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The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of Neighbourhood Watch schemes before 2012. In 2012, there were approximately 1,500 Neighbourhood Watch Schemes in Scotland and the most recent figures to June 2020 show that there are now 1,863 Schemes registered.

Since March this year, 42 new Watches have been registered. Additionally, there has been an increase in the number of people signing up to receive free ALERTS, both as individuals and as points of contacts for organisations, with total current figures at 25,730 individual registrations.

The Scottish Government announced lockdown measures on 23 March 2020. From 25 March to 23 June 2020, there were 1,060 compassionate Level 1 interactions which resulted in referrals to DBI Level 2 service providers. This includes 41 referrals from the NHS 24 Mental Health Hub which became an additional referral route from 13 May 2020 for the Health Board areas of Lanarkshire, Scottish Borders, Grampian, and Highlands, and was extended to a national pathway across all Health Boards in Scotland on 8 June 2020. However, it is not currently possible to determine how many of those referred have fully engaged with DBI, as the data is not yet available.

The Scottish Government has provided additional funding to support NHS dentistry, as the majority of practices see mainly NHS patients.

Whilst we do have dental practices in Scotland that see only or mainly private patients, the significant expansion in NHS dental provision in recent years means that the majority of practices see mainly NHS patients.

For those practices that do provide some private dentistry, the Scottish Government has already confirmed NHS financial support should not be a bar for practices to claim from other funding sources more appropriately aligned with private dentistry.

On 18 March 2020 I announced a package of support worth £2.3 billion to limit the impact of COVID-19 on the business community. The new measures will be delivered during the 2020-21 financial year for non-domestic properties only. They include a 1.6% rates relief for all the properties across Scotland, effectively reversing the planned below inflation uplift in the poundage for 2020-21.

On 26 May I announced that we will extend eligibility for the current small business grants to small businesses that occupy shared premises where the landlord is the ratepayer. Eligible small businesses could apply for a £10,000 small business grant, administered by local authorities from 8 June.

Private dentists as self-employed individuals are subject to the same eligibility criteria to the support schemes put in place as any other self-employed individual in Scotland. They could have claimed grants under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme if they are paid via PAYE. There is other support available including deferring VAT and deferring self-assessment payments on account, as well as the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.

We are continuing to work closely with Board Chief Executives and Directors of Public Health to ensure access to resources to increase testing capacity including Mobile Testing Units and the UK Government Social Care Testing Portal.

The Social Care Testing Portal went live on Monday 8 June and all Health Boards are now reporting on a weekly basis on the testing of staff and residents in care homes and providing data on actual testing that week and testing plans for following week.

We are publishing weekly data that includes what Health Boards have done in terms of numbers of staff and residents tested in Covid and non-Covid homes in the previous week and through what route, for example the Social Care Testing Portal.

Weekly data on COVID-19 in adult care homes in Scotland is available at: .

The COVID-19 data and trend charts for Scotland are published daily and provide a range of information, including the number of care homes notifying cases of COVID-19 and the number of suspected cases of COVID-19 in care homes. The data also includes the daily number of people in hospital with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 but does not include details on how many of these are care home residents or staff.

The cumulative number of people tested and the number of positive and negative tests is also provided.

Weekly data on COVID-19 in adult care homes in Scotland is available at:

You can find figures updated every day at 2pm (including care home data) here: .

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-29881 on 26 June 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at /parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx . .

The Scottish Government publishes weekly data on the number of care home staff tested in each Board area:

It is not possible from the data to provide a breakdown of the number of staff who can access drive through facilities.

Health and social care workers in Scotland continue to be the top priority for testing and all health and social care workers who have symptoms can be tested through their local NHS board. Each health board will offer a variety of options for testing, these can include providing transport to test centres or access to mobile testing units. Regular testing every 7 days is also now being extended to all care home staff, regardless of symptoms.

We have not undertaken work to establish the costs associated with a national care service.

Any policies on media handling would be a matter for NHSScotland. Boards as individual organisations to consider locally.

In response to your question, the information you request is not available centrally; whether or not power of attorney has been granted prior to discharge is not recorded.

We can provide information on the number of people who were discharged from hospital to a placement following a period of delay due to matters associated with application of the Adults with Incapacity (AWI) legislation. A placement includes discharges to care home, and other placements including Intermediate Care.

Across Scotland, in January, a total of 18 people who had experienced a delay associated with incapacity were discharged from hospital, In February a total of 19 people were discharged, in March a total of 37 were discharged and in April a total of 41 were discharged.

I hope that this information is helpful.