Chamber and committees

All territorial health boards were invited to submit a gap analysis providing an assessment of care and support available to people with long COVID and areas identified for future development.

Returns were discussed during a meeting of the Strategic Network’s Service Planning Group on 14 April 2022, to enable Health Board representatives to reflect on priorities identified by other Health Boards, identify any services that could be delivered collaboratively, and make best use of the £3million funding across Scotland. The meeting also enabled NHS Board representatives to hear priority issues put forward by organisations representing people living with long COVID.

Boards were requested to use the insight from this process to develop and submit an application for funding, outlining initiatives they planned to undertake over 2022-23 supported by their Resource Allocation formula (NRAC) share of the available long COVID Support funding.

Thirteen applications were received by Health Boards by the Strategic Network by 28 April 2022 and were discussed during a meeting of the Network’s Strategic Oversight Board on 3 May 2022.

No applications had to be resubmitted due to rejection by the Strategic Network’s Oversight Board before funding allocations were confirmed, on 19 May 2022.

Local authorities can claim a general tariff of £10,500 per Ukrainian Displaced Person (UDP) arriving on the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

Local authorities will also receive additional education funding for Ukrainian Children and Young People under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme. The education tariff depends on the age of the child, to align with providing ELC, primary or secondary education. The agreed annual rates for this funding are as follows:

• early years (ages 2 to 4) - £3,000

• primary (ages 5 -11) - £6,580

• secondary (ages 11-18) - £8,755

These tariffs include support for children with Additional Support Needs. Both the general and education funding streams should be used to help ensure Ukrainian families are supported as they settle into a new area, and can help meet specific needs that arise in relation to accessing education, including having English as an Additional Language.

This education tariff funding is to be provided by the UK Government. The details of how this funding will be transferred to local authorities is still being resolved with UK Government and we are working intensively with them to release this funding as soon as possible.

Asylum is reserved to the UK Parliament and handled by the Home Office. This includes provision of support and accommodation for people seeking asylum. The Home Office Interpreter Language Services Unit (ILSU) holds overall responsibility for the delivery of interpreting and translation services on behalf of the Home Office.

Asylum seekers living in Scotland can access translation and interpretation support when engaging with services in Scotland on the same basis as other residents, including resettled refugees.

Translators are not provided to individual refugees and asylum seekers when they arrive. Translation and interpretation support is provided at the point of need or service access. Funding and provision are therefore managed across different public services and organisations to enable people to engage with services and support.

The Scottish Refugee Council is working with the Scottish Government to deliver the Warm Scottish Welcome scheme for displaced people arriving from Ukraine. This includes translation and interpreting services. The Scottish Refugee Council have received funding from the Scottish Government to recruit additional advisors for their Refugee Integration Service, including Ukrainian speakers, as part of their work to deliver the Warm Scottish Welcome scheme.

We recognise that translation and interpreting services for displaced people arriving in Scotland from Ukraine are extremely important. The Scottish Refugee Council has asked that anyone wishing to offer assistance in this area contact them to discuss what support they can offer.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that everyone in Scotland whose first language is not English can contribute to Scotland’s future and the society they live in. Having support to learn English is key for many refugees and people seeking asylum, enabling them to participate in learning in schools, colleges and universities; engage within communities; and pursue their employment goals. The Scottish Government’s aim is to support high quality, relevant, appropriate and accessible ESOL provision that meets learner need. The Scottish Government’s ESOL funding is currently provided through colleges as part of the grant allocated to the Scottish Funding Council. Colleges are instructed to work with Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs) to determine the level of need for provision and agree with partners how this need can be met.

ESOL courses are delivered through colleges and community organisations. The Scottish Refugee Council website also has information on ESOL courses available across Scotland.

A key action within the recently launched Adult Learning Strategy for Scotland is to undertake a review with ESOL learners and practitioners on the impact of the ESOL Strategy. It will produce recommendations on next steps for ESOL within the context of the Adult Learning Strategy.

English as an Additional Language for school aged children is available through Education Scotland’s Parentzone .

The Scottish Government have not awarded a contract to Bain & Co to undertake any work in the last five years. Any decision to prohibit Bain & Co from tendering for a Scottish Government Contract will be considered on a case by case basis under the provisions of ‘Discretionary Grounds’, Regulation 58 (Exclusion Grounds) of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.

