We plan to publish the Anti-Destitution Strategy in March. The strategy has been developed in partnership with COSLA and shaped by people with lived experience of destitution, as well as the advice and expertise of organisations and frontline workers who support people subject to No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF).

Local authorities in Scotland can choose the type of vaccination location that is on offer to the local community. The Scottish Government holds information on location (for example whether a GP practice or a mass vaccination centre) but does not have a breakdown on whether these locations are considered designated drive-through facilities.

People who have inflammatory bowel disease (IBS) encompass a wide range of individuals with degrees of severity, so it’s important that the vaccine priority list focuses in on the specific groups who are at the highest risk. Some of those with IBS will fall into the priority groups below, like the clinically vulnerable priority group (the 6th category in the list below, under ‘underlying health conditions’), but this does depend on each individual’s circumstances.

Some individuals with IBS will also be prioritised due to their age and / or additional underlying health conditions.

The full JCVI priority list is currently:

• residents in a care home for older adults and their carers

• all those 80 years of age and over, and frontline health and social care workers

• all those 75 years of age and over

• all those 70 years of age and over, and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals

• all those 65 years of age and over

• all those aged 16 to 64 years with underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality

• all those 60 years of age and over

• all those 55 years of age and over

• all those 50 years of age and over

The Cabinet Secretary for Finance confirmed in the Scottish Budget 21-22 that the ceiling of the nil rate band for residential property transactions will return, as planned, to £145,000 for transactions with an effective date from 1 April 2021.

I am pleased to report that ahead of this new benefit’s official launch on 15 February, 85,000 applications had already been received, many of which claim entitlement for multiple children. The Scottish Government has been proactive in promoting this benefit, prior to launch we wrote to everyone on the Universal Credit and HMRC tax credit databases who may be eligible, inviting them to apply for Scottish Child Payment.

Maximising the take-up of benefits and tackling child poverty are both moral imperatives and fundamental priorities for the Scottish Government. To drive take-up of Scottish Child Payment, Best Start Grants and Best Start Foods, we will launch a multi-media campaign next month, targeting parents through TV and digital advertising.

This campaign builds on the work already undertaken to raise awareness of the Scottish Child Payment, including the promotion of the benefit on commercial radio in November and December, a toolkit of marketing materials distributed through a number of key channels and 18 online Scottish Child Payment Stakeholder Roadshows held in late 2020 attended by over 1,600 individuals representing the third sector and local authorities.

The Scottish Child Payment will also be a central feature of our second Benefit Take-Up Strategy, which we will publish in the autumn.

We have been clear we expect health boards to minimise wasted doses of vaccine, and have provided them with best practice advice on how to achieve this.

Some wastage is unavoidable for a variety of reasons based on the characteristics of the vaccine, logistical issues with cold chain supply, storage failure and/or specific clinical situations such as a breakout of COVID-19 in a care home. To date, our latest management information indicates a wastage rate of around only 1.8% - well below our planning assumption of 5%, which is a precautionary approach for worst case scenarios and in line with global best practice.

Any wastage is reviewed to ensure any preventable loss is avoided in the future. We will continue to monitor wastage rates and regularly report back.

A waste management tool is now in place to learn why waste is arising so that solutions can be put in place to minimise waste. It will also provide the ability to extract data on the number of doses not able to be used for various reasons. On the 9 February, NHS Lothian shared online the opportunity for staff who had not yet received a first or second dose of the Pfizer vaccine to attend as the adverse weather meant appointments were available at short notice. We are pleased to see Boards acting pragmatically to ensure we adhere to the JCVI priority list whilst continuing to minimise vaccine waste.

The Scottish Government has been very clear from day one that the pace of our national vaccine programme is dependent on vaccine supply and delivery timescales and we continue to work closely across the 4 nations to ensure this is as smooth as possible.

The vaccination roll-out in Scotland is on-track. Along with the rest of the UK, we have already vaccinated a higher percentage of our population than most other countries worldwide – and we expect to, at the very least, keep pace with the other UK nations in the coming weeks and months.

In addition, each health board is working hard to get the vaccine into people’s arms as quickly as possible, and while factors such as geography and population will mean that there will be some variations in delivery, we are confident that health boards are on track to meet the national targets we’ve set down.

Our plans will remain flexible and we are taking a number of steps to support further acceleration of delivery including testing round-the-clock vaccination and bringing new mass vaccination centres online.

Those who are entitled to a vaccine will be contacted by their Health Board letting them know where they will receive the vaccine and how to book their appointment.

You can also find useful information about the Covid-19 deployment plan and the vaccine supply in our recent publication, “COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment Plan 2021” available at: COVID-19+vaccine+deployment+plan+14+January+2021.pdf (www.gov.scot) .

Data on COVID-19 and on our COVID-19 vaccination program is published weekly on the Scottish Government Website and is available here : Coronavirus (COVID-19): daily data for Scotland - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

This is in addition to frequent televised briefings which include questions from the media and members of the public.

Upon receiving the first vaccination patients will be given a reminder leaflet which will be issued with the date of their follow up appointment to receive their second dose. All vaccinations are held on an individual’s medical records.

Health Boards have set out in their vaccination delivery plans the services that they will provide to meet the needs of their local communities. COVID-19 vaccinations may not take place at all GP practices, however, NHS Scotland will confirm local arrangements. NHS Scotland will invite those on the priority list by phone or letter for an appointment. The Coronavirus Vaccination Helpline on 0800 0308013 is now open to answer any questions, or provide further information about the coronavirus vaccine and its delivery. Website can be accessed at NHS Inform .