Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office has regular contact with equivalents in the other UK health departments as part of UK wide coordination of COVID-19-related research, and has been updated as part of this contact on the establishment of a Vaccines Taskforce to support UK efforts to rapidly develop a coronavirus vaccine. The Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office funded NHS Research Infrastructure is available to support vaccine studies when they are at the appropriate stage of development.

Public Bodies are expected to align with fair work principles including in relation to trade union and staff engagement. On 25 March, the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work & Culture and the STUC General Secretary issued a joint statement outlining the shared commitment to fair work practices in Scotland and calling on employers, trades unions and workers to work together constructively to reach the right decisions on all workplace issues that arise throughout the Covid-19 outbreak and ensure workers are treated fairly. The Cabinet Secretary wrote to Chief Executives of all of Scotland’s Public Bodies on 26 March urging them to act in accordance with the Fair Work principles set out in the statement.

Dentists working wholly or partially in the public sector already have their non-domestic rates (and rent) reimbursed pro rata on the amount of work undertaken for NHS Scotland.

Some dentistry work of course continues, we have put in place 56 Urgent Dental Care Centres in each NHS Board area across Scotland so people can still be seen if they require urgent dental care.

In general terms we are determined to help keep companies in business and our financial support now exceeds the £2.3 billion passed on from the UK Government. In designing the relief and grant system we had to balance helping as many businesses as possible against what was affordable.

This extends to a universal 1.6% relief available to all non-domestic properties including dental practices. Non-domestic rates are administered by local authorities, and they will apply this relief automatically. As with all non-domestic rate policies, we will keep our reliefs under review and consider any further changes on the basis of need and affordability.

The Scottish Government has also delivered a fund to provide grant support for small businesses experiencing hardship as a result of COVID-19. This includes a £10,000 grant which is available to a range of small businesses in receipt of the Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS) or Rural Relief on 17 March 2020; or properties eligible for SBBS and in receipt of either Nursery Relief, Business Growth Accelerator, Fresh Start, Sports Club Relief, Charity Relief or Disabled Relief on 17 March 2020.

On 5 May the Scottish Government commenced Phase 2 of the Business Grants Funding Scheme. This included the expansion of support for ratepayers with more than one property. In addition to a 100% grant on their first eligible property, ratepayers with additional qualifying properties will be eligible to apply for a 75% grant on each additional property. This will make available Small Business Grants of £7,500 and any additional properties that qualify for the Small Business Grant, that a ratepayer may have, subject to compliance with EU State Aid Rules.

During the current pandemic, wedding and civil partnership ceremonies and receptions, and those who participate in them, are restricted by the current health protection regulations set out in the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions) (Scotland) Regulations 2020.

In Scotland, local authority registrars process marriage and civil partnership notices and prepare the written documentation required for all marriages and civil partnerships to proceed. This includes religious and belief marriages and civil partnerships.

Registration offices are closed to the public in line with existing Scottish Government guidance and local registrars are prioritising registration of deaths and still-births.

However, the Registrar General for Scotland has procedures in place so that a marriage or civil partnership can proceed during the current pandemic where there is a pressing need for the couple to formalise their relationship. This could include one partner being terminally ill or being required for immediate overseas deployment with the armed forces. The Registrar General has recently published further information on this on the National Records of Scotland website at: https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/about-us/service-status .

If a marriage or civil partnership is to proceed during the current health emergency, all the arrangements must comply with the Regulations and physical distancing would also need to be followed.

The Scottish Government is committed to keeping staff across the health and social care system safe, which includes ensuring continued access to appropriate PPE for all staff involved in the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

Health Protection Scotland have issued revised guidance on the equipment required for staff . This is based on clinical and scientific evidence, and we continue to work to ensure all services have the resources they require.

We expect all NHS Boards to ensure staff dealing with COVID-19 have the appropriate training and personal protective equipment to ensure safety. However, it is clear some staff continue to have legitimate concerns about access to the right PPE during this crisis.

We are working closely with NSS National Procurement to ensure that adequate PPE supplies are available for all front-line staff across the Health and Social Care Sector.

We have now moved to providing substantial extra deliveries, and support will be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Services across the NHS are urgently being sent stocks of PPE to help them manage cases and potential cases of COVID-19 and keep staff safe.

