Chamber and committees

My sympathies are with the family of Emma Caldwell.

The criminal investigation into Emma Caldwell's death is still on-going. Any decision regarding whether it would be appropriate to undertake a judicial inquiry into any aspect of the investigation can only be taken at a point when that investigation has concluded.

The New Supply Shared Equity (NSSE) scheme aims to assist first time buyers and priority access groups to purchase a new build home from a local authority or housing association. There are no set criteria for determining a “significant change of circumstances”. Decisions on when to apply flexibility to the primary eligibility criteria are considered on a case by case basis, based on the evidence available and demand from the primary target groups.

The Affordable Housing Supply Programme: process and procedures guidance provides further information - Affordable Housing Supply Programme: process and procedures MHDGN 2020/02 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

To ensure that they remain necessary and proportionate to the health harms of Covid-19, a review was undertaken ahead of the publication of the Strategic Framework Update and the Physical Distancing Review on 22 June 2021 to consider whether an earlier re-opening of night clubs was feasible. It underlined that the risks of transmission associated with the re-opening of night clubs remained significant. These include poor ventilation, alcohol consumption and high noise levels. There is also the additional risk of close physical contact in nightclubs. These risks are considered to be higher than in other settings which is why this sector is under tighter restrictions than other settings such as bars. Importantly, nightclubs are generally frequented by younger demographics who will be amongst the last to be vaccinated.

However, the Scottish Government provided greater clarity on the timing and conditions under which a re-opening would be possible. The Strategic Framework Update advised that nightclubs would be able to reopen when Scotland moves beyond level 0, we hope to make that change on 9 August provided over 40s and adults at risk have protection from the virus through 2 doses of the vaccine and the virus is sufficiently under control.

The publication of the Strategic Framework Update and the review into Physical Distancing will hopefully have provided the events sector greater clarity, particularly on when limits will be removed and physical distancing will end. Live music events are allowed in levels 2 and below albeit subject to capacity limits. There is guidance in place which may allow events to go ahead above those limits subject to approval from the local authority when Scotland is in level 0. We hope that all limits on attending events can be removed on 9 August when the whole of Scotland is expected to move beyond Level 0 provided key conditions are met. Additionally, we are currently working with stakeholders to establish the right package of baseline protective measures which will be necessary at these events following Scotland’s move beyond Level 0.

On 22 June, the First Minister announced changes which will help benefit weddings. In particular, suppliers employed by the couple marrying or registering their civil partnership, such as a photographer, will no longer count towards the numerical caps. This change took effect from 25 June. As indicated by the First Minister, we anticipate that this change will now have a relatively minor impact on transmission.

In responding to the pandemic, The Scottish Government have been guided by the principles outlined in our Framework for Decision Making. Here we set out the direct and indirect harms of the pandemic, which we consider in our "four harms" approach: one of those being that protective measures have a damaging effect on our prosperity.

Decisions to allocate areas to Levels are finely balanced, taking into account a range of factors. These factors include the need to control the virus and minimise harms from Covid, in terms of morbidity and mortality, as well as the wider economic and social harms or the restrictions. In addition any decision has to ensure that restrictions are justified, necessary and proportionate, and in a way that ensures impacts on fundamental rights are understood and minimized.

The Scottish Government has engaged extensively with businesses and their representative organisations during the pandemic, and are in close and regular dialogue with business leaders on a range of priority issues. We have also provided additional financial support to businesses in areas which have remained subject to higher levels of restrictions and we have worked closely with councils to ensure businesses subject to restrictions for a longer period of time remain supported.

The Scottish Government stays up-to-date on all national and international developments regarding COVID-19, and are continuing discussions on a 4 Nations basis regarding development and possible use of new COVID-19 vaccines.

The approval of medicines is a reserved matter and all approval is managed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

On 28 May, the MHRA approved the single-dose Janssen vaccine for use in the UK for adults aged 18 and over, and we anticipate receiving some stocks of the vaccine later this year. As with all new COVID-19 vaccines, we anticipate that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) will provide a recommendation on how the Jansen vaccine should be deployed. The UK Vaccine Taskforce has secured 20M doses, of which Scotland will receive a proportionate share.

The Novavax vaccine is also reporting encouraging results from stage 3 clinical trials (90% efficacy in the US study). If the vaccine is successful in trials and the MHRA assesses it as appropriately safe and effective for use, the UK will be able to access 60 million doses and Scotland will receive a proportionate share. However the timetable for supply is not clear as the supplier requires to implement a significant increase in manufacturing capacity.

The Scottish Government's new air quality strategy 'Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 - Towards a Better Place for Everyone' will be published later in 2021. The strategy will set out a series of actions to deliver further air pollution reductions over the next five years. These actions include work being progressed across Government which will benefit air quality, such as continuing to take forward introduction of Low Emission Zones in Scotland's four largest cities, a £500 million funding commitment to active travel over the next five years and a reduction in motor vehicle kilometres by 20% by 2030.

We will also take forward proposals to control the sale of the most polluting domestic fuels, produce a code of good agricultural practice for improving air quality in Scotland and develop a public engagement strategy on air quality. At the same time we will ensure that the strategy integrates fully with other Government plans and strategies that have implications for air quality, such as the Climate Change Plan update, the National Transport Strategy 2 and National Planning Framework 4.

The new strategy will build on the achievements of Scotland's first air quality strategy 'Cleaner Air for Scotland - The Road to a Healthier Future' which set out a series of 40 actions to improve air quality, 36 of which have been fully completed and the remainder carried over to the new strategy.

The response provided to S6W-00515 confirmed the Scottish Government’s position with the UK Government's Events Research Programme. In common with the Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive, the Scottish Government did not hold events as part of the ERP.

Specific procedures that were part of the ERP, for example testing as means of entry to EURO 2020 matches, were considered for the event in Scotland as part of our gateway process for flagship events – however, clinical advice cautioned against mandatory testing and checking on arrival, in this instance, as the knock-on effect on flow may have created more risk of mixing.

The final report of Phase 1 of the UK Government's ERP has now been published – Events Research Programme: Phase I findings - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) – and we will continue to engage with the UKG and on a 4 Nations basis, with the Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive, to identify learnings from the ERP and help inform the route ahead for the events sector.

The Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport has held a number of discussions with the UK Government about the benefits of HS2 to Scotland. The most recent discussions have focussed on the potential for a train manufacturing facility in Longannet and for a stabling and light maintenance depot for HS2 trains in Annandale, also highlighting that 25 Scottish based companies’ have won contracts for the construction of HS2.

In addition, the Feasibility Study completed by Transport Scotland in 2018 which identified the potential for a 3 hour journey time between Edinburgh and London in conjunction with the eastern leg of HS2 was discussed.

Performing arts activities and venues bring people together, sometimes from across a wide geographical area, in close proximity, often for an extended time period. These provide opportunities for transmission of COVID-19 as we know from, for example, SAGE evidence published in June 2020 S0824_SARS-CoV-2_Transmission_routes_and_environments.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk). High risk factors associated with transmission of the virus include indoor spaces, where ventilation and physical distancing may be less easy to maintain, and places where people come together to spend prolonged periods of time (more than 15 minutes) in close proximity, enabling the virus to spread from person to person, particularly from aerosol and droplet transmission. It is possible to have control of and to mitigate many of the risks in a venue. The Scottish Government guidance on performing arts and venues is, therefore, that organisers should take steps to avoid audiences needing to raise their voices to each other. Organisers of performing arts venues should also prevent other close contact activities such as communal dancing, singing or crowding. This guidance will be reviewed as decisions are taken on whether to reduce and remove remaining restrictions in the coming weeks.