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Time charter crew are employed by the vessel owner and therefore the onus is on them to ensure Compliance with the Fair Work action plan. CalMac Ferries Limited would only be responsible if the charter is on a bareboat basis or the vessel is owned by Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd. Consequently, both companies do insist that all crew are paid the real Living Wage on time charters, and if this is not provided by their employers they would supplement to ensure they equal the Living wage.

The Scottish Respiratory Advisory Committee (SRAC) has identified pulmonary rehabilitation as one of the initial priorities for the implementation of the Respiratory Care Action Plan.

To take forward this key priority, a sub-group has been established comprised of clinical specialists and services managers from across Scotland, as well as third sector representatives. The group have completed a scoping exercise to determine areas of good practice and areas that require improvement. The aim of this group will be to develop ‘best practice guidelines’ for the delivery of pulmonary rehabilitation services across Scotland. This work is also being supported by the respiratory programmes managed by the Centre for Sustainable Delivery.

The necessary pause to face to face pulmonary rehab groups during the pandemic has inevitably led to a build-up of people waiting for treatment, and services continue to experience significant pressure as a result of this.

Our NHS Recovery Plan, published in August 2021, backed by over £1 billion of funding, sets out our vision for health and social care over the next 5 years, and will support the increase in access to services such as pulmonary rehabilitation.

The design being taken forward on the East Kilbride Line would not prevent the route being dual tracked in future if required.

I recognise that apprenticeships are vital to ensuring that the electrical sector has the skills it requires.

SDS is responsible for managing the apprenticeship programme in response to industry demand and in line with Ministerial expectations. They will continue to ensure that apprenticeships can support the sectors we need to grow our economy and deliver our just transition to net zero.

It is standard practice for SDS to review changing demand for apprenticeship starts in-year, and they adjust the number of starts allocated to respond as appropriate within their budget.

‎SDS undertook a reallocation process for MA starts in December 2022 and were able to allocate several hundred starts to training providers, with an extra 116 places allocated to the Scottish Electrical Charitable Training Trust (SECTT). They then allocated a further 87 places in February 2023, bringing the total number of places allocated to SECTT during 2022-23 to 865.

The Scottish Government values the crucial role carried out by kinship carers and is committed to delivering a Scottish Recommended Allowance for them, alongside foster carers. We acknowledge that it has taken far longer than we would like. That is why we are actively exploring all available options and working at pace with CoSLA, to deliver the allowance as soon as possible.

The remit of the Women’s Health Champion is to drive change and share best practice and innovation in the improvement of health services and health outcomes for women. Professor Glasier will work with partners in the NHS and across the public and third sectors to drive forward the ambitions, aims and actions in the Women’s Health Plan. Professor Glasier’s particular priorities were set out in the recently published report on progress and include specialist menopause services, menstrual health with a focus on endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome, and heart health.

The Champion is a member of the Women's Health Plan Implementation Programme Board which has been established to oversee and drive the delivery of the Plan.

Professor Glasier is scheduled to attend the next Women’s Health Cross Party Group on 22 March 2023. In addition a number of introductory meetings with both individuals and organisations have already taken place, with more arranged for the coming weeks. Any requests should be directed to womenshealthchampion@gov.scot.

In common with all major health infrastructure projects, existing equipment will be transferred from the current sites and this will be supported by investment in new equipment. The Full Business Case identified a required capital budget for equipment of £14 million. So far, the procurement of equipment to date remains within budget and no additional funding has been requested by NHS Grampian.

The procurement of much of the required equipment will however not be completed until much closer to the operational date. The impact of inflation and in some cases availability of supply in the current market is a recognised risk across all capital projects. The Scottish Government will liaise closely with NHS Grampian to ensure that any emerging pressures on the equipment budget are managed appropriately.

Once the Board has committed to follow the recommendations of the NDAP, the responsibility for doing so remains solely with the Board. The NDAP action plan was agreed locally in discussion with the NDAP team and Graham Construction. A tracker was developed which was worked on with these partners in a collaborative method to agree with the NDAP team when actions were closed and with NHS Grampian’s construction partners Graham Constructions, about actions that were to be developed and closed during the Stage 4 construction phase. Internal governance of this process has been led through the Baird and ANCHOR Project Board and onwards to the Board of NHS Grampian as required.

There is an agreed and published process between the UK Government and devolved governments for excluding certain areas from the Internal Market Act. The Scottish Government has been following that process for excluding the deposit return scheme Regulations from the Internal Market Act and it has been the subject of discussion with UK Government for many months.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15497 on 16 March 2023. 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