I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05400 on 24 January 2022. 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

Privacy notices are updated regularly and accessible via the app and NHS Inform at any point in time.

Consent is sought only when is applicable and consent is not required for the Covid Status app to process data. The legal basis for processing the data in the app is communicated in the privacy notice in detail.

The centrally available information for part (i) is shown in the table below. This shows the number of discharges from acute hospitals where the patient was recorded as having no fixed abode and covers all Local Authorities. Not everyone who has no fixed abode will have an active HL1 application (i.e. be registered homeless with a local authority) and the recording of no fixed abode is likely to be incomplete. The table does not include discharges from psychiatric and maternity hospitals and geriatric long stay facilities.

‎ Table: Discharges from acute hospitals where the patient was recorded as having no fixed abode.

The information displayed on the NHS Scotland Covid Status App is described in detail in the privacy notice .

Venues are required to display a privacy notice in areas where the app will be used. This will help members of the public understand the purpose of the data processing that will be done by the app and provide assurance about how their personal data will be safeguarded by the venue staff. A privacy notice template can be found here .

Rigorous data minimisation controls have been put in place, including the use of the “Green Tick” for domestic purposes, to ensure that as little personal data is displayed as possible, through the NHS Scotland COVID Pass Verifier app.

The NHS Scotland Covid Status app meets the requirements of relevant legislation which includes the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR. A Data Protection Impact assessment (DPIA) is in place for the Covid Status app and the Privacy Notice sets out the main points from the DPIA in a user-friendly way. The Covid Status app supports the legislation that covers the Covid Certification Scheme.

The data held in the international section of the NHS Scotland Covid Status app is a statement of fact, representing a person’s vaccination status and/or test and recovery status. Both the content and presentation fully aligns with the standards set by the EU.

Scotland, along with the rest of the UK, has full legal equivalence with the EU Digital Covid Certificate, meaning Scotland’s Covid certificates are accepted throughout the EU. For more information, see EU Digital COVID Certificate | European Commission and for full details on travel guidelines see Foreign travel advice .

As you know, the NHS in Scotland is under unprecedented pressure, particularly as a result of this latest Covid wave, and a number of services have been stood down in order to support urgent and emergency demand.

The latest data shows Boards are reporting a 65% increase in coronavirus absence compared to the previous week and significantly faster rate of increase in Covid hospitalisations this year compared to last January. This is a reminder of the challenges our NHS continues to face, having a high impact on waiting times for those people waiting to receive scheduled treatment.

Those waiting for treatment should be signposted to help on how they can manage their condition, and are encourage to seek support if they feel their mental health is being impacted.

The NHS Recovery Plan, which is backed by over £1 billion of additional investment, sets out how the Scottish Government will increase NHS capacity by at least 10% as quickly as possible in order to address backlogs and meet the ongoing healthcare needs for people across the country, including gynaecology patients.

Women’s Health is key priority for this government, which is why we published an ambitious Women’s Health Plan in August 2021. The Women’s Health Plan underpins actions to improve women’s health inequalities by raising awareness around women’s health, improving access to health care for women across their life course and reducing inequalities in health outcomes for girls and women, both for sex-specific conditions and in women’s general health.

Booster information was made available in the international travel section of the NHS Covid Status App on 9 December and on paper/pdf versions of certificates from 13 December.

The inclusion of booster information will allow those travelling to the small number of countries that are seeking evidence of more recent doses to provide evidence of their booster or third vaccination.

The domestic section of the NHS Covid Status App was updated on 13 January to include booster information. From Monday 17 January, for the purposes of domestic Covid certification, a person will need to show they have had a booster to be considered ‘fully vaccinated’ if their last vaccine dose was more than four months ago. This is in recognition of vaccine waning against Omicron, and will ensure that the scheme provides a greater level of protection to those attending venues.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05411 on 24 January 2022. 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05400 on‎ 24 January 2022. 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