Chamber and committees

The resumption of routine dental care for both adult and child patients, including check-ups and preventive care, forms part of the wider programme for the remobilisation of dental services which is itself a component of the wider Route Map devised by the Scottish Government to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. The Route Map aims to manage the four key harms of the pandemic - to health, to the delivery of health and social care, to society, and to the economy - and was the subject of an Equality and Fairer Scotland Impact Assessment (EQFSIA) as a whole.

Analysis by the National Dental Inspection Programme (NDIP) has indicated the significant improvement to the oral health of Scotland's children since its inception in 2003, which has been shown to be due to the national Childsmile programme especially the supervised daily toothbrushing in nurseries. We are committed to restoring the Childsmile programme in nurseries and schools as well as in dental practices as soon as it is safe to do so, and we are committed to continuing to evaluate the impact of the Childsmile programme on child oral health in Scotland.

Factors such as background sound that may lead to raised voices or cause people to lean-in close to others to be heard are a risk factor in the transmission of coronavirus. This is recognised by a wide body of publicly available scientific evidence in relation to the role of aerosols in the transmission of viruses. The current position of no background sound, including low level music and audio from television, is a measured and cautious approach to reduce risk. It is being kept under review and government has engaged with industry experts to consider how guidance can be developed to allow low level background sound to be managed safely when transmission rates are back to a manageable level.

The Scottish Government is regularly monitoring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on all sectors of the economy, including the hospitality sector, to understand needs for support to maintain viability and how to protect jobs.

The Scottish Government’s analysis of data from ONS’s Business Impacts of Coronavirus Survey, published on 8th October, indicates that in the period 7 September to 20 September 2020, around 82.7 per cent of businesses in the Accommodation & Food Services sector with more than 10 employees had resumed trading. It also estimated that, in the period 24 August to 20 September, 75.6 per cent of currently trading businesses in the Accommodation & Food Services sector were experiencing lower turnover than expected for the time of year, and 40.9 per cent of the workforce were on furlough leave.

The Scottish Government’s sectoral analysis, such as that presented in the Chief Economist’s Monthly Economic Brief for July 2020, also indicates that the Accommodation and Food Sector is in need of ongoing support.

The hospitality industry continues to be substantially affected by COVID-19 and the measures necessary to reduce opportunities for transmission of the virus. The Scottish Government is providing substantial support to the hospitality sector. This has included grant support through the Small Business Support Grant Fund and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund; the Creative, Tourism and Hospitality Hardship Fund; as well as 100% relief for the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors in 2020-21.

The Scottish Government will also provide further support to hospitality businesses affected by temporary restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19 through the COVID-19 Restrictions Fund, and support for businesses to meet the cost of re-furloughing employees via the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. However it is clear much more support for industries affected by restrictions will be required, which is why together with the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive, we have repeatedly called on the UK Government to transfer greater financial powers.

Regular engagement with the industry is ongoing on a number of issues affecting the sector, including the risk of job losses and business failures, which the Scottish Government are doing everything possible to avoid through targeted business support, including the recently announced £40 million Covid 19 restrictions fund: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-restrictions-fund/ .

Regular engagement with the industry is ongoing on a number of issues affecting the sector, including additional mitigating measures covered in regulations and ongoing development of guidance to ensure compliance.

Regular engagement with the industry is ongoing on a number of issues affecting the sector at present, including that of the safe management of background sound.

The First Minister announced on 15 October that the Scottish Ministers would change the regulations on face coverings to exempt the couple getting married for the duration of their wedding ceremony. This is provided that the couple maintain physical distancing from others present. A partition can be used as an alternative, if such physical distancing is not possible. The amended regulations came into effect on 16 October.

The First Minister announced on the 21 October an extension to the restrictions imposed on the 9 October, and further additional financial support for the businesses affected by the restrictions. As such, more than £40 million will now be distributed though the COVID-19 Restrictions Fund that includes grant support for businesses that have had to close due to restrictions and hardship grants to businesses that are not required to close - such as pubs and restaurants outwith the central belt - and some businesses in the hospitality supply chain. Application for those funds opened on 20 th October and further information on eligibility can be found at https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-restrictions-fund/pages/about-the-fund/ . There is also a £9 million fund to support furloughed employees. And a £11m Contingency Fund to help other businesses that need support but are not eligible for either the new Grant or Employment Support schemes: funding for the nightclub and soft play sectors was announced on 27 October. Future business support arrangements are set out in Scotland’s Strategic Framework.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) continue to support children and young people in need of specialist mental health support, although there will be adjustments in how that is delivered to accommodate coronavirus restrictions.

We have also allocated £2 million to local authorities towards the development of Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Services and Support for 5-24 year olds, their families and carers. The majority of services are expected to be in place for the last 3 months of 2020-21, and a further £15 million is expected to be available in financial year 2021-22 onwards, assuming services are fully in place.

Our recently published Transition and Recovery Plan, ‘Mental Health - Scotland's Transition and Recovery’, sets out a number of actions to progress improvement on access to CAMHS including the implementation of our CAMHS Service Specification and the restarting of our improvement programme of work.

We continue to prioritise support for children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing in schools and education through actions such as the Mental Health in Schools Working Group which is developing and delivering new mental health training and learning resources, and the counselling in schools commitment. It is expected that all secondary schools will have access to a counsellor by the end of October. We also committed to have an additional 250 school nurses in place by the end of 2022. The first cohort of students commenced in 2019-20 and we expect a further 50 students to commence in the 2020/21 academic year.

In addition, Educational Psychologists who work in local authorities are providing support, guidance and resources through authority websites, telephone and virtual consultations to support vulnerable children, young people and their families.

We also remain committed to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of our students and recently announced a further £3.645 million in support of our commitment to provide more than 80 additional counsellors in every college and university in Scotland over the next four years.

Furthermore, we continue to invest in a range of measures to support children and young people’s mental health. This includes providing enhanced digital resources on mental health and wellbeing available via Young Scot’s website and social media, and over £1 million to roll out the Distress Brief Intervention (DBI) programme on a national basis to those over the age of 16.

In terms of the health portfolio, we have been working with a number organisations to understand the impact of Covid-19 on those at greatest risk of disadvantage, addressing issues as they have emerged and developing and promoting solutions wherever possible.

We set up a national phone line (0800 111 4000) to ensure those who are at risk, including those were shielding or those who are self-isolating, and who have no other support available, can access help for their essential needs. By the week beginning 28 September 107,729 calls had been taken from those shielding and 86,033 from those who were non-shielding at risk.

For those who are at highest clinical risk, we have highlighted support through online guidance including access to food, mental and physical health, and wellbeing information and support. The CMO has issued letters and we have established an SMS text messaging service to provide alerts and updates.