While charging policies are a matter for individual businesses, the Scottish Government is encouraging all childcare providers to be reasonable and balanced in their dealings with parents, recognising the unprecedented situation in which we all find ourselves. It is of particular importance that providers are sensitive to families’ financial situations when considering their charging policies.

Police Scotland’s Strategic Leadership Board (SLB) reviewed the remit of the Force Reserve, on 12 February 2020, and agreed to rename the unit as the Flexible Response Unit (FRU). The SLB also agreed that the unit would be retained in an amended format to support the high volume of events predicted throughout 2020. The primary focus of the FRU is to continue to support Local Policing Divisions, in communities across Scotland, with enhanced skills able to respond to a wide variety of incidents and events.

In response to the Covid-19 outbreak, the FRU was identified as being a flexible asset that could be used to respond to Covid-19 linked incidents. As a consequence, the FRU were prioritised for training in Covid-19 personal protective equipment and has been utilised as the initial primary police responders to Covid-19 linked incidents.

Police Scotland has set out that the FRU will have a pivotal role throughout the response phase to Covid-19 and that this will continue well into the recovery and the transition to a new normal. The timescales of these Covid-19 phases are yet to be determined and Police Scotland will continue to keep the role and remit of the FRU under consideration, as they plan for future demand in 2020 and into 2021.

Police Scotland’s Strategic Leadership Board (SLB) reviewed the remit of the Force Reserve, on the 12 February 2020, and agreed to rename the unit as the Flexible Response Unit (FRU).

During the current pandemic the FRU has attended a wide variety of incidents where it can be assumed that Covid-19 is present, including reports of ongoing criminality, non-compliance with the Coronavirus Act, movement of symptomatic prisoners and sudden deaths in the community. The FRU is tasked on a daily basis by the Police Operations and Co-ordination Centre (POCC) and in the absence of specific calls are defaulted to public areas where non-compliance in the restrictions can be anticipated or criminality is prevalent. In the early stages of the Police Scotland response to Covid-19, the FRU's activity safeguarded Local Policing officers from attending calls where they would be at risk of infection.

Many of the incidents attended by the FRU have been in partnership with other agencies, most notably the Scottish Ambulance Service, in response to sudden deaths within the community. This joint approach has allowed for a collective understanding of the circumstances and agreement on whether further Police investigation is required. This partnership approach has generated efficiencies in services, whilst respecting the sensitive nature of the incidents and the impact on the families concerned.

Police Scotland has set out that the FRU will have a pivotal role throughout the response phase to Covid-19 and that this will continue well into the recovery and the transition to a new normal. The timescales of these Covid-19 phases are yet to be determined and Police Scotland will continue to keep the role and remit of the FRU under consideration as they plan for future demand in 2020 and into 2021.

The Connecting Scotland Programme will connect 9,000 more people who are considered at clinically high risk themselves so they can access services and support and connect with friends and family during the pandemic. Local authorities and the third sector will lead on identifying people to receive devices, distributing them and providing training and support. Currently individuals cannot register for this Programme directly.

We are continuing to work in partnership across all sectors to identify fresh opportunities where we can build sustainable programs that will support even more people to gain or improve their digital skills. As more organisations become involved we will signpost opportunities to funding, support and access as they arise. Organisations can register an interest at : https://connecting.scot/for-organisations .

The Scottish Government is engaging regularly with the trade unions to understand the challenges and gaps in the support for business announced to date, including the Job Retention Scheme. The Oil & Gas and Energy Transition Strategic Leadership Group, of which the trade unions are members, met on 2 April and 7 May to understand and respond to the key challenges facing the sector.

The Strategic Leadership Group will meet with an increased regularity during the crisis currently being experienced by the sector and further engagement with the sector is planned to identify any measures that can be facilitated by both governments, regulators, our agencies or the industry to respond to the current challenges in light of the downturn in the oil and gas industry and the COVID-19 crisis.

I have also had a number of direct discussions with key trade unions to inform our work in support of the Oil and Gas sector, including a pre-meeting with STUC, RMT and Unite in advance of the 7 th May Strategic Leadership Meeting and I greatly value the input we have had from union colleagues in helping us shape our response.