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The data held in the international section of the NHS Scotland Covid Status app is a statement of fact, representing a person’s vaccination status and/or test and recovery status. Both the content and presentation fully aligns with the standards set by the EU.

Scotland, along with the rest of the UK, has full legal equivalence with the EU Digital Covid Certificate, meaning Scotland’s Covid certificates are accepted throughout the EU. For more information, see EU Digital COVID Certificate | European Commission and for full details on travel guidelines see Foreign travel advice .

As you know, the NHS in Scotland is under unprecedented pressure, particularly as a result of this latest Covid wave, and a number of services have been stood down in order to support urgent and emergency demand.

The latest data shows Boards are reporting a 65% increase in coronavirus absence compared to the previous week and significantly faster rate of increase in Covid hospitalisations this year compared to last January. This is a reminder of the challenges our NHS continues to face, having a high impact on waiting times for those people waiting to receive scheduled treatment.

Those waiting for treatment should be signposted to help on how they can manage their condition, and are encourage to seek support if they feel their mental health is being impacted.

The NHS Recovery Plan, which is backed by over £1 billion of additional investment, sets out how the Scottish Government will increase NHS capacity by at least 10% as quickly as possible in order to address backlogs and meet the ongoing healthcare needs for people across the country, including gynaecology patients.

Women’s Health is key priority for this government, which is why we published an ambitious Women’s Health Plan in August 2021. The Women’s Health Plan underpins actions to improve women’s health inequalities by raising awareness around women’s health, improving access to health care for women across their life course and reducing inequalities in health outcomes for girls and women, both for sex-specific conditions and in women’s general health.

Booster information was made available in the international travel section of the NHS Covid Status App on 9 December and on paper/pdf versions of certificates from 13 December.

The inclusion of booster information will allow those travelling to the small number of countries that are seeking evidence of more recent doses to provide evidence of their booster or third vaccination.

The domestic section of the NHS Covid Status App was updated on 13 January to include booster information. From Monday 17 January, for the purposes of domestic Covid certification, a person will need to show they have had a booster to be considered ‘fully vaccinated’ if their last vaccine dose was more than four months ago. This is in recognition of vaccine waning against Omicron, and will ensure that the scheme provides a greater level of protection to those attending venues.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05411 on 24 January 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05400 on‎ 24 January 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

This information is not routinely published. We are currently undertaking an exercise to analyse the data about how many people with learning disabilities and autism have died in inpatient units in Scotland. I will write to the member in due course when we have the information.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05407 on 24 January 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

VisitScotland is a member of the Scottish Government’s stakeholder working group, which has met four times since February 2021. Details of these meetings can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/groups/short-term-lets-stakeholder-working-group/ . VisitScotland also provided input through the virtual workshops held as part of the 2020 consultation.

Each of Scotland’s 32 local authorities will be responsible for establishing and running the licensing scheme for short-term lets in their areas. VisitScotland has no role in the operation of the licensing scheme.

The licensing scheme will introduce a system to ensure basic safety standards are being adhered to across short-term let accommodation in Scotland, the definition of which includes bed and breakfast businesses, as well as guest houses.

We have met with interested parties throughout development of the scheme, including meetings with the Scottish Guest House and B&B Alliance and Fergus Ewing MSP and one of his constituents, a local B&B owner. The Scottish Bed & Breakfast Association were also part of the Scottish Government’s short-term lets stakeholder working group until they resigned on 4 August 2021.

Many short-term let hosts and operators will already be following the mandatory safety conditions as a matter of compliance with existing law or best practice. We do not consider them to be onerous. We do not anticipate the scheme will have a detrimental impact on responsible operators. Instead we consider the scheme could boost overall demand for short-term lets by providing consumers with increased confidence in the functioning of the short-term lets market in Scotland, which will help to clamp down on dodgy operators, unsafe accommodation and poor practice.

Scotland’s ability to have sufficient accommodation options to host international events is accounted for, with licensing authorities having wide discretion in granting temporary exemptions or temporary licences within the powers of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 and the Licensing Order. We will update and publish guidance on granting temporary exemptions and temporary licences, involving our stakeholder working group.

We have already committed to working with local authorities to undertake a review of short-term let activity in hotspot areas in summer 2023, to ensure the wider sector is still healthy and unintended consequences have been avoided, and to identify whether any further measures are required to control numbers.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05411 on 24 January 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