Seòmar agus comataidhean

a) Assessment of the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; The Scottish Government continues to monitor evidence on the Four Harms of COVID-19. These are the direct impact of COVID-19, other health impacts, societal impacts, and economic impacts.

We are using this information to inform decisions about COVID-19, including how we move through phases of the Coronavirus Route Map .

The virus will impact different groups of people in different ways, and our society will be affected in different ways over time. We’re carefully monitoring the data and regularly update new evidence to COVID-19 in Scotland (data.gov.scot) .

b) Assessment of the potential impact of COVID-19 vaccines on i) Menstrual Cycles; The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have reviewed reports of menstrual disorders and unexpected vaginal bleeding suspected as adverse reactions to vaccination with the three COVID-19 vaccines currently being used in the UK: Pfizer/BioNTech, COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca and COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna.

These reports have also been reviewed by independent experts of the Commission on Human Medicines’ COVID-19 Vaccines Benefit Risk Expert Working Group and members of its Medicines for Women’s Health Expert Advisory Group.

A range of menstrual disorders has been reported as suspected adverse reactions after all three of these COVID-19 vaccines including heavy bleeding, delayed periods and unexpected vaginal bleeding. The number of reports of menstrual disorders and vaginal bleeding is low in relation to both the number of females who have received COVID-19 vaccines to date and the background rate of menstrual disorders generally.

ii) Menstrual Health; The current evidence does not suggest an increased risk of either menstrual disorders or unexpected vaginal bleeding following vaccination with the vaccines reviewed (Pfizer/BioNTech, COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca or COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna). The advice from the NHS remains that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks for most people. The MHRA will continue to closely monitor reports of suspected menstrual disorders and vaginal bleeding with COVID-19 vaccines.

Healthcare professionals are advised that anyone presenting with menstrual disorders and/or unexpected vaginal bleeding following COVID-19 vaccination should be treated according to clinical guidelines for these conditions, as usual.

The safety of all vaccines and medicines is monitored by the MHRA on a UK-wide basis. This includes reports from the Yellow Card Scheme which allows health professionals and patients across the UK to flag up suspected adverse reactions to any vaccine or medicine, as well as reports from worldwide use and on-going scientific evidence.

If a woman is concerned about changes to her period, she is advised to speak to her GP, especially if she experiences bleeding after menopause.

The number of wind farm applications approved through the appeal process in the last 24 months, by local authority area, are set out in the following table:

Grant funding allocations were made to councils based on levels of deprivation and rurality within their areas, allowing them to purchase devices and connectivity for learners to align with local digital strategies. Local authorities have been responsible for securing and distributing devices, and for reporting to Scottish Government on progress. Global pressure on supply chains (primarily as a result of the pandemic and the move to home learning and working) has resulted in delayed delivery times for some devices.

The following table shows the number of devices ordered, received and distributed at end-March 2021 (immediately before the Easter break after which in-person learning resumed), as reported by individual local authorities.

The Scottish Government has a number of loan schemes open to those interested in RHI which will continue to be available when the RHI ends in 2022.

They include: The Renewables Loan which supports the installation of renewables measures in Scottish domestic properties. Households can fund up to two renewables systems for each home, to a maximum of £17,500 in total and up to £6,000 funding for an energy storage system.

To help first time adopters over the first hurdle to renewables, we also have developed an additional incentive, the Renewable Heat Cashback Scheme, which can offer up to 75% (to a maximum of £7,500) cashback funding.

For commercial properties, we have the SME Loan and cashback scheme. The loan scheme provides unsecured, interest free loans of up to £100,000 to Scottish Small to Medium size enterprises, not-for-profit organisations and charities to finance the installation of renewable heating and energy efficiency measures. Since the inception of the SME loan scheme, it has paid over £29 million in loans, funding more than 1000 projects.

In October 2008, the cashback scheme was launched to stimulate uptake of the Energy Efficiency and Renewables Heat measures in non-domestic properties. SMEs can apply for a 75% cashback grant of up to £10,000 towards the cost of a renewables heating system and a further 30% cashback of up to £10,000 for energy efficiency measures.

The number of wind farm applications determined in the last 24 months due to a local authority's non-determination, broken down by local authority area, are set out in the following table:

The Scottish Government through the Energy Savings Trust (EST) delivery a number of initiatives to support local community transport groups to decarbonise, the details of schemes are as follows:

Plugged-in Communities (PiC) programme.

This programme aims to provide access to electric vehicles and the associated infrastructure to low-income communities in the form of shared-use electric vehicle car clubs.

15 organisations have been successful in obtaining grant funding to support 63 new electric vehicles, organisations were also able to apply for funding through the ChargePlace Scotland programme which provided funding to cover the cost of the charge point infrastructure, as a result 45 charge points were installed to support these electric vehicles and the communities they serve.

To date, Grant funding of over £900k to support these communities under the Plugged-in Communities fund has been provided.

The E-bike Grant Fund

This fund supports community groups to adopt e-bikes and e-cargo bikes as more sustainable alternatives to car journeys through providing grants of up to £25,000.

Since 2018 the Scottish Government through the E-bike grant fund has introduced an additional 1145 E-bikes across Scotland and awarded over £2.8m to 156 public sector organisations and community groups.

Climate Challenge Fund (CCF)

The Scottish Government’s Climate Challenge Fund (CCF) has, since 2008, provided total funding of over £111 million to support more than 1,150 community-led climate action projects across Scotland, including a significant number that have promoted active and sustainable travel.

Community Climate Asset Fund (CCAF)

The £3.2m Community Climate Asset Fund (CCAF), launched late last year, benefited 279 community-based organisations, enabling 31 to specifically purchase e-vehicles.

Through our new framework of community climate action hubs and Climate Action Towns, we will continue to support communities to make the transition to low carbon and climate resilient living.

The Scottish Government through the Energy Savings Trust delivery a number of initiatives that help community transport groups switch to the use of low-carbon vehicles. Details of schemes are as follows:

Plugged-in Communities (PiC) programme.

This programme aims to provide access to electric vehicles and the associated infrastructure to low-income communities in the form of shared-use electric vehicle car clubs and is available to housing associations as well as third sector organisations.

Applicants are also encouraged to apply for funding through the ChargePlace Scotland programme which is also administered by Energy Savings Trust to cover the cost of charge point installation as part of their application.

The E-bike Grant Fund

This fund is delivered by Energy Savings Trust on behalf of the Scottish Government and supports local authorities, public sector agencies, education institutions, active travel hubs and community groups to adopt e-bikes and cargo bikes as more sustainable alternatives to car journeys through providing grants of up to £25,000.

Climate Challenge Fund (CCF)

The Scottish Government’s Climate Challenge Fund (CCF) has, since 2008, provided total funding of over £111 million to support more than 1,150 community-led climate action projects across Scotland, including a significant number that have promoted active and sustainable travel.

Community Climate Asset Fund (CCAF)

The £3.2m Community Climate Asset Fund (CCAF), launched late last year, benefited 279 community-based organisations, enabling 31 to specifically purchase e-vehicles.

Through our new framework of community climate action hubs and Climate Action Towns, we will continue to support communities to make the transition to low carbon and climate resilient living.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6T-00019 on 26 May 2021. The answer is available on the Parliament's website at: Official Report - Parliamentary Business : Scottish Parliament

Data on Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) accreditations broken down by local authority is routinely published by The Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS): Renewable Heat Incentive statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) .

Data is published on a monthly basis with supplementary statistical information published on a quarterly basis.Data is available via this link back to June 2019, and earlier data is available from BEIS on request.

The information requested is given in the following table: