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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.

Everyone attending the Glasgow Fan Zone is encouraged to take a lateral flow test prior to the event. From Monday 14 June, rapid lateral flow test kits were mailed to 17,000 ticket holders due to attend the Glasgow Fan Zone, as part of a series of measures to help reduce the risk of transmission before and after the event.

A mobile testing bus has also been based at Glasgow Green to provide on-site lateral flow testing as an additional option for attendees. A selection of attendees have been asked by COVID marshals on site whether they have taken a test as part of ongoing reporting on the site.

These testing measures are in place in addition to other robust public health interventions, such as physical distancing, contact tracing, hand sanitiser stations, frequent cleaning, table-service, PPE for staff, and clear and informative signage.

Since the start of the pandemic the Scottish Government has made considerable investment in tackling misinformation through a number of channels. Our approach based on behavioural insight is not to directly challenge misinformation as this provides further exposure to the incorrect information. Instead, priority is placed on establishing reputable sources of information for the public to access and trust such as NHSinform.scot. Activity has included:

1. First Minister Briefings

2. Pro-active and reactive media relations

3. The Scottish Government issues proactive social media content that informs and engages the public on facts to do with COVID-19 and the actions required of them to stop the spread of the virus.

4. Public information campaigns linked to the pandemic to promote compliance with guidelines, steps that can be taken to reduce exposure to the virus and what to do if an individual or a close contact develops symptoms. For example, our recent Vaccination campaign, Roll Up Your Sleeves, was independently evaluated with a sample of 1,480 adults eligible for the vaccine. The campaign had 95% prompted recognition, with 78% of those recognising it agreeing that the advertising made them more aware of the importance of being vaccinated

5. During 2020-2021, funding to support the newspaper industry was delivered via a £3m press partnership which provided the Scottish Government advertising across national, regional and local titles.

6. Collaborating with the UK Government on campaigns being delivered across the four nations.

7. National door drops on coronavirus, Test & Protect and the vaccination programme

8. Working with Health Boards and Local Authorities

9. Working with key stakeholders such as Young Scot and BEMIS to co-create content for their audiences that communicates key information. For example, the recently published Vaccine Explainer video was developed following stakeholder feedback on barriers to vaccination, has been translated into multiple languages and distributed via stakeholders.

10. Using NHSInform.scot and gov.scot as the two-lead digital sources of information relating to Covid-19 in Scotland

11. Publishing daily information on virus levels and progress of vaccination via Public Health Scotland website to enable any member of the public to easily access information relating to current position of the pandemic.

Examples of guidance available to help tackle misinformation:

• NHS Inform COVID-19 Information [15 languages/formats]: Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland | NHS inform
• Test & Protect Self-Isolation Fact Sheet [26 languages/formats]: Coronavirus (COVID-19): self-isolation factsheet - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
• COVID-19 Vaccine Information on NHS Inform [Available by Language]: Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine translations | The coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine (nhsinform.scot)

To ensure the information detailed in all marketing campaigns is accurate, guidance is provided by our key clinical experts; Chief Medical Officer; Deputy Chief Medical Officer; National Clinical Director for Scotland. On occasion these experts have featured in our communications to further validate the clinical accuracy of our messaging to the public.

The Scottish Government is continuing to invest in communications activity to provide the public with clear and simple guidance on the actions they need to undertake in response to the pandemic.

The guidance to support the provision of the £400 one-off payment to teachers is available on the Scottish Government website at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-employers-on-one-off-gbp400-payment-for-teachers/

This exceptional payment is being made in recognition of the additional workload for teachers who have supported the delivery of the Alternative Certification Model (ACM) in the unique circumstances brought about by Covid-19 in 2020/21.

This will be paid through a grant arrangement to education authorities and directly from the Scottish Government through a grant to independent and grant-aided schools, further to claims being received.

Amending Regulations were made to the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 today.

These Regulations amend the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Regulations 2020.

These Regulations remove the travel restrictions which are currently in place in relation to travel between Scotland and Manchester, Bolton and Salford. These restrictions are being removed due to changes in the epidemiological position for those areas. These changes will take effect on 30 June 2021.

The Regulations have been published at www.legislation.gov.uk/id/ssi/2021/255 .

The information requested can be found here: Housing statistics: Empty properties and second homes - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . Please note the figures provided for each local authority area do not differentiate between the different types of empty property.

We remain on track to deliver the disability benefits to the timetable announced in November last year, starting with Child Disability Payment which will be piloted in summer this year and rolled out fully from the autumn.

Adult Disability Payment, our replacement for the UK Government’s Personal Independence Payment, will begin with a pilot for new applications in spring 2022 ahead of national launch by summer 2022.

This is of course subject to the continuing impact of the pandemic on our partners in delivery including in health and social care, local authorities, and the UK Government. We continue to work closely with colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions to re-plan delivery of the remaining devolved benefits with this in mind.

We will be removing the travel restrictions which are currently in place in relation to travel between Scotland and Manchester, Bolton and Salford. These restrictions are being removed due to changes in the epidemiological position for those areas. Regulations amending the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 will be made today and will take effect on 30 June 2021. Restrictions between Scotland and Blackburn with Darwen will remain in place.

Travellers arriving into Scotland from green and amber list countries must use the NHS tests, which can be booked through the UK Government’s booking portal for international travel. These kits are home test PCR kits provided by NHS Test & Trace.

Travellers arriving into England from green and amber list countries are allowed to book private sector tests.

To date, there are concerns with the flow of data from private sector providers into Public Health England/Public Health Scotland to help with contact tracing and to identify Variants of Concern (VoCs). The UK Government has recently introduced key performance indicators (KPIs) for private providers to meet and is increasing the requirements on such providers to try to address these problems in England.

There are risks associated with the use of private sector tests. In particular, there have been concerns with the data flow from private laboratories into relevant contact tracing systems on either side of the border. There have been examples of it taking 30 days for positive test results to be transferred, making it impossible for contact tracing to be undertaken to interrupt chains of transmission.

We are currently exploring options to allow the use of private sector tests, provided this can be done safely and we can be assured that there aren’t any issues with the flow of data from the testing provider to Public Health Scotland regarding test results, as well as the need for positive test results to be analysed for evidence of any variants of concern. No decision has been made yet on this, however this is under review.

Travellers returning to Scotland from green and amber list countries must use the NHS tests, which can be booked through the UK Government’s booking portal for international travel. These kits are home test PCR kits provided by NHS Test & Trace.

NHS Scotland has no role in setting the price of the kits. The cost of the kits is set by the UK Government and the process managed through its contract with the travel management company, so our ability to reduce costs unilaterally is limited.