Chamber and committees

A person who is performing indoors does not need to wear a face covering if there is a partition between that person and other people or if there is at least one metre between that person and other people. The distance was reduced from 2 metres to 1 metre with effect from 28 January.

There is an exemption as set out in regulation 5(1)(j) of the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Requirements) (Scotland) 2021 which allows individuals to perform or rehearse for a performance without face coverings in situations on stage where the wearing of a face covering, one-metre distancing or partitioning would materially affect the performance.

The 1 metre distancing requirement or wearing of face covering or partition is required to ensure that choirs can return safely to singing given transmission of Covid19 in indoor spaces. The Scottish Government published a report on the impact of physical distancing in reducing the spread of the virus in June 2021. This is available at the link below:

Coronavirus (COVID-19): review of physical distancing in Scotland - June 2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Scottish Government will continue to review the remaining restrictions on a three weekly basis. The next review is due on 22 February.

The ‘technical solution’ referred to will not impact on our commitment to doubling Scottish Child Payment. This increase, forecast to benefit 111,000 children under age 6 this year, is included within the annual uprating regulations that will come into effect on 1 April.

Separately we have committed to extending Scottish Child Payment to 220,000 older children - aged 6-15 - by the end of this year when it is expected around 430,000 children living in low income households could be eligible. Our initial analysis suggests that this payment when fully rolled out, could lift 40,000 children out of poverty, reducing overall child poverty by an estimated 4 percentage points in 2023-24.

In order to extend Scottish Child Payments to 6-15 year olds it is essential that the UK Government provide us with the data we need in order to establish eligibility for the Payment.

The strong preference of the Scottish Government has consistently been to extend the existing interfaces, which are currently in place to support delivery of the Scottish Child Payment for under 6s. The DWP’s position is that, in contrast to delivery of Child Disability payment and Adult Disability Payment where the ongoing use of existing interfaces has been authorised, the extension of Scottish Child Payment to under 16s should be built to align with their new strategic solution. This carries a higher degree of risk to our delivery timeline, as the DWP’s new strategic solution is still in the design phase, but we have joint mechanisms in place to monitor and track that risk.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05691 on 9 February 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 question S6W-05691 on 9 February 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 have received a response from Chloe Smith, the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, to my letter of 5 January 2022 on the delivery of the roll-out of the extension of Scottish Child Payment to 6-15 year olds. That response confirms the Department for Work and Pensions’ commitment to “an agreed approach to the provision of the data which supports [the Scottish Government’s] proposed delivery timeline”.

That timeline is that the extension of Scottish Child Payment to 6-15 year olds will begin from the end of 2022.

The strong preference of the Scottish Government has consistently been to extend the existing interfaces, which are currently in place to support delivery of the Scottish Child Payment for under 6s, but the DWP’s position is that we should build to align with their new strategic solution. This carries a higher degree of risk to our delivery timeline, as the DWP’s new strategic solution is still in the design phase, but we have an agreed joint plan in place to monitor and track that risk.

Our officials continue to work closely to ensure the implementation of the required technical approach and Ministers will meet in due course to review progress.

I refer the member to the question S6W-05690 answered on 9 February 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 .

The new fire and smoke alarms standard applies to all homes regardless of tenure, bringing the social rented and owner-occupied standards up to the same level as private rented and new build homes.

Where specialist alarms are required, these are in addition to the alarms required to meet the new standard.

While the restrictions on the number of people who can attend live events have been relaxed from 24 January, I understand it will take time for audience confidence to be rebuilt.

The Scottish Government is keen to encourage audiences to return to cultural events. The First Minister held a media visit at the Scottish Opera on 2 February. The First Minister welcomed the return of live events and encouraged people to support theatres and other aspects of the arts.

The Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs & Culture is giving the opening address at the Association of British Orchestras conference on 9 February. Mr Robertson will highlight during this speech the need for audiences to feel confident in returning to cultural events.

The Scottish Government is keen to work with stakeholders, including the performing arts and live music sector, to seek opportunities to encourage audiences to return to cultural events, in line with current guidance for public places.

To date, Scottish Ministers have had no formal discussions with the survivors or stakeholders involved in the allegations of abuse at Fornethy House Residential School. The abuse of children in all circumstances and settings is wrong, and the Scottish Government takes this abuse very seriously.

Scottish Government officials have exchanged correspondence with a number of members of the Fornethy House Residential School Survivors Group in relation to the eligibility criteria of Scotland’s Redress Scheme. As the circumstances in which individuals came to be at Fornethy may vary, it is not possible to determine eligibility for the group as a whole.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting all survivors of childhood abuse. Through the Scottish Government’s Survivors of Childhood Abuse Support (SOCAS) Fund, 29 organisations across Scotland are funded to provide support to adult survivors of childhood abuse including (but not exclusive to) those who have been abused in care.

A programme of work led by the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework Partnership (SCQFP) is underway to look at substantiating military-gained skills and qualifications (which are based on the English qualifications system) to be more easily recognised by civilian employers and institutions in Scotland. The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) funding for SCQFP included support for extended work on the mapping of military qualifications against the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework and a number of leaflets were produced for different cap badges which are available on the SCQF website. Additionally, following a £35,000 grant from the Scottish Government in 2021, SCQFP are developing a more sustainable online skills-mapping tool for Service leavers and veterans.

The tool, hosted on the Skills Development Scotland My World of Work website, is intended to offer veterans and Service leavers a simple method of inputting details of their military experience, training and qualifications so they can better understand the level of the formal and informal learning they have achieved and take this forward either into additional education or civilian employment in Scotland.

This tool is currently in the beta testing phase and a number of veterans have been engaged to ensure that the system meets their needs. The tool should be live by March 2022 and a final report will be produced with recommendations on the future development and promotion of the tool.