Chamber and committees

Scottish Government have never determined Dyslexia assessments as non-essential. For children, Scottish Governments reopening of schools guidance advises that movement between schools should be kept to a minimum until further notice. This includes attendance at school of those who visit, including dyslexia assessors.

The guidance recognises the importance of holistic support for children and young people and the requirement to meet their needs, and advises that every effort should be made to meet these needs through lower risk methods such as digital or virtual means. It is therefore up to individuals schools to consider the urgency of the assessment and whether it could be undertaken remotely in assessing the risk of a face-to-face assessment.

For adults, current Coronavirus restriction will impact on face to face assessments, however it is at the discretion of the individual private assessors as to whether they offer digital or virtual assessments until face to face assessments can return.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-30816 on 6 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 .

In developing the Neurological Framework for Care and Support in Scotland, which was published in December 2019 , we commissioned the NHS Information Services Division to undertake a study of available data to investigate how many people in Scotland are living with different neurological conditions. This study provided a series of prevalence estimates for some but not all conditions; it was not possible to estimate a prevalence for ME/CFS.

We recognise that improved data will enable better understanding of people’s needs; this will also enable more accurate population-level prevalence estimates and other data analysis to inform service planning and development.

That is why one of the Framework’s commitments is to work with NHS Information Services Division and others to ensure a cohesive approach to capturing the needs of people with a neurological condition. We are investing £4.5 million over the next five years to implement the Framework’s 17 commitments.

Following a clinical assessment, personal retail services, including Complementary and Alternative Medicine services (CAMs) and massage therapy, were advised that they could resume services as of 22 July 2020, where the service is carried out in a therapist’s own premises (i.e. not a mobile therapist, who provides treatment in a patient’s home), and the close contact retail guidance has been updated to reflect this.

The Scottish Government are undertaking further clinical assessment of the risk of transmission of COVID-19 for mobile massage and CAM services, and are considering whether further guidance is required for these.

Mobile beauty and massage close contact services performed in customers’ homes are currently not permitted. This is due to concerns regarding the provision of certain services in uncontrolled environments. Beauty and massage services can take place in a business owners’ own premises provided they follow the published guidance. Further guidance is being developed to ensure that mobile close contact services can recommence as soon as it is safe to do so.

A revised pricing agreement has been reached between NHS National Procurement and Vertex Pharmaceuticals, which includes the new triple therapy, Kaftrio ® , for the treatment of cystic fibrosis.

This means that clinicians, working in cystic fibrosis treatment centres, can prescribe Kaftrio ® to patients whom they consider will benefit from their use at the same time as in other parts of the UK, once the medicine receives a marketing authorisation from the European Medicines Agency.

In the meantime, Health Boards in Scotland have local processes for access to unlicensed medicines on a case-by-case basis. Where these requests for compassionate use arise, the Scottish Government continue to encourage manufacturers to respond as timeously as possible.

It is crucial that carers are supported to undertake their caring role safely. That is why this Government brought forward the Carers Act to enhance and extend the rights of all adult carers and young carers to support across the country.

Local authorities have a duty to identify carers’ needs for support. Carers also have the right to support to meet their eligible needs. This may include needs for training, including on moving and handling.

Local authorities have a separate duty to maintain an information and advice service for carers. These services, normally delivered by carer centres, must provide information and advice on a variety of issues, including training available to carers.

Carers also have a right to be involved in conversations about the support for the person they care for. This means they should be aware of any particular moving and handling needs and decide to what extent they are willing and able to provide that type of care.

Where necessary, input from Allied Health Professionals and other clinical colleagues can be provided to support and guide carers with moving and handling, along with helping them to secure access to the right equipment. These services will provide individual assessments where needed and are part of local mobilisation plans, although they may look different to ensure safe delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ministers and COSLA wrote to Health and Social Care Partnerships on 10 April to ask them to prioritise additional carer support in their local mobilisation plans for responding to the pandemic. This is on top of the extra £11.6 million for carer support in the 2020-21 budget. Partnerships were also asked to include local carer organisations in their local resilience planning.

We are encouraging carers to make plans for the future. Many local carer services provide support for carers on future and emergency planning. As many local carer services are unable to offer face to face support at the moment, we launched a £500,000 fund to support local carer services to operate remotely, over the phone or online.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-30834 on 12 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

Health Boards and Local Authorities are using established multi agency relationships and systems to continue and adapt GIRFEC approaches to support children and families including maintaining contact, assessing and planning for individual children.

We published our Digital Health and Care Strategy in 2018, this provided a strong foundation for us to scale up our digital response to Covid-19, building on initiatives that were already underway, using tried and tested, and readily available technologies.

Our digital response to Covid-19 has included the roll-out of Microsoft Teams across our entire NHS estate which has allowed for greater collaboration across organisations including Local Authorities by providing a platform for secure communication where required across multi-disciplinary teams.

The financial sector is designated as a Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) sector, providing essential services for businesses and society. As such, the sector has continued to operate throughout the COVID-19 crisis, adjusting its operating practices to ensure continuity of service while protecting its staff and customers.

The financial sector has already made significant adjustments, for example allowing bank branches to remain open, while maintaining physical distancing and enabling large numbers of staff to work from home, ensuring the continued provision of services across banking, insurance and investment.

I convened a short life working group comprising representatives from the sector, unions, government and regulators to develop guidance for the sector. This guidance was published on 7 August 2020 and is available on the Scottish Government website.