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The Scottish Government's international offices are updated on all areas outlined in the Programme for Government including the constitution.

The following table shows how many school-aged children are in each local authority (as at September 2020) and how many devices have been distributed by councils using the £25m digital inclusion funding made available by Scottish Government in 2020-21.

Local authorities across Scotland have a range of approaches to provision of technology in schools, including some councils who have undertaken to provide cohorts of their school population with devices using their own budgets. We do not hold information centrally on those approaches, therefore, the table below only shows devices distributed through the funding made available by Scottish Government in 2020-21.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all school-aged children and young people in Scotland have access to a digital device by the end of this parliament in 2026.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05548 on 31 January 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Kaftrio ® has been available for the treatment of cystic fibrosis in patients aged 12 years and older since 1 September 2020. This follows a pricing agreement with the manufacturer. There is provision in the access policy and pricing agreement for expanding access to Kaftrio ® as licence extensions are granted by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The most recent extension in January 2022 allows for Kaftrio ® to be used in children aged 6 to 11 years.

This means that clinicians - working in cystic fibrosis treatment centres - can now prescribe Kaftrio ® for younger patients whom they consider will benefit from its use.

Current guidance is being reviewed in collaboration with the sector, taking into account advice provided by the Covid-19 Advisory Sub-Group on Colleges and Universities. The Scottish Government’s 4 Harms approach ensures that the fullest range of impacts is taken into account in developing measures or guidance in all sectors, including for universities and colleges. Some students will already be receiving full time in-person teaching in line with our advice to prioritise students whose qualifications/progression are at risk. It is also for institutions to determine an appropriate balance between online and in-person teaching where that focuses on the reduction and management of risk and a cautious approach to keep people safe.

The following items were in the national stockpile, but have now been removed due to their expired shelf life:

• FFP3 masks (individual masks) – 509,890
• Hand sanitiser (litres) - 87,912

It is important to note that all of the listed FFP3 masks are from the original pre Covid-19 pandemic stockpile. Healthcare staff who were fitted to these have been migrated to the improved versions of the masks. Additionally, all of the listed masks will be used as part of a new re-cycling programme being undertaken by a Scottish company . Of the hand sanitiser listed, 21,000 litres will be re-worked as part of a recycling program involving a Scottish third sector supplier.

Since the emergence of the Omicron, the Scottish Government has undertaken a series of regular meetings with NHS Chief Executives to discuss contingency and resilience planning. These include meetings that were Chaired by the NHS Scotland Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer as well as regular meetings between health and social care officials and NHS Scotland Chief Executives. The System Response Group meetings also include representations from wider stakeholder interests and Local Government.

I have held regular update meetings to discuss System Pressures to which all Boards are invited. I have also held meetings with COSLA and officials every Monday to receive updates on the Winter Package.

Finally, I held a number of meetings with specific Local Authorities, Health Boards and HSCPs on a one to one basis where the need arose.

These meeting dates are detailed in the following table:

The Scottish Government recognises that COVID-19 is an unprecedented global crisis, leaving no part of the world unaffected. Although Scotland is not a member of the COVAX scheme, we will continue engaging with the UK Government on that matter. On 8 December, the First Minister wrote to the Prime Minister to urge the UK government to end its opposition at the World Trade Organisation and to join over 100 countries who are now supportive of a temporary Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights waiver.

We have also provided international development support to our partner countries to support their COVID-19 responses, including vaccine preparedness.

In December 2020 we provided international development funding to support vaccine preparedness and delivery, including £2M to UNICEF in 2020 to help vaccine distribution, roll-out and online healthcare education in our partner countries.

In September 2021, we provided £250,000 from our international development fund to leverage the provision to our partner countries of £11.2 million worth of PPE – our single biggest ever donation – to aid COVID responses as part of our strategic response.

In February 2022 we provided £1.5m to UNICEF to support equal access to COVID-19 vaccines in our partner countries. The funds will support vaccination programmes in Rwanda, Zambia and Malawi, their provision of safe oxygen supplies, and help the agency deliver equipment, resources and technical support in response to the pandemic.

The Scottish Government has been working in partnership with the Association of Directors of Education, COSLA and partners to establish the full delivery and financial requirements in support of the expansion of free school meals. Through this engagement, it has been confirmed that there is a requirement for capital and resource investment in order to support the expansion, including for catering and dining.

In addition to £53 million per year for universal provision in primary 1-3, the 2022-23 budget includes £42.2 million of revenue funding for the expansion of primary 4, 5 and special schools, and £30 million capital allocation for initial investment in school kitchens ahead of roll-out of free lunches to all primary school children during in the parliamentary term.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with partners in local authorities to plan for the expansion of free school lunch provision over the next academic year. This work will ensure the expansion can be delivered equitably across all schools, in all areas, whilst maintaining high quality lunch provision for pupils.