 Mae'r gweld mewn cyfrannu ond mae'r cyfrannu cyflissiwyr yn gondol yr argynwyr ei awơ oedd yn unig o'r cwmbeithio gylai tarod. Mae'r ffwrdd cymdeitim wedi'u cyfrannu cwmfaffolio i'r cwmbeithio i'r cyfrannu cyflissiwyr yn cyfrannu cyfrannu cyflissiwyr yn chefracholio cwmgoffin. Felly mae'n mynd i nesaf i âm教uniaethau cyfrannu cyflissio, mae'n mynd i gweithio i gael cyfrannu cyfrannu cyflissio diddynt yn eid السag gyda'i eich cyfrannu cyfrannu Richard MacLean. To ask the Scottish Government what consideration was given to increasing the maximum spend on both long and short campaigns for the forthcoming Scottish local elections in May 2022. Minister George Adam. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and thank you for the question. Expenses limits for Scottish local government elections were updated as part of the recent set of instructions instruments that were laid before Parliament ahead of May 2022 local elections. Specifically, Lleidraethol Merigodol cwmifialau bobl, Cabinet's Local Government Elections, Expenditure Local Wizarding, Scotland Order 2021, increased the maximum expenditure limit to £806, together with an additional £7p for every entry in the register of electors. The power of Scottish ministers to vary the limits on candidates' expenditure in local government election campaigns is restricted to changes linked to inflation or the recommendation of the electoral commission. The increases that were made by the recent Rydw i'w gyfathieng fel Ymfolawd, nid o'r r시�mau i niw, ac yn ymwneud cyfathbeth mai Gwldin iawn. Rydw i'w meddwl am gwaith i ddweud, credu i ddechrau i hynny ddod i'w pryd daf yn Llywodraeth P stinks ond y Gwldin iawn ddatblygu gyda'r Llywodraeth, nad o'i'n gwneud a'u prif edrydu ar gyfer cyfathion ar gyfer gyfathion a'n ei ddweud o'r Llywodraeth i Ym妙i yn 어�os i chi'n gwneud. The government reviews campaign expenditure limits ahead of each set of parliamentary and local government elections. As noted, the power of the Scottish ministers to amend spending limits for local government elections is limited unless in response to a recommendation from the electoral commission. I am confident that the commission will consider any lessons learned in holding of the 2022 elections and will continue to work productively with commission ahead of any future changes. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impacts of the Omicron variant on the implementation of its Covid-19 recovery strategy. Public Health Scotland is working rigorously to assess how many cases of Omicron there are likely to be in Scotland, and they, together with local test and protect teams, will work to identify how the virus might have been transmitted and to break further changes of transmission. Our response to the new variant will develop as we learn more about the risk it poses and as we found out more about it spread within Scotland. We will continue to closely monitor the situation and be guided by the latest science and clinical advice. We will continue to do all we can to make sure that people in Scotland are offered the greatest possible protection through vaccination as quickly as we can. That in turn will help our on-going progress on recovery. Indeed, Scotland already has the highest vaccination rate of all the UK nations for the first, second and third doses. I thank the cabinet secretary for his answer. The arrival of Omicron in Scotland is a stark reminder that if we needed it, the virus has not gone away. Care workers, I speak to, having gone above and beyond in the past 20 months, are once again rightly concerned about how we will support the most vulnerable people in our society. The recovery plan speaks about the importance of fair work in social care. Does the cabinet secretary agree that a wage of at least £15 an hour would fairly recognise a huge contribution of care workers? Will he call on his colleague the finance secretary to deliver that in tomorrow's budget, to match the aspirations of his recovery plan and to give care workers the rise that he deserves? I absolutely acknowledge the significance and importance of the work of employees in the care sector. They have done an absolutely magnificent job in very trying circumstances. I thank them and admire them for their contribution. The Government, as Mr O'Kane will know, has already taken steps to support and to increase the pay available for the social care staff. The finance secretary will make her announcements in due course tomorrow. Mr O'Kane will realise that it is not for me to make statements and comments about those issues today. The finance secretary will set out her position to Parliament tomorrow, but it has to be acknowledged that the Government has already taken substantial steps to enhance the remuneration of social care workers and to support the efforts that are proving to begin to show some of the signs of success of improving recruitment in the social care sector. If we are going to minimise the impact of the Omocon variant, we need to make sure that people have access to booster vaccines. I have a constituent who has had the first and second vaccine in Scotland, but has had to move to the south of England for family reasons, and has been told that the only way that she can get a booster is to return to Scotland. Surely that must be something that can get sorted out between the NHS in Scotland and the NHS in other parts of the UK? Is it something that the cabinet secretary can look into? If Mr Fraser would care to send me the details of that, I will