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A small number of contracts between ScotRail Trains Ltd. and Abellio is expected to be in place from 1 April to ensure the continuity of rail services in Scotland from 1 April 2022.

In particular, a contract for the continued use of the Abellio Shared Services Centre will maintain employment for staff in its Glasgow office.

The Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) provides free advice, and loan and grant funding, with up to £8.25M made available this financial year (2021-22) to assist community groups in developing renewable energy projects, supporting the growth of community and locally owned energy in Scotland.

The Scottish Government launched a ‘Let’s Do Net Zero Community Buildings’ funding call last year which received 85 applications for support. Planning for support that CARES will provide in 2022/2023 is currently underway and a greater focus and priority will be given to decarbonisation, including for heat in buildings.

CARES also offers an enablement grant of up to £25,000 as well as funding for connections to district heating schemes that are powered fully or partially by a renewable source of energy. Funding of up to £5,000 (75% grant and 25% loan) is available per connection.

Funding is also being made available through CARES to help communities in rural and island areas develop cleaner, greener and cheaper energy.

The investment will empower communities which operate existing local independent grid electricity systems to develop local, independent climate-friendly electricity supplies. £3 million is being made available to develop projects in 2022-23, and expressions of interest to the fund, administered by Local Energy Scotland, closed on 31 January 2022.

Scottish Government officials have worked closely with Public Health Scotland (PHS) to develop an alternative solution to the collection of data on sight loss registration and certification to replace the previously underutilised web platform. As part of the new process, certification and registration data, as well as clinical diagnostic data, will be collected by Health Board eye clinics and Local Authorities (or their agents) via a spreadsheet for annual return to PHS. This data will provide evidence which can be used to inform planning of local and national services. We will write to clinicians to update them on the new process and timeline for moving to the new process.

Our aim is to replace the current paper-based CVI form with an electronic CVI form within the new Ophthalmology Electronic Patient Record (EPR), which is being developed. Once the EPR is in place, the electronic CVI form will be incorporated and this will support consistent annual reporting of sight loss registration statistics.

Costs of any contracts between ScotRail Trains Ltd. and Abellio will not be fully known until contract negotiations are concluded, and thereafter will depend upon the extent of use of the support services covered by those contracts.

Payments to Abellio ScotRail Ltd. during the current transitional period are currently covered by the Emergency Measures Agreement, which includes provisions concerning financial transparency and to ensure value for money.

We initially asked that only those with an essential need to travel by bus should apply due to the high rates of COVID-19 cases. This was intended to help minimise pressure on local councils, also impacted by the current situation with the pandemic, which are responsible for processing applications and responding to enquiries. With restrictions now easing, we are now in a position to encourage all young people to apply.

When the application process for travel cards was launched we asked that only those with an essential need to travel by bus apply. It was for individuals to decide whether their journeys were essential in the light of Scottish Government and Transport Scotland guidance. With restrictions now easing, we are now in a position to encourage all young people to apply.

As we move into a different phase of the pandemic, we are looking to actively encourage everyone who is eligible to apply and will be launching a national marketing campaign in the coming weeks.

Up to 930,000 young people will be eligible to travel for free under the scheme and we are absolutely determined to ensure that everyone who is eligible for and wants a free bus pass gets one. I appreciate that we still have a long way to go to reach all 930,000 eligible young people but now that covid restrictions are easing, we are encouraging all young people and parents to apply for their cards. To assist with take up, we plan to launch an extensive marketing campaign in the coming weeks.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05885 on 7 February 2022. 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