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Baby sensory classes do not meet the definition of close contact services as stated in The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 and are therefore ineligible for support under this fund.

Baby sensory class practitioners may be eligible for support through the UK Government’s Self Employment Income Support Scheme which protects up to 80% of a self-employed person’s average monthly trading profits. The £120 million Local Authority Discretionary Fund provides another potential route to financial support, I would encourage those who run these classes to check their Local Authority website for eligibility.

All Health Boards have included their housebound patients within their delivery models for each priority group. We have had confirmation that those aged 80 and over living in the community who are housebound have received their vaccination, with only small gaps for reasons such as illness or non-consent.

On 16 February 2021, I announced that the Scottish Budget 2021-22 would extend the COVID-19 relief for properties in the retail, hospitality, leisure and aviation sectors, and newspaper publishing, for all of 2021-22 provided the Scottish Government receives the funding already assumed from the UK Budget on 3 March, and that requisite funds are available to maintain existing support into 2021-22.

The Statement of Reasons setting out why the Scottish Government thinks Parts 1 of the two Scottish Coronavirus Acts should be extended was laid in Parliament on Wednesday 24 February. It has also been published on the Scottish Government website - Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020 and the Coronavirus (Scotland) (No.2) Act 2020 - proposed extension: statement of reasons - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

This includes extending the non-eviction provisions until 30 September 2021. The Coronavirus (Scotland) Acts (Amendment of Expiry Dates) Regulations 2021 were also laid in draft at the same time to provide for the extension of the Acts to this date. We have no confirmed dates yet for when the Scottish Parliament will consider these regulations.

We wrote to Health Boards asking that they secure sufficient capacity to deliver 400,000 doses per week in February.

This will require a daily workforce of around 1,700 Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) vaccinators and around 1,300 support staff.

We have taken steps to supplement our seasonal flu vaccination workforce with healthcare workers from the fields of general practice, dentistry, optometry and pharmacy.

Close to 12,200 vaccinators are registered on our national Vaccination Management Tool.

We are in ongoing dialogue with Boards and will continue to review workforce requirements in partnership with them as the programme progresses.

Student Doctors and nurses who are required to undertake placements will be prioritised for the COVID-19 vaccine, if they are in a frontline, patient facing roll.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of marriage and civil partnership to couples and to society more widely. We appreciate the difficulties caused by the restrictions in place and that these may mean a couple has to make difficult decisions about their wedding ceremony or civil partnership registration. Our priority remains public health.

The First Minister announced on 2 February that the current lockdown, including the requirement to stay at home except for essential purposes, needs to remain in place until at least the end of February. Our expectation is therefore that the current rules on marriages and civil partnerships will not change until at least March.

Where possible, we outline anticipated future changes and set out indicative dates for them. Regrettably, the Scottish Government is not able to say now what the position will be in August.

There are a number of uncertainties which affect our ability to offer increased confidence to couples and the wedding sector for the future, including whether we will have suppressed the prevalence of the virus sufficiently, whether there will be sufficient vaccination coverage, whether new variants are also controlled, and evidence that vaccines are preventing or limiting transmission.

In December 2020, the First Minister announced a review of the Strategic Framework and that she will report the outcome of that review to Parliament. This process will ensure that the Framework continues to be fit for purpose and maps out our approach for the period ahead in the light of the rapidly evolving situation and the latest available evidence.

We continue to keep all the restrictions under close review and we are committed to not keeping restrictions in place any longer than is absolutely necessary.

The Scottish Government has emphasised to all Health Board Chief Executives, highlighting the importance of resourcing the Covid-19 vaccination service, including ensuring individuals contacting them for an appointment are offered alternative options for those who are clinically vulnerable and house bound. Individuals who are unable to leave their own homes will receive their vaccination at home.

In addition, the Cabinet Secretary has issued a letter to all Chief Executives on 5 February which refers to the provision of the vaccine for those who need reasonable adjustment. The reasonable adjustments can be made via GP surgeries for those in need including people who are blind and partially sighted.

Furthermore, the national booking system ensures that all patients are able to attend an appointment as quickly as possible and to provide suitable alternatives based on their needs. The details for this are provided on every patient appointment letter.

1. The booking line number is 0800 0308013 (available 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week).

2. Additional information is available on NHS Inform

During the unprecedented situation created by Covid-19, NHS services have had to adapt, altering service provision and introducing measures to reduce spread of the virus to women, families and staff. In all cases, professional judgement will be the driver for determining the level of support required to keep individual babies, children and their families safe and well during the pandemic. Families with young babies will have the contact details of their midwife and health visitor should they need advice. They can also obtain advice via the Parent Club website.

On 7 April 2020 the Scottish Government published Coronavirus (Covid 19): Nursing and Community Health Staff guidance. The guidance outlined that all face to face visits covering children’s services should be risk assessed and take place in accordance with health and safety and infection control policies. The guidance included advice on prioritisation of care in the community for all professional groups covering children’s services. In addition, Professor Fiona McQueen, Chief Nursing Officer and Michael Chalmers, Director of Children and Families, Scottish Government wrote to NHS Board Chief Executives on 1 February 2021 to ask that they factor in continued provision of universal and targeted health services for children in the local planning response for Covid-19.

Retired teachers can re-register with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS), which will allow them to be employed by local authorities to help with education recovery.

The Scottish Government has worked with the GTCS to gauge interest from recently retired and lapsed teachers and ensure that they can re-register easily if they wish to assist during the Covid pandemic. The General Teaching Council for Scotland contacted around 3,000 recently retired and lapsed teachers in June 2020 to establish their availability and willingness to return to the workforce and increase the potential pool of additional teachers. We understand that, to date, interest has been limited with fewer than 100 applications and notes of interest received by the GTCS.

The Scottish Government is working with Public Health Scotland and a variety of organisations to assess the harms caused by problem gambling and to bolster the support available in Scotland.

Assistance for those experiencing problems cause by gambling is available through a network of Alcohol and Drugs Partnerships who have expertise in tackling all forms of addiction. Meanwhile, the effectiveness of this approach is being analysed to assess the scale of reported rise in problem gambling and further measures will be put in place accordingly.