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The five commitments made in the 2019-20 Programme for Government were; 1) appoint a Chief Medical Officer Speciality Advisor for stroke care, 2) review and improve the current stroke care bundle to improve outcomes for patients, 3) collaborate across government on stroke prevention and raising awareness of the signs of stroke, 4) begin work to scope out and define what a progressive stroke unit looks like, and 5) ensure that a national planning framework is in place for a high quality and clinically safe thrombectomy service.

Updates are as follows;

Professor Martin Dennis (Chief Medical Officer Specialty Advisor for Stroke) and Dr Fiona Wright (Deputy Chief Medical Officer Speciality Advisor for Stroke) were appointed in 2020.

The Scottish Stroke Care Audit standards have, for several years, included the proportion of patients with a final diagnosis of stroke who were managed in accordance with all four standards comprising the care bundle. The standards within the bundle include the prompt delivery of: a) admission to a stroke unit; b) brain scanning; c) screening for swallow problems; and d) administering aspirin (unless contraindicated). The standards are regularly reviewed in line with current evidence and updated guidelines.

We have progressed with work to scope out and define a progressive stroke pathway. The resulting document is expected in early 2022. It will set out our vision for what stroke services across Scotland should deliver across the whole patient pathway, including prevention, recognition of stroke, timely access to acute and hyperacute care and the provision of stroke rehabilitation.

We remain committed to introducing a high quality and clinically safe thrombectomy service in Scotland. A pilot thrombectomy programme began in the North of Scotland at NHS Tayside on 9 November 2020 and the East of Scotland began their pilot service on the 6th September 2021. A Scotland wide service is expected to be operational by 2023.

Following the end of Professor Ken Muir’s ‘ consultation on the replacement of the Scottish Qualifications Authority and the reform of Education Scotland’ , on 26 November 2021, Professor Muir is preparing his report and recommendations, which the Scottish Government expects to receive soon.

Transport Scotland has worked closely with operating partners and stakeholders throughout the pandemic to ensure that transport services have been maintained for those who rely upon them. For example, under the Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) scheme, transport operators were able can apply for an exemption to allow essential workers to volunteer to leave self-isolation and return to work in certain limited circumstances in order to allow vital services to continue.

Although this scheme has now closed following changes to the general population self isolation policy, we continue to work closely with the sector on maintaining service and network resilience. This includes working with CalMac and ScotRail to introduce temporary timetables to protect lifeline services and minimise Covid related cancellations as a result of staff absences arising from the recent surge in cases caused by the Omicron variant.

As is normal practice, a number of projected scenarios using various estimated levels of ScotRail’s patronage and revenue were analysed in respect of different fares options.

Therefore, the range of £6.5m to £9.1m reflects the potential, estimated cost of a fares freeze across varying patronage and revenue scenarios. If a partial freeze was to be implemented there would be a proportionate reduction to those costs.

The cost of any fares freeze or below-RPI fares increase would also have a cumulative effect, recurring annually.

The Inquiry must, and will, be given the resources necessary to discharge its task. It will be fully funded by the Scottish Government. Costs are to be determined by how the Inquiry is run by the independent Chair. For that reason, as with other inquiries, we have not set a fixed budget for the Inquiry.

The Inquiries Act 2005 requires the Chair to avoid any unnecessary cost, whether to public funds or to witnesses or others.

We are carrying out a consultation to inform the development of our aviation strategy, so at this stage no decisions have been made about what will be addressed. The consultation includes questions on how the Scottish Government can help to reduce the environmental impact of aviation. The responses to the consultation, alongside other relevant evidence and wider Scottish Government policy, will inform decisions on the final content of the strategy.

The Scottish Government is working closely with business organisations to develop an action plan to identify actions to mitigate the impact of labour shortages on businesses across affected sectors. Longer term interventions will include consideration of the current skills system, specifically how this links with the wider education landscape and careers guidance services.

With the exception of skills and training, most of the levers available to mitigate the acute HGV driver shortages we have seen in the last 6 months are reserved to the UK Government. Our Modern Apprenticeships continue to support individuals to enter the logistics sector. The Freight Logistics Apprenticeship Framework encompasses the planning, routing and movement of freight across all transport modes as well as associated activities such as warehousing and storage.

Collectively there were 1107 starts on these frameworks in 2020-21 and up to the end of Quarter 2 of 2021-22, there have been 770 Modern Apprenticeship starts in freight logistics with 1456 individuals in training in total. In addition, as of September 2021, 95 individuals have been supported through the Employability Fund to train as HGV drivers.

Skills Development Scotland is also developing a small pilot with the Road Haulage Association to support up to 30 drivers with an HGV licence to undertake Driver Certificate of Professional Competence training allowing them to re-enter the sector. The pilot will help establish the demand for this type of training.

We are also monitoring the impact of bus driver vacancies and on bus service levels. My officials are in regular contact with the Department for Transport regarding issues such as delays in processing licence applications and driver testing. In addition, officials are also working with the bus sector to facilitate solutions to workforce issues through the Labour and Skills Shortages Action Plan, and connecting Local Employability Partnerships (LEPs) who are aware of opportunities in their areas with bus service operators through the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT). This includes sharing examples of good practice across the network of both LEPs and members of the CPT to encourage more local level collaboration to meet the needs of each area.

The Scottish Government has provided £79.3 million directly to taxi and private hire drivers and operators in response to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Further support of up to £28 million was announced on 5 January 2022 from within the £375 million package of funding announced on 21 December 2021, bringing total support for the sector to over £107 million.

Transport Scotland has set out a Stage 1 and Stage 2 evaluation of the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme following the first full year of operation. The evaluation will assess the short and medium outcomes and the long term impact of the scheme by comparing conditions at different stages.

During the first year of operation (Stage1), short term outcomes of the scheme such as uptake of entitlement and travel behaviour will be evaluated. Uptake of the scheme will be monitored directly through the application process, which launched on 10 January 2022, and data on usage of the entitlement will be collected through recording of journeys made using the National Entitlement Card. Reports from this evaluation will be published on the Transport Scotland website.

It is an objective of the free bus schemes that bus operators should be financially no better and no worse off as a result of their participation. This objective should mean that there are not subsequent fare pressures on fare paying passengers as a result of the scheme. We have worked with the Confederation of Passenger Transport to arrive at reimbursement rates which seek to meet this aim. Usage of the Young Persons Scheme will be closely monitored to refine the reimbursement model as necessary.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05411 on 24 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05400 on 24 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