As a condition of receiving and retaining a valid exemption certificate , the owner of the XL Bully must arrange to have their dog neutered. Male dogs must be castrated and female dogs must be spayed.

For dogs 18 months or older as at 31 July 2024, evidence of neutering having occurred must be provided to Scottish Government by 31 January 2025.

For dogs younger than 18 months as at 31 July 2024, evidence of neutering having occurred must be provided to Scottish Government by 31 January 2025 or within one month of the dog reaching the age of 18 months, whichever is later.

This approach ensures there is discretion for the owner to ensure this age is reached before neutering the dog, though an owner can decide to neuter before 18 months without losing their exemption.

This reflects guidance on an appropriate age for health reasons as to when XL Bully dogs can safely be neutered. The Scottish Government’s policy on neutering was developed and informed through direct engagement with key animal welfare stakeholders.

The legislation does not permit XL Bully dogs to be exempted from being neutered. However, the Scottish Government, through direct engagement with the Dog Control Coalition which includes representation from the British Veterinary Association, continues to keep the approach on neutering under review.

The Scottish Government has been working with AssistFM and Improvement Service to map existing breakfast provision across Scotland, including a survey to all primary and special schools to understand the scale and uptake of provision.

While the XL Bully dog has been added to the list of designated prohibited dogs under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, any individual XL Bully dog will not be classed as prohibited where the owner obtains a certificate of exemption that enables them to legally own the dog. The Scottish Government would encourage all XL Bully owners to apply for an exemption certificate for their dog. The closing date for online applications is 31 July 2024: https://www.gov.scot/publications/xl-bully-dog-rules/pages/overview/ .

The effect of an XL Bully dog owner who receives an exemption is that they must adhere to exemption conditions. In any given 12 month period, the exemption scheme conditions allows for an owner to be apart from their dog for up to 30 days. This flexibility can be used in a variety of situations including where a person experiencing domestic abuse is moving to a new location and there is a need for the Dogs Trust Freedom project or others to look after a dog for a short period during this period.

More generally in relation to housing, the Scottish Government has written to COSLA and social housing associations across Scotland to explain the process for the XL Bully dog safeguards. This information was shared with COSLA and housing associations to help tenants and landlords understand the changes where tenancy agreements include clauses relating to ‘prohibited’ dogs under the 1991 Act. As noted above, an XL Bully dog, where an exemption has been granted, is not a prohibited dog under the terms of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.

As part of the 2023- 24 COVID-19 and flu winter vaccination programme NHS Scotland delivered over 3.57 million winter vaccines, including 1,387,766 COVID-19 vaccines. Uptake of the COVID-19 vaccines dropped across all groups, but remained strong in the highest risk groups, with 85.6% of care home residents and 84.1% of those aged over 75 vaccinated which we know from recent statistics are the groups mostly likely to be admitted to hospital.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) is responsible for delivering Scotland’s Infectious Respiratory Diseases Plan 2023–2024 (publichealthscotland.scot) with the support of the Scottish Government. The Scottish Vaccination and Immunisation Programme (SVIP) has already undertaken various pieces of work to understand why uptake has decreased, and this is part of an ongoing drive to ensure that people can take up offers of vaccine easily and equitably. Should the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommend a 2024 winter COVID-19 programme, we shall incorporate that learning into planning for any future campaign.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) is responsible for COVID-19 surveillance. Given the recent increase in circulation of COVID-19 observed in Scotland, PHS has returned to weekly updates to their viral respiratory dashboard from 27 June 2024 ( COVID-19 & Respiratory Surveillance (shinyapps.io) .Periodic peaks in COVID-19 are expected, not just in the winter.

COVID-19 is not a seasonal virus and circulates all year around and with the vaccine optimum protection period lasting up to 3 months, it remains essential that those who are eligible, come forward for vaccination when offered.

The Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) provides a total of at least £65 million for nature restoration projects led from communities across Scotland over this parliament. Financial decisions beyond that time will be announced as part of the annual budget process in the next parliament.

This is an operational matter for ScotRail. The member may wish to contact ScotRail directly for this information.

The Scottish Government is committed to measures which deliver an available, affordable and accessible public transport system which enables people to make positive and proactive choices to use public transport. ScotRail continue to develop fares initiatives which can help attract more passengers, while offering savings and added value to existing rail users such as the recently extended ScotRail Peak Fares Removal Pilot.

This is an operational matter for ScotRail. The member may wish to contact ScotRail directly for this information.

The final evaluation report will be undertaken before the Pilot ends. The final report will include data on the time passengers are travelling, by location and by socioeconomic background.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-28344 on 15 July 2024. 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 .