Chamber and committees

Throughout the pandemic NHS patients, including new mothers, have been able to receive care and treatment, including aerosol generating procedures (AGPs), through one of 75 urgent dental care centres in Scotland. We have taken a precautionary approach to the remobilisation of NHS dental services but work has been carried out at pace to improve our understanding and risk management of COVID-19 transmission in dental settings, and since 1 November 2020 dentists have been able to provide the full range of NHS care and treatment to patients.

Hourly rates of pay for Agenda for Change Staff are published online . Bank staff participating in the programme who do not also hold contracts of employment with the host health board are paid at the grade and pay band as specified in their bank contract, relating to the role profile pursuant to which they have been deployed.

The Scottish Government has set sessional rates of £230 and £231 for independent contractors (GPs, dentists, optometrists and pharmacists) taking part in the COVID-19 vaccination programme. These rates, which cover a 3.5 hour session, reflect both the market conditions for hiring these professionals and the roles being filled in the programme.

We continue to keep all measures under close review. Live background music is currently permitted at wedding receptions operating at 1 metre physical distancing from level 2, but full live band entertainment is only permitted in settings operating under performing arts or events guidance at 2 metre physical distancing from level 2 at this time. Dancing is not permitted at this time, except for the first dance by the marrying couple and the parents of the marrying couple where they reside in the same household. Physical distancing requirements are a key factor in determining when these activities can fully return to wedding receptions and as the First Minister confirmed in the statement to Parliament on 11 May, a review of this is currently underway and will report back shortly.

The need for enhanced infection prevention and control measures to reduce the transmission of coronavirus in a dental setting has had a serious impact on the level of clinical training that students have been able to undertake during the 2020-21 academic year. Due to this, schools have had to make the difficult decision to require dental students to repeat a year in order to prioritise student learning and patient safety.

We recognise that this is disappointing and that it is a significant ask of students, which is why we are providing an enhanced bursary, of up to £6,750, during the 2021-22 academic year. Students will have the opportunity to apply for a bursary to the value of their normal student loan award which they will not have to repay. Students with particular circumstances will continue to be eligible for other sources of bursary support such as the Dental Student Support Grant (DSSG) and SAAS bursaries.

When householders contact Home Energy Scotland, they are advised on the range of support schemes available, including whether they may be eligible for grant funded schemes such as Warmer Homes Scotland and the Energy Efficient Scotland: Area Based Schemes, before being directed to the HES loan scheme.

Even if funding is not available through these schemes, Home Energy Scotland will offer free and impartial energy efficiency advice on how to keep the home warmer and more affordable to heat. Tariff advice is also offered to ensure that households are on the most cost effective tariff for their circumstances and all callers are offered a benefit check. This is to ensure that, no matter what their income, they are receiving all the support they are entitled to.

Earlier this year, we published our draft Heat in Buildings Strategy setting out our ambition to transition 1 million homes to zero emissions heating by 2030 and to ensure all buildings achieve a good level of energy efficiency by 2035. Responses to the public consultation are now being analysed.

Whilst Scottish Ministers set the strategic policy for the NHS in Scotland, responsibility for service delivery rests locally with Health Boards and GP practices. Practices are contracted to provide general medical services by their local health board and not the Scottish Government. As such, Scottish Ministers are unable to intervene in the service and appointment arrangements of individual practices, but they do expect satisfactory systems to be in place for the benefit of all patients.

East Lothian HSCP have been working closely with the practice and have given support to increase the number of GP appointments available to patients of the practice. The HSCP are also delivering a range of self-referral services that offer patients same-day access to specialist clinical, mental health and MSK physiotherapist support.

The practice have recruited a number of members of staff including call handlers, a Specialist Paramedic, a Clinical Manager/Nurse Practitioner and a further Nurse Practitioner. An additional GP has joined the practice, with another due to join in the summer.

It is vital for the current Covid-19 vaccination programme to reach everyone and that no one is left behind, both for individual health and our collective community wellbeing.

