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a) Assessment of the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; The Scottish Government continues to monitor evidence on the Four Harms of COVID-19. These are the direct impact of COVID-19, other health impacts, societal impacts, and economic impacts.

We are using this information to inform decisions about COVID-19, including how we move through phases of the Coronavirus Route Map .

The virus will impact different groups of people in different ways, and our society will be affected in different ways over time. We’re carefully monitoring the data and regularly update new evidence to COVID-19 in Scotland (data.gov.scot) .

b) Assessment of the potential impact of COVID-19 vaccines on i) Menstrual Cycles; The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have reviewed reports of menstrual disorders and unexpected vaginal bleeding suspected as adverse reactions to vaccination with the three COVID-19 vaccines currently being used in the UK: Pfizer/BioNTech, COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca and COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna.

These reports have also been reviewed by independent experts of the Commission on Human Medicines’ COVID-19 Vaccines Benefit Risk Expert Working Group and members of its Medicines for Women’s Health Expert Advisory Group.

A range of menstrual disorders has been reported as suspected adverse reactions after all three of these COVID-19 vaccines including heavy bleeding, delayed periods and unexpected vaginal bleeding. The number of reports of menstrual disorders and vaginal bleeding is low in relation to both the number of females who have received COVID-19 vaccines to date and the background rate of menstrual disorders generally.

ii) Menstrual Health; The current evidence does not suggest an increased risk of either menstrual disorders or unexpected vaginal bleeding following vaccination with the vaccines reviewed (Pfizer/BioNTech, COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca or COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna). The advice from the NHS remains that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks for most people. The MHRA will continue to closely monitor reports of suspected menstrual disorders and vaginal bleeding with COVID-19 vaccines.

Healthcare professionals are advised that anyone presenting with menstrual disorders and/or unexpected vaginal bleeding following COVID-19 vaccination should be treated according to clinical guidelines for these conditions, as usual.

The safety of all vaccines and medicines is monitored by the MHRA on a UK-wide basis. This includes reports from the Yellow Card Scheme which allows health professionals and patients across the UK to flag up suspected adverse reactions to any vaccine or medicine, as well as reports from worldwide use and on-going scientific evidence.

If a woman is concerned about changes to her period, she is advised to speak to her GP, especially if she experiences bleeding after menopause.

There are no plans at present to consult with SPS staff about the potential introduction of a four-day working week (32 hours), at no loss of pay.  However, parliamentary officials have held informal discussions with the trade unions about the 2021/22 pay award for SPS staff and are aware that this is an issue which trade unions are raising with the public sector.  The SPCB recently agreed to instruct parliamentary officials to enter into formal pay negotiations with the TUS with both sides committed to securing and communicating a deal as soon as possible. 

The SPCB provides the staff cost provision to enable Members to employ up to the equivalent of 4 full time staff. Individual Members have flexibility to decide how to use their staffing budget, including setting staff salaries within the agreed pay ranges and overall capped provision limit set by the SPCB. It is for Members as the employer to decide how they employ their staff so long as it is within the rules of the Scheme and the job families and salary ranges set out by the SPCB. Members also set their own hours of work.

We welcome the research of the Poverty Alliance, who worked in partnership with Transport Scotland to explore the links between child poverty and transport. As of April 2021, over 1.4 million older and disabled people were eligible for free bus travel, and almost 150,000 young people aged 16-18 could get a 1/3 discount on bus travel, through our concessionary travel schemes. We will not stop there and we continue to take ambitious action to make public transport more affordable and to ensure our young people can access education, employment and training opportunities – as demonstrated by our commitment to free bus travel for everyone under the age of 22.

We are also taking a number of actions to support low income families, including doubling the Scottish Child Payment to £20 per child per week, and delivering a Low Income Pandemic Payment of £130 for all households in receipt of Council Tax Reduction in April 2021 and for other households who are exempt or who have no liability – including those in temporary accommodation.

As we work to support a fair and sustainable economic recovery from COVID-19 it is imperative that we also introduce a fair system for paying for transport which alleviates the strain on those living in poverty, particularly children, and reduces inequalities.

The Scottish Government has supported the purchase of green buses between 2011 and 2018 through the Scottish Green Bus Fund, and then since 2020 through the Scottish Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme. Details of the buses purchased through these schemes are published on Transport Scotland Webpages.

