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Mileage rates, that is the rate per hour that can be claimed back against tax, is set by the UK Government and allows employers to set a mileage rate of up to 45p per hour for the first 10,000 miles and 25p per mile thereafter. The actual allowance paid is a matter for individual employers. We are however aware of the pressures faced by social care staff and will continue to engage with partners to consider how providers can best support their staff.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the social care workforce and as part of this we have engaged with both COSLA and Scottish Care on this matter. COSLA has informed us that they would expect those working in a local government setting will receive the full 45p per mile rate set by HMRC. We will continue to engage with partners on this emerging issue.

Allowances for fuel that are paid to social care workers are a matter for individual employers and are not set by the Scottish Government. We are, however, actively engaged with our partners, including local government, to understand what impact the increase in fuel prices is having across Scotland, and how social care providers can support their staff to ensure they can continue to deliver the invaluable support they provide.

Table 1 – deaths from thrombosis-related conditions, 2008-2020

Scotland is not participating in the NHS Pay Review Body process for 2022-23.

The National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care in Scotland, published on 11 March 2022, sets out a new framework to shape Scotland’s health and social care workforce over the next decade. It places training, wellbeing, job satisfaction and the principles of Fair Work at its heart. The Strategy, which was co-produced with COSLA, identifies the five key areas which will support the creation of a sustainable, skilled workforce as the sector rebuilds from the pandemic. Creating the right conditions for vacancies to be filled encompasses a much broader range of issues than pay, although ensuring that pay remains fair and competitive will always be an important part of any recruitment and retention strategy.

The Scottish Government takes the rate of inflation into account when making its spending decisions, but does not index or base all its spending decisions on a single specific measure of inflation.

The most frequently used measure of inflation is the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), prepared by the Office of National Statistics. The most recent data shows that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 7.0% in the 12 months to March 2022, up from 6.2% in February 2022.

Scottish Government's official forecaster is the Scottish Fiscal Commission, who in their December 2021 publication stated that CPI inflation for 2022 Q3 will be 3.9%. They will publish an updated forecast in May of this year.

The Scottish Government will closely monitor the outcome of additional testing being undertaken by the UK Health and Security Agency in order to ensure that any decisions to make Evusheld available to patients in Scotland are based on the best available evidence.

Currently the best source of estimated long COVID prevalence data for Scotland is the monthly Office for National Statistics (ONS) reporting on ‘Estimates of the prevalence of self-reported long COVID and associated activity limitation, using UK Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Survey data’. ( Prevalence of ongoing symptoms following coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in the UK - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) ) The latest publication in this series was published on 7 April 2022 (referring to the four-week period ending 5 March 2022). It showed that:

• An estimated 132,000 people in the private residential population in Scotland (2.51%) reported experiencing long COVID of any duration (see accompanying uncertainty estimates in the following table).
• An estimated 92,000 people in the private residential population in Scotland (1.75%) first had (or suspected they had) COVID-19 at least 12 weeks previously .
• An estimated 59,000 people in the private residential population in Scotland (1.12%) first had (or suspected they had) COVID-19 at least 12 months previously .

The Scottish Government is committed to tackling all forms of racism, including antisemitism. We adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism in June 2017. This is the Scottish Government position and it applies to all Ministers. We encourage all bodies to sign up to the IHRA definition of antisemitism.

We are actively engaged in consultation with Jewish students, Jewish community organisations, and stakeholders in higher education as part of our wider approach to tackling antisemitism.

On 23 February 2022, I held a round table discussion on antisemitism in higher education with Jewish students, representatives from the Jewish community, and stakeholders from the higher education sector. The event was organised in response to a letter from the Union of Jewish Students regarding universities and the IHRA definition of antisemitism.

It was an opportunity for students to share their experiences of antisemitism and also to hear from stakeholders about the work they are doing to confront this issue in practice. The discussion was very productive, with all parties agreeing to undertake positive actions to address antisemitism on campus going forward.