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It is for local authorities to exercise their statutory responsibilities and deliver a safe environment for all school users. It is also for local authorities to determine what remedial action is required in their schools, in line with guidance.

The recently announced funding of up to £5 million is in addition to previous funding of £10 million to address issues around ventilation and CO2 monitoring, and on top of £90m of COVID-19 logistics funding.

We continue to engage regularly with stakeholders on ventilation, including in the COVID-19 Education Recovery Group.

Minutes of the third meeting of the Fire Safety Review Panel will be ratified at the fourth review panel meeting on 24 January 2022 and published shortly thereafter.

The next fire safety review panel meeting on 24 January 2022 will be the final panel meeting, subject to any new evidence emerging from the Grenfell Inquiry. The Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2022 are expected to be laid in the Scottish Parliament by the end of March with supporting guidance published in the Spring. The new regulations and guidance are planned to come into force on 1 October 2022.

As you know, the NHS in Scotland is under unprecedented pressure, particularly as a result of this latest Covid wave, and a number of services have been stood down in order to support urgent and emergency demand.

The latest data shows Boards are reporting a 65% increase in coronavirus absence compared to the previous week and significantly faster rate of increase in Covid hospitalisations this year compared to last January. This is a reminder of the challenges our NHS continues to face, having a high impact on waiting times for those people waiting to receive scheduled treatment.

Those waiting for treatment should be signposted to help on how they can manage their condition, and are encourage to seek support if they feel their mental health is being impacted.

The NHS Recovery Plan, which is backed by over £1 billion of additional investment, sets out how the Scottish Government will increase NHS capacity by at least 10% as quickly as possible in order to address backlogs and meet the ongoing healthcare needs for people across the country, including gynaecology patients.

Women’s Health is key priority for this government, which is why we published an ambitious Women’s Health Plan in August 2021. The Women’s Health Plan underpins actions to improve women’s health inequalities by raising awareness around women’s health, improving access to health care for women across their life course and reducing inequalities in health outcomes for girls and women, both for sex-specific conditions and in women’s general health.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05400 on 24 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

Apprenticeships are a key way for all employers to invest in their workforce, providing the skills the economy needs both now and in the future.

Published in December 2020, the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan (CESAP) sets out the actions we need to take to ensure our workforce is able to support the transition to net zero. Agile and responsive work-based learning, including apprenticeships, will support these ambitions and the CESAP notes the importance of developing new work-based learning pathways to capitalise on net-zero opportunities and maximising the uptake of apprenticeships in green jobs.

In this context, the Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board (SAAB) commissioned IFF Research to carry out a consultation with SAAB members, and other employers, covering industry views on the importance of reflecting sustainability into Scottish apprenticeships, and the steps required to achieve this. A final report of findings and recommendations was published in November 2021.

Ministers are due to meet SAAB to discuss its findings on 27 January 2022. Work is already underway to update National Occupational Standards (NOS) and the apprenticeship frameworks for sectors that are critical to the transition, to include mandatory net zero elements. The Scottish Government is also keen to work with SAAB and industry to explore how we can incentivise and increase apprenticeships taking up opportunities on green pathways.

The Scottish Government will continue to work collaboratively with Skills Development Scotland, the Scottish Funding Council and the Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board to maximise apprenticeships and prioritise a recovery that creates new jobs, good jobs and green jobs, supporting the long-term future of work-based learning and the economy.

The funding package to deal with the Omicron crisis was focused on those businesses most severely impacted by the cancellations due to public health advice and re-introduction of regulations on some businesses. The hostel sector whose business model is reliant on accommodating large numbers of (often unrelated) households mixing at one time, was particularly impacted during this period. Similarly hotels with bars and restaurants were particularly affected and therefore made eligible for hospitality top-up payments.

We sympathise with businesses such as self-catering, B&Bs and Guesthouses and others which have also been impacted by COVID-19. However, with limited funds available we have had to focus support on those most severely affected by restrictions. We will continue to consider the impacts of COVID and make the case with the UK Government for more comprehensive support.

The funding package to deal with the Omicron crisis has been targeted at those businesses most severely impacted by the cancellations due to public health advice and re-introduction of restrictions on some businesses. For this tranche of funding this has meant support for the hostel sector, and hotels with bars and restaurants.

We recognise that the self-catering sector, alongside many other businesses across Scotland has also been adversely affected by COVID-19 and we strongly sympathise with them in light of the challenges this has presented. Limited funding available has necessitated our focus on targeting those most impacted by restrictions. We will continue to monitor the impacts of COVID on businesses and to engage in dialogue with the UK Government on the case for support.

Parties involved in planning cases are expected to meet their own costs. The Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) of the Scottish Government will meet the costs of the reporter and administrative staff; advertisement of the case and the cost of the inquiry venue if necessary; and the general administrative costs of the case. DPEA deal with a wide range of casework and reporters and administrative staff normally deal with a number of different case types at the same time. The cost of an individual case can vary depending on a number of factors including the complexity of the case and whether an inquiry is necessary. DPEA do not record the cost of dealing with wind farm appeals or Section 36 wind farm applications.

The Core Scottish Government has 18 owned buildings. Solar panels are installed at 4 buildings; Victoria Quay Edinburgh, Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) Edinburgh, St Andrews House Edinburgh and Cameron House Oban. 22% of owned buildings have solar panels.

It has not been possible to install solar panels on all owned buildings due to the availability of useable roof space, roof orientation and shading, roof structure and other technical constraints.

The Chief Medical Officer, Professor Gregor Smith, wrote to health boards on 15 December regarding the COVID-19 vaccination programme and the de-prioritisation of the flu vaccination programme.

To summarise, on the basis that data from Public Health Scotland (PHS) suggests that the vast majority of those in high risk groups have already been offered the flu vaccine, and that uptake rates were already higher than the entirety of last years’ programme, health boards should cease co-administration of the flu vaccine alongside the COVID-19 vaccine programme within community COVID-19 vaccination clinics.

Health boards continue to offer the flu vaccine to those at risk who were routinely offered it prior to the pandemic. Flu vaccinations for these individuals should be offered through community pharmacies, midwives, GP practices as appropriate and opportunistically through domiciliary care and/or care home settings as appropriate.

The full contents of the letter can be viewed at: CMO(2021)37 - COVID-19 vaccination programme: supporting further acceleration of the booster programme (scot.nhs.uk) .