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Phase 3 of the Creative Communities programme ran between August 2021- August 2022 and provided funding to 24 organisations across 17 local authorities. Led by Inspiring Scotland, the programme has: engaged with 56 volunteers, employed 112 artists, 22 community support workers, assisted 10 young people to complete internships and facilitated over 3,500 hours of arts workshops and creative activities. The third phase of the programme received a total of £600,000 in joint funding from Scottish Government’s culture and justice portfolios.

The information requested is not collected or held centrally by the Scottish Government and would require to be obtained from Health Boards.

The data requested is not centrally held by the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government have commissioned Public Health Scotland (PHS) and National Services for Scotland (NSS) to undertake a programme of work to extract regular GP in hours activity data from GP systems. This data will be published for the first time by PHS on 6 December 2022 and will include a breakdown between activity by (1) GPs and (2) other clinicians.

Discussions are ongoing with PHS and NSS on the next phases of the programme of work.

This year’s winter vaccination programme has enjoyed very high uptake to date. According to the latest data, 87.8% of older adult care home residents, and 83.0% of those aged 65 and over, have received a winter COVID-19 vaccination.

Nevertheless, we are continually exploring ways to build on these very promising levels of uptake. We have undertaken a range of national communications and engagement activity to further encourage uptake, as well as supporting Health Boards and other partners with local activity.

We have embedded inclusivity as a key aspect of the vaccination programme from its outset, working alongside health boards and other partners to encourage uptake, remove barriers and respond to evidence of low uptake in certain communities, including those from more deprived areas.

There is capacity right across Scotland to get vaccinated, and I would encourage all those eligible for COVID-19 and flu vaccinations this winter to come forward.

This year’s winter vaccination programme seeks to protect those at the highest risk of severe illness and hospitalisation from COVID-19 and flu, and reduce pressure on the NHS and social care services.

Ensuring accessibility for the most vulnerable has, therefore, been central to our approach throughout the vaccination programme.

In line with this, instead of the large-scale vaccination centres used in previous programmes, this winter we are offering smaller, more local clinics to facilitate access and minimise travel times to appointments.

Housebound patients have been vaccinated in their homes, with some health boards utilising the Scottish Ambulance Service to support this. Health boards may also offer support to patients with limited mobility in travelling to their vaccination appointment. Details of this can be found on the NHS Inform website.

Scotland is making excellent progress in the winter vaccination programme, when compared to the other UK nations. The latest published figures show that, as at 6 th November, Scotland has provided 87.8% of older adult care home residents and 55.7% of those aged 50 and over with a winter COVID-19 vaccine.

While differences in the way statistics are collected means that the figures are not always directly comparable, England has reported an uptake of 58.0% among older adult care home residents, and 53.5% among those aged 50 and over as at 6 th November.

Scotland’s winter vaccination programme also compares favourably to that of Wales, where, according to the latest data, 80.4% of older adult care home residents and 53.0% of those aged 50 and over have taken up the offer of a winter COVID-19 vaccination.

On 11 November 2022, the First Minister and I represented the Scottish Government at the Summit meeting of the British-Irish Council hosted by the UK Government in Blackpool. The meeting was attended by Ministers from seven of the eight of the BIC Member Administrations with Northern Ireland represented by senior officials in an observational capacity.

The Prime Minister, who was attending for the separate Heads of Government Council meeting, welcomed delegates to Blackpool on the Thursday evening ahead of the Summit. The Summit meeting itself was chaired by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations, Michael Gove.

The Summit focussed on Sustainable Economic Growth and Regeneration, and on that topic I attended a site visit to the Lancashire Energy HQ. The Energy HQ is situated within the regenerated Blackpool Enterprise Zone and focusses on training and engineering skills for the sustainable energy sources industry. During the main Summit meeting I reflected on the visit and similar activity undertaken in Scotland to assist our just transition to net zero.

On the latest Political Developments item, the First Minster communicated views on the cost-of-living crisis, EU relations, the climate crisis and the ongoing situation in Ukraine. As well as the Heads of Government Council meeting with the PM and FM Wales, the First Minister also took the opportunity to hold bilateral meetings with Prime Minister and the Taoiseach.

The Communiqué that was issued by the British-Irish Council after the meeting can be found on its website at: www.britishirishcouncil.org

38th British-Irish Council Summit, UK Government

11 November 2022

Communiqué

The British-Irish Council (BIC) held its 38th Summit meeting today hosted by the UK Government in Blackpool. The Prime Minister opened the 38th British Irish Council Summit Programme, welcoming delegates to Blackpool on Thursday. A full list of Ministerial participants at the Summit meeting is attached.

As part of the programme, Ministers were invited to visit local businesses to set in context discussions at the plenary meeting on sustainable local growth, which the Secretary of State for Levelling Up chaired.

Latest Political Developments

The Council reflected on the latest political developments across their administrations, and took the opportunity to engage on a number of topics of mutual interest. These included the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the impact of the rising cost of living, shared climate and decarbonisation objectives, and ongoing relations with the EU. The Council received an update on Northern Ireland and looked forward to the restoration of the devolved institutions.

The Council also noted that 2023 would mark the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, and underlined the importance of supporting the effective functioning of all of the agreement’s institutions, including the British-Irish Council.

Sustainable Growth and Regeneration

The Council discussed the topic of sustainable growth and regeneration further during the Summit meeting, considering efforts underway across BIC Member Administrations to stimulate and support sustainable economic growth, the development of more inclusive communities, and to address pressures on housing in particular.

The Council took the opportunity to review recent thematic activity across the BIC’s work sectors aimed at supporting thriving local economies and building sustainable and resilient communities. The Council also noted the recent Ministerial meeting of the BIC Social Inclusion work sector, which took place in Cardiff and where Ministers considered how best administrations can support the growth and development of the Social Enterprise sector.

Next Summit Meeting

The Council noted that the next BIC Summit will be hosted by the Government of Jersey.

BIC Secretariat

11 November 2022

The Scottish Mental Health Law Review (commissioned by Scottish Government) published its final report at the end of September 2022 and set out substantial recommendations for reform. This included the current power of attorney process in Scotland. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that Scotland’s incapacity laws remain fully fit for purpose and will carefully consider these proposals as part of any wider reform of the mental health and incapacity legislative framework.

The Scottish Government has established a statutory public inquiry under the Inquiries Act (2005) to examine the handling of the coronavirus pandemic in Scotland. The inquiry will provide scrutiny and establish the facts of the strategic response to the pandemic in Scotland. It will identify lessons and recommendations to help Scotland be as prepared as possible for future pandemics.

The National Partnership for Culture published its recommendations on 16 March 2022. These 14 recommendations were underpinned by principles for meaningful delivery such as pooling of experience and resources across different fields. In response we are taking forward a range of actions, which are detailed in full in our publication of 27 September 2022, available at: National Partnership for Culture recommendations: Scottish Government response - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . This includes strengthening cross-portfolio links in areas such as health and wellbeing to harness opportunities for collaboration, as well as taking forward actions with partners to support cohesive working between national and local organisations. The National Partnership for Culture will meet to discuss its future plans on 14 December 2022.

After initial planning work with transport partners and stakeholder, Transport Scotland officials are engaged in finalising the programme for the National Rail Conversation, including the first significant public phase, of external stakeholder engagement. This will see key stakeholders, including rail staff representatives, invited to a number of events in the New Year. These sessions will enable those taking part to offer their views on the National Rail Conversation. Further details of the programme will be provided at these even and announced in due course.