We have strengthened smart ticketing measures for local transport authorities in the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 to further enable growth in adopting multi-modal smart and integrated ticketing schemes. We continue to work with regional bodies like Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT Zonecard) to support existing schemes move onto smart platforms.

Our vision is that all journeys on Scotland’s public transport networks can be made using some form of smart ticketing or payment and progress has already been made towards achieving this ambition. Scotland is the first in the UK to offer smartcard compatibility across modes – where multiple tickets for different modes can be loaded onto one smartcard - and contactless payment is also now being accepted on over 95% of buses in Scotland.

We are also taking forward our Fair Fares Review to ensure a sustainable and integrated approach to public transport fares, this will look at the range of discounts and concessionary schemes which are available on all modes including bus, rail and ferry, and will look at both cost and availability of services.

Following concerns raised about prescribing practice in 2016, a range of independent reviews were conducted and regular discussion was had with the board of NHS Tayside. In July 2021, following matters raised by a patient group in the media, SG officials reached out to NHS Tayside leaders who committed to investigating the matters raised.

The Scottish Government set out the local arrangements that should be put in place to provide clinical and professional multi-disciplinary team oversight for social care services during the COVID-19 pandemic in a letter dated 17 May 2020.

These arrangements, which build on the foundations of health and social care integration, have contributed to the protective arrangements for care home and care at home services during the pandemic. The Scottish Government wrote to local MDT oversight teams in March 2021 setting out the expectation that these arrangements should continue for the remainder of the pandemic and beyond, although these will need to evolve taking account of learning and local circumstances.

The additional funding announced will enable both the establishment of new multi-disciplinary teams and strengthening of existing teams.

Scottish Government officials have a weekly call with NHS Tayside’s Cancer Team to track all patients on an urgent suspicion of cancer (USC) pathway and update on service delivery, including workforce.

To support Cancer and Diagnostic services the Scottish Government has invested £10 million to support cancer services during and beyond the pandemic. This will support increased access to cancer diagnostics and staffing. A further £9 million will also be allocated this year to support diagnostic imaging capacity. We have also invested in mobile units located in NHS Highland and NHS Tayside to increase capacity.

As set out in the draft Framework for Tax, which only recently closed for consultation on 26 October, the Scottish Government is committed to exploring the introduction of a digital sales tax in Scotland.

As set out in the announcement, the £300 million is both additional and recurring investment, demonstrating Scottish Government’s commitment to enabling longer term planning, particularly on workforce, to ensure a well-supported and resilient health and social care system.

Further detail on planned expenditure will be determined and set out in the forthcoming 2022-23 Scottish Budget. The 2022-23 Scottish Budget will be published on 9 December.

I recognise that there are now a number of apps supporting the Covid response in Scotland, however none of the pre-existing apps (e.g. Protect Scotland) offered the ability to provide secure, authenticated access to an individual’s health record. For this reason, a separate app was required.

Officials also explored whether it was possible to extend the use of the existing NHS App from England – where people in England can access their Covid Status – into Scotland. However, the NHS App was originally designed for a very different purpose, it is linked to GP practices in England and requires use of the separate NHS Login which only exists in England and Wales. In discussion with NHS Digital it became clear it was not a feasible option. This is because the timescales involved in joining the NHS App, coupled with the fact Scotland holds its vaccination data in a different way to England and would mean we would lose control over our own scheme.

People in Wales cannot use the NHS App either, they are currently limited to the shared England/Wales online portal accessible with an NHS Login.

Whilst the certificates that are in use in Scotland have been designed to the same international standards as the rest of the UK, and our paper certificates all follow the same template in the UK to ensure consistency, it is appropriate that we design a scheme that is right for Scotland, works in our context, and offers us the flexibility to adapt to our changing circumstances.

On top of the £1.9 billion provided to support COVID pressures in health and care this year, as set out in the statement, the £300 million represents additional investment to specifically support winter pressures.

This is funded from health and social care consequentials.

Public Health Scotland publish figures quarterly and annually on the number of acute beds broken down by NHS Board of Treatment and Specialty.

The most recent annual publication, covering April 2020–March 2021, was published on 29 September 2020.

The Scottish Government is working with retail businesses, trade unions, academia, public sector and trade organisations to develop a Retail Strategy that will enable the retail sector in Scotland to play its part in creating a fairer, greener and stronger Scotland. The Minister for Public Finance, Planning and Community Wealth Building made a statement to Scottish Parliament on 26 October confirming that the Retail Strategy will be published later this year.