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Since 2014 the Scottish Ambulance Service has delivered a comprehensive 4 day training course, developed in-house, to provide the required training for Community First Responders - delivering a more detailed and comprehensive training package than the basic 2 day FPOS scheme.

a) There are 6 planned training sessions for Community First Responders between November 2021 and March 2022. Each training session will accommodate up to a maximum of 12 trainees. These courses are scheduled to be held in Braemar (Grampian), Glasgow (Greater Glasgow & Clyde), RAF Lossiemouth (Grampian), Grangemouth (Forth Valley) and Portree (Highland).

b)

i) There are 765 Community First Responders across Scotland and approximately 80 Wildcat Cardiac Responders.

ii) The Scottish Ambulance Service recruited 199 Community First Responders between 2019 and 2021. In March 2020 utilisation of Community First Responders was suspended due to COVID-19 and the need to establish safe and effective processes with the subsequent delivery of training in the use of PPE and enhanced Infection & Prevention Control measures. This commenced in Sept ’20 with the majority back on-line by March ’21.

The Scottish Ambulance Service determine which resource and assistance to call upon depending on the circumstances faced and the need that has arisen.

Ambulances are not single-crewed other than in exceptional circumstances, such as short notice unplanned staff absences, and every effort is made to double crew ambulances through rostered and relief staff, overtime or our bank staff. Ambulance Technicians are able to deliver high quality care to patients, but where a paramedic skill set is required, paramedics will be tasked to calls.

Unfortunately as a result of COVID-19 there has been occasions where single crewing has had to be used as a result of late notice staff abstractions, however we are continuing to work with the Scottish Ambulance Service to reduce this where possible.

The following table outlines the number of ambulance that have been dispatched single-crewed in each year since 2019, broken down by (a) Scottish Ambulance Service division and (b) NHS board area, as requested.

It is understood the proposed lifetime cap on care costs to be introduced in England will apply only to personal care costs. Free personal care has been available in Scotland for adults aged 65 or over since 2002. From 1 April 2019 this was extended to adults of any age, no matter their condition, capital or income, who are assessed by their local authority as needing this service.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-35206 on 23 February 2021. Scottish Government officials engage regularly with representatives of the other UK administrations to understand their intentions regarding the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). We are open to working with the other administrations to ensure our schemes are compatible, but this must be on the basis of this not diluting the ambition of our own scheme.

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 held centrally.

The Scottish Government and NatureScot are currently considering the wider implications of the Court of Session judgment in relation to licences issued for the purposes of beaver management.

Of the five complaints under consideration by the Court, four were rejected entirely. The fifth point, which was accepted by the Court, relates to the inclusion of a statement of reasons for licences issued. This finding will be reflected within licensing procedures going forward and reasons will now be published with all beaver and other European Protected Species licences issued.

The legal purpose of section 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is the protection of certain wild animals.

Tackling biodiversity loss is a key priority for the Scottish Government and as outlined in our 2021-22 Programme for Government, we are committed to preventing any further extinctions of wildlife and halting declines by 2030, and making significant progress in restoring Scotland’s natural environment by 2045.

Research carried out by the Fraser of Allander Institute found that Scotland’s renewable activities support 22,660 full-time equivalent jobs in Scotland 2019.

 https://www.scottishrenewables.com/assets/000/001/718/2021_FAI_Economic_Impact_of_Scotland_s_Renewable_Energy_Sector_original.pdf?1622564058 ).

No data is available to provide additional geographic breakdowns below the Scotland level at this time.