Seòmar agus comataidhean

The review currently being undertaken by Crown Estate Scotland into the ScotWind Option structure is considering any implications changes may have on the offshore wind sector in Scotland, including competitiveness in future Contracts for Difference auctions.

Crown Estate Scotland’s review of the ScotWind option structure will take close account of the views of the offshore wind sector, focusing in particular on minimising further delay and thereby seeking to ensure that the leasing process retains their confidence.

Individuals that require adjustments for themselves or someone they care for with additional support needs should contact their Health Board and/or GP. This will allow for specialists to be made aware of any specific needs and adjustments required that are best suited to the patient. Appointments may be moved to a clinic if this would be a more comfortable setting, and the individual may be accompanied by their carer. Information on how to facilitate these conversations are available on NHS inform , in accessible formats. NHS inform also has a walkthrough video to show people the process at vaccine centres and what to expect at their appointment.

The Scottish Government guarantee provides for timely payment of fixed amounts of income due quarterly under a power purchase agreement between the smelter and Simec Lochaber Hydropower Limited. The Lochaber guarantee does not require the Scottish Government to buy electricity.

We know from people living with Long COVID that the path to recovery can be unpredictable, with symptoms affecting different people in different ways that can have an impact on how they want to live their lives.

There are already a range of NHS services in place that are able to support people suffering with Long COVID.

This includes GPs and the wider Primary Care team as a key first point of contact, and community based rehabilitation services to support people’s recovery through a wide range of interventions from occupational therapy, physiotherapy to speech and language therapy.

A smaller proportion of people with severe effects may need more specialist investigation and advice that is being provided in acute hospital settings.

The Scottish Government has partnered with Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland investing over £460,000 to develop its Long COVID Support Service. This has enabled Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland’s Nurses and Community Support Teams to provide information and advice to people living with Long COVID, thereby helping with their recovery.

As we understand more about Long COVID, we will continue to develop and enhancing services to provide the multidisciplinary and person-centred support that people require.

We recognise the need to better understand the frequency, nature, and impact of Long COVID in the Scottish population and we have not ruled out the creation of a single healthcare database.

We are working to develop data, which will allow for future analysis of Long COVID in the community population in Scotland. This includes discussions with General Practice around clinical coding for Long COVID, and working closely with the Office for National Statistics to explore the data generated from the COVID-19 Infection Survey.

We have also funded nine extensive Scottish-led research projects on Long COVID through £2.5 million, which will greatly improve the clinically relevant knowledge base on the long-term effects of COVID-19.

We continue to engage in international developments in relation to COVID-19, including guidance on the issue of vaccine certification, for those who have received both doses of the vaccine. These discussions are led by the World Health Organisation and include consideration of technical details, ethical and equality issues, and privacy standards. The outcome of those discussions will guide our work in this area.

Work at 4 nations level has started to scope and develop a technical solution to allow secure, authenticated access to Covid vaccination status. This is to ensure technology is not the limiting factor should the work underway indicate it would be appropriate to introduce certification at the right time.

We will continue to keep vaccine certification and guidance under review as further evidence around vaccines and immunity emerges. We regularly review our international travel regulations and will continue to do so in light of developments on vaccine certification.

The Covid-19 Infection Survey is a UK wide survey which uses PCR testing to estimate the number and proportion of people in each of the four nations of the UK that would have tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19) in the community, regardless of whether they report symptoms. This survey is run by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the University of Oxford on behalf of the Scottish Government.

ONS launched a new Covid-19 Infection Survey question on long COVID, which at each monthly visit will ask respondents who previously tested positive for COVID-19 whether they are still experiencing symptoms, and the extent to which these symptoms are impacting on their day-to-day activities. The question also includes an expanded list of 21 symptoms, including some pertaining to mental health.

This new question will enable ONS to derive a direct estimate of the prevalence of self-reported long COVID for each of the four nations, according to duration and severity, as a follow up to the previously published data for England. The provisional publication date for this analysis is 1 April.

At present, individuals who are well controlled on asthma inhalers are not eligible in priority group 6 for coronavirus vaccination (phase 1 of the vaccine rollout). However, a number of individuals with well controlled asthma may fall into the priority groups defined in phase 1 for other reasons, such as age, as phase 1 follows an age-based programme to capture those with clinical risk factors as the risk of death is very strongly linked with age. We expect to give first doses to all individuals in phase 1 by mid-April.

Younger individuals with well controlled asthma will be offered the vaccine during phase 2 of the vaccine rollout plan, again following an age-based approach starting with the oldest adults first and proceeding in the following order: all those aged 40 to 49 years; all those aged 30 to 39 years; all those aged 18 to 29 years. An age-based delivery model will facilitate rapid vaccine deployment.

This is in line with advice from the Joint Committee on Immunisation and Vaccination (JCVI).

The Scottish Government's draft new air quality strategy includes a proposal to restrict the sulphur content of all smokeless fuels to 2%. A consultation on the draft strategy closed on 22 January 2021. The strategy will now be finalised, taking into account consultation responses, and published later in the year.