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The decision to support Heathrow airport’s expansion was taken by the UK Government and UK Parliament.

The Scottish Government remain committed to the memorandum of understanding with Heathrow and I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-30436 on 27 July 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at .

The Scottish Government is not currently planning to introduce a mass antibody testing programme prior to the rollout of the COVID Vaccination Programme. We continue to monitor emerging evidence with respect the protective effect of Covid-19 antibodies, and the role of antibody testing in the context of vaccination deployment is being kept under review.

The Scottish Scientific Advisory Board on Testing, chaired by Professor David Crossman, continues to lead on reviewing Scottish, UK and International evidence around antibody response in order to inform policy development. National surveillance and research studies, led by Public Health Scotland, will contribute to knowledge on antibody response and prevalence. The Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisations will provide expert clinical advice to Ministers to help inform decision making on how any vaccine supply is used in Scotland.

NHS Scotland Virology experts recommend that the LumiraDX SARS-CoV2 Antigen Test is used for symptomatic individuals showing clinical signs or symptoms compatible with COVID-19 on admission to hospital.

This will help ensure symptomatic patients are tested quickly and results returned rapidly, preventing unintended consequences relating to patient flow and reduce the risk of backlogs in our emergency departments.

Adoption of the LumiraDx Test for testing symptomatic patients on admission will remain a decision of the local Health Board in the context of their infrastructure, local systems, processes, pathways and workflows.

Plans for the expansion of testing – including patient testing on admission to hospital – were set out in Parliament on 25th November 2020

Viral culture is not recommended diagnostic practice, as outlined in current advice on diagnostic testing for SARS CoV-2 by the WHO, as linked below. RT-PCR tests are used to identify and amplify specific sections of the viral genome “targets”. The document can be found here: - .

Universities began the asymptomatic testing of students on 30 November. Testing is being offered on a voluntary basis to all university and college students who are changing households or returning home at the end of term and is being administered by individual institutions. Two tests will be necessary, 3 days apart, with PCR confirmation for positive results.

We have published and an for students, which sets out more detail on the testing programme. We are committed to working with universities to offer testing on a similar basis to students on their staggered arrival for the start of next term and will provide further detail on the testing arrangements in due course.

The two projects funded by the Saltire Tidal Energy Challenge Fund are either ongoing or yet to be deployed. It is therefore too early to fully measure the Fund’s success in relation to a number of its aims.

As a condition of grant funding, projects are required to submit a report to Scottish Ministers summarising the outcomes and performance of the project, as well as disseminating successful learning points from the project for benefit of the wider tidal energy sector.

The Fund fulfilled the Scottish Government’s commitment to review and relaunch the Saltire Prize. In the absence of a route to market as a result of the UK Government’s withdrawal of revenue support for the sector, the Fund provided a fair and competitive route for the Scottish Government to support the further deployment of tidal energy in Scottish waters. The Fund is enabling two of Scotland’s leading tidal energy developers to innovate and take steps to reduce the levelized cost of energy for tidal stream energy, as well as stimulating Scottish supply chain activity.

Following a review of the Saltire Prize a decision was taken not to reinstate the Saltire Prize Medal as part of the refocused Saltire Tidal Energy Challenge Fund.

The date by which projects supported by the Saltire Tidal Energy Challenge Fund were required to be deployed in Scottish waters was changed from March 2020 to September 2020 following feedback from stakeholders. This included comments received at an information event held on 6 March 2019. The timeline for deployment was applicable to all applicants and all projects.

The anticipated deployment dates for projects awarded funding were assessed to be realistic at the time offers of grant were made. The Scottish Government subsequently offered to provide flexibility on grant conditions, if required, to allow for the potential impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Both funded projects have made substantial progress since being awarded funding. MeyGen’s Subsea Hub was installed in September 2020, and Orbital Marine Power are scheduled to commence turbine operational related activities in early 2021.

The Saltire Tidal Energy Challenge Fund was launched on 10 February 2019 with a closing date for applications of 6 December 2019. The closing date for applications remained unchanged throughout the call for applications.

The date by which projects supported by the Fund were required to be deployed in Scottish waters was changed from March 2020 to no later than September 2020 following feedback from stakeholders, including comments received at an information event held on 6 March 2019.

The Saltire Tidal Energy Challenge Fund, which was launched on 10 February 2019 with total of up to £10 million available to help accelerate the commercial deployment of tidal energy in Scottish waters.

Following a process of evaluation and due diligence, two projects were supported under the Fund, with total funding of up to £4.945 million. Three further application for funds were received but were either withdrawn or not allocated funding. The Fund closed for applications on 6 December 2019 and no further funding will be distributed. The Scottish Government is considering the scope of future support for both the tidal stream and wave energy sectors in Scotland to ensure they can progress to commercialisation.