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The valuation of all non-domestic property is a matter for independent assessors, and the Scottish Government has no locus to interfere in that independent process. We have no current plans to alter the specific treatment of ATMs in the non-domestic rates system.

The Scottish Government provides the most generous non-domestic rates regime in the UK, and in 2021-22 delivered an unprecedented reduction in the poundage mid-revaluation; returning it to pre-COVID levels, which saves Scottish Businesses over £120 million compared with a standard inflationary increase.

We already deliver a number of non-domestic rates measures that support ATM sites and the buildings they are located in, such as shops. This includes up to 100% Small Business Bonus Scheme relief, which is the most generous such relief in the UK. ATM sites in rural areas are exempt from rating in Scotland, and therefore are not liable for non-domestic rates.

Under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, each local Council has wide-raging powers to create rates reliefs to reflect local needs. This may apply to a sole business, sector or area. The relief may be an adaptation of an existing national relief scheme or a unique standalone scheme.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

NHS staff on duty within prisons will provide a clinical response to an overdose in custody, including the administration of naloxone during the day.

To date a total of 272 operational night shift staff across the prison estate have received training in the administration of naloxone (This figure also includes staff trained who work in the private prisons - HMPs Addiewell and Kilmarnock).

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 .

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.

Transport Scotland’s position remains, and has been consistent from the planning stage, that it has not agreed to unrestricted access rights through Ferrymuir Gate. There is no agreement that it would be used as the main access to the housing development and Transport Scotland has not supported any alteration to the planning application in this regard.

Remaining provisions in the Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act 2019 will be commenced on 17 December 2021. This will fully commence the Act and increase the age of criminal responsibility in Scotland to 12.

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.

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.

Development and implementation of the IT systems required to deliver Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is a matter for the individual organisations that will play a role in delivering DRS, including the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), Circularity Scotland Ltd, and businesses.

SEPA is currently preparing to register producers that fall under the regulations. This includes developing a new digital registration service, which has been designed through targeted user research with expected users of the service. Producers who wish to place scheme articles on the Scottish market will be able to register with SEPA directly or via the Scheme Administrator, Circularity Scotland Ltd.

The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) published stakeholders consultation https://consult.defra.gov.uk/joint-nature-conservation-committee/911c8988/ , including a list of provisional recommendations regarding the addition, retention, regrading or removal of each species on 08 November 2021. Those proposed recommendations do not include the removal of schedule 5 legal protection for mountain hares.

We will carefully consider the JNCC recommendations of the seventh Quinquennial Review. Before making any recommendations regarding species removal from schedule 5, we must be satisfied that there would be no detrimental impact to the individual species or to the wider biodiversity and environmental landscape in Scotland.

Mountain hares are now a protected species following the passage of the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) Act in June 2020. The protection came into force on 1 March 2021, meaning that the species can no longer be taken for sporting or recreational purposes. We will also continue to work with several partner organisations to continue to improve our understanding of mountain hare populations across Scotland, along with other work, to support the conservation status of this iconic species.