Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-02881 on 23 September 2021. 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-02816 on 22 September 2021. 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 .

Certain categories of death require to be reported to the Procurator Fiscal. At the start of the Pandemic, my predecessor issued a direction that COVID-19 (or presumed COVID-19) deaths did not require to be reported to COPFS, unless there was another substantive reason for doing so. That position was kept under review and he made a statement to this Parliament on 13 May 2020 to advise that two categories of COVID-19 (or presumed COVID-19) deaths must be reported to COPFS - those in which the deceased might have contracted the virus in the course of their employment or occupation and those in which the deceased was resident in a care home when the virus was contracted.

In addition, deaths (or presumed deaths) from COVID-19 must be reported to the Crown if they fall within any of the other established categories of death which require to be reported. These include deaths where there is the possibility of fault by another or where the circumstances surrounding the death may cause public anxiety.

COPFS accordingly does not hold data on the number of deaths related to COVID-19 that have occurred in home care settings as not all will have been reported. In relation to those that have been reported, the extent of the investigation will be determined by the particular circumstances surrounding each death and matters are being kept under constant review.

I am grateful that these resources have been made available by the group. I would like to engage more with the group to discuss what actions we can take in Scotland to harness the benefits from this sector to the people of Scotland and the environment. My officials will be in touch to begin discussions.

ScotRail’s proposed timetable for May 2022 would provide more seats than the current timetable, responding to changing travel patterns. By also offering more service options this will help encourage passengers to choose train over car.

The Programme for Government , published and debated in the Scottish Parliament on 7 September, set out that “The Scottish Government will work to ensure that a legitimate and constitutional referendum can be held within this Parliament, and if the Covid crisis is over, within the first half of this Parliament.”

The First Minister announced as part of the Programme for Government on 7 September that the Scottish Government would restart work on the prospectus for independence. The Scottish Government is now determining how this work will proceed, as we do for delivering our commitments across the whole range of our responsibilities in the interests of the people of Scotland.

We will work closely with The Promise Scotland and partners across local government, social justice, health, the third sector, and with children and families to design and deliver the Fund. Further details will be provided in due course.

The commitment to investing at least £500m over the life of this Parliament to create a Whole Family Wellbeing Fund is significant. This will enable transformational change by building services which are universal, holistic support services available in communities across Scotland giving families access to help when and where they need it, and help Scotland #KeepThePromise.

Our ambition is that, from 2030, we will be investing at least 5% of all community-based health and social care spend in preventative whole family support measures that will enable us to continue to #KeepThePromise and create a Scotland where more children will only know care, compassion and love.

ScotRail currently offers a range of discounted fares and concessions to reduce the cost of travel for a diverse range of passengers. The Scottish Government will require ScotRail to continue to review how it can offer lower fares to meet the needs of people on low incomes and in response to changing travelling patterns emerging from Covid-19. In addition, the Scottish Government has taken action to minimise the impact on passengers by capping fares increases for regulated ScotRail peak fares at the level of the Retail Price Index (RPI).

Regulated off-peak fare increases are capped at one percent lower than inflation. This means, in Scotland, average fares increases are lower than England. The average fares increase in March 2021 in Scotland was 1.2% compared with 2.6% in England. Overall, fares in Scotland are on average 20% lower than in the rest of Britain.

ScotRail continues to help facilitate a seamless transport network which combines rail journeys with bus, ferries, active travel, other transport modes and through smart and integrated ticketing to improve accessibility to those from households without access to a car.

All air quality limit and target values that apply under the Ambient Air Quality Directive are currently being met in Scotland, other than nitrogen dioxide. I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-02787 on 23 September 2021 for information on compliance with the nitrogen dioxide limit value.

Domestic air quality objectives set under the Environment Act 1995 and associated regulations are the responsibility of local authorities.

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 .