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The Scottish Government does not have any plans to change the law regarding the protection of gulls, including herring gulls.

The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 provides protection for all wild birds. NatureScot has responsibility for the issuing of General Licences under Section 16(1) of the Act, which authorise the killing and taking of certain wild birds including their eggs, for one or more of several reasons including public health and safety.

NatureScot held a consultation on General Licences between August and October 2019. Following this consultation, several species were removed from the 2020 General Licences, including herring, lesser black-backed and great black-backed gulls, either on the basis that there was insufficient evidence of the damage they caused; there are alternative non-lethal solutions; or there are conservation concerns over their population status. Where species have been removed from the General Licence, authorised persons are still able to apply to NatureScot for a specific licence to control them or undertake lethal control, including nest and egg destruction in some circumstances.

A UK seabird census, organised by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, is currently being undertaken which includes an element that aims to estimate the populations of species that breed in urban environments. The final report, which is due to be published next year, will help inform future policy in dealing with urban gull populations.

The package of enhancements identified via the option selection process is to be confirmed by Transport Scotland by the end of 2022, as part of its endorsement of the Outline Business Cases for both this project and the related project to decarbonise this route. As advised in my response to S6W-08116, the package comprises signal enhancements, improvements to station approaches and specific capacity alternations to facilitate the mixed operation of faster and slower trains on the same route.

The Scottish Ministers approved the City of Edinburgh Council’s proposed designation of the entirety of Edinburgh as a Short Term Control Area on 27 July 2022. A draft decision letter was provided to the Minister for Public Finance, Planning & Community Wealth by officials on 12 July 2022. Whilst there is no statutory timescale for the consideration of proposed short-term let control area designations, every effort is made to consider and determine such proposals as swiftly as possible.

Scotland’s Population 2021: the Registrar General’s Annual Review of Demographic Trends will be published at 09:30 on 31 August 2022. The Report contains information about births, deaths and marriages during the year, together with other demographic information. A copy of the report is available on the Registrar General’s website at www.nrscotland.gov.uk .

The National Strategy for Economic Transformation, published in March 2022, sets out our ambitions for a skills and education system that meets the demands of an ever-changing economy and society, provides people with the skills they need at every stage of life to have rewarding careers, and encourages employers to invest in the skills they need to grow their businesses.

Key priority projects will support the commitments as set out in NSET to adapt the education and skills system to make it more agile and responsive to our economic needs and ambitions, support and incentivise people and their employers to invest in skills and training throughout their working lives; and expand Scotland’s available talent pool, at all skills levels, to give employers the skills pipeline they need to take advantage of opportunities.

To ensure that the skills system is optimised to deliver these ambitions, Ministers will initiate an independent review of the skills delivery landscape, focusing on the functions and remit of Skills Development Scotland, and its interface with – and role within – the wider skills delivery landscape.

The Review will be led by an independent advisor and will commence in September 2022, reporting to Ministers in Spring 2023. The Independent Advisor will engage with a wide range of stakeholders, including the staff and Board of Skills Development Scotland, to inform their recommendations.

Ministers will provide further details of the remit for the Independent Advisor and the Terms of Reference for the Review in a statement to Parliament in due course.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) do not have an exclusive agreement with Scottish Power Renewables for development of windfarms on Scotland’s national forests and Land.

Scottish Power Renewables are one of a number of developers that FLS are working with in order to meet the Scottish Government’s objective of increasing electricity generation through renewable sources, including wind.

The Scottish Government does not collect this information but expects all NHS Boards to provide free incontinence pads where a patient has been assessed and deemed as requiring incontinence products. These products are provided by local NHS Boards continence service on prescription across Scotland.

The Scottish Government recognises that Social Isolation and Loneliness is a public health issue, which has been exacerbated because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Between August 2021 and March 2022, £1 million was allocated by the Directorate for Equality, Inclusion and Human Rights to organisations working to tackle social isolation and loneliness. This funding has supported work including helplines, befriending, and practical support. Many of the 48 organisations funded through the Equality and Human Rights Fund (2021-2024) also make a valuable contribution to tackling social isolation.

In addition, £21 million has been spent in 2021-22 via the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund, which helps to tackle priority issues including social isolation and loneliness. This fund has been continued for 2022-23 with a further £15 million.

The Scottish Government and NHS Scotland welcomes doctors of all grades and experience. To practice medicine in Scotland, individuals must be registered with the General Medical Council (GMC). For individuals who studied at a medical school outside of the UK or EEA, they will likely need to sit a Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board (PLAB). Further details on the PLAB tests or GMC registration can be found here Join the register - GMC (gmc-uk.org) .

The GMC may provide assistance to refugees and those with UK resettlement leave, further details can be found here Help for refugee doctors - GMC (gmc-uk.org) . When successful in obtaining a position within NHS Scotland, the salary a recruit receives will be dependent on the banding of the role, therefore a Ukrainian refugee would receive the NHS rate of pay.

The latest data received by the Scottish Government from Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland indicated that as of March 2022, a total of 1,498 referrals were made to the long COVID Support Service since its inception in February 2021.