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Since May 2020, the Scottish Government has invested over £48 million in our Connecting Scotland programme, which provides people on low incomes with a device, connection with unlimited data for two years, as well as training and support. Since programme launch 60,000 digitally excluded people in total have been brought online. We are now working on an extension to the programme to reach 300,000 people by the end of this Parliament.

The programme is part of our wider package of support to help everyone in Scotland benefit fully from the advantages of the digital world – from broadband connectivity to digital skills training and support for schools and business.

Mr Dey met with Heathrow Airport on the 23 September 2021 and the note of this meeting has been published in response to the freedom of information request FOI/202100255769, which can be found at https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202100255769/

This response included a list of all the meetings, calls and correspondence between Scottish Ministers and representatives of Heathrow Airport which have taken place in 2021 until 16 November 2021.

As the Minister for Transport, I will be attending the future meetings with Heathrow Airport on the memorandum of understanding.

Our geography means that air travel plays an important role in providing connectivity within Scotland and to other parts of the UK. It is particularly important to our island communities, enabling access to services and helping deliver our National Islands Plan. In addition, on some domestic routes, flying is a lower emission option than the quickest alternative.

Hydrogen/electric aircraft have the potential to significantly reduce the environmental impact of domestic aviation and as part of our work to develop an Aviation Strategy we asked for views on how we can best work in partnership with industry to have low/zero-emission domestic air services which meet the needs of communities and help deliver sustainable economic growth. We are now in the process of analysing responses.

The value and duration of the contracts the Scottish Government has signed with Ernst & Young in connection with the Scottish ferries network since 1 January 2015 are listed below:

Project Neptune - £156,000 – 2021-2022

Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services: Financial Support - £404,000 – 2015-end of CHFS contract .

Community Needs Assessments were carried out for all routes included in the 2012 Ferries Plan and will be updated alongside the Islands Connectivity Plan (ICP). We have commenced work to support the following live investment projects;

Mallaig – Lochboisdale Vessel Replacement Project

Oban – Craignure

Gourock – Dunoon – Kilcreggan

I refer the member to the answer to question S6T-00553 on 1 March 2022. Answers to Topical Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report .

The Scottish Drug Deaths Taskforce funded a project through Stirling University to research and develop the key components required to implement Drug Checking facilities. Research began in January 2021 and will conclude with an evaluation report in January 2023.

Home office licenses must be granted before project teams can implement Drug Checking facilities.

The project team from Glasgow plan to submit their license to the Home Office by the end of April 2022.

The project team from NHS Grampian plan to submit their license for a drug checking facility in Aberdeen to the Home Office by the end of June 2022.

Over the course of this parliament the Scottish Government has committed £100 million to support further investment in residential rehabilitation and associated aftercare. We aim to increase the number of publicly funded placements by more than 300 per cent over the five years of the programme so that, by 2026, at least 1,000 people every year are publicly funded for their rehab placement.

In order to facilitate this increase we are working to increase capacity by 50% which is an increase from 425 beds to 650 beds. As well as increasing funding to Alcohol and Drug Partnerships allocated for residential rehab and developing more standardised commissioning processes we have made national investment in expanding capacity through the Recovery Fund.

The Scottish Government has provided the funding needed to increase capacity for residential rehab, however we cannot allocate beds to any specific individual or age group. This is the responsibility of Alcohol and Drug Partnerships and residential rehabilitation providers, who have the necessary expertise for deciding referrals, assessments of suitability and admissions to their facilities on a case by case basis.

We have set up a multi-agency working group focused specifically on improving services for young people. This group will engage with a range of young people to better understand their alcohol/drug use and their preferences for support, and their work will shape how we improve the provision and access to age appropriate treatment and support services in Scotland.

The Scottish Government asked Andrew Horne, Chief Executive of We Are With You Scotland, to chair a multi-agency working group focusing specifically on improving drug treatment services for young people.

The purpose of the group is to set clear expectations for the delivery of treatment support to children and young people who experience problem alcohol and drug use.

To date, the group have sourced statistical data which will be used to shape how we improve the provision and access to drug and/or alcohol treatment and support services. The group will work towards establishing Standards for Young People’s Alcohol and Drug Services in order to provide consistency in quality across Scotland. The group will also consider residential rehabilitation provision as part of their work to develop these standards. However, residential rehabilitation is just one aspect of a recovery oriented system of care, and the group will also look to develop a comprehensive approach to early intervention for young people which is focused on supporting children and young people to access support that is age-appropriate and in their own community so that, where possible, they can remain with their families.

Ensuring paths and pavements are clear and accessible for all’ is a key objective within our Accessible Travel Framework and a current priority in our Annual Delivery Plan . The Scottish Government continues to work collaboratively with a range of different organisations, including local authorities, the Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS) and disabled people’s organisations, on improving accessibility of streetscapes.

In relation to use of dropped kerbs and tactile paving, the Scottish Government is currently developing co-produced guidance on inclusive design in town centres and busy street areas in Scotland. The guidance, which will soon go to public consultation, is aimed at project commissioners, designers and members of the public to support the inclusive design and engagement processes that deliver accessible town centre and busy street environments for everyone.