Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring Covid testing is as accessible as possible and we have put in place a number of initiatives to encourage the use of lateral flow tests for routine asymptomatic testing. Our communication campaign recommends that members of the public use the lateral flow tests to test themselves twice a week. Our aim is to ensure that lateral flow tests are widely available and accessible to anyone who wants to use them. A target would not be helpful to deliver this.

As stated previously, the Scottish Government has used a number of approaches to promote regular testing; this includes targeted campaigns and guidance on how to access test supplies and the introduction of Pharmacy Collect. We will continue to develop campaigns to promote the importance of regular testing in preventing the transmission of Covid-19.

The Scottish Government has established a Covid Ventilation Short Life Working Group (SLWG) of expert advisors to consider what actions can be taken in the short, medium and long-term. It first met on 3 September 2021, with advice on initial recommendations due to be submitted to Ministers on 10 September 2021.

The SLWG is expected to be in place for 6-12 months. It will consider a more detailed timeframe for its programme of work at the next meeting later in September. The group will support our understanding of what measures building managers can take to improve ventilation in areas where it is found to be lacking.

Previously, individuals had to access the batch number of the vaccine they received in Scotland by requesting access to their medical records. Batch numbers are now available on vaccination status certificates which can be downloaded or obtained at: Get a record of your coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination status | The coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine (nhsinform.scot) or from the COVID-19 Status Helpline on 0808 196 8565 (open every day from 10:00am to 6:00pm).

2D QR barcodes have now been added to all records of vaccination for additional security.

All the UK governments receive their expert clinical advice from the JCVI and the Committee has been closely monitoring the situation, in regard to this cohort of people.

The Scottish Government are waiting for formal advice on this issue from the JCVI and any recommendation made by the Committee will be promptly implemented in Scotland.

The Committee are fully aware of the potential sub-optimal response to two doses of the vaccine by some immunosuppressed individuals and that’s why they recommended that these groups of people should be given highest priority for a booster programme in the autumn.

Participation rate information for businesses in Scotland is not available centrally and local councils should be approached in seeking this information.

The Scottish Government continues to support investment in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, both for plug-in battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Across a range of programmes, we have invested £90 million in infrastructure related to battery electric vehicles and over £12 million in hydrogen electric transport projects.

Investment in public charging infrastructure has enabled the development of the ChargePlace Scotland network, now one of the largest in the UK. Investment has also included schemes to support installation of business and domestic electric car chargers, infrastructure to enable decarbonisation of light and heavy vehicles in the public sector, and decarbonisation of buses used for public transport.

The Scottish Government has also committed £50 million towards the Scottish Zero-Emission Bus Challenge Fund, (ScotZEB) which is currently open for bids until 04 November 2021. This £50 million is allocated to both vehicles and infrastructure on a whole-project basis.

Future funding programmes have yet to be determined but the Scottish Government Infrastructure Investment Plan published in February 2021 committed to £120m investment for net zero electric buses and £287m from the Future Transport Fund to support a range of low and zero carbon transport initiatives between 21-22 and
‎ 25-26.

Please note that the answer above reflects spending across distinct Scottish Government programmes for which we are able to determine spend. Investment will also occur across portfolios as part of business as usual activity.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-02355 on‎ 13 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

The A9 in the Dunkeld area and the associated junctions are busy particularly in summer carrying the combination of strategic commercial, commuter and tourist traffic. Transport Scotland is aware that at the busiest times, which often align with periods of good weather, gaining access onto the A9 trunk road can take some time. This situation is found across the country at many locations popular with tourists.

An investigation was carried out at the A9/A822/A923 staggered junction following identification of the location through the trunk road Annual Road Safety Review. Transport Scotland is introducing a series of measures to improve safety and operation within the current physical constraints until the A9 Dualling programme significantly changes the road layout at this location. These upgrades have included traffic sign and road marking improvements, in early 2020, to enhance direction finding and to upgrade signs to current standards. We are monitoring the effects of these measures in reducing accidents.

In addition, installation of illuminated bollards to improve the visibility of the road layout in darkness and to highlight the junction to turning motorists will be carried out later this year, along with the Birnam (B867) and Dalguise junctions.

A scheme to progress resurfacing of the A9/A822/A923 junction serving both Dunkeld, Strathbraan and Inver is to take place in late Autumn/Winter of the current financial year. This will provide the road surface at this location with improved surface grip and a consistency of appearance throughout. New high performance road markings and highly reflective road studs will be installed to define turning areas. A double white line system is proposed to deter overtaking through the junction.

I have commissioned consideration of what further measures might be deployed to improve safety at the junction.

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been made of the present capacity of the A1 south of Dunbar, and what its position is on its suitability for the amount of HGV traffic that (a) currently uses the route and (b) is estimated to use the route in the future.Transport Scotland works with road Operating Companies and Local Authorities to continually monitor usage and performance of the Trunk Road Network, this data feeds in to the Transport Model for Scotland (TMfS) and various regional transport models. These are used on an ongoing basis to assess performance of the network in current and estimated future conditions. Figures for traffic currently using the A1 from the National Traffic Data System (NTDS) count site at Grantshouse show a daily average traffic flow of 9,113 vehicles in 2019 with an average of 15.6% HGVs (approximately 1,400 HGVs per day).

This shows that currently less than one fifth of vehicles at this count site on the A1 are an HGV. Analysis undertaken previously as part of the Borders Transport Corridors Study did not identify an issue with unsuitable proportions of HGV traffic at this location, and indeed found that HGV traffic on the A1 had reduced by 2% between 2010 and 2016, despite increases on other trunk roads in the area.

Transport modelling to assess current performance and predict future use is currently being undertaken as part of the emerging Strategic Transport Projects Review. STPR2 is ongoing, therefore is not possible to take a position on the future suitability of particular (sections of) roads until the modelling being used to inform the appraisal process is completed.

We are aware of the specific issue in which Norway decided to allow fully vaccinated visitors from the UK but only if their record of vaccination had a QR code. On 3 September 2021 we introduced QR codes to vaccination status records. People from Scotland, who are fully vaccinated, are now able to travel to Norway without requiring to quarantine for 10 days. People can either download or request a paper copy of their vaccination status from NHS Inform or call the Freephone Helpline 0808 196 8565.