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It is not for Scottish Government to determine whether or not criminality has occurred. This would be a matter for Police Scotland to consider.

The Scottish Government and its agencies are considering what further internal investigations are required. Once completed this work will be shared with Audit Scotland.

All parties will cooperate fully with any further investigation by Audit Scotland.

In October 2014, CMAL initiated procurement of vessel 801 and 802. The Scottish Government was not party to the procurement process, which was managed by CMAL.

The Scottish Government has regular and ongoing engagement with VisitScotland to discuss the role they play in supporting and promoting Scottish destinations, including the South of Scotland. The Scottish Government also receives weekly written updates about the work of VisitScotland.

Most recently the Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise Minister Ivan McKee met with VisitScotland CEO Malcolm Roughead on 27 October. Discussion included a range of issues including updates on the delivery of local marketing campaigns, supported through the Destination and Sector Marketing fund, which are helping to reach new audiences. In the South of Scotland this includes work with organisations including South of Scotland Destination Alliance, Whithorn Trust, Ayrshire & Arran Destination Alliance, Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce, Visit East Lothian, Scotland’s Golf Coast and Dunbar Traders Association.

VisitScotland remain focused on rebuilding international demand and are working hand in hand with their partners in the tourism and events industry to rebuild this vital part of Scotland’s economy and provide the right support to lead the recovery. Their activity promotes the whole of Scotland as a destination, including regional-focused campaigns. Recent campaigns feature a significant amount of South Scotland content and cover a range of destinations. This includes promotion in PR, film content, social media, web content.

It is important to note that resilience of the Communications Sector, which includes telecommunications and internet, is reserved and therefore the responsibility of the UK Government.

The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is operator-owned and the operators are entitled to replace or remove it, so long as they continue to meet their regulatory obligations.

To ensure that consumers can still make emergency calls during a power cut, Ofcom has placed regulatory obligations on telecoms providers.?

The guidance states that providers must have at least one solution (such as a battery back-up unit or means to connect to a mobile network) available that enables customers to access emergency organisations for a minimum of one hour in the event of a power cut, and that it must be offered free of charge to customers who are at risk as they are dependent on their landline.

The Scottish Government will continue to engage closely with the UK Government and the regulator (Ofcom) for assurance that resilience of the telecoms network in Scotland is a priority.

Yes. As previously stated during the long COVID debate on 19 th May 2022 we committed to allocate “ funding of £3 million to health boards across 2022-23 to bolster the support that they are already providing to people with long COVID ”. This was confirmed in the Programme for Government 2022-23, published in September 2022, which stated that “ we will invest £3 million this year through the long COVID Support Fund to assist those living with long-term effects of infection .”

To provide patients with some reassurance around the possible length of their wait, the Scottish Government have launched a new online platform, which is available at https://www.nhsinform.scot/waiting-times . Developed in conjunction with NHS 24 and PHS, the platform provides patients with information on planned care waiting times by giving an indication of how long patients typically waited over the last quarter. This includes information on the number of patients admitted for treatment as well as the typical wait experienced by people during this time period.

We recognise the impact that long waiting times can have on a patient’s mental health, so the platform also includes information for patients to keep as fit and healthy as possible while waiting for treatment. In addition, the Healthy living | NHS inform page provides advice and tools which includes information on mental wellbeing.

In an effort to reduce the waiting time for patients awaiting cataract surgery, Health Boards across NHSScotland are undertaking additional cataract surgical sessions and independent sector contractors are providing additional support, within NHS facilities, to increase the number of cataract procedures delivered. This will reduce the overall number of patients waiting for surgery as well as their length of wait.

In tandem with this – and in line with guidance from the Royal College of Ophthalmologists - Scottish Government clinically led peer reviews are taking place across all Health Boards. Supporting teams to adopt more efficient ways of working in order to increase the number of patients that can be treated within each cataract only surgical session forms part of these reviews.

Sequential bilateral cataract surgery is also undertaken by some surgeons, particularly in remote and rural areas and where patients’ ability to work has been affected. This prevents duplication of effort across the patient’s journey, as well as reducing the carbon footprint.

The Scottish Government has also commissioned the Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) to support an increase in theatre productivity, including the development of a national Blueprint which will outline how Health Boards can increase efficiency across the cataract surgical journey. This will be disseminated to all Health Boards in the coming weeks.

The Scottish Government assesses the need for public health awareness campaigns regularly. Scottish Government officials will work closely with the Stroke Improvement Team, which provides support and guidance to Managed Clinical Networks and the National Advisory Committee for Stroke, and other stakeholders to better understand what resources may be required for 2023, including the need for funding for a FAST campaign. Information regarding the symptoms of stroke, including the FAST test, is available on NHS Inform .

I understand that the delivery of Harland and Wolff's contract with the developers of the Neart na Gaoithe (NNG) offshore wind farm for eight turbine jackets has now been reduced to four turbine jackets due to supply chain issues with component parts.

Whilst the number of jackets has been reduced by 50%, I understand that this will only reduce the contract value by around 10%-15%.

Due to commercial confidentiality the exact job number linked to the NNG are not available but as part of H&W overall Scotland project, it is forecast that a total of 1,042 jobs are expected to be created by H&W Methil over a 5-year period – 614 at Methil and 428 at Arnish.

I understand that the delivery of Harland and Wolff's contract with the developers of the Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm for eight turbine jackets has now been reduced to four turbine jackets due to supply issues. I believe the balance of the contract will be installed next year.