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Further to question S6W-00829, the Scottish Government has not taken any advice from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) or other regulatory authorities on the safety of the MV Pentalina to operate on routes on the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services (CHFS) network.

The Scottish Government is not aware of the capacity of vessels owned by Pentland Ferries, the MV Pentalina or MV Alfred as a result of physical distancing requirements and mitigations.

The Scottish Government has not entered into any dialogue with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) regarding the existence or functioning of an on-board safety committee on the MV Pentalina. Any such discussion would be between the vessel’s owner, Pentland Ferries and the MCA.

The British and Irish Lions rugby match was a flagship event approved by the Scottish Government through an events gateway process. Flagship events are internationally significant events which maintain Scotland’s longer-term profile as a host of major events, with an eye to recovery from the pandemic, and with appropriate Covid-19 mitigations in place.

Decisions about the sale of alcohol was a matter for the Local Authority and was discussed at the City of Edinburgh Council Event Planning & Operations Group Meetings which had Police Scotland in attendance.

We are grateful that the majority of supporters followed the mitigation measures put in place around physical distancing which included extensive messaging around Covid protocols in advance of the match and on the day itself. This included signage (and hand hygiene) at all bars, public address announcements and an additional 150 stewards employed to manage this, however, we are aware that a small number of fans did not always comply. For those reasons, Scottish Rugby took the decision to close the bars earlier than scheduled to avoid a half-time surge. The safety of spectators and employees is, and will always remain, paramount.

The Scottish Government and event organisers will use the knowledge learnt from this to support the wider restart of events across Scotland.

ScotRail’s Cycle to Work scheme has been made available to employees up until end of June 2021, at which point the previous Abellio ScotRail contract with its supplier came to an end.

The Scottish Government has agreed that a replacement scheme should be put in place from April 2022 when ScotRail staff will transfer to the Scottish Government’s new company, ScotRail Trains Ltd.

Regulations relating to the construction of road vehicles and tyres remain matters reserved to the UK Government.

The Scottish Government continues to monitor applied research into issues relating to zero emission vehicles, we have not yet conducted specific analysis in the potential increase in microplastic waste from electric vehicles.

The Scottish Government is aware there are still significant knowledge gaps to fill before it is possible to have a robust understanding of the risks posed by microplastics to the Scottish environment and we will play our part in filling these knowledge gaps.

Free NHS dental treatment for expectant mothers or those who have borne a child within the previous 12 month period is part of The National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978. The 12 month period is fixed by primary legislation and would require a primary legislation amendment (i.e. a Bill) to change this. Therefore it is not possible to change the exemption entitlement for free treatment at present. However, the Scottish Government has committed to the removal of all charges for NHS dental treatment within the lifetime of this parliament.

I am pleased to announce our second update to the Covid-19 Vaccines Deployment Plan will be published later today.

The Plan reflects on our progress since March 2021 and explains how our COVID-19 vaccination programme is designed to be inclusive and that no-one is left behind, in order to protect individuals and the wider population of Scotland. The Plan also looks ahead to operationalising recent advice from the JCVI on vaccination of those under 18 years old, and the potential COVID-19 booster vaccination programme this autumn.

We continue to monitor the vaccination programme and will keep under review if and when a further update to the COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment Plan is required.

We want everyone who would benefit from palliative and end of life care to have access to it, including those who are homeless. As the Marie Curie report makes clear, good end of life care requires collaborative, multi-disciplinary support which is based on the specific needs of the individual and their loved ones. However, we know that people experiencing homelessness are less likely to engage with healthcare services regularly and are more likely to have multiple mental or physical health problems - often with uncertain trajectories. This can make it challenging for care and support services to recognise a palliative care need in a timely manner.

To support better identification of the healthcare needs of homeless people, Public Health Scotland published a learning resource primarily aimed at primary care staff earlier this year. The course aims to raise awareness of the health challenges and barriers that homeless people face and support staff in better identifying the health and care needs of people who are homeless. Although the course has been developed with primary care staff in mind as they act as first healthcare points of contact, it is a foundation level course which is accessible and relevant to all staff working with people who are homeless, particularly those working in frontline homelessness services. This course can be accessed here: https://learning.publichealthscotland.scot/course/view.php?id=553

Over the coming months we will continue to work with key stakeholders to explore what further steps we can take to help ensure that people who are experiencing homelessness can access the palliative care and support that is right for them.

We want everyone who would benefit from palliative and end of life care to have access to it, including those who are experiencing homelessness.

We are committed to working with key stakeholders to strengthen partnerships between health, homelessness and frontline services to improve outcomes for people experiencing homelessness with multiple and complex needs. Over the coming months we will continue to work with stakeholders to explore areas where improvements to palliative and end of life care could be made as well as reflecting on lessons learned during the pandemic.

I would also refer the member to the answer to question S6W-01041 on
22 July 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