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Any person with an exemption certificate can seek for it to be withdrawn by the Scottish Government. This route involves writing to the Scottish Government asking for a certificate to be withdrawn. There is no fee payable. Any person with an exemption certificate can do this and it is a matter for a relevant person to consider whether to do so. In particular, if a person wishes to do this because they have reached a view they do not possess an XL Bully dog, that is a matter for them to consider. The Scottish Government will withdraw an exemption certificate if a request is made.

The Scottish Government has been working with AssistFM and Improvement Service to map existing breakfast provision across Scotland, including a survey to all primary and special schools to understand the scale and uptake of provision.

Scottish Government loss and damage funding of £10m is fully committed for the lifetime of this parliament, through to 2026.

We will utilise learning from our programmes to demonstrate to the world that funding loss and damage can take many forms, which we hope will inspire other governments, organisations and NGOs to be equally aspirational in their work to address loss and damage.

On aviation, the Scottish Government continues to explore all options to implement Air Departure Tax (ADT) in a way that protects Highlands & Islands connectivity and complies with the UK Government’s subsidy control regime. A Frequent-Flyer Levy has previously been discounted on the grounds that it would be disproportionately resource-intensive to administer. Upon implementation, the Scottish Government’s Air Departure Tax will apply to all affected flights, but without the need for recording the number of flights an individual has taken.

As a well-respected Global North Government, we continue to engage in discussions with governments, organisations and NGOs around the world who are also eager to ensure action on loss and damage is suitably funded. We continue to build meaningful and lasting international partnerships to mobilise action and ambition, and find solutions to address some of the key climate change issues; including through our position as co-chair of the Under 2 Coalition and engagement via the Regions4 Network.

The Scottish Government will continue to use its position to amplify the voices of the Global South and address the unequal impacts of climate change on marginalised people, especially young people and women. We continue to push for global ambition, recognising that $650m dollars of pledges so far is significant, but insufficient.

The internal review is focused on the procedures and policies set out in the Chief Executive Framework section of the Public Sector Pay Policy Technical Guide for public bodies and government officials. The report is being finalised and Ministers have still to consider the recommendations, including any publication arrangements. Any agreed recommendations will be included in a renewed Chief Executive Framework.

As part of the 2023- 24 COVID-19 and flu winter vaccination programme NHS Scotland delivered over 3.57 million winter vaccines, including 1,387,766 COVID-19 vaccines. Uptake of the COVID-19 vaccines dropped across all groups, but remained strong in the highest risk groups, with 85.6% of care home residents and 84.1% of those aged over 75 vaccinated which we know from recent statistics are the groups mostly likely to be admitted to hospital.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) is responsible for delivering Scotland’s Infectious Respiratory Diseases Plan 2023–2024 (publichealthscotland.scot) with the support of the Scottish Government. The Scottish Vaccination and Immunisation Programme (SVIP) has already undertaken various pieces of work to understand why uptake has decreased, and this is part of an ongoing drive to ensure that people can take up offers of vaccine easily and equitably. Should the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommend a 2024 winter COVID-19 programme, we shall incorporate that learning into planning for any future campaign.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) is responsible for COVID-19 surveillance. Given the recent increase in circulation of COVID-19 observed in Scotland, PHS has returned to weekly updates to their viral respiratory dashboard from 27 June 2024 ( COVID-19 & Respiratory Surveillance (shinyapps.io) .Periodic peaks in COVID-19 are expected, not just in the winter.

COVID-19 is not a seasonal virus and circulates all year around and with the vaccine optimum protection period lasting up to 3 months, it remains essential that those who are eligible, come forward for vaccination when offered.

The Scottish Government is committed to measures which deliver an available, affordable and accessible public transport system which enables people to make positive and proactive choices to use public transport. ScotRail continue to develop fares initiatives which can help attract more passengers, while offering savings and added value to existing rail users such as the recently extended ScotRail Peak Fares Removal Pilot.

This is an operational matter for ScotRail. The member may wish to contact ScotRail directly for this information.

The final evaluation report will be undertaken before the Pilot ends. The final report will include data on the time passengers are travelling, by location and by socioeconomic background.

This is an operational matter for ScotRail. The member may wish to contact ScotRail directly for this information.

The Fair Fares Review, which was undertaken to ensure a sustainable and integrated approach to public transport fares that supports the future long-term viability of a public transport system that is accessible, available, and affordable for people throughout Scotland, reviewed the current provision of concessionary travel schemes and reaffirmed our commitment to maintain existing eligibility to the National Concessionary Travel Schemes for those who currently benefit.

Whilst the Scottish Government has no plans to extend the existing National Concessionary Travel Schemes under the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005 beyond the current eligibility criteria, the Review included a medium to long term recommended that further policy development be undertaken to consider better targeting of public funds towards supporting access to public transport for those who need it most, including consideration of concessionary travel support for those experiencing financial poverty.

The Fair Fares Review was published on 22 March 2024 and is available on the Transport Scotland website. Fair Fares Review | Transport Scotland .