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Scotland is not part of the UK Government’s Events Research Programme and our events therefore do not fall within its remit or procedures. We have, however, engaged with the UK Government throughout the Programme and we await the final report of Phase 1 and will consider the evidence contained in it, including the success of the procedures tested, to help inform our route ahead.

Meantime, we have adopted our own approach to supporting flagship events, putting in place a ‘Gateway process’ to ensure that selected events of international importance can take place over summer and autumn with limited numbers of attendees, outwith the Levels or any equivalent framework, subject to epidemiological conditions. Euro 2020 is the first of these flagship events, with the process enabling up to 12,000 spectators to attend games at Hampden as well as a Fan Zone accommodating up to 3000 per session.

I understand that some learners continue to feel dissatisfied with the result of the 2020 national qualifications appeals process.

Teachers exercised their best professional judgement in deciding grades for learners in the very challenging circumstances resulting from the pandemic. Following the Deputy First Minister’s intervention, learners were awarded the grades that their teachers judged reflected their attainment.

Having carefully considered the position, we have concluded that there is no way to reopen the appeals process in a fair and equitable manner to all learners.

However, recognising the strength of feeling of some about the 2020 appeals process, it has been agreed with the SQA that any learner who considers they still have grounds for an appeal in respect of an award made in 2020, within the criteria set for 2020 appeals, can talk to their centre and the centre can come forward and have that appeal considered by the SQA, even at this late stage, to address those concerns.

Zero Waste Scotland is continuing to work with Keep Scotland Beautiful, Association for Public Service Excellence, Local Authorities, the Improvement Service and SOLACE to implement a new Litter Monitoring System.

Zero Waste Scotland have been have been providing support to Keep Scotland Beautiful to trial the litter monitoring system. Training will begin over the next few months and will allow Local Authorities to use the system. The Local Environment Audit and Management System will continue to be used during this transition and it is expected to be fully replaced by the Litter Monitoring System for 2022-23.

Development work began on a long term solution to the landslide risks at the A83 Rest and be Thankful last August and, on 18 March 2021, we announced a preferred corridor, along with potential route options within that corridor, for consultation.

As with other projects to improve the trunk road network, we will need to complete the necessary engineering and environmental assessments and statutory process to allow any land to be acquired before construction can commence.

We are also progressing work to look at a medium term resilient route through Glen Croe to include consideration of the Forestry Track, improvements to the Old Military Road and other options on land already owned by Scottish Ministers. Depending on the statutory consents required, that work will seek to develop a finalised proposal within 18 months.

We continue to explore methods to reduce the timescales to bring forward both the medium term and long term routes as soon as possible.

The Scottish Government utilises a vaccination management tool at the point of vaccination, the data forms used have built in validation to ensure the data entered are accurate. A new vaccination record is transferred to the National Clinical Data Store (NCDS) after 60 minutes. The layers of recording are updated from NCDS to the reporting dashboards, these are refreshed every two hours to ensure accurate recording.

 Provisional monthly data on landings (liveweight tonnes) by UK and foreign vessels into Scottish ports, January-May 2020 and January to April 2021

We are committed to ensuring that all children and young people get the additional support that they need to reach their full learning potential.

We published our joint response to the independently chaired review of implementation of additional support for learning in October 2020. Angela Morgan’s report sets a clear direction in how we can continue to build on progress in this area. The joint action plan sets out the measures we will take to implement her recommendations. The action plan and governance arrangements for this work are available from .

The Scottish Government provided a response to the 65 recommendations included in the Salmon Farming in Scotland Report in January 2019. That response set out a range of actions already underway to support the sustainability of the sector. The response is available to view here; .

Following a delay due to Covid-19, officials are continuing work with Local Authorities to develop both the secondary legislation required to allow them to enforce the National pavement parking prohibition as well as the Parking Standards Guidance which will underpin the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019. Additionally we will need to consult with the public on some areas contained within those secondary legislations and Local Authorities will need around 12 months to undertake an assessment to consider whether they wish to exempt, subject to certain criteria, any areas of pavement from the prohibition.

As such, the majority of the secondary legislation is likely to be in place by 2022. Some aspects however, such as the appeals process for those who wish to appeal a ticket issued for pavement parking, may not be in place until 2023. It is therefore envisaged that local authorities will be in a position to enforce the National pavement parking prohibition by summer 2023.

The M8 Woodside Viaducts are essential links in the M8 central Scotland urban motorway, vital for the economy and connectivity of Scotland. Therefore, the repair of the viaducts and removal of restrictions is high priority as Scotland emerges from the Covid-19 restrictions. The viaducts carry 150,000 vehicles per day in normal times, which would be difficult to accommodate by other routes or modes. As a result, there are no engineering or urban planning options currently being considered as an alternative to the structural repair of the viaducts. Two lanes of traffic will be maintained in both directions and we will work with operational partners to maximise traffic flows through the site, managing impacts on the M8 and adjacent local roads.