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On 21 February 2022, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advised that a Spring booster dose be offered in Scotland for the following groups.

• adults aged 75 years and over;
• residents in care homes for older adults;
• individuals aged 12 years and over who are immunosuppressed.

The spring booster dose will usually be offered around 6 months after the last dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Some people may be invited sooner than this (but at least 3 months should have passed since their last dose) to help protect them against any increase in coronavirus infections.

NHS Scotland are contacting those eligible to arrange appointments.

More information on this can be found at Coronavirus (COVID-19) booster vaccination | The coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine (nhsinform.scot).

The 2019-20 Scottish Budget included a £29.5 million provision for implementing the Scottish Government’s commitment to extend free personal care to all those under 65 who need it. This funding was baselined into the Local Government Settlement and, while it was not formally ring-fenced, local authorities were advised how the funding should be utilised.

The pandemic has seen the NHS under the most severe pressure in its 73-year existence. Pausing of non-urgent activity has taken place in health systems across Scotland, and the UK, which has inevitably led to a build-up of the numbers of people waiting for treatment.

Through the NHS Recovery Plan, the Scottish Government continues to work with Health Boards, including NHS Grampian to support and prioritise recovery for planned care.

While NHS Grampian is working locally to increase capacity and reduce waiting times for patients waiting for surgery, specifically prioritising Cardiac Surgery wherever possible, the Golden Jubilee National Hospital has been providing dedicated additional capacity for people waiting on cardiac surgery. This has paused briefly due to staffing pressures at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital as a result of the pandemic but will be reinstated as soon as possible.

Where a patients procedure is cancelled, NHS Grampian will try to reschedule this as soon as possible.

We are facilitating discussion with NHS Tayside and NHS Grampian to work towards opening additional capacity at Stracathro Regional Treatment Centre to further support both Boards. The National Treatment Centres will provide the single biggest increase in planned care capacity ever created in the NHS.

The Scottish Government published the framework for clinical prioritisation, which provides NHS Scotland with clear principles for prioritising planned care while ensuring appropriate COVID-19 safety and priority measures are in place. This guidance provides clear guidance on determining a patient’s clinical urgency and sets out review stages to ensure each individual patient’s case is assessed regularly to ensure the most appropriate care.

It remains our firm intention that exams take place this year. They would only be cancelled if public health guidance prevented gatherings during the exam timetable. The safety of children, young people, and all education staff remains the overriding priority.

The interim voucher portion of the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme is now closed. We do not hold data for Scottish Parliamentary constituencies. However, data on voucher eligibility for all 32 Scottish Local Authorities is provided in the following table:

The terms and conditions of the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (R100 SBVS) require that suppliers meet Ofcom's definition of 'affordable' broadband - set by Ofcom as no more than £46.10 per month, as per the terms and conditions of the UK's broadband Universal Service Obligation. As Starlink's satellite service currently costs £84 per month (set to rise to £94 per month from 9 May 2022), it does not meet this requirement and, therefore, Starlink is unable to register as a supplier for the R100 SBVS.

Across the whole UK, median annual pay for employees was £25,891 for the tax year ending 5 April 2021.

In the current tax year, someone earning that much would pay £2,662 in the rest of the UK, but £2,647 in Scotland.

Schools are best placed to support learners and give them the best chance to demonstrate their potential. Guidance makes clear that schools should ensure remote learning materials are in place in circumstances where they are required. We continue to make resources available to support that contingency.

£4 million of funding is being made available to schools and colleges to increase Easter study support where appropriate, particularly for those from the most deprived backgrounds. Schools and colleges have the flexibility to deliver that support as they see fit, including online.

This support is complemented by an enhanced range of options for online learning through the National e-Learning Offer (NeLO). In the event of school staff absences and learners revising at home, even at short notice, NeLO is available. Educators can refer their learners to collections of resources - recorded, supported and often live interactive webinars - and schools can make parents and learners aware that these resources are available whenever remote learning is required.

The routine vaccinations for pregnant women have continued in Scotland throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We encourage all those who are eligible to take up the offer of vaccination.

The flu vaccine has been available to pregnant women, (via their midwife) from the start of the current programme, which launched on 6 September 2021, and continued to be offered until the end of the flu season, 31 March 2022.

An evidence review on international approaches to challenging demand is being carried out by Scottish Government’s Justice Analytical Services (JAS), and will be published later this year as an official social research report.

As is the case with all Analytical Services Divisions within the Scottish Government, JAS provide impartial evidence-based advice to support policy development - with all social research needing to comply with the Scottish Government’s ethical principles. These principles specifically require researchers to consider and address ethical risks to protect against distortion and bias in the interpretation of findings.

This analysis will support the development of a model for Scotland which effectively tackles and challenges men’s demand for prostitution, whilst taking into account Scotland’s unique legal and societal landscape.