Chamber and committees

This data is available on the Public Health Scotland Education Surveillance Dashboard which provides a three-weekly rolling average of hospital admissions for 2-17 years olds - settings/covid-19-education-surveillance-dashboard/"> COVID-19 Education Surveillance dashboard - Enhanced surveillance of COVID-19 in education settings - COVID-19 data and intelligence - COVID-19 - Our areas of work - Public Health Scotland

Equivalent weekly data for children under 2 years is not currently published however, data on Cumulative COVID-19 Hospital Admissions since the start of the pandemic is available and shows that as of 26 May 2021, 238 children between 0-4 years have been admitted to hospital with COVID-19 since March 2020. The full set of data can be found here - https://www.opendata.nhs.scot/dataset/weekly-covid-19-statistical-data-in-scotland/resource/bd8a865f-10e6-47d2-a461-8633c61693fe .

The marriage notice (M10 form), or notice of intention to marry, is set out in a statutory instrument made by the Registrar General for Scotland, or their deputy, with the consent of the Scottish Ministers. Each party to the intended marriage can select in their marriage notice whether they should be designated in the marriage register as a bride or a bridegroom or they can choose for no designation to be entered.

The Registrar General and the Scottish Government will, when time permits, write to key stakeholders to seek their views on what changes may be required to the marriage notice.

Scientific equipment for use in lessons is purchased by schools and the amount schools spend on scientific equipment is not decided centrally by the Scottish Government.

Scottish Government's policy towards local authorities' spending is to allow local authorities the financial freedom to operate independently. As such, the vast majority of the revenue funding is provided by means of a block grant. It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including on Education, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

Radiography education is not commissioned or controlled by the Scottish Government. The following table sets out the number of entrants to accredited radiography courses at Scottish Universities each academic year. The courses included match the Health and Care Professions Council’s (HCPC) list of accredited courses from 2015-16.

Entrants to accredited pre-registration radiography courses.

A decision on a future round of the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme will be taken following the current round which is due to close in June of this year. In line with the Scottish Government’s “Stability and Simplicity” approach set out in its June 2018 consultation, simplifications and improvements will be made, and potential new schemes for longer term policy piloted, between 2021-2024.

Sea Eagle Management Scheme payments will remain with NatureScot for the time being, but may be included in other approaches to future agri-environment support currently being piloted by NatureScot in partnership with the Scottish Government.

I understand that some learners continue to feel dissatisfied with the result of the 2020 national qualifications appeals process.

Teachers exercised their best professional judgement in deciding grades for learners in the very challenging circumstances resulting from the pandemic. Following the Deputy First Minister’s intervention, learners were awarded the grades that their teachers judged reflected their attainment.

Having carefully considered the position, we have concluded that there is no way to reopen the appeals process in a fair and equitable manner to all learners.

However, recognising the strength of feeling of some about the 2020 appeals process, it has been agreed with the SQA that any learner who considers they still have grounds for an appeal in respect of an award made in 2020, within the criteria set for 2020 appeals, can talk to their centre and the centre can come forward and have that appeal considered by the SQA, even at this late stage, to address those concerns.

The Scottish Government understands how difficult ongoing restrictions at funeral services are for those who are bereaved and wish to pay their final respects to a loved one.

We continue to review all of the funeral restrictions on a regular basis taking into account the stage of the pandemic, the public health risks and the impact on bereaved families.

Our funeral services guidance sets out that funeral directors can, on a case by case basis, undertake a risk assessment to assess whether the family can have a role in taking a cord at the graveside, given physical distancing requirements. The options should be discussed with the relatives beforehand and decisions should be made with compassion, as well as understanding of the risks.

The conclusion of the physical distancing review is expected shortly, which will consider the implications of 2 metre physical distancing at funeral services.

Not all vaccines prevent transmission and inoculation is not a guarantee against contracting COVID-19, nor is it guaranteed to prevent you from passing it on. However, we do know that the COVID-19 vaccines significantly reduce both mortality and morbidity. Further research is being conducted on the effect of the vaccination programme on transmission overall in relation to current and new variants of concern. Until we know more, it is essential that everyone continues to follow public health guidance and the COVID-19 protection level rules which apply in their Local Authority area.

