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The Scottish Government wants to see Scotland’s sea connections to Europe enhanced. We work closely with Scotland’s main ports across a range of issues including the potential for new freight and passenger ferry services. Commercial stakeholders are fundamental to any new service being realised. The former Minister for Business and officials met shipping and freight forwarding companies, port operators and hauliers to explore how Scottish exporters chose their routes to market, and current Ministers and officials continue to meet port operators and haulage and shipping associations to understand future market demand.

The Scottish Government remains confident that the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) is delivering a reduction in harmful emissions and look forward to receiving confirmed statutory air quality reports from Glasgow City Council in due course. Air quality is generally good in Scotland with all our automatic air quality monitoring stations reported to be meeting the air quality objectives in 2022. However there are localised areas within Glasgow’s city centre where poor air quality remains an issue. The enforcement of Glasgow’s LEZ only began on 1 June 2023. It is therefore too early to determine the impact of the LEZ on annual air quality targets for Glasgow.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-21433 on 2 October 2023. 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

Under the Mental Health (Safety and Security) (Scotland) Regulations 2005 there is no requirement for CCTV in The State Hospital to capture or record audio.

The Scottish Government does not currently have any plans to require that CCTV captures or records audio. Should there become a clear need for this requirement that cannot be addressed through other methods we will consider whether it would be appropriate to introduce this.

We are committed to ensuring that every school-aged child has access to a device to support their learning by the end of this parliament in 2026.

Electrification is commissioned at the completion of works and last schemes to be commissioned were Shotts Line Electrification (74km) and Stirling-Dunblane-Alloa Electrification (110km). Work on the development, design and construction of further electrification has continued throughout the 5 year period and a further 23 km will be commissioned this year on the Glasgow - Barrhead line. Work is also under way on the East Kilbride route.

The Scottish Government remains committed to developing and delivering a new Palliative and End of Life Care Strategy. We have established a Strategy Steering Group to oversee the development and delivery which has now met six times. We have also established a number of working groups to gather evidence to inform the strategy and progress areas in parallel with the development of the wider strategy.

I confirmed at the NZET committee on 19 September 2023, the existing ban on alcohol on ScotRail services will stay in place for now.

A wide range of views is held by passengers, staff and other interested parties about alcohol on trains. My officials are preparing advice for my further consideration of this matter.

The winter 2023 programme was always due to start on 4 September, so there was no need to bring that date forward. Our original plan was to start vaccination with those at lower risk and call those at highest risk slightly later in the programme, from mid-October. This was in line with JCVI advice, as protection is highest in the first three months following COVID-19 vaccination, so by vaccinating those who are at highest risk later, we would give them greater protection over winter and into the new year .

Although there is currently insufficient data to assess the potential severity or increase in transmissibility of new variant BA.2.86 (Pirola), in light of its emergence, along with the other nations across the UK, we took the precautionary measure to bring forward vaccination of care home residents, people aged 75 and over and people with weakened immune system aged 12 and over, where possible for Boards.

Our scheduling team has provided technical support to Boards to help them bring forward and re-order their scheduling plans. The Scottish Ambulance Service has also provided support to some Boards in vaccinating these groups. Public Health Scotland and Scottish Government have provided support in communicating these changes to the general public. The Flu & Covid-19 Vaccination team, including Scottish Government officials, has provided individual guidance and support to Boards where required.

No additional funding has been provided to Boards by Scottish Government, as we did not ask Boards to increase the numbers they are vaccinating, or to vaccinate all those eligible any quicker than the original plans. We have asked them to re-order and re-prioritise where possible, within their current planning and financial models.

Private Healthcare Information Network figures for the first quarter of 2023 show Scotland has a lower rate of take up of private healthcare compared to England and Wales. The rate of people self-funding for private inpatient/day-case care is 16% higher in England, 51% higher in Wales and 40% higher Northern Ireland than in Scotland. When people who fund private healthcare through insurance is included, the rate per head in England is 76% higher than Scotland. In Wales it is 15% higher and in Northern Ireland 31% higher than in Scotland.

Scotland has a world-class National Health Service we can all be proud of but people have the choice to pay privately for care if they choose. It is important that all healthcare is safe, effective and person-centred and Healthcare Improvement Scotland have stringent regulation of private healthcare, including private hospitals, to ensure that’s the case.