look into that specific case. I can see no good reason why that should be the case. In the light of the information that Mr Fraser gives me, it makes no sense for that individual to be requested to come back to Scotland to receive the booster vaccination, so if he cares to write to me with those details, I will attend to that. Before I call in question 3, I would note that the member was late to the chamber. I would be minded not to call the member, but in the interests of any members who may wish to put forward a supplementary question to the member. However, I would wish, before he asks his question, that he provides an apology and an explanation. My sincere apologies, Presiding Officer. I simply lost track of time, so I apologise to the chamber profusely. To ask the Scottish Government how its co-ordination of Covid-19 policies can ensure people living in Perthshire, south in Cynrosshire, are supported through the recovery of the pandemic. Despite progress, we know that the impacts of Covid continue to be felt acutely by many individuals, businesses and other organisations across Scotland. We are working closely with local government to implement the shared vision and outcomes of the Covid recovery strategy, and we will continue to work together with local authorities, including Perth and Cynros Council, to shape the recovery activity that will support the rebuilding of local public services, create and sustain good-green jobs and fair work, drive financial security for low-income households and improve the wellbeing of children and young people. Given the important role that vaccination is going to play in Covid recovery, efficient role of the vaccine is going to be key. Unfortunately, recent changes to the JCVI guidance from members of the public turning up before they could legally receive their booster, with some staff and volunteers experiencing abuse in our local centre. What cross-government co-ordination can be put in place to ensure that future changes to the JCVI guidance do not result in a repeat of that unfortunate situation? Obviously, the JCVI advice required us to move at pace to try to ensure that individuals could have access to the booster vaccination. I am aware of a small number of cases in the context of the overwhelming scale and success of the vaccination programme, where individuals were inconvenienced because of the change in approach. The necessary advice has been issued to health boards that have been communicated widely in the healthcare system. The guidance has been updated on the NHS-informed website. We apologise to anyone who was unable to get their booster vaccination, but I am satisfied that the measures are now in place to ensure that this approach can be put into operational practice at local level to ensure that all the clinical and legal requirements have been met. To ask the Scottish Government when ministers last met with key stakeholders, including business owners, to discuss the Covid-19 vaccine certification scheme. A review process over the past few weeks has included ministerial engagement with a range of business sectors, including hospitality, tourism, culture and event sectors, most impacted by Covid. The new Omicron variant has refocused our efforts and discussions, and has again stressed the importance of our protection measures, including the Covid status certification scheme. Last week, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy met with the Confederation of British Industry, the Federation Small Businesses Institute of Directors, the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, the Scottish Council of Development Industry and the Scottish Financial Enterprise. I welcome the high level of engagement with the sector. The hospitality sector welcomes the introduction of testing to the certification scheme, but it notes that the scheme will have an on-going economic impact. We have seen it from the experience in Wales, where there is a 20 per cent reduction in all trade levels in the sector. The Scottish Beer and Pub Association has said that they have seen a drop in 40 per cent in trade since the introduction of the Covid passport scheme. That is not just 40 per cent down in normal times. Can the cabinet secretary outline what more steps can be taken to provide more frequent and widespread communication to the public that they can test before going out to the net clubs and the hospitality sector to deliver more spontaneous visits, of course, where it is safe to do so? What Pauline McNeill will be familiar with is the delicate balance that the Government is trying to strike in this matter, whereby we want business sectors to be able to operate as normally as possible, but we face significant threats and a renewed threat from the Omicron variant into the bargain. The type of message that the Government has been setting out over the course of the past 10 days about increasing the volume of individual testing before socialising or before going out to a retail environment is really important so that individuals can take more responsibility to make sure that they are safe to go out and to circulate. As I indicated in a radio interview earlier this week, I am now testing myself on a daily basis when I am likely to be in contact with other members of the public. It is a personal decision of mine to protect my family but also to make sure that I am able to exercise my functions in office but to do it safely in relation to others. I would encourage members of the public to do so. I think that an