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Scottish Government is a key partner in the Save a Life for Scotland partnership which is delivering the Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest: Strategy 2021 to 2026 .

The strategy includes an aim of increasing the percentage of Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) which have a defibrillator applied before the ambulance service arrive from 8% to 20%. Our focus is to ensure that defibrillators are publicly accessible, registered and to take a data driven approach to supporting their placement in areas where they are most likely to be used.

Scotland’s Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Report 2019-2022 underpins the data driven approach. This shows minor differences in availability or usage of public access defibrillators (PAD) between SIMD quintiles.

However, it remains the case that there are inequalities in OHCA outcomes for people living in more deprived areas. That is why the OHCA strategy includes an aim of targeting work to address known inequalities across the delivery of all actions.

Scottish Water has completed some works to the front facia elevation of the building and the dome structure as well as some minor roof repairs and replacement of downpipe and guttering. There have also been repairs made to replace vandalised windows. Scottish Water is now progressing work to replace the railings in line with the pumping station’s listed status and this is planned for early 2023 once the required traffic management on Argyle Street/Dumbarton Road is agreed with Glasgow City Council Roads Department.

In addition to this, Scottish Water is in the early design stages for improvements to the roof. This work is likely to be carried out towards the middle to end of 2024 following listed building consent being secured from the relevant authorities. Scottish Water is also planning some maintenance work on equipment integral to the operation and effective running of the pumping station.

While the Scottish Government does not hold the information requested, we take seriously any concerns raised by or against police officers, and are clear that when things go wrong the police are held to account, lessons learned and improvements made.

We greatly value the vital role our police officers play and recognise the vast majority of officers carry out their duties with professionalism and integrity, while keeping our communities safe.

The recruitment and discipline of police officers is a matter for the Chief Constable, with oversight by the Scottish Police Authority.

Police Scotland applies a stringent vetting process for new recruits and where officers fall short of their professional standards the disciplinary system will hold them to account.

As noted within the Scottish Government's calendar of forthcoming statistical publications (link provided below), the Drug Seizures and Offender Characteristics 2020-21 publication has been delayed to provide additional time for data collection and validation.

Official statistics: forthcoming publications - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Scottish Government statisticians now intend to publish figures for 2020-21 and the following year of 2021-22 in the Spring of 2023, and we will pre-announce a specific month to users in the near future.

The Scottish Government’s Infrastructure Investment Plan, published in 2011, stated that the Highland Main Line (HML) Rail Improvement project would be completed in phases between 2014 and 2025.

Phase one was delivered as planned in December 2012, increasing services from 9 to 11 trains per day in each direction, and reducing journey times by an average of 6 minutes at a cost of £1.2 million.

HML Phase Two was completed in March 2019 at a cost of £57m. This phase delivered signalling upgrades at Aviemore and Pitlochry stations, along with an extension of the passing loop at Aviemore and the reconfiguration and extension of the platforms at Pitlochry, enabling simultaneous arrival of trains at both these stations.

In line with a recommendation from the draft Strategic Transport Project Review 2, Network Rail is developing proposals for the lengthening of several passing loops along the line to enable longer and more frequent freight and passenger services. These proposals will then be considered by Transport Scotland, taking into account the usual affordability and value for money considerations.

Achieving freight modal shift from road to rail has been recognised as a key component in achieving carbon reductions within Scotland’s transport system. A single freight train can typically remove 76 HGVs from adjacent roads, reducing congestion and improving safety. The infrastructure work delivered already and an integrated approach to passenger and freight timetable patterns have created capacity for additional rail freight on the Highland Main Line and discussions with key rail freight customers are underway to use this capacity.

Restricting alcohol advertising and promotion is one of the World Health Organization’s three ‘best buys’ to prevent and reduce alcohol-related harms.

That is why we have launched a public consultation setting out potential restrictions on a variety of methods of alcohol advertising, including on sports sponsorship. The consultation closes on 9 March 2023 and we would encourage everyone to respond to this, including those involved in elite and grassroots sport.

The function of consulting at this stage, before any proposals are finalised, is to give organisations and individuals the chance to feedback on these proposals, and potential impacts. Following the consultation, we will analyse the responses and then further consider possible restrictions.

I will meet with key stakeholders, including sporting bodies, during the consultation period to directly hear their views on the proposals and better understand any potential impacts they may have.

A wide range of academic evidence is referenced in the consultation paper, available at: https://consult.gov.scot/alcohol-policy/alcohol-advertising-and-promotion/ .

The consultation set out that alcohol advertising and promotion is seen by, and appealing to, large volumes of children and young people in Scotland. International evidence shows that seeing alcohol marketing is associated with an increased likelihood that children and young people will start to drink alcohol or, if they already drink alcohol, drink more. This is harmful to them in both the short and long term.

The consultation cites evidence that those who drink heavily have increased susceptibility to alcohol marketing and that this can translate into drinking behaviours. For those in recovery, alcohol marketing can be a trigger which threatens their recovery and can be responsible for relapse.

Although there is limited research on the impact alcohol marketing has on adults in the general population, it is likely that alcohol marketing also makes alcohol more attractive to adults generally and influences consumption.

In addition to the academic evidence cited, young people in Scotland, as well as people in recovery and their families, have told us directly that they see a lot of alcohol marketing and want us to take action to tackle this.

Official Statistics on Scottish Child Payment are published every quarter. The last publication was on 29 November 2022 and provided information on processing times up to 30 September 2022: Scottish Child Payment: high level statistics to 30 September 2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . The next release of Official Statistics, covering the period to the end of December 2022, is due to be published on 28 February 2023.

Social Security Scotland received a high volume of applications for Scottish Child Payment when it extended to under 16 year olds on 14 November. Initial management information indicates that from Monday 14 November 2022 to Sunday 11 December 2022, the total number of applications received was 123,000.

Social Security Scotland are working hard to process payments as quickly as possible and tens of thousands of eligible of clients will receive their payment before Christmas. The remaining eligible clients will receive payment in early 2023 and have been contacted to make them aware of this so they are able to plan accordingly.

If eligible, all payments will be calculated from the day that the client applied or submitted a change of circumstances to add an extra child, so nobody should lose out financially.

VoiceAbility has received a total of 673 referrals, leading to 463 people receiving the appropriate advocacy support when accessing and applying for Social Security Scotland benefits. Of those 673 referrals, 23 were directly referred by Social Security Scotland. This figure does not include support provided as a result of indirect referrals or signposting from Social Security Scotland, which cannot be quantified.

The advocacy service is independent from Scottish Government and Social Security Scotland. As such, VoiceAbility offer a number of direct referral routes including self-referral, being referred by a friend or family member or being referred by other support organisations.

The Scottish Government has had no discussions with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) on the content of our consultation on restricting alcohol advertising and promotion.

Officials in the Alcohol Harm Prevention Team have met with the ASA at regular intervals to discuss alcohol marketing and ASA research.

I will meet with key stakeholders, including the ASA and other advertising bodies, during the consultation period to directly hear their views on the proposals and any potential impacts they may have.