- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 17 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has received complaints from local authorities in relation to the Health and Wellbeing Census for schools in 2021-22, and, if so, which local authorities have raised concerns.
Answer
The Scottish Government has received no complaints from local authorities in relation to the Health and Wellbeing Census.
Local authorities administer the Census in their schools to help identify the issues children and young people are concerned about and to tailor their learning, particularly in Personal and Social Education, and their advice and support. These issues may relate to food and nutrition, sleep, relationships, bullying, sexual health, substance use, physical activity as well as social media use and mental and emotional health and wellbeing.
The Census is entirely voluntary, both for local authorities to undertake and to parents/carers and pupils to take part in. This has been made clear to local authorities throughout.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 17 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to introducing an emergency alert system for catastrophic and extraordinary events, similar to those in place in other jurisdictions, such as the USA and some European countries.
Answer
Scotland’s resilience response structures involve very well established mechanisms for coordinating clear public communications during emergencies, and organisations involved in the response will work together to ensure swift and accurate advice is provided across a range of media.
The specific emergency alert system in place in other countries, used for example to warn of earthquakes, utilises a technology known as Cell Broadcasting. Activating this capability on the UK telecoms network is a matter reserved to the UK Government, and we note that the introduction of this technology, initially anticipated for summer 2021, is now scheduled for early 2022. Scottish Government officials are working with their counterparts in the UK Government to ensure that the deployment of any such capability reflects the devolved responsibilities of our responder organisations.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 17 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) strategy and (b) resilience planning was undertaken to account for the possibility of extraordinary events, such as Storm Arwen, occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic and associated measures, such as lockdown.
Answer
Resilience structures in Scotland are designed to be adaptable and responsive to a wide range of risks.
Ministers regularly receive briefing on specific risks or emergencies throughout the year and the Scottish Government’s resilience arrangements constantly monitor for emerging issues and threats.
In the autumn of 2021, recognising the heightened risk of concurrent events – including COVID, winter weather, and supply chain issues – additional reporting and monitoring arrangements were put in place to ensure Ministers retain a close oversight of the complex and overlapping risk picture. Since 30 September, this has included daily reporting and weekly meetings of SGORR, with assessments on the key concurrent risks facing Government and planning activity being taken.
- Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 17 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government when work will resume on developing proposals for an additional medical school in Scotland.
Answer
The September 2019 Programme for Government commitment to develop proposals for a new medical school was paused in March 2020 due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. We are currently considering how this commitment can be implemented or linked to the new Programme for Government (PfG) Commitment to increase medical undergraduates by 100 per year and to double the number of Widening Access places over the lifetime of this parliament.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 17 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care is aware of reported ongoing staffing and patient care concerns within NHS Highland, and what support it is providing to ensure that any such issues are being addressed.
Answer
Scottish Government officials are continually engaging with NHS Boards to identify particular areas of concern. This includes the gathering of daily capacity and weekly absence reporting from all territorial Health Boards.
Through this ongoing engagement, NHS Highland advise that they have embedded an established structure for daily clinical and care huddles which are designed using the principles of the Scottish Patient Safety Programme. These forums are used for reviewing staffing and escalating any concerns in relation to patient safety and quality and staff wellbeing.
We are fully aware of the unprecedented pressure that the pandemic is putting on services within NHS Highland and across Scotland. That is why we have announced a record £300 million of investment to support Health Boards and their staff over the coming months.
As part of this investment, NHS Highland is receiving additional in-year and recurring finance to support international recruitment of registered nurses and additional Healthcare Support Workers for acute services. The Board has also received a share of in-year investment to provide additional support to its recruitment team and to recruit an international recruitment lead.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 17 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what guidance is in place for local authorities regarding restrictions on school nativity plays.
Answer
Our reducing risks in schools guidance sets out the current COVID-19 mitigations in schools.
Current guidance reflects the best scientific and clinical advice, as well as the current state of the pandemic and the anticipated trajectory of infections. The restrictions, which limit non-essential visitors in schools and early learning and childcare settings, include attendance by parents for nativity plays and similar events. However, we know that many schools and settings plan to use other creative means to present these activities, such as streaming them online or holding them outdoors.
- Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 17 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-04467 by Maree Todd on 30 November 2021, whether gamete storage is provided by the NHS to people who are considering or undertaking gender transitioning.
Answer
NHS Scotland will consider fertility preservation and gamete storage for patients who have been assessed and referred by the Gender Identity Service as suitable for gender reassignment.
- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 17 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the questions relating to sexual activity, which are contained within the Health and Wellbeing Census for schools in 2021-22, are appropriate for S4 students.
Answer
The questions in the census are derived from existing health and wellbeing surveys which have been tested and ethically approved. The questions are completely age and stage appropriate. Local authorities are required by law to plan for children's services in their local area, they have a legal basis to ask children and young people about their lives and wellbeing to help them with this. Local authorities need this data about the health and wellbeing of children and young people in order to:
- plan and deliver better policies for the benefit of all children and families, or specific groups;
- better understand some of the factors which influence the outcomes for children;
- target resources better;
- enhance the quality of research to improve the lives of people in Scotland; and,
- provide a window on society, the economy and on the work and performance of local and central government.
The Scottish Government worked with stakeholders to carefully consider and design a set of sample questionnaires – with each set of questions being age appropriate. The content was developed by representatives and experts from across academia who are experts in conducting research of this nature – experts from public health, Education Scotland, local authorities and schools. The Census has also been ethically approved by independent researchers within the Scottish Government.
The questions, therefore, are considered entirely appropriate for the age ranges they cover.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 17 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether the terms of reference for the public inquiry into the handling of COVID-19 will make provision for people who are seeking asylum and living under immigration control to be included within the scope of the inquiry.
Answer
The terms of reference for the Scottish COVID-19 Public Inquiry are designed in such a way that they do not constrain the chair in seeking views and evidence from any group or individual affected by the matters the inquiry is asked to investigate.
Scottish inquiries set up under the Inquiries Act 2005 cannot investigate reserved matters. However we recognise that learning lessons from the pandemic will involve analysis of devolved and reserved issues across a spectrum of topics. To that end, we are engaged with the UK Government to understand the approach to the UK-wide COVID-19 inquiry. We will use our position as a statutory consultee on the terms of reference for the UK inquiry to make clear the importance of examining the impact of policies during the pandemic on those seeking asylum and living under immigration control in Scotland.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 17 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what evidence it has relating to the risk of children developing long COVID.
Answer
The COVID-19 Scientific Advisory Sub-Group on Education and Children’s Issues published a summary report of the evidence on children, schools, early learning and childcare settings and transmission from COVID-19 on 12 August 2021. This included a brief summary of available evidence on Long-COVID in children and young people , along with a list of references to relevant evidence which may also be of interest. Public Health Scotland also provide a regular review of evidence for the sub-group in relation to COVID-19 and children and young people.
The Sub-Group continues to review the evidence on acute and prolonged health effects of COVID-19, and will update their advice if required in light of new findings.
In addition, the UK wide clinical guideline on managing the long-term effects of COVID-19 produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) and the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) is continuously reviewed and updated in response to emerging evidence.
For the November 2021 update, the evidence for children and young people was reviewed. A full overview of this evidence reviewed can be found on page 37 of the clinical guideline, accessible at Guideline COVID-19 rapid guideline: managing the long-term effects of COVID-19 (nice.org.uk)