Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government, along with the Scottish Ambulance Service and other key stakeholders, have taken a number of actions to increase capacity for airlifting patients off of the islands. These include:

• Procurement of Epishuttles, which are single patient isolation pods to ensure the safety of the patient and healthcare staff during transfer. 8 of these shuttles have been purchased, 2 of which have been received and are being tested over 7 days for a go-live date on 3 April. A further 2 will be received on 17 April and another 4 by Mid-May.
• Whilst these Epishuttles are being tested SAS is working with the RAF who are currently providing cover for transfers off of the islands, using two puma helicopters based at Lossiemouth which can transfer patients without Epishuttles.
• Where a military fixed wing aircraft or helicopter is requested, before Epishuttles are available, SAS will be able to deploy their expert retrieval team timeously to support Island colleagues prepare the patient for transfer and undertake the retrieval, meaning they will be on site ahead of the military air asset and have the patient ready for transfer when it arrives.
• Working with Loganair, who are providing two additional twin otter aircraft, one of which will be operational from Friday 3 April and the other within the next 14 days. These additional aircraft will be kitted out with Epishuttles and utilised for air retrieval off those islands with the appropriate landing facilities.
• Ensuring that patients on islands without any appropriate landing facilities for fixed wing aircraft will receive airlift by helicopter.

As always, the decision as to whether or not a patient requires to be airlifted will be made by skilled clinicians involved in the patients care. Patient safety remains our number one priority.

Coronavirus is the biggest challenge we have faced in our lifetimes and the measures we take to deal with it must reflect its magnitude. On 18 March 2020, the Communities Secretary announced £350 million in emergency funding for local organisations, including charities and social enterprises, to respond swiftly and according to local needs.

As part of this, the Scottish Government has launched a £70 million ‘Food Fund’ for those tackling food insecurity, a £50 million ‘Community Wellbeing Fund’ to help charities working with at-risk people, a £40 million ‘Supporting Communities Fund’ to support community anchor organisations, and a £20 million ‘Third Sector Resilience Fund’ to support charities and social enterprises negatively impacted by cash flow issues.

Working with the Scottish Government, the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations has launched a ‘Coronavirus Third Sector Information Hub’, which is available at scvo.org.uk/support/coronavirus. This hub provides practical information for third sector leaders, as well as information on funding available from independent funders.

All non-domestic properties in Scotland will now automatically get a 1.6% rates relief during 2020-21. Retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, which includes charity shops, will be eligible to receive 100% rates relief during 2020-21. Those with a Rateable Value of £18,001 up to (and including) £50,999 will also be able to apply for a one-off grant of £25,000.

Further information on rates relief and small business grants is available at mygov.scot/non-domestic-rates-coronavirus.

 Yesterday I announced an initial package of more than £5 million in financial support to assist fishing businesses during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. This funding will be offered to over 650 seafood fishing companies, many of whom have lost their livelihoods with the collapse of export and hospitality markets for Scottish delicacies like langoustine, prawns and crab.

An initial payment of 50% of two months’ average earnings will be made to owners of all full time Scottish registered fishing vessels of 12 metres length and under, many of whom operate in remote and island communities.

I recognise there might be more that we need to look at for the wider sector – the impacts of this crisis will continue and some will grow and deepen. We are monitoring matters and remaining in close discussion with all stakeholders in the fishing industry to understand what is happening and what might happen. Things obviously are moving quickly and we are alert to that.

Those vessels not eligible for this initial support package, but who feel they are in urgent need of support are invited to submit an enquiry to Marine Scotland. All fishing businesses are different, and we will consider any such enquiry for financial support on a case by case basis.

Support is also being developed for the onshore processing industry – one of the largest employers in Scotland’s coastal communities – and others in the shellfish growing sector which are being affected by the loss of trade and markets.

The need for action is immediate and we all have a part to play in supporting our fishing sector, be that creating alternative markets through the retail sector, buying Scottish seafood where people can and, of course, providing financial support where this is most needed.

Any questions or queries about the fund can be directed to the central mailbox: seafisheriesintervention@gov.scot

In response to the current challenging set of circumstances, I have had extensive discussions with the Chief Examiner. This culminated in my announcement on 19 March that the exam diet will not go ahead this year. SQA are now working to deliver a credible certification model that can be put in place and can command confidence in the absence of the exam diet. This will ensure that young people in our schools and colleges who, through no fault of their own, are unable to sit exams, are not disadvantaged.

We will continue to work with the education sector and SQA to achieve this.

The latest number of active spin-outs from academic year 2017-18 is provided in the following table:

The Crofting Commission have approved a total of 2582 decrofting applications since 2013-14. The approvals can be broken down into application type, Croft House Site & Garden Ground, Part Croft and Whole Croft decrofting applications.

The Scottish Government does not hold any information that specifically measures the economic impact of university spin-out companies.

However, the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) publishes data on the employment and turnover of active spin-out firms through the Higher Education Business and Community Interaction (HE-BCI) survey.

Table 1: Estimated Employment (FTE) from Spin-outs, 2013-14 to 2017-18

The Scottish Government recognises the significant economic and social value to Scotland in enabling the commercialisation of innovation emerging from our world class universities and research institutes. This is supported through a range of activities and initiatives, delivered through partnership across public, private, and third sectors.

A number of specific initiatives, such as the High Growth Spinout Programme, the Converge Challenge and the Enterprise Fellowship Programme provide students, researchers and staff with the support they need to enable them to commercialise ideas and bring new technologies and products to market.

Now that the budget for 2020/21 has been agreed, we will give careful consideration to how the fund is used and, in doing so, will take care to reflect on the impact that mesh complications have had on the lives of the women affected. As such, we will consult with relevant stakeholders, take account of information already provided by women who have been in touch with us, and have asked the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland to engage with patients.

I will announce further details as soon as possible.