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NHS Scotland already utilises an electronic prescription message between GP practices and community pharmacies which runs in parallel with paper prescriptions. However, the use of paper prescriptions is still a necessity at this stage as a legal requirement.

The Scottish Government has commissioned NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) to take forward a number of digital priorities in response to COVID. This national programme includes investing in development of a new ePrescribing and eDispensing pathway by enabling the use of advanced electronic signatures in primary care and addressing the need for an end-to-end digital solution that will support replacement of the paper prescription from all community settings with a digital solution. The programme recognises that electronic prescribing will help some vulnerable sections of society, but we must also ensure others are not disadvantaged and the solution adopted should address patient needs including digital exclusion. It is difficult to be precise on timescales at present but significant progress on the technical and process models continues at pace and the Scottish Government is committed to deliver a solution through this programme.

Our refreshed Digital Health and Care Strategy includes a clear approach on how we will empower the public to manage their health and wellbeing through digital means. This work will look to give greater access to things like health records and being able to manage prescriptions online.

In addition, patients who have a long-term condition can access the ‘Medicines: Care and Review Service’ at their local community pharmacy. It promotes a partnership approach between the pharmacist, the patient and their GP practice. Patients with stable long-term conditions can receive serial prescriptions for a duration of 24, 48 or 56 weeks which are dispensed in regular intervals by the pharmacy and remove the need to request regular repeat prescriptions.

We continue to monitor closely and assess this next phase of the pandemic. The current package of statutory measures is considered an appropriate public health response to the incidence or spread of infection in Scotland in line with our strategic intent to suppress the virus to a level consistent with alleviating its harms while we recover and rebuild for a better future. We have acted to give as much clarity and consistency as possible to individuals, businesses, and sectors within society, and we will continue to do so. The fact that COVID-19 continues to be a threat – to individual health and to the capacity of our health system – is the reason why our existing mitigations remain in place.

However, we are keeping these measures under review, with regular reviews scheduled every three weeks. As part of this process, we will consider whether any existing mitigations need to be strengthened in light of what the data is telling us.

Cabinet Secretaries and officials have renewed efforts to engage with sectoral stakeholders to re-invigorate stronger messaging on the need to comply with existing baseline measures. This means taking all possible proactive steps to promote and reinforce baseline measures, the promotion of advisory precautionary measures and sector specific good practice in all sectors.

As set out in the Programme for Government 2021 - 22, published on 7 September 2021, the Scottish Government is committed to establishing a dignified and compassionate miscarriage service by the end of 2023.

Work is underway to progress this commitment, which aims to support the development of individualised care plans after a woman’s first miscarriage, take forward specific recommendations made in the Lancet series on miscarriage published on 26 April 2021 and ensure women’s services in Health Boards have dedicated facilities for women who are experiencing unexpected pregnancy complications.

The M8 Woodside Viaducts are essential links in the M8 central Scotland urban motorway, vital for the economy and connectivity of Scotland. Therefore, the repair of the viaducts and removal of restrictions is high priority. A number of potential remedies were considered but the propping solution was assessed as the best option in terms of timescale and value for the public purse. The viaducts carry 150,000 vehicles per day in normal times, which would be difficult to accommodate by other routes or modes. Part of the Underline Project, an active travel corridor route from Cambridge Street to St George’s Road extending below the viaducts, has been deferred to allow the viaducts repair work to be completed. Several excavations are required in this area and it would be abortive to construct this part only for it to be disrupted by the repair works. This has been fully discussed and agreed with Glasgow City Council. On completion, the Underline project will deliver a key cross-Glasgow active travel corridor in line with the commitments given in the motion and contribute to the net zero aims of COP26.

Glasgow already benefits from an extensive rail network. With a total of 155 stations in the Glasgow City Region it is the busiest suburban rail network in Britain outside London. Therefore the focus of investment has very properly been on the development of that network, which has benefited from substantial improvements as part of the more than £9bn invested in rail infrastructure in Scotland since 2007.

These investments have included extensive electrification of routes into Glasgow and substantial new, emission free train fleets serving those routes. Glasgow Queen Street has been rebuilt and transformed, Glasgow Central capacity has benefited from an additional platform, and in 2019, a new station opened at Robroyston to provide local residents with a sustainable travel option.

