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Responsibility for the routine maintenance, upkeep and management of burial grounds in Scotland rests with the relevant burial authority. A burial authority may be a local authority or a private owner. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act (as amended), owners must ensure any premises they are responsible for are maintained to a safe standard for both employees and visiting persons.

The Scottish Government is currently in the process of implementing the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016. Under this Act Scottish Ministers have powers to appoint Inspectors of Burial and to make regulations about the management of burial grounds. The Scottish Government have reconvened the Burial Regulations Working Group to consider the regulation of burial authorities and grounds in Scotland, with the next meeting due to take place on the 9th December 2021.

At this time the Scottish Government has no plans to provide financial support to local community groups for the maintenance of burial grounds.

The regulation of medicines and medicinal products, including Cannabis Based Products for Medicinal Use (CBPMs) is reserved to the UK Government, and is the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

The Scottish Government remains committed to helping build the evidence base around the safety, efficacy and quality of CBPMs.

CBPMs contain cannabinoids, including cannabidiol (CBD). Any foods or food supplements containing a CBD must be evaluated for safety, authorised and approved as a novel food before they can be sold in Scotland. At this moment in time there are currently no CBD products that have been authorised for the GB market under the novel foods regulation. You can find more information on Food Standards Scotland's website here .

The smart meter programme is owned and led by the UK Government who have responsibility for the overall policy and the regulatory and commercial framework. Energy suppliers in turn are responsible for planning and delivering the rollout of smart meters on the ground. We will continue to work with BEIS, Ofgem, Smart Energy GB and the wider energy market, to champion the interests of Scottish consumers

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of the rollout of smart meters as a national modernisation programme that will bring benefits to Scottish energy consumers, we do however have continued concerns around the implementation, particularly in regards to delays to communication systems and consumer access to smart meters. Statistics on the Smart Meter roll out are published by BEIS and the latest figures can be found at Q2 2021 Smart Meters Statistics Report (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Following the devolution of powers on consumer advocacy and advice, where people have an issue with their supplier, including related to smart meters, they can contact Advice Direct Scotland at the following web address, https://www.advice.scot/ or by calling 0808 800 9060

The list of premises that are eligible for financial support through the Business Ventilation Fund has now been published on the Scottish Government website. I can confirm that community halls are included in the list of eligible businesses.

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Business Ventilation Fund - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Scottish Government works closely with the Home Office on the requirements for the Passenger Locator Form (PLF). It is a UK wide system as border controls are a reserved matter. However, as health policy is devolved, the Scottish Government ensures that the PLF aligns with Scottish policy and legislation for international travellers arriving into Scotland. The 48 hour completion window for PLF submission is a vital tool which enables Scottish Ministers to act swiftly in response to emerging concerns, such as when changes are made to the country/territory red list, or when new international travel restrictions are announced, often at short notice. The PLF contains specific logic to ensure travellers into Scotland have the met the correct health measure requirements (tests, isolation, managed quarantine) based on where they have travelled from. The trace and compliance response to international travel has required PLF data to be immediately and securely available across health departments. To enable this, the PLF is only available online accessed via Gov.UK. Details of the helpline to provide and advice on completion are also available on Gov.UK. The helpline is not able to complete the PLF on an individual’s behalf.

We are aware that, following our successful public awareness campaign, there is significant public interest in carrying out work to comply with the new standard for fire alarms in all Scottish homes. It is, therefore, possible, that some retailers will have short term supply issues. We are also aware that some manufacturers may be affected by difficulties with imported components. However, 90% of the market share is met by manufacturers with a UK base using European components, and they have assured us that there is a sufficient supply of alarms available to meet the expected demand by 1 February 2022, when the new standard comes into force.

However, I would emphasise that when the legislation comes into force, it says that work should be done within a reasonable period, which takes into account individual circumstances. No home owner will be penalised if they are unable to do the work within that timescale.

Revenue Scotland is responsible for the collection and management of the fully devolved taxes. As such, it has no role in any aspect of the UK Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention scheme.

The First Minister announced funding to support small and medium-sized businesses to make improvements to their ventilation, would be made available. The Business Ventilation Fund opened for applications on 23 November 2022.

Businesses are currently providing information as part of this application process in advance of any funding being issued.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-04128 on 30 November 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

Yes, work is currently in progress to ensure people can access their COVID-19 booster vaccination information in the app and on the paper and PDF versions through the NHS Portal. It is expected this will be available from December 2021, following the recent agreement of international standards on how to display booster information on 18 November.

Proof of booster vaccinations are not currently a requirement of the domestic certification scheme. However, we are aware that a small number of countries have introduced a vaccine ‘expiry’ point as part of their certification arrangements.

In the meantime, people intending to travel should check the entry requirements of the country they are visiting on the GOV.UK foreign travel advice pages, as PCR testing is also widely accepted.