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As per the answer to question S5W-33510 on 2 December 2020, the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) Full Business Case ( https://www.gov.scot/publications/deposit-return-scheme-scotland-full-business-case-stage-1/ ) was developed on the basis of glass being collected whole under Scotland’s DRS. Glass collected whole is suitable for re-melt, subject to minimal handling losses.

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

All projects, including the A96 Programme, are subject to detailed review and assessment work to ensure we deliver the right schemes and keep impacts on the environment to the absolute minimum. The decision to commit to a review forms part of a wide range of transport commitments set out in the cooperation agreement with the Scottish Green Party.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03232 on 4 October 2021 which is 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 .

Inbound international travel restrictions were eased across the four nations on 4 October. These changes mean that people who have received two doses of different vaccines are regarded as having completed a full course of the vaccine and therefore are treated as ‘fully vaccinated’ for travel purposes. This applies to people who have been vaccinated by accepted vaccines in countries that are already eligible under the vaccinated traveller policy.

Travellers from non-red list countries who have been fully vaccinated in a country that meets recognised standards of certifications will no longer be required to provide evidence of a negative test result before they can travel to Scotland, and will not be required to self-isolate or take a day 8 test. They must still currently take a day 2 PCR test, though we have announced that we intend to align with the UK post-arrival testing regime later in October, with further details to be announced in due course.

Those who are not considered eligible fully vaccinated travellers must continue to take a pre-departure test, self-isolate for 10 days upon arrival and take day 2 and 8 tests. All arrivals from red list countries must continue to book and stay for 10 days in a managed isolation hotel.

Travel restrictions are in place to prevent cases of COVID-19 being imported to Scotland. Travel restrictions will be in place as long as they are required and Scottish Government will continue to liaise with affected groups and stakeholders over any restrictions and exemptions that may apply.

Further guidance for international arrivals can be read at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-international-travel-quarantine/pages/red-amber-and-green-list-countries/

Please find the requested information set out in the following table.

We continue to work with key partners across Scotland to ensure that relevant information from patient health records is available to healthcare staff when and where they need it. Significant investment in national IT systems, such as those for GP practices and the TrakCare hospital patient management system in secondary care, has improved the flow of information across different healthcare settings and services. In addition, the availability of Regional Clinical Portals, the roll out of HEPMA ( Hospital Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration ) and availability of the patient Emergency Care Summary (ECS) to Community Pharmacists, Dentists and Optometrists have all improved the accessibility and quality of electronic patient information available to frontline staff.

Further improvements will be made including the implementation of Office365 across the entire NHS. This will include the rollout of single identities for NHS staff which will simplify secure access to relevant patient information. The refreshed Digital Health & Care Strategy, scheduled to be published in September 2021, will set out ambitions for greater access to medical information both for staff and the public.

ScotGEM students are very specifically entitled to apply for a £4,000 per year ‘return of service’ bursary. This means for every year they take this they are committing to stay and work in NHS Scotland for a corresponding amount of years. Once the first cohort of ScotGEM students graduate in Summer 2022, we intend to evaluate the effectiveness of the ScotGEM bursary in retaining trainee doctors in hard to fill posts within our healthcare service. Further consideration to any extension can be made at that point.

Work is ongoing to produce a progressive stroke pathway document by December 2021. This will take account of international evidence, including the World Stroke Organisation’s roadmap to delivering quality stroke care, to define what a progressive stroke pathway should look like in Scotland.

The progressive stroke pathway will, similarly to the roadmap, follow the continuum of care starting at the onset of a stroke event through the acute phase (emergency department and inpatient care), and stroke rehabilitation and long term supported recovery.

Following this, an implementation plan will identify any gaps between current capacity and the progressive stroke pathway vision, and outline clear actions to take.

The core criteria for defining a stroke unit are well described in the academic literature, including in Langhorne et al (2002). Though the size and configuration of stroke units across Scotland may vary depending on local factors, most will be in a defined ward setting and have a specialist stroke multidisciplinary team.

Covid-19 has had an unprecedented impact on the world, NHS Scotland and stroke services. Each service will have responded in the best way that it could, depending on the specific issues affecting them.

The 2021 Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme Report (which includes 9 months of the pandemic) shows slight deterioration in performance against the stroke standards for stroke unit access (77% in 2020 compared to 82% in 2019).

While stroke unit access declined, achievement of standards in other areas, including brain imaging within 12 hours of arrival (86% in 2020 compared 84% in 2019), time to carotid intervention (61%; 59%) and mean thrombolysis door-to-needle (DTN) time (51 minutes in 2020 compared to 53 minutes in 2019), improved.

All of these aspects also have an important impact on recovery from stroke, and therefore it is not possible to isolate the recovery impact based on one standard (such as stroke unit access).

The Scottish Government supports the planting of the right tree in the right place. Forest and woodland strategies, including the Scottish Borders Woodland Strategy , set the regional framework for woodland expansion and are developed by the local authority in partnership with interested stakeholders. These strategies identify preferred areas where forestry can have a positive impact on the environment, landscape, economy and local people, and also identify sensitive areas where forestry may not be a suitable choice.

The Regional Strategic Woodland Creation Project is furthest developed in the South of Scotland. Here it is being developed as an evolution of the Scottish Borders Woodland Strategy . The ambition is to better define where the preferred areas for woodlands are, helping bridge the gap between strategic and site level considerations.

Regional Land Use Partnership (RLUP) pilots are being established this year, with Regional Land Use Frameworks (RLUF) being developed by 2023. The RLUPs will work within the existing context of their region, including identifying and working with key strategies and projects. The South of Scotland is one of the pilot regions. They are now beginning to engage with stakeholders on their regional approach, which will include engagement with forestry stakeholders as well as local communities, land managers and owners, experts and local and national government.