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To confirm, the Welcome desk at Glasgow airport is staffed and my officials continue to work in partnership with the local authority to provide support and services for all arrivals. I am aware of one incident where an individual arrived to an unattended desk, however there was signage in place directing them to contact a helpline number. The individual in question is being well supported and is safely housed, and has expressed gratitude to the Health and Social Care Partnership for all their support and assistance.

The Scottish Government does not hold this level of information, however, I can assure you that the Glasgow airport welcome desk is staffed to coincide with individuals from Ukraine arriving who may require assistance. Outwith daytime hours, signage providing telephone numbers is set up at both the domestic and international arrivals area. A welcome hub has also been established at Glasgow Airport, where displaced people will be fully supported, including an immediate needs assessment. The Welcome Hubs are multi-agency and local authority led. In addition to this, our national contact centre reaches out to people we know have received their visa before they travel to Scotland. Through this we are able to offer travel advice and obtain planned arrival information, including where and when someone is planning to arrive in Scotland.

The responsibility for the organisation and funding of secure transport lies principally with the local authority responsible for the child’s placement. Information on the use of restraint applied to care-experienced children whilst being securely transported is not held centrally.

The Scottish Government has a contract with GEOAmey for escorting children serving a custodial sentence within secure care, who are Scottish Ministers’ responsibility. As part of that contract GEOAmey must provide the Scottish Government with details of when restraint is used. No incidents of restraint have been recorded during the current contract.

At the present time 25 of these diesel trains operate between Scotland’s key cities and their replacement is planned with electric or bi-mode intercity trains at the earliest possible time, which is expected to be when Network Rail has completed the electrification of all or most of the routes they serve.

The current Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service contract is due to expire in September 2024. Development and planning work is currently underway by officials to consider potential options for future contracts and to create an engagement plan for key stakeholders and local communities.

This work would usually be at a more refined stage but has been impacted largely due to staff resources being redeployed over the past two years to manage the challenges presented by the Covid -19 pandemic. We will be announcing further detail in due course.

As part of the £145,000 funding we announced earlier in March, we are in the process of commissioning research into support services in Scotland. The analysis and research will help us to understand what support is needed to help the people affected by historical adoption practices.

We have also introduced a working group to assist with the implementation of peer support groups where we are working with partners to scope and develop the support service.

CalMac Ferries ltd is not listed as a Relevant Authority in the Islands (Scotland) Act, and is therefore not subject to duties under the Act.

The Scottish Government does not currently have plans to conduct an under 16 cancer patient survey. The Managed Service Network for Children and Young People with Cancer published a strategy in September 2021, ‘ Collaborative and Compassionate Cancer Care ’, which commits to improving services nationally and supporting a consistent approach to care and treatment across the country for children and young people up to the age of 25. This strategy was developed through consultation with service users, parents and carers, partner organisations and NHS Scotland staff.

The requested information on retirement numbers is not centrally held. NHS Education for Scotland publishes annual data on joiners/leavers, but this information is not available by reason for leaving or destination.

Information on joiners/leavers by staff group for each financial year can be found (turnover tab) here: https://turasdata.nes.nhs.scot/data-and-reports/official-workforce-statistics/all-official-statistics-publications/01-march-2022-workforce/dashboards/nhsscotland-workforce/?pageid=6429

Health Boards are responsible for conducting pre-retirement interviews and no data is held on this centrally. The Scottish Government would expect Boards to ensure that managers engage with staff at all points within their career as a matter of good practice, including prior to retirement to discuss staff experience and career journeys.

The Scottish Government's 'Supporting the work-life balance' PIN Policy contains provisions for supporting staff approaching retirement, including the opportunity to attend a pre-retirement course where they will have access to a wide range of information to support their retirement planning: https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/corporate-report/2015/07/supporting-worklife-balance-partnership-information-network-policies/documents/supporting-work-life-balance-pin-policy-july-2015/supporting-work-life-balance-pin-policy-july-2015/govscot%3Adocument/00481986.pdf

Following receipt of the Royal College of Nursing's recent 'Nursing Workforce in Scotland' report, I was fortunate to attend a roundtable event on 30 March, hosted by the RCN, to hear directly from nurses on their priorities and concerns. These discussions will inform work with Health Boards to explore what more can be done to ensure even greater workforce flexibility.

This is a matter for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Highland. The information requested is not held centrally.