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NHS Boards regularly assess continence patients' needs, with the assessments undertaken by dedicated Bladder and Bowel Teams or community nursing staff. This ensures that patients' needs are met, either through treatment or through provision of appropriate containment products. Referrals can also be made by patients' GPs where necessary, and also by a range of other healthcare professionals including pharmacists, consultants and care home staff.

Where a patient has been assessed as requiring continence products, they are provided by their local NHS Board's continence service on prescription.

Scottish Ministers meet regularly with UK Government Ministers on a range of topics, however there have been no specific requests from Scotland Office Ministers to meet regarding the A75 and A77, therefore no meetings on this specific topic have taken place.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving safety on our trunk roads including the A77. While there are no road improvement schemes or upgrades planned for the A77 in 2022, £6.75m has been allocated for the A77 through our provisional road maintenance programme for financial year 2022-23.

The Scottish Government has invested over £105 million on the A77 since 2007 to March 2022 to ensure its safe and efficient operation. In addition, we have spent approximately £64 million on five separate road schemes on the A77 including the recent completion of the £29m Maybole bypass which opened in January 2022 .

Responsibility for the maintenance, upkeep and management of burial grounds in Scotland rests with the relevant burial authority: in the case of Ayr and Troon cemeteries, this is South Ayrshire Council. The Scottish Government has no locus to become involved in operational matters.

The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has confirmed that local authorities are the lead regulator for new burial grounds or extensions to existing burial grounds. SEPA’s role is to provide advice to the local authority on environmental risks during the planning consultation process.

SEPA has no direct role in the maintenance or safety of burial grounds and local authorities are not required to consult with SEPA once planning permission has been granted. SEPA can provide technical advice to the local authority should they request it.

The Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring the respect and dignity of the deceased and the bereaved and will continue to engage with South Ayrshire Council on these matters and on what steps can be taken to avoid similar situations from occurring again.

I recognise that the industrial action by the RMT and ASLEF unions is having an impact on the culture sector at a time when it has been seeking to recover from the Covid19 pandemic.

The Scottish Government has provided financial support to the culture sector to support their recovery from the pandemic. This includes £3.2m for a recovery fund for independent cinema and £20.8m for a recovery fund for cultural organisations.

Officials are continuing to monitor the situation closely, including through engagement with organisations representing hospitality, cultural and events stakeholders.

I recognise that the industrial action by the RMT and ASLEF unions is having an impact on the culture sector at a time when it has been seeking to recover from the Covid19 pandemic.

Scottish Ministers and officials from the Scottish Government and Transport Scotland have been engaging closely with stakeholders in the culture and major events sectors on the impact of the industrial action.

The ScotRail planning team successfully managed to develop and schedule additional late night services specifically for Friday and Saturday nights across several key routes:

• Edinburgh – Glasgow Queen St
• Edinburgh – North Berwick / Kirkcaldy / Fife
• Stirling – Edinburgh / Glasgow Queen St
• Glasgow Central – Ayr / Gourock / East Kilbride / Neilston
• Aberdeen – Inverurie

There is positive progress being made on pay negotiations with ASLEF in Scotland, and I am hopeful that additional services will be added in the near future.

The Scottish Government recognises the great value of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, and the impact which this celebrated international recognition can offer to both individual sites, as well as to the wider national natural, culture and heritage sectors. Through our sponsorship of Historic Environment Scotland, advice and guidance is delivered to support many local organisations and groups across the country, to develop and deliver appropriate maintenance plans and sustainable business models for a wide variety of sites.

When the UK Government decided to review and invite new applications to the UK’s World Heritage tentative list, the Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Constitution and External Affairs wrote to Nigel Huddleston MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to ensure that there would be representation from all UK nations on the independent panel of heritage experts who will be reviewing the applications.

Expressions of interest were due to be submitted by 6 May, with a full application form due by 15 July so that the expert panel can fully assess each application for suitability for inclusion.

I recognise the potential impact of industrial action by the RMT and ASLEF unions on the culture sector at a time when it has been seeking to recover from the Covid19 pandemic.

Officials are continuing to monitor the situation closely, including through engagement with organisations representing hospitality, cultural and events stakeholders.

There is positive progress being made on pay negotiations with ASLEF in Scotland, and I am hopeful that additional services will be added in the near future.

Scottish Ministers and officials from the Scottish Government and Transport Scotland have been engaging closely with stakeholders in the hospitality, cultural and events sectors on the impact of the reduced Scotrail timetable. This has included discussions through the Events Industry Advisory Group. Officials have continued this engagement on the impact of the industrial action.

The Scottish Government do not hold this information.

The idea for this book was instigated by the UK Government. The Scottish Government is not involved with the opt-in process being carried out by the UK Government with Education Authorities.