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The criteria for the Business Support Grant Scheme are based in large part on property use and rateable value, which are determined by independent Scottish Assessors who are responsible for the valuation of all non-domestic property in Scotland. Ratepayers can challenge their property valuation through an independent statutory appeals process in certain circumstances and within timescales prescribed in statute.

The Business Support Grant Scheme is administered by local authorities. If an individual is unhappy with a decision in relation to an application for a support grant then they should raise that with their local authority in the first instance, and where possible provide any further relevant information that may be necessary to satisfy the council that the established criteria have been met. Any individual that is unhappy with the outcome of this process may also approach the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, if they believe there has been maladministration, or seek a judicial review of the local authority’s decision if they have grounds to do so.

The Scottish Government has been working in partnership with Legion Scotland and Poppyscotland to arrange events to mark the 75th Anniversaries of both VE and VJ Day. We have provided funding to Legion Scotland so that they may lead the nation and local communities in commemorating and celebrating our Second World War generation.

We had intended to mark VJ Day with a Service of Remembrance, Parade and reception for our Second World War Veterans. However, the importance of ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our elderly veterans during the pandemic means that this is no longer possible and has had to be postponed.

Instead the Scottish Government will support Legion Scotland to mark the anniversary online. The full programme of events is still undergoing preparation and will be announced in due course. Additionally, we have been working with Poppyscotland to produce a range of freely available online activity and educational resources for both VE and VJ Day so that communities across Scotland can mark these anniversaries safely at home.

Whilst we appreciate that many communities across Scotland will wish to mark the anniversaries through local commemorative ceremonies, we have taken the difficult decision to ask them not to. We do not expect that mass gatherings will be able to resume until we are in phase 4 of the Scottish Government’s transition out of the lockdown and the virus is contained and/or a vaccine developed. Mass gatherings will then be able to resume in line with public health advice, though at this stage we cannot give a specific date as to when this will be.

We recognise that wholesalers service the needs of public sector procurement contracts with schools, care homes, hospitals and prison service.

Ms Campbell announced a £350 million package of support for vulnerable families on Wed 18 March. This included a £70 million Food Fund to support households worried about accessing food. We have provided our local authority partners with £30 million of new investment from the SG Food Fund to support families unable to access food as a result of COVID-19. As part of the £30 million investment we agreed a distribution to local authorities of £15 million specifically for free school meals, however local authorities have flexibility to use the overall additional £30 million resource in ways that best meet emerging local needs and circumstances.

Many local authorities offer a range of approaches with around half offering food delivery or food collection. Whilst the level of procurement is substantially lower than before Covid-19, there is still some activity in this area with Local Authorities tending to work with existing suppliers.

The Scottish Government is going to great lengths to support businesses and have offered a package of support worth £2.2 billion for businesses. As part of this £2.2 billion there is the £45 million allocated to the Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund, managed by the Enterprise Agencies for vulnerable SME firms who are vital to the local or national economic foundations of Scotland. Eligible wholesalers are encouraged to apply to the Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund which opened on the 30th of April.

In addition to the Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund the wholesale sector have been able to make use of the Job Retention Scheme and can furlough staff which covers 80% of staff salary for a period of up to four months from the 1 st of March 2020.

All non-domestic properties in Scotland, including wholesalers, will qualify for the 1.6% discount on 2020-21 rates bills.

Aside from financial support Ministers and Officials have engaged with the industry and as a result I wrote to over 60 manufacturers to call on them to ensure equity of supply across customer bases including the wholesale sector.

We continue to engage with businesses on a regular basis to understand their needs.

We are determined to help keep companies in business and our financial support now exceeds the £2.3 billion passed on from the UK Government. In designing the relief and grant system we had to balance helping as many businesses as possible against what was affordable.

The rates reliefs are set out in The Non-Domestic Rates (Coronavirus Reliefs) (Scotland) Regulations 2020. This includes a universal 1.6% relief available to all non-domestic properties, and a 100% relief for businesses in the Retail, Hospitality, Leisure and Airport sectors. Non-domestic rates are administered by local authorities, and the interpretation of the relevant legislation and the awarding of reliefs is a matter for them.

The Scottish Government has committed to a four-step economic plan, comprising response, reset, restart and recover. The package of support so far has focused on the response stage, including the delivery of business support measures. We are regularly reviewing the physical distancing restrictions and, as we move from the immediate response phase of the crisis, through the stages of reset, restart, recover, we will be working with businesses, on a sector by sector basis, to establish the best way that businesses can reopen, taking account of the very real ongoing public health priorities.

The package of support we have delivered includes a fund to provide grants for businesses experiencing hardship as a result of COVID-19. A £10,000 grant is available to small businesses in receipt of Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS) or Rural Relief on 17 March 2020; or properties eligible for SBBS and in receipt of either Nursery Relief, Business Growth Accelerator, Fresh Start or Disabled Relief on 17 March 2020. Retail, Leisure and Hospitality properties with a rateable value from £18,001 and up to and including £51,000 may apply for a £25,000 grant.

On 15 April, the Scottish Government announced a Phase 2 of the Business Grants Funding Scheme, which commenced on 5 May.

This is specifically aimed at ratepayers with more than one property. In addition to a 100% grant on their first eligible property, ratepayers with additional qualifying properties will be eligible to apply for a 75% grant on each additional property. This will make available Small Business Grants of £7,500 and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants of £18,750 on any additional qualifying properties that a ratepayer may have, subject to compliance with EU State Aid Rules.

The announcement also extended the eligibility for the £10,000 Small Business Grant to additional ratepayers that hold one or more properties within retail, hospitality or leisure, with individual rateable values not exceeding £18,000, and a cumulative rateable value between £35,001 and £51,000.

The Scottish Government recently announced that it will double the Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund from £45 million to £90 million. The fund will be managed by the Enterprise Agencies and will support vulnerable SME firms who are vital to the local or national economic foundations of Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-28745 on 12 May 2020. 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 .

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-27437 on 12 March 2020. 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 requested information is not centrally held.

The primary purpose of the Royal College of GP (RCGP) curriculum is to train future GPs with the types of generalist medical skills and capabilities to work competently and safely within general practice settings, part of which is to recognise when a patient’s need requires more specialist intervention or assessment. Throughout their training, GP trainees will encounter a broad variety of patients of all ages, and with various needs and conditions. The curriculum is not intended to equip them with detailed medical specialist knowledge and skills, although upon completion of their training GPs may go onto attain additional skills through Continuous Professional Development opportunities.

Within the GP curriculum, gender dysphoria is covered more fully in the ‘Sexual Health’ and ‘Equality, Diversity and Inclusion’ topic guides, whereas Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) is covered in the ‘Gynaecology and Breast’ topic guide.

HRT for transgender patients is a specialised area which is Health Board dependant and may be provided by a combination of medical consultants in Gynaecology and Sexual and Reproductive Health. GP’s would prescribe/monitor treatments as per national guidelines and consultant input.