Seòmar agus comataidhean

Between 1 January and 31 March 2019

(a) 1 care home was issued with an improvement notice.

(b) No care homes had conditions applied.

(c) No care homes had their registration cancelled.

Between 1 January and 31 March 2020

(a) No care homes were issued with an improvement notice.

(b) No care homes had conditions applied.

(c) No care homes had their registration cancelled.

In April 2019

(a) 1 care home was issued with an improvement notice.

(b) No care homes had conditions applied.

(c) No care homes had their registration cancelled.

Data for April 2020 is not yet published by the Care Inspectorate.

The Scottish Government is working closely with all NHS Boards, including Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) to respond to the additional demands arising from the current unprecedented emergency. This includes provision of additional funding from the Scottish Government to support agreed local plans, and SAS will be supported by this. We will continue our regular engagement with Boards, with local plans being updated and reviewed on a weekly basis. In addition, the Scottish Government is managing centrally funded initiatives, including provision of personal protective equipment and support to GPs.

The Scottish Government has taken urgent action to provide significant financial and practical support across NHS Scotland due to Covid-19. The circumstances demand a coordinated UK response and we are continuing to work closely with the UK Government and the other devolved administrations on funding requirements and arrangements.

SAS has used this funding to support a number of key areas, including enhancing its air transfer capacity through procurement of additional aircrafts from Loganair, and procurement of Epishuttle isolation pods for safe air transfer of patients.

The Scottish Ambulance Service respond to and prioritise all calls based on patients condition, state of vulnerability and perceived level of risk. The maximum response time in the West Dumbartonshire area for the most serious calls in the last quarter was 11 minutes 1 second.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-28392 on 13 May 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-28268 on 4 May 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

As Covid-19 is a new virus, we do not know enough to have a precise incubation period. The World Health Organisation states most estimates of the incubation period for COVID-19 range from 1-14 days, most commonly around five days. These estimates will be updated as more data become available.

Further information can be found at NHS inform.

For any infection, the percentage of the population required to achieve herd immunity is generally very high and often well above 90%. However, we do not yet know enough about the new Coronavirus infection to be able to estimate accurately what percentage would be necessary to achieve and to sustain herd immunity in the long term. Herd immunity is likely to occur as more people are infected with the disease or are vaccinated against it. As there is no current vaccine for covid-19, herd immunity is not part of our strategy for combatting the disease.

Health Protection Scotland (HPS) is taking forward Covid-19 surveillance through a range of measures with key partners to identify and monitor the spread of Covid-19 across the population.

These include:

Community testing through community pathways - This is new information on those people presenting with mild to moderate symptoms provides information about the population that we have not had before and widens our understanding Covid-19 within the community;

and

Antibody testing at a population level through participating health boards – This testing indicates if a person has, or has not, yet had the infection and looks at the antibodies people produce in response to infection, which help to fight the virus.

a) To date the consequentials in respect of UK Government COVID-19 business support measures total £2,313 million and the estimated cost of the Scottish Government’s COVID-19 business support measures totals £2,341 million, which includes the doubling of the Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund from £45 million to £90 million, which was announced by the First Minister on 8 May 2020.

The balance is met from other Scottish Government funding, which is being generated by budget management processes reflecting revised cost estimates and reprioritisation elsewhere in the Scottish Budget. Details will be presented to Parliament at the next budget revision.

The following table sets out the estimated cost of each business support measure:

The Scottish Government has always been explicit that we are passing on every penny of the UK Government’s consequential funding that has come for business support to Scotland. We have delivered a package of financial support to help as many businesses as possible, while also reflecting that Scotland’s economy is different to the rest of the UK. For example, we have a higher share of non-domestic properties with low rateable values in Scotland than England, as well as a higher proportion of hospitality properties.

We have taken the right decisions for the Scottish economy and have sought to balance the needs of the broader economy with those of the retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) sectors.

The Scottish Government has provided a 100% non-domestic rates relief for airport properties, as well those in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors. We have also introduced a 1.6% rates relief, effectively freezing the poundage, which is available for all non-domestic properties across Scotland.

In addition, we have provided the Small Business Grant Scheme and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) Grant Scheme, which are both being administered by local authorities. The grant scheme in Scotland will now provide a 75% grant for each subsequent eligible properties. We estimate that around 5,500 properties in the broader economy will benefit from a £7,500 grant in Scotland, but would receive nothing in England. Meanwhile, around 3,500 RHL properties would receive £7,500 in Scotland compared with £10,000 in England. These figures demonstrate that, on balance, more properties will gain more in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has also delivered a £100 million fund to help micro and SME businesses and the newly self-employed not eligible for other schemes and with immediate cash flow issues so they may be of relevance. Information about the fund can be found at the following link, https://www.gov.scot/news/lifeline-support-for-business-confirmed/ .

We continue to engage with businesses on a regular basis to understand their needs, and we remain in dialogue with the UK Government to consider where further support is needed.