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(a) Data provided by National Records of Scotland confirms that there have been three deaths in Scotland since 2010 where the underlying cause of death is being ‘bitten or struck by dog’.

(b) The information requested on the number of non-fatal dog attacks on humans is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. However the following table provided by Public Health Scotland shows the number of inpatient and day case admissions to hospital where a diagnosis of dog attack (bite or strike) was recorded, from 2010 to 2022, in Scotland.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is responsible for protecting Scotland’s water environment.

On Monday 11 September, SEPA responded to reports it received of large dead fish along a section of the River Spey. SEPA has conducted a range of additional water quality and ecology monitoring of the River Spey along with investigating local regulated activities. However, no water quality issues have been identified, no impact on other aquatic species and smaller fish has been observed, and the cause of the incident has not yet been identified. This would not be expected from a major pollution incident where there would be mortalities in all aquatic species and fish populations.

A multi-agency group has met in response to the incident to consider all potential causes of the incident. SEPA is continuing to work closely with partners, including the Fish Health Inspectorate who lead on fish mortalities. The group is assessing all reports in an effort to identify any possible factors responsible for the fish mortalities.

NHS Grampian and Moray Council are also part of the group providing support on human health aspects. Members of the public who feel acutely unwell after being in contact with the river are being advised to seek medical advice.

We take reports of this kind very seriously and encourage anyone who finds dead fish on or near any watercourse to contact SEPA via our Pollution Hotline 0800 80 70 60 or online at www.sepa.org.uk/report .

Resource planning assumptions are only one element of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme budget. Expenditure within a financial year will not correlate directly with approvals, starts and completions as, for example, some projects can span more than one financial year.

The Scottish Government regularly publishes financial information at Autumn and Spring Budget revisions, Provisional Outturn, Final Outturn and Final Accounts. As previously advised in the answer to question S6W-21015 on 20 September 2023, when annual financial year expenditure is concluded and finalised we publish an Affordable Housing Supply Programme annual out-turn report. This reports actual spend compared to original resource planning assumptions alongside wider programme performance information.

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 S6W-20317 on 15 August 2023 for information on the approach taken across Scotland.

Scottish Water publishes details of individual projects on its website. Examples of investment in Dumfriesshire include https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/In-Your-Area/Investments-in-Your-Area/Kippford-Wastewater-Upgrades and https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/In-Your-Area/Investments-in-Your-Area/Gatehouse-of-Fleet-Sewer-Upgrade .

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 .

As outlined earlier this year in response to a similar question from Mr Rennie, our over £600 million investment in the R100 contracts, our R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme and continued commercial coverage – including the emergence of newer technologies such as Low Earth Orbit satellite – means that every property in Scotland is able to consider options for superfast broadband connection today as was the case at the end of 2021, meeting our commitment.

The Scottish Government is developing a national strategy for 20mph speed limits, which supports the 2021 Bute House Agreement and 2022 Programme for Government commitment.

We have supported local road authorities with £1.4 million in funding to undertake the necessary road assessments which will determine the number of roads affected and the financial implications of introducing the national strategy for 20mph speed limits. The findings from the road assessments will enable the multi-stakeholder 20mph task group to scope the next steps for implementation at their meeting in October, with full implementation on all appropriate roads by 2025.

At this stage it is not possible to estimate the cost of the removal or remedial action required for reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete within the NHS.

Any decisions on device procurement are taken by individual local authorities, to ensure they can be used in line with local digital learning strategies.

To support local authorities, Scottish Procurement provide a range of national procurement frameworks which offer a direct route to market for the purchase of digital devices and other digital products.

The Task Force has been meeting during 2023, most recently in August, to progress this work. Minutes of the Ministerial meetings are published on the Transport Scotland website.

Scottish Government and Orkney Islands Council (OIC) officials have also met regularly to support OIC’s consideration of options for the long term renewal of the Orkney internal ferry fleet. OIC is currently preparing an updated business case to inform future budget discussions.

It is envisaged that the Task Force will continue to meet beyond September 2023 to support of OIC’s work on this important matter.

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering the grade separation of Sheriffhall roundabout as part of its £300 million commitment to the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal.

Following publication of the draft Orders and Environmental Statement, Transport Scotland received a significant number of objections to the proposed scheme. Although Transport Scotland engaged widely with objectors, it was unable to resolve all objections. In view of this, a Public Local Inquiry was held from 31 January to 8 February 2023. As with all trunk road projects this is the appropriate statutory forum for considering objections received and not withdrawn. The independent Reporter is now giving detailed consideration to all evidence before making recommendations to the Scottish Ministers for a decision.

Construction of the proposed scheme can only commence if it is approved under the relevant statutory authorisation process and thereafter a timetable for its progress can be set.

Additionally, the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) will inform the Scottish Government’s transport investment programme in Scotland over the next 20 years and was published in December 2022. It recommends that the priorities for future investment on the A720 are focused on improving safety, reliability and resilience. The transport appraisal that supported the review did not recommend any further large scale intervention beyond that proposed at Sheriffhall.