Chamber and committees

Fair access to the arts for all is central to the purpose of Scottish Government funding for culture bodies. Those organisations all share a desire and aim to include and employ as diverse an audience and workforce as possible. All public bodies responsible for culture and heritage are subject to the Equalities Act, reporting on progress against objectives frequently.

Creative Scotland’s regularly funded organisations are contractually obliged to develop and implement Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plans. These cover all aspects of an organisation across governance, staffing, programming, audiences and marketing. Creative Scotland’s portfolio includes companies which provide specific opportunities to disabled people, including Birds of Paradise, Lung Ha Theatre Company, Solar Bear Theatre Company, Indepen-dance, Paragon Ensemble and Drake Music Scotland. Scotland’s 5 National Performing Companies are also committed to being open to everyone.

The Scottish Government is committed to working with disabled people to develop policies and the approaches required to solve problems and dismantle barriers. The ability to fully participate in cultural life, including traditional music, is central to this.

The publication of A Culture Strategy for Scotland on 28 February 2020 was a key milestone for the sector and set out our commitment to value, protect and nurture culture. The strategy highlights that everyone should have an equal opportunity to experience culture’s empowering and transformative potential. We want to ensure that everyone in Scotland can take part in culture throughout their lives and that culture in and from Scotland enriches the lives of people and communities across the country.

Creative Scotland, supports disabled people to participate fully in traditional music in a number of ways:

• Creative Scotland administers the Scottish Government’s Youth Music Initiative programme. This has supported a range of organisations to deliver projects that engage young disabled people in traditional music through traditional music making and song workshops.
• Creative Scotland’s Create: Inclusion Fund seeks to increase the diversity of people in the arts, screen and creative industries. Applicants can seek funding to help them progress, develop their creative and professional practice, their capacity or to support them to take professional and creative risks. This fund has supported disabled people to develop skills in traditional music, take part in traditional music festivals and performances, establish networks, and advocate for disabled musicians in the folk community.
• Disabled artists based in Scotland can now seek funding to create new work, develop themselves or undertake a wide range of project activity through Creative Scotland’s Open Project Fund.
• A number of organisations that receive regular funding from Creative Scotland have recently delivered projects that support disabled people to participate in traditional music.
• Creative Scotland also provides an Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan Toolkit to support organisations to address issues of inequality, disengagement and cultural exclusion within the arts, screen and creative industries.

The NHS Scotland testing capacity on these dates is set out in the following table.

The Scottish Government has collated verified guidance for use by NHSScotland to support its workforce during the Covid 19 outbreak. This includes advice about protection for pregnant employees. This resource is kept up to date with the latest advice from our scientific and clinical advisers and directs employers and staff to verified up-to-date sources of information including the guidance from the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (RCOG)

https://www.rcog.org.uk/en/guidelines-research-services/guidelines/coronavirus-pregnancy/covid-19-virus-infection-and-pregnancy/ .

Published guidance is held centrally and can be accessed at:

https://www.staffgovernance.scot.nhs.uk/coronavirus-covid-19/guidance / . This informs a standard approach to occupational health that all NHSScotland Boards are expected to follow. It is recognised, however, where there are individual circumstances, these should always be considered on a case by case basis.

As advised in my response to S5W-28753 on 14 May 2020 the published guidance directs staff to verified up-to-date sources of information including the guidance from the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists

https://www.rcog.org.uk/en/guidelines-research-services/guidelines/coronavirus-pregnancy/covid-19-virus-infection-and-pregnancy/ .

Guidance clearly places the emphasis on employers undertaking a risk assessment and involving occupational health, to determine whether women who are under 28 weeks pregnant can continue working in public-facing roles. Pregnant women can only continue working where the risk assessment supports this. Over 28 weeks pregnant should work from home where possible, avoid contact with anyone with symptoms of coronavirus, and significantly reduce unnecessary social contact .

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 .

As advised in my response to S5W-28753 on 14 May 2020, the published guidance directs staff to verified up-to-date sources of information including the guidance from the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists

https://www.rcog.org.uk/en/guidelines-research-services/guidelines/coronavirus-pregnancy/covid-19-virus-infection-and-pregnancy/ .

This reflects existing health and safety legislation advising that a risk assessment should be undertaken for every pregnant worker. The guidance places the emphasis on employers undertaking a risk assessment, and involving occupational health, to determine whether women who are under 28 weeks pregnant can continue working in public-facing roles. Pregnant women can only continue working where the risk assessment supports this.

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 .

We have recently announced an additional £4.8 million in funding to increase the scope and availability of telephone and digital services in psychological therapies. This will fund extensions to existing services such as the NHS 24 Mental Health Hub, increase the number of advisers for the Breathing Space initiative and to adapt on-line and self help resources provided by NHS Inform.

The funding will also help in the development of digital self-help tools such as computerised Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and internet enabled Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for the Health & Social Care workforce and their families, as well as to the wider population and in the roll out of the Near Me service into mental health services. We will also expand the existing Distress Brief Intervention service to provide a national service to people in distress arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.

While people are being encouraged to use contactless payments the Scottish Government recognises that this is not possible for everyone. In these circumstances the World Health Organisation (WHO) advise people to wash their hands thoroughly after touching any frequently touched surface or object, including coins and banknotes.

Banks have also introduced a number of measures help vulnerable members of the community through this crisis. For example, RBS have arranged a facility to have up to £500 delivered securely to a person’s home in partnership with Travelex, preventing people having to travel to a central location to access cash.

Help is also available to support people to open a bank account. Even if people are turned down for the most common accounts, there is an option to apply for a fee-free basic bank account. This type of account offers basic facilities for receiving money and settling bills, without overdraft facilities.