Chamber and committees

All children and young people have an entitlement to a learning journey which they experience as a coherent whole, with smooth and well-paced progression to best support their individual experience and outcomes. There is no national guidance which states the pace or time at which a child should transition through the stages of their ELC journey, and it is for individual settings to determine arrangements for moving children between stages depending on the needs of each individual child and their setting’s circumstances.

The Care Inspectorate’s new draft inspection framework includes guidance on how transition experiences will be inspected and states that where possible children should be supported to transition when it is appropriate for them to do so, rather than based upon their age.

The national practice guidance for the ELC workforce, ‘ Realising the Ambition: Being Me’, has a full chapter on transitions which highlights the importance of positive well managed transitions for children’s development. It helps practitioners to plan and support child centred transitions with children and their families at the heart of all decision making.

We are currently finalising grant awards with partners and will publish a list of organisations when this process is complete.

In terms of distribution criteria, funding will be awarded to trusted Scottish Government third sector partners who have a wide geographical reach and who have previously demonstrated the ability to mobilise quickly to deliver support to people who find themselves in need due to a variety of circumstances.

The list of companies set out in the privacy notice relate to the Vaccine Programme and the Covid Certification service as a whole, and not just the Covid Status App. So for example, Royal Mail are involved in posting printed certificates to individuals – they have no connection to the Covid Status App.

The Scottish Government and NHS Scotland take privacy and data security seriously. Robust measures have been put in place to ensure all systems and processes within the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccination Programme have been designed with these in mind.

As with most technology of this nature, it is necessary to share some very limited data to ensure services operate effectively. However, NHS Scotland and the Scottish Government have control of this data at all times, and service providers do not have access to the data they process.

The published privacy notice explains:

• the key organisations responsible for the data;
• how those organisations process personal information in relation to coronavirus vaccinations, exemptions and certificates;
• the rights in relation to privacy and personal data; and
• what data is shared with our trusted parties and the reason as per their role in the vaccination programme.

We will only share personal information when the law allows us to do so and to the minimum extent possible.

Public Heath Scotland publish a weekly COVID-19 statistical report every Wednesday which includes this information.

As at 15 November 2021 the:

• COVID Status app had been downloaded over 1.5 million; and separately
• vaccination status letter has been requested in paper copies 478,014 times; and
• downloaded in PDF format over 1.2 million times.

A single user may choose to download the App or PDF on multiple devices, and may request a replacement of paper copies so it is not currently possible to identify the total number of people who have obtained proof overall.

No. If, and when, any additional functions are added to the NHS Scotland Covid Status App then the privacy information will be updated accordingly. For more detail on the current privacy information, I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-04212 and S6W-04213 on 25 November 2021. 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

The proposed May 2022 timetable, which is subject to review of consultation responses, would provide more seats on every day of the week compared to the current timetable.

Figures for December 2019, current capacity and the proposed May 2022 timetable are shown below.

The proposed May 2022 timetable will (a) result in approximately 26,000 tonnes less CO2 emissions from ScotRail’s fleet per year than the pre-pandemic December 2019 timetable, representing a 12.5% reduction.

The proposed timetable will (b) provide around 593,000 seats per weekday and has been designed to accommodate more than 100 million passenger journeys per year. For context, when the current franchise began, the timetable provided 505,000 seats per weekday and 93.8 million passenger journeys were carried.

ScotRail has confirmed that, (c) as a business, it is currently sized to operate the planned Fit for the Future timetable. As with all businesses, it will need to manage the challenges of a post-pandemic economy, and ScotRail will ensure sufficient staff will be available to meet the Fit for the Future timetable, which will see more trains operating than now.

The fleets that are currently leased by Abellio ScotRail are noted within the Franchise Agreement (APPENDIX 1 TO SCHEDULE 1.1 - The Train Fleet - Table 1).

public-register-franchise-variation-east-kilbride-kilmarnock-and-barrhead-capacity-improvements-6-december-2018.pdf (transport.gov.scot)

The new operator, ScotRail Trains Ltd, is currently engaging with fleet owners to secure the rolling stock needed to maintain service provision.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

This year the Scottish Government has made available £12 million to support the wellbeing of the health and social care workforce. This includes £8 million from the NHS Recovery Plan to provide ongoing wellbeing support alongside an additional £4 million for practical, emotional and evidence-based psychological support to help staff as they respond to winter pressures.

The Scottish Government’s national resources are available to support the mental wellbeing of paramedics. These include the 24/7 National Wellbeing Helpline, the National Wellbeing Hub, Coaching for Wellbeing, the Workforce Specialist Service and additional funding for psychological interventions and therapies specifically for the workforce.

On 21 September 2021 the Cabinet Secretary announced additional funding of £20 million specifically for the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) to help improve response times, alleviate pressures and improve staff wellbeing. Some £500,000 of this funding is being used to provide additional welfare for crews and a range of wellbeing initiatives, such as personal resilience packages and a dedicated wellbeing team.