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We are aware that the percentage of eligible young people holding cards providing free bus travel under the new Young Persons’ Scheme varies between local authorities. There will be a variety of reasons for this, including different levels of local awareness and interest in the scheme and also variations in how different local authorities handle applications which come to them rather than through the national online portal, getyournec.scot, and Transport Scotland’s Pass Collect app (for people between 16 and 21 who already possess an active NEC or Young Scot NEC card). We estimate that the number of cards produced and dispatched for South Lanarkshire as of 19 April 2022 represented 14% of the eligible population.

We are working with our delivery partners, including the Improvement Service and local authorities, to identify and support improvements to both online and offline processes to maximise the uptake of scheme and get cards issued faster. One such measure, which we are encouraging, is to coordinate applications through schools on behalf of pupils. Some authorities are already doing this, including – we understand – South Lanarkshire for pupils moving up to secondary school.

The identification, assessment and management of people with long-term effects of COVID-19 in Scotland is guided by the UK-wide clinical guideline developed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) and the Royal College of GPs.

This guideline is clear that there is no requirement to prove previous COVID infection via a positive test in order to access an assessment or be considered for referral for further investigations or specialist input.

The Scottish Government is actively supporting the implementation of the clinical guideline in Scotland, including through our long COVID ‘Implementation Support Note’ and our collaboration with SIGN on its online ‘Decision Support Tool’ on managing the long term effects of COVID-19.

The Scottish Government is not a reporting agency for cyber attacks in Scotland. When notified of a cyber incident under the Scottish Public Sector Notifiable Cyber Incident Procedure and Policy, the Scottish Government together with other relevant partners supports organisations with immediate cyber incident management and response, rather than their long-term recovery.

Public sector bodies generally manage their recovery processes themselves, dependant on their own circumstances. The Scottish Government does not collate information on the costs to the Scottish public bodies incurred as a result of cyber attacks.

The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested. The data we receive from Police Scotland for production of the Recorded Crime in Scotland National Statistics is a simple count of the numbers of crimes and offences, for each local authority, which the police have recorded and cleared up in each financial year. We do not receive further details on the characteristics and circumstances of individual crimes, including the age of any victim(s).

The benefits of a Deposit Return Scheme to businesses are not only a function of container numbers. As well as reimbursement to retailers through the handling fee, the benefit to businesses includes: savings from waste uplift costs for hospitality return points, reduced operational costs for private waste management companies (relating to uplifts from hospitality customers, albeit offset by reduced income from these activities), avoided compliance costs for producers, and income to the reverse vending machine service industry, as well as potential advertising revenue.

The economic model underpinning the figures in the amended final Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment takes account of a number of factors, and costs and benefits do not necessarily increase in proportion to the change in input. In this case, the addition of 0.5bn containers increases costs through greater potential for fraudulently redeemed containers, but also increases the benefits both from more income from sale of materials and from unredeemed deposits.

I am committed to engagement of the type I think Ms Hamilton is suggesting. I, and my officials, frequently meet with land management stakeholders, including organisations representing gamekeepers, and I am due to meet again with the Scottish Gamekeepers Association shortly. We expect to continue to engage with those stakeholders on issues affecting the sector, including specific issues relating to gamekeeping now and as we move forwards with tackling the biodiversity and climate emergencies.

All food businesses are required to comply with the relevant requirements of food law. This includes the requirement to register as a food business with their Local Authority Environmental Health team, to comply with food safety and compositional requirements as well as food labelling requirements where applicable. This applies to food businesses that are operated out of commercial premises as well as those operated from domestic premises. A range of enforcement options are available to officers to ensure compliance.

In response to the pandemic and the resulting impact on the inspection regime, FSS & LA’s have worked in partnership to create a Recovery Plan. This adopts a risk based approach to inspections and prioritises the inspection of high risk businesses and unrated new businesses.

FSS has published a new online resource to support new and prospective businesses. The tool is designed to aid food businesses owners understand their responsibilities, including to first and foremost register with their authority.

Anyone with concerns that a business is operating in breach of the requirements is encouraged to report the matter to their Local Authority Environmental Health team.

The Marine Fund Scotland was launched in March 2021, with £14m awarded over the financial year 2021-22. The fund will shortly reopen for funding bids over the 2022-23 financial year.

The Scottish Sarcoma Network is tasked with ensuring equity of care for all patients in Scotland with sarcoma, and for conducting audits of the quality of care provided to improve quality of life for all patients.

Sarcoma clinical management guidelines (CMGs) include the investigations and staging performed by radiology, and the guidelines outline the recommended treatment pathway for patients, promoting the equitable provision of high quality care. Guidelines are not designed to substitute the role of the clinician, but to support the most appropriate treatment decisions taken within the multi-disciplinary team.

These CMGs are based on UK, European and global guidelines and are being reviewed by the network, with bone, soft tissue, gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) and cutaneous (skin) CMGs currently in review, and breast and head and neck CMGs in development.

Lastly, the Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) enables all radiologists to work together, and scans indicating a suspicion of sarcoma can be discussed with a sarcoma specialist radiologist.