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During 2020-21 the percentage of total NHS procedures carried out by non NHS-providers was 0.6%. Non-NHS provider figures relate to NHS patients treated in non-NHS locations such as private hospitals, hospices, nursing homes, care homes, etc.

The impact of addressing the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that many health and social care services had to be suspended or reduced in scope and scale. This has affected almost all aspects of NHS Care. As a result, this regrettably means there are many people who are waiting longer for the care they need. Addressing the backlog of care, while continuing to meet the ongoing urgent health and care needs of the country, is a priority for this Government.

The Scottish Government remains fully committed to a publicly funded National health service that is accessible to all of the people of Scotland. That is why the First Minster launched the NHS Recovery Plan on the 25 August which sets out our objectives for tackling the Covid-19 related backlogs of care and putting the NHS on a sustainable path for the future. The plan is backed by more than £1 billion of investment over the next five years of which over £400 million will support nine National Treatment Centres (NTC) – the first of which opened at the Golden Jubilee November 2020.

Vaccination appointments including boosters, are scheduled based on the cohorts defined by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and from the files submitted by Health Boards. These are in priority order based on risk to the individual, rather than postcode alignment. For example, a married couple in the same house, one 68 years old and one 71 years old, would see them placed in different JCVI risk cohorts, therefore the 71 year old would be scheduled before the 68 year old, and their appointments may be days or weeks apart.

Individual cases can be considered by the Health Board if a priority, and support arranged.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03940 on 2 November 2021.

NHS Scotland already utilises an electronic prescription message between GP practices and community pharmacies which runs in parallel with paper prescriptions. However, the use of paper prescriptions is still a necessity at this stage as a legal requirement.

The Scottish Government has commissioned NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) to take forward a number of digital priorities in response to COVID. This national programme includes investing in development of a new ePrescribing and eDispensing pathway by enabling the use of advanced electronic signatures in primary care and addressing the need for an end-to-end digital solution that will support replacement of the paper prescription from all community settings with a digital solution. The programme recognises that electronic prescribing will help some vulnerable sections of society, but we must also ensure others are not disadvantaged and the solution adopted should address patient needs including digital exclusion. It is difficult to be precise on timescales at present but significant progress on the technical and process models continues at pace and the Scottish Government is committed to deliver a solution through this programme.

Our refreshed Digital Health and Care Strategy includes a clear approach on how we will empower the public to manage their health and wellbeing through digital means. This work will look to give greater access to things like health records and being able to manage prescriptions online.

In addition, patients who have a long-term condition can access the ‘Medicines: Care and Review Service’ at their local community pharmacy. It promotes a partnership approach between the pharmacist, the patient and their GP practice. Patients with stable long-term conditions can receive serial prescriptions for a duration of 24, 48 or 56 weeks which are dispensed in regular intervals by the pharmacy and remove the need to request regular repeat prescriptions.

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

The Scottish Government’s Heat in Buildings Strategy, published in October 2021, committed to establishing a Green Heat Finance Taskforce by the end of 2021. The Taskforce will forge a new partnership approach between the Scottish public sector, heat decarbonisation experts and the financial sector to explore potential new and value for money innovative financing mechanisms for investment in zero emissions heat. The Taskforce has a crucial role in shaping how the transition to zero emissions heat in Scotland’s buildings is financed, therefore the membership of the Taskforce will be drawn from expertise including green finance, the heat and energy efficiency sector and consumer groups.

In the 2021 Programme for Government, the Scottish Government committed to publishing our first Just Transition Plan as part of the forthcoming Scottish Energy Strategy. The draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, due for publication and consultation in Spring 2022, will take a whole-system view of the energy sector and will also set out what is needed to deliver a just transition for the sector, in line with the principles laid out in our National Transition Planning Framework published in September. We will produce and publish the relevant impact assessments alongside.

