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Scottish Government has a long-standing record of providing the most generous non-domestic rates regime in the UK and were the first Government in the UK to offer any extension to relief for the retail, hospitality, leisure and aviation sectors for 2021-22.

Decisions on non-domestic rates including the poundage and reliefs are traditionally set out in the Scottish budget alongside other government priorities. The Programme for Government recognises the importance of a fair, just and sustainable recovery with local business and communities at the heart, and future spend will be determined as part of the Scottish budget process.

Skills Development Scotland publish Modern Apprenticeship statistics quarterly under official statistics protocols, by financial year rather than calendar year.

Apprenticeships have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic as employers have reviewed, delayed and paused recruitment plans. Official statistics published by Skills Development Scotland (SDS) on 25 May 2021 reported 18,655 Modern Apprenticeship starts by the end of Quarter 4 2020-21. Prior to Covid-19 we consistently exceeded annual Apprenticeship targets and we were on track to meet our target of 30,000 Modern Apprenticeships starts by 2020-21. As part of the recovery, we will build back up to 30,000 starts.

For 2021-22, official statistics published by Skills Development Scotland on 10 August 2021 report 3,402 Modern Apprenticeship starts by the end of Quarter 1. This is 3.7 times the number of MA starts at the same time last year in Quarter 1 2020-21 (910 starts). In line with official statistics protocols Skills Development Scotland will publish further Modern Apprenticeship statistics at the end of each quarter.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented and continues to present unprecedented challenges for businesses across Scotland. Uncertainty in the labour market has led to many employers delaying and pausing recruitment decisions, which is impacting on apprenticeship starts.

Prior to the pandemic, we consistently exceeded annual Apprenticeship targets and were on track to meet our target of 30,000 Modern and Graduate Apprenticeships starts by 2020-21.

The Scottish Government will continue to work collaboratively with Skills Development Scotland to maximise apprentice uptake. As set out in our manifesto, we will build back up to 30,000 starts and assess demand to see how much further we can go, supporting the long-term future of work-based learning and our economy.

Official statistics published by Skills Development Scotland on 10 August 2021 show a positive increase in Modern Apprenticeship (MA) starts compared to the same time last year. There were 3,402 Modern Apprenticeship starts from 01 April to end of June this year – 3.7 times the number of MA starts at the same time last year. MA starts this quarter are still 21.5% lower than pre-pandemic levels in Q1 2019-20, reflecting continuing challenges from COVID-19 as many employers make difficult business decisions.

Our approach is for people to have access to the support they may need for assessment, diagnosis, care and rehabilitation in a setting that is as close to their home as possible. This is being supported through local primary care teams, community based rehabilitation services and secondary care investigation where needed.

NHS Boards, including our Island Boards are developing pathways according to local services and the needs of their respective populations, to support people with long COVID. We continue to engage with Boards to identify their support needs in relation to delivering care and support to people with long COVID.

In addition, we have invested over £460,000 in Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland to enable them to deliver their ‘Long COVID support service’ which complements the support being provided by NHS Scotland.

The Scottish Government has allocated £165,625 to NHS Shetland for 2021-22 to support the Scottish Rural Medical Collaborative develop the Rediscover the Joy in General Practice Project to ensure that remote and rural, including island, health boards can recruit and retain GPs to permanent positions. Currently there are 30 doctors recruited from other areas to work up to 18 weeks a year in practices in remote and rural areas.

Attendance and absence figures for 2020-21 are currently based on daily management information and has only been subjected to limited quality checking.

Bearing this in mind, since March 2021, this data shows that:

Primary Schools

• 26.1% of primary pupils were not in school more than 10% of the time
• 1.0% of primary pupils were not in school more than 50% of the time

Secondary Schools

• 50.1% of secondary pupils were not in school more than 10% of the time
• 5.0% of secondary pupils were not in school more than 50% of the time

Only pupils who had a total of at least 50 half day openings have been included in the analysis (note: where half-day sessions refer to mornings/afternoons when schools were providing learning), which was based on daily management information from 15 March 2021 – 2 April 2021 (inclusive - primary schools only) and 12 April 2021 – 25 June 2021 (inclusive - primary and secondary schools). Note that between 15 March 2021 and 2 April 2021 secondary schools were still closed to most pupils. As such, this period has not been included in the analysis for secondary schools.

The Scottish Government will be publishing its National Statistics on pupil attendance and absence in due course. These figures will be more subjected to quality assurance procedures, and as such, will be of higher quality than our current data.

Attendance and absence information is only collected every two years so no figures are available for 2017-18 or 2019-20.

Figures for 2018-19 and 2020-21 show that:

Primary Schools

• 14.6% of primary pupils were absent more than 10% of the time in 2018-19. In 2020/21, 25.4% of primary pupils were not in school more than 10% of the time.
• 0.2% of primary pupils were absent more than 50% of the time in 2018-19. In 2020/21, 1.0% of primary pupils were not in school more than 50% of the time.