essential point is that we have to make sure that there is availability of lateral flow device testing kits. They are freely available on the NHS informed website, numerous pharmacies and we are trying to extend the physical availability of those in communities in partnership with local authorities. To ask the Scottish Government how its policies across Government will support island communities to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. We know that the impacts of Covid-19 continue to be felt acutely by many individuals, businesses and other organisations across our island communities. The 30 million islands programme will ensure delivery of the national islands plan and is informed by our learning of how island communities have responded and adapted to Covid-19. We continue to work closely across Government and with our island partners to implement the shared vision and outcomes of the Covid recovery strategy, which sets out the actions that we will take to address systemic inequalities made worse by Covid-19, to make progress towards a wellbeing economy and accelerate inclusive person-centred public services. Can I thank the cabinet secretary for his reply and can I ask what can be done to build resilience to ensure that the supply chain issues, which did badly affect some island communities at various points throughout the pandemic, are not repeated in the future? Obviously, there is a... The island communities, and I need to share no information about this with Dr Allan, given his assiduous representation of his constituency. The island communities are heavily dependent on the ferry connections that provide essential services to the islands in bulk. Obviously, we have had instances over the course of the pandemic, where staff have had to self-isolate for Covid purposes. That has disrupted the availability of the ferry network. I assure Dr Allan, however, that there is a pragmatic approach taken to try to ensure that island communities are properly and fully serviced by ferry vessels. I noticed that, as a consequence today of the disruption because of weather issues, that additional sailings have been put in place by Caledonia McBrain to Castle Bay that I noticed earlier on today. It is an indication that, where possible, we will use flexibility and pragmatism to make sure that island communities are properly serviced at a time when there can be unavoidable disruption due to self-isolation and other examples of the Covid pandemic. Its policies and actions across Government will support Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. The Covid recovery strategy sets out how we will rebuild by working collaboratively across Government and with partners in local government business and the third sector. Recovery priorities will vary by location and local needs, so we will continue to work in partnership to deliver joint leadership that is necessary for this effort. Both Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway will benefit from the Scottish Government's £85 million contribution to the Borderlands inclusive growth deal, which will support a range of projects and programmes designed to drive sustainable economic growth across the region. We have also provided up to £125,000 to support the South of Scotland regional economic partnership to develop the area's first regional economic strategy, establishing a framework and delivery plan for national agencies and regional partners to work together to achieve a sustained and inclusive recovery from the effects of Covid-19. Emma Harper I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. Across D&G and the Scottish Borders, when Covid-19 protective measures were previously put in place, many businesses welcomed the Covid-19 business support, which was available to keep them afloat. Can the cabinet secretary comment on what engagement the Scottish Government has had with the UK Government, given the emergence of the Omicron variant, regarding whether the Treasury will make finances available to the Scottish Government, should public health protections be required again? The First Minister, along with the First Minister of Wales, wrote to the Prime Minister last week to set out a number of practical issues that we believe need to be addressed in relation to the possible implications of the Omicron variant. One of those issues was the possibility that we might see interruption to the operation of business due to additional restrictions that we might have to bring in, and we were making the point in that letter that there was an importance of having a flexible approach across the United Kingdom to make sure that different administrations who may be affected at different times, although those issues might be affected at similar scale and time across the whole of the United Kingdom, have the financial support available. We welcome the fact that there was support from the Hermasty Treasury in relation to earlier stages of the pandemic. As we have reflected in this question time session, that threat has not gone away and may intensify as a consequence of Omicron. It is likely to intensify as a consequence of Omicron, so we need to have the financial support available and we will continue to discuss that with the United Kingdom Government. Given the vital role that public transport is going to play in the post-pandemic recovery, not just to get young people but others in terms of finding employment and securing employment, as well as returning to social activities, can the Scottish