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The information requested is not published. Any information on second dose appointments is used to show people their upcoming scheduled appointments, and a record of cancelled appointments is used to track Did Not Attend (DNA) rates. However, the specific information requested regarding under-16s is not available.

Children and young people age 12-15 are being offered a first dose of the vaccine. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) will continue to review data and evidence on second doses for children and young people aged 12-15 once more data on second doses in this age group has accrued internationally.

We are aware of an issue where a small number of under-16s were incorrectly issued invitations to for a 2 nd dose. This was mainly in the central belt, however the people affected were quickly identified, the appointments cancelled, and revised communications were issued to those affected.

The Scottish Government has never received an offer from the UK Government to adapt its app to support our needs. It is appropriate that we design a scheme that is right for Scotland, works in our context, and offers us the flexibility to adapt to our changing circumstances.

There are no current plans to lower the age limit in relation to COVID-19 certification scheme. We continue to keep the scheme under regular review.

There is clear clinical evidence that the vaccination reduces the risk of serious harm and we recommend that all adults, even those how have had Covid, should be vaccinated. One of the aims of the certification programme is to promote the uptake of the vaccine and for that reasons antibody status is not within scope. We will keep the parameters for certification under review.

The British Medical Association (BMA) and I issued a joint statement to all practices on face-to-face appointments as a result of multiple discussions between both parties.

For many years now, in person face-to-face appointments form part of a hybrid model of options that are offered to patients including video consultations, telephone consultations and in person face-to-face appointments. The pandemic changed the balance between these appointment types. While we are clear that face to face appointments must increase we also recognise that for a number of patients they will wish to continue with telephone or video consultations. Changes to physical distancing guidance will assist practices to safely increase more face to face appointments.

Importantly the type of appointment offered should be agreed through shared decision making, balancing patient choice and autonomy, and practice circumstances/capacity and clinical judgement.

I last met with the BMA on 25 October 2021.

The dataset which was used to advise of the number of fatal accident inquiry recommendations is the Fatal Accident Inquiry Report 2020-2021. The statistics that inform the report are compiled by Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service and confirmed with Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

The report was laid before the Scottish Parliament on 17 June 2021 and published on the Scottish Government website gov.scot.

Fatal Accident Inquiries (FAIs): statistics 2020-2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The published information is set out below.

The statistics for the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 for Fatal Accident Inquiries under the 2016 Act are as follows.

• Number of FAIs that ended during the year: 61
• Number in which recommendations requiring a response were made: 8
• Number of such recommendations made: 18
• Number of such recommendations in relation which a response was received by SCTS under section 28(1): 17
• Number of such recommendations in relation to which a notice was published by SCTS under section 28(7) (signalling that no response was received): 1

All 2016 Act determinations, recommendations and responses are accessible from the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service web portal at: http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/the-courts/sheriff-court/fatal-accidents

The manufacturing facility in Machrihanish is a major asset to the local Kintyre area and should be fully active and providing valuable local employment. The majority of the workforce was made redundant throughout late 2019/early 2020 following a significant gap in the company’s order book (c90 employees). PACE support was provided to employees at that time. Only one employee remained onsite to manage the upkeep of the facility throughout 2020 until the company entered into administration on 8 September 2021.

Officials within Scottish Government have regular, sometimes daily discussions with equivalent renewable energy sector team officials within Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). Immediately following the announcement that the company had entered into administration, HIE officials contacted Scottish Government officials to inform them so that this information could be relayed to Scottish Ministers.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The following tables detail the (a) Average Occupancy (b) Design Capacity and (c) the Occupancy Rate of each prison between March 2021 to September 2021.

The Occupancy Rate and the Design Capacity rate are the average for each calendar month.

MARCH 2021

Determinations by Sheriffs are a matter of judicial independence and it would not be appropriate for Scottish Government to comment on specific determinations or the approach of the judiciary in general. The Sheriff has heard the evidence and is the only one in a position to decide if recommendations are necessary. In individual cases, the Sheriff may conclude, given the particular circumstances, that no recommendation should be made.

Whilst statistical data in this report points to differences between Sheriffdoms in the rate of making findings, the report noted that ‘The numbers here are too small to assess statistical significance and therefore qualitative investigation will be a priority of future research.’

We welcome this future research and will give consideration to the findings.

As a Government, we take deaths in custody very seriously, which is why the former Cabinet Secretary for Justice asked the HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland to undertake two independent reviews on deaths in custody.

Fatal Accident Inquiries play a significant role in ensuring there are systems to safeguard and protect those held in legal custody. However, they are just one part of the system for scrutinising deaths in custody. In addition, the prison service, with the NHS and other relevant organisations, carry out a Death in Prison Learning Audit and Review meeting normally within 12 weeks of all deaths in custody. This provides a system for recording any learning and identified actions from individual incidents.