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I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The total number of liberations from SPS custody in 2020 are as follows:

1. 8,187; and

2. 6,179

Electronic monitoring provides an important function in monitoring those at various points in the justice system, including for those on release from prison (for HDC or as part of a parole licence), or those on a community order (e.g. Restriction of Liberty Order).

The impact of COVID-19 has been felt across all services within the justice system including within courts and prisons. The number of electronically monitored orders made during this period reflects this.

In response to the specific questions:

(a) the number of all electronically monitored orders (in practice court orders and licences) made between 1 January 2020 and 3 December 2020 is 3569.

A breakdown of the total orders received is 3160 court orders, 390 release from prison (24 of which were released to Scotland from a prison in England or Wales). Additionally 19 orders were imposed by the Children’s Hearing panel.

(b) the number of orders made between 23 March 2020 and 3 December 2020 is 2389.

A breakdown of the total orders received is 2047 court orders, 326 release from prison (18 of which were released to Scotland from a prison in England or Wales). Additionally 16 orders were imposed by the Children’s Hearing panel.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

1. 147; and

2. 133

Currently there is one trainee environmental health officer who has been seconded to an NHS Test and Protect team. Local authorities are responsible for decisions around the secondment of their staff.

Covid-19 has put us all in an unprecedented, challenging situation, and the current pandemic has had a significant impact on the delivery of dental services.

As a result of the pandemic we have had to defer our work to extend free NHS dental care to care experienced 18-26 year olds. However we are still dedicated to delivering this commitment and can confirm this will be taken forward as part of recovery and remobilisation programme for NHS dentistry.

Work to better understand and support care-experienced young people with their housing costs through Discretionary Housing payments was paused as a result of the COVID-19 emergency. However, care experienced young people remain eligible for discretionary housing payments (DHPs) if they are in receipt of qualifying benefits.

We have provided Who Cares? Scotland with £106,754 to maintain the helpline established as a response to COVID 19 and deliver an advertising campaign to promote discretionary housing payments. The helpline provides care experienced young people with advice and helps eligible individuals make an application for a DHP.

Official statistics on applications for, and awards, of Job Start Payment were published on 9 November 2020 and can be accessed on the Scottish Government website:

Scotland’s Strategic Framework sets out an approach to applying restrictions only where necessary, and removing them as soon as they have achieved their effect. Ministers have set out the framework with an open mind, and committed to engaging with Parliament, Local Government and others on its implementation.

The Scottish Government has consulted with relevant stakeholder organisations, including sectors such as hospitality, that are subject to specific measures, both in advance of the publication and during the development of supporting guidance. This included direct engagement with representative organisations, from both Scottish Government officials and Ministers.

We also engaged with local authorities through both COSLA and Society Of Local Authority Chief Executives in advance of the publication of the strategy. This included correspondence from the Scottish Government’s Director General Constitution and External Affairs with the Chief Executive of COSLA on 26 October that sought her support in engaging local government leaders on reaching decisions on initial levels for local authority areas; understanding how these levels will affect areas, and identifying the sectors, areas and issues where a partnership approach with the Scottish Government, Local Authorities, Health Boards and others can be most effective; as well as other comments.

To ensure proper parliamentary scrutiny, the final framework was also subject to the views of the Scottish Parliament. We engaged with all political parties on the detail of the framework, and put this to a debate and vote in Parliament on 27 October.

This illustrates our clear commitment to engage on the nature and application of this Framework, including full Parliamentary scrutiny of any future amendments to the Framework. However, it is ultimately for Scottish Ministers to make decisions to apply or amend the Framework, including allocation of levels, in line with their statutory powers to protect public health.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-32775 on 9 November 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at .

The Scottish Government’s Strategic Framework for the Pandemic, published on 23 October, sets out plans to develop the testing element of Test and Protect over the next three months which focusses on building capacity within NHS Scotland and deploying expansions in UK Government testing capacity and capability to its maximum effect in Scotland. Further details can be found here: .

As set out in our Clinical and Scientific review of the Testing Strategy, the consensus clinical view of the prioritisation of capacity, over and above that required to meet symptomatic demand, clinical care requirements and existing commitments, is that the focus in any extension of routine regular asymptomatic testing should be on protecting those most vulnerable to severe harm. Further details can be found here: .

As testing capacity builds over the next three months, and in line with clinical and public health priorities identified though the review of our testing strategy, this will include considering how best to extend routine testing to staff who provide care at home for those most vulnerable to harm.

We recognise that routine testing of people who do not have symptoms has an important role to play in protecting the vulnerable and preventing outbreaks in high risk settings. It must however be seen alongside a strong emphasis on symptomatic social care staff immediately self-isolating and arranging testing, use of appropriate PPE, physical distancing, environmental optimisation and decontamination and good social hygiene.