Regulation and authorisation of medicines is reserved to the UK Government. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the UK agency responsible for the approval of clinical trials in the UK and of marketing authorisations (licences) for new medicinal products. There are currently no COVID-19 vaccines authorised for supply in the UK for those aged 12 years and under.

In the event that the MHRA authorises COVID-19 vaccine(s) for those under the age of 12 years we will be guided by this and by advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisations on offering vaccination to this age group.

Since the early stages of our pandemic response, the Scottish Government has been committed to a public inquiry into the handling of the pandemic in Scotland, with the purpose of scrutinising decisions taken in the course of this pandemic so far and to ensure that lessons are learned for the future. The Scottish public inquiry is expected to adopt a person-centred, human rights based approach.

Decisions about the scope of the inquiry are yet to be taken. Public engagement about a draft Scottish public inquiry aims and principles paper took place between 24 August and end of September. The Scottish Government is actively seeking the views of equality and Human Rights stakeholder groups. I also met with equality and Human Rights groups on 30 September. This feedback will help inform the terms of reference to be agreed between Ministers and the inquiry’s Chair, once they have been appointed.

The Independent Review of Adult Social Care recommended that accountability for adult social care should be transferred from local authorities to Scottish Ministers, creating a National Care Service.

The Scottish Government is currently consulting on proposals for the remit and role of a National Care Service and wider proposals for community health and social care. The consultation also seeks views on whether children’s social work and social care services, and justice social work, should be included in the National Care Service.

Scottish Government welcomes ongoing engagement with local authorities and their participation in this consultation process. All responses to the consultation and engagement events will be carefully analysed to inform the Government’s position on the role and remit of the National Care Service. We will continue our engagement with key partners and stakeholders across the range of proposals for the new legislation.

As with the rest of the UK, fully vaccinated travellers arriving into Scotland from non-red list countries are required to take a test no later than the end of day 2 after their arrival. Currently, the test needs to meet a minimum standard which tends to mean that a PCR test is required, although some other tests can meet the standard.

Travellers can choose to purchase a PCR test via CTM, the UK booking portal for international travel, where costs are currently £68 for a day two test and £136 for day two and eight tests, regardless of where a traveller lives in the UK. Alternatively, a traveller can book a test via one of the private providers listed on the gov.uk site. The average cost of these tests are between £55-£65 across the whole of the UK.

From 24 October, fully vaccinated travellers arriving into England from non-red list countries will be able to take a lateral flow test with photo verification for their day 2 test. This will be followed up with a confirmatory PCR test, should they receive a positive result.

We have confirmed we will align with these changes, however we have only recently received details of the proposal from the UK Government and are reviewing these prior to confirming a date for implementation.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-02664 on 17 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03745 on 26 October 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

Social Security Scotland routinely publish information as part of the quarterly Official Statistics release ‘Funeral Support Payment’. This includes information on the number and value of payments made since launch. In the most recent publication, which covered data up until the end of June 2021, 9,865 payments had been issued since the launch of Funeral Support Payment.

Information on Funeral Support Payment was last published on the 24 August 2021 and provided information up to the 30 June 2021. This publication is available from:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/funeral-support-payment-high-level-statistics-to-30-june-2021/

Forestry and Land Scotland’s (FLS), deer culling operatives are qualified and trained, are registered ‘Fit and Competent’, have Deer Stalking Certificates 1&2 and hold ‘Trained Hunter’ status.

FLS’s culling activities are robustly supervised and monitored and all operatives are briefed that, if there is any possibility of orphaning a dependant calf that a shot must not be taken, all dependant calves must be culled before the mother.

There are a number of subsidised training schemes provided by Scottish Government in regards to HGV and Bus Driver training including: Employability Fund, Modern Apprenticeships, National Transition Training Fund and Individual Training Accounts

A summary table has been provided, showing the number of people supported through the various schemes in relation to HGV and Bus driver training. To ensure consistency, we have provided figures based on financial years 2019-20, 2020-21 and Quarter 1 of 2021-22.

On 2 September 2021, the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture announced that £250,000 would be made available from the Scottish Government’s Humanitarian Emergency Fund (HEF) to provide critical help for the people of Afghanistan.

Given the volatile operating environment on the ground in Afghanistan, our NGO partners have been unable, as of 19 October, to operate safely to deliver much needed humanitarian assistance. However, we are in close contact with our partners and as soon as assurances over the safety of their staff in Afghanistan are forthcoming, disbursement will commence.