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Neither the Scottish Government or Public Health Scotland are able to quantify how many routine vaccine doses have been disposed of due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccine wastage can be attributed to other factors and therefore delineation of contributing factors is not possible.

The Seasonal Flu Vaccination Programme is a well established programme that runs annually (usually between October – March each year), for which vaccine is procured nationally for the eligible groups. Every effort is made to minimise wastage, taking into account previous years’ vaccination uptake, whilst ensuring that sufficient stock is procured to support optimum uptake rates, and protect those most at risk of flu. During the pandemic, in 2020-21 and 2021-22 the flu programme has continued to record very good uptake across the eligible cohorts.

From 18 April, we are no longer asking the general public to test themselves regularly if they are asymptomatic. This change is possible because of the progress we have made in our ability to protect Scotland’s population from the most severe harms of COVID-19 through our widespread vaccination coverage and access to new Covid treatments.

Covid testing in hospital settings for emergency admissions and elective patients will continue to be available, helping to protect vulnerable individuals in high risk settings and ensuring patients receive the most effective treatment.

Health and social care workers should continue to test themselves regularly to reduce the risk of spread of infection in higher risk settings; as should care home and hospital visitors. All ongoing testing in higher risk settings will be kept under regular clinical review.

The routine childhood immunisation programmes have continued in Scotland throughout the COVID-19 pandemic for children of all ages.

Uptake for vaccines given to children aged under one year has remained consistently high in Scotland. Statistics on childhood immunisations are published quarterly by Public Health Scotland, which show that around 96% of children had received each routine immunisation by the time they were 12 months of age in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Uptake of the rotavirus vaccination by 12 months of age increased during the pandemic, from 93.2% in 2019 to 94.2% in 2021. Uptake of the first dose of MMR by the age of 24 months also increased, rising from 94% in 2019 to 94.4% in 2021.

The continued high uptake of childhood immunisations is a testament to the hard work and commitment of the NHS and the recognition of the benefits of vaccination.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07621 on 25 April 2022. 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

Through our £290 million Cost of Living support package, we will give 1.85 million (73%) of Scottish households £150 of extra support via the Council Tax. We have also allocated a further £10 million to continue our Fuel Insecurity Fund, which is aimed at those in greatest need.

The Fuel Insecurity Fund is delivered through trusted third sector partner organisations, providing direct support to people at risk of severely self-rationing their energy use, or self-disconnecting entirely, due to the cost of their fuel bills. Assistance can be accessed by households on any tariff type and using any fuel source.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that everyone living in Scotland with Huntington’s Disease is able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.

The Scottish Huntington’s Association (SHA) submitted an application to the latest round of funding provided via the Neurological Care and Support – a National Framework for Action , to support the recruitment of a Peripatetic Huntington’s Disease Specialist.

Applications for funding were assessed and scored by a panel however, unfortunately, the SHA’s application was not successful.

Despite the application being unsuccessful, we want to better understand the need for further provisions and service development across neurological conditions, including Huntington’s Disease, and Scottish Government officials plan to meet with SHA to further explore the issue.

Pay is an ongoing issue for Agenda for Change trade unions and the position for 2022-23 has been discussed regularly in the meetings I have had with health trade unions, as well as at the Scottish Terms and Conditions Committee, and in meetings involving Scottish Government officials.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07488 on 25 April 2022. 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 acknowledges the importance of the Growing Up in Scotland Study (GUS) longitudinal study which allows us to track the health and wellbeing of Scotland’s children and young people over an extended period of time. We also note with concern the initial findings from the most recent GUS ‘Life at Age 14’ report published on 15 February 2022.

The report, which is based on data collected in 2019/20, aligns with our understanding of the need to ensure that all children and young people are able to access the right support for their mental health and wellbeing as early as possible, without stigma.

That is why we continue to prioritise building and improving mental health and wellbeing support services for children and young people and continue to invest significantly in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of our children and young people. In the 2021-22 financial year this included: Investing £40 million in improving Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, £16 million on our commitment for all secondary schools in Scotland to have access to a mental health counsellor, £15 million on provided to local authorities to fund over 230 new and enhanced community supports and services for children and young people and over £160 thousand to provide enhanced digital resources on mental health and wellbeing available via the Young Scot 'Aye Feel’ website, Scottish Youth Parliament ‘Mind Yer Time’ websites.

In addition we have invested in a range of resources to support parents, cares and adults working with children and young people to ensure they are fully equipped with the tools and knowledge needed to make a difference to children and young peoples lives. This includes investing in a suite of resources for all school staff , developed by our Mental Health in Schools National Working Group, and providing a range of advice and resources for parents and carers, available through ParentClub.scot , including specific resources for parents of teenage children .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07562 on 19 April 2022. 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 .