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There are a large number of affordable housing supply programme projects on site at the moment across the country and we are aware that some are subject to delays. My officials are therefore gathering local intelligence through the More Homes Division Area Team network, as well as maintaining links with the trade body Homes for Scotland, to monitor this. The Scottish Government is aware of concerns around price increases and supply shortages of construction materials. We are working closely with the construction industry through the Construction Leadership Forum, chaired by Ivan McKee MSP, Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise, to fully understand the current supply chain issues and, where possible, to put in place mitigating actions to address the issues that are being identified.

I will continue to be advised of developments in regard to materials cost increases and availability, as well as any impact being seen on the Affordable Housing Supply Programme going forward.

Further to the answer provided to S5W-35358, the Scottish Government notes the significant investment CalMac makes in vessel maintenance. CalMac have contracts in place with a number of shipyards to undertake the annual dry-docking of vessels in the fleet. These contracts allow improved planning of the overhaul work as well as undertaking preventative works

The Scottish Government established a Resilience Fund in 2018/19, which is in addition to the annual expenditure for maintenance.

The UK government`s Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is responsible for the delivery of driving tests in Scotland. However, Transport Scotland meets regularly with the DVSA to explore ways in the delivery of driving tests could be expedited to ensure that waiting times to access a driving test are minimised as much as possible across Scotland. During our recent engagement, the DVSA confirmed that they have increased the number of practical tests being delivered each day and are also recruiting additional driving test examiners to further increase the number of tests that they can deliver including at weekends. Following the recent changes to indoor physical distancing rules in Scotland, announced by the First Minister on 13 July, Transport Scotland has worked with the DVSA to ensure that the number of driving theory tests being delivered in Scotland will be increased in line with the revised rules. As a result, an additional 4,500 driving theory tests will be available to book in Scotland between 19 July to 3 September.

Projects are listed in Annex D of the Infrastructure Investment Plan; some will need further funding beyond the five year period of the plan.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-00977 on 22 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/written-questions-and-answers  

I refer the member to the answer to question S6T-00019 on‎ 26 May 2021. The answer is available on the Parliament's website at:

There is no exemption anywhere in the UK for oil and gas workers arriving from red list countries. Passengers arriving from red list countries are required to enter managed isolation in a quarantine hotel.  

There is an exemption for oil and gas workers arriving from amber list countries to undertake work on critical infrastructure in Scotland. They are still required to take a pre-departure test before travel, complete a passenger locator form before travelling to Scotland, book and take a testing package for days 2 and 8, self-isolate at home for 10 days when not at or travelling to and from a place where they are required to undertake the activities this exemption applies to and show a letter to Border Force from their employer outlining the work they will be doing.

We continue to liaise regularly with OGUK, trades unions and other stakeholders on measures to protect the safety of those working in the industry, including through the forum of the Oil and Gas and Energy Transition Strategic Leadership Group.

Since the publication of the rehabilitation framework in August 2020, we have established a National Advisory Board to oversee its implementation and we have appointed a professional advisor to lead on this programme of work.  

The rehabilitation programme is currently undertaking a significant scoping exercise through a self-assessment process to understand the current status of rehabilitation services in Scotland, from the perspective of the staff working in them.  

The self-assessment tool has been circulated to all NHS Boards, Health & Social Care Partnerships, third sector organisations, and Leisure Trusts as part of Local Authorities.  

The outputs from the self-assessment tool along with demand and capacity data will help us shape priorities, understand challenges and opportunities and inform funding decisions.  

A Gateway Review 0: Strategic Assessment is a programme-only review that sets the programme in the wider policy or corporate context. This review investigates the direction and planned outcomes of the programme, together with the progress of its constituent projects.

In addition, the Gateway Review 0 into Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) had a particular remit to examine the delivery schedule for DRS, especially in light of the impact of COVID-19.