All Ukrainian refugees living in Scotland are entitled to access free NHS dental care. The Scottish Government has issued guidance to Health Boards explaining this policy, a copy of which can be found at: https://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/publications/nhs-scotland-services-ukraine.pdf .

The Scottish Government remains committed to answering all correspondence as quickly as possible and within agreed timescales.

In relation to (a) freedom of information requests, the figures for the last five financial years are as follows:

Safeguarding the health of displaced people on the M/S Victoria I passenger ship is our priority, as it is in other temporary accommodation such as hotels. We are closely monitoring the spread of COVID in Scotland and we are liaising closely with Public Health colleagues to monitor any risks of contracting COVID within the passenger ship.

Displaced people from Ukraine can also ask for a free COVID-19 vaccination from the NHS after arrival, if they choose to be vaccinated.

The ship has a policy for common infectious diseases including COVID-19, with safeguards in place and crew appropriately trained. The NHS is servicing the vessel with a medic and staff throughout the week, providing medical care for both Ukrainian guests and crew. COVID-19 isolation rooms have been identified and set aside if needed, and the ship has a full protocol on board just for COVID-19, which includes self-isolation, testing and doctor well-being checks.

Doctors aboard the ship are obligated to report any cases of infectious disease to the NHS, and Tallink, the ship’s operator, is also responsible for reporting COVID-19 cases that are detected by the ship’s on-board team to the NHS.

There are a few cases where different households are sharing rooms aboard the ship, however only those who have chosen to do so.

Every effort will be made to ensure that guests on board have access to appropriate support services, including healthcare, and staff at temporary welcome accommodation advise displaced people on how to register with a GP.

When displaced people from Ukraine arrive at Scotland’s Ukraine Welcome Hubs, they are given an immediate warm welcome to Scotland and immediate support in a safe and secure space. If those from Ukraine need temporary accommodation they will be placed in a hotel or similar accommodation where they can stay until they can move into longer term accommodation.

Some people may choose to rent privately, while others can use the national matching service, delivered by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Scottish Government, which will seek to match them with an appropriately sized and located Scottish household under the super sponsor scheme. This matching service is working hard to find longer-term accommodation for all those in hotels or similar temporary accommodation.

We are taking actions to accelerate matching to the levels needed to move those from Ukraine out of temporary accommodation as soon as possible, including enhancing teams to boost capacity.

The Scottish Government has committed £11.2 million to increase capacity of resettlement teams, support refurbishment of properties, help integration and enhance the pace of checks.

When displaced people from Ukraine arrive at Scotland’s Ukraine Welcome Hubs, they are given an immediate warm welcome to Scotland and immediate support in a safe and secure space. If those from Ukraine need temporary accommodation they will be placed in a hotel or similar accommodation where they can stay until they can move into longer term accommodation.

Some people may choose to rent privately, while others can use the national matching service, delivered by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Scottish Government, which will seek to match them with an appropriately sized and located Scottish household under the super sponsor scheme. This matching service is working hard to find longer-term accommodation for all those in hotels or similar temporary accommodation.

We are taking actions to accelerate matching to the levels needed to move those from Ukraine out of temporary accommodation as soon as possible, including enhancing teams to boost capacity.

The Scottish Government has committed £11.2 million to increase capacity of resettlement teams, support refurbishment of properties, help integration and enhance the pace of checks.

The M/S Victoria I passenger ship in Edinburgh is currently being used as temporary accommodation for people displaced by the conflict in Ukraine. We are clear that we do not want to see people spending more time in temporary accommodation than is absolutely necessary, including the ship.

The ship has been chartered for 6 months, from July 2022 to January 2023. It has a total capacity of 739 cabins, which could accommodate up to 2,200 people. There is a range of cabins onboard ranging from 8m2 to 29.8m2.

Rigorous risk assessment and due diligence have been undertaken in relation to the ship and its use for temporary accommodation. Additionally, we have taken forward comprehensive joint assurance with the City of Edinburgh Council and its partners covering issues like safeguarding, public health and security.

There are a variety of services on-board for guests. This includes restaurants, child play facilities with toys and books, shops, laundry, cleaning, Wi-Fi access and communal spaces. Guests also have access to benefits support and healthcare services, including a GP service onshore with outreach on-board the ship. An activity programme for guests is also in preparation.