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: In way of introduction it may be helpful to provide a general summary of the Scottish Government estate and the approach used in the management of asbestos. For buildings occupied by the core Scottish Government there are 18 owned (Crown) and 47 leased. The Scottish Government also has responsibility for the management of asbestos in these leased properties. Every agency looks after their own estate and are consequently not covered under the auspices of the facility management services contract for the core estate.

The Scottish Government estate comprises buildings and sites that are used to deliver the business of the core Scottish Government. These buildings are primarily offices. The estate includes a small number of other facilities that support the agriculture and marine sectors such as the Bull Stud Farm at Knocknagael, Inverness and Marine Scotland Science fishery research stations around the country. The Scottish Government estate does not include any buildings or sites to which the public have regular access. On occasion, visitors may attend for pre-arranged meetings when they would be accompanied.

Most of the buildings on the core Scottish Government estate were constructed at a time when asbestos was still in use as a building material and have been surveyed. Asbestos Management Plans have been produced where appropriate. This includes an Asbestos register and action plan on how to mitigate any risks from Asbestos Containing Material (ACM). Each case is assessed individually and it is often recommended to be safer to leave asbestos in place than to remove it. Our maintenance contractor regularly inspects areas of known asbestos to confirm that they have not been disturbed. Sometimes asbestos will be removed as part of wider building works. In such cases a refurbishment/demolition survey is undertaken ahead of any works happening. Information is then relayed to the Scottish Government’s Project Management Unit. The safe removal of any known asbestos is then integrated into the Project Delivery Plan.

There are 17 buildings currently known to contain asbestos.

In the last three fiscal years numerous operations have been carried out to remove asbestos from buildings for which the Scottish Government is responsible. This is summarised in the following table:

Building on the success of the bus priority on the M90 / M9 Queensferry Corridor Actively Managed Hard Shoulder (AMHS) for buses, Transport Scotland recently opened an additional section on the M8 eastbound approach to Hermiston Gait.

Through the Bus Partnership Fund, Transport Scotland has awarded £25.80m of funding for local bus partnerships to design and deliver bus priority measures on both local and trunk roads. This initial funding is for appraisal work to support local transport authorities towards developing business cases for further bus priority investment in their regions. Next steps will be dependent on the outcomes of this work.

Transport Scotland is also currently finalising the strategic business case for the Glasgow managed motorway network, which includes consideration of bus priority on the M8 alongside the M80, M77 and M74. This will be published along with information on the next steps, once the second Strategic Transport Projects Review has been finalised.

All these measures are aimed at reducing the negative impacts of congestion on bus services and addressing the decline in bus patronage.

We are working hard to abolish excessively long waits that have undoubtedly been exacerbated by the impacts of the global pandemic and we offer our sincere sympathies to all patients waiting for treatment.

Pausing of non-urgent activity during the pandemic has inevitably led to a build-up of numbers waiting for treatment, and the emergence of Omicron and the BA.2 sub-variant in late 2021 has undoubtedly added to existing significant pressure. We are working closely with NHS Boards to get those waiting for treatment the care they need as quickly as possible.

In order to support a sustainable reduction in the backlog of planned care procedures in Scotland, the Scottish Government published an NHS Recovery Plan in August 2021. Backed by over £1 billion of funding, this sets out our plans for health and social are over the next 5 years.

The NHS Recovery plan can be accessed here: NHS recovery plan - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

It is not possible to undertake an assessment of the impact on emissions from road vehicles as a direct result of the reduced ScotRail timetable. There is not specific data available on any change in road vehicle kilometres that could be attributed to reduced rail services.

Transport trends data since 16 May 2022 show a fall in rail travel of 14% and an increase in concessionary bus patronage and car use, both by 1% in the same period.

ScotRail’s temporary timetable aims to provide the best possible service to as many passengers as possible with the available resources. The major determining factor is driver availability by rostered hours, location and with the necessary competencies, which fluctuates daily.

ScotRail has regularly reviewed the temporary timetable to take account of stakeholder feedback, wherever possible, and changes to driver availability and just recently was able to add additional services. With the positive progress made on pay negotiations with ASLEF, I have tasked ScotRail with reintroducing the previous timetable as soon as possible.

Our universities are autonomous institutions and the alliances they forge across global academic networks are a matter for them and their governing bodies.

We expect all our universities to understand and manage the reputational, ethical and security risks associated with international partnerships. This includes conducting appropriate due diligence before entering into new international partnerships and monitoring existing partnerships. Guidance to support universities has been published by Universities UK.

In Scotland, NHS Boards are subject to the NHS Board Performance Escalation Framework which has a five stage escalation process. There are currently five territorial Health Boards escalated to Stage 3 or above on the framework. These boards are subject to additional scrutiny and are receiving tailored support.

Escalated Boards (as at June 2022)

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-08992 on 17 June 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

In 2019 we published “Scotland: a trading nation”; a plan to grow Scotland’s exports which highlighted energy as a key sector. This year will also deliver a Renewable Energy Sector export plan showing our long term growth plan for exports.

Scottish Development International is the primary delivery arm for providing in-depth export support to Scottish businesses, both in Scotland and overseas. This is undertaken through a combination of individual company work, industry exhibitions and conferences.

Ministers are supporting Scotland’s renewable energy suppliers by engaging in high level events focused on export. June 2022 will see the next GlobalScot Energy Showcase; an opportunity for Scottish businesses to connect with a community of internationally-based business ambassadors with in market knowledge to support export.

In line with the Programme for Government, we are helping manufacturing businesses to make the transition to net zero and realise the opportunities of a low carbon economy

The recently launched Low Carbon Manufacturing Challenge Fund will provide research and development funding for projects that result in increased product circularity, reduced waste during the manufacturing process and reduced carbon. Innovative proposals will be supported with £3 million funding this year and a total of £26 million over five years.

We are also supporting supply chains through our supply chain development programme which has an initial focus on net zero and is providing significant public sector procurement to build resilient supply chains.