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The Scottish Government has no plans to publish the six-month progress reports for the nine projects funded through the Chief Scientist Office long-term effects of COVID-19 research call.

Interim progress reports are not published as their purpose is to enable monitoring of the progress of the projects, as a check that the researchers have gained all the necessary research regulatory and governance approvals, to monitor grant spend, and to determine whether adjustments to projects are required to deal with unforeseen challenges that may have arisen. Interim reports are not a vehicle to publish research results as the projects have not completed and any results are likely to be incomplete. Publication could therefore potentially lead to misleading conclusions being drawn. It is important that conclusions are drawn from research studies once all the data are fully analysed and also preferably published in the peer-reviewed scientific literature following independent scrutiny.

The Scottish Government is actively working with local authorities, Education Scotland and other partners to understand and support the needs of Ukrainian children and ensure they can access appropriate education. This work is being co-ordinated through a joint Scottish Government and COSLA working group. In addition, Councillor Buchanan and I have recently written to all local authorities on this issue to ensure a joined-up approach and consistency of understanding.

Local authorities are responsible for the delivery of education and are best placed to consider the educational needs of children arriving into Scotland from Ukraine. These needs are potentially complex and dependent on the age and stage of the child, including any additional support needs such as learning English as an additional language (EAL). I have asked Education Scotland to contact all local authorities to discuss current plans, and to understand where ongoing support can best be provided.

The Scottish Government is pressing the UK Government for more clarity on the method and timing of education tariff payments to local authorities for those arriving from Ukraine. This tariff, which is to be available for 2022-23, pro rata to the time the child or young person is receiving education, can help meet specific needs that arise in relation to accessing education, including having English as an Additional Language. This is in addition to the funding the Scottish Government provides to local authorities for additional support for learning as part of their block grant.

The Scottish Government has issued guidance to Health Boards setting out our expectation that Ukrainian refugees in Scotland will have access to all primary health care services along with vaccinations including those for COVID-19.

While pharmacy closures can occur, this on the whole represents a small proportion of the network and is often limited to a small proportion of the required model hours. The Scottish Government continue to work with all Health Boards and community pharmacies representatives who are responsible for the provision of local pharmaceutical care services to ensure that any challenges faced by community pharmacies in providing the safe and effective dispensing of treatments are discussed with the local Health Board to minimise impact and risk to patients. Health boards can take a range of actions in response to any breach of terms by a pharmacy contractor.

The Scottish Government has issued guidance to Health Boards setting out our expectation that Health Boards will ensure Ukrainian refugees have access to local dental treatment and GP practices.

The information that has been requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

Official statistical reports relating to the Scottish Ambulance Service can be found on the following link.

Public Health Scotland

The Scottish Government meets regularly with stakeholders who are responsible for the provision of community pharmaceutical care including Health Boards, Community Pharmacy Scotland (the recognised representative body of pharmacy owners) as set out in Regulations. Scottish Government officials have also met with representatives of the Guild of Healthcare Professionals and The Pharmacists Defence Association to discuss a number of topics including workforce related pressures.

From 29 August 2022, eligible groups of women over the age of 71 will be able to register for self-referral appointments by contacting their local breast screening service.

Invitations will begin issuing to the eligible groups from 26 September, with appointments commencing from 24 October.

At this stage, the eligible groups being prioritised for self-referrals are women aged 71 to 74 (+364 days), and women over 75 with a history of breast cancer who have completed their hospital follow up. This phased approach allows self-referrals to restart in a way we hope will not unduly impact on waiting times for women aged‎ 50-70 for whom screening is recommended.

The impact of the restart on programme capacity and wait times will be monitored closely. At the same time, the programme will continue to look for opportunities to increase the number of available appointments.

The public health response to the current monkeypox outbreak in Scotland is being led by Public Health Scotland (PHS) and delivered in partnership with local NHS Health Protection Teams (HPTs) in each of the NHS Boards of Scotland. PHS has established a national Incident Management Team (IMT) who meet weekly and whose membership includes representation from experts in clinical infectious disease, sexual heath, infection prevention and control, health promotion, immunisation and health protection.

The response is on a four nations approach and PHS work closely with the other UK public health agencies.

Monkeypox is a notifiable disease under the provisions of the Public Health etc. (Scotland) Act 2008 and as such, all medical staff across Scotland report any suspected or confirmed cases to their HPTs. PHS undertake epidemiological analysis on the data gathered to better understand: who is affected; trends over time; and any risk factors; in order to plan measures to limit onward transmission. Case numbers are published regularly on the PHS website and PHS also contribute to a more in-depth analysis at a UK level.

PHS has produced guidance and resources throughout the response to provide evidence based advice on steps for HPTs and others to take to limit transmission of monkeypox. The core guidance for HPTs sets out the public health actions in relation to contact tracing, follow-up of cases and contacts, post-exposure vaccination and other approaches. These actions are undertaken by HPTs and aim to interrupt any onward transmission once a case is identified, or limit the health impact of any subsequent transmission. This guidance is supplemented by resources such as infection prevention guidance for healthcare settings, produced by Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection Scotland (ARHAI) and leaflets including advice for people with monkeypox.

PHS is also working with SG and NHS Boards to undertake the rollout of vaccination for those considered to be at highest risk of contracting monkeypox. More details on the vaccination Programme are available on NHS Inform.

Relevant public information is kept up to date on NHS Inform including advice on: monkeypox symptoms, transmission and treatment; and monkeypox and safer sex. In addition the Scottish Government has recently funded further targeted health promotion messages which is collaborative work between experts in sexual health, PHS and third sector partners.

The Breastfeeding etc. (Scotland) Act 2005 has shaped our policies to raise awareness of and protect the rights of parents to feed their babies in public. Scotland is the only country in the UK to introduce legislation which specifically protects breastfeeding. It has enabled a more robust response to negative attitudes as we work to normalise breastfeeding.

The Scottish Government carried out a Maternal and infant nutrition survey in 2017 and asked questions on experiences of feeding babies outwith the home. Of those who responded, one in ten felt uncomfortable breastfeeding in public.

We used this evidence to launch the Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland Scheme in 2019, where private businesses and public organisations can sign up to offer a supportive environment for babies to be breastfed. This scheme makes clear it is illegal to prevent someone breastfeeding a child in public in Scotland.

We also restated the importance of the protection offered by this legislation in the 2019 Becoming Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland report.

Breastfeeding rates in Scotland have continued to increase year on year, with more than half of all babies (55%) being breastfeed at 10-14 days of age.