Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-04128 on 30 November 2021. 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

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of the provision of safe and reliable lifeline ferry services for our island economies. We recognise how frustrating delays and cancellations can be for businesses, individual and communities but it should be remembered that they happen for a variety of reasons, often weather related or for reasons outwith Calmac’s control. Our focus is very much on preventing service disruption where that is possible, so we continue to work with CalMac to maximise available capacity across the network.

The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 introduced a number of measures ensuring that there is a sustained focus across Government and the public sector to meet the needs of island communities now and in the future.

Any funding provided to organisations by the Scottish Government directly, or through sport scotland, for this purpose, will include arrangements for monitoring of that investment.

Gamete (egg and sperm) storage can be provided by the NHS with informed consent from patients (regulated by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) and by law under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 (as amended)) under the following circumstances:

• Storage of personal gametes for use in NHS Assisted Conception Treatment by couples that fulfil the access criteria.
• Storage of gametes for patients who require fertility preservation treatment.
• Storage of gametes donated altruistically by sperm or egg donors for use in NHS Assisted Conception Treatment.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-04128 on 30 November 2021. 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

Local Authorities and Integration Joint Boards are responsible for allocating funding from their budgets towards revenue costs for services for supported living accommodation.

The following table sets out the number of supported accommodation capital projects for the period requested.

Scotland has led the way in the delivery of affordable housing across the UK with 103,650 affordable homes delivered since 2007, nearly 72,000 of which were for social rent, including 16,432 council homes. And we are committed to delivering a further 110,000 affordable homes by 2032 of which at least 70% will be available for social rent and 10% will be in our remote, rural and island communities.

Over the period 2007-08 to 2020-21, the City of Edinburgh Council has received more than half a billion (£558.7 million) in grant support from the Scottish Government which has contributed to the delivery of 13,341 affordable homes.

The City of Edinburgh Council will benefit from a further £233.8 million funding for good quality affordable housing across the capital over this parliament. This funding represents an increase of £32.4 million, a 16% increase on the previous five years.

In 2021-22, the City of Edinburgh has also been allocated over £3.33 million for preventing and responding to homelessness, £871,000 for Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans (RRTPS), as well at £563,000 for RRTPs through the Winter Fund for Social Protection. In addition, the Scottish Government is providing £101,850 to support the delivery of a Rapid Rehousing Welcome Centre in Edinburgh from 4 October 2021 to 2 May 2022.

We recognise that being physically active is one of the best things we can do for our physical and mental wellbeing. We are committed to providing all children and young people equal opportunity to participate in sport and physical activity. As set out in the Programme for Government we will double investment in sport and active living to £100 million a year by the end of the Parliament ensuring more people can enjoy active lives as we recover, improving physical, mental and social health. We will also work with the National Agency for Sport, sports cotland to ensure that Active Schools programmes are free for all children and young people, providing them with more opportunities to take part in sport before, during and after school.

There are also established programmes within secondary schools to address key elements of the sporting system and drive engagement and participation such as sport scotland’s Fit For Girls (FFG) programme to help engage teenage girls where there is a higher drop off in participation. The FFG programme is being delivered across the country to provide solutions workshops for girls and practitioners to help engage inactive teenage girls.

Network Rail is a wholly owned subsidiary company of the UK Government, and responsibility for determining and monitoring its operation, maintenance and renewal expenditure rests with the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).

Transport Scotland funds Network Rail in accordance with the ORR’s determination, and also provides additional funding for enhancements which we monitor and control closely above the substantial investment in operations, maintenance and renewal. Therefore, under this split arrangement, which is a feature of UK Government rail legislation, the Scottish Government does not hold the full investment information broken down by region within Scotland.

Therefore I would recommend that the member contacts Network Rail or the ORR for the detailed information requested for rail infrastructure investment in the West of Scotland since 2016.

Yes, work is currently in progress to ensure people can access their COVID-19 booster vaccination information in the app and on the paper and PDF versions through the NHS Portal. It is expected this will be available from December 2021, following the recent agreement of international standards on how to display booster information on 18 November.

Proof of booster vaccinations are not currently a requirement of the domestic certification scheme. However, we are aware that a small number of countries have introduced a vaccine ‘expiry’ point as part of their certification arrangements.

In the meantime, people intending to travel should check the entry requirements of the country they are visiting on the GOV.UK foreign travel advice pages, as PCR testing is also widely accepted.