Question reference: S5W-33544
- Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 26 November 2020
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Current status: Answered by John Swinney on 11 December 2020
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that it plans to support the Scottish Youth Parliament, YouthLink Scotland and Young Scot to deliver a “Lockdown Lowdown 2” survey on face coverings, and work with Public Health Scotland on a similar survey of children under seven, what the terms of reference are for this work, and how it will use the findings of these surveys to assess the impact of face coverings on young people.
Answer
The details of this work are as follows:
- Wave 2 of Lockdown Lowdown covered a wide range of questions about young people’s experiences during the pandemic. This included an open question where respondents were given the opportunity to raise any issues, such as face coverings, in relation to COVID-19 restrictions. In addition, focus groups covered a broad range of questions about young people’s experiences, including prompts about face coverings.
- Wave 2 of the COVID-19 Early Years Resilience and Impact Survey covers a wide range of questions about the lives of children aged 2-7 and their parents/carers. It contains four questions about how children feel about wearing face coverings and about adults wearing them.
These surveys, along with other work, will support our regular review of the existing and emerging evidence base regarding the impact of face coverings and other restrictions on children and young people. As evidence is collated and assessed over time, it will provide a useful basis on which to adjust or amend policy and guidance as appropriate.