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Public Health Scotland (PHS) uses the national waiting times warehouse to collect electronic patient records covering the waits that patients experience waiting for treatment as an inpatient or day case under the Treatment Time Guarantee. This data source can be used routinely to identify the specialty of treatment. However, although the records are designed to collect coded information on the procedure that is planned for the patient, this information is often either incomplete, lacking in essential detail and/or its accuracy cannot be assured. In addition, for patients who have completed their wait, the procedure(s) that was planned may not always reflect that actually performed after they were admitted for treatment. The latter is not captured through the warehouse. Consequently, PHS is not currently able to report accurately on waiting times to this level of detail. More detailed information on the procedure(s) that is planned or undertaken for a patient will be held locally by NHS Boards.

Statistics relating to the waits patients experience for inpatient or day case treatment at specialty level are published up to 31 December 2021 and can be found using the link below:

https://publichealthscotland.scot/media/11657/ipdc_feb22.xlsx .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05015 on 7 January 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Prestwick Airport Station is owned by Prestwick Airport therefore it is not operated by ScotRail albeit passenger services do call there. Therefore, while Ministers and aviation officials routinely engage with representatives of Glasgow Prestwick Airport, discussions did not centre on ScotRail coming into public sector control at any point, including the period December 2019 and March 2022.

During this timeframe there was, however, appropriate consideration by Transport Scotland and ScotRail in the context of the transition from Abellio ScotRail to ScotRail Trains Ltd.

The latest forecasts produced by the Scottish Fiscal Commission forecast that £15 million will be spent on Self-Isolation Support Grants in 2022-23. The Commission will be publishing new forecasts on 31 May 2022 following engagement with Scottish Government. We will continue to collect and publish monthly Management Information on applications, awards, and expenditure.

The Scottish Government remains committed to an infrastructure solution to address the A83 Rest and Be Thankful landslip risks.

Work continues on the design of the long term options along with data gathering. The Government recently awarded a £1.8 million ground investigation works contract to best inform the design process and are working towards announcing a preferred route for a long term solution in 2023.

At the same time work is also progressing on the medium term resilient route and with formal proposals scheduled for late 2022.

In terms of short term measures since August 2020, Engineers have installed various landslide mitigation measures including drainage improvements, debris fences, a catch pit and material barriers. The mitigation has been augmented by the construction of a 175m long, 6m high debris bund, which further protects the Old Military Road. As a result of the major landslides in August and September 2020, and to mitigate a similar event from recurring, a further catch pit is being formed to be completed in summer 2022.

The catch pits and fences are designed to ‘capture’ debris material from a landslip and prevent it from reaching the road. To reduce disruption while keeping all road users and roadworkers safe, temporary traffic light system has replaced the convoy operations on the A83 and now remain in operation. A convoy system is only used, where ground readings or heavy rain forecasts would determine such requirement.

The protection afforded by these measures has meant that the A83 and the Old Military Road local diversion have been able to remain in operation for all but eight occasions during 2021 and 2022 to date, meaning traffic did not have to use the longer diversion via Inveraray and Crianlarich.

Using satellite data and computer modelling, Forest Research have recently issued a revised estimate of around 8,000 hectares of forests impacted by the winter storms. This equates to around 16 million trees that have been blown over or otherwise damaged.

After Storm Arwen at the end of November, Scottish Forestry and Confor brought together the industry to take a strategic and collective view and co-ordinate the recovery of the fallen wood so that it can get to market in a safe and timely manner. Many landowners are still clearing up and this will continue for months to come, and will continue to be supported in that work by the Scottish Government and its agencies.

We are working with the sector to develop an updated and refreshed Action Plan under the auspices of our existing Culture Strategy, setting out the workstreams we are taking forward to support recovery and renewal. In doing so, we are currently considering the recommendations put forward by the National Partnership for Culture and the Creative Industries Leadership Group, which we received in spring 2022, and which relate directly to the recovery and renewal agenda. Our response to the National Partnership for Culture’s recommendations will be published shortly. Along with our ongoing sector engagement work, this will feed into our Culture Strategy Action Plan refresh, which we expect to publish in the summer.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-08101 on 11 May 2022. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Weekly management information published as part of the Coronavirus (Covid-19): Trends in Daily Data publication ( https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-trends-in-daily-data/ ) shows that delays first exceeded pre-pandemic levels (1,640 delays in January 2020) on 19 January 2020, with 1,664 delays recorded. Delays remained above 1,640 for the next two weeks before reducing again to pre-pandemic levels between 9 February and 23 March.

The whole health and social care system is under severe pressure and staff continue to work tirelessly to provide safe care. However, we continue to see extreme pressures across the whole health and social care system, with more people coming through hospitals who need high levels of care and support to go home, alongside high levels of unmet need in the community.

To address this significant additional funding has been allocated to support social care, including £62m to enhance care at home capacity; £48m to increase the hourly rate of pay; £40m to provide interim care arrangements; and £20m to enhance multi-disciplinary teams. Funding is also being used to rapidly scale up Hospital at Home services, which aim to reduce acute admissions and support timely discharge.

We are creating a broad, co-ordinated package of policies and support programmes to deliver the change required. We have widened the scope of our capital and advice programmes and have several live funding calls for large scale projects. Further work over the coming year includes:

• consulting on regulations for zero emissions heat
• establishing a virtual National Public Energy Agency to coordinate delivery and build public understanding
• co-producing, with industry, a Heat in Buildings supply chain delivery plan
• collaborating with a range of partner organisations, through the Green Heat Finance Taskforce, on innovative heat decarbonisation finance mechanisms.