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The Scottish Government remains committed to achieving the 2024 elimination of hepatitis C target; however, we must acknowledge the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on all our health services.

We are working closely with the Scottish Health Protection Network hepatitis C Elimination group and Public Health Scotland to understand the current Hepatitis data. We are actively considering where focused interventions would bring about the biggest impact and support us to reach our target of elimination. We intend to include concrete proposals in the next iteration of the sexual Health and Blood Borne Viruses Framework, which we expect to publish later this year.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07520. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

There are currently no plans for ScotRail to operate passenger services from Lockerbie railway station as it is already served by other Train Operating Companies.

The Board is ensuring the pyramid of support for patients with MS by working in partnership with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s Neurology Service who provide a specialist neurology service through a Service Level Agreement. The NHS Western Isles Neurology Team has weekly discussions with their NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde colleagues to discuss the Team’s caseload.

NHS Western Isles is also working to meet Commitment 9 in the Neurological care and support: framework for action 2020-2025, namely testing innovative ways of delivering health and social care, including new roles and new arrangements for co-ordinating care and support for people with neurological conditions such as MS.

The Board also aims to recruit to an Advanced Clinical Nurse Specialist – Neurology role who will work with the current Parkinson’s specialist nurse to support people with neurological conditions including MS that require specialist support, ensuring equity of care.

Information on the number of MS specialist nurses were in post in each of the last five years is not centrally held.

Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) data by NHS Board from 2009 to the most recent data published in September 2018, can be found at:

https://turasdata.nes.nhs.scot/media/4ndpx4za/clinical_nurse_specialists_s2018.xlsx

Given data quality concerns all historical data, whilst published, should be treated with caution.

A national review into the CNS role and definition is currently underway, NES will work with NHS Boards to cleanse their CNS data once this is complete.

The Scottish Government is working with partners, including the Children and Young People’s Commissioner, on new human rights-based non-statutory guidance to minimise the use of restraint in schools.

The physical intervention working group began work on the new guidance in January 2020. Progress was affected by group members’ focus on the Covid-19 response. However, work resumed in June 2020 and positive progress has been made since then. The working group last met on 23 November 2021. Following that meeting, working group members reached agreement by correspondence that the draft guidance can be put to public consultation. The Scottish Government is currently preparing this consultation.

Details of the membership and notes of the meetings of the physical intervention working group are available on the Scottish Government’s website: Physical Intervention Working Group - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The Scottish Ambulance Service does not produce statistics based on free-text searches, as this data would require a significant amount of resource for analysis and clinical input.

The COVID-19 Advisory Sub-Group on Education and Children’s Issues noted in its recently published evidence summary , that the evidence continues to indicate that teachers do not have an increased risk of severe disease. Guidance for all schools has been updated to reflect public health guidance on symptoms of a respiratory infection, including COVID-19 and we are asking ask people to continue to take sensible, basic steps in order to protect themselves and others in the same way as we do within shops and on public transport.

In relation to those who are clinically vulnerable, the Scottish Government announced on 27 April that we will formally end the Highest Risk List on 31 May 2022. The success of the vaccination programme, and availability of new medicines to treat Covid-19, mean the majority of people on the list are at no greater risk from Covid-19 than the rest of the population in Scotland.

The Chief Medical Officer has for some time advised people on the Highest Risk List to follow the same advice as the rest of the population unless advised otherwise by their GP or clinician. This applies equally to household members of people on the list and includes going into schools and early learning and childcare settings. He has also advised people whose immune system is suppressed to take extra care and follow the advice of their GP or clinician as they would have done before the pandemic.

At this stage in the pandemic it is no longer considered necessary or proportionate to continue to ask school staff and secondary pupils to test regularly. This is in line with advice from Public Health Scotland, senior clinicians and the Advisory Sub-group on Education and Children’s Issues. That advice makes clear that the population currently has much stronger protection against COVID-19 than at any other point in the pandemic, due to the vaccination programme (levels of vaccination are very high amongst school staff) and the development of natural immunity to the infection. In contrast to the position when the testing programme was first introduced, severe health outcomes for all age groups are far less likely to arise due to this protection, availability of and access to antiviral treatments, and increased scientific and public understanding about how to manage risk.

The Scottish Government is currently undertaking a review of permitted development rights (PDR) as part of its wider planning reform programme. The review is being taken forward on a phased basis, with each phase focussing on specific types of development.

We intend to consult on proposals relating to private ways (sometimes referred to as ‘hill tracks’) through phase 3 of the review. The detailed scope and timing of the phase 3 consultation is currently under review.

The Scottish Council on Global Affairs (SCGA) is a fully independent international relations institute which was founded by the University of Edinburgh, the University of St Andrews and the University of Glasgow.

Staffing plans, location and its remit, including its overall management are the responsibility of the SCGA. Further information can be found on their website: The Scottish Council on Global Affairs (scga.scot) .