The Heat in Buildings Strategy sets out an ambitious policy package to deliver a 68% reduction in emissions from buildings this decade. Alongside the Heat in Buildings Strategy we have conducted the following impact assessments:

• Island Communities Impact Assessment
• Fairer Scotland Duty Impact Assessment
• Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment
• Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment
• Equalities Impact Assessment
• Strategic Environmental Assessment

In relation to the Strategic Environmental Assessment, we will shortly publish a Post Adoption Statement which will be available through the SEA database.

The Scottish Government published its draft Hydrogen Action Plan on 10 Nov 2021 setting out the actions over the next five years necessary to put Scotland on the pathway to becoming a leading hydrogen nation by 2045 in the production of reliable, competitive, sustainable hydrogen.

As part of the development of the draft Hydrogen Action Plan, a Strategic Environmental Assessment report and a partial Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment considering the likely environmental and business and regulatory effects of the Draft Hydrogen Action Plan have been developed.

Following the publication of the Action Plan and its impact assessments, a 10 week consultation will be conducted to allow stakeholders adequate time to provide their views and feedback on the draft plan and its associated impact assessments. Feedback gathered during the consultation will inform the final Hydrogen Action Plan which will be published later in 2022.

Additionally, the Hydrogen Action Plan in action number 3 makes a commitment for the Scottish Government to “develop the data to allow us to monitor and report on progress towards our 5 GW hydrogen ambition on an annual basis”.

Across Scottish Government, business management and monitoring arrangements are in place at Directorate, Director-General and SG-wide levels to ensure the monitoring of all Programme for Government commitments, and their delivery. Contributions towards National Outcomes through all portfolios is further measured and monitored through the National Performance Framework. The aim of all government policy is to work towards achieving the Outcomes in the National Performance Framework. Information on Scotland’s progress on the NPF can be accessed at www.nationalperformance.gov.scot .

Most faults on the ChargePlace Scotland network are transient and in the majority of cases require no physical intervention. This means that a high proportion are closed down swiftly and effectively. On a network of now over 2100 units in size, an average of 30 faults a day are raised, the majority closed within 48 hours.

In addition to adding new sites, Transport Scotland’s grant funding for this year will focus on further network resilience opportunities, with authorities tasked to firstly ensure warranty and maintenance contracts are in place, scope out potential expansion at busy/key charge point sites before adding any new sites to the network.

I met with the Orkney Islands Council in Kirkwall recently and heard about their plans to introduce low-emission ferries. I welcome these plans but made clear – as local representatives well know – that the responsibility for their inter-island ferry services including the procurement of replacement vessels, related infrastructure and crewing arrangements, sits with the local authority.

We recognise the pressures this brings which is why the Scottish Government’s 2021-22 Budget includes £19.2m for local authorities operating ferries, an increase of £7.7m on last year.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-04118 on 17 November 2021. 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-04118 on 17 November 2021. 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

The primary objective of the booster programme is to maintain protection against severe COVID-19 disease, specifically hospitalization and deaths, over winter 2021-22, and is aimed at maintaining protection in those most vulnerable and to protect the NHS. The autumn/winter vaccination programme also includes the biggest ever flu vaccination programme.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is clear that both of these programmes are important for individual and public health. So, wherever possible, eligible people will be offered COVID-19 and influenza vaccines together.

Booster vaccines will be offered to the same groups who were prioritized at the beginning of the COVID-19 vaccination programme in winter and spring 2020-21, and JCVI have advised that at least 6 months should have passed since a second dose before a booster is administered, however there is some flexibility to offer a booster vaccination to the most vulnerable groups after five months.

The Autumn/Winter vaccination programme continues to roll out in line with advice from the JCVI. The JCVI priority groups are based on either vulnerability to COVID-19, or on interacting with, and therefore possibly spreading to, people who are vulnerable to COVID-19. When someone received their invitation will depend on a number of personal circumstances.

Decisions to prioritise one population group over another are not taken lightly, nor are they straightforward. That is why our prioritisation decisions have been, and will continue to be, guided by the independent expert advice from the JCVI.