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The Scottish Government has received representations from local residents and MSPs regarding transport options for the Corran Narrows, however, Scottish Ministers have no locus in this decision.

Transport links across the Corran Narrows is wholly the responsibility of The Highland Council and as such, any decision to replace ferries or deliver a fixed link and funding of this, would be a matter for the Local Authority.

Decisions on fares are a matter for those operators.

I have commissioned an urgent review of the environmental impacts and management of single-use vapes.

Zero Waste Scotland will lead on the review which will examine available evidence, including the environmental impact of incorrect disposal of vapes.

We will consider the evidence and expert advice and bring forward policy options in due course.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken any assessments regarding the viability of a fixed link across the Corran Narrows.

The Scottish Government is aware of work carried out by HITRANS on behalf of The Highland Council to consider a range of options for the Corran Narrows. As any decision to deliver a fixed link would be a matter for the Local Authority, it would not be for the Scottish Government to undertake an assessment of viability.

The SCI-Diabetes eHealth Clinical Lead provides regular updates to the Scottish Diabetes Group and Managed Clinical Networks in order to ensure that the clinical community is aware of the functionality of the dashboard and how they can work together to continuously improve it.

Any individual healthcare professional or clinical team can submit a change request to SCI-Diabetes team. Any change request made to the SCI-Diabetes system must demonstrate how the change will support clinical care and improve patient care more broadly.

No airports were forced to close.

The Scottish Government has engaged with The Highland Council during the previous appraisal work carried out by HITRANS, on behalf of the Council, which considered a range of options for the Corran Narrows. We are aware the Council is now pursuing an upgrade to the existing ferries, but maintain a longer term aspiration for a fixed link connection across Loch Linnhe.

The Highland Council was part of regional working group which helped to inform the second Strategic Transport Projects Review. During this time, the transport options for the Corran Narrows was raised by the Council. However, ferry services and their replacement were not within the scope of that national review.

The Scottish Government provides the most generous concessionary fare scheme in the UK, investing £300 million annually to provide free bus travel for over 2 million people. Over 2.3 million people, including everyone under 22 and aged 60 and over and eligible disabled people, can benefit from free bus travel.

We introduced free bus travel to everyone under 22 one year ago. In that time almost 45 million journeys have been made through the scheme helping young people and students cut their travel costs and also helping protect our climate. I strongly urge any under 22's, students or not, who have yet to make use of this scheme to do so.

Additionally, the Scottish Government is progressing the Fair Fares Review to ensure a sustainable and integrated approach to public transport fares that supports the long term viability of our public transport system as we recover from the pandemic. The Review is considering both the cost and availability of services and the range of discounts and concessionary schemes which are available on all modes including bus, rail and ferry.

As part of the Fair Fares Review, we have announced a pilot to remove peak-time rail fares on all Scotrail routes for a six month period, during the next financial year, as a way of making rail travel more affordable and attractive to travellers. Further details on both the rail peak-fares pilot and the Fair Fares Review will be announced in due course.

Scottish Ministers have no locus in this decision. Transport links across the Corran Narrows are wholly the responsibility of The Highland Council and, as such, any decision to replace ferries or deliver a fixed link (including funding of this) would be a matter for the Local Authority. Therefore, the Scottish Government has not undertaken any specific consultation regarding future transport options for Corran Narrows.

The Scottish Government recently completed a national review of future transport infrastructure. The second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) was an example of effective collaboration with stakeholders and the public. It included a considerable programme of engagement activities at a national and regional level with participation from local residents and business owners at various points throughout the process, including within the Lochaber area.

The decision to implement a fares freeze until October 2023 will reduce the income received by operators across that period which may require additional subsidy once any final costs are known or increased patronage is considered. This will be reconciled with operators in the normal manner.