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Scotland (the land where smiles are hidden) – dates of face masking medical advice provided to the Scottish Government

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Dear Scottish Government,

The Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) MSP John Mason is reported to have had a spat with GB News over “the science" of mask wearing and his response to the lived experience of Sophie Corcoran and her experience of mask wearing in education and the email sent to MSPs by the pressure group ‘UsforThem'. Whilst John Mason is reported to have said some negative remarks pertaining to GB News it is likely (based on a historical debate in the Scottish Parliament that this requester has viewed on YouTube) that SNP MSPs such as John Mason regard broadcasters such as CNN as authentic news sources. If it is the case that MSPs such as John Mason regard the media outlet CNN as being an authentic news source then these SNP MSPs must be aware that CNN is sponsored by the big pharma company Pfizer, that Pfizer is a partner for the World Economic Forum (WEF) and that the CNN regular contributor Dr Leana Wen, a “WEF “Young Leader" herself, has described cloth face masks as “little more than facial decorations". Presumably John Mason MSP would not regard the description of a cloth face masks as being “little more than facial decorations" being advice that he would “take with a pinch of salt", as he is reported to be described what is required for some news content.

The First Minister (FM) Nicola Sturgeon has stated in the Scottish Parliament that a “cautious” approach is being taken to the “COVID-19 restrictions" and yesterday's headline in The Mail Online of “Nicola Sturgeon refuses to rule out keeping Scotland’s mask laws in place for YEARS as she blasts Boris Johnson’s Covid plan saying England is a global ‘outlier’”. This article in The Mail Online report stated:

Asked on the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme today if she can see people wearing masks for ‘months or years to come’, in Scotland, Ms Sturgeon said: ‘I hope not. I don’t want any of these measures to be in place for any longer than is necessary.

‘But masks … are something we can do. None of us enjoy wearing them but they are perhaps not the biggest handicap to endure in order to try to stem transmission.

‘So while they can make a difference to controlling the virus then I think it is something we should do.

Again I would suggest that it is England that is the outlier here, not Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, or many countries across the world.’

Scottish Conservative shadow cabinet secretary for Covid recovery, Murdo Fraser said: ‘Nicola Sturgeon still can’t bring herself to admit the restrictions she imposed over Christmas were unnecessary.

If the FM acknowledged that there are “handicaps" to wearing masks then the Scottish Government should reasonably be expected to have received detailed scientific and medical advice from the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and National Clinical Director (NCD) on the “handicaps" that mask wearing results in.

As a Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 request please provided the recorded dates for all memoranda, reports and other communications from the CMO and NCD to the Scottish Government on the effect of mask wearing on the following:

1. Child speech and language development.
2. Mental health and emotional wellbeing of children and young people.
3. Children and young people who are deaf or have partial hearing.

Thanks.

Yours faithfully,

J Grove

Scottish Government

Our Reference: 202200274951

Dear J Grove,

Thank you for your correspondence received on 24/01/2022. Your query will
be passed to the relevant area for consideration and has been given a
reference number of 202200274951. Please quote this number in all
correspondence. The Scottish Government aim to respond, where necessary,
as quickly as possible and within the stated timescale as indicated on our
website
(http://www.gov.scot/about/contact-inform...).

Yours sincerely
MiCase
Correspondence system for SG and partner agencies
The Scottish Government takes your privacy seriously. You may have written
to us because you have a question or want to make a complaint. Our privacy
notice
(https://beta.gov.scot/publications/conta...),
available on our website, sets out how we use your personal data, and your
rights when communicating with us. It is made under Article 13 of the
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
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Dear Scottish Government,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Scottish Government's handling of my FOI request 'Scotland (the land where smiles are hidden) – dates of face masking medical advice provided to the Scottish Government'.

Ordinarily I would not request an Internal Review yet the FOISA 2002 requires such a request for review prior to any appeal for a Decision by the Scottish Information Commissioner.

In a FOI response from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) there appears to be no recorded information held by the UKHSA on the statistically significant reduction in transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by the wearing of cloth face masks and the available evidence would suggest that only well fitting N95 respirator type masks (i.e. masks to be used for short periods of time in clinical settings) offer any protection to the wearer or reduce the transmission of viruses to others.

Anecdotal evidence would suggest that the implementation of face coverings has occurred at the same time as a large increase in mental health and speech & language referrals for children. Whilst correlation cannot be assumed to be a causation both the CMO Gregor Smith and the NCD Jason Leitch must have been aware of the lack of evidence for cloth face masks being effective in reducing viral transmission whilst having full knowledge on the potentially damaging effects of mandating such ineffective measures on a very impressionable and vulnerable population.

As the Scottish Government and it's medical advisers such as Leitch and Smith must be aware there has been a publication from Johns Hopkins University questioning the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions during the “pandemic" and identifying that some measures had a negligible effect on COVID-19 mortality. It would reasonably be expected that the Scottish Government received full briefings from Leitch/Smith prior to the implementation of mandatory non-pharmaceutical interventions on the effect of these interventions on very vulnerable populations, including children.

