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The Scottish Government response to the Report of the Independent Review of Mediation in the Civil Justice System in Scotland confirmed our intention to work with key stakeholders on a collaborative basis to understand fully the implications of the proposals before making decisions on reform.

We established a Dispute Resolution Group consisting of key organisations and agencies representing a wide range of interests including dispute resolution organisations, Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service and consumer bodies to develop and shape an evidence based package of reform aimed at mainstreaming the use of mediation in the civil justice system in Scotland.

The Group held two meetings in early 2020 but the work of the Group had to be paused in March 2020 due to the combined pressures of preparing for EU exit and responding to COVID-19. Meetings of the Dispute Resolution Delivery Group resumed at the end of September 2020 but the delay has inevitably had a detrimental impact on the programme of work by the Group. However, the Group will continue to support the development of a consultation paper for future publication.

Visiting is a fundamental part of the health and wellbeing of those who live in care homes and the Scottish Government recognises the impact that visiting restrictions has had on care home residents and their loved ones. We are continuing to work to support homes to make visiting available, whilst protecting those who are at most risk from this virus.

We have been regularly updating our guidance, which is available at https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-adult-care-homes
-visiting-guidance/ and this was most recently updated on 4 December for care homes over the festive period. It reiterates that care homes should support indoor visiting and asks for homes to support such visits generously and sympathetically, whenever it is safe to do so.

In order to increase confidence around visiting and add another layer of protection we are extending asymptomatic testing for designated visitors as an added measure alongside PPE and Infection Prevention Control. We are distributing testing kits, and associated training, to all care homes across Scotland. For any care homes that are unable to make use of lateral flow tests before Christmas, PCR testing of visitors will be available when necessary to facilitate visiting over the Christmas and New Year period.

In consultation with Directors of Public Health, Public Health Scotland and the Chief Medical Officer, we are now recommending that the period of closure to new admissions and visitors following an outbreak is reduced from 28 days to 14 days, which will mean that care homes will be able to open to visitors sooner after an outbreak.

We are also providing additional funding to support care homes with the additional requirements of testing and safety reporting.

I have met families of Care Home Relatives Scotland on a number of occasions and I am committed to working with them and others to support further opportunities for visiting in care homes.

Information on how many NHS staff who have had to self-isolate due to COVID-19 were (a)symptomatic and (b)asymptomatic is not centrally held by ISD or NES.

Information available on Covid absence is published daily and can be found on the following link:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/trends-in-number-of-people-in-hospital-with-confirmed-or-suspected-covid-19/

See ‘Trends in daily COVID-19 data’ – Table 6.

The Scottish Government understands that the fall in reduction in reported acute respiratory infections (ARI) is likely due to a combination of factors. This includes changes in the behaviour of the population because of the infection control measures we have put in place to stop the spread of Covid-19. These behaviours will include a reduction in social mixing, in domestic and international travel and more people in the high risk groups taking up the offer of the extension of the flu vaccine.

We have also seen changes in how people are using and accessing their GP practices as a result of Covid-19. People are having less face to face consultations or not wishing to attend their GP surgeries due to concerns over Covid-19, so there is less opportunity for symptoms that meet the definition of ARI to be captured and then reported via GPs.

There may have been some people who have been reported as ARI via their GP and will have been directed to speak to their pharmacist, phone NHS 24 or visit NHS inform or other websites due to potentially having Covid-19. This further reduces the number of ARI reported.

There is currently no evidence to suggest that those presenting symptoms of ARI are being misclassified as cases of Covid-19.

Authorised post-mortem examinations are undertaken for deaths in hospitals by NHS Boards, where the cause of death is unknown, to establish the medical cause of death.

They are also undertaken under the direction of the Procurator Fiscal for relevant cases as part of the investigation into death. This is a matter for the Lord Advocate.

The Scottish Government recognises that this has been and continues to be an extremely difficult time for students, particularly for those who would normally have taken up employment opportunities during their studies.

Eligible students in Further and Higher Education have continued to access bursary, grant and loan payments throughout the pandemic.

In addition to that, the Scottish Government provided emergency funding earlier this year of £5 million to support students impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. We also provided early access to £11.4 million of Higher Education Discretionary Funds to support students over the summer period and into this academic year. £2M was brought forward for Further Education students at college by the Scottish Funding Council.

I also announced a Digital Inclusion Fund of £5 million to support access to digital equipment and tackle digital poverty.

Further to this, the First Minister announced £1.32 million of additional funding to help students deal with the mental health impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

If students are facing financial hardship due to the reduced employment opportunities as a result of Covid-19, they should continue to apply for discretionary fund support from their college or university.

