 Can I remind members of the Covid-related measures that are in place in that face covering should be worn when moving around the chamber and across the Holyrood campus? My first item of business is portfolio questions on a Covid-19 recovery and parliamentary business. If a member wishes to request a supplemental question, they should press their request to speak button or indicate so in the child function by entering the letter out during a requirement question. Hangar, asgw Last Time, how its policies across government will support people living in West Scotland region to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic? The Covid recovery strategy sets out an ambitious plan for Scotland's recovery that is focused on creating a fairer future, particularly for people most affected during the pandemic. Our plan for recovery includes supporting the recovery of our public services to ensure they meet the needs of people across Scotland. o ran perioedd cyfan arwain o blynyddoedd o gwybod ar bod yn gweithio. Wrth i, dyma'r gymh fod yn cyfnod o'r gweithio yn gweithio gwir, o�eswr ac yn ymddangas i meddwl cyfnodau argylcheddol amgoedd. Mae Gweithio ddechrau anhedrig yn gran forumgolig, i ddailu yng Nghymru, i ddailu Argyll wantu yng nghymru, i ddailu Argyllach Argyll wantu, i ddailu Argyllw i ddailu Argyllach Argyllw i ddailu. bellach i bwysigiaethg appearances, i sew背 mightachau a chwaith sy'n이죠 darw'i fîl ei bwysigio ac i fê Consaches VoLaughter a Plerde chillu wedi i gwasanaethol iawn. F memorized the cabinet secretary has some of the worst poverty and deprivation in Scotland and the UK. The pandemic has taken away hope, particularly opportunity fr shift for young people for young people what can the Scottish Government do to bring high quality apprenticeships particularly to those in some of the most deprived areas? Deputy First Minister? I think that the first thing to do is to say that I agree with the analysis and the focus of the Covid recovery plan that Katie Clark has put forward because at the heart of the Covid recovery strategy is the tackling of endemic poverty and particularly child poverty. Those issues have become worse during the pandemic, and those who were suffering prior to the pandemic suffered more during the pandemic, and they must be the focus of our attention afterwards. I assure Katie Clark that at the heart of our strategy is about supporting young people to achieve good outcomes. On the best outcomes, they can achieve as an apprenticeship, so we are supporting a range of different companies and organisations in the work through Skills Development Scotland, to make sure that apprenticeships are available in all localities within Scotland, and particularly in areas of deprivation. I also recognise that some young people who have experienced poverty may require additional support to help them to gain access to some of those opportunities, and that will be available through ventures such as MCR pathways, for example, on mentoring, and through other ventures to support young people to achieve their potential. This morning, I was delighted to attend official opening in Largs of a new 122-home council housing development, backed by a £7.3 million grant from the Scottish Government. Does the Cabinet Secretary agree that constructing new council housing helps to drive economic recovery in the west of Scotland? At the £68 million grant to North Ayrshire Council over the last five years alone, with more than £81 million over the next five years, is in sharp contrast to the sum of precisely zero, provided by the Labour-Lib Dem Scottish Executive during its entire eight years in office. I agree with Kenneth Gibson that the construction of affordable housing and doing that within the local authority sector is an essential part of our approach to recovery. The Government has demonstrated since 2007 a commitment to this agenda, with more than 105,000 affordable homes delivered since that period, more than 73,000 of which were for social rent and nearly 17,000 of them for council homes. The Government is committed to delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which 70 per cent will be available for social rent and 10 per cent in our remote rural and island communities. Those commitments are part of an ambitious investment package of around £18 billion that will create 15,000 jobs each year, some of which will, of course, be in the sectors that Katie Clark has just asked me about. Mary SMEs in the west of Scotland region are experiencing severe skill shortages partly due to a lack of capacity to oversee and funding training and apprenticeships. The Scottish Government claims success on its reskilling in a still yet the number of modern apprenticeships offered in both East Dunbartonshire and West Dunbartonshire dropped by almost half from 2019 to 2020 to 2021. Therefore, why has the Scottish Government decided to cut college funding at a time when reskilling will be so important to recovery from the pandemic? First of all, it would be helpful if I put on the record the fact that, obviously, the number of modern apprenticeships fell in the years that Pam Goswll refers to because of the pandemic and the fact that the country was in lockdown. It was very difficult to enable those