Chamber and committees

Data from the Business Ventilation Fund has not yet been published. In line with all previous funds, the Scottish Government will publish data on the Business Ventilation Fund. This is planned for May.

All children in Scotland are offered child health reviews at 13-15 months, 27-30 months and 4-5 years. These reviews are typically carried out by a Health Visitor. They allow monitoring and promotion of a child’s health and collect data on child development. The latest Early Child Development Statistics cover 2019/20 and are available here - https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/early-child-development/early-child-development-scotland-201920/ .

The 2019/20 statistics show that the proportion of review records containing meaningful information for every developmental domain was lower for children from certain minority ethnic groups. However, the differences between ethnic groups, in the proportion of records with meaningful information in 2019/20, are the smallest observed to date (since 2013/14).

We remain committed to improving outcomes for all children and that is why we have commissioned an evaluation into the Universal Health Visiting Pathway. Findings from the evaluation will support Health Visitors in continuing to support all young families across Scotland.

In addition, to address gaps in Scotland’s equality evidence base, we launched the Equality Data Improvement Programme (EDIP) in April 2021. The EDIP is aligned with our wider Mainstreaming Equality and Human Rights Strategy.

From 18 April, we are no longer asking the general public to test themselves regularly if they are asymptomatic. This change is possible because of the progress we have made in our ability to protect Scotland’s population from the most severe harms of COVID-19 through our widespread vaccination coverage and access to new Covid treatments.

Covid testing in hospital settings for emergency admissions and elective patients will continue to be available, helping to protect vulnerable individuals in high risk settings and ensuring patients receive the most effective treatment.

Health and social care workers should continue to test themselves regularly to reduce the risk of spread of infection in higher risk settings; as should care home and hospital visitors. All ongoing testing in higher risk settings will be kept under regular clinical review.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07621 on 25 April 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Neither the Scottish Government or Public Health Scotland are able to quantify how many routine vaccine doses have been disposed of due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccine wastage can be attributed to other factors and therefore delineation of contributing factors is not possible.

The Seasonal Flu Vaccination Programme is a well established programme that runs annually (usually between October – March each year), for which vaccine is procured nationally for the eligible groups. Every effort is made to minimise wastage, taking into account previous years’ vaccination uptake, whilst ensuring that sufficient stock is procured to support optimum uptake rates, and protect those most at risk of flu. During the pandemic, in 2020-21 and 2021-22 the flu programme has continued to record very good uptake across the eligible cohorts.

The routine pre-school immunisation programmes are delivered by local Health Boards in Scotland. If a child has missed a routine immunisation appointment, their parent or guardian will be able to contact the Health Board directly to arrange another appointment.

The Personal Child Health Record (or Red Book) is provided to all parents in Scotland and contains information on what vaccinations children should receive and when they should receive them, and is used to record when a vaccination has been administered. This enables parents or guardians to check whether any vaccinations have been missed, and provides contact details to arrange an appointment if needed. Information on childhood vaccinations is also available on the Parent Club website.

If a parent or guardian is unsure on the vaccination status of a child, they can contact their local Health Board or GP who will be able to provide them with more information.

The routine childhood immunisation programmes have continued in Scotland throughout the COVID-19 pandemic for children of all ages.

Uptake for vaccines given to children aged under one year has remained consistently high in Scotland. Statistics on childhood immunisations are published quarterly by Public Health Scotland, which show that around 96% of children had received each routine immunisation by the time they were 12 months of age in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Uptake of the rotavirus vaccination by 12 months of age increased during the pandemic, from 93.2% in 2019 to 94.2% in 2021. Uptake of the first dose of MMR by the age of 24 months also increased, rising from 94% in 2019 to 94.4% in 2021.

The continued high uptake of childhood immunisations is a testament to the hard work and commitment of the NHS and the recognition of the benefits of vaccination.

NHS 24 has recently completed an initial review of the cancer specific information on NHS Inform, to ensure it is clinically safe and any out of date information has been removed. Meanwhile NHS 24 is in discussions with a third sector organisation on the potential for an API (Application Programming Interface) to facilitate the sharing of information through enabling information to be systematically gathered and displayed on NHS Inform.

We estimate that Child Winter Heating Assistance will provide assistance to over 19,000 children and young people who are in receipt of disability assistance in Scotland in 2021-22 at a cost of around £4 million. This type of assistance is not available anywhere else in the UK.

Through our £290 million Cost of Living support package, we will give 1.85 million (73%) of Scottish households £150 of extra support via the Council Tax. We have also allocated a further £10 million to continue our Fuel Insecurity Fund, which is aimed at those in greatest need.

The Fuel Insecurity Fund is delivered through trusted third sector partner organisations, providing direct support to people, including disabled people, who are at risk of severely self-rationing their energy use, or self-disconnecting entirely, due to the cost of their fuel bills. Assistance can be accessed by households on any tariff type and using any fuel source.

As outlined in my response on 22 February 2022, Crown Estate Scotland is responsible for the ScotWind leasing and selection process.

We expect Crown Estate Scotland to undertake appropriate due diligence on companies, including their human rights record, in line with the Guidance on due diligence: human rights. As the guidance states, “The detail of what is checked is ultimately a matter of judgement by whomever has initiated the relationship and/or responded to a proposition from a third party and will depend on the circumstances of each case.” The due diligence carried out by Crown Estate Scotland was outlined in my answer to question S6W-06064.