Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-01153 on 28 July 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

The Scottish Government is committed to improving planning and preparedness for any potential future pandemic.

We set out within our first one hundred days to establish a standing committee on pandemics, bringing together scientists and clinicians to advise us on the future risks and to ensure we are as prepared as it is possible to be. We have also committed to a comprehensive public inquiry and we will continue to work with local, regional and national partners to inform and improve pandemic planning and preparedness in Scotland.

Additionally, we continue to work closely with other UK nations to plan and prepare for a range of pandemic diseases.

We give careful consideration to representations made by small producers regarding our proposals for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), including most recently in relation to the impact of COVID-19.

We believe that we have taken account of their concerns in our design for DRS, including by introducing an exemption from the annual £360 fee to register with SEPA for producers with a turnover of £85,000 or less.

As set out on page 52 of the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), we expect any impacts on the ability of smaller drinks producers to compete in the Scottish market to be minor. The BRIA is available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/deposit-return-scheme-scotland-full-business-regulatory-impact-assessment-2/documents/ .

It will be for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency as regulator of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) to assess Circularity Scotland’s performance of its obligations under the DRS Regulations.

We are currently considering our approach to wider monitoring and evaluation of the operation of DRS.

The UK Internal Market Act was imposed on the rest of the UK by the UK Government, despite the refusal of consent from the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments, and poses a direct threat to Scotland’s ability to exercise devolved decision-making across a wide range of devolved policy areas including environmental policy.

We are currently analysing the text of the Act to understand how it could interact with Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme.

The Scottish Government continues to follow the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) guidance for the rollout of our vaccination programme.

The JCVI has from the start advised a rollout of COVID-19 vaccination targeting the most vulnerable first, resulting in an age based rollout, with the oldest, and those with conditions which make them susceptible to COVID-19 being offered vaccinations first.

COVID-19 vaccinations are now open to everyone over the age of 18, who can register for a vaccination online via NHS inform here : Registering for a coronavirus vaccine | The coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine (nhsinform.scot)

Health boards are now also offering drop in clinics, with no pre arranged appointment required. Details of which are different per board area, with further information available here : Vaccine drop-in clinics | The coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine (nhsinform.scot)

Scottish Government officials met with representatives of small drinks producers on 2 July 2021. We will consider their views alongside the findings of the Gateway Review into Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme.

The Gateway Review team for the recent Gateway Review into Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme interviewed representatives of the following:

• Circularity Scotland Ltd
• Food and Drink Federation Scotland
• Lidl
• Scottish Environment Protection Agency
• Scottish Environmental Services Association and Suez
• Scottish Government
• Scottish Grocers’ Federation and G101 Stores
• Scottish Retail Consortium
• Scottish Wholesale Association
• Tesco
• Zero Waste Scotland

No. Absence rates for pupils were never 50% or greater when schools were fully open for all pupils during the 2020/21 school year.

The Scottish Government have published information in relation to school pupil attendance and absence throughout the 2020/21 school year, which can be found here:

COVID19 - Schools and Childcare Information 2021 | Tableau Public

Coronavirus (COVID-19): daily data for Scotland - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Coronavirus (COVID-19): trends in daily data - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

COVID-19 Education Recovery Group: children and young people infographic - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Table 1 provides information on average gross revenue expenditure in Scotland per pre-school registration, and primary and secondary pupil along with information on teaching allocations per college and university place (Average Teaching Grant Funding per FTE - including controlled SG funded places – expenditure on tuition fees and student support not included).