This information is not held centrally and is a matter for individual local authorities. Guidance issued by the Scottish Government to assist authorities in undertaking vehicle idling enforcement duties encourages the issuing of fixed penalties only if a reasonable request to switch off a parked idling vehicle is refused.

The Road Traffic (Vehicle Emissions) (Fixed Penalty) (Scotland) Regulations 2003 provide local authorities with powers to issue fixed penalty notices to drivers of parked idling vehicles who refuse a reasonable request to switch off their engines. It is for individual local authorities to decide how to make use of their powers. The Scottish Government provides guidance and financial support to assist authorities in undertaking these duties.

The Government's new air quality strategy 'Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 - Towards a Better Place for Everyone', which was published in July 2021, sets out a wide range of measures intended to deliver further air quality improvements over the period to 2026.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05487 on 21 January 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

As we have set down in the answer to question S6W-05212 the interval between appointments is dependent on the dentist’s clinical assessment of the oral health of the patient.

This assessment should be based on the available evidence from expert groups on appropriate oral health management. For example, the Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme (SDCEP) published an Oral Health Assessment and Review in 2012. This advised that patients considered at low risk of oral ill health should receive ‘standard prevention’ and a further Oral Health Assessment at 24 months for adults and 12 months for children.

For more detail on data relating to echocardiograms, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05550 on 21 January 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

Information on outpatient referrals can be found here ( Waiting times - Data & intelligence from PHS (isdscotland.org) . Waiting times information is not broken down by diagnosis code.

In April 2021, we commissioned Public Health Scotland to develop the Scottish Cardiac Audit Programme, this includes the collection of data on Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implant, and Adult Cardiac Surgery in Scotland, both of which are relevant to the management and treatment of heart valve disease.

Further development of this audit programme and decisions around any future data to be collected will be undertaken in collaboration with clinicians and people with lived experience of heart disease in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is committed to tackling the impact that single use plastics have on the Scottish environment.

That is why last year we laid regulations before Parliament that, subject to the impact of the UK Internal Market Act 2020, ban some of the most problematic single use plastic products (expanded polystyrene beverage cups, expanded polystyrene food containers, single-use plastic beverage stirrers, plastic cutlery, straws, balloon sticks and plastic plates).

The legislation is the first in the UK to ban such a wide range of single-use plastic items and goes further than the single-use plastic bans currently in force in the rest of the UK.

The Scottish Government is committed to moving to a circular economy and, as part of this, is taking further action to deal with the problem of single-use plastics. To support this, we have committed to develop a route map to identify further actions required to accelerate progress towards existing waste prevention and recycling targets, and to introduce a Circular Economy Bill in this parliamentary term to support and encourage reduction of consumption, reuse, repair and recycling.

To support our circular economy ambitions we are working with the other UK administrations to introduce extended producer responsibility for packaging, which will encourage more sustainable packaging design by putting the cost of managing packaging waste onto producers.

We are keeping under review the impact of actions in train or planned and will consider any further measures that may be required to combat the environmental impact of problematic single-use plastics, taking account also of international evidence.

Finally, the Scottish Government is also a founding signatory to the UK Plastics Pact, led by WRAP, a collaborative initiative that seeks to create a circular economy for plastics and reduce plastic waste.

NHS National Services Division is establishing a Strategic Network bringing together clinical experts, NHS Boards and lived experience to support the ongoing development, resourcing and implementation of services for people with long COVID. When established, the Strategic Network will have a key role in identifying and ensuring that the £10m long COVID Support Fund is targeted at areas where support is most needed and can make the biggest impact.

We anticipate that the long COVID Support Fund will be allocated and spent over the next three financial years, providing Boards with additional resource to respond in a flexible and tailored manner to the needs of people with long COVID.

For this financial year, 2021-22, total health portfolio funding exceeds £16 billion, with a further £1.9 billion provided to address pressures related to COVID-19. This substantial investment is already benefiting a range of NHS services which are supporting the needs of people living with long COVID.

In a statement to the Scottish Parliament on 17 November 2022 I gave an update on progress towards implementing Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme. In that statement I said that officials and I were working hard with Circularity Scotland and the industry to agree a final timescale and clear milestones for delivery including interpreting the impact of the decision from the UK Government on VAT, which had only just been communicated to me. While carrying out that further work, the date was very much under continuous assessment as new information was received and views of stakeholders were taken on-board. The date was made firm when I announced this to Parliament on 14 December.

Following the publication of The Best Start – caesarean section rates: review report on 2 September 2021, the Scottish Government has asked the Maternity and Children’s Quality Improvement Collaborative (MCQIC), part of the Scottish Patient Safety Programme, to lead on work to improve our understanding of the variation in caesarean section rates in Scotland.

The Scottish Government continues to work with senior leaders and clinicians across Scotland to prioritise improvements to care through the implementation of The Best Start programme. The programme is driving a transformation in maternity care in Scotland, with women receiving continuity of carer throughout their pregnancy, resulting in improved relationships and outcomes.

Data on birth delivery methods are not collected or held centrally. Public Health Scotland collects and publishes data on method of delivery at NHS Board level in its annual Birth in Scottish Hospitals report. The most recent report, for the year ending 31 March 2021, is available online and provides data on method of delivery by NHS Board of residence for live singleton births. The report is available via the following link: Births in Scottish hospitals - Year ending 31 March 2021 - Births in Scottish hospitals - Publications - Public Health Scotland .