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The Scottish Government is aware of the impact the necessary public health restrictions has had on businesses, including tanning salon operators.

We recently announced £375m of support for businesses impacted by measures introduced to control the spread of Omicron and have provided details on how £266m of this will be allocated. This includes £19m for close contact businesses.

This £19m for close contact businesses is targeted at those who have been the most affected by the updated public health guidance introduced from 9 December 2021 to 24 January 2022. Beauty services, hairdressers and wellness services that provide spray and application tanning are eligible, however retail businesses utilising sunbeds are not in scope at this stage.

Decisions on the allocation of the remaining funds will be confirmed following further analysis and consultation with affected sectors on how it can best be targeted.

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.

The purpose of setting a six week period is to balance the need to ensure that decisions can be dealt with as quickly as possible, with providing applicant’s sufficient time to seek supporting information, or to request help from Social Security Scotland to obtain this information. It also means that there is an up-to-date record of the individual’s care and mobility needs, which Social Security Scotland might not otherwise have if the application is not completed until a much later date.

It is clear on the application form, in our communications and guidance that if an applicant has any difficulty completing the application within the six week period, they should tell Social Security Scotland. If the applicant has good reason for not meeting the deadline, Social Security Scotland can extend this time period for up to 52 weeks. If Social Security Scotland does not accept the reasons for the late completion, the individual has the right to request a re-determination in relation to the start date of assistance.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) publishes monthly statistics relating to the number of cancelled planned operations at health board level, a summary of which is available the following link:

https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/cancelled-planned-operations/

The latest statistics published cover the period up to 30 November 2021 and the percentage of planned operations that were cancelled each month from March 2020 onwards can be found within the tab ‘Publication table (%)’ in the table below

https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/media/11000/2022-01-11-cancellations.xlsx

These statistics are sourced from local theatre systems and only includes cancellations that were cancelled the day before, or on the day the patient was due to be treated. PHS does not collect information on cancellations that occur prior to this.

Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) is reserved to the UK Government. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) publishes an estimate of ESA and other income-related benefits every six months, at a UK-wide level only. The latest figures published (covering 2018-2019) show that 94% of the total amount of Income Support or Income-related ESA that could have been claimed was claimed. On 8 July 2021 the DWP published their final update on cases that were potentially affected by underpayments of Employment and Support Allowance on transition from Incapacity Benefit. This information is also at UK-wide level, and shows that the UK Government has paid £613 million to those affected by the move from Incapacity Benefit to ESA.

The Scottish Government will bring forward a prospectus for an independent Scotland, including the arrangements for a central bank, in good time before the independence referendum to allow people to make an informed choice over their future.

The Scottish Government does not hold or collate this information.

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.

The requested information is not centrally held. NHS Education for Scotland publishes annual data on joiners/leavers, but this information does not specify start date or professional background of joiners. Information on joiners/leavers by staff group for each financial year can be found on the following link: NHSScotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence

In October 2021, SG officials wrote to those remaining on the COVID-19 temporary registers with advice on how to view and access NHS Board vacancies, encouraging them to consider returning to the service. Prospective candidates were directed to vacancies hosted by individual NHS Boards, who are fully responsible for local recruitment.

Our overall assessment, from the numbers that remained on the registers and feedback from boards, is that a reasonable return rate would have been in the region of 5-10%; or around 200 doctors, nurses and midwives, allied health professionals and pharmacists (headcount) nationally. However, as candidates were directed to NHS Board vacancies, the Scottish Government does not hold data on the number of returners joining as a result of this measure.

A decision was taken, in discussion with Boards, that monitoring the rate of applicants in autumn and winter who had applied from emergency registers would be a burdensome task for already pressured Health Board recruitment teams.

All 429 of the intelligence reports received between 24 August 2020 and 30 November 2021 via the webform have been assessed, with appropriate actions identified and initiated.