Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament (Virtual) 23 July 2020
23 Jul 2020 · S5 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Progress Towards Reopening Schools
On Mr Greer’s final question, the answer is yes. Risk assessments must be carried out in schools to support the resumption of schooling for young people and the work of individual staff.
I sympathise with Mr Greer on the issue of surveillance testing. The Government has taken extensive advice from Public Health Scotland on the appropriate approach to surveillance testing. It is obvious from the measures that are available in the community in general that we will have in place a very active test-and-protect arrangement, which we have seen working effectively in Lanarkshire in recent days. That will be supplemented by additional surveillance testing in schools.
I will be in a position to set out more detail on that next week but, at the request of the education recovery group, Public Health Scotland has been exploring what more can be done to provide the reassurance that Mr Greer seeks. The details of the approach might not be identical to Mr Greer’s proposals, but I assure him of the Government’s interest in the issue and of its determination to ensure that we have in place effective surveillance testing that can address the legitimate issues that he has raised.
In the same item of business
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SNP
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The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (John Swinney)
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The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
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Jamie Greene (West Scotland) (Con)
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John Swinney
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Iain Gray (East Lothian) (Lab)
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John Swinney
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The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
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Ross Greer (West Scotland) (Green)
Green
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John Swinney
SNP
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Beatrice Wishart (Shetland Islands) (LD)
LD
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John Swinney
SNP
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Daniel Johnson (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab)
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The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
Did you manage to get all of that, cabinet secretary?
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SNP
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