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The Scottish Government has regular and ongoing engagement with VisitScotland to discuss the role they play in supporting and promoting Scottish destinations, including the South of Scotland. The Scottish Government also receives weekly written updates about the work of VisitScotland.

Most recently the Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise Minister Ivan McKee met with VisitScotland CEO Malcolm Roughead on 27 October. Discussion included a range of issues including updates on the delivery of local marketing campaigns, supported through the Destination and Sector Marketing fund, which are helping to reach new audiences. In the South of Scotland this includes work with organisations including South of Scotland Destination Alliance, Whithorn Trust, Ayrshire & Arran Destination Alliance, Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce, Visit East Lothian, Scotland’s Golf Coast and Dunbar Traders Association.

VisitScotland remain focused on rebuilding international demand and are working hand in hand with their partners in the tourism and events industry to rebuild this vital part of Scotland’s economy and provide the right support to lead the recovery. Their activity promotes the whole of Scotland as a destination, including regional-focused campaigns. Recent campaigns feature a significant amount of South Scotland content and cover a range of destinations. This includes promotion in PR, film content, social media, web content.

It is important to note that resilience of the Communications Sector, which includes telecommunications and internet, is reserved and therefore the responsibility of the UK Government.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of mobile and broadband connectivity for almost all aspects of everyday life which is why we are working closely with BT, Ofcom, UK Government and other network operators to ensure the migration from the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to digital based services is as seamless as possible.

Ofcom is closely monitoring the migration from PSTN to VOIP and they are clear that industry must protect customers during transition.

The Scottish Government will continue to engage closely with the UK Government and the regulator (Ofcom) for assurance that resilience of the telecoms network in Scotland is a priority.

The Scottish Government does not hold or collect information about the availability of homeless shelter beds.

The Scottish Government established rapid rehousing welcome centres in Glasgow and Edinburgh in 2020 as part of our commitment with partners to end the use of night shelter and dormitory-style provision. The centres provide short-term and self-contained accommodation and assist people at risk of rough sleeping to move on to more settled accommodation. The Scottish Government has provided funding towards their operation during the last two winters.

The Scottish Government does not make assessments of those who are homeless.

The Scottish Government collects information from local authorities that is recorded as part of the homelessness application. Data is collected on gender of the main applicant and partner (if applicable), with the response options of male or female.

The most recently published data can be found in the equalities tables on the supporting documents page of our annual homelessness statistics with time series starting in 2002-2003. Data is presented for the main applicant.

CMAL will only accept the vessels if they are fit for purpose. There are penalties and also the ability to reject the vessels regarding deadweight, speed and fuel consumption.

The Scottish Government had not had any recent discussions about the definition of homelessness. A person is homeless under section 24 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 if (s)he has no accommodation in the UK or elsewhere which (s)he is entitled or permitted to occupy.

Yes. As previously stated during the long COVID debate on 19 th May 2022 we committed to allocate “ funding of £3 million to health boards across 2022-23 to bolster the support that they are already providing to people with long COVID ”. This was confirmed in the Programme for Government 2022-23, published in September 2022, which stated that “ we will invest £3 million this year through the long COVID Support Fund to assist those living with long-term effects of infection .”

We are progressing the recommendations made in the independent Deer Working Group (DWG) report , published in December 2020. The DWG report made recommendations to improve deer management and included recommendations 19-21 which propose legislative amendments to modernise the licensing of venison dealers and improve information gathering. The Scottish Government response to the DWG report is at the following link: https://www.gov.scot/news/deer-working-group-response/ .

The recommendations relating to game and venison dealer licensing are being taken forward via the legislative work stream of the Deer Management Strategic Board which has been established under the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy Programme. We will provide further information on timing of changes to the legislation on venison licensing in due course. We expect to consult on any proposed changes to primary legislation in the normal way.

Regular updates on all of the work from the Deer Management Strategic Board can be found at the following website: https://www.gov.scot/groups/strategic-deer-management-board/ .

The measures listed relate to Corporation Tax, which remains reserved. Policy is set by the UK Government and the tax is administered by HMRC.

The Scottish Government assesses the need for public health awareness campaigns regularly. Scottish Government officials will work closely with the Stroke Improvement Team, which provides support and guidance to Managed Clinical Networks and the National Advisory Committee for Stroke, and other stakeholders to better understand what resources may be required for 2023, including the need for funding for a FAST campaign. Information regarding the symptoms of stroke, including the FAST test, is available on NHS Inform .