Chamber and committees

Advice was provided to Scottish Ministers on the following dates as follows:

At 18 August 2020:

• Rate per 100,000 for cluster related cases was 16.6
• Rate per 100,000 for not related cases was 25.8

At 23 August 2020:

• Rate per 100,000 for cluster related cases was 11.8
• Rate per 100,000 for not related cases was 20.1

Scotland is an ideal location for offshore wind, with 462,000 km 2 of Exclusive Economic Zone, a strong track record in delivering complex infrastructure in an often hostile offshore environment, excellent academic base and having been the location for test and demonstration of both fixed foundation and floating wind farms. However, the outturn in terms of procurement decisions taken by developers, tier 1 contractors, including original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in regards to the most recent projects has been hugely disappointing. These projects have not delivered the significant economic benefits suggested by applicants through the consenting process and, as we have made clear, they fall well short of what we would want to see for the existing Scottish offshore wind supply chain and in terms of facilitating a just transition for the oil and gas supply chain to help fill capacity gaps and to fully utilise a highly skilled, capable and productive workforce.

We understand the position taken by developers, to effect that the UK Government’s Contract for Difference mechanism has, in driving a welcome reduction in prices paid by consumers, not given sufficient weight to the need to support innovation and development of the supply chain and that, in practice, low strike prices have led to risk and cost reduction being forced down the supply chain, resulting in contracts being placed outside the Scotland, the UK and, indeed, Europe in favour of production in low cost labour markets where there is a danger that fair work principles are not embedded. We have consistently argued for reform of the CfD mechanism and have repeated these calls in our response to UK Ministers’ consultation on the CfD process.

The ScotWind leasing round – the first to be undertaken by our newly devolved Crown Estate Scotland - will, in developing Supply Chain development Agreements with all successful bidders, help to create a collaborative culture between developers and the supply chain to release more of those economic benefits for the Scottish economy and ensure that Scottish companies are considered when tendering for work in Scottish offshore projects. This will be a significant advance in approach since transfer from the previously fully reserved process under the Crown Estate and UK Ministers.

At the follow up to our Offshore Wind Energy Supply Chain Summit in January of this year, it was agreed that the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council (SOWEC), which I Co-chair, will instigate a short, focussed independent review, which will consider the current status of the offshore supply chain in Scotland and determine the barriers to growth and the opportunities that will provide longevity for the supply chain in the future.

This work expected to report by the end of 2020, and will help to inform future policy around offshore wind supply chain. This work will take into account the scale of potential development coming forward under the forthcoming ScotWind leasing round and the Scottish Government’s forthcoming Offshore Wind Policy Statement, which will set out our increased ambition for offshore wind in Scottish waters for 2030.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-30619 on 8 October 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

Aberdeen:

263 cases were associated with the Aberdeen City Cluster between 26 th July and 1 st September. This figure relates to cases with links to hospitality venues in Aberdeen City and not just licensed venues. The action taken to respond to these clusters came via the Local Incident Management Team and Local Resilience Forums and involved the collaboration of Police Scotland, NHS Grampian, Public Health Scotland, and Aberdeen City Council, with further input from the Chief Medical Officer and meeting of the Scottish Government Resilience Room(SGoRR).

Measures were in place for a period of 21 days from 5 August to 26 August and covered the following;

• Restrictions via regulations setting out that all businesses selling food and drink for consumption on the premises were required to close from 5 th August.

Guidance was issued at the same time covering the following;

• Travel - People in Aberdeen City are asked not to travel more than 5 miles for leisure, recreation or non-essential purchases. This includes to take holidays in other parts of Scotland or the UK.
• People are advised not to travel to Aberdeen City for leisure purposes or to visit friends and family, unless part of an extended household, while the restrictions are in place
• Gatherings - People in Aberdeen City are asked not to meet other households indoors for leisure or recreational purposes, unless part of an extended household. You can still meet people outdoors.
• Care homes and hospitals - Indoor visits to hospitals and care homes should be limited to essential visits only.

