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Our Operating Company, Amey, is actively monitoring two sites on the A7 Trunk Road, one of which is the site of the recent landslip close to Skippers Bridge. A geotechnical inspection of slopes adjacent to the A7 is undertaken annually to monitor stability and identify any areas of concern.

Following the landslip on 10 August 2019, a detailed inspection of the site was undertaken by Amey, to determine the cause of the failure and to identify next steps for investigation and remediation. Temporary traffic lights will remain in place to protect the road and the travelling public whilst the borehole works take place. The temporary traffic management can be removed when those works are complete but a temporary barrier will have to remain in place to prevent any further debris falling onto the trunk road.

Condition and suitability ratings for individual schools are provided in Table 8 of School Estate Statistics 2019 Supplementary Data , available here: https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/schoolestatestats .

The Scottish Government’s non-statutory guidance on home to school transport is currently under review. The aim of the review is to ensure that local authorities are given clear and up-to-date advice on how to maintain and develop an effective home to school transport strategy. This includes making sure that children are kept safe while travelling to and from school and minimising the environmental impact of people using their own vehicles. We expect to publish the revised guidance later this year.

Scottish Water, Dumfries and Galloway Council, Scottish Government, Local Developers and Housing associations have been in dialogue regarding the water supply for new homes in Gretna for a number of years. The work required to support all homes in the local development plan is extensive and Scottish Water has been working to find the most cost effective and resilient solution to protect existing supplies and enable future development. This work involves constructing a brand new Water Service Reservoir and replacing a significant length of water main. Scottish Water is currently in discussions with other parties, such as landowners and other utilities, and once all permissions are in place will start on site. Scottish Water has also been able to release some connections to allow new homes to be built in Gretna in the interim period.

NHS Dumfries & Galloway do not undertake vascular surgery for patients at the Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary as they do not have the sufficient population to create a workload that would maintain highly specialist skills.

The West of Scotland partnership between NHS Dumfries & Galloway, NHS Lanarkshire will provide far better resilience of services and will see vascular surgery for Dumfries & Galloway patients undertaken in a state of the art hybrid theatre at the University Hospital Hairmyres which is currently under development.

The Operating Company, Scotland TranServ, recently completed an assessment for a pedestrian crossing at this location. Their report and any recommendations are due to be finalised and submitted to Transport Scotland this month for consideration.

The Scottish Government has committed £600 million to the Reaching 100% (R100) broadband programme, which will ensure that every home and business in Scotland can access superfast broadband.

In line with state aid rules, the R100 programme will focus exclusively on so-called ‘white’ areas (defined at postcode level) – where suppliers have told us that they won’t deliver superfast access commercially.

Areas of Kingholm Quay already have commercial coverage as well as coverage provided through the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) programme. The remaining areas will be included in the R100 intervention area.

The Independent Review of P1 SNSA did not specifically include questions relating to additional support needs because this was not identified as a particular issue in relation to P1 assessments when the remit for the review was being developed. Only a small number of those responding to the Review raised additional support needs as an issue. SNSA are designed to be as inclusive as possible. An Accessibility Advisory Group continues to provide valuable assistance in ensuring the SNSA are accessible to children. Teachers are empowered to exercise their professional judgment on whether it is appropriate for children with ASN to be presented with the SNSA.

Childminders are playing a vital part in achieving our ambition for Scotland to be the best place in the world to grow up. They provide a nurturing setting for children to play and learn, and families value the flexible service they offer. The expansion in our funded early learning and childcare (ELC) entitlement to 1140 hours from August 2020 will offer further opportunities for childminders to deliver funded ELC.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting childminders through a range of measures. This includes a Childminding Summit held in March 2019 for local authorities which showcased positive experiences of involving childminders in the delivery of funded ELC; the work of the ELC Partnership Forum which includes childminding representatives; specific grant funding to the Scottish Childminding Association for them to support childminders; and ongoing work to recognise prior learning.

Dumfries and Galloway Council has provided assurances that the Council is committed to supporting childminders to deliver the funded ELC entitlement and that the region’s childminder association development officer’s role will be taken forward by Dumfries and Galloway’s central ELC team.

The then-Minister for Business, Innovation & Energy contacted Edinburgh Woollen Mill immediately following the announcement of their move from Langholm to Carlisle to see what support the Scottish Government and our agencies could offer. Scottish Government officials subsequently met Edinburgh Woollen Mill in Langholm, and more recently have also been in touch with Dumfries & Galloway Council.