Government give an assurance that the public bus and rail services in my constituency of Galloway and Western Fries will return to pre-Covid levels and that recovery of rural areas will not be put at risk through damaging cutbacks? I certainly want that to be the case and I acknowledge the importance of public transport in ensuring that connectivity is available there for all citizens. It is particularly apparent in an area like Dumfries in Galloway and for the benefit of completeness in relation to this question and the Scottish Borders as well. The Government has put in place very significant levels of financial support to sustain the operations of transport providers during the pandemic. Of necessity, that public transport has carried many fewer passengers than would have been the case because of restrictions, but we do want to see a vibrant public transport network that is available to ensure that the needs of all citizens, whether they are accessing college or training places or employment or making connections across the community, are able to be satisfied. I give Mr Carson the assurance that the Government is working to that objective, although there is a lot of dialogue to be had about specific services and provision. To ask the Scottish Government how its policies across Government will support families on low incomes to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. Increasing financial security for low-income households is one of the central outcomes of our Covid recovery strategy, and we are focused on supporting those most affected during the pandemic. The Scottish Government is taking a range of actions that will transform the lives of many families across Scotland. From April 2022, we are doubling the Scottish child payment to £20 per week, which could lift a further 20,000 children out of poverty. That policy is the most ambitious child poverty reduction measure in the United Kingdom and demonstrates our commitment to supporting low-income families as we recover from the pandemic. We are also progressing work to further expand funded early learning and childcare for one and two-year-olds, starting with those from low-income households. Alongside that, we are expanding our free school breakfast and lunch provision, starting with those who need it most. I welcome the announcement from the Scottish Government that the game change in Scottish child payment will be doubled to £20 in the upcoming budget. What impact will that specific policy have on tackling child poverty as we recover from the pandemic? The analysis that has been undertaken so far indicates that increasing the amount of Scottish child payment to £20 could lift 40,000 children out of poverty, reducing overall child poverty by an estimated 4 per cent in 2023-24. That is based on initial analysis, however. We hope to publish further analysis on that point in early 2022. That will give families over 106,000 children under the age of six an immediate cash boost when it is introduced in April 2022. We will, of course, look to take other steps to support the financial wellbeing of low-income families and to make sure that the interventions that we make, for example, on the creation of employment or on the expansion of wraparound childcare, is also targeted to support those families to make sure that we use a combination of different interventions, whether it is child payment or whether it is employment support, to enable that we achieve our outcome of reducing child poverty and improving the financial security of low-income households. To ask the Scottish Government how its policies across government will support the north-east recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. We are actively supporting economic recovery in the north-east and have provided close to £100 million to support businesses. Additional funding needs to meet the tune of £150 million to councils to help to achieve that objective. We are also investing £157 million in the Aberyne city region and Murray growth deals and over £14 million to develop the skills needed to support regional economic recovery. Alongside that, we have recently confirmed our intention to commit £500 million of capital over the next 10 years to support the just transition of the region and the Murray area to support energy transition to create jobs and to maximise the region's future economic potential. I welcome the investment in the north-east. As the north-east continues to recover from Storm Arwen and now of course Storm Barra, many people are not able to schedule or attend their Covid vaccination boosters. With the Omicron variant spreading throughout Scotland, what advice can the Deputy First Minister give to my constituents who have delayed boosters due to the storm disruption? A number of vaccination clinics in the north-east of Scotland took the decision to close early on Friday 26 November for safety reasons with concern about the severe weather from Storm Arwen. Some clinics remained closed over the weekend up to Monday 29 November. We understand that all vaccination clinics affected by Storm Arwen have now reopened and are currently operational. Where vaccination appointments were impacted, people were immediately redirected to unaffected vaccination centres rather than having to wait to book their appointment for another day. Health boards have implemented processes to ensure rescheduling of appointments missed due to the storm, including contacting those they hold details for and issuing public communications on this