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The Scottish Government recognises the importance of marriage and civil partnership to couples and to society more widely. Whilst our priority is public health, we know that the sector has been hit hard and we do not underestimate the crisis created by the pandemic.

The Scottish Government continues to listen to concerns from businesses as we explore how to continue to help during this unprecedented economic crisis. Officials met with representatives from the Association of British Wedding Businesses on 4 August 2020 to hear their concerns and we will consider next steps.

Our total package of support now totals over £2.3 billion.

Depending on the specific business type within the weddings sector, there have been a range of support mechanisms available. Businesses in this sector may have already been able to benefit from:

• Rates relief
• Associated grants of £10k or £25k.
• £30 million Creative, Tourism & Hospitality Fund
• £120 million Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund
• Bounce back loan scheme
• CoronaVirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme
• Job Retention Scheme

The Scottish Government will explore options for further support for sectors that that have not to date been able to access sufficient support, for whatever reason. This includes continuing to press the UK Government on this matter.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of marriage and civil partnership to couples and to society more widely. Whilst our priority is public health, we know that the sector has been hit hard and we do not underestimate the crisis created by the pandemic.

The Scottish Government continues to listen to concerns from businesses as we explore how to continue to help during this unprecedented economic crisis. Officials met with representatives from the Association of British Wedding Businesses on 4 August 2020 to hear their concerns and we will consider next steps.

Our total package of support now totals over £2.3 billion.

Depending on the specific business type within the weddings sector, there have been a range of support mechanisms available. Businesses in this sector may have already been able to benefit from:

• Rates relief
• Associated grants of £10k or £25k.
• £30 million Creative, Tourism & Hospitality Fund
• £120 million Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund
• Bounce back loan scheme
• CoronaVirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme
• Job Retention Scheme

The Scottish Government will explore options for further support for sectors that that have not to date been able to access sufficient support, for whatever reason. This includes continuing to press the UK Government on this matter.

Care’s Allowance statistics are available by Scottish parliamentary constituency and other geographies on DWP’s statxplore tool: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/login.xhtml

We currently publish statistics for Carer’s Allowance Supplement at local authority level as this provides value to a range of users: https://www.gov.scot/collections/social-security-scotland-stats-publications/#carer'sallowanceandcarer'sallowancesupplementstatistics . We will continue to assess users' needs and requests for other geographies when developing future publications in this series.

A new Service Level Agreement was not required for Invitation to Apply. The consent to use the data required is contained within the existing Generic Aspect/ Data Service agreement with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) do not supply data specific for the sole purpose of sending Invitation to Apply letters. The agreement with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is amended as responsibility for administration of each benefit is devolved and Scottish Government cannot give examples of the data fields at this time.

Once the agreement is finalised the Scottish Government and The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will agree a publication date.

Procedures provided in the Urgent Care Dental Centres are coded and submitted to Practitioner Services Division of National Services Scotland. This is in line with the normal system of monitoring for NHS dental services.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-30868 on 12 August 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

Across all urgent dental care centres there were 14,241 extractions from 20 March to 20 August.

The Chief Dental Officer (CDO) wrote to all dentists on 30 July confirming that from 17 August NHS dental practices will be able to re-introduce a range of aerosol generating procedures (AGPs). This move will be supported by the provision of enhanced PPE to dental practices which will require to be individually fitted to dental teams members to ensure they work effectively.

This decision has been taken after carefully and thoroughly considering the balance between the overall risk of infection with the needs of patients to be seen by dentists. This limited introduction, with care prioritised for patients in need of urgent care, replicates the arrangements in place in urgent dental care centres.

In Scotland, we are currently advising that no more than 20 people should attend a marriage ceremony or civil partnership registration, provided they can be accommodated safely with physical distancing in the chosen venue. Receptions or other celebrations related to a marriage or civil partnership must continue to comply with the restrictions on public gatherings under the Health Protection Regulations and in guidance.

This position will continue to be kept under careful review and we will continue to consider various approaches, including the approach taken by other jurisdictions such as Northern Ireland. Any further changes to the current restrictions will depend on public health advice.