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The latest available information on convictions is for the financial year 2020-21 and is provided in the following table.

Number of people convicted for animal cruelty offences, where main charge, 2016-17 to 2020-21.

The Scottish Government is absolutely committed to an infrastructure solution to address the A83 Rest and Be Thankful landslip risks. This scheme is technically challenging and the landscape is dynamic so it is vital we understand the terrain we are working in, in order to develop a suitable solution of the correct standard in the correct place.

The necessary engineering and environmental assessment work is progressing at pace and whilst I cannot confirm a precise date for the announcement of the preferred route for the long term solution at this time, I can confirm that it remains our intention to announce the decision this Spring.

The Scottish Government is absolutely committed to an infrastructure solution to address the A83 Rest and Be Thankful landslip risks. I share the urgency communities and businesses place on maintaining and improving connectivity of this vital route, which is why we are progressing measures for the short, medium and long term in tandem.

Transport Scotland continues to progress design and assessment work on both the medium and long-term solutions at pace. Transport Scotland also continues to explore methods to reduce the timescales to bring forward both the medium-term and long-term improvements as soon as possible, whilst continuing to maximise the availability of the existing A83.

Clearly market conditions have changed in the past few years - the pandemic, Brexit and inflationary pressures have all played their respective parts in changing the procurement and delivery landscape across Government. However, we will continuously review the impact of current inflationary pressures and market conditions on both medium and long-term measures.

A detailed programme for the proposed medium-term improvements to the Old Military Road through Glen Croe is now being developed. It is expected that these works will be carried out on a phased basis starting later this year. I will provide an update on the delivery programme for the medium-term improvements at the next A83 Taskforce meeting which is scheduled to take place in June 2023.

In terms of the long-term solution, we are working towards announcing a preferred route option by this Spring.

The Scottish Government recognise the significance of National Dashcam Safety Portal initiative and its potential positive impact on road user behaviour and therefore the road safety outcomes for communities across Scotland.

I met with Police Scotland on 9 February to discuss the importance of delivering the NDSP.Police Scotland is now reviewing the project’s timings as part of their wider planning for 2023/24 and beyond.

All those involved in delivering the NDSP remain committed to implementing this valuable safety initiative.

CHAS received £6m pa from 2016/17 – 2020/21. This was followed by a Programme for Government commitment in 2021/22 to “ensure provision of high-quality child palliative care, regardless of location, supported by sustainable funding of at least £7m per year through Children’s Hospices Across Scotland”.

The Scottish Government does not fund culture coordinator posts in schools. However, some Local Authorities choose to employ culture coordinators to support the delivery of the Youth Music Initiative programme, administered on behalf of the Scottish Government by Creative Scotland.

Creative Scotland do not require Local Authorities to have a specific coordinator role in place to deliver the fund. Scottish Government give Local Authorities the financial freedom to operate independently and allocate the resources available to them in response to local need.

The Scottish Government recognise the challenge for local authorities that have responsibility for ferries and welcomes all extra funding for Scotland. However, it is unacceptable for the UK Government to decide how money is spent in areas of devolved responsibility.

The Scottish Government actively engages with the shipbuilding industry, through individual companies and our enterprise and skills agencies. Transport Scotland has no role in the procurement of local authority ferries.

There are currently no plans to develop a UK-wide Strategy on fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). However, Scottish Government officials have made contact with Wales and Northern Ireland, and have met with counterparts in England regarding FASD policy We are also linking into international work and evidence in relation to FASD. We will continue to engage, and share learning and approaches.

The Scottish Government has funded Adoption UK (Scotland) to establish an FASD Hub in Scotland with the aim of providing support, training and advice to families, carers and professionals supporting children affected by FASD. This is the first of its kind within the UK. We also support a research, evidence and training base - the FAAST team at Edinburgh University.

The National Concessionary Travel Schemes are delivered on both Young Scot-branded and non-Young Scot-branded National Entitlement Cards (NEC).

Children aged 5-11 are able to access the Young Persons Free Bus Travel Scheme (YPTS) using a photoless NEC. Young people aged 11-21 can choose to access the YPTS with either a Young Scot NEC or non-Young Scot branded photo NEC. Information on the types of NECs available to access YPTS is available at freebus.scot .

Young people in the National Concessionary Travel Scheme for Disabled Persons aged 11-25 can choose to access the scheme through either a Young-Scot branded or non-branded NEC.

Non-concessionary travel benefits of the Young Scot NEC are the responsibility of Young Scot who determine the age at which this is available.

This Government firmly believes that every child growing up in Scotland, regardless of their background, should have an equal chance of attending university and participating in higher education.

We worked with Universities Scotland and the Scottish Funding Council to ensure that all of Scotland’s higher education institutions committed to guaranteeing an offer of an undergraduate place at university to care-experienced applicants who meet minimum entry requirements. This was effective from autumn 2019 for learners entering university in autumn 2020.

We also introduced the Care Experienced Bursary in higher education in 2017 and further education in 2018, replacing loans with non-income assessed, non-refundable bursaries.

Many young people leaving school may first attend college before progressing to university at a later stage. In the college sector, 3.6% of enrolments to full-time HE and 9.6% of enrolments to full-time FE courses in 2020-21 were from care-experienced students.

University remained an attractive destination for many college qualifiers in 2020-21, with 41.6% going on to university. Of those who qualified in 2019-20, 93.0% of care-experienced leavers from full-time HE college courses and 94.0% from full-time FE courses with known destinations were in work or further study 3-6 months after qualifying.

The Scottish Government remains committed to “Keeping The Promise”. The Promise was published in February 2020 and highlighted the need for robust “scaffolding” or support network to support care leavers or those with care experience.

Continuing Care and Aftercare are both components of ground breaking measures introduced in the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 to improve outcomes for young people leaving care by supporting and developing positive transitions.

We are also committed to ensuring a range of positive destinations, including transition into employment and other training opportunities.

By the end of Q3 2022-23, there have been 401 new Modern Apprentice (MA) starts from individuals who self-identify as care-experienced, and 151 of these are in the 16-19 year old age bracket. Skills Development Scotland Management Information data shows that there are currently 630 care-experienced MAs in training, with 17 of these individuals in West Dunbartonshire.

Our national skills agency, Skills Development Scotland (SDS), have operational responsibility for our MA programme and provide funding contributions towards the cost of training and assessing apprentices, on behalf of the Scottish Government. SDS continue to engage with training providers to support the promotion of apprenticeship opportunities to care experienced individuals.

Additionally, funded through our Developing the Young Workforce programme, MCR Pathways and Career Ready target young people from care-experienced and less advantaged socio-economic-cultural backgrounds and communities. Both are currently operating in West Dunbartonshire and help young people to progress to a positive post-school destination.