The Independent Review of Sexual Abuse in Scottish Football was commissioned by the Scottish FA Board in late 2016 and began work in the first quarter of 2017. In summary the terms of reference (developed in conjunction with some survivors) were to examine what was known at the time of the abuse in Scottish Football, who knew and what action was taken as a result.

The purpose of the Review was not to find fault or to attribute blame but rather was about learning from the experiences of the past with a view to improving the way that Scottish football assures the safety, rights and wellbeing of children involved in the game today where necessary. This is set out at para 1.2 of the full report when it says “the Review is not concerned with attributing culpability or liability” and further “Attributing blame and engaging in a finger-pointing exercise is not helpful and is almost always unproductive, detracting from ensuring that the right change takes place with the commitment of us all” and “the narrative of ‘failure’ and ‘blame’ is one which the Review is keen to resist in order to focus on learning and improvement which is of more productive value.”

The Review accepts that knowledge and practices were markedly different in the past than they are now, and recognises the recent efforts of the Scottish FA and its members to put in place a Child Protection and Wellbeing Strategy. It makes clear that continued culture change is imperative – this includes continuing to work closely with survivors to improve processes, challenging distorted thinking about sexual conduct or violence and creating positive attitudes to mental health. The Scottish Government fully support those aims.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM) provides clear guidance to public bodies on Property acquisition, disposal and management. There is no reference within that guidance to the maximising of receipts from the sale of land but rather a duty for each body subject to the SPFM to consider the most appropriate method for disposal either by:

1. obtaining the best possible price on the open market, or;

2. disposal of the asset at less than Market Value to deliver wider public benefits consistent with the principles of Best Value, or;

3. transfer under the Guidelines for the Transfer of Property within the Scottish Public Sector.

The costs and benefits of disposal via one of these routes will have been determined on a case by case basis when considering the method of disposal by the public body in question and any audit of such a transaction would be undertaken by Audit Scotland as part of their audit work. The duty of Best Value applies to all public bodies in Scotland and is a formal duty on Accountable Officers.

The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 sets out the rights for community bodies to seek to acquire rights in any land and property held by a named public body. Guidance has been published both for relevant authorities and community bodies which explains the how any such application is to be handled. The legislation does not comment on whether disposals should be at market value or at a discount. As with all publicly-owned assets, where a disposal is being considered at less than market value, the public body decisions should be consistent with the principles of Best Value.

A significant difference with the underpinning data model makes interoperability between the Check in Scotland app and the NHS Covid19 app. challenging. However, we are exploring what enhancements can improve the overall user experience for citizens and visitors travelling between Scotland and the rest of the UK, and for contact tracing teams dealing with the visiting public.

The NHS England and Wales Covid app. cannot be used in Scotland, in any venues nor can the Test & Protect Check in Scotland app be used in England and Wales. This is due to a difference in legislation relating to the collection of contact details and the technical platform and data model of both products being used.

The data capture process that underpins both services, is completely different. The NHS Covid19 app, holds data locally on an individual’s device, contact tracing can push notifications to the device used to scan in/out and request contact information, no visitor contact details are collected at point of check-in. In Scotland, in line with regulations the Check In Scotland service (app and web service) collect contact details of visitors on check-in and hold for 21 days making contact tracing more effective in terms of timely access to contact data in the event of an outbreak.

All venues and settings in England and Wales must by law display Official NHS Covid19 posters and visitors must use the NHS Covid19 app to scan these posters. This is integrated into contact tracing systems in NHS England and Wales. This is not mandated in Scotland.

The Check In Scotland service can only be used in Scottish based venues (Scottish postcode and within a Scottish Health Board area) that have registered to participate. In Scotland, Check In Scotland is completely voluntarily voluntary for Scottish businesses to adopt, participating venues must display Official NHS Scotland posters and visitors must use the Check In Scotland app, camera function app or QR scanning app on mobile device to provide contact details. This is integrated directly into NHS Test & Protect contact tracing systems in Scotland.

Any UK or International visitors to Scotland that do not wish to download the Test & Protect Check In Scotland app. can use the camera function or QR scanning app on their mobile phone and use the Check In Scotland web service to provide contact details or provide these manually using a paper form that must be offered as an alternative by venues.

The Check In Scotland delivery team has recently been in communication with the UK Dept. of Health and Social Care, NHS Covid-19 app product team to explore what options are available and to enhance the user experience with a follow-up discussion planned week commencing the 21 June 2021.