Seòmar agus comataidhean

Expert advice from virologists and epidemiologists within Scottish Government and the Animal Plant and Health Agency (APHA), shows that avian influenza is circulating widely in wild bird populations. There are very few effective interventions that will prevent the spread of the disease in wild birds. However, the Scottish Government, NatureScot and APHA have put in place a response plan which aims to:

• Ensure effective triage and testing is in place. This intelligence is used to link wild bird movements into national risk assessments and biosecurity measures, and identify any new species contributing to wider infection pathways.
• Provide advice on disposal of diseased carcases of wild birds.
• Monitor impacts on colonies/mortalities.
• Provide advice on access restrictions for bird ringing, research, licensable activities and land management activities.
• Develop future conservation/management plans for species affected by HPAI.

With regards specifically to geese; following the suspension of licences for goose management as I outlined in my response to S6W-09329 on 15 July 2022 and in all cases where licences to manage geese with lethal control were suspended, NatureScot made offers of support with non-lethal scaring to protect grass crops. That support generally was in the form of a contribution towards the purchase of scaring equipment such as gas guns and other bird scaring equipment.

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 .

Recognising that some occupations were restricted by capacity and age due to the physical demands of those roles, the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 set a pension age of 60 for those in uniform services. The definition of such personnel was restricted to police, fire and the armed forces (Hutton Inquiry).

Unlike those uniform groups, prison officers do not have a dedicated pension scheme as they are members of the Civil Service pension scheme, which is a reserved matter for the UK Government. The Scottish Government opposed the attack on public pensions following the Hutton Inquiry and in particular the requirement for prison officers to carry out frontline operational duties including control and restraint until the age of 68.

SPS do not assess age to determine whether a prison officer is capable of carrying out their duties but recognises that front line staff work in a very challenging environment and are committed to a person centred approach to all employees and their circumstances. SPS has arrangements in place to support staff who may no longer be able to fulfil the physical demands of their role and these cases are managed in accordance with the circumstances of each individual.

As of March 2022, there were 916 LEZ compliant taxis in Edinburgh and 465 in Glasgow. For non-compliant taxis, there were 359 in Edinburgh and 954 in Glasgow.

The Scottish Government has made Low Emission Zone (LEZ) Support fund grants available since late 2019. I can confirm that a further £5 million has been allocated to the LEZ Support Fund for 2022-23.

The LEZ Support fund (administered by Energy Savings Trust) offers a grant of up to £2,000 per vehicle for the safe disposal of non-LEZ compliant vehicles. Owners can put this funding towards the purchase of a LEZ compliant vehicle or to one that is suitable for retrofit.

The LEZ Retrofit fund offers a grant of up to £10,000 per vehicle (or up to 80% of the capital costs) to bring non-compliant vehicles up to LEZ standards.

Interest-free loans are also available through the Energy Saving Trust (funded by Transport Scotland) to enable owners and operators of hackney cabs or private hire taxis to replace their current vehicle with an eligible ultra-low emission vehicle.

Our website at www.scotlandsuperfast.com is the main means of publicising the R100 programme, of which R100 SBVS is a key component - information is largely updated in-house with more extensive changes commissioned, as and when required.

In addition, we have publicised R100 SBVS via the press, social media, and through continued stakeholder engagement activity across Scotland – including informing all registered suppliers of the extension to the interim voucher portion of R100 SBVS. We have received extensive coverage and reach across local and national media outlets and social media at no cost.

In March 2021, we distributed postcards to around 30,000 SBVS-eligible properties across Scotland. This activity cost around £12,900 plus VAT.

It is a priority to ensure that patients are able to access NHS dental care. To support patient care and access, we have recently announced revised payment arrangements for dentists from 1 April that will more closely link payments to the number of patients seen and treatments provided. Additionally, from 1st February we also introduced an enhanced examination fee for both adults and children.

We have also committed to abolishing dental charges in the lifetime of this Parliament and that will help to remove at least one of the barriers to accessing high-quality NHS dental services.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09235 on 18 July 2022. 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09235 on 18 July 2022. 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 .

This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. NHS dental services are provided by independent contractors/high street dentists and any management information on waiting times will be held by each practice. There is no central consolidation of this information, nor definition of waits in dentistry.

The Scottish Government is aware that Optima Health, Police Scotland’s occupational health and employee assistance programme providers, have advised that there are no issues in terms of availability of appointments at present.