point as well. Deputy Presiding Officer, something that can make a huge impact to the north-east recovery is Freeport status for Aberdeen and Peterhead. Will the cabinet secretary stop playing petty politics with thousands of jobs and engage with the UK Government's Freeport programme? We have fully engaged with the United Kingdom Government's Freeport agenda. We want to make sure that it is compatible with the democratic decisions of this Parliament. I think that this Parliament, by an overwhelming majority, wants the approach to the Freeport concept in Scotland to have at its heart the concept of fair work, and by fair work the payment of the real living wage. If Mr Lumson happened to see the exchange between the Secretary of State for Scotland Mr Alistair Jack and the member of Parliament for Edinburgh, North and Leith, Deirdre Brock, on Monday, he would have seen Mr Jack confirm that the issue that is at stake here, the issue that the Secretary of State has decided to put a flag in the ground to make the absolute obstacle to resisting agreeing the model that we have put forward, is the payment of the real living wage. There we have it. The Conservatives want to support a low-wage economy. The bully boys of the Conservative benches are trying to shout me down for simply explaining to them what their Secretary of State for Scotland said to a House of Commons committee, chaired by my distinguished colleague, the member for Perth and North Persia, Pete Wishart, an excellent House of Commons committee chair, if ever there was one, and my colleague, Deirdre Brock, who managed to extract from the Secretary of State that the Tories are only interested in perpetuating low pay. This Government, and I think that members on this side as well, are interested in decent pay and fair work, and the sooner the Conservatives join the journey, the better for Scotland. That concludes portfolio questions on Covid-19 recovery and parliamentary business, and we will now move on to the next portfolio questions that are on net zero, energy and transport. Again, if a member wishes to request a supplementary question, they should press the request to speak button or indicate so in the chat function by entering the letter R during the relevant question. I call question number one, Graham Simpson. Thank you very much to ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the report, A Vision for Scotland's Railways, produced for Scotland's rail unions. The fact that the unions are sharing their ideas and views, and I look forward to discussing those with unions at our next meeting when we arrange that. However, be assured that we are pressing ahead to put in place arrangements to mobilise a wholly-owned company structure of the Scottish Government for the provision of ScotRail services following expiration of the current franchise. The new ScotRail operator, ScotRail trains limited, its management and staff will, I am sure, share with all of us and the general public a desire for ScotRail to be a world-leading railway service offering value to passengers and the wider economy whilst being financially and environmentally sustainable. I thank the minister for that answer. He didn't answer the question, of course, which was what was his response to the report. I'm not sure if he's read it. It's produced for Scotland's four rail unions and at least it is a vision for the future. We've had nothing like that from the minister so far, but ScotRail is going to be nationalised in March. We don't know anything about the Governments. There's staffing, timetables, tickets, rolling stock, we don't know if there's going to be redundancies, but we do know there's going to be a series of big books, appointments, that's already in process. Can I ask the minister if he would agree to cross-party talks on nationalisation? Will he agree to make a statement on where we are with this? We're only a few months away and will he also involve the unions? I'll tell you what we won't do, which is what the Tory Government is doing south of the border and slashing billions of pounds from rail services. With regard to the various questions that the member asked, I'm in the process of writing to the net zero committee, to the convener, his colleague, to outline some of the very information that he's looking for, and that will be in the public domain within a matter of days. With regard to his statement, I'm more than happy to provide a statement to the Parliament subject to the bureau's agreement early in the year. With regard to the report, yes, I have read it. I was given a copy ahead of its publication. There are a number of aspects of it. I think that we would all be in agreement with it. There are some good suggestions in there. I'm sure that Mr Simpson has many good suggestions to make as well, and I'm more than happy to meet him to hear those. Question 2, Michelle Thomson. To ask the Scottish Government when it last met Falkirk Council to discuss public transport and connectivity within the rural areas of Falkirk East constituency and what was discussed. Transport Scotland officials met Falkirk Council representatives on 15 November as part of the 4th valley regional transport working group, which was established to facilitate collaborative working and engagement for the second strategic transport projects review attendees discussed the emerging draft recommendations, which follows extensive engagement during the course of the review on the transport problems and the opportunities in the region. Many people