Seòmar agus comataidhean

The PPE Hubs provide top up and emergency PPE to social care providers across Scotland if their existing supply routes fail. Those eligible to access the Hubs include staff in care homes, care home visitors, care at home providers, unpaid carers, personal assistants, day services, sheltered housing services, supported housing and housing support, children’s homes and hospices across all sectors (public, voluntary and private).

Work is currently being taken forward with Health and Social Care Partnerships and representatives from the adult social care sector to examine whether providers would benefit from expanding the eligibility criteria further and what impact this might have on the broader operation of the Hubs and for PPE support to the sector as a whole.

The Scottish Government, Universities Scotland, College Development Network and Colleges Scotland are clear that there is no place for any form of hatred or prejudice, including antisemitism, in further and higher education.

Universities, as autonomous institutions, are aware of the IHRA definition of antisemitism. Many are actively and presently consulting within their diverse communities and stakeholder interests on the definition, with three (University of Glasgow, University of Edinburgh and Abertay University) having adopted it to date. Universities UK is working with the Union of Jewish Students to raise awareness and understanding of antisemitism and to share best practice in tackling and eliminating it.

Universities and colleges are also addressing antisemitism through their ongoing engagement with the Scottish Funding Council to address discrimination and harassment on the grounds of race.

The SFC, in response to the recommendations of the EHRC report, Universities Challenged, published in October 2019, has developed resources to support challenging conversations on all aspects of racial discrimination, including antisemitism. These were developed with input of staff and students and were launched on 16 March 2021.

The Scottish Government provides grant in aid funding to the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), which along with the Chief Constable has responsibility for allocating these resources across policing priorities. Despite constraints on Scotland’s public services through a decade of UK austerity, the Scottish Government investment in policing this year has increased by £60.5 million to more than £1.3 billion. An additional £15 million has been made available to the SPA in 2021-22 to specifically to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the policing budget.

As of 31 March 2021, there were 17,283 officers, which is significantly above the level inherited in 2007, with a higher number of officers than at any time during the previous administration.

Police Scotland will continue to prioritise reducing the harms to communities by tackling alcohol and drug misuse as outlined in their South Ayrshire Local Police Plan. The Scottish Government believes that the best way to reduce drug-related crime and drug-related death is to get people into appropriate treatment and support services at every point of the criminal justice system. However we must not be complacent, we will continue to bear down on crime in Scotland, through protecting police budgets and substantial investment in preventative programs.

Currently 63% of teachers have had 1 dose of the vaccine. How reflective of the wider workforce the teacher figures will be will depend on the difference in age profile and underlying health conditions between these populations. Those working in the Early Learning Care sector tend to be younger so their vaccination rates would be expected to be lower at the moment. Statistics were published on 2 June 2021 at https://beta.isdscotland.org/find-publications-and-data/population-health/covid-19/covid-19-statistical-report/

General practices are following Public Health Scotland’s advice to reserve face to face appointments in primary care settings for those consultations where the GP decides it is clinically necessary. This is not just to prevent the general transmission of the coronavirus but to protect general practices as medical spaces for patients who have a clinical reason for face to face attendance.

Public Health Scotland's advice is not tied to the levels Scottish local authorities are in. General practices will remain open regardless but will continue to manage face to face appointments consistent with this advice. At present all patients are still able to get an appointment by telephone or video call.

Those who change address from any part of the UK after a first vaccination are advised to register with a local General Practitioner (GP) as soon as possible at their new address in order that they become known to their local Health Board. A Community Health Index (CHI) number is generated for new permanent patients. When a clinical record becomes available an appointment will be scheduled and an invitation letter sent out to the patient in line with priority grouping.

Those registered as temporary patients with a GP in Scotland do not have a CHI number generated and records remain within their chosen local practice. In this case we are advise they contact the vaccination helpline on 0800 0308013 (available 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week), indicating in their call that they are from another UK country and are a temporary resident in Scotland. Helpline staff will ask the patient for the necessary information required to allow for Practitioner Service Division (PSD) to create a CHI number and in turn pass their details onto the patient’s local Health Board for an appointment to be scheduled and an invitation letter sent out to the patient.

The Scottish Government is clear that people should be able to be vaccinated where they are currently staying in the UK, even if they are registered with a GP elsewhere. Our understanding is that this reciprocal arrangement is reflected across the four nations. Officials are undertaking work with their four nations counterparts to ensure clear pathways for, and efficient vaccination of, eligible people regardless of their country of GP registration or ordinary residence.

We continue to keep our vaccination programme under review in accordance with JCVI advice. By adhering to JCVI guidance we ensure that we are vaccinating as efficiently as is possible. The Chief Medical Officer issued a letter to all health boards and public authorities on 7 May 2021 clarifying the position regarding good clinical practice in relation to vaccinations.

The Sea Eagle Management Scheme is not an agricultural financial support scheme. It has historically been provided by NatureScot (formerly Scottish Natural Heritage) to provide practical support which includes advice, loan of scaring equipment and research for livestock farmers and crofters who suffer impacts across the sea eagle breeding range.

One of the objectives of the current White-tailed Eagle Action Plan is to consider whether support of farm and croft management relating to sea eagles should be included in future agri-environment programmes. This will help to develop the right conditions for the sustainable co-existence between sea eagles and sheep farming in ways which benefit the biodiversity, economic and social interests of Scotland.

The Sea Eagle Management Scheme is not a compensation scheme and therefore does not require verification of predation. It is not possible to retrieve all carcasses in suspected predation incidents as sea eagles generally take prey back to their nests. The aim is to support farmers and crofters to manage livestock in the presence of sea eagles and to minimise the risks of possible predation through that management. Applications to the scheme are accepted only where there is known sea eagle activity and after discussions between expert contractors and the applicant to assess the level of sea eagle activity and possible impacts.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. On 30 May 2021, Police Scotland published an article on 'assaults on police linked to coronavirus', which may provide the information requested. A link to this article is as follows: https://www.scotland.police.uk/what-s-happening/news/2021/may/over-1-000-assaults-on-police-linked-to-coronavirus-1/

It is unacceptable that Scotland’s police officers and staff should be attacked or abused while going about their daily duty and we fully support the actions that Police Scotland and the Chief Constable are taking to protect police officers and staff from assaults and their impact.

Scotland’s justice system has extensive powers to deal with perpetrators, through statutes such as the Emergency Services (Scotland) Act 2005 and section 90 of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012. For more serious attacks, the Crown may prosecute cases under common law offences such as assault, with potential penalties of up to life imprisonment.