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The study report on the impacts of sewage sludge on the environment and human health is scheduled to be published later this year.

Statistics for the cervical screening programme that will allow comparisons with pre-Covid-19 pandemic uptake are due to be published by Public Health Scotland on 1 September 2021.

Comparable data on national performance for uptake in the breast and bowel screening programmes that will allow comparisons between uptake before and after the COVID-19 pandemic will be made available in 2022. NHS National Services Division advise that recent uptake in the bowel screening programme is similar to pre-pandemic levels at around 67%. Breast screening uptake is measured on an annual and 3 year cycle with current indications that uptake is running at an average of 80% across the whole programme, which is higher than uptake prior to the pandemic.

The bowel, breast and cervical screening programmes are governed by their respective programme boards, as well as the National Screening Oversight and the Scottish Screening Committee. They monitor and evaluate performance, including uptake rates, against a set of standards developed by Healthcare Improvement Scotland.

Additional information has been provided over the course of the pandemic, to reassure people that travel to attend a screening appointment during lockdown was classed as essential and that appropriate infection control measures are in place, so they can feel confident about attending.

In addition to providing information on NHS Inform, each programme has developed tailored communications to recognise additional concerns and challenges caused by the pandemic, and each continues to take steps to reduce barriers to screening and increase uptake.

The bowel screening programme includes supplementary information in home test kits, and has a dedicated helpline to answer all questions. Since the breast screening programme restarted last summer, breast screening centres have been contacting participants ahead of their appointments to confirm their intention to attend. To ensure sufficient capacity in the cervical screening programme to allow uptake of invitations following the pause, the Scottish Government provided just under £1 million to support capacity in sample taking and colposcopy services. To raise awareness and increase uptake we supported social media messaging during Cervical Screening Awareness week in June. Later this year, the Scottish Government will also be launching a campaign to communicate the benefits of cervical screening.

The Scottish Government recognises that the Covid-19 pandemic may have exacerbated inequalities in screening uptake, and we have committed £2 million over the next two years, to build a programme of evidence-based, sustainable and scalable projects that tackle inequalities in a systemic way.

The bowel, breast and cervical screening programmes were paused in March last year, and restarted last summer with the initial focus on higher-risk screening participants and those whose appointments were affected by the pause.

The bowel screening programme is currently sending home test kits at the same rate as before the pandemic, and no one is waiting for an invitation.

The breast screening programme is recovering, although infection control measures, including physical distancing and personal protective equipment, mean there are considerable capacity challenges. At this time, we do not have data on the number of people affected by the pause; however, we do know that slippage varies across health boards. The National Screening Oversight, the Scottish Screening Committee and the Breast Screening Programme Board continue to work with health boards to increase the number of breast screening appointments available.

Covid-19 also continues to present challenges in the cervical screening programme. However, prompts and reminders are being issued at pre-Covid rates. Estimates suggest that 5,786 invitations have not yet issued to people affected by the pause, but it should be stressed that this will be for a range of reasons, including participants being excluded from the programme after it restarted, or taking the opportunity to be screened at their GP ahead of their scheduled prompt to make an appointment.

The Scottish Government has provided in-kind support to Valneva via Scottish Enterprise. There has been no financial investment made in this facility by the Scottish Government.

The decision for any company to list on the Nasdaq is a commercial decision made by the organisation itself and the company already has a stock exchange, listing on the Paris Bourse (Euronext).

Vaccines Taskforce and BEIS have provided the following commentary that the UK Government has supported Valneva by providing funding for its early clinical trials and has also made a multi-million-pound investment to upgrade and expand Valneva’s Livingston manufacturing facility, as part of its supply agreement for COVID-19 vaccines.

Our overall vision is for everyone with rehabilitation needs to be able to access the care and support they need to live well, on their own terms. Work is underway to deliver the Framework for supporting people through Recovery and Rehabilitation during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic. This puts in place clear principles, priorities and objectives to support planning to meet increasing demand and to provide high quality person-centred rehabilitation in different settings.

In addition, as part of our Programme for Government stroke commitments to develop a programme to improve stroke pathways and services, recommendations are being developed to ensure that all those who experience communication disorders following a stroke are assessed by a speech and language therapist and; are provided with an individualised rehabilitation programme using a range of evidence based interventions.

This will be evaluated as part of the national stroke care audit and services within NHS Health and Social Care Partnerships will be reviewed on an annual basis by the Scottish Government Stroke Improvement Team.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that people who have had a stroke receive the best possible care as quickly as possible to enable them to live longer, healthier independent lives. As we progress with our NHS Recovery Plan, evidence-based caution is at the forefront of our decision-making. We will continue to work with Health Boards to remobilise the NHS in the safest possible way, including for those in need of rehabilitation following a stroke.

Our overall vision is for everyone with rehabilitation needs to be able to access the care and support they need to live well, on their own terms. Work is underway to deliver the Framework for supporting people through Recovery and Rehabilitation during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic. This puts in place clear principles, priorities and objectives to support planning to meet increasing demand and to provide high quality person-centred rehabilitation in different settings.

Work is also ongoing to deliver our Programme for Government commitments to improve stroke pathways and services. This will include recommendations for a progressive stroke rehabilitation service, both in hospital and in the community.

As the First Minister advised Parliament on 26 May, the Scottish Government and the Scottish Green Party have committed to exploring opportunities for cooperation and joint working for the common good and to change the dynamic of our politics for the better in line with the founding principles of our Parliament.

Since the First Minister’s announcement last month, the Scottish Government and the Scottish Greens have been engaging in positive discussions about a potential co-operation agreement, and have identified the subjects to be explored as part of this.

Talks are covering the major challenges of this Parliament. This includes Scotland’s recovery from Covid, our response to the Climate Emergency, the constitution, public services, infrastructure, and building a fairer and more equal Scotland.

Talks will continue over the summer and a further report will be provided to Parliament after the recess.

a) Valneva has not received economic development funding to expand their manufacturing capacity from the Scottish Government, but have received account management support and advice from Scottish Enterprise.

b) The UK Government through the Vaccines Taskforce and (BEiS) has supported Valneva by providing funding for its early clinical trials and has also made a multi-million-pound investment to upgrade and expand Valneva’s Livingston manufacturing facility, as part of its supply agreement for COVID-19 vaccines.

Due to the commercially confidential nature of supply agreements, the UK Government is not able to disclose any further details.

The Public Interest Conditions for this specific project are a matter for the UK Government.

Vaccines Taskforce, BEIS have provided the following commentary that the UK Government’s investments to fund Valneva’s early clinical trials and upgrade and expand Valneva’s Livingston manufacturing facility were made in line with HM Treasury’s Green Book.