opportunities to be taken up in that context. Of course, over the preceding four years, we had seen steady incremental growth and the Government was actually, without the pandemic, achieved the target of 30,000 modern apprenticeships, which was the target for the financial year 2021, which would have been achieved had it not been for the pandemic. We were at over 29,000 in the previous year. That explains the situation. Obviously, the Government is committed to sustained investment in the sector because Pam Goswll puts a fair point to me. SMEs need to have access to a reliable stream of new entrants with the appropriate skills, and that is very much the focus of the apprenticeship programme. We take that forward by working with Scottish Skills Development Scotland and the college sector, who do superb work in making sure that every young person is able to fulfil their potential, and that is our objective. To ask the Scottish Government what consultation it will undertake with COSLA and individual local authorities on the Covid-19 strategic framework that is currently being developed. The strategic framework is the means by which we set out our overall approach to the Covid-19 response in Scotland. It explains what we are doing and why. The update that the First Minister announced in Parliament will be published in the coming weeks and will be the first update to set out in detail the approach that we will take to managing the virus in the medium to long-term as the virus starts to exist at more manageable and consistent levels. We will engage with COSLA and the Society of Local Authorities' chief executives and individual local authorities on the development of the strategic framework in advance of its publication to Parliament. I thank the cabinet secretary for his answer. He will know that local authorities have and will continue to play a vital part in our recovery from the pandemic. How often will the guidance be formally reviewed and what the process will be to do so? There are two points that I would make to Mr MacLennan in relation to that point. The first point is that we have worked closely with local authorities on the formulation of the Covid recovery strategy. It is essentially a strategy developed between the Government and local authorities. There is a programme board chaired by myself and the president of COSLA, which monitors the progress on that plan. I hope that that reassures Mr MacLennan and Parliament that the Government is working closely with local authorities in that respect. In relation to the strategic framework, what we hope to be able to achieve with the strategic framework is a document that lasts for a sustained period of time because we hope to be moving into a more consistent period for the handling of the Covid pandemic, which will require very limited revision, but we will have to keep that point under review and that will be the subject of updates to Parliament. Question 4 has not been lodged. Thank you, Presiding Officer, to ask the Scottish Government whether it provides an update on its plans to support disabled people, including people with a visual impairment, to vote in person during the 2022 local government elections. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and I thank Mr MacLennan for his question. The SSIs for the local government elections support greater inclusion. New measures include spending exemptions, so events are more accessible to disabled voters. We also recently placed a statutory role on the electoral commission to report on the accessibility of elections. Longer term, the Scottish Government officials are developing an electronic ballot solution for those with sight loss and exploring how other technology may help. The minister will be aware of the issues raised by members and representatives of RNAB Scotland, of ensuring that people with a visual impairment can vote independently at all elections starting with the upcoming council elections. Can the minister provide an update on the planning for this new technology to happen and training that will be delivered to local returning officers and key staff? Technology will be important in overcoming barriers faced by the sight loss community. We both attended an excellent event on audio devices in 4th valley sensory centre in 2021. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, it was not possible to undertake all the in-person trials and training that would have been required to introduce this technology at the upcoming local government elections. However, we are committed to introducing solutions that enable all voters to vote independently and will take action to implement solutions as soon as possible by continuing to work in partnership with people with sight loss and the electoral community. Your predecessor committed to running some pilot schemes at bi-elections to see which scheme would work best. Can you update the chamber as to say, have these pilot schemes taken place yet, and if not, when will they take place? The honest answer at this point, Mr Balfour, would be to say that I don't have the information right here right now, but I will endeavour to get that to you and you and I can possibly meet up at a later date and discuss the matter. 