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In accordance with the requirements of the Railways Act 1993 and the Scottish Ministers’ Franchising Policy Statement, consideration is being given to the successor arrangement for the continued provision of Caledonian Sleeper services.

Scottish Ministers have to work within the relevant current legislation, principally the Railways Act 1993, which neither we, nor the Scottish Parliament have powers to change.

Of the 750 additional NHS nurses, midwives and allied health professionals NHS boards collectively have told Scottish Government the number of international recruits they could accommodate, (a) up to 53 were indicated by NHS Ayrshire and Arran and (b) up to 217 by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

The Scottish Mental Health Law Review published its final report at the end of September 2022 and set out over 200 proposals for reform.

Cross-government work is now underway to assess their implications and we will set out our response, including priority actions that will be taken forward, in due course. As part of this work, we are considering the timescales for implementation and any recommendations that can be progressed in the short-term as part of our existing work to strengthen mental health and incapacity policy and law.

Yes, as set out in our recent Waste and Circular Economy Route Map consultation, we intend to set new circular economy targets for the period to 2030 which go beyond weight-based criteria.

We must ensure that any future targets correspond to our Environment Strategy and overall vision for a circular economy, alongside the principles we set out in the consultation. One of these key principles is that any future targets should help to ensure that we deliver a sustainable international material footprint.

The feedback from the First Minister’s Environmental Council will be considered along with responses to the Route Map consultation, which are currently being analysed.

The Scottish Government has committed to introducing a Learning Disability, Autism and Neurodiversity Bill to ensure that the rights of autistic people, people with learning disabilities, and neurodivergent people are respected and protected.

Final decisions on the exact timing of a formal public consultation will be taken by Cabinet and announced in due course.

The time between a decision by a local authority on the location for a public electric vehicle charge point and that charge point then going into operation will be influenced by a number of factors outwith the remit or control of Scottish Ministers. This includes, for example, the location of the site and its accessibility, the ease of connection to the electricity grid, planning permission, environmental considerations, the approach to procurement as well as wayleaves and land rights. The Scottish Government continues to provide advice and support to local authorities to assist with these and other aspects of delivering of electric vehicle infrastructure projects.

The Scottish Government continues to closely monitor the outcomes of further research to ensure that any decisions to make Evusheld ® available to patients in Scotland in the future are based on the best available evidence. The RAPID C-19 group is a collaborative UK-wide partnership between the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) and others. To date, the RAPID C-19 group and the COVID-19 UK expert panel have both considered a full range of evidence, including clinical trial data, in vitro (in the laboratory) analysis and observational studies and have advised that there is insufficient evidence available at this time to support the procurement and deployment of Evusheld ® .

The RAPID C-19 group is keeping this position under active review, including through monitoring any emerging data. Building on the work of the RAPID C-19 group, the SMC is exploring the potential for collaboration with NICE on a single technology assessment (STA) of tixagevimab–cilgavimab (Evusheld ® ) for the prevention of COVID-19. In order to gain further evidence, consideration is also being given to establishing a clinical trial as a route to answering outstanding questions on the link between in vitro tests and clinical outcomes for current and future variants, which is currently not known. The trial may also assist with evaluating the effectiveness and safety of a higher dose of 600mg, which is now being used in a number of countries, which have previously purchased Evusheld®, as this was not tested in the company’s randomised controlled trials.

I have recently written to the UK Government supporting the establishment of a clinical trial and stating my wish to see individuals in Scotland included.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-11806 on 15 November 2022. 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 .

No data is collected on the return or disposal of medicines due to the difficult nature of quantifying and recording this information. Health Boards are responsible for ensuring unused medicines are safely disposed of, though are not required to record this data.

The latest Gateway Review into our Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) was carried out in May 2022. In line with standard practice for this type of review, the Scottish Government put in place an action plan to address recommendations. We have working with the Scheme Administrator, Circularity Scotland, and industry to address recommendations and launch the UK’s first DRS, as planned, on 16 August 2023.

The action plan, and progress against recommendations, has now been assessed by the review team. We will look to publish the recommendations of the review, and our response in due course.