I therefore challenge the FOISA 2002 section 17(1) ”information not held" exemption applied by the Scottish Government (Scottish Ministers) as there simply must have been some communication from the Scottish Government’s medical advisors on the effects of mandated measures on the wellbeing of children given that Scottish Government policy is supposedly to improve the wellbeing of the population. The provision of the section 17(1) exemption implies that the Scottish Government went “full steam ahead" in mandating an intervention with no evidence of effectiveness without getting advice from it's experts on the consequences of such a policy.

Please search the Scottish Government systems again for the dates of the medical advice relating to points 1 to 3 and confirm whether the section 17(1) exemption still applies.

Thanks.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/s...

Yours faithfully,

J Grove

Scottish Government

Thank you for contacting the Scottish Government.  The Central Enquiry
Unit is now closed for Public Holidays.  We will reopen on the 19th April
2022 at 8:30.  Normal office hours are Mon-Fri 8:30 till 17:00.

 

The information you require may be found on our website [1]www.gov.scot .
Coronavirus information can be found here:
[2]https://www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/

 

Central Enquiry Unit

 

 

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intended solely for the attention of the addressee(s). Unauthorised use,
disclosure, storage, copying or distribution of any part of this e-mail is
not permitted. If you are not the intended recipient please destroy the
email, remove any copies from your system and inform the sender
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lawful purposes. The views or opinions contained within this e-mail may
not necessarily reflect those of the Scottish Government.

show quoted sections

Scottish Government

Our Reference: 202200295164
Your Reference: Scotland (the land where smiles are hidden) – dates of
face masking medical advice provided to the Scottish Government

Dear J Grove ,

Thank you for your correspondence sent on 18/04/2022. Your query will be
passed to the relevant area for consideration and has been given a
reference number of 202200295164. Please quote this number in all
correspondence. The Scottish Government aim to respond, where necessary,
as quickly as possible and within the stated timescale as indicated on our
website
(http://www.gov.scot/about/contact-inform...).

Yours sincerely
MiCase
Correspondence system for SG and partner agencies
The Scottish Government takes your privacy seriously. You may have written
to us because you have a question or want to make a complaint. Our privacy
notice
(https://beta.gov.scot/publications/conta...),
available on our website, sets out how we use your personal data, and your
rights when communicating with us. It is made under Article 13 of the
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
********************************************************************** 
This e-mail (and any files or other attachments transmitted with it) is
intended solely for the attention of the addressee(s). Unauthorised use,
disclosure, storage, copying or distribution of any part of this e-mail is
not permitted. If you are not the intended recipient please destroy the
email, remove any copies from your system and inform the sender
immediately by return.
Communications with the Scottish Government may be monitored or recorded
in order to secure the effective operation of the system and for other
lawful purposes. The views or opinions contained within this e-mail may
not necessarily reflect those of the Scottish Government.
**********************************************************************
 

Scottish Government

1 Attachment

Please find attached a response to your correspondence.
********************************************************************** 
This e-mail (and any files or other attachments transmitted with it) is
intended solely for the attention of the addressee(s). Unauthorised use,
disclosure, storage, copying or distribution of any part of this e-mail is
not permitted. If you are not the intended recipient please destroy the
email, remove any copies from your system and inform the sender
immediately by return.
Communications with the Scottish Government may be monitored or recorded
in order to secure the effective operation of the system and for other
lawful purposes. The views or opinions contained within this e-mail may
not necessarily reflect those of the Scottish Government.
**********************************************************************
 

Scottish Government

1 Attachment

Please find attached a response to your correspondence.
********************************************************************** 
This e-mail (and any files or other attachments transmitted with it) is
intended solely for the attention of the addressee(s). Unauthorised use,
disclosure, storage, copying or distribution of any part of this e-mail is
not permitted. If you are not the intended recipient please destroy the
email, remove any copies from your system and inform the sender
immediately by return.
Communications with the Scottish Government may be monitored or recorded
in order to secure the effective operation of the system and for other
lawful purposes. The views or opinions contained within this e-mail may
not necessarily reflect those of the Scottish Government.
**********************************************************************
 

Scottish Government

1 Attachment

Please find attached a response to your correspondence.
********************************************************************** 
This e-mail (and any files or other attachments transmitted with it) is
intended solely for the attention of the addressee(s). Unauthorised use,
disclosure, storage, copying or distribution of any part of this e-mail is
not permitted. If you are not the intended recipient please destroy the
email, remove any copies from your system and inform the sender
immediately by return.
Communications with the Scottish Government may be monitored or recorded
in order to secure the effective operation of the system and for other
lawful purposes. The views or opinions contained within this e-mail may
not necessarily reflect those of the Scottish Government.
**********************************************************************
 

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