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The Creative, Tourism and Hospitality Enterprises Hardship Fund (CTHEHF) provides support, unavailable elsewhere in the UK, for small creative, tourism and hospitality companies who have experienced at least 50% loss of current or projected revenue as a result of COVID-19 and are experiencing hardship. Due to significant demand we increased the fund from £20m to £30m. The fund is administered by our enterprise agencies, which are currently progressing applications. The fund is now closed.

Each enterprise agency administers the fund in its respective area. The performance data are compiled by Scottish Enterprise on behalf of all three agencies, consulting and working together with Creative Scotland and Visit Scotland. As applications are still being processed the fund’s performance data are incomplete. I have asked the Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise to write to you this month as soon as the data you have requested can be reported.

Once all applications have been appraised and funding distributed, the intention is to publish information relating to the demand for CTHEHF and our other business support funds, including volume and value of applications.

Our targeted support funds to the creative, tourism and hospitality sector, along with support to SMEs who are vulnerable but vital to their local economies, and the newly self-employed have resulted in awards totalling £104m as of 2nd June; that is grant offers to over 2500 businesses and 4160 self-employed people to date.

The Creative, Tourism and Hospitality Enterprises Hardship Fund (CTHEHF) provides support, unavailable elsewhere in the UK, for small creative, tourism and hospitality companies who have experienced at least 50% loss of current or projected revenue as a result of COVID-19 and are experiencing hardship. Due to significant demand we increased the fund from £20m to £30m. The fund is administered by our enterprise agencies, which are currently progressing applications. The fund is now closed.

Each enterprise agency administers the fund in its respective area. The performance data are compiled by Scottish Enterprise on behalf of all three agencies, consulting and working together with Creative Scotland and Visit Scotland. As applications are still being processed the fund’s performance data are incomplete. I have asked the Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise to write to you this month as soon as the data you have requested can be reported.

Once all applications have been appraised and funding distributed, the intention is to publish information relating to the demand for CTHEHF and our other business support funds, including volume and value of applications.

On 21 May the Scottish Government published a routemap setting out a four phase approach to easing lockdown restrictions while still suppressing Covid-19. This sets out our plans for children to return to school under a blended model of part-time in-school teaching and part-time in-home learning in phase 3 of the routemap.

The UK Government Job Retention Scheme guidance states that:

“If you are unable to work, including from home, due to caring responsibilities arising from coronarivus (COVID-19), such as caring for children who are at home as a result of school and childcare facilities closing, or caring for a vulnerable individual in your household, then you should speak to your employer about whether they plan to place staff on furlough.” This scheme has been extended until the end of October 2020 with new flexibility introduced from August 2020.

The Scottish Government are planning for all childcare providers to reopen during phase 3 of the routemap, subject to public health measures, with available capacity prioritised to support key worker childcare, early learning and childcare entitlement and children in need.

Some childcare provision will be available more widely for parents and carers in phase 1. From Wednesday 3 June 2020 all childminders and fully outdoor childcare provision can reopen if they wish to do so. These providers must prioritise critical childcare for keyworkers and vulnerable children but beyond this, they can use their discretion to allocate places to families.

We have established working groups and are working with 14 sectors to consider how quickly and in what manner, people can start to return to work. This includes taking into account transport, childcare, schooling and caring considerations. We are clear within our sectoral workplace guidance that when employers are carrying out workforce planning as a minimum we expect employers to take account of travel to work considerations and childcare arrangements, in the case of childcare settings and schools not being fully operational. We are also continuing to state that working from home should continue, where possible.

There should be no detriment in the number of days’ holiday for teachers who have additional working days due to the change in the start date for academic session 2020-21.

The Scottish Government published guidance on physical distancing in schools, including school transport, on 28 May. This guidance includes advice to schools, local authorities and transport providers on how to support physical distancing on school transport. This guidance reflects that given in the Transport Transition Plan published on 26 May. Both documents emphasise the need for physical distancing and the knock-on effect on capacity within public and school transport. The use of alternative, active travel routes by school communities is also encouraged where appropriate. The Scottish Government is working closely with local authorities and other stakeholders through the Education Recovery Group to support the reopening of schools.

As set out in the answer to question S5W-29139 on 4 June 2020, a definition of ‘variations in sex characteristics’ is provided, for the purposes of the Bill, as being a reference to a person being born with physical and biological sex characteristics which, taken as a whole, are neither those typically associated with males nor those typically associated with females. Any type of variation, to any degree, which is within this definition is potentially within the scope of the Bill.

For an offence to be aggravated, the course of conduct or action of the offender must evince malice and ill-will towards the person affected based on that person's membership, presumed membership or association with a particular group; or be motivated by malice and ill-will towards members of a group based on their membership of that group.

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

The Management of Offenders (Scotland) Act 2019 received Royal Assent on 30 July 2019. The Act provides a legislative basis for enhanced electronic monitoring capabilities. A new electronic monitoring contract started on 1 April 2020 and that now provides a contractual framework for the new technological capabilities, including remote substance monitoring, once the relevant sections of the Act are commenced.

However, those sections of the Act will only be commenced once there has been discussion and agreement with stakeholders as to how the service can be developed. The necessary discussions with stakeholders that are needed prior to developing a service with those capabilities have had to be limited over recent weeks as all parties focus on managing the impact of Covid-19 across justice services, but the intention is they will resume as soon as practically possible.

The Scottish Government is aware that other terms are also in use, such as ‘intersex’ or ‘difference in sex development’. People with a variation will also have their own preferred language and might refer to their specific variation or diagnosis. The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill does not seek to impose the language of ‘variations in sex characteristics’ on individuals or organisations. The term ‘variations in sex characteristics’, as opposed to ‘intersex’, is used as this is an inclusive term, increasingly being adopted by stakeholders.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-29138 on 4 June 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill sets out ‘variations in sex characteristics’ as a reference to a person being born with physical and biological sex characteristics which, taken as a whole, are neither those typically associated with males nor those typically associated with females.

The definition of ‘variations in sex characteristics’ includes people whose physical sex development is different from what is generally expected for males and females.

The phrase ‘physical and biological sex characteristics’ is not specifically defined in the Bill, meaning that the phrase takes its ordinary meaning in the context and would include genetic, chromosomal, gonadal, anatomical and hormonal characteristics.

Although ‘variations in sex characteristics’ is used in the Bill, the Scottish Government is aware that other terms are also in use, such as ‘intersex’ or ‘differences of sex development’. People with a variation will also have their own preferred language and might refer to their specific variation or diagnosis.