in the outlying areas of my constituency of Falkirk East feel that they've been left adrift by private companies driven by profit. Although I understand that the number of passengers is still below pre-Covid levels, that doesn't mean to say that communities should be cut off with the want of regular and reliable public transport. With that in mind, can the minister outline what support and encouragement the Scottish Government is providing to local authorities like Falkirk to provide public transport and connectivity to communities particularly at this stage in the pandemic and what further steps it's taking to ensure public transport is run for the benefit of our communities and citizens and not just shareholders? Minister. During the pandemic, we've maintained concessory travel reimbursement and bus operators grant payments at pre-Covid levels and have made available up to £210 million. In additional funding to the end of this financial year, bus operators receiving that additional funding are not allowed to make a profit and are required to adapt services to current demand, have regard to maintaining connectivity and keep services under review in consultation with local transport authorities and the health board. Covid support funding is, in addition to that, provided to local authorities through the block grant for supporting social aid and necessary services. At that, some of money totals £57 million in 2019-20. Looking to the future, the Transport Act 2019 provides local transport authorities with a range of enhanced options to improve bus services in their area and we are presently analysing responses to the consultation on the secondary legislation that is required to implement those. Rural villages across Falkirk would benefit from safer streets and improved connectivity. Will the minister, indeed, agree to an urgent review of Scottish Government policy and guidance with regard to 20mph zones in rural villages, especially in the villages of Reading Muirhead and Earth, where residents have long campaigned for such zones to support Falkirk Council to meet community demands? Presiding Officer, we covered that specific issue extensively in the members' recent debate and, as he well knows, we have plans to bring forward a review of the presumptions around 20mph zones across the whole of Scotland, not just in his region. Question 3. Joe FitzPatrick, who is joining us remotely. I will provide an update on its pilot, providing free bicycles. Mr FitzPatrick, I am sorry, we did not hear the very beginning of your question. Could you please repeat your question from the beginning? To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its pilots to provide free bicycles for school-aged children. Presiding Officer, on 17 August, we announced the first six pilot projects selected to offer free bicycles for school-aged children who cannot afford one. The pilots are currently under way across the country, and since then, a further four pilots have been launched, including a pilot on Shetland, and a pilot specialising in the provision of non-standard bikes, which are modified to fit the needs of an individual rider. To date, 242 bikes have been issued, and the pilots have ambitious plans to deliver considerably more this month and beyond. Joe FitzPatrick. Thank you, minister, for his answer. The minister is, I know, aware that the Dundee cycle hub, in my constituency, operated by Dundee and Angus cycle hub, is participating in the pilot project, delivering free bikes for school-aged children in Dundee. Can the minister provide any indication on the number of bikes that have been provided or are expected to be provided to children in Dundee over the course of the pilot? Minister Patrick Harvie. Yes, indeed. The Angus cycle hub pilot is based on a central bike distribution centre for the Angus and Dundee areas, with regional support provided by dedicated development workers and bike mechanics. The pilot is providing specialist support for young people and marginalised families in Angus and Dundee to engage with cycling, active travel, health and wellbeing opportunities. 105 bikes have been delivered to date, 127 additional applications for bikes have been received, and 502 bikes have been ready to go by the Angus cycle hub. To ask the Scottish Government what support is available to residents in Motherland Wiesha who are in fuel poverty? The Scottish Government's local area-based scheme and national warmer homes Scotland scheme are available in all areas of Scotland. Those are designed to make homes warmer and cheaper to heat for those living in or at risk of fuel poverty. Since 2013, the Scottish Government has allocated over £21 million to funding for North Lanarkshire Council as part of our area-based scheme. Our winter support fund includes £10 million for a fuel insecurity fund, which will ensure direct financial support is available to those who are at risk of self-disconnection or self-rationaling as a result of increased energy prices this winter. The UK energy market is quite frankly broken. We see some of the highest energy prices in Europe, the highest hikes in recent months. That is evidenced by the fact that so many of the providers are going out of inter-administration, causing more stress to my constituents who are already worried about the fuel poverty. What predictions are in place for constituents to find themselves in a situation of an energy provider entering administration? Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Connectivity, I have a good point about the existing structural problems with the UK energy market, which is largely broken down into two types of companies. Those who have hedged on energy markets and those who are unhedged on energy markets. The consequence of very significant spikes in energy wholesale prices has resulted in a significant number of those who are unhedged companies to find themselves in very serious financial difficulty and, as a result, withdrawing from the market and leaving customers in difficult positions. She will be aware that the present structure of the regulation of the energy market is a responsibility of the UK Government. As it stands, a customer whose supplier is no longer able to provide them with a service is covered by an off-GM supplier of last resort process, which has been designed to minimise disruption in such an event, where the customer should wait to be contacted by the new supplier that is allocated by an off-GM. However, if the member has any constituents who are experiencing difficulties with the issues with a new supplier, they should contact Advice Direct Scotland directly, who will be able to provide them with advice and support on the issue. I will call a supplementary from Liam Kerr, but he will of course be aware that the question per the business bulletin relates to the people of Mother Bowl and Wishaw. It also relates to fuel poverty. In March, the UK Government awarded Aberdeen Council £2.2 million to retrofit homes to save households around £450 a year and keep them out of fuel poverty. Aberdeen has a great deal of older granite housing stocks, so decarbonisation will present huge costs. What estimates has the Scottish Government done of the cost of retrofitting those granite houses? What financial help will be given to Aberdeen Council to tackle the older and specific granite housing stock? Before I ask the cabinet secretary to respond to that, could I stress that the question on the business bulletin says what support is available to people in the Motherwell and Wishaw constituency who are in fuel poverty. That is quite clear, but the cabinet secretary would be able to respond to Mr Kerr's supplementary on another question. I can say that granite properties in the constituency of Motherwell and Wishaw, I suspect, will be of a similar difficulty in being able to tackle some of the insulation issues that they may have in areas such as the north-east of Scotland. I welcome the small amount of investment that has been made by the UK Government to try to assist in some of that work. However, it will be mindful that we have invested some £430 million over the course of the period since 2013 in this area alone. We have increased our funding this year yet again in order to help to support the area-based scheme so that it can assist local authorities in areas such as Motherwell and Wishaw and, of course, also in areas such as the north-east of Scotland. To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to improve road safety on the trunk road network. Of course, Scotland has some of the safest roads in the world, but despite the success of each collision, an injury is traumatic for everyone involved and more remains to be done to reduce collisions. We have achieved substantial reductions in accidents and casualties through targeted programmes of investment on trunk roads and joint working with road safety partners. Members might wish to know that, across 42 assessed countries in Europe and beyond, Scotland currently has the eighth lowest fatality level. However, we are not complacent in any way at all and we continue to look at where we can make further improvements. Thank the minister for his response. As he will be aware, a trial on the A9 for HDVs over seven and a half tonnes raised speed limits from 40 to 50 miles an hour. That move brought it in line with other trials that have taken part in the rest of the UK, which critically has resulted in a steady reduction in the number of collisions and casualties as it addressed one of the main frustrations and that is driver frustrations with slow moving lorries. In the last five years, there have been 170 accidents in the A9 of which we are fatal. As the main route to the ferry ports of Cain Rhine, there is a disproportionately high number of HDVs on the road compared with other trunk roads. Will the Scottish Government commit to reviewing HDV speed limits along the A75 with appropriate speed cameras to improve safety and reduce fatalities as a matter of urgency? The Department for Transport published a three-year evaluation on the effects of increasing speed limits in England and Wales. That showed that there was statistically no significant change in the number of accidents involving at least one HDV on all single and dual carriageway roads. That said, we will use the evaluation from that alongside the A9 project. Indeed, we are using that because, as part of the national speed management review, set out in the delivery plan for the recently published Scotland's road safety framework to 2030, that is a workstream and it has commenced. I thank the minister for the information that he has provided. Can I ask specifically about average speed cameras and how they can improve safety? What analysis has been done on both the A9 and the A90, given the introduction of average speed cameras on those roads, and could those same mechanisms be applied on the A96? I am happy to write to the member with the analysis that she is looking for, on the A96. We deployed safety cameras where