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The Scotland Government no longer require social care staff (in line with the general population) to self-isolate if they are double vaccinated, symptom free and return a negative PCR test. As an additional protection social care staff are also asked to undertake daily LFD testing for ten days following covid exposure.

More information can be found at the following link:

Coronavirus (COVID-19) – exemption of fully vaccinated social care staff from isolation: information for providers - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of the Doric Board and has provided funding to the organisation since its inception. The following table outlines these allocations;

The construction of the A77 Maybole Bypass project is progressing well and recently achieved a significant milestone on 23 July 2021, as Contractor Wills Bros Civil Engineering completed the beam installation of the third, and final, bridge on the project. A link to the news article on the Transport Scotland website is as follows:

Bridging the gap for the Maybole Bypass (transport.gov.scot)

The project is anticipated to be complete in winter 2021 as confirmed in the Infrastructure Investment Plan update published in February 2021. This date is subject to any unforeseen circumstances such as the effects of exceptional weather.

The Scottish Government is aware of the paper published by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) on the use of rubber granulates in artificial sports pitches. Also that ECHA, through its EU REACH process, has placed some restrictions on the use of rubber granules in the EU.

We recognise the impact the deliberate introduction of these granules has on the natural environment and that the EU restrictions might have an impact on the supply of rubber granules.

Our National Agency for Sport, sport scotland, will be participating in a UK Sports Agency meeting in September where the use of the infill will be discussed.

The A9 in the Dunkeld area and the associated junctions are busy particularly in summer carrying the combination of strategic commercial, commuter and tourist traffic. Transport Scotland is aware that at the busiest times, which often align with periods of good weather, gaining access onto the A9 trunk road can take some time. This situation is found across the country at many locations popular with tourists.

An investigation was carried out at the A9/A822/A923 staggered junction following identification of the location through the trunk road Annual Road Safety Review. Transport Scotland is introducing a series of measures to improve safety and operation within the current physical constraints until the A9 Dualling programme significantly changes the road layout at this location. These upgrades have included traffic sign and road marking improvements, in early 2020, to enhance direction finding and to upgrade signs to current standards. We are monitoring the effects of these measures in reducing accidents.

In addition, installation of illuminated bollards to improve the visibility of the road layout in darkness and to highlight the junction to turning motorists will be carried out later this year, along with the Birnam (B867) and Dalguise junctions.

A scheme to progress resurfacing of the A9/A822/A923 junction serving both Dunkeld, Strathbraan and Inver is to take place in late Autumn/Winter of the current financial year. This will provide the road surface at this location with improved surface grip and a consistency of appearance throughout. New high performance road markings and highly reflective road studs will be installed to define turning areas. A double white line system is proposed to deter overtaking through the junction.

I have commissioned consideration of what further measures might be deployed to improve safety at the junction.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. However, the number of patients who are registered with a NHS dentist can be found on Public Health Scotland at: https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/dental-statistics-registration-and-participation/dental-statistics-registration-and-participation-statistics-as-at-30-september-2020/ .

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all school-aged children and young people in Scotland are provided with a digital device by the end of this parliament.

Following completion of an innovative co-creative process with the community, work to assess four route options, including the community’s preferred route option, is ongoing to identify a Preferred Route option. This is being progressed in accordance with design standards and once a Preferred Route option is announced a timetable for the statutory processes will be set. It is necessary that the correct statutory process is followed to ensure a fair and transparent assessment of options and impacts on local communities and road users.

A market consultation exercise commenced earlier this year to inform an assessment of procurement options for the remaining sections when the statutory process is complete. Determination of the optimal procurement option is a complex exercise which is considering a pipeline of work in a form that can be delivered by the industry, supports the economic recovery post COVID and minimises disruption to users of this lifeline route. It is expected this analysis will be completed in the coming weeks and will inform decision making on our procurement approach and phasing.

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been made of the present capacity of the A1 south of Dunbar, and what its position is on its suitability for the amount of HGV traffic that (a) currently uses the route and (b) is estimated to use the route in the future.Transport Scotland works with road Operating Companies and Local Authorities to continually monitor usage and performance of the Trunk Road Network, this data feeds in to the Transport Model for Scotland (TMfS) and various regional transport models. These are used on an ongoing basis to assess performance of the network in current and estimated future conditions. Figures for traffic currently using the A1 from the National Traffic Data System (NTDS) count site at Grantshouse show a daily average traffic flow of 9,113 vehicles in 2019 with an average of 15.6% HGVs (approximately 1,400 HGVs per day).

This shows that currently less than one fifth of vehicles at this count site on the A1 are an HGV. Analysis undertaken previously as part of the Borders Transport Corridors Study did not identify an issue with unsuitable proportions of HGV traffic at this location, and indeed found that HGV traffic on the A1 had reduced by 2% between 2010 and 2016, despite increases on other trunk roads in the area.

Transport modelling to assess current performance and predict future use is currently being undertaken as part of the emerging Strategic Transport Projects Review. STPR2 is ongoing, therefore is not possible to take a position on the future suitability of particular (sections of) roads until the modelling being used to inform the appraisal process is completed.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-01418 on‎ 9 August 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