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As the member will already be aware, from our previous interactions, it has not yet been possible to introduce RET on Northern Isles Ferry Services routes as planned for June 2018, due to an official State aid complaint made, by a commercial operator, to the European Commission.

However, despite this, several fare reductions have been implemented on Aberdeen – Lerwick – Kirkwall services since then where it has been possible to take action. These are:

• a 20% reduction in passenger and car fares on Aberdeen – Lerwick and Kirkwall – Lerwick services from 30 June 2018.
• a 20% reduction in cabin fares for islanders on Aberdeen – Kirkwall – Lerwick services from 1 January 2020.
• a 3 year freeze on passenger, car and cabin fares for islanders on Aberdeen – Kirkwall – Lerwick routes from 1 January 2020.

The Scottish Government and NHS colleagues have been working hard to ensure that patients in, and who enter hospital for non-covid related treatment, remain as safe as possible.

By utilising private sector capacity we ensuring that urgent cancer procedures are being carried out in a COVID free environment. In addition to the work carried out in our own NHS facilities the Private Hospitals (staffed by NHS Surgeons and Anaesthetists) have treated (as of w/e 07 June) 1520 urgent surgical cancer procedures had been undertaken, and 2090 outpatient appointments, which has provided support to 9 NHS Boards.

Alongside this, we are working on a hot and cold model, where hospitals with capacity to do so, would be separated into safe treatment areas for both Covid and non-Covid related treatment. It would not be feasible to have a cancer specific site, as Scotland covers a large geography and cancer is not just one disease, there is a huge range of specialisms and treatments for different diseases and these need to be available across the country.

In order to provide these COVID free spaces, the Scottish Government’s approach is focused on saving lives and protecting the vulnerable, rolling out Test and Protect to interrupt chains of transmission in the community, and continuing the vital surveillance work to support our understanding of the disease in Scotland. We are prioritising testing NHS and key workers, including those in the care sector. Since the start of the outbreak we have significantly increased our testing capacity- with total daily weekday capacity of more than 25,000 tests.

A framework has been developed to provide clear guiding principles for Health Boards when carrying out cancer surgery and builds on the initial guidance that has been issued to Health Boards since the beginning of this pandemic. This national framework means that patients requiring treatment will receive it at the earliest opportunity.

To ensure the focus remains on the prioritisation of cancer services the National Cancer Recovery Group has been established to provide strategic national end to end oversight of clinical services and was convened on 05 June.

This work will be supported by a National Cancer Treatment group who will agree and monitor prioritisation of cancer treatment.

The Scottish Government takes the Data Protection rights of the people of Scotland seriously and is working closely with the Information Commissioners Office to ensure that our Test and Protect implementation meets privacy standards. We have published a privacy statement which is intended to both inform and reassure people that their information is being shared appropriately within the NHS in Scotland and with our partner organisations.

https://www.informationgovernance.scot.nhs.uk/covid-19-privacy-statement/

We are undertaking data protection impact assessments for each element of the Test and Protect strategy. Due to the fast pace of the programme, we have designed a fast assessment template (https://www.informationgovernance.scot.nhs.uk/covid-19-rapid-data-protection-assessment/ ), to be followed by full Data Protection Impact Assessments, detailed privacy notices and Data Sharing Agreements as needed.

These assessments identify risks and mitigation actions. Contract tracing, however, is not a new activity for the NHS in Scotland. Public Health teams have existing protocols in place for tracing individuals at risk or suspected to have a transmittable disease. Public Health Scotland, working in partnership with the NHS National Services Scotland and the Health Boards, have extended the capacity of their teams, in order to deal with COVID-19, this means that further training to staff and revised scripts have been developed to ensure contract tracers provide adequate information, as well as search for consent to share some limited information with other contacts. This option is entirety voluntary, therefore for people who don’t want to be identified with their contacts, this information will be kept confidential.

As the Test and Protect programme of work progresses, new Data Protection Impact Assessments, privacy notices and information sharing agreements are developed, including the use of digital technologies such as Apps and websites for checking symptoms, booking tests, contact tracing and for providing advice on isolation and other relevant actions.

Privacy information is regularly updated through the NHSScotland Information Governance website https://www.informationgovernance.scot.nhs.uk/covid-19-privacy-statement/ , NHS Inform, Public Health Scotland, NHS National Services Scotland and the specific websites of each regional NHS Health Board.

The appointment of a consultant to take forward development of the island impact assessment is a matter for HIAL. HIAL sought an economist who was familiar with the Islands and selected an individual who has worked for Orkney Islands Council, Shetland Islands Council and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar on a variety of projects since the 1990’s. He has also undertaken work for Hitrans, Zetrans and HIAL.

The Island Impact Assessment process that HIAL has engaged in thus far has been open and transparent and it is HIAL’s intention that this continues. This will extend to publishing all submissions and all relevant correspondence on the HIAL web site.

The consultation process for the island impact assessment is a matter for HIAL. The specifics of the individual island community groups has not yet been finalised by the consultant, but those involved will include representatives of the Island Authority areas. Once finalised HIAL will circulate the details. Local Authorities and local businesses will also be consulted.

We understand that ‘smarter shielding’ is a term referred to in the UK Government’s Our Plan to Rebuild: The UK Government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy.

We have today updated the advice to shielded people, along with setting out the future steps on shielding. This can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781839608100

People who are on the shielding list have been sent a letter today confirming that the shielding period will continue until at least the end of July and that support which is in place will remain in place for at least that period. The letter contains updated advice to enable outdoor exercise provided strict physical distancing is followed. This advice is in place from 18 June, subject to infection rates in Scotland remaining at a sufficiently low level.

If the evidence supports it we will make further changes to advice before 31 July – beyond the changes we are signalling now on outdoor exercise. We want to gradually provide advice on how people who are shielding can increase their freedoms, as we have done for those who are not shielding with the Routemap. We are continually monitoring the virus and as soon as we think it is safe for the advice to change, we will do so.

We are also working to make sure that the extension of shielding to the end of July marks a transition to a new approach that enables those who are shielding to make choices about how to protect themselves, linked closely to controlling the virus through the route map and Test and Protect. In the course of the summer, once the evidence base has been developed, we will:

• Provide people with updated clinical evidence about their conditions and what that means for their risk from Covid,
• Help those shielding understand the changing levels of infection in the community and how to reduce the chance of   catching the virus
• Provide that information in a way that is accessible, understandable and helpful,
• Give people who are shielding access to support that can help them make informed choices about their lives,
• Support people shielding to put their choices into practice.

This approach is dependent on us understanding as much as possible about the chances of people shielding catching the virus and the risk to them if they do. The evidence to support this is growing but we need to be sure it is robust enough before we start using it to change our approach. There is coordinated work being carried out across the four nations to gather this evidence and we hope that we will start to see the benefits of that over the course of the summer.

The Scottish Government has a duty under the Equality Act 2010 to consider the impact of its policies and has commissioned NHS National Services Scotland and Public Health Scotland to carry out an Equality impact Assessment to gauge any disproportionate impact of Test and Protect. The Scottish Government works with external stakeholders to understand people's different needs and experiences. We aim to put equality and human rights, at the heart of our work to ensure that we continue to protect the most 'at risk' groups in society with fairness and dignity, and that we leave no-one behind. The specifics of how different disadvantaged groups will be able to engage with specific online resources are still under development but telephone based contact tracing is now available across Scotland's health boards.