Further rail enhancements, in Glasgow and more widely across the country, are planned as part of the Decarbonisation Action Plan ( Rail Services Decarbonisation Action Plan (transport.gov.scot) ) with our future transport investment decisions directed by the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2). That review will conclude this winter, with publication of recommendations for investment and will be followed by the appropriate statutory consultation period.

Further to the answers provided to S6W-00200 on 3 June 2021 and S6W-00776 on 1 July 2021, Scottish Ministers have to work within current UK rail legislation, principally the Railways Act 1993 (the 1993 Act), which neither the Scottish Ministers nor the Scottish Parliament have powers to change.

The Scottish Ministers already have a duty under section 30 of the 1993 Act to provide or secure the provision of passenger rail services where a franchise agreement comes to an end and no further franchise agreement had been entered into in respect of the services. It is this duty that will enable the Scottish Ministers to arrange for a company wholly owned by the Scottish Government (ScotRail Trains Ltd) to provide ScotRail services when the current ScotRail franchise expires. The Scottish Ministers do not need to introduce additional legislation to put this into effect.

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

When the Care Experienced Bursary (CEB) was introduced, the policy intention was not only to provide enhanced living cost support, adding value to the existing support provided by Local Authorities, but also to act as an incentive for people with experience of care to enter Further and Higher Education.

The Scottish Government carried out an Equalities Impact Assessment (EQIA) on the CEB, in its original form (with previous age 26 limit), and in removing the age limit from AY 2020/21. The EQIA identified a potential negative impact with regards to the protected characteristic of 'Age'. Students aged 16-19 may be adversely affected due to the CEB causing a potential reduction in the funding received from their local authority. The impact on this group of students was assessed as part of the Equality Impact Analysis and any outstanding risks were mitigated. The full EQIA can be viewed at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/care-experienced-bursary-introduction-eqia/

A Policy Note on the interaction of the Care Experienced Bursary and funding support provided by Local Authorities was sent to Local Authority Chief Executives, explaining the policy intention and our responsibility to care experienced young people as corporate parents. In addition to this, a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document, was drafted by Scottish Government officials for local authority practitioners. The document highlights that the CEB was not intended to replace existing support provided by local authorities, such as Housing Benefit but to act as an incentive for people with the experience of care to enter Further and Higher Education.

We remain engaged with the Department for Work and Pensions to try to alleviate any negative financial impact on students. Officials also engage regularly with key stakeholders such as NUS Scotland, Centre for Excellence for Children's Care and Protection (CELCIS), Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), and Who Cares? Scotland to ensure that the CEB is administered in the in spirit it was intended, and that care-experienced students do not lose out as a result of receiving the CEB.

The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 regulates the use of animals in scientific procedures in the UK. This is a reserved area of legislation.

The Scottish Government asks the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) to liaise with research institutes and outline their responsibilities.

The SFC have advised that they require institutions to comply with the Concordat to Support Research Integrity. The Concordat sets out principles and commitments to ensure that research produced by or in collaboration with UK universities is underpinned by the highest standards of rigour and integrity and that the public, government, business, and international partners can continue to have confidence in that research.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on the total number of on-street bike hangers across Scotland, or on the demand for bike hangers. Individual local authorities may hold this information for their respective areas.

The Scottish Government is extremely sympathetic to the extent to which the announcement to replace the SQA has been troubling for staff concerned about their jobs and careers.

The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills attended a SQA staff Q&A session on 29 June 2021 and met SQA Unions on 29 July 2021 to discuss staff concerns. Scottish Government officials continue to have direct engagement with SQA Union representatives, meeting on 12 August and 23 September 2021. In addition Professor Ken Muir, in his role as Independent Advisor on the replacement of SQA and reform of Education Scotland, is engaging with staff and unions in both organisations to inform his work.

The Scottish Government is committed to ongoing engagement with staff and unions throughout this period of uncertainty and beyond. Matters raised by staff and unions are under active consideration and we are committed to ensuring that the employment rights of staff are protected and that trade unions and staff are fully consulted and informed.