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ScotRail Trains Ltd has successfully secured significant rolling stock lease savings over the next 4 year period. The estimated lease savings are values deemed commercially sensitive.

We have considered carefully whether people need to continue to be on the Highest Risk List. A significant body of evidence has been reviewed by clinical advisers related to the impact of vaccination for the approximately 176,000 people who have, for the most part, been on Scotland’s Highest Risk List since the start of the pandemic when we initially asked people to shield.

Based on the strong evidence that the risk of hospitalisation or death from Covid has significantly reduced for the majority of people on the Highest Risk List as a result of vaccination, alongside effective new treatments now being made available to people who will benefit most, we have decided to stand down the Highest Risk List from 31 May 2022. The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) will write to everyone on the Highest Risk List to advise them of this, along with a summary of the evidence that informed this decision and information about further, ongoing guidance and support.

The CMO wrote to everyone on the Highest Risk List on 4 March and indicated that we were undertaking a review of the Highest Risk List in light of the evidence that has emerged over the past two years. This intention was also set out in the update to the Strategic Framework in February.

Since July 2021, the CMO has advised people on the Highest Risk List to follow the same guidance and take the same precautionary measures as the rest of the population, unless advised otherwise by their GP or clinician who will understand their health condition and individual circumstances best.

The CMO also said in his letter that we will share the evidence that we have used to make those decisions and we are publishing a summary of the clinical evidence today. You can read the full publication at the following link https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781802017311 which will go live at 10:00. We are aware that a core of immuno-suppressed people are unable to mount a full immune response due to their condition and/or treatment. We will publish separate advice for this group. We are working with Public Health Scotland and have put an identification process in place to be able to rapidly generate an accurate and current list of individuals for vaccine prioritisation and covid treatments, and to provide additional advice in the event of any escalated threat level to those who may need it.

We are also aware from our own and Public Health Scotland research with people on the Highest Risk List of ongoing wider negative impacts, particularly in terms of mental health, and issues of isolation, for some people on the Highest Risk List. We know that some people will continue to be more cautious or anxious about what this change means for them, or need more time to reconnect with people, or to restart the things they were doing before the pandemic. To help support these people, we have funded the British Red Cross to extend their Connecting with You Service to support people to rebuild their confidence and lives. We are also engaging with partners across all sectors to find ways to support people who may need more help to adapt, and will continue to provide guidance on protecting ourselves and others, including promoting the Distance Aware Scheme.

This is a positive step as there is no longer a need for the vast majority of people who have been on the Highest Risk List to consider themselves at any significantly higher risk. Our hope is that this will enable them to adapt to living with COVID and enjoy a better quality of life.

The Scottish Government has committed to introducing a National Care Service before the end of the current Parliament. We have consulted on proposals for the National Care Service to develop and manage a National Commissioning and Procurement Structure of Standards and Processes for ethical commissioning and procuring of social care services and supports.

We propose that these standards will set principles to inform decision making, including in respect of financial transparency and commercial viability across the whole of the care home sector.

Currently, Scottish Government have no confirmed timetable for a consultation process for the proposed Scottish Education Exchange programme. However, the Scottish Government have had and continue to have discussions with stakeholders in higher and further education, schools, community learning and development, youth and sports to listen to their views, needs, priorities and requirements for a Scottish Education Exchange Programme and on what would work best for learners an staff across the board.

Scottish Government has provided funding to Integration Authorities for reasonable additional costs due to Covid-19 through Local Mobilisation Plans. This included any loss of income due to social care charges. The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) produced an advice note for Local Authorities and Integration Authorities to advise flexibility should be applied in relation to charging. Charging-for-Social-Care-Support-during-COVID-19.pdf (cosla.gov.uk) .

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of the portability of care and care packages if people move from one local authority area to another. To support this, a new Self-directed Support Framework of Standards was published in March 2021. This includes a commitment to consistency of practice, and states that Local Authorities should work collaboratively to ensure that people can move from one Local Authority area to another while retaining a level of provision sufficient to meet their agreed outcomes. The Scottish Government is continuing to work with Local Authorities to ensure the effective implementation of the Standards and to continue to improve the implementation of Self-directed Support.

The Scottish Government is committed to implementing the key recommendations of the Independent Review of Adult Social Care, including the establishment of a National Care Service (NCS). The consultation on the NCS, undertaken in 2021, set out proposals to ensure that there is not a postcode lottery and to support the portability of care. Proposals in respect of the development of the NCS will be brought forward during the lifetime of this parliament.

In February 2021, when the scale and pace of the recovery from the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic remained uncertain, a prior information notice (PIN) was published to preserve the Scottish Ministers’ ability to award a Temporary Measures Agreement (TMA) for the Caledonian Sleeper franchise from March 2022, following expiry of the Emergency Measures Agreement, should it be necessary at that stage to continue such support.

The TMA, signed on 28 February 2022, is an agreement between the Scottish Ministers and Serco Caledonian Sleepers Limited (‘Serco’). The TMA does not represent a unilateral decision taken by the Scottish Government.

The necessity of a TMA with Serco, to continue Emergency Measures type support for the Caledonian Sleeper franchise, was considered by the Scottish Government at various points during 2021 and in the early part of 2022.

Thereafter, on 25 February 2022, the Scottish Government presented a draft version of the TMA to Serco for consideration. The TMA was finalised and agreed between the Scottish Ministers and Serco on 28 February 2022.

It was announced that the Scottish Government had agreed a new Temporary Measures Agreement with Serco Caledonian Sleepers Limited in a letter to the Convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee on 17 March 2022. An announcement was also published on the Transport Scotland website on the same day.

https://www.parliament.scot/-/media/files/committees/net-zero-energy-and-transport-committee/correspondence/2022/20220317_jenny_gilruth_msp_to_convener_additional_funding_support.pdf .

https://www.transport.gov.scot/news/ministerial-statement-additional-funding-support-for-rail-services/ .

In addition to taking forward a National Conversation on rail, we will be consulting specifically on women’s safety when using public transport.

The specific means by which we carry out this engagement will be informed by initial discussions with women’s groups organisations, Trade Union partners and wider stakeholders. A range of options will be presented for how this engagement takes place. It is envisaged that these will include options for engagement that is open to all, focussed on specific groups or combines elements of both.

Specific timescales will be outlined following initial discussions with the relevant representative groups on the preferred approach for carrying out this engagement.

Immigration is reserved to the UK Parliament and handled by the Home Office. This includes the operation of immigration removal centres.

Scottish Ministers have repeatedly raised concerns about the UK Government’s asylum and immigration systems with the Home Office and will continue to do so.