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The Scottish Government is committed to dualling the A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen. Design work is well underway on the dualling programme, including the East of Huntly to Aberdeen stretch of the route. Delivery of the schemes that make up the dualling programme can only commence if they are approved under the relevant statutory process and thereafter a timetable for their progress can be set in line with available budgets.

Improvements to the existing A96 dual carriageway and its junctions between the AWPR and Inverurie, will be considered as part of the ongoing development and assessment of the East of Huntly to Aberdeen stretch of the route and will be subject to further public engagement as part of this process. The development and assessment of any improvements to the existing dual carriageway between Kintore and Aberdeen will follow the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges Stage 2 options assessment process.

In line with the Scottish Government’s construction sector guidance ground investigation site work has resumed on the A96 Dualling Programme.

Site work on the Preliminary Ground Investigation contracts for the preferred option on A96 Dualling Hardmuir to Fochabers scheme commenced on 27 January 2020 and were substantially complete when work was suspended on 23 March 2020 following COVID-19 guidance. Borehole monitoring has recommenced and is expected to continue for a period of 12 months. Outstanding site work on the scheme is currently being re-mobilised for completion in the coming months.

The published Coronavirus (COVID-19): local protection levels guidance indicates that for level 3, visitor attractions, such as museums and galleries, can remain open with protective measures. This is the same status as that for public buildings for level 3.

The protective measures include ensuring physical distancing and hygiene measures are in place. Face coverings indoors are compulsory for all visitors and staff. All museums and galleries should follow the measures set out in the museums, galleries and heritage attractions guidance to ensure the safety of staff and the visiting public.

There are no current plans to review the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (Scotland) Regulations 1984.

The Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) is a standards organisation which, through the participation of over 200 independent industry and consumer protection experts, creates and maintains standards underpinning the certification of products, installers and their installations. The certification scheme is run on behalf of MCS by Certification Bodies who hold UKAS accreditation to ISO 17065, the international standard governing the operation and impartiality of accredited Certification Bodies.

Scottish Ministers recognise the crucial role that oil and gas workers, as key workers, are continuing to play in not only maintaining a secure supply of energy to consumers at this time, but sustaining critical national infrastructure throughout this pandemic.

We have already committed £100 million in 2020-21 to support those looking for work or at risk of redundancy to retrain and get back into work. This includes a £60 million fund to provide a job guarantee for young people, a new £25 million National Transition Training Fund and more funding to provide immediate assistance and advice if people are made redundant . with Skills Development Scotland continuing to offer PACE support services to all employees facing redundancy.

We have also launched a £62 million Energy Transition Fund which will support businesses in the oil, gas and energy sectors to grow and diversify and will help to attract private sector investment, with key projects located within the North East of Scotland, including support for the Energy Transition Zone proposed for Aberdeen South Harbour.

This investment in the Energy Transition Fund is a direct response to requests from industry stakeholders and members of the Oil and Gas and Energy Transition Strategic Leadership Group for support. The £62 million in investment will help unlock an overall private and public sector investment package in excess of £900 million and, in doing so, it will protect existing jobs and create new jobs in the energy sector, and help us make significant progress on energy transition as we move toward a net zero society by 2045.

The Scottish Government will also continue to work closely with the UK Government, which retains many of the key powers and levers needed to support the sector, including on the delivery of a transformational North Sea Transition Deal to complement the funding committed by Scottish Ministers through the Energy Transition Fund.

Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROM) have the potential to provide vital information in how we configure our services. A range of very effective digital solutions are already in place to support these. Our Cancer Recovery Plan will set out the national support we will provide to assessing the potential and value of these, linking with other digital strategies, and guiding pan-Scotland approaches to adoption.

Alongside this, we are considering innovative ways to safely carry on remote monitoring in a COVID-19 context.

While improving fire safety remains a key priority, the Scottish Government recognises the challenges, due to COVID-19, that affect all home owners, including those who are shielding, and which will impact on the work needed to meet the new safety standards for fire and smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.

In light of these challenges, I intend to bring forward regulations shortly which, subject to Parliamentary approval, will amend the commencement date for new minimum standards to 1 February 2022, allowing more time for the work required to meet the standards.

The regulation and funding of electricity networks are reserved to the UK Government. However, we are engaging closely with Ofgem and BEIS to ensure that its policy and regulation recognises and enables Scotland’s world leading net zero target, and unlocks investments and jobs in Scotland. I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-32359 on 26 October 2020 for more detail on this engagement.

To deliver strategic investment, Scotland’s electricity network owners– Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) and SP Energy Networks (SPEN) – need to have clear understanding of the energy system their networks will need to serve. The Scottish Government is working closely with SSEN and SPEN to ensure that they understand the scale and pace for decarbonisation Scotland, and to help them build well-justified business plans for the required investment. This has led to the creation of strategic partnerships looking at the network investment and regulatory issues associated with heat and transport decarbonisation.

Since the Electric Vehicle (EV) Strategic Partnership was launched in August last year, the Scottish Government, including Transport Scotland, SSEN and SPEN have been working closely to develop a number of demonstrator projects aimed at exploring new ways of coordinating EV charging and electricity network infrastructure to ensure efficient investment. One of the EV Strategic Partnership Charter’s objectives is to produce recommendations for Ofgem, UK government and others on an accelerated model for the coordinated delivery of EV and electricity network infrastructure.

Electricity networks will also be vital to decarbonising our heat demand. Investment in those networks to ensure that they can accommodate heat pumps in buildings will be vital, as will the connection of larger scale heat pumps as a source of low carbon heat for the heat networks enabled by upcoming Scottish Parliament legislation. In March 2020 a Heat Decarbonisation Strategic Working Group was established between Scottish Government and both Scottish DNOs to ensure that Scotland’s electricity networks are able to support and facilitate the decarbonisation of heat.

Both partnerships are playing a crucial part in gathering the evidence which will be an essential in making the case for strategic investment across Scotland’s electricity distribution networks.

I also chair, alongside Professor Keith Bell from the University of Strathclyde, the Scottish Energy Networks Strategic Leadership Group comprising representatives from all Scottish networks, independent consumer representation, National Grid ESO and Ofgem. This Group, which reports to our Scottish Energy Advisory Board, on which I sit and which is co-chaired by the First Minister and Professor Sir Jim McDonald of Strathclyde University, provides a platform to discuss all issues related to the electricity and gas networks and their role in supporting our net zero and green recovery goals, including strategic investment.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Based on current information provided by BT, we expect around 90% of the contract build in the Central and South lots will be completed by the end of 2023. As set out in my answer to your recent parliamentary question [S5W-31777 on 30 September 2020], we anticipate that the contract for the North lot will be signed by the end of this calendar year.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx