes mapping existing availability of restorative justice in Scotland and how best to support consistent provision across the country.

Scotland has adopted a public health approach to violence that focuses on tackling the underlying causes of violence through collaborative prevention and early intervention work.

Over the last decade, Scotland has made a decisive shift towards preventing offending by young people through the roll out of the whole system approach. Since 2011, we have seen dramatic changes in the youth justice sector, including major reductions in the number of young people prosecuted in court and sentenced to custody. A new action plan for Youth Justice in Scotland is currently being developed. This will continue the commitment to a whole system approach for young people ensuring that the asks of the Promise are responded to and that young people’s rights are respected.

As announced in First Minister’s statement on 2 February, we are now introducing an enhanced asymptomatic testing programme for school and early learning and childcare staff and senior phase pupils. Staff and senior phase pupils will be offered twice-weekly, at-home testing using Lateral Flow Devices which will be used for “test to find” purposes. Regular staff and senior pupil testing is just one potential COVID-19 mitigation in addition to the robust package of measures already in place in schools such as face coverings and distancing.

The pathfinder pilots we are currently running in partnership with a small number of schools have provided valuable learning around delivering a sustainable asymptomatic testing system in a school environment. The initial focus will be on schools based settings, with an extension to the wider childcare sector in the weeks following introduction.

The Scottish Government has provided local authorities with £80 million of additional investment in education staff, sufficient for the recruitment of around 1,400 additional teachers, including supply teachers, and 200 support staff this year.

In addition, a package of £45 million of new funding was announced on 13 January to support the delivery of remote learning. This new funding can be used to recruit additional teachers and may offer further employment opportunities for supply teachers.

The Scottish Government recognises and appreciates the real difficulties that are being faced as a result of COVID-19 and the challenging circumstances that businesses are facing. Work in other people’s homes is limited to essential services, so in most cases domestic cleaners are not allowed to continue with the exception of providing services in support of a clean and safe living environment for people in vulnerable circumstance, living with a disability and as a result of that vulnerable circumstance or disability are unable to clean their own home . The local authority discretionary fund, which was recently doubled to £60 million, empowers local authorities to direct funding at businesses which are affected by COVID-19 restrictions but do not meet the criteria for other funds.

We recognise that this is an extremely difficult time for businesses of all kinds across Scotland, including the retail, hospitality and tourism supply chains. The local authority discretionary fund empowers local authorities to direct funding at businesses which are affected by COVID-19 restrictions but do not meet the criteria for other funds. The fund allows local authorities to allocate grants at their discretion to support businesses including supply chain businesses, and we have recently doubled this funding to £60 million.

Throughout our response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, where an essential or urgent clinical need has been present access to Speech and Language Therapy services has remained, though how this service is offered may have changed due to new ways of working introduced to support our response to the pandemic.

We ask that Speech and Language Therapists are considerate of their professional obligations around protecting the interests of service users and managing risk when determining which treatments and services they provide, and how they are provided, under Level 4 restrictions. Virtual appointments should be used whenever possible. We ask that face to face treatment, including treatment at home, focuses on essential or urgent treatment of clinically diagnosed conditions, where no provision of treatment would have a significant adverse impact on the wellbeing of the individual. Staff must continue to follow relevant guidance from Health Protection Scotland, the Health and Care Professions Council, the Scottish Government and their own Professional body.

The responsibility for delivering the Covid-19 vaccine rests with Health Boards and Integration Authorities. NHS Scotland Boards will use the delivery model which is most suitable for their local circumstances.

It will be down to local health boards to identify and contact any private health care clinics for the vaccination roll out to suit the local and geographical needs.

All of our decision making in the approach to responding to Covid-19 is guided by the latest scientific evidence from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) , advice from Health Protection Scotland and our Interim Chief Medical Officer. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) provides advice on immunisation to all UK Health Departments, including on the efficacy and safety of vaccines.

The JCVI has published advice on priority groups for the COVID-19 vaccinations based on the emerging evidence. This indicated that the first priority will be older people, those at additional risk from COVID-19 and health and social care workers.