6. Sarah Boyack To ask the Scottish Government whether the Covid-19 certification scheme allows people who have received vaccines and boosters in different parts of the UK to demonstrate that they are fully vaccinated to meet requirements for travel or visiting events where it is a requirement of entry. That is the case. Our Covid-19 certification scheme allows people who have been fully vaccinated elsewhere in the United Kingdom to show either their NHS Covid pass or Northern Ireland Covid certificate for entry to events or travel from Scotland. If someone has received one of their coronavirus vaccinations outwith Scotland, they can upload official proof of vaccination from that country to their Scottish vaccination record through NHS Inform. That will allow individuals to receive a combined fully vaccinated status on Scotland's Covid status app to show for travel and domestic purposes. I thank the Deputy First Minister for that answer, because he will be aware that I raised the same issue with him on 12 January. If you go to the NHS Inform website, it tells constituents how to log a vaccination in England, which is by contacting the venue where they got the jab and include their Scottish pass code. If that does not work to phone the helpline, it still does not give information about Wales or Northern Ireland. Is the Deputy First Minister confirming that this is a four nations approach and that what he has just suggested does work for my constituents, who, as it happened, did have their vaccinations in Northern Ireland or Wales, but that is still not what the NHS Inform website actually says? If Sarah Boyack would like to drop me a note with the details of this particular case, I will have it specifically looked into. However, the logic of my answer is that, if people have had vaccinations in other parts of the United Kingdom, they can have that confirmed on their Covid status app within Scotland. The NHS Inform system should enable that to be uploaded. If that is creating a difficulty in those circumstances, I will have that explored and remedied at the earliest possible opportunity. If Sarah Boyack would be so good as to give me that information, I will pursue that. I have a number of supplementaries. Can I ask the Scottish Government if those who receive both vaccinations abroad will be able to have those verified on the Scottish status app in the same way as that is available in England? The only caveat that I need to put into that answer is subject to the nature and the approval of the vaccine that the individual has had. Providing an MHRA-approved vaccine, I do not see an issue with that, but that is the only caveat that I should add to that particular answer. That does seem to be a problem. My constituent had one vaccination in Wales, another one in Scotland, because Wales does not provide a QR code for a single dose. He is still classed as unvaccinated for travel. He has followed the Scottish Government guidance. He has filled in the form. I have been in touch with the directorate who has said that he should fill in the form again, which he has already done. Is that his wits end? What can the cabinet secretary advise that he does? The best thing that I can suggest is that Mr Rennie drops me a note with all of the details, and I will have it looked at. The logic of Mr Rennie's point is that the gentleman concerned has had two vaccinations, so that should be enough to satisfy the certification on the Covid status app. If Mr Rennie would be good enough to send me a note with that detail, I will have it addressed and remedied. Volunteers like myself, who took part in the Novavax vaccine trial, still do not have the correct vaccination status displayed on the app. Those volunteers who have been boosted show them that they have only one vaccination and not three. Can I ask the Scottish Government to look at this urgently, now that fully vaccinated means having three vaccines, because at present, volunteers are being disadvantaged? The first thing that I want to say is to express my thanks to Mr Lumsden and to people like Mr Lumsden who have volunteered for those programmes, because we would not be where we are today, frankly, without their generosity of spirit in doing that. Following that, it is therefore imperative that, for individuals who have made that commitment, they should be properly certificated for that purpose. I will give Mr Lumsden the commitment that I will seek some information on that issue and resolve it as quickly as it possibly can be resolved. To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the lifting of some Covid-19 restrictions, whether it will provide an update on when it anticipates the requirement to wear face coverings in places of worship, will be lifted. The face coverings remain an important measure in reducing the spread of Covid-19, and they are required in most indoor public settings. However, an exemption applies from wearing a face covering for those leading an act of worship and for performers. That exemption applies if the person is separated from other people by a screen or maintains a distance of at least one metre from other people. We understand that many people are keen to see restrictions regarding face coverings removed entirely in places of worship, and we continue to engage