Chamber and committees

We have been in regular contact with representatives of Local Authorities during the COVID-19 emergency about the continued operation of the planning system, including the undertaking of neighbour notification and the publication of information about planning applications. The Scottish Government considers that existing requirements for neighbour notification remain appropriate at the present time but continues to monitor the situation.

Access to on-line information by members of the public not required to be notified in writing remains unaffected by the current situation, however, we have encouraged planning authorities to consider allowing additional flexibility with timescales for interested parties to make representations.

Saving lives is at the forefront of the Government's response and in the interests of patients' safety, healthcare professionals have been re-deployed to provide critical care to seriously ill people and the risk of spreading infection has been minimised by restricting General Practitioner (GP)/ hospital visits for non-urgent appointments. The British Society for Haematology (BSH) has recently published guidance on B12 treatment - https://b-s-h.org.uk/media/18275/bsh-guidance-b12-replacement-covid-1901052020finalv.pdf . This advises that GPs should use their clinical judgement to consider if changes are appropriate during the pandemic and to discuss and agree a personalised plan with individual patients that are affected. This may be to decrease the frequency of injections to minimise visits to GP practices or hospitals. Alternatively, there are situations where it is possible for people to self-inject hydroxocobalamin if their GP or health professional agree this would be suitable.

The Scottish Government most recently commissioned a review into the specific impact of anaerobic digestion and bio-energy on the availability of distillery by-product for use as livestock feed was published in July 2019 and can be found at the following web page:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/distillery-products-livestock-feed-bio-energy-use-scotland/pages/12/ .

Separately, we continue to monitor the situation through the Farm Business Survey and provide Scotland’s farmers and crofters with guidance through the Farm Advisory Service on optimising feed for livestock.

As announced on 8 April 2020, we have introduced a £5 million package of emergency financial support to help students facing hardship as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. This £5 million includes an additional £2.2 million for Scotland’s Higher Education (HE) Discretionary Funds specifically to address COVID-19 related hardships, which has been made available to colleges and universities immediately.

University and college students are able to apply for any emergency discretionary payments directly to their own institutions. This support is also available to students from the rest of the UK (rUK) currently studying at Scottish institutions.

The UK Government have confirmed that they are working with the Office for Students, the regulator in England, to help English higher education providers reallocate funding towards their hardship funds for all students in need of additional support.

It may also be helpful to note that the University of Cumbria’s hardship fund for students who are experiencing financial difficulty is available to all UK students. I have included a link to the relevant page of their website below:

https://www.cumbria.ac.uk/study/student-finance/support-funds/

The Scottish Government has given the matter appropriate consideration and we have written to the Truckstop proprietor to clarify the position.

All services that remain open during the current period must adhere to the emergency health protection legislation. Any public food outlet needs to comply with the restrictions which do not permit the consumption of food on premises.

The haulage industry in Scotland and its support network are vital to our efforts to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on all businesses and individuals in Scotland. These restrictions are designed to safeguard public health and this is especially pertinent for drivers and the haulage industry and the vital role they are performing in this National effort.

The Scottish Government is grateful to the haulage industry in Scotland and its support network which are working extremely hard to help ensure food and other essential items remain available. We will continue to support those efforts during this unprecedented situation.

I issued a joint letter with the COSLA Spokesperson for Children and Young People on 24 March to confirm that where private or third sector providers (including childminders) are closed or children are unable to attend due to the pandemic, local authorities should continue payments for funded places for the duration of the closure, to ensure that local early learning and childcare (ELC) capacity is retained and to support sustainability for the future delivery of ELC. COSLA also published supporting guidance for commissioners on 24 March which can be found at: https://www.cosla.gov.uk/cosla-guidance-commissioners-during-covid-19-response .

Dumfries and Galloway Council have confirmed that they have brought forward payments to providers that have remained open and these payments have been made, whilst payments to providers that are now closed will be made in advance, as normal, within four weeks of the start of the new term.

Our colleagues in local government are working at pace under enormous pressure to respond to the extraordinary circumstances in which we all find ourselves. We are working together to resolve issues as they emerge, and I would like to thank councils for their continued efforts.

The Scottish Government provided guidance to local authorities regarding the grant funding schemes on 30 March 2020. This guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/local-government-finance-circular-5-2020-covid-19-grant-funding-schemes/

The Scottish Government is urgently considering the need for legislation and guidance in relation to the continued operation of the planning system during the COVID 19 emergency. As part of this we are proposing legislation to temporarily suspend the statutory requirement for a public event in relation to pre-application consultation on major and national developments, given the need to avoid public gatherings. Pre-application consultation will remain an important element of the planning process, and we expect alternatives, such as online opportunities, to enable local communities to influence the planning process in the meantime. A Chief Planner letter will be issued shortly setting out our position on this and other aspects of our response on planning issues.

Statutory guidance on Sustainable Flood Risk Management ( https://www.gov.scot/publications/guidance-support-sepa-responsible-authorities/ ) requires that flood management actions being undertaken should stand the test of time and be adaptable to future changes in the climate. However, the Scottish Government does not specify design standards for new flood protection schemes. It is for the local authority to decide on the standard of protection for a proposed scheme based on social, economic and environmental factors. The approach should be risk-based, linking benefits to costs with the aim of maximising the reduction in overall risk.

Climate change was one of the issues considered by Reporters at the Whitesands Public Local Inquiry. The Reporters were content that climate change has been adequately addressed. Consideration has been given to climate change in the modelling and the design of the scheme but it is not intended to be built to a height that includes an allowance for that issue. It is, however, designed to incorporate an element of flexibility to allow for future adaptions to increase the height of the defences if it is determined that this is necessary and appropriate.

After giving full consideration to the complex issues involved, the range of evidence presented and the detailed independent scrutiny by the reporters, the Scottish Ministers decided to confirm the Whitesands Flood Protection Scheme and issued their decision to Dumfries and Galloway Council on 17 March. The council is required to give notice of this final decision and it will be for them to decide whether and when to proceed with the project.

The ISD Waiting Times Team does not publish procedure level data. All data is currently published at specialty level only.