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The current licence to operate, between Scottish Government Ministers and the Scottish Exhibition Campus (SEC) for the NHS Louisa Jordan Hospital, established to support Scotland’s response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, is due to end on 31 March 2021 and will not be extended. The Mass Vaccination Centre which is currently operating in NHS Louisa Jordan will be relocated to The SSE Hydro with no gaps in provision. More information can be found in the Scottish Government Press Release dated 18 March 2021

https://www.gov.scot/news/nhs-louisa-jordan-to-close/

We recognise that high quality data is important to the NHS because it can lead to improvements in both care and safety. Our Respiratory Care Action Plan will aim to build on existing data from the Atlas of Variation from ISD Scotland and work towards a core respiratory data set. This will inform the implementation of the Plan and allow us to track improvements over time. We will work closely with key stakeholders, including those working on SPIRE, to ensure any data collection is consistent and appropriate for Scotland.

According to Rape Crisis Scotland, as of October 2019 and October 2020 waiting list times for each centre were as follows:

Public Health Scotland provide regular reports which include suspected drug-related deaths, to help maintain and improve the quality of care and support available to people who use drugs. That data is closely examined by Public Health Scotland and key partner organisations, particularly any notable increases in suspected deaths such as those noted in December 2020. There can be a number of reasons for spikes in the number of deaths being recorded, but at this stage no specific causes or geographical links have been identified to explain this particular increase. We continue to work closely with partners to monitor these figures and any arising concerns.

The official, confirmed, drug deaths statistics for 2020 will be published by National Records of Scotland in the summer. Whilst there were significant concerns about the potential impact of the pandemic on vulnerable groups, including those who used drugs, a range of work was undertaken by Scottish Government, with significant investment made, to mitigate these risks. At this stage we do not have any clear evidence to suggest that the total number of confirmed drug-related deaths in 2020 will surpass the numbers recorded in 2019.

The Scottish Government’s Alcohol Framework 2018 is clear that action is needed to inform consumers about the health impacts of alcohol consumption and the UK Chief Medical Officers’ lower-risk maximum drinking guidelines.

We delivered the Count 14 marketing campaign over two phases in 2019 and 2020. This aims to increase awareness of the 14 unit weekly lower-risk guidelines and translate 14 units into specific alcoholic drinks. The campaign included TV, radio, print and digital advertising as well a roadshow in local supermarkets and a range of partnerships.

A campaign evaluation report summarising the findings of independent pre and post tracker surveys was published on 22 March 2021: Alcohol - count 14 campaign: evaluation report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . The findings demonstrate that the Count 14 campaign has made a positive impact on increasing awareness and understanding of the UK CMOs’ low-risk drinking guidelines in Scotland. For example, among all of those surveyed, awareness of the 14 unit limit increased from 17% pre-Count 14 activity to 32% after both phases. We will consider future national marketing and health messaging on alcohol consumption in light of these findings.

Product labels and packaging are an important source of information for consumers. A report published in 2020 by the Alcohol Health Alliance, based on 2019 data, found that more than 70% of the labels reviewed did not include the official, up-to date lower-risk drinking guidelines at the time of data collection: DRINKING-IN-THE-DARK.pdf (ahauk.org) .

As indicated in the Alcohol Framework, we will consider whether a legislative approach is required to improving health information on products. The Scottish Government, along with the Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive, are discussing with the UK Government their plans for calorie labelling on alcohol products in England, in order to explore options for approaching alcohol labelling requirements on a four-nations basis.

The Scottish Government has engaged with animal welfare groups as new firework regulations have been progressed through secondary legislation. A meeting took place on 17 December 2020 with the Scottish SPCA to discuss the measures that were being introduced. The Scottish SPCA indicated support for the new regulations and the impact they will have on animal welfare.

The Scottish SPCA and British Veterinary Association were also represented on the Firework Review Group. Animal welfare concerns were a key area of consideration for the Group, including the impact fireworks use has on pets, wildlife and livestock. Both organisations supported the Group’s final recommendations for change in how fireworks are sold and used in Scotland.

