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The Public Health Scotland COVID-19 Shielding Programme impact and experience survey which was published in March 2022 reported that 81% of respondents still make decisions that are mainly influenced by fear of COVID-19 infection, and 36% still try to minimise all physical contact with other households. While this data relates to a survey completed between 25 October 2021 and
‎ 7 November 2021, we know there are still people who continue to limit activities and contacts with other households.

The Scottish Government welcomed the findings in the Review which was funded through our £14.3m North East Economic Recovery and Skills Fund (NEERSF). The Review clearly demonstrates that, with the right investment, the North East of Scotland could support 9,000 more offshore energy jobs by 2030 than it currently does.

The just transition to a net zero economy is one of our greatest economic opportunities. Scotland has the potential to be a net zero global energy hub, that leaves no one behind by supporting existing oil & gas roles into the renewables and low carbon roles of the future.

This is a matter for Public Health Scotland. The information requested is not held centrally.

The Scottish Government fully supports the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) in its efforts to meet the needs of children and young people with additional support needs. Every child’s individual needs are considered by SCRA, based on information provided by other agencies and professionals. SCRA has, for a number of years, worked on support and assistance for neurodiverse children and families. They are creating sensory spaces in their hearings centres, the first of which opened in March this year, and have updated information material and internal guidance to staff in conjunction with the charity Reach for Autism. They are currently working on plans to develop a network of local neurodiversity champions to further promote and address the specific needs of children and families in Children’s Hearings.

The new SCRA digital case management system, now in its second full year of operation, is capable of recording specific data relating to protected characteristics and SCRA are considering how this can be used to the greatest effect.

The Scottish Government continues to work closely with COSLA to find a way forward on the introduction of a Scottish Recommended Allowance for foster and kinship carers.

Data on outcomes is currently published at national level. From our latest publication ( May 2022 ), 5,224 (31%) of the 16,859 people that started receiving support under No One Left Behind between April 2019 and December 2021 entered employment. Of those entering employment, 2,722 (52%) were supported by a subsidy to do so (this includes ERIs) and 832 (16%) started a Modern Apprenticeship.

Data on people receiving employability support delivered under the No One Left Behind strategic approach are currently published as experimental statistics which means they are still going through a process of development. Scottish Government analysts are working closely with Local Government partners to further develop these data, ensuring alignment with the Shared Measurement Framework, and will continue to review the content of what data and breakdowns are released in the future as part of the process to move towards official statistics status.

Scotland’s energy sector is at the forefront of our transformation to becoming a net zero nation. It is a major employer and source of economic output, and our oil and gas infrastructure and highly skilled workforce have long been at the forefront of energy innovation - which is why it is well-placed to embrace the transformation that lies ahead.

We are already investing in the oil and gas sector’s net zero transformation. Our expanded £75 million Energy Transition Fund which is supporting the energy sector to grow and diversify, whilst helping to attract further private investment; and our £500 million Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray will support the North East and Moray to become one of Scotland’s centres of excellence for the transition to a net zero economy . The opportunities of offshore wind are also considerable. Applicants to the recent ScotWind leasing round were required to submit a Supply Chain Development Statement, outlining the supply chain activity they commit to undertaking within Scotland, the UK and overseas. The full Supply Chain Development Statement Outlooks for all successful applicants were published by Crown Estate Scotland in April 2022, and the initial projections show an average spend of £1.5bn in Scotland across each of the 17 ScotWind projects. This week Crown Estate Scotland’s ScotWind clearing process offered seabed agreements to a further three projects off the east coast of Shetland bringing the total number of ScotWind projects to 20 totaling 27.8GW.

Our £75 million Energy Transition Fund is focused on acceleration the energy sector’s transition to net zero-emissions whilst helping to attract further private investment, £26 million of which has been allocated to develop the Energy Transition Zone (ETZ) in Aberdeen. ETZ is expected to directly support 2,500 green jobs by 2030, alongside a further 10,000 transition-related jobs. Our £500 million Just Transition Fund - which we have called on the UK Government multiple times to match - will also support the north east and Moray become one of Scotland's centres of excellence for the transition to a net economy, with our investment supporting transformation across the region.

The Scottish Government previously provided a response advising where the £12 million to support the wellbeing of people working in health, social care and social work was allocated and what was spent. https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers/question?ref=S6W-08799

A breakdown of the funding provided by the Scottish Government for each service is as follows;

In the financial year 2021/22, £12 million was allocated to support the wellbeing of people working in health and social care of which £11.5 million was spent. We allocated £1,145,895 to the Workforce Specialist Service to deliver psychological and psychiatric support to regulated practitioners who provide care to others. £921,029 was allocated on formal psychological interventions that formed the Workforce Development Programme and £366,650 was allocated to the NES Coaching for Wellbeing service. To ensure staff have access to support when they need it, £138,666 was allocated to the National Wellbeing Helpline and £175,142 on the National Wellbeing Hub.