Details of buses purchased through the Scottish Green Bus Fund are published at https://www.transport.gov.scot/public-transport/buses/scottish-green-bus-fund/#45456

Details of buses purchased through the Scottish Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme are published at https://www.transport.gov.scot/public-transport/buses/scottish-ultra-low-emission-bus-scheme/scottish-ultra-low-emission-bus-scheme-completed-bids/

Green Jobs Fund comprises two tranches of money – £50m which has been baselined into our Enterprise Agencies capital funding; and £50m under the direct control of Scottish Ministers. As of 25 June 2021, no specific projects have been funded for 2021-22. Scottish Enterprise are currently in the process of a green jobs call to business. The first application window, offering grants between £50k and £500k, closes on Thursday 1 July. Awards will be made in early September 2021. Highlands and Islands Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise are directing their support towards businesses already within their knowledge base and expect to make related awards by the end of September 2021. The policy for the second tranche of funding is currently under development and we expect to make related awards in October 2021.

The Scottish Government welcome the Audit Scotland report, and we are pleased that it recognised the swift actions of Scotland’s public sector partners to respond to the significant and unprecedented challenges presented by Covid-19. The Scottish Government agrees with Audit Scotland that we need to learn from this pandemic and bring that learning both into planning for future pandemics, and into our long term procurement strategy. This work is already underway. Officials are working across the public sector including with the NHS to learn the lessons and take them into future PPE procurement.

To address environmental concerns surrounding PPE, the Scottish Government has funded a Small Business Research Initiative £310,000, with Transport Scotland providing additional funding, to assess and evaluate prospective reusable PPE solutions and technologies to assist in decontaminating PPE. This initiative, led by NHS Tayside on behalf of the Scottish Government, supports companies to develop more environmentally-friendly PPE by providing funding to enable them to undertake vital research and development of their prospective solutions.

The Scottish Government has also established a PPE Innovation Working Group with partners across Scotland. The purpose of this Group is to oversee the implementation of positive changes to the provision of clinical PPE in Scotland. As part of this work, the Group will consider potential work streams and opportunities which surround the environmental impact of PPE and how manufacturers with innovative PPE solutions can better collaborate with NHS Scotland in the future.

In June 2017, Healthcare Improvement Scotland published their report on the Review of Ayrshire Maternity Unit, University Hospital Crosshouse, NHS Ayrshire & Arran (Adverse Events).

Recommendation seven said that NHS Scotland should develop and agree a list of mandatory skills and competencies for maternity services to support ongoing training programmes in NHS boards . NHS Education for Scotland facilitated a short life working group which identified a package of core mandatory update training for midwives and obstetricians. In December 2018 Scottish Government requested all NHS Boards ensure that midwives and obstetricians undertake the core mandatory update training required.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic it has not been possible for staff to undertake face to face training, including elements of the package of core mandatory training, and staff time to undertake training has been significantly curtailed. Boards are actively looking at ways to take forward training in a COVID safe way, and many of the training packages have moved to virtual platforms to mitigate restrictions as a result of COVID.

As routine business is remobilised we expect Boards to move forward with completion of the package of Core Mandatory Training.

The updated guidance regarding the extended use of face masks and coverings in hospitals, primary care, wider community care and adult care homes was published after consultation with numerous stakeholders, including Scottish Social Services Council, Scottish Care, Fair Work in Social Care Group, COSLA and GMB Scotland.

The guidance relating to residents wearing face masks in specific situations in care homes contained in the updated version (Version 3) guidance, published on 7 June 2021, was also contained in Version 2 of the guidance published in October 2020. Scottish Care, COSLA and the Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland (CCPS) were given the opportunity to comment on this earlier version of the guidance.

The Scottish Government listened to feedback on the recent update and worked in partnership with representatives from the sector to rapidly review the language and information relating to social care within the guidance. As a result of this review, social care guidance has been separated from hospital and primary care settings and has been updated to ensure it accurately communicates that residents are not required to wear a Fluid Resistant Surgical Mask (FRSM) or face covering within the care home. which is first and foremost their own home. It is a resident's choice whether to wear one.

The updated guidance on the use of face masks within social care settings including adult care homes was published on 23 June and is available at the following link

Coronavirus (COVID-19): use of face coverings in social care settings including adult care homes - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Chief Nursing Officer and Scottish Government officials met with representatives from Scottish Care and Erskine Care Homes on 9 June 2021 to discuss the updated extended use of face masks and face covering guidance in hospitals, primary care, wider community care and adult care homes.

The guidance for social care settings was previously contained within the Coronavirus (COVID- 19): guidance on the extended use of face masks and face coverings in hospitals, primary care, wider community care and adult care homes, which was updated on 7 June 2021.

The Scottish Government listened to feedback on the recent update and worked in partnership with representatives of the sector to rapidly review the language and information relating to social care within the guidance. As a result of this review, social care guidance has been separated from hospital and primary care settings and has been updated to ensure it accurately communicates that residents are not required to wear a Fluid Resistant Surgical Mask (FRSM) or face covering within the care home, which is first and foremost their home. It is a resident's choice whether to wear one.

The updated guidance on the use of face masks within social care settings including adult care homes was published on 23 June and is available at the following link

Coronavirus (COVID-19): use of face coverings in social care settings including adult care homes - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)