As of close of business on 27 June 2022 a total of 426,397 cards had been issued under the Young Persons Scheme (YPS). This includes the number of cards that have collected a travel product from the Transport Scot Pass Collect mobile application held by Transport Scotland and data supplied by the National Entitlement Card Programme Office (NECPO). NECPO support the 32 local authorities by assisting with the integration of various national and local public services on the National Entitlement Card (NEC) and are the joint controller with local authorities of this data.

One of the objectives of the YPS is to reduce household outgoings to aid children, particularly those living in poverty. Transport Scotland is undertaking an evaluation of the Scheme to assess its success. As a first step, a baseline study was undertaken prior to the scheme going live and a Baseline Data Report was published on 24 June 2022.

The report stated that as incomes decreased bus use increased for most journey purposes, with those on the lowest incomes most likely to use the bus. In addition, as income reduced the proportions of income spent on a child’s travel tended to increase.

The cost of travel and transport was noted as being a key reason why some children and young people were missing out on opportunities, including social and leisure activities as well as educational, work opportunities and support/respite services. Between 51% (for health care) and 80% (for daytime social activities) of respondents felt that the YPS would allow them to travel more often to their current destinations, and/or to access new destinations.

The evaluation is ongoing and will compare conditions at intervals up to five years after project implementation to assess the outcomes and impact of the scheme on children, young people and their families.

Expert advice from virologists and epidemiologists within Scottish Government and the Animal Plant and Health Agency (APHA), shows that avian influenza is circulating widely in wild bird populations. There are very few effective interventions that will prevent the spread of the disease in wild birds. However, the Scottish Government, NatureScot and APHA have put in place a response plan which aims to:

• Ensure effective triage and testing is in place. This intelligence is used to link wild bird movements into national risk assessments and biosecurity measures, and identify any new species contributing to wider infection pathways.
• Provide advice on disposal of diseased carcases of wild birds.
• Monitor impacts on colonies/mortalities.
• Provide advice on access restrictions for bird ringing, research, licensable activities and land management activities.
• Develop future conservation/management plans for species affected by HPAI.

With regards specifically to geese; following the suspension of licences for goose management as I outlined in my response to S6W-09329 on 15 July 2022 and in all cases where licences to manage geese with lethal control were suspended, NatureScot made offers of support with non-lethal scaring to protect grass crops. That support generally was in the form of a contribution towards the purchase of scaring equipment such as gas guns and other bird scaring equipment.

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 .

We welcome the Together for the One in Six report produced by the Neurological Alliance of Scotland (NAoS). We are determined to improve the provision of neurological care which is why we funded the NAoS to help facilitate this survey in Scotland.

It is vital that people with neurological conditions feel enabled and involved in their care. Understanding the perspectives of those who access health care in Scotland will enable us to work together to identify good practice and drive up standards.

We continue to implement the commitments of the Neurological Care and Support - a National Framework for Action, as a priority. We will continue to work with the Neurological Alliance of Scotland to ensure that all people living in Scotland with a neurological condition are able to access the best possible care and support throughout and beyond the lifespan of the Framework.

In the last ten years, the Scottish Government's Chief Scientist Office has provided £889,000 in funding towards Motor Neurone Disease (MND) research.

The Scottish Government is aware that Optima Health, Police Scotland’s occupational health and employee assistance programme providers, have advised that there are no issues in terms of availability of appointments at present.

Our website at www.scotlandsuperfast.com is the main means of publicising the R100 programme, of which R100 SBVS is a key component - information is largely updated in-house with more extensive changes commissioned, as and when required.

In addition, we have publicised R100 SBVS via the press, social media, and through continued stakeholder engagement activity across Scotland – including informing all registered suppliers of the extension to the interim voucher portion of R100 SBVS. We have received extensive coverage and reach across local and national media outlets and social media at no cost.

In March 2021, we distributed postcards to around 30,000 SBVS-eligible properties across Scotland. This activity cost around £12,900 plus VAT.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09434 on 15 July 2022. 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

We are committed to taking action on aquaculture regulatory reform, which will include the seaweed sector. A consenting task group is being set up by officials that will examine possible improvements in processes and procedures including consultation mechanisms for all aquaculture consenting, while maintaining current roles and responsibilities.

The seaweed sector is being considered as part of our broader regulatory review on aquaculture, beginning with the independent report by Professor Russel Griggs published earlier this year. As a next step and in response to the recommendations set out by Professor Griggs, I have set up and Chair the Scottish Aquaculture Council, which represents a range of stakeholders interested in the aquaculture sector and its environmental, economic and social impacts.

The £65 million of funding being provided by the Scottish Government to support the war effort in Ukraine is capital funding that will be provided via the carried forward balance in the Scotland Reserve.

The Provisional Outturn statement on 23rd June advised Parliament that £183 million worth of capital underspends would be carried forward within the Scotland Reserve to support the 2022-23 Scottish Budget. The 2022-23 Scottish Budget included an assumption that £118 million of capital funding from the Scotland Reserve would be available to be utilised. The provisional outturn position therefore provides an excess carry forward of £65 million which is available to be utilised.

The allocation of this amount will be transparently reported in the forthcoming 2022-23 Autumn Budget Revision