Chamber and committees

The global downturn in aviation caused by COVID-19 has had a significant impact on airports around the world, including here in Scotland. As passenger numbers are not expected to return to pre-COVID for up to 5 years, airports, airlines and various ancillary companies are having to re-size to meet that lower demand.

Where we can, we have provided support to the Scottish aviation sector. Airports have been granted 100% non-domestic rates relief for a year and we have written to the UK Government urging them to extend the Job Retention Scheme for the aviation industry. The Scottish Government is also working with airports on route recovery, as part of our well established partnership involving Transport Scotland, VisitScotland and Scottish Development International, to help rebuild connectivity for business and tourism and win back routes and employment opportunities.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-31286 on 28 August 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

Coach operators have been able to apply for financial assistance from schemes including the 100% Retail Hospitality and Leisure rates relief & RHL grant support, and the small Business Grant Fund. Non-domestic rates relief also applies and a small number of operators have accessed funds from the Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund. I am aware of the challenges which the industry faces and in line with the fact the Honk for Hope campaign is UK-wide, with pressures facing operators across the UK, I am pressing the UKG to use their significant borrowing powers to support this vital sector.

Delivery of the police 101 service is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. Call handling statistics are regularly published on the Police Scotland website, and can be found at https://www.scotland.police.uk/about-us/our-performance/ .

People disconnect from 101 calls before speaking to an advisor for many reasons, including pre-recorded messaging signposting them to other sources of information, or they may choose to report the issue online. Police Scotland ensure that emergency calls are prioritised and responded to appropriately. 101 callers are instructed to terminate the call and to dial 999 if they are experiencing an emergency or the incident is escalating.

The answer to question S5W-31050 on 26 August 2020 confirms that the clinical guidance is provided through the offices of the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) and that early on in the pandemic the CMO and CNO commissioned a Clinical and Professional Advisory Group for Care Homes to combine advice from medical, nursing, social sectors including Scottish Care to work alongside the sector to develop it jointly. This approach continues and I welcome the input of key stakeholders in the development of the guidance.

S5W-31050 also confirms how the national clinical and practice guidance makes it very clear that anyone who would benefit from additional support should receive this. If an individual would benefit from hospital care, and if it is in their best interests, and their expressed wishes, then the necessary steps to do so should be taken. Decisions to admit a person to hospital should always be made by clinicians on an individual basis, irrespective of whether they are a care home resident or someone living in their own home, and take account of the person’s needs and wishes. These are not decisions that Scottish Government either directs or makes.

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

Clinical advice is provided through the offices of the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO). Early on in the pandemic the CMO and CNO commissioned a Clinical and Professional Advisory Group for Care Homes to combine advice from medical, nursing, social sectors including Scottish Care working alongside the sector to develop it jointly. This group provides advice to Government through the offices of CMO and CNO. No piece of guidance has a single author and Scottish Care has been involved in all of the guidance that group produces.

Clinical advice is provided through the offices of the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO). Early on in the pandemic the CMO and CNO commissioned a Clinical and Professional Advisory Group for Care Homes to combine advice from medical, nursing, social sectors including Scottish Care working alongside the sector to develop it jointly. This group provides advice to Government through the offices of CMO and CNO. No piece of guidance has a single author and Scottish Care has been involved in the development of the guidance that group produces.

The national clinical and practice guidance makes it very clear that anyone who would benefit from additional support should receive this. If an individual would benefit from hospital care, and if it is in their best interests, and their expressed wishes, then the necessary steps to do so should be taken. Decisions to admit a person to hospital should always be made on an individual basis, irrespective of whether they are a care home resident or someone living in their own home, and take account of the person’s needs and wishes. These decisions are not always straightforward and require careful consideration by all involved. They frequently require careful clinical judgement about the potential benefits and unintended distress or harms that may arise from moving people who are often frail or vulnerable. The ways that these decisions are made should not be any different to normal, non-pandemic times. The guidance also recognises that in some cases it would not be appropriate for a hospital admission and in those instances additional support may need to be provided within the care home depending on availability of local services.

At the time the initial guidance was written (during the delay phase) the advice was that any individual with COVID-19 symptoms (regardless of how minor) should be transferred to a regional Infectious Disease facility of which there are four in Scotland. In the context where many people in care homes have dementia and are extremely frail or even in the last months of their life, if this transfer would not offer a benefit to the resident, it was not in the residents interests for a blanket policy to transfer all people with Covid-19. Subsequent iterations of the guidance have provided more clarity particularly around the need to make sure that care is tailored to an individual’s needs and takes into account their wishes and the risks and benefits of any decision.

The guidance states that in many instances it is helpful to bring clinical care to the resident so as to minimise the disruption of a hospital transfer and provide elements of hospital care such as oxygen and clinical advice which can be safely supported in a care home setting. In support of such in-reach care provision for care home residents, a letter was issued from the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Royal College of General Practitioners and British Medical Association on the 17 April which emphasised that there will still be times when a face to face consultation is clinically necessary, and makes clear our expectation that health and care professionals will continue to enter care settings such as care homes to provide ongoing care and support when required, with appropriate safety measures such as PPE in place.

Furthermore, on the 20 May the CMO wrote to boards encouraging them to provide secondary care support to care homes including where they could through the provision of Hospital at Home services. In Scotland currently over 40% of the population has access to Hospital at Home services and this proportion has risen in recent months – delivering hospital level care in the patient’s own home – including care homes. In addition, specialist palliative care support is available in many boards across Scotland as well as other forms of hospital specialist support to GPs and care homes.

Information on 2020 exam results adjustment figures broken down by school is not held centrally.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the percentage of pupils who were due to sit exams in 2020 who had their grades marked down or up. The ‘Moderation Summary Reports’ that SQA published on 4 August provide information on moderation across 129 courses and are publicly available at: https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/45625.html .

With respect to the new specialist service in Glasgow, I can confirm that staffing is presently being determined by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. As part of that exercise, it is undertaking recruitment to expand the multidisciplinary team (MDT) to enhance expertise in the management of mesh complications. As such, the training, qualifications and experience of the staff concerned are a matter for the Health Board, who are being supported by NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) in commissioning the specialist service.