The following table sets out the numbers of sudden, unexpected and unexplained deaths reported per month to the Procurator Fiscal from 01 June 2020 to 28 February 2021. Included within this table at Column (ii) is the number of deaths where the Procurator Fiscal instructed that a post mortem examination be held.

Toxicological analysis is required in the case of fatalities where the cause of death is not immediately clear, and when that analysis is required by the pathologist for preparation of the final post mortem report. The University of Glasgow, under contract with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), currently provides most of the toxicology services in Scotland, with the exception of deaths that are reported to the Procurator Fiscal from Grampian, Highland and Islands where toxicology services are provided by alternative providers.

Column (iii) sets out the number of post mortem examinations held, from those set out in column (ii), in which the Procurator Fiscal instructed a toxicology report from the University of Glasgow.

Column (iv) sets out the number of post mortem examinations held, from those set out in column (ii), where the death occurred within Grampian, Highland and Islands. It is not possible to identify from information held by COPFS if a toxicology report was instructed in relation to these post mortem examinations. That information could only be identified by reviewing individually each death comprised in the cohort referred to in that column.

The Alcohol Framework 2018 commitment to further understand online and telephone sales remains important and it is crucial that these market routes are also viewed through the lens of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Scottish Government commissioned Public Health Scotland (PHS) to investigate and report on alcohol consumption during the initial COVID-19 lockdown period in 2020. In February 2021, PHS published two reports and a briefing paper that explore how COVID-19 and related restrictions have impacted on alcohol sales and consumption in Scotland in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic:

Monitoring and Evaluating Scotland's Alcohol Strategy (MESAS) -
Alcohol - Health topics - Public Health Scotland .

In this work, PHS notes that its estimate of a reduction 6% in sales of pure alcohol per adult may be a slight overestimate, as online (and on-trade takeaway) sales were not captured. The Scottish Government has therefore asked PHS to consider further how it can understand this growing part of the alcohol sales market, and scoping work is currently underway to explore potential data sources and progress with analysis work.

The monitoring of the impact of gambling across the UK during the pandemic, is carried out by the Gambling Commission, which published and updated the following report . The Commission also alerts stakeholders to other academic assessments carried out across both the UK and internationally.

Gambling has the potential to negatively affect physical, psychological health, and the social functioning of the people who gamble and others around them. In April 2019 the Gambling Commission, with the support of GambleAware, published its “National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms”. That new industry-led strategy for England, Wales and Scotland aims to respond to growing concerns about the harm caused by gambling through improving prevention and educative approaches, and through developing and increasing access to evidenced-informed effective treatment and support.

The Scottish Government are currently working with the Commission and other stakeholders in Scotland, to assess existing evidence on which pathways to treatment are likely to be most successful in Scotland, this includes the evaluation of pathways being trialled in other nations. In addition, we are keen to understand why some people with problematic gambling are not accessing treatment and support services, to ensure our pathway options take these reasons into account to provide the correct approach for the people of Scotland.

The Scottish Government has not investigated or undertaken any feasibility work for a fixed link (bridge, sea crossing or tunnel) between Scotland and Northern Ireland and has no current plans to do so.

Transport Scotland officials have had limited discussions with the UK Government regarding the publication of the interim report of their Union Connectivity Review (UCR). On 26 November 2020 I spoke to Sir Peter Hendy, who is leading the UCR, to discuss this work. Subsequently, on 9 March 2021, I (separately) spoke with the UK Government as well as with Sir Peter Hendy, and relevant officials from the Department for Transport – the matter was discussed in that context on each occasion. I have also had various discussions with Nichola Mallon, Minister for Infrastructure in the Northern Ireland Assembly, on the UCR, some of which have made reference to a potential fixed link – on 6 March 2020 we both wrote to the Secretary of State for Transport setting out joint views on the matter.

We seek to engage constructively with the UK Government, however, not in a way that undermines the devolution settlement. The second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) is ongoing and is the method by which the Scottish Government will assess how best to influence the demand for travel, how to better maintain and make best use of existing transport assets, what new capacity is needed, and what may or may not need to be built. This work will appraise potential transport interventions and make recommendations for investment in transport in Scotland over the next 20 years – a fixed link to NI has not been identified as a priority throughout the course of STPR2.