We committed to review the package of restrictions every 7 days.

In general, local restrictions are based on the precautionary principle and best clinical evidence informed by the local IMT and advice from the CMO. They are kept under regular review – before and during lockdowns - and are assessed in order be proportionate to the circumstance of each individual outbreak. In the case of Aberdeen, the CMO confirmed that the virus risk in restaurants was no less than in pubs and hence did not advise a limitation of the restrictions to pubs alone.

Lothian:

Local IMT structures have responded to outbreaks in Lothian and there has not been escalation to involve SG at the present time. Published daily data on positive cases by Health Board and Scottish local authorities is available on the Public Health Scotland Tableau Dashboard;

https://public.tableau.com/profile/phs.covid.19#!/vizhome/COVID-19
DailyDashboard_15960160643010/Overview

There is no evidence to suggest that foreign and domestic travel played a significant role in the recent COVID-19 outbreak in Aberdeen which was largely associated with a number of bars in the City. The current outbreak in West of Scotland is driven by a number of factors, but the evidence from Test and Protect suggests that travel only plays a minor role here.

Public health measures have been implemented at borders to prevent importation of the virus from foreign travel. This includes the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (International Travel) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 which outlines the requirement to complete the Passenger Locator Form and self-isolate upon arrival in Scotland from a non-exempt country or territory.

Regarding domestic travel, localised restriction measures can be used to limit transmission from a higher prevalence area to a lower prevalence area. Similar measures have been deployed in Aberdeen to help control transmission. At present, the question of self-isolation for those arriving from England, where they may be a higher prevalence, is not being actively considered. This will, as with all these measures, be kept under review.

We think the current actions are proportionate in light of the potential risk associated with travel, but we are keeping these actions under review and are considering other options. We are working on a four nations basis to examine whether additional measures at airports, such as testing. could further reduce the risk of imported Covid-19 cases from abroad. What we know at the moment is that Covid-19 has an incubation period of up to 14 days and the quarantining of travellers from high risk countries is the safest way to reduce transmission of the disease.

The Scottish Government has discussed this with Grampian Health Board who advised that, as per current national guidance, it is expected that the IMT will determine the most appropriate format for incident reporting, after the incident is declared over and the incident investigation and management completed. IMT reports are sent for approval and endorsement to the relevant NHS Board meeting or a NHS Board Committee e.g. Clinical Governance Committee. The NHS Board will then decide who to share the report with.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-31769 on 21 September 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The Scottish Government provided £1m of funding through Aberdeen City Council to provide grants of £1,000 and £1,500 to businesses required to close as a result of the local restrictions in Aberdeen over the period 5 August to 26 August 2020. We will consider the needs of businesses in other areas to reflect the nature of local circumstances and the restrictions imposed. Discussions are ongoing with the UK Government in relation to any consequential funding arising from its decision to provide financial support.

Our National Cancer Recovery plan will address COVID19 risks in a number of ways, which will not be disease specific as the mitigation of these risks will help a wide range of patients.

Health Boards have been tasked with urgent implementation of local Clinical Prioritisation Groups (CPG’s) that will oversee ‘green-site’ theatre allocations on a regular (weekly) basis to ensure that prioritised patients are apportioned appropriate, and preferential, access to all green-site theatres.

Elective cancer surgery should be upscaled in ‘green sites’ with full adherence to and implementation of national policies for patient and staff testing before, during and after surgery.

Safety measures around use of personal protective equipment and the enhanced cleaning programmes.

Blood Cancer patients will also benefit from our future of shielding planning which will:

• Provide people with updated clinical evidence about their conditions and what that means for their risk from Covid,
• Help those shielding understand the changing levels of infection in the community and how to reduce the chance of catching the virus
• Provide that information in a way that is accessible, understandable and helpful,
• Give people who are shielding access to support that can help them make informed choices about their lives,
• Support people shielding to put their choices into practice.