The Workforce Wellbeing fund was set up to support staff who work in adult social work and social care. This fund has been managed outwith the Scottish Government by Inspiring Scotland and the total allocated on this wellbeing initiative was £1,100,000. In addition, £12,332 was allocated to Programme Support and £93,525 in further wellbeing services which include CRUSE Grief and Loss Counselling, Elite Training, Awesome Postcards and a workforce respect marketing campaign. A total of £7,561,432 was directly allocated to Boards and HSCPs. This money was to be spent on, but not limited to, spiritual care, psychological first aid, catering and rest facilities to further support the wellbeing of the workforce.

We continue to work with boards and stakeholders to evaluate the impact of funding and how it meets the needs of the workforce.

The Complex Pelvic Mesh Removal Service in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde receives referrals from Health Boards across Scotland and a number of patients are seen on a weekly basis.

Public Health Scotland confirm that between July 2020 (when the Service was established) and December of that year, seven removal procedures were undertaken, whilst 24 procedures were carried out in 2021. In order to protect patient confidentiality a precise figure cannot yet be provided for 2022, as fewer than five procedures have been performed so far this year. For similar reasons, precise numbers of full and partial removals cannot be quoted here, though the majority of surgeries undertaken have been full removals.

The Covid 19 pandemic has undoubtedly had a significant impact on both waiting times and the numbers of procedures carried out, as indeed is the case in many speciality areas across the NHS as a whole. However, the Scottish Government expects the Health Board to improve this situation, and will work with it in the coming months to that end.

All occurrences of mesh complications are treated individually depending on the circumstances of the patient in question, and decisions on the most appropriate treatment are a private matter between the patient and her clinicians. Many patients will undergo full removal of their mesh implant whilst, in other cases, partial removal may be more appropriate and therefore be the preferred option. There may also be circumstances where other, more conservative treatments are considered. What is fundamental in all cases, however, is that patients are aware of and understand the benefits of the treatments open to them, the risks, the alternative treatments, and the potential consequences of doing nothing. Therefore, in each individual case, and in consistence with GMC guidance on consent, it is expected all appropriate and available treatments are discussed with the patient in question, allowing them to make a fully informed decision on their care.

The Scottish Government is providing support to encourage investment in renewables in the north east through a number of funds and programmes. These include, but are not limited to:

The £75m Energy Transition Fund is investing in projects that aim to accelerate and support the move to renewable energy, protecting existing jobs and create new jobs in the North East, and across Scotland by opening up opportunities through energy transition and harnessing private sector funding. It is currently in delivery with an intended end date of 2025.

The £125m City Region Deal investment runs until 2026 and includes £90m for the Net Zero Technology Centre. The City Region Deal is delivering a number of projects aimed at utilising the resources of the North East to lead the world on the shift to a net zero future in areas such as:

• offshore renewable (wind) energy generation,
• energy storage,
• electricity interconnection,
• hydrogen production and fuel cell deployment,
• gas and hydrogen distribution, and
• carbon capture, utilisation and storage.

The £500 million Just Transition Fund for North East and Moray will deliver over the next 10 years. The fund opened for applications on 31 May 2022. Bids to the first year’s allocation of £20 million are currently being assessed. The Just Transition Fund complements other Scottish Government commitments to the sector in the North East and was announced in recognition of the particular need to diversify the regional economy away from carbon-intensive industries and to capitalise on the opportunities, including jobs and prosperity, that the transition to net zero will bring.

The draft Hydrogen Action Plan committed £100 million hydrogen funding for 2022-2026 through the Emerging Energy Technologies Fund (EETF). This is a Scotland-wide fund to support Hydrogen, CCUS and the development of negative emissions technologies. In June 2022, we launched the first tranche of the EETF via the £10 million Hydrogen Innovation Scheme. The remaining £90 million hydrogen investment programme is expected to launch in Autumn 2022 and will focus on supporting rapid renewable hydrogen production from Scotland’s abundant renewable energy resources.

Our Emerging Energy Technologies Fund allocates £80m over the next five years to support the development of CCUS and negative-emissions technologies. We have offered this funding to help the Scottish Cluster carbon capture project accelerate its effort to help Scotland’s just transition to net zero.