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The Scottish Government and Transport Scotland have been engaging with stakeholders to identify opportunities and barriers to increasing shipments of exports from Scottish ports and airports directly which could have environmental and economic benefits. This work is ongoing.

Extensive work has already taken place to develop projections for the health and social care workforce, including engagement with stakeholders to understand different user needs, and actively including these in the specification for the Projections.

Early conclusions from the developing projections model indicate:

• Further workforce growth, from current record staffing levels in Health and Social Care, will be required between now and 2030, across the health and social care workforce, to successfully respond to known demographic trends within Scotland’s population.
• The relationship between service demand and workforce demand is heavily influenced by other factors including the development of new roles and the reform of existing job roles, alongside evolutions in service models, investment in technology and, artificial intelligence and new skills.

Projected workforce demand in the short-medium term will continue to be managed through a portfolio approach to operational workforce planning, in accordance with the framework set out in the National Health and Social Care Workforce Strategy.

Through this approach we continue to invest, at historically high levels, in the education and training of pre-registration healthcare professionals, continue to invest in widening access, apprenticeships, role diversification and role reform, and continue to invest in ethical and proportionate international recruitment of qualified health and care staff, to supplement domestic supply routes, in line with projected needs.

We aim to set out high level conclusions from projections in the coming months. Clearly, these projections are iterative and will respond to and change depending on emerging evidence and data.

The Scottish Government published its new draft Scottish Biodiversity Strategy on 13 December, outlining 26 priority actions needed to achieve our vision of halting biodiversity loss by 2030 and reversing the trend by 2045. This 25 year strategy will be supported by rolling 5 year delivery plans, and the Natural Environment Bill which will include statutory targets for nature recovery. We are working with NatureScot to develop the delivery plan and targets.

Our continued commitments to restore peatlands, introduce at least one new National Park, ensure Nature Networks in all local authority areas, and protect 30% of our land for nature by 2030, will all contribute to our 2030 and 2045 vision for Scotland.

The new strategy can be accessed at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-biodiversity-strategy-2045-tackling-nature-emergency-scotland/ .

There were no specific questions on drive-through developments in the consultation on Draft NPF4. Despite that, five local authorities directly referenced drive-throughs in their responses to Question 45, which related to ensuring Scotland’s places will support low carbon living and for people to live well locally. Several of these responses supported the policy approach towards drive-through developments.

Most authorities made broader comments strongly supporting the town centre first principle and limiting out of town development. Other respondents raised particular issues about drive-throughs, including suggestions that their development must be limited to prevent the cumulative effects of carbon emissions by vehicles.

It is important to note that the vast majority of Group A Streptococcal (GAS) infections result in mild illnesses that can be easily treated, and that complications are very rare.

Public Health Scotland (PHS), in line with standard public health procedures, are leading on the response to the earlier than usual rise in GAS cases. An incident management process is in place, and PHS are working closely with the other health agencies of the UK to ensure we have a clear picture of the situation.

PHS have also issued an alert to ensure health services act swiftly to identify and treat suspected cases, and guidance has been provided to nurseries and schools on the need for good hygiene measures, and steps to manage outbreaks to minimise transmission.

PHS are working with the UK Health Security Agency to develop guidance to manage clinical cases of GAS and iGAS to ensure consistency across the 4 nations.

The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer has issued a Medicine Supply Alert Notice providing advice on the supply of Antibiotics for the treatment of GAS. In addition, the Scottish Antimicrobial Prescribing Group (SAPG) has issued interim guidance to support antibiotic management of GAS infection in children age 18 and under.

PHS have provided information through the media and online advising parents to seek advice from a health professional if their child is displaying symptoms of scarlet fever.

Further information on Group A Streptococcus and Scarlet Fever, including when to seek medical help, is available on NHS Inform .

Funding for CCTV is provided to local authorities through their block grant and, as with most of that funding, is not ring fenced. It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available. This includes installing, upgrading and maintaining CCTV, and working with the police, based on local needs and priorities. First, they must fulfil statutory obligations within the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

Police Scotland and CoSLA have highlighted ongoing challenges around the use, management, maintenance and funding for an ageing public space CCTV network. In response to this, in July 2022, the Scottish Government commissioned research on public space CCTV in Scotland. The purpose of this research is to collate a baseline of evidence in order to better understand the effectiveness and value of public space CCTV in Scotland. The research is due to conclude by the end of March 2023. The findings will be used to inform policy on public space CCTV and help future discussions with national partners.

The Scottish Government welcomes the commitment to transparency evidenced in Redress Scotland’s Progress Report and accompanying Facts and Figures Report, both of which were published on 5 December 2022.

The Progress Report details the first six months of the body’s existence (December 2021 – June 2022). Further progress has been made in the period since - on governance, staffing and processing capacity as Redress Scotland matures. A further update on activity will be given in Redress Scotland’s first annual report, due next year.

The Facts and Figures Report is the first of a regular series, sharing information about completed redress applications, types of applications, timescales for decision making and levels of redress awards. The reports will give up-to-date data on the work that Redress Scotland delivers. The Scottish Government welcomes Redress Scotland’s continuing plans to consult with the Survivor Forum about the information they publish and how they should develop their work in this area.

As set out in the Bute House Agreement, the Joint Working Group comprises members of the Scottish Government working with the Scottish Green Party and COSLA. The Joint Working Group will consider and decide as appropriate whether to seek to engage various organisations or professional bodies as it approaches its work.

Alongside the other UK governments, we are working to reform the producer responsibility system for batteries to increase battery recycling and make it easier for consumers to dispose of batteries responsibly. The four governments will be consulting on our approach in due course.

We recently consulted on proposals to increase household recycling quantity and quality, as part of our Waste Route Map. This included a co-design process with local authorities, waste service operators, and residents to develop better service design and delivery standards. This process will consider the scope for potential materials for future recycling services, such as batteries, alongside available markets and reprocessing capacity for collected materials.

The Scottish Government is supportive of the reintroduction of ferry services from Scotland to Europe.

My officials in Transport Scotland have engaged with a number of interested parties proposing such services and we will continue to engage with potential operators and Scotland’s main ports to provide information and advice on what the Scottish Government can offer in support of a viable commercial proposition. The Scottish Government and Transport Scotland have also been engaging with port and haulage stakeholders to explore options to increase trade moved through Scottish ports and we continue to work with Scotland’s main ports to explore the possibility of new ferry services to the Continent.