Secondary Schools

• 29.3% of secondary pupils were absent more than 10% of the time in 2018-19. In 2020-21, 49.6% of secondary pupils were not in school more than 10% of the time.
• 2.0% of secondary pupils were absent more than 50% of the time in 2018/19. In 2020-21, 4.0% of secondary pupils were not in school more than 50% of the time.

The 2018-19 figures refer to absences from school. Pupils may be recorded as attending school without being in class in situations including attendance at school trips or work experience, when receiving educational provision outside of their school, when attending short medical or dental appointments or when physically in school but not in their class. These figures are from the biennial Attendance and Absence data collection and cover the entire school year. Published outputs from this collection are classed as National Statistics and data are subject to robust quality assurance procedures.

Whereas, figures for 2020-21 are based on daily management information and have only been subjected to limited quality checking. The results only cover the period from 17 August 2020 - 23 December 2020 (inclusive - primary and secondary schools), 15 March 2021 – 2 April 2021 (inclusive - primary schools only) and 12 April 2021 – 25 June 2021 (inclusive - primary and secondary schools) - as these were the periods when schools were fully open to all pupils in a particular school sector. Also, only pupils who had a total of at least 100 half-day sessions have been included in the analysis (note: where half-day sessions refer to mornings/afternoons when schools were providing learning).

Most schools operate 9 or 10 openings a week.

Figures from the 2020-21 daily management information are not directly comparable to the 2018-19 National Statistics due to differences in collection methods, the level of quality assurance undertaken and COVID-19 related school closures in 2020-21. The National Statistics on attendance and absence in 2020-21 are due to be published later this year.

The most recent long COVID statistics published by the Office for National Statistics on 5 August 2021 state that, over the four-week period ending 4 July 2021, an estimated 945,000 people living in private households in the UK reported experiencing long COVID (symptoms persisting more than four weeks after the first suspected coronavirus (COVID-19) episode that are not explained by something else). Of those people, an estimated 75,000 lived in Scotland.

According to the ONS August publication, as a proportion of the UK population, prevalence of self-reported long COVID was greatest in people aged 35 to 69 years and lowest for those aged two to 16 years. These detailed breakdowns are available only for the UK and not for each of the four nations, however, there is no reason to expect the age distribution to be different across the four nations of the UK. Detailed estimates are available at Prevalence of ongoing symptoms following coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in the UK - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) .

We do not currently have for Scotland a breakdown of people experiencing symptoms of long COVID by age. We are working with the EAVE II study, on which the University of Edinburgh and Public Health Scotland collaborate. Funded by the Medical Research Council, this study used pseudonymised GP and other patient data to track the COVID-19 pandemic as it unfolded across Scotland. This dataset is now being used in a separate project funded by the Chief Scientist Office to investigate long COVID, and will generate analysis of people assessed as having long COVID. Early results will be available later in 2021.

Limiting the incidence of long COVID is dependent on our ability to limit the spread of the virus. Throughout our response to the pandemic, all decisions taken by the Scottish Government have been clearly underpinned by the latest available clinical and scientific advice of the Advisory Sub-group on Education and Children’s Issues, which considered the latest evidence on long COVID when producing its latest advice on the return to school in August.

We have committed significant funding to local authorities and schools to deal with the impacts of the pandemic, which has included £90m of funding to meet the cost of necessary safety measures and infrastructure adjustments in schools, as well as over £60m funding to support partners to deliver a comprehensive package of wellbeing and outdoor activities. As we settle in to the new term, the most recent changes to policies on self-isolation, testing and contact tracing for under 18s will help reduce the risks of COVID-19 in schools as Scotland transitions to beyond level 0. We are providing a further £10m to support access to CO2 monitoring in schools and Early Learning Childcare settings and we have asked local authorities and schools to ensure staff and secondary pupils are advised to take Lateral Flow Device (LFD) tests and record their results in the run-up to the return, and to keep testing and recording results thereafter. To ensure a safe and sustainable start to the school term, we are asking schools to continue with the majority of mitigations in schools for up to 6 weeks after the start of term.

These importance changes are set out in our latest guidance on Reducing risks in schools , which has drawn on feedback from the COVID-19 Education Recovery Group (CERG), wider workforce representatives, and children and young people. This represents a proportionate set of measures which has evolved throughout the pandemic to limit the spread and impact of the virus.

The Scottish Government gathers data on pupils and staff who are not in school for COVID-19 related reasons. The Advisory Sub-Group on Education and Children's Issues considered this data alongside the latest evidence on long-COVID when producing its latest advice on the return to school in August. The sub-group will continue to look at the impact of long-COVID on education, and will update its advice if required in the light of any new findings.