In order to achieve this, we have embedded inclusion as a key aspect of our national COVID-19 vaccination programme, working alongside Health Boards and other partners to respond to evidence of low uptake in certain communities.

To help support this work we set up a National Inclusive Steering Group with representatives from Health Boards, faith groups, third and community sector. The group advises on issues and identifies solutions and actions for all partners. Organisations represented on the group include BEMIS, the African Council, Scottish Refugee Council and the Ethnic Minority Resilience Network.

We have provided over £100,000 to a range of organisations working with minority ethnic communities to help inform and promote the programme. Activities undertaken include the facilitation of focus groups, provision of translations, hosting awareness-raising events and the development of tailored resources for certain communities.

In April 2021 the national programme team produced inclusive planning and delivery criteria to help address barriers for specific groups within health board populations. This is based on the Health Inequality Impact Assessment, research by Voluntary Health Scotland and health board plans. Scottish Government officials meet regularly with Health Boards to discuss inclusion, local challenges and actions that are being undertaken to reach communities with low uptake of the vaccine.

Work has also been undertaken to respond to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in certain areas by accelerating the vaccination rollout and through assertive outreach in communities with large ethnic minority populations. For example, in the south of Glasgow, an additional Vaccination Centre was set up rapidly at the Glasgow Central Mosque on 18 May 2021. Mobile clinics continue to be deployed into communities offering drop-in opportunities at venues such as the Glasgow Gurdwara. Discussions are also underway with community leaders of African descent to ensure we are reaching these groups with appropriately tailored communications and delivery.

The national Roll Up Your Sleeves campaign phase 2 launched on 20 April 2021 and the TV advert cast and creative reflects Scotland’s diverse society. Our national communications plan includes the production of translated assets in a range of community languages. The QR code on vaccination appointment letters and COVID-19 vaccination leaflets support people to access the information in a format or language of their choice.

Scotland’s COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment Plan 2021 provides further details about our approach to the national COVID-19 programme to date and includes examples of partnership work, local outreach and communications undertaken.

The Scottish Government carried out a public consultation in late 2019 to gather views on the future use of Scottish Ministers' powers under section 5 of FOISA to extend coverage of the Act. We published our analysis of consultation responses in March 2020 and undertook to further develop and set out the Scottish Government's proposed approach to the future use of these powers. That work was suspended following the coronavirus outbreak but is now resuming, and we hope to set out proposals on the use of the section 5 powers later this year. Our work on extension of FOISA will consider the areas highlighted in the consultation analysis, which include health and social care services provided under contract to Scottish public authorities.

Domestic and international elite sporting events are permitted to take place in all strategic framework levels.

Any event organiser must comply with the protocols set out under the Resumption of Performance Sport guidance and run their event in a strict ‘bubble’. Events must have specific Covid secure plans in place and ensure that they have an appropriate testing regime; a clear statement on minimising or eliminating any unavoidable encroachment of physical distancing within the event environment; restrict movement of participants to designated accommodation, training and competition sites; and have contact only with other accredited event participants unless for other exceptional reasons such as medical need or legal requirements. Event participants must also adhere to the international travel regulations for Elite Sportspeople.

The Scottish Government and the sportscotland Institute of Sport (SIS) reviewed the comprehensive plans put forward by the World Curling Federation in advance of the event being approved.

Connecting Scotland is delivered in partnership with the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO). SCVO set up and manage the application, assessment, contracting and distribution of devices. Local authorities assess applications from public and third sector services and organisations, who identify eligible customers and provide frontline Digital Champion support to end users.

A total of £26.6 million has been allocated to Phase 3, with the potential to provide 23,000 devices and data packages. Every Connecting Scotland customer is allocated a Digital Champion and has access to one on one training and support if they want it. So far a total of 2,700 Digital Champions have been trained through the programme. Interim results from our follow-up survey indicate that around half of Connecting Scotland customers found this support helpful in improving their digital skills.