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The Scottish Government and Health Protection Scotland issued a range of clinical guidance relating to the discharge of older people from hospital into community settings.

This guidance has been continuously updated and a timeline of the clinical guidance issued is available in Annex A of the Public Health Scotland publication Discharges from NHSScotland hospitals to care homes which is available at https://beta.isdscotland.org/find-publications-and-data/population-health/covid-19/discharges-from-nhsscotland-hospitals-to-care-homes/28-october-2020/.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-00914 on 5 July 2021. 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 carries out daily analysis of the occupancy levels in hotels and based on a projected increase in demand from our international students, work is underway to bring on additional capacity to meet this demand.

The Scottish Government has also been exploring with universities how student accommodation could be used in place of hotels for the purpose of managed isolation. In April 2021, Ministers agreed a statement of policy intent to permit student accommodation to be used for managed isolation for international students and students returning to Scotland following an educational exchange from a red-list country if universities can provide the necessary assurances the accommodation meets equivalent public health protection assurances as hotels used for managed isolation.

As a result the Scottish Government began discussions with universities on a proposed ‘pilot’ scheme to assess how the use of student accommodation for managed isolation would work in practice. Two universities have expressed an interest in the taking part in the pilot and guidance is currently being drafted. Officials have been engaging with Trade Unions and the National Union of Students on the proposed pilot.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-00728 on 5 July 2021. 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 engages closely with Historic Environment Scotland (HES) on an ongoing basis on its work to develop and deliver protect historic buildings from the effects of climate change.

HES’s Corporate Plan is agreed with Ministers and includes a commitment to respond to the challenges of climate change by better understanding, managing and mitigating its impacts on the historic environment. A link to the plan is provided below:

• https://www.historicenvironment.scot/archives-and-research/publications/publication/?publicationId=1f65f457-a602-4ddc-af61-aa2500933d61

In delivering Scotland’s strategy for the historic environment, Our Place in Time (OPiT), HES chairs the Climate Change Working Group. The group’s first major output was A Guide to Climate Change Impacts on Scotland’s Historic Environment , which summarises the risks and hazards facing Scotland’s historic environment and offers routes to take action, to implement adaptation measures and enhance resilience to climate change. A link to this guide is provided below:

• https://www.historicenvironment.scot/archives-and-research/publications/publication/?publicationId=843d0c97-d3f4-4510-acd3-aadf0118bf82

HES has published a number of other key strategy documents, recognising the challenges facing Scotland’s historic environment as a result of climate change and setting out routes to take action, implement adaptation measures and enhance resilience to climate change. HES also publishes a range of research and guidance for traditional and historic building owners and managers to support energy efficiency and climate change adaptation.

The Scottish Government and HES have also worked collaboratively in partnership on a range of projects delivered through the Scottish Government’s Adaptation Scotland programme, including projects which provide key resources for those managing climate change impacts on the historic environment.

Lateral Flow Device (LFD) tests are approved for use by the MHRA, the UK's regulator of medicines and medical devices, responsible for ensuring their safety, quality and effectiveness. LFDs are all packaged with Instructions for Use, which are required by the MHRA to be easy to follow and available in a range of languages and formats. The Scottish Government has developed a range of resources in accordance with this.

The Scottish Government worked with NHS Inform to promote information on how to accurately take an LFD test. This included commissioning a video from Professor Jason Leitch with instructions on how to take the test. This has been translated into multiple languages including BSL, Arabic, Polish and Urdu, as have written instructions. The gov.scot site points to NHS Inform as the primary place to read the instructions.

Working with Young Scot, content was created that was aimed at children and young people on how to take an accurate LFD test, including a video from Dr Punam Krishan. A range of marketing assets have also been developed on how to do an LFD test, including posters for health and social care workers to share with local authorities and health boards.

Anyone who experiences any harm, injury, false positives or negatives, or difficulties in using the self-test device should report this to MHRA via the Coronavirus Yellow Card website, which helps identify issues which might not have previously been known that can then be addressed.

The following table shows the number of properties receiving a non-domestic rates relief or exemption from rates for unoccupied properties since 2011, except for 2014 and 2017 as no data is available for those years. The figures are as at the snapshot date and may therefore underestimate final numbers of recipients in a given year, and include entire local authority areas as data by parliamentary region is not held.

Data for 2021 is expected to become available in late 2021.

We worked closely with the Scottish FA, Glasgow City Council, Police Scotland and other partners on preparations for UEFA EURO 2020, including the four matches at Hampden Park and the Glasgow Green Fan Zone.

The Scottish Government understand the concerns that some expressed in relation to the lack of catering available at Hampden, especially in light of the extended period of time spectators are required to be in the stadium.

Unfortunately, concessions stands were not in operation for the EURO 2020 matches at Hampden as a result of the venue overlay required in response to Covid 19 operational planning considerations. This is to ensure that physical distancing was possible in concourses when people are moving to and from their seats on entry and exit and when going to the toilet.

However, free drinking water was provided and spectators were allowed to bring a small amount of food (e.g sandwiches, snack bars, chocolate bars, crisps, fruit) into the stadium.

UEFA asked that the food was packaged in clear bags that were provided to spectators at the start of the entry procedures to the stadium. Each spectator was allowed to take one bag into the stadium and spectators were not able to bring bottles, cans or any form of drinks containers into the stadium. The merchandising stalls were all positioned out with the stadium, within the secure perimeter and had no impact on the mitigations in place within the stadium.

The application of necessary mitigations, and the actual experience at the event was monitored on an ongoing basis.

We are committed to increasing residential rehabilitation placements and getting more women into treatment and recovery. This includes keeping families together when it is appropriate to do so.

£100 million of the additional £250 million funding announced as part of the National Mission will support further investment in - and expansion of - residential rehabilitation and associated aftercare over the next five years.

In May 2021, the Scottish Government launched two funds worth a combined £10 million; a £5 million Recovery Fund to support services to provide additional residential rehabilitation capacity, and a £5 million Improvement Fund to support improvements to services for outreach, treatment, rehabilitation and aftercare, with dedicated support for women.

Through these funds, we are open to considering a range of proposals to increase placements for residential rehabilitation - including dedicated mother and baby residential care units.

Work is also underway working with the Residential Rehabilitation Development Working Group to develop a best practice pathways guide into and from residential rehabilitation treatment, including pathways for women and families.

In 2020/21 the key focus of the National Transition Training Fund (NTTF) was supporting those individuals and sectors affected by the economic impact of Covid-19. As part of this, a number of projects offered support for skills needs linked to the transition to net zero. This included wind turbine safety training, green construction provided through the Construction Scotland Innovation Centre, and heat in buildings training such as the installation of heat pumps. Delivery of the Year One projects continues in colleges and universities until the end of the academic year and we will report on the training provided and its outcomes when the full year’s data is available.

In Year Two, NTTF has a broadened remit to address the economic impact of both Covid-19 and Brexit and also to support emerging skills needs to support the transition to net zero.

Of the initial 25 projects in Year Two announced by the First Minister on June 16 2021, a number will support transition, with details set out in the following table:-