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Those who experience difficulties carrying out a LFD test can ask someone they trust to assist them with the swabbing and testing process. Walk-in asymptomatic test sites (ATS) can also advise people how to use a LFD test. After self-swabbing, the person hands their used swab to a site operative for it to be analysed.

People identified as contacts of a case who are unable or do not have the support to carry out LFD testing can call the National Contact Tracing Centre on 0800 030 8012, for advice.

Additionally, for people with access to a smart phone, an expansion to the existing 119 Be My Eyes service was launched on 27 January to assist asymptomatic visually impaired people and anyone else who needs support, to conduct a rapid lateral flow self-test independently.

Instructions for use for LFD self-tests used in the National Testing Programme are also available in large print and easy read and can be accessed here: Acon Flowflex , Innova and Orient Gene .

Regular testing for people without symptoms is voluntary and for some people it may not be appropriate for testing to take place at all. Those who work most closely with the individual will be best placed to decide whether testing will be appropriate, taking into consideration the needs of the individual.

The requested information is not centrally held. Data is published annually, by NHS Education for Scotland on the total medical agency spend by NHS Scotland Boards; and the total WTE hours and cost for Nursing and Midwifery bank and agency staff, but this data does not specify start dates. This information can be found on the following link: NHSScotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence

Transport Scotland has committed to an evaluation of the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme following the first full year of operation. The evaluation will assess the short and medium outcomes and the long term impact of the scheme by comparing conditions at different stages.

Baseline data collection of public transport usage is now underway, including an online survey with children, young people and parents. This will assess travel behaviour attitudes and perceptions of travel prior to the scheme starting on 31 January 2022.

We currently have no plans to extend the statutory scheme beyond the existing bus travel provisions.

Service levels and the rolling stock used have been designed to match changing demand during the pandemic period, while at the same time considering efficiency of resourcing and overall affordability, for which Abellio ScotRail is responsible. Decisions on service levels are then considered at Scotland’s Railway Task Force which has met throughout the pandemic.

We expect ScotRail, from 1 April 2022, to continue to operate service levels and train capacity adjusted to reflect and encourage growing levels of demand as wider Covid restrictions are eased.

Since the scheme was introduced the total number of scans carried out by the verifier app in Scotland has been 309,168. The large majority of inspections consist of manual or visual checks, which are not included in this figure. It is not possible to break this down by local authority or venue as the Covid Check App does not retain any data. The scheme allows venues to carry out visual or checks using a verifier app. Venues with attendances of 1000 or more people are not required to carry out 100% checks. Our guidance was updated on 17 January to require those settings to check 50% or 1000 attendees whichever is higher.

We have been proactive in our approach to minimising carbon emissions associated with the City Region and Growth Deals programme, taking expert advice from industry on the latest national and international best practice. We have now rolled out our innovative carbon management guidance across all 12 Deals. This is an ongoing and proactive carbon management process, facilitated by our dedicated Deals Sustainable Development Manager. Support and training is being provided to all regional partners to ensure the guidance is correctly applied, and that carbon emissions are minimised in accordance with best practice.

We know how difficult the pandemic has been for businesses, voluntary organisations and staff in these sectors.

Third sector organisations which operate in hospitality, entertainment, culture and events can apply for support from the £375 million support package to help businesses immediately impacted by measures introduced to control the spread of Omicron, if they meet the eligibility criteria. We have provided details on how £262 million of this funding will be allocated and payments have now started.

Since the start of the pandemic, businesses have benefitted from more than £4.4 billion in support from the Scottish Government. Voluntary organisations could receive support from the Strategic Framework Business Fund which provided £344.8 million to businesses across Scotland, if they met the eligibility criteria.

A statutory public inquiry has been established to examine the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland. The inquiry will undertake scrutiny of the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland as a whole and identify lessons and implications for the future.

Audit Scotland will publish its report on Scotland's financial response to COVID-19 in May 2022. This audit is a review of the public sector’s financial response to the COVID-19 pandemic as a whole. It will consider the financial management, governance and oversight arrangements in place for public bodies to quickly distribute funding to those that need it.

In addition, the Scottish Government continues to review on an ongoing basis the support provided to the social care sector to ensure that it remains appropriate. This is undertaken on a collaborative basis with partners across the sector to ensure understanding of the impact of decision making on providers and those receiving care.

We are grateful to everyone who has volunteered for vaccine trials in Scotland. They have all made a tremendous contribution to tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.

At present, Novavax is not approved by the MHRA in the UK. For this reason, people who participated in the Novavax Trial in Scotland have a paper certificate to identify them as a ‘clinical trial participant’ which allows them to be treated as if they were fully vaccinated for domestic and inbound travel purposes.

There are plans to enable all clinical trial participants to access the COVID status app for domestic certification which is scheduled for release in February.

If and when the MHRA approves the use of Novavax in the UK, the Novavax clinical trial participants will be able to access the COVID status app for international travel in the same way as an individual who has been vaccinated as part of the national vaccination programme. We do not have a definite timeline for MHRA approval to be in place.

Those who experience difficulties carrying out a LFD test can ask someone they trust to assist them with the swabbing and testing process. Walk-in asymptomatic test sites (ATS) can advise people how to use an LFD test. After self-swabbing, the person hands their used swab to a site operative for it to be analysed.

Where a person is part of a workplace testing scheme and is not able to self-swab, if they have capacity to consent, they should be asked if they will allow someone to help them do the test, or to allow someone to do the test for them. Each case should be assessed on a case-by-case basis and if required, the Personal Assistant or family member can consult their GP in case specific care is required to swab the person.

People identified as contacts of a case who are unable or do not have the support to carry out LFD testing can call the National Contact Tracing Centre on 0800 030 8012, for advice.

Regular testing for people without symptoms is voluntary and for some people with additional support needs it may not be appropriate for testing to take place. Those working most closely with individuals with additional support needs, will be best placed to decide whether testing will be appropriate, taking into consideration the needs of the individual.