closely with faith and belief organisations on that issue, most recently on 26 January. We are required by law to regularly review all protective measures that are currently in place, and our most recent review concluded that the regulations on face coverings remain proportionate. We will continue to review that regularly, and it has been clear that protective measures within places of worship, as in other settings, will not be in place any longer than is necessary. John Mason, I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer, and I think that the churches and others would totally accept that they should not be given any privileged position. Given that many sectors are arguing for their own part, not least schools, that they should be lifted and not have to wear masks, I just would like reassurance again, I suppose, from the cabinet secretary to the First Minister, that the churches and places of worship will not be forgotten about. I give Mr Mason that assurance, and I express my warm thanks to those in our faith communities who have been asidious at applying the necessary restrictions that we have had in place. As a result, I have enabled members of the public to participate in public worship, which I acknowledge to be immensely important for many people in our society. I also assure Mr Mason of our determination to continue to engage with faith and belief organisations and to give the assurance that we will not keep those restrictions in place any longer than we judge to be appropriate and necessary for the continued suppression of Covid. Individuals attending places of worship are often seated in rows facing in one direction and often socially distanced from each other. Should we not get to the point soon where it becomes an issue of personal responsibility whether people choose to wear a face mask in such settings as opposed to being required in law for doing so, particularly when we know that having to wear a face mask in some cases discourages people from attending at places of worship? I certainly hope that that last point is not the case, because my answer to the question might help to address some of those issues. I want members of the public who wish to take part in public worship to feel confident about doing so. That brings me to the first point of Mr Fraser's question, where I do not think that that question can really be left to individual choice, because we are trying to create an environment in which it is safe for people who wish to take part in public worship. As I have said in my answer to Mr Mason, I acknowledge that it is a significant commitment of individuals in our society. I assure Mr Fraser that those issues are looked at carefully. We engage closely with the faith communities. The faith communities have been marvellous at working with us in applying those regulations and applying them in different places of worship around the country. I thank them more than for doing so and giving them the assurance that we will not have those restrictions in place any longer than is necessary. To ask the Scottish Government how measures in the coronavirus recovery and reform Scotland bill will support the Covid recovery strategy. The bill supports the Covid recovery strategy by embedding reforms in Scotland's public services that, though necessitated by the pandemic, have delivered improvements for people using public services. It also addresses systemic inequalities made worse by Covid. For example, the bill maintains the possibility of remote registration of deaths and still bus and gives licensing boards the flexibility to hold remote hearings. It also extends provisions that allow virtual attendance at quarter tribunal hearings. The option to communicate digitally may help people with limited mobility who are unable to travel or encounter difficulties in doing so. The bill also provides additional protection for debtors with unsustainable debt and maintains provisions that have supported tenants and prevented evictions. Can the cabinet secretary confirm that, as every part of society and economy had to rapidly transform in the light of Covid, some measures such as new digital legal transactions may need permanent statutory footing for those widely welcomed improvements to be maintained as part of Covid recovery and that resilience and readiness for any future pandemic, severe variant or emergency will be part of every country's response as part of Covid recovery? The bill that is before Parliament for consideration aims to do two things. It aims to embed some of the necessary and practical steps that have been appropriate to sustain public services during a pandemic and where there is an arguable case for that to be made permanent. The second is that the bill is designed to update the statute book in Scotland to enable us to be able to respond quickly to any future development of the pandemic, which could be often acute and threatening nature to public health, with the appropriate safeguards and caveats in the bill to ensure that those measures are only used in exceptional circumstances. The bill is designed to equip Scotland with the necessary legislation to take into account the experience of the pandemic, both in dealing with the emergency situation and in dealing with some of