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Transport Scotland has produced extensive guidance on travelling safely for all forms of transport since the start of the pandemic and this is available via the following web links (for operators and passengers respectively).

https://www.transport.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/guidance-for-transport-operators/

https://www.transport.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/advice-on-how-to-travel-safely/

Transport Scotland has also worked closely with operators across all modes to help reinforce the messaging to transport users and staff.

Enforcement of the law remains the responsibility of Police Scotland and the British Transport Police. Officers can issue a fixed penalty notice to anyone 18 or over if they have reason to believe an offence has been committed. Throughout the pandemic, Police Scotland officers have continued to use the “4Es” approach (to engage, explain, encourage and only enforce as a last resort to protect public health).

The cost of the Air Traffic Management 2030 Strategy project to 30 November 2021 is £9 million.

One of the benefits of the Single Building Assessment approach is that the outputs will be made available for multiple purposes. We will work out the best way to do this, in partnership with others, while taking necessary steps to protect private information and sensitive data.

The Scottish Government provides baseline funding to NHS Boards and it is for Boards to determine how to use this funding to meet the healthcare needs of their resident population.

In 2021-22, Health funding exceeds £16 billion with £11.6 billion allocated to our frontline Health Boards. Our latest Budget takes funding for Health and Social Care to £18 billion for the first time, with £12.4 billion investment in our frontline health boards, representing additional investment of £387m (3.2%).

We continue to ensure that our health and care services receive the support that they need to address additional financial pressures resulting from Covid, including £862m provided to date in 2021-22.

Detail on how funding has been used specifically for diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and interstitial lung disease would require to be requested from NHS Boards.

The Scottish Government provides support for energy efficiency measures and zero emissions heating in Scotland’s homes and businesses, including for traditional and heritage buildings. Home Energy Scotland (HES) is funded by the Scottish Government to offer free, impartial, bespoke information and advice on the installation of energy efficiency and renewables measures, and to act as a gateway to all our domestic energy efficiency funding schemes. For businesses, the Scottish Government offer free, impartial advice and support to Scottish SMEs through the Energy Efficiency Business Support Service, delivered by Zero Waste Scotland. Through this service, businesses can access the SME loan scheme which provides funding support for energy efficiency measures and zero emissions heating installations.

In order to meet our net zero ambitions, we will continue to invest in our advice services to increase their reach and support. We recognise that improving the energy efficiency of traditional and heritage buildings in Scotland may require a bespoke approach and we will work with stakeholders, such as Historic Environment Scotland, to understand the future support necessary to upgrade these buildings.

We do not expect the vast majority of buildings in Scotland to require remediation and the Single Building Assessment programme will give us the information to establish timescales for those that do.

NHS Lothian has, as part of their response to the reports, sent diagnostic appointments for those children identified in the review as being of clinical concern and requiring recall. In addition, the Board is working with the British Academy of Audiology to review the Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) recordings of all children seen by the service for ABR testing during the last five years. An agreed escalation process is in place to highlight any cases of concern on a weekly basis and those of significant concern within 24 hours.

The Board is also undertaking work to review children known to the service who have risk factors for hearing loss and, based on the outcome of each review, recall children where appropriate in line with national guidance.

NHS Lothian will continue to report to the Scottish Government on a monthly basis.

It is not currently possible to identify the number of hospitality businesses nor the proportion of hospitality businesses that use the Check-in Scotland service. Whilst the collecting of customers contact details is a legal requirement, use of the Check-in Scotland service is entirely voluntary and can be used by many different types of business and venues, not just in hospitality. It is also possible to register different parts of a single venue so that they have different check-in locations (e.g. a bar with a separate address in a cinema complex could have a different check-in code to the cinema itself) and a single business may register multiple venues meaning that total figure does not equate to the number of businesses that may be using the service. Further details can be found at www.checkin.scot .

Other than the Check-in Scotland service, hospitality businesses may also use the NHS Scotland Covid Check app to verify a customers Covid Status. No personally identifiable or venue information is collected by the Covid Check App so it is it not possible to identify the number of businesses using the Covid Check app. Further details can be found at www.covidcheck.scot.

No businesses have access to any other Test & Protect systems.

The Scottish Government continues to promote the requirement for hospitality businesses to collect contact details from visitors to their premises, in line with regulations and guidance, to support the work of local Health Protection teams. Use of the Check In Scotland app, by premises or the public, is not a legal requirement; it is a tool to support settings to more easily comply with regulations and public health guidance.

In terms of monitoring the collection of contact details by settings covered by regulations, Environmental Health Teams within Local Authorities, as part of ongoing engagement with premises or in response to members of the public notifying them of non-compliance, encourage compliance within settings, and take any enforcement action deemed necessary.

We are pressing ahead to put in place arrangements to mobilise a wholly owned company of the Scottish Government to provide ScotRail services within the public sector under Scottish Government control. The revised arrangements will start when the current franchise expires as expected on 31 March 2022.

For bus services, the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 provides viable options for partnership working, franchising and wider powers for local transport authorities to run their own buses (and which sit alongside their existing ability to subsidise services). We have allocated £1 million in the draft Scottish Budget for development of the Community Bus Fund in 2022-23. This will support local transport authorities to improve local bus services and to explore the full range of options set out in the 2019 Act. In administering the fund, we and local transport authorities will need to observe competition, procurement and subsidy control rules.

The development of an integrated transport network is being guided by our National Transport Strategy, and the Strategic Transport Projects Review process is identifying investment priorities which will support this and help to deliver our commitment to create an inclusive and net zero emissions economy.

As the amount of renewable energy being produced in Scotland increases, so does the amount available to the public transport system. Already 75% of rail journeys are being undertaken via electrical traction, and we have given significant funding to zero emission buses, introducing diesel-electric hybrid vehicle carrying ferries, and promoting electric vehicles. We believe Scotland’s approach to transport decarbonisation – which focuses not only the transition to clean technology but also on reducing demand and encouraging behaviour shift – is an example of world-leading best practice and is central to our green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.