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In line with the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government commitment to ‘create a new brand marque, and build on existing campaign activity, to enhance Scotland’s international reputation’, the new single nation brand marque for Scotland was introduced as part of the Brand Scotland ‘Scotland is Open’ international marketing campaign and in support of Scotland’s domestic and international presence at COP26 in Glasgow, capitalising on this key international moment.

The current arrangements, which were implemented at the start of the pandemic, will remain in place. The Scottish Government is currently reviewing the provision of early medical abortion at home, and expects to make an announcement on this soon.

The following table provides a full breakdown of landfill sites with a pollution prevention and control (PPC) permit with their locations and current operational status.

It is not possible to specify the area covered by each landfill given it is a commercial decision for landfill operators where they accept waste from. The local authority that each site is located in is provided in the following table, but it is possible that waste will travel between local authority areas prior to being landfilled.

We expect all public bodies, including Ferguson Marine, to adhere to existing Scottish Government guidance on due diligence and human rights.

Any decision on whether or not to introduce screening for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) in Scotland will be guided by the recommendations of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent expert advisory group which advises Ministers and the NHS in all four nations of the United Kingdom on screening policy. The UK NSC last reviewed SMA in 2018 and did not recommend screening for this condition.

The UK NSC is expected to review SMA screening later this year, taking into consideration the latest evidence since the previous recommendation in 2018. Should the UK NSC recommend screening for this condition, the Scottish Screening Committee, in consultation with medical experts in this field, will advise Scottish Ministers on the most appropriate future course of action for Scotland.

Scottish Government officials have been involved in initial discussions with academics and clinicians about the potential for a Scottish research study of newborn screening for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), and are awaiting a fully developed proposal. Any decision thereafter to run an SMA pilot will depend on the expert advice of the Scottish Screening Committee as well as the organisations that oversee implementation of any changes to the newborn screening programme.

Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) is an executive Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), established under the Education (Scotland) Act 1996. It operates at arm’s length to Ministers and is responsible for making its own evidentially based operational decisions.

I have asked the SQA to reply.

SQA has advised that it does not employ psychologists and their guidance draws on a range of teams and specialisms.

Alcohol and drug-related harms are important public health issues in Scotland, which is why we established a national mission to improve and save lives. At the core of which is ensuring that every individual is able to access the treatment and recovery they choose.

We are working to ensure people with alcohol use disorder continue to receive the same quality of care as those with drugs misuse. The forthcoming Alcohol Treatment Guidelines will provide support for alcohol treatment, similar to the Medication-Assisted Treatment Standards for drugs. We are also developing alcohol treatment targets alongside Stage Two of the Drugs Targets Implementation in 2024.

We announced £100 million of additional investment to increase the availability of residential rehabilitation, that will benefit people experiencing alcohol and/or drug addiction.

On 06 December 2021, we launched a campaign to address stigma experienced by people with problematic alcohol and drug use. The campaign ran across multiple media platforms.

I have asked the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) to reply.

While information is available for children and young people with additional support needs, neither Scottish Government nor SQA collect specific data on candidates who may have a neuro-divergent diagnosis. The Education (Additional Support for Learning) Act 2004 (as amended) requires education authorities to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils. The provision of additional support is based on need for educational support rather than a diagnosis alone.

Where a school is presenting a candidate with additional support needs for examination, if appropriate, a request can be made to SQA for a reasonable adjustment, such as additional time or a scribe. The requests from centres do not require or provide any detail on the range of additional support needs or disabilities that learners have.

The Scottish Government welcomed the publication of this report and is considering its conclusions and any actions to be taken, whether nationally or locally, as a result of the research findings. In particular, the information will inform our ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic in areas such as antenatal education, telecare and visiting.

We published our maternity and neonatal visiting guidance Coronavirus (COVID-19): hospital visiting guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) which aligns with wider NHS guidance and the lifting of restrictions, and includes advice on partner and sibling visiting.