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Data on diagnosis of sepsis by age, gender and location can be found at:

https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/acute-hospital-activity-and-nhs-beds-information-annual/acute-hospital-activity-and-nhs-beds-information-annual-annual-year-ending-31-march-2020/ .

At present the Scottish Government has no plans to publish data on people affected by sepsis, broken down by ethnicity.

The Contingency Plus Fund offered additional funding to Travel Agents, Breweries and Indoor Football Centres in recognition of the specific challenges that businesses operating in these sectors experienced as a result of COVID-19 restrictions and regulations. This fund closed on 31 March 2021 and as at 25 June 2021, £3,670,000 had been paid to 223 Travel Agent businesses who met the eligibility criteria for the scheme. Travel agents may also have been eligible for other funding such as the Strategic Framework Business Fund and associated hospitality retail and leisure top ups and Restart Grants.

For all covid business support funds, the level of funding paid out was determined by the level of eligible applicants, which may have been lower or higher than the original estimated budget. Where underspends have occurred in relation to specific funds these have been recycled into other business support schemes.

As outlined in the response to S6W-00053 on 26 May 2021, the Scottish Government provided Openreach with a finalised speed and coverage template (or SCT) for the R100 North lot (Lot 1) contract at the end of March 2021. Openreach has completed its remodelling exercise and having been reviewed through Scottish Government governance and assurance structures, it is now undergoing rigorous review through Building Digital UK (BDUK). The full picture across the R100 North lot contract area is still expected to be available in the coming weeks. Our online address checker will be updated to reflect this information once assurance checks are complete and the contract change has been approved. 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 currently provides funding to support the acquisition of zero-emission buses. The Scottish Zero-Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB) is open to bids from any party, including bus operators, acquiring buses to run on registered local bus services and aims to support swift, and significant, change in the bus market in favour of zero-emission technologies. More information on ScotZEB is available on the Transport Scotland webpages at https://www.transport.gov.scot/public-transport/buses/scottish-zero-emission-bus-challenge-fund/ .

Previously, financial support has been provided through the Scottish Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme, and the Scottish Green Bus Fund.

The Scottish Government encourages anyone planning to visit a Scottish Island to test for coronavirus prior to travel, this includes any Ministers, staff or agency employees who are traveling to the islands. Scottish Government staff are not routinely travelling for work purposes and continue to work from home wherever possible.

Pre-departure testing for travel to the Scottish Islands is a voluntary scheme, however, everyone is encouraged to participate in order to reduce the risk of inadvertently carrying coronavirus into one of the island communities. Information on travel, including to the Scottish islands, is set out in the COVID-19 Framework for Decision Making – Scotland’s route map through and out of the crisis, which is available at www.gov.scot/coronavirus .

The use of the mezzanine deck on MV Hebrides is a primarily an operational decision for CalMac Ferries Ltd (CFL). CFL continue to engage with the communities and businesses who use the service regarding the use of the mezzanine deck and the potential impacts on timetables, number of sailings and overall capacity for passengers and vehicles. The mezzanine deck was brought back into use on sailings from 9 August 2021.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-01559 on
‎ 24 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

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

Information relating to the number of women aged (a) 50 and over and (b) under 50 currently waiting for diagnostic tests to confirm either (i) primary or (ii) secondary breast cancer would be held by individual Health Boards.

The Scottish Government acts on the basis of the latest guidance issued by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which considers all available evidence for the most appropriate vaccinations policy approach in the UK. Current JCVI advice remains that the single greatest risk of mortality and severe disease from COVID-19 is increasing age and COVID-19 risk increases exponentially with age.

Those registered as clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) on the GP system are already included in group 4 of phase 1 of the JCVI priority list. Solid organ transplant recipients are deemed CEV and have been previously included on the Shielded Patient List. A hospital clinician or GP can also add a patient to the list, based on their clinical judgement, because they consider them to be at very high risk of serious illness from COVID-19.

All patients on the CEV list will also fall into the broader disease categories outlined in table 3 of the Green Book, Chapter 14a, but are in priority group 4 because of more recent treatment, more advanced condition or co-morbidities. Other patients in the same clinical risk group, but not on the CEV list at the time group 4 is called, are within priority group 6, or with their appropriate age cohort. Further information is available here: COVID-19: the green book, chapter 14a - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

On 30 June the JCVI published interim advice on adult COVID-19 booster vaccinations. The interim advice is to begin offering COVID-19 booster vaccines in September 2021, in a two-stage programme alongside the annual flu vaccination programme.

The JCVI will consider additional scientific data as it becomes available over the next few months ahead of formulating final advice. Accordingly, we shall consider the final advice issued on this matter and any adjustments JCVI may or may not recommend in light of additional scientific data it is presently considering, as this becomes available over the next few months.

We regularly engage with people who are at highest risk from COVID-19 through surveys, in-depth interviews and testing communications. Earlier this year we spoke directly to people at highest risk who have returned to the workplace as restrictions eased, to understand their challenges and what guidance and support may be needed when restrictions ease. Most recently, we launched a survey about the move to level 0 and beyond which asks how people are feeling about those changes. The results will be published late summer.

Three Disabled People’s Organisations (Inclusion Scotland, Disability Equality Scotland and Glasgow Disability Alliance) were consulted on the easing of restrictions.

Throughout the pandemic we have been engaging with both carers and carer organisations to ensure unpaid carers have the advice they need to help protect themselves and their loved ones during the COVID-19 outbreak.