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The Annual Report on the COPFS Victims' Right to Review Scheme for 2020-21 has been published today on the COPFS website. It is available to view at the following link:

Victims Right to Review Annual Report 2020-21.pdf (copfs.gov.uk)

The terms of reference for the Scottish COVID-19 Public Inquiry are designed in such a way that they do not constrain the chair in seeking views and evidence from any group or individual affected by the matters the inquiry is asked to investigate.

Scottish inquiries set up under the Inquiries Act 2005 cannot investigate reserved matters. However we recognise that learning lessons from the pandemic will involve analysis of devolved and reserved issues across a spectrum of topics. To that end, we are engaged with the UK Government to understand the approach to the UK-wide COVID-19 inquiry. We will use our position as a statutory consultee on the terms of reference for the UK inquiry to make clear the importance of examining the impact of policies during the pandemic on those seeking asylum and living under immigration control in Scotland.

The list of questions was compiled by a national Health and Wellbeing Questionnaire Content Group was derived from existing health and wellbeing surveys which had already been tested and ethically approved.

A list of topics covered by the Census is available from the Scottish Government website at:

https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/factsheet/2020/02/health-and-wellbeing-census/documents/health-and-wellbeing-census-frequently-asked-questions/health-and-wellbeing-census-frequently-asked-questions/govscot%3Adocument/HWB%2BCensus%2B2021-22%2B-%2BQA%2Bdocument%2B-%2BAugust%2B2021.docx .

Safety is at the heart of everything we do and the Scottish Government wants everyone in Scotland to receive the best possible care and treatment from our health and care services. Along with NHS Scotland, the Scottish Government has a shared vision for an open and learning culture and we want to learn when there has been dissatisfaction or harm and encourage organisations to identify improvements.

Our commitment to this is strongly demonstrated in the development of our approach to openness and learning in the introduction of the statutory Organisational duty of Candour legislation, and in our commission to Healthcare Improvement Scotland and NHS Education for Scotland to work together on a Joint Commission to make this a reality.

A number of reviews and processes are in scope for the Joint Commission, which will seek to take a human factors/ safety science approach to minimising duplication and reducing variation in review processes as well as supporting and upskilling staff in leading and taking part in these.

NHS Health Boards are responsible for delivering safe, effective, person-centred care at a local level, which includes leading on learning and improvement in areas of challenge and to drive quality; creating an environment that values staff and supports them when concerns are raised; and monitoring and improving the quality of health care which is provides to individuals. The Scottish Government and NHS Health Boards work closely together to ensure local policies and processes are implemented and improved in line with national policy and frameworks.

The Staff Governance Standard, which has legislative underpinning, requires all health Boards to demonstrate that they are ensuring that staff are appropriately trained and developed and that resources, including time and funding, are appropriately allocated to meet local training and development needs taking into account the current priorities of both the service and service users.

Boards are expected to have systems in place to identify areas that require improvement and to develop action plans that will describe how improvements will be made. The Scottish Government also seek assurance from all Boards that they are meeting the Standard through the annual Staff Governance Monitoring exercise.

Our Rail Decarbonisation Action Plan requires a rolling programme of electrification to meet its target date of 2035. We continue to make good progress, including the current electrification work on the Barrhead and East Kilbride routes. Early development work for further routes is currently underway as part of our project pipeline approach and we will make further announcements on these at an appropriate stage of development.

The questions in the census are derived from existing health and wellbeing surveys which have been tested and ethically approved. The questions are completely age and stage appropriate. Local authorities are required by law to plan for children's services in their local area, they have a legal basis to ask children and young people about their lives and wellbeing to help them with this. Local authorities need this data about the health and wellbeing of children and young people in order to:

• plan and deliver better policies for the benefit of all children and families, or specific groups;
• better understand some of the factors which influence the outcomes for children;
• target resources better;
• enhance the quality of research to improve the lives of people in Scotland; and,
• provide a window on society, the economy and on the work and performance of local and central government.

The Scottish Government worked with stakeholders to carefully consider and design a set of sample questionnaires – with each set of questions being age appropriate. The content was developed by representatives and experts from across academia who are experts in conducting research of this nature – experts from public health, Education Scotland, local authorities and schools. The Census has also been ethically approved by independent researchers within the Scottish Government.

The questions, therefore, are considered entirely appropriate for the age ranges they cover.

Scotland’s resilience response structures involve very well established mechanisms for coordinating clear public communications during emergencies, and organisations involved in the response will work together to ensure swift and accurate advice is provided across a range of media.

The specific emergency alert system in place in other countries, used for example to warn of earthquakes, utilises a technology known as Cell Broadcasting. Activating this capability on the UK telecoms network is a matter reserved to the UK Government, and we note that the introduction of this technology, initially anticipated for summer 2021, is now scheduled for early 2022. Scottish Government officials are working with their counterparts in the UK Government to ensure that the deployment of any such capability reflects the devolved responsibilities of our responder organisations.

Resilience structures in Scotland are designed to be adaptable and responsive to a wide range of risks.

Ministers regularly receive briefing on specific risks or emergencies throughout the year and the Scottish Government’s resilience arrangements constantly monitor for emerging issues and threats.

In the autumn of 2021, recognising the heightened risk of concurrent events – including COVID, winter weather, and supply chain issues – additional reporting and monitoring arrangements were put in place to ensure Ministers retain a close oversight of the complex and overlapping risk picture. Since 30 September, this has included daily reporting and weekly meetings of SGORR, with assessments on the key concurrent risks facing Government and planning activity being taken.