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The PPE Hubs provide top up and emergency PPE to social care providers across Scotland if their existing supply routes fail. Those eligible to access the Hubs include staff in care homes, care home visitors, care at home providers, unpaid carers, personal assistants, day services, sheltered housing services, supported housing and housing support, children’s homes and hospices across all sectors (public, voluntary and private).

Work is currently being taken forward with Health and Social Care Partnerships and representatives from the adult social care sector to examine whether providers would benefit from expanding the eligibility criteria further and what impact this might have on the broader operation of the Hubs and for PPE support to the sector as a whole.

The Scottish Government launched the Social Care Staff Support Fund on 25 June 2020 to ensure that social care workers receive their expected income should they be off ill or self-isolating due to coronavirus.

Following detailed review of the financial position, £1.7 billion of additional funding was provided in 2020-21 to support the Health and Social Care Sector in the response to the pandemic.

A total of £561 million was allocated to Integration Authorities for 2020-21, including funding for sustainability payments, in addition to wider social care support, for example for reducing delayed discharges, for loss of income and for other staff costs.

Staffing costs claimed through sustainability payments encompass the Social Care Staff Support Fund, the staff movement policy and other additional staffing arrangements therefore, we do not have data broken down to the level asked for. The guidance for the financial support for social care providers recommends a light touch approach to gathering evidence, recognising the administrative burden of claiming additional costs on both commissioners and providers alike, whilst they respond to the pandemic.

All of these additional costs are recorded through the Local Mobilisation Plans and form an audit record of how funds have been spent.

There is a robust process in place to ensure that public funds are spent appropriately, this consists of a requirement to ensure clear audit trails are in place to record how funding has been spent. Local Authority and Health and Social Care Partnerships will also have their own internal and governance processes in place and Section 95 officers must adhere to their duties in relation to accounting for public funds. This includes ensuring that payments for additional costs are made in line with the guidance.

Feedback from stakeholders confirms that the Social Care Staff Support Fund has been - and continues to be – utilised to prevent financial hardship for eligible social care workers.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6T-00019 on‎ 26 May 2021. The answer is available on the Parliament's website at: Official Report - Parliamentary Business : Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Government worked closely with Rangers Football Club, Police Scotland and Glasgow City Council to prepare and provide appropriate communications and support the policing plan informed by the events of 6 and 7 March when Rangers FC were confirmed as champions and cognisant of the significant occasion for the club.

Operational policing decisions are matters for the Chief Constable, however Police Scotland confirmed that an appropriate policing plan was in place to maintain public safety and minimise any disruption to the community.

Police Scotland have confirmed that 28 arrests have been made in connection with the disorder in Glasgow City Centre on 15 May 2021. Police Scotland have also confirmed that enquiries in relation to the disorder continue and where evidence exists more arrests may be made.

The former Cabinet Secretary for Justice Humza Yousaf MSP, and Scottish Government officials had extensive engagement with Rangers Football Club, Police Scotland and Glasgow City Council to discuss the preparations for the fixture on 15 May.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-00055 on‎ 2 June 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

Responsibility for collective bargaining rests with ScotRail and the Unions concerned. The Scottish Government has advised both railway Unions and ScotRail of the substantial additional funding provided to maintain full employment of railway staff throughout the pandemic period. And therefore, that any pay increase, including any further increase to overtime payments for rest day working, would need to be funded by efficiencies agreed through meaningful discussions.

Throughout the process, the Scottish Government has encouraged all parties to resolve this issue for the benefit of passengers, staff, the environment and the economy.

The Scottish Government follows the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) Guidance in the planning of vaccine delivery. This evidence based guidance advises that the single greatest risk of mortality from COVID-19 is increasing age, and that the risk increases exponentially with age. Additionally the committee considers frontline health and social care workers who provide direct care to vulnerable people a high priority for vaccination. The JCVI priority list represents 99% of the preventable mortality from COVID-19 and throughout the delivery of the vaccination programme we will be guided by the clinical expertise of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and our own senior clinical advisers.

In December, we started vaccinating elderly people in ‘longer-stay’ hospital settings - i.e. those who were clinically stable and therefore appropriate to be vaccinated. Vaccinating people as soon as they enter hospital will not immediately prevent COVID-19 infection or disease as it takes time for an immune response to develop to the vaccine (2-3 weeks).

The recommendation for patients admitted to hospital for non-COVID illness, is not to give a vaccine until the patient recovers from their acute illness. It will not always be possible for hospitals to offer the vaccination as not all sites facilitate this. Where not practicable, an alternative will be arranged.

Elderly people should be vaccinated when they are in hospital in line with where they fall in the JCVI prioritisation list, if this is not possible we would expect vaccinations to take place before or upon entering a care home.

NHS Scotland Heath Boards are responsible for the local delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine. As such, Health Boards along with GPs are responsible for making decisions regarding local delivery in line with the JCVI guidance. This includes how to vaccinate elderly people being discharged from hospital into temporary care home accommodation.

There is no one definitive way to protect women who are over 65 from the effects of HPV infection. However, evidence shows that measures such as stopping smoking and undertaking good sexual health practices can help reduce the risks associated with it. Education and information is therefore a vital tool – not just to protect women from HPV, but to improve overall health outcomes.

The Scottish Government is developing a Women’s Health Plan. An early action from the plan was to develop a women’s health campaign, which launched on 1 February 2021, and includes information about sexual health and contraception for women of all ages, including specific links to sexual health advice and support for older women. In addition to this general campaign, we will continue to work closely with third sector organisations such as Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, to ensure that messaging around HPV and cervical cancer targets a range of demographics, including women over the age of 65.

It should also be noted that most people who become infected with Human Papillomavirus (HPV) clear the virus from their body without any intervention. However, we also recognise that persistent HPV can result in some cancers – for women, the most common of these is cervical cancer.

That’s why we also continue to work to protect women from the effects of HPV through our cervical screening programme with women aged between 25 and 64 invited for regular screening. We know that those aged 65 and over who regularly participate in and are discharged from the programme are unlikely to develop cervical cancer.

Finally, as part of our long term efforts to prevent HPV-related cancers, in Scotland, the HPV vaccine is offered to every S1 pupil because the evidence now shows that it helps protect both boys and girls from HPV-related cancers.