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The licensing of medicines is reserved to the UK Government, and is the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The Scottish Government has no formal powers in this area.

Integrated Joint Bodies are best placed to decide how funding can be used to best respond to local needs in their own communities. To allow them to do so, Scottish Government funding to support Alcohol and Drug Partnership projects is transferred to the NHS Boards via their baseline allocations for onward delegation to Integration Authorities. This year NHS Ayrshire and Arran received £6,779,624.

That funding has increased dramatically as part of the national mission to tackle the drug deaths emergency in Scotland: we are allocating an additional £250 million over the next five years to improve and increase access to services for people affected by drug addiction.

We are clear that any opportunities to engage with people in crisis, including those who have experienced near-fatal overdose, should be explored in order to encourage access to appropriate treatment. The implementation of the new Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) standards will ensure that anyone identified through hospital admission as being at risk of drug-related harms or near-fatal overdose will be identified, prioritised and supported into the treatment that is right for them.

The flu vaccination and covid vaccination is a joint programme in Scotland, eligible citizens are offered both vaccinations at a single appointment. Staff can therefore not be delineated by vaccination type. Management information indicates that during the period 17 – 23 Nov c. 1,470 whole time equivalent (WTE) vaccinators were deployed by Health Boards (1 x WTE = 37.5 hours per week); staffing deployment on the programme is kept under active review Head count will be significantly higher as vaccinations staff work a variety of different working patterns, in line with local needs and clinic opening hours. This figure does not include administration and support staff which varies by both Health Board setting and clinic type.

The Scottish Government is clear that we expect gamekeepers, alongside other land managers, will play a key role in our plans to protect and restore biodiversity, and ensure that the land is managed to help us mitigate and adapt to climate change. We also recognise the economic and social value that sporting estates can bring to rural communities. As we develop and implement policy in these areas we will seek opportunities to engage with gamekeepers both formally and informally and we hope they will continue to share their expertise and experience.

The Scottish Government’s commitment to train 500 Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANPs) by 2021 was met by August 2021. As of September 2021, 536 nurses had completed their Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Nursing Practice (PG Dip ANP).

Since 25 January 2019 until 13 October 2021, the period covered by S6W-03688, there have been 19 fixed penalty notices unpaid, compared to 93 paid.

This makes a payment rate over the period of 83%.

The breakdown is as follows:

(a) 7 of the 19 cases were referred to the COPFS for consideration of prosecution; and

(b) 3 of these cases resulted in convictions and fines with the breakdown as follows:

Table 1 shows the total number of patients seen for first treatment following referral to CAMH Services, and the number of patients seen who waited more than 18 weeks between referral and first treatment appointment in CAMH Services for each year between January 2015 and up to the latest published data for quarter ending September 2021.

The Scottish Government national standard is that 90% of children and young people should start treatment within 18 weeks of referral.

Table 1: Total number of patients seen and waiting times from referral to treatment, NHS Scotland

We must make sure our decisions on all of the COVID protection measures are necessary, proportionate and targeted in delivering our four harms approach to alleviating the direct harms of COVID-19, the indirect health harms, and the social and economic harms. We continue to take and review decisions based on the latest evidence from clinical and scientific literature, from public opinion, and from international experience.

Our review process includes regular engagement with businesses about the protection measures which will help us to break the chains of transmission, and that is set out in the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment.

Our Fair Fares Review is part of a broader package of work being taken forward by Transport Scotland to ensure that there is a viable and sustainable transport system for the future. Immediate priorities for this work include ensuring that our transport system is aligned with the prevailing Covid-19 conditions, providing up to date guidance and communications support to passengers and operators, and securing a safe and confident return to public transport at the right time as we recover from the pandemic.

The Fair Fares Review, which is currently in its planning stages, is being undertaken to ensure a sustainable and integrated approach to public transport fares in the future. The review will look at the range of discounts and concessionary schemes which are available on all modes including bus, rail and ferry. It will take cognisance of the cost and availability of services, and will consider options against a background where the costs of car travel are declining and public transport costs are increasing.

Given the present state of the pandemic, Transport Scotland is currently considering how stakeholders can most effectively engage with the review and further details on this and on the timescale for the review will be provided to Parliament in due course.

The Abellio ScotRail franchise agreement, currently in place (which has been temporarily varied by Emergency Measures Agreements), will be replaced by a Grant Agreement which will take effect from 1 April 2022, when ScotRail Trains Limited will take over the operation of ScotRail passenger services in Scotland.