Chamber and committees

It is important, in line with the principle of healthcare being free at the point of use, that lateral flow device (LFD) tests should remain free of charge for any circumstance in which testing is required as part of clinical care.

The COVID-19 Strategic Framework Update, published on 22 February, sought input from public health specialists who support a move to focus on protecting those at highest clinical risk, supporting patient care and responding to outbreaks, as we move towards the endemic phase.

A transition plan setting out the next steps for Test and Protect in Scotland will be published later this month.

Through Colmcille 1500, there has been a partnership between Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland to celebrate St Columba’s legacy and 1500 years since his birth.

There have also been many projects supported through a Creative Scotland funding stream set up to encourage activity linking Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic language and culture projects.

As referred to in the answer to question S6W-06673 on 4 March 2022, the Scottish Government Office in Dublin, one of its external network of offices, delivers an ambitious and exciting programme to engage local audiences with Scotland’s contemporary culture, in support of Scotland’s wider International Framework.

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 .

Scottish Ministers attended the 36 th British Irish Council (BIC) Summit hosted by the Welsh Government which had the theme of Indigenous Minority and Lesser-Used Languages. Shirley-Anne Somerville, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, attended a virtual work sector meeting on 17 November 2021, and Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister and Kate Forbes, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy attended the Summit on 19 November, when Ms Forbes gave her update on economic recovery to the pandemic in Gaelic.

Scottish Ministers have taken part in a number of ‘Exit Operations’ meetings with their counterparts across the UK. These meetings have focused on measures to prepare for and address the impacts of the UK’s exit from the EU. The meetings have dealt with a range of issues relevant to the culture and creative sectors, including the international mobility of artists, international trade and exports, and funding.

Scottish Ministers engage with their counterparts across the UK through Four Nations Ministerial Meetings, which have addressed issues of shared concern such as sectoral recovery from the pandemic and the challenges to the culture sector presented by Brexit.

While the Scottish Government’s role is to set the strategic policy for the NHS in Scotland, NHS Boards are responsible for delivering safe, effective, person-centred care at a local level.

The Scottish Government published the National Personal Footcare Guidance https://www.gov.scot/publications/personal-footcare-guidance/ , which sets out clearly the difference between personal footcare and clinical podiatry in NHS Scotland and offers help and support to individuals, carers and families in the provision of personal footcare, including older and at-risk people.

People with the most urgent clinical need are seen by a registered podiatrist to ensure they are prioritised for treatment, and those that require personal footcare are advised how to self-manage their footcare or are signposted to other more appropriate services. As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, those with the most essential or urgent clinical podiatry needs continue to be seen. We are working with NHS Boards to remobilise and reform services, including the development of services across Scotland to support future service sustainability and addressing the backlog of treatment.

The Scottish Government does not routinely collect statistics on wider international parental child abduction cases outwith the 1980 Hague Convention On The Civil Aspects Of International Child Abduction. The Scottish Government’s Central Authority has been involved with 110 cases between 2015 and 2021, where an application under the 1980 Hague Convention On The Civil Aspects Of International Child Abduction has been made to a foreign country to bring a child back to Scotland.

The statutory responsibility for delivering and commissioning care home placements at a local level lies with local authorities and integrated health and social care partnerships. The agreement on the rates paid for care home placements is determined by the contractual relationships in place. Scottish Government provides funding through the local government settlement but is not a contractual party to these arrangements.

The Scottish Government has allocated £862 million to Health Boards to support with costs arising from the pandemic, this will include additional costs for the adult social care sector. The current arrangements for additional financial support for the sector are in place until 30 June 2022.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of reports made to Police Scotland of households experiencing a cyber-attack. Information is held on crimes recorded under Sections 1 to 3 of the Computer Misuse Act 1990. Sections 1 and 2 relate to unauthorised access to computers, with the intent to commit or facilitate the commissioning of further offences. Section 3 relates to unauthorised acts which impair the operation of computers, including preventing or hindering access to programs, data etc. This is shown in the table below, from 1999-00 to 2020-21. No specific information is held regarding the characteristics of victims, including whether they are private households, businesses, charity organisations etc.

As highlighted in the 2020-21 recorded crime National Statistics, a procedural change was made to the recording of international crime in 2020-21, whereby cases carried out by a perpetrator who was likely to be outside the UK are now included. This may have led to some additional crimes being recorded in the latest year, though more broadly the increase may in part be due to the significant impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, including behavioural changes with more people undertaking activities online.

Table: Number of crimes recorded by police in Scotland under Sections 1 to 3 of Computer Misuse Act 1990, 1999-00 to 2020-21

The Scottish Government believes it is important to ensure young people build skills in the positive use of social media. In December 2021, UK broadcasting regulator Ofcom published its approach to online media literacy, setting out the need to build media literacy skills, including identifying misinformation on social media platforms.

There are no specific creative sector projects on social media being funded by the Scottish Government at this time but there are a number of projects and initiatives funded from other areas of the Scottish Government that seek to develop skills in the positive use of social media. Those relevant to youth workers and community groups are set out below.

In 2021-22, the Scottish Government’s Cyber Resilience Unit provided funding to Civic Digits CIC of £35,550, complementing funding from Creative Scotland, to deliver The Big Data Show to 2,400 children in schools and to a community organisation working with young people from black and minority ethnic communities.

In 2020, the Scottish Youth Parliament, with Scottish Government funding, also developed a digital resource called Mind Yer Time, to help children and young people use screens and social media in a healthy way.

The Scottish Government is represented on the Indigenous Minority and Lesser Used Languages Work Stream where we promote and support the links between our languages and language bodies. In recent times the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and Scots Language Centre have both worked to ensure there are better links with the Scots and Ulster Scots Communities.

Through Colmcille 1500, there has been a partnership between Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland to celebrate St Columba’s legacy and 1500 years since his birth. There have also been many projects supported through a Creative Scotland funding stream set up to encourage activity linking Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic language and culture projects.

The Scottish Government expects to lay commencement regulations in early May 2022 that will bring into force the Defamation and Malicious Publication (Scotland) Act 2021 this summer.