We expect colleges and universities to take every possible step to look after students’ wellbeing. Universities Scotland’s Consistent Core of Care package commits every institution to providing regular check-ins for self-isolating students, help with groceries, cleaning supplies and internet access.

It is the responsibility of each local authority to provide local facilities for sport and leisure, and to set a fair pricing structure for these facilities.

Many of these facility operators offer concessionary schemes, including a variety of membership options, discount schemes and free entry for certain groups. These decisions are the responsibility of the individual local authority and leisure trust.

It is important to recognise the difficult position that facility operators, such as leisure trusts, are in across the country during these challenging times.

The regulation and funding of electricity networks are reserved to the UK Government. However, we are engaging closely with Ofgem and BEIS to ensure that its policy and regulation recognises and enables Scotland’s world leading net zero target, and unlocks investments and jobs in Scotland. I have also spoken with my UK Government counterpart, Kwasi Kwarteng MP, Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth, about the UK wide review of offshore wind transmission networks, and recorded my determination that the Scottish Government and stakeholders should play a full part in this process, given this had been initially overlooked.

To deliver the required strategic investment, Scotland’s electricity network owners – Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) and SP Energy Networks (SPEN) – need to have a clear understanding of the energy system their networks will need to serve. The Scottish Government is working closely with SSEN and SPEN to ensure that they understand the scale, and pace for decarbonisation required to meet the Scottish Government’s decarbonisation targets, and to help them build well-justified business plans for the required investment.

I responded in September to Ofgem’s Network Price Controls (RIIO-2) Draft Determinations for gas transmission and distribution, and for electricity transmission and system operation. My response made clear that gas and electricity network funding and regulation must take full account of Scotland’s distinct statutory climate change targets, and our wider energy, economic and social ambitions. I had an opportunity to discuss these issues in more detail when I met with the Gas and Electricity Market Authority’s Board on September 30th.

My colleague, the Cabinet Secrtetary for Transport Infrastructure and Connectivity, Michael Matheson MSP, wrote to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), Alok Sharma MP, in August this year to highlight a range of issues where we need UK Government to act in order to support net zero and a green recovery in Scotland. In his letter, the Cabinet Secretary made clear that the Scottish Government continues to do everything in its power to support the sustained growth of renewable electricity generation, but that we also need UK Government action if Scotland – and the UK – are to remain on a trajectory for net zero, and capture the opportunities for green economic growth that this presents.

Crown Estate Scotland is responsible for awarding lease agreements to offshore renewable energy installations in Scottish waters and have confirmed a closing date for applications to ScotWind Leasing of 31 March 2021. Crown Estate Scotland expects to be able to award option agreements during 2021, thus giving successful developers time to make the required preparations to compete in the 2025 CfD auction round. Crown Estate Scotland and the Scottish Government regularly discuss progress on all ongoing projects and will continue to do so.

There is extensive information from Marine Scotland included in the Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy to assist applicants, including Regional Locational Guidance. Marine Scotland is also implementing measures to increase the efficiency of consenting processes, which will help optimise the resource available for offshore wind consenting. This includes a new licensing management system and work to examine the scope for securing additional resources, ideally through cost recovery, across the licensing, science and policy work areas.

Marine Scotland continue to examine the main barriers to consenting offshore wind and our Scottish Marine Energy Research (ScotMER) programme will deliver environmental and socioeconomic research to support sound decision making by reducing uncertainty in consenting decisions.

Marine Scotland also stresses to all offshore renewables applicants the importance of submitting a well evidenced application, supported by a thorough, concise environmental impact assessment covering the pertinent issues. The Marine Scotland consenting and licensing guidance , available on the Scottish Government website, can help facilitate this.

Scotland has already become a global leader in the deployment of floating wind. We are home to the world’s first floating offshore wind farm, Equinor’s 30 MW Hywind Scotland, with a second, the 50 MW Kincardine project, currently under construction. The Scottish Government’s leadership together with investment made in these projects has resulted in a huge step forward for the technology, and represents the foundations upon which Scotland’s future floating wind sector will be built.

Our Offshore Wind Policy Statement underlined Scotland’s huge floating wind potential, and the need for further development to drive down costs. The ScotWind leasing round, and those that will follow, represent a vital opportunity and stepping stone for floating wind development. I believe that ScotWind will put Scotland in a position to deliver floating wind by 2030, providing a pipeline of new projects from the late 2020s onwards.

The recent UK Government response and decisions on the future of the GB Contracts for Difference mechanism will also benefit floating wind development, by placing it separately from other forms of offshore wind – something that the Scottish Government had been calling for. We now need the UK Government to align its Supply Chain Plan changes with the approach that Crown Estate Scotland has taken to the ScotWind leasing round; this will allow our domestic supply chain to better compete and derive a greater share of the benefit arising from future developments of Scotland’s natural energy resources.