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I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-00649 on 5 July 2021. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at /chamber-and-committees/votes-and-motions/votes-and-motions-search.

The Scottish Government remains committed to reducing fares on Northern Isles ferry routes.

Following engagement with European Commission officials in 2019, Transport Scotland officials were developing proposals to introduce Road Equivalent Tariff. This work was rightly paused in early 2020, while resources were pivoted to deal with the Covid outbreak, however work has recently resumed.

Engagement between Transport Scotland officials and ferry operators has taken place and will continue as the work progresses.

Pentland Ferries have withdrawn, on commercial grounds, from discussions on the offer of the Time Charter of the MV Pentalina with CalMac.

The Scottish Government recognises the severe impact that COVID-19 restrictions have on the events sector and on the ability of groups, including Pride organising groups, to organise large-scale gatherings and marches. The measures within the , including physical distancing and limiting mass gatherings, have been crucial for controlling the virus, particularly as new and highly infectious strains emerge, and have been necessary and proportionate to protect lives and the NHS.

Since the start of the pandemic, Scotland’s LGBTI organisations have, where possible, arranged virtual alternatives to traditional Pride events, bringing people together to celebrate Scotland’s diverse and vibrant LGBT community. We are currently reviewing physical distancing measures, taking account of available and emerging evidence, including the ongoing rollout of the vaccination programme. Public events will be considered as part of this review.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have provided funding of over £74,000 to LGBTI organisations from the Immediate Priorities Fund. This includes:

• Funding to LGBT Health and Wellbeing to provide additional cover for the National LGBT Helpline, for an additional 2 days a week (which brings coverage from 2 days a week to overall 4 days a week) and to offer more tailored individual support for particularly isolated members of the community.
• Funding to Equality Network to increase access to Zoom for community groups, to maintain social connectivity.
• Funding to LGBT Youth Scotland, to fast track their digital youth work platform to ensure that young people are better supported during the pandemic and beyond.

A partnership of LGBTI organisations was also awarded short term funding of £87,700 from the Scottish Government’s Supporting Communities Fund, delivered via the National Lottery, to support a community response to COVID-19. Outputs included the creation of a dedicated LGBTI micro-site to: support Pride organisers to put on events; support LGBTI groups to provide social and COVID-19 services; and provide LGBTI digital care packages to up to 50 isolated LGBTI people through local LGBTI community groups. Further details of this can be found online at: .

The Scottish Government has made a commitment to phase out the need for new petrol or diesel light commercial vehicles in public bodies by 2025; the need for any new petrol or diesel vehicles in public sector fleets by 2030; and the need for new petrol or diesel cars or vans by 2030.

The Scottish Government is aware of the issue of microplastic and other forms of pollution from road vehicles of all kinds. A 2019 report, “Non-Exhaust Emissions from Road Traffic” concluded the most effective mitigation strategies for reducing wear-generated fine particulate matter are: to reduce overall volumes of traffic; reduce speed limits; and promote good driving behaviour, all of which are part of our plans to reduce casualties and improve air quality.

Reducing the number and use of vehicles is central to reducing all types of pollution that they generate. The National Transport Strategy promotes walking, cycling, public transport and bike, car and ride sharing in preference to single occupancy car use. In the Climate Change Plan update published in December 2020, the Scottish Government committed to reducing car kilometres by 20% by 2030.

In relation to school admissions, in Scotland, local authorities have a legal responsibility to provide education in their area and publish arrangements for admission of pupils to schools they manage. The Scottish Government has published Choosing a School: a Guide for Parents which sets out the procedures that parents and local councils should follow in relation to school admissions. It includes specific advice for families moving into a local authority area which will also apply to Crown servants returning from a period abroad. Local authorities can also reserve places in schools in anticipation of children who may move into the area during the school year. Our expectation is that local authorities, will monitor new demand for places in order to meet increases in demand.

The draft remit for the work of the advisor on education reform was published on 17 June. The remit supports the recommendation made by the OECD for the need to simplify and better align the institutional structures that support our education system. We will shortly write to stakeholders seeking views on the remit in advance of Professor Muir taking up post in August. While I am happy to take views on the work of Professor Muir and his advisory panel I do want to see this work move on with pace and do not anticipate the final version diverging greatly from the key elements of the draft as it stands.

We are working with the Community Transport Association Scotland (CTA), community groups and other stakeholders to develop the sector and improve connectivity for community transport and other public transport users. Transport Scotland already has regular discussions with CTA about their ongoing work to promote and develop the sector in Scotland and issues affecting community transport groups.

Transport Scotland also provides annual grant funding to CTA to support this work. We have increased the grant for 2021-22 to enable CTA to undertake a mapping exercise looking at the extent and geographic spread of community transport groups and forums in Scotland. This work is part of CTA's proposals, submitted recently to Transport Scotland, for a Community Transport Investment Fund to make community transport more sustainable and better able to withstand the effects of the pandemic.

These proposals and mapping work will provide valuable information as we continue to work closely with CTA, the bus sector, local authorities and other transport stakeholders to understand the longer term impacts of the pandemic on demand for bus and community transport and how to support local bus service provision.

The Scottish Government takes the travel and safety of disabled passengers extremely seriously and works closely with disabled people, organisations that represent them and the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland (MACS) to hear the issues being raised across all modes of transport. We also work closely with individual operators who hold the overall responsibility for putting appropriate measures in place, as public transport returns to full capacity following the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Scottish Government has provided a total of £2,563,599.48 to community transport groups in Scotland during Covid-19 to date. This includes National Concessionary Travel Scheme operator reimbursement , Covid Support Grant, Covid 19 Public Transport Retrofit grant, Community and Third Sector Recovery Programme funding and a grant to the Community Transport Association Scotland.