Chamber and committees

This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who will reply in writing within 20 days.

The Scottish Government continues to monitor the transmission of Covid-19, including in retail settings. Guidance for the retail sector which set out our expectations on the steps that retail business should take to safely conduct business was published in May 2020. We have worked with employers and trade unions to ensure that this guidance is evidence-based, fair and ethical, clear and realistic.

Since then a range of additional measures have been introduced depending upon the sector and the risks posed, including the wearing of face coverings, physical distancing, additional cleaning regimes, test and protect and isolating cases. We will continue to work with sector leads to protect workers and customers in retail settings.

We updated our Regulations on 10 October to ensure supermarkets take all reasonable measures to ensure that a distance of two metres is maintained between any persons on the premises, with the exception of those within the same household or a carer assisting another person. They must also take all reasonable measures to ensure that it only admits people to its premises in sufficiently small numbers to make it possible to maintain that distance. This includes those queueing awaiting entry to the premises.

We continue to monitor the transmission of Covid in retail settings and, if appropriate, we will amend the guidance and Regulations currently in place.

Repeated cleansing and use of alcohol gel can result in increased dryness in hands which can worsen symptoms for those with eczema or other dermatitis conditions. Understandably, sufferers may be reluctant to use alcohol gels when entering retail, hospitality and any other indoor settings.

The Scottish Government is however not currently considering introducing an exemption card for people who are unable to use hand-sanitiser for medical reasons. In addition to physical distancing, good hygiene is the most effective measure in preventing the spread of Covid-19. Besides the use of alcohol gel, the guidance advises that washing your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, catching coughs and sneezes in a disposable tissue and placing this in a bin, and avoiding touching your face is effective in preventing the spread of the virus.

The Scottish Government is clear that the risk to the public from COVID remains significant, especially for those in higher risk categories. For this reason, it is critical that everyone follow our FACTS guidance, namely:

• Face Coverings in enclosed spaces
• Avoid crowded places
• Clean hands and surfaces regularly
• Two-metre distancing; and
• Self-isolate and book a test if you have symptoms

The Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill passed its final Stage in the Scottish Parliament on 23 June 2020. It received Royal Assent on 28 July 2020 and became an Act on that date.

Since the Bill passed its final Stage in Parliament, the Scottish Government has been progressing the implementation work required to make mixed sex civil partnership available in Scotland. This work includes:

• An Order under section 104 of the Scotland Act 1998 to make provision for reserved and cross-border matters
• A package of secondary legislation in the Scottish Parliament
• Public-facing guidance
• Amendments to registration systems and other IT
• Guidance and training for registrars

In progressing these implementation tasks, the Scottish Government is mindful that there are couples who are waiting for mixed sex civil partnership to become available in Scotland. We are committed to achieving that as soon as we can.

However, there is an ongoing need to prioritise measures targeted at managing the Covid-19 pandemic. This means that the Scottish Government is not able to provide guarantees about mixed sex civil partnership becoming available on a particular date.

We will publish information about implementation on the Scottish Government as our work in this area develops.

Throughout the Age of Criminal Responsibility Bill’s Parliamentary passage, the Scottish Government made clear its desire to commence this legislation as quickly and as safely as possible. It is important to recognise the complexity and volume of work required to ensure the success of these reforms. This includes a raft of regulations, multi-agency guidance and training, changes to court rules, cross-border legislation, and establishing a register for child interview rights practitioners. Section 1 will necessarily be in the final tranche of provisions to be commenced.

Since May 2019, we have prioritised the changes that will have the most material positive effects for children and young people.

On 29 November 2019, the first commencement regulations removed the offence ground of referral to children’s hearings, and commenced victim information provisions. These were followed on 31 March 2020 by regulations commencing many of the guidance-making and regulation-making powers of the Act. These also enabled changes to the legal aid system in respect of appeals. An independent reviewer was appointed in March 2020. Regulations associated with Part 2 of the Act - the independent review of potential disclosures – have been laid, and will come into force next month if agreed by Parliament.

We are currently consulting with the child care and justice sectors on draft places of safety guidance. Draft material relating to Child Interview Rights Practitioners and investigative interviews has also been prepared, and similar consultations on those matters are due to commence shortly.

Since March, Covid 19 responses have impacted the availability of key colleagues from across public services to progress the implementation work. Along with the necessary redeployment of Scottish Government officials and partner agencies’ colleagues away from this work to critical operational responses to the virus, I agreed in the summer that full implementation of the Act needed to be delayed until late 2021. We have taken steps in early autumn to augment the core implementation team. With partners, we will now progress our rescheduled implementation programme.

The Age of Criminal Responsibility Advisory Group last met in plenary form on 9 January 2020. The minute from this meeting can be accessed via the following link – https://www.gov.scot/publications/age-of-criminal-responsibility-advisory-group-minutes-january-2020/

The Advisory Group was set up to review implementation of the Act and consider potential future ages of criminal responsibility in Scotland. The group began its work last August and will report in line with timescales set out in Section 78 of the 2019 Act.

Advisory Group workstream Chairs met virtually on 26 August to review progress and identify forward priorities for the next year.

The Programme Board is driving implementation of the Act. That Board has met 4 times this year, most recently on 29 September.

The Scottish Government has regular discussions with the Scottish Dental Practice Committee of BDA Scotland. We have put in place an unprecedented set of financial support measures for NHS dental contractors. For dental practices that provide predominately NHS care and treatment, we estimate that the financial support amounts to more than 90% of their pre-COVID income levels. This means that practices are able to see patients according to clinical need and in line with the current restrictions on physical distancing and seeing patients requiring aerosol generating procedures.

NHS primary dental services are mainly provided by independent contractors and it is for dental practices to determine the best approach for their particular circumstances in managing patient requirements.

The information is not held centrally. NHS primary dental services are mainly provided through NHS dental contractors (‘high-street’ dentists) and as independent contractors will hold information on their respective patients.

We know how challenging the current restrictions to enable safe working are for many businesses, including beauty salons. The Scottish Government has endeavoured to support as many businesses as possible through measures such as the Scottish Government’s Business Support Grants, industry-specific funding or through others measures such as the Job Retention Scheme and the Self Employed Income Support Scheme.

Current support is available through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for businesses unable to maintain their usual workforce if their activities have been affected by Coronavirus. Employers are able to bring furloughed employees back to work for any amount of time and any work pattern, while still being able to claim the grant for the hours not worked.

There is also support available through the Self Employed Support Scheme by the UK Government and we continue to provide rates relief for businesses whose premises are affected.

Details of all the available support packages can be found on the FindBusinessSupport website.