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We responded to the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee on 11 March 2021 outlining the scope and advising there is nothing ‘off limits’ to the appointed consultants when addressing the issues within the scope of the review. This reflects the desire that the review should be independent, and recommendations not influenced by any pre-conceived views.

Transport Scotland has undertaken analysis of the emissions produced by the Scottish Government's ferries fleet which identified areas where progress can be made quickly to reduce emissions using the technology commercially available at this time. This includes the Small Vessel Replacement Programme that will see up to seven vessels replaced with low/zero emission vessels in Phase 1 of the programme.

As part of the Islands Connectivity Plan, we will explore and consult on pathways to zero/low emission ferry transport, learning from experience in other countries and on other modes. Our Climate Change Plan Update 2020 includes a commitment that 30% of the Government owned ferry fleet will consist of low or zero emission vessels by 2032.

Scottish Government expect Local Public Bodies to engage inclusively with autistic people about decisions that affect them. However, it is the decision of Local Authorities on what engagement should take place and how this is monitored.

While Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care policy in Scotland it is for local Health & Social Care Partnerships to assess local need and arrange support services, as mandated under statute in the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act. Local Authorities are distinct corporate bodies whose powers are set out in statute and as such are entirely separate from the Scottish Government.

Autistic children and young people are supported through local Getting it Right Pathways and processes to have needs identified early and individualised plans in place. Support should be in place before, during or after diagnosis according to need and not diagnosis. All health boards have an autism or neurodevelopmental pathway, with a local plan for ‘post diagnostic support and information’.

The Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Joint Delivery Board has recently agreed the final version of the National Neurodevelopmental Principles and Standards of Care. The Principles and Standards of Care is for those children and young people who have neurodevelopmental profiles and support needs, including those with autism, and require more support than is currently available. The National Neurodevelopmental Principles and Standards will be published shortly.

The Additional Support for Learning Act places duties on education authorities to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils, including those with autism. We provide free professional learning opportunities for practitioners, including the Autism Toolbox and Inclusive Practice online professional learning modules.

In addition, we published our Autism Action Plan in December 2020, setting out the actions we will take to improve the support to children and young people with autism in Scotland’s schools. We have made significant progress in implementing these actions and will formally report our progress in December 2021. Our work on supporting young people with Autism in mainstream schools is also supported by our guidance on the presumption of mainstream education.

The National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group (NSPLG) published guidance to support local area suicide prevention action planning in April 2021 ( https://www.cosla.gov.uk/about-cosla/our-teams/health-and-social-care/local-area-suicide-prevention-action-plan-guidance ). The guidance supports the delivery of Action 1 of the Suicide Prevention Action Plan ‘Every Life Matters’, which is sponsored by COSLA.

Whilst responsibility for suicide prevention planning and delivery sits locally – with recommendations and decisions informing action at that level - the NSPLG will review progress on the development of local suicide prevention action plans across Scotland in April 2022. Meantime, there is ongoing engagement between the NSPLG’s delivery lead on local suicide prevention action planning and local suicide prevention leads. This supports the development and continuous improvement of suicide prevention plans - through advice, support and sharing of good practice. It also ensures there is appropriate alignment and learning between national and local plans.

The Scottish Government has recently announced a suite of measures to continue to support NHS dentistry, including a vital funding package of up to £5M for improved ventilation in dental premises, and an extension of free PPE for the dental sector, which from this month has increased by up to 50%. This builds on the continued phased remobilisation of NHS dental services, ensuring that as many patients can be seen within the current set of infection, protection and control measures required for the safe operation of dental treatment.

NHS dental services are largely provided by independent dental contractors. Information on appointments is held by each individual dental practice.

The removal of all dental charges for NHS dental treatment is a Scottish Government manifesto commitment and more detail will be published in due course. These changes will take place in the lifetime of this parliament and the processes are currently underway.

The number of children who have been fostered has been collected centrally since 2008-09. The following table shows the number of looked after children who have been placed with foster carers, in each year since the data first became available. Data on the number of adoptions is taken from statistics published by National Records of Scotland.

Before the Summer break, schools and education leaders were advised to provide all staff and secondary pupils with a pack of Lateral Flow Devices (LFDs) test kits prior to going on leave that they can use to restart testing in the week prior to return. In addition, they were also advised to ensure they have sufficient stock to support testing for at least the first few weeks after the return and to make any necessary orders before the Summer break – though of course they are also free to make additional test kit orders after their return to school in August. In preparation for the return of schools this month, the Scottish Government has allocated sufficient stocks of lateral flow tests to support the continuation of the twice weekly testing programme in all schools and ELC settings across Scotland.

The Scottish Government has taken a range of actions, in collaboration with key partners including the UK Government, local authorities and Young Scot, to support staff and secondary pupils to test and record their results regularly. For example, in response to user feedback about the discomfort that some pupils experience when using tests, we will be transitioning from LFDs that require both throat and nasal swabs to a nasal-only LFD model over the first months of the new term. These new LFDs are also quicker to use, cutting down on the time it will take staff and pupils to test. Feedback suggests also that some participants are testing but not recording results for a range of reasons. We have shared relevant feedback with UK Government partners about the UK-wide online reporting portal to support ongoing improvements. To make reporting easier, users of the self-reporting portal now have the ability to create a “household account” where the results of multiple family members can be inputted at the same time without having to manually enter their child’s details every time they report. Best practice has been actively shared with local authority Directors of Education and we have refreshed national communications in advance of the new term, including a communications pack developed in collaboration with Young Scot that will be provided to every secondary school in Scotland. All local authorities have also been asked to ensure that their return to school communications make clear the need to test and record results prior to return and twice-weekly thereafter.

Following the publication of the review of the Cervical screening standards in March 2019 NHS Boards should ensure that individuals referred to the colposcopy service with an abnormal screening test are seen within the nationally agreed time frames:

• no later than 2 weeks for urgent referrals (glandular, suspicion of invasion)
• no later than 4 weeks for high grade referrals, and
• no later than 8 weeks for low grade referrals that do not require urgent assessment.

On the 30 March 2020 the Cervical Screening Programme was temporarily paused to due to impact of the COVID-19 pandemic with services resuming on 29 June 2020. However, the need for additional infection control measures, including physical distancing and the use of PPE, continue to pose challenges but the Scottish Government are working with Health Boards to monitor and address these. During the screening programme restart, the Scottish Government provided £1 million to support capacity in sample-taking and colposcopy.

Further information regarding the standards for this procedure and the wider Cervical screening standard can be found in the Healthcare Improvement Scotland publication linked below.

https://www.healthcareimprovementscotland.org/our_work/standards_and_guidelines/stnds/cervical_screening_standards.aspx .

Requirements for entering Scotland are currently aligned on a Four Nations basis and differ depending on whether the individual arrives from a red, amber or green listed country.

All arrivals are required to provide a negative Covid-19 test in the three days prior to travel, they are then required to undertake the following actions:

• Red – studying in the UK is currently one of the allowable reasons for entering Scotland from a red-list country. International students over 18 years old arriving from a country on this list, or who have been in a red list country in the 10 days prior, are required to enter managed quarantine for 10 days.
• Amber – International students arriving from amber-list countries, or who have been in an Amber list country in the 10 days prior, are required to isolate in their place of residence for 10 days, additionally they are required to take a Covid-19 test on or before day 2 and on or after day 8 of their 10 day isolation.
• Green – International students arriving from green-list countries are not required to isolate unless the result of a COVID-19 test taken on day 2 after arriving back in Scotland is positive.