they have the greatest potential to reduce injury collisions and where there is evidence of both collisions and speeding. On the A96, there are a number of mobile camera sites, including a new site at Baines Hall, which became operational in April 2021. Regular camera deployments continue to take place to encourage good driver behaviours, compliance with the speed limit and a continued high level of safety on that route. Question 6, Liz Smith. To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in 2021 to adopt greener bus transport across Scotland. The Scottish Government committed over £71 million in the year to 31 March 2021, supporting the purchase of 272 zero-emission buses awarded under the Scottish ultra-low-emission bus scheme and unlocking over £71 million of private investment from bus operators. A new Scottish zero-emission challenge fund was launched this year, aiming to support the bus finance and energy sectors to establish a self-sustaining market for zero-emission buses and infrastructure. Bids have been submitted and are currently being assessed. That will further support significant change in the bus market in favour of zero-emission technologies. I thank Mr Dave for his answer, and he is well aware that improving bus and train transport is key in pursuing the public to go green rather than rely on extensive use of their cars. I ask Mr Dave what his reaction is to the fact that first buses have cancelled altogether the X-53 service from Stirling to St Andrews, and that stagecoach has reduced the X-56 service between Perth and Edinburgh, both of which are causing constituents across Midscotland and Fife very serious inconvenience. As I outlined in a previous answer, the relationship between the Scottish Government and the bus operators at this time is very clearly laid out. One of those services that she is referring to will be the subject of a member's debate next week, when we will be able to explore that in detail. Clearly, we want to encourage the bus operators, especially during the pandemic, to maintain it as many services as possible, recognising, of course, that some of the issues that have arisen with the buses are down-to-drive or shortages. As to the Scottish Government, what steps it is taking to support the energy sector in the west Scotland region? The Scottish Government has ambitious plans for offshore wind in Scotland, but that needs to come with economic returns, which ensure that local supply chain companies can benefit from the opportunities that the deployment presents. We are committed to co-designing a series of just transition plans for regions and sectors across the country, including the west of Scotland. Work on the energy strategy refresh and just transition plans has already begun, and it will consider how communities' length and breadth of Scotland can benefit from the transition to net zero. The cabinet secretary will be aware that reactor 3 at Huntington B nuclear power station was switched off last week after 45 years of service supplying electricity to 1.7 million homes. It has also supplied thousands of much-needed local jobs and contributes 54 million pounds to the north-easher economy every single year. Given that decommissioning itself will create very limited job opportunities, why is there still no clear or obvious Government plan for any so-called just transition to renewable energy jobs for the hundreds of families who currently rely on that site for employment and economic prosperity? The approach that the Scottish Government takes to energy and the development of energy projects is set out in our existing energy strategy, which the member will be aware is not supportive of the introduction of what is very costly and an expensive subsidised industry, which is the nuclear industry. I recognise that the decommissioning work at Huntington B will be a long-term project that will obviously maintain and retain employment within the area over an extended period of time, but the priority for the Scottish Government is to make sure that we build an energy system that is based upon targeting not only our renewable sector in onshore and offshore wind but also in tidal marine and in the use of storage. We will set out in more detail as we move forward with our energy strategy refresh, which will be published next year. Does the cabinet secretary agree that the renewable energy sector in West Scotland would be better placed to attract renewable investment if the UK government did not continue to impose transition charges higher than anywhere else in the UK, which would impose an unfair financial burden on firms seeking to invest in Scotland? The member makes a very important point. It is an issue that has been recognised across the energy sector for many years. It is in Scottish waters and in some land-based projects that Scottish energy developments are the most expensive to take forward in any part of the UK as a result of the UK's transmission network. The need for that to be reformed has been required for many years. I welcome the fact that off-gem has now indicated that it is open to considering a possible review of that. That needs to be taken forward at pace because it is having a negative impact on the sector and the potential economic and environmental benefits that can come from greater renewables. However, the type of regulatory system that is stacked against Scottish developments is unacceptable and is one of the actions that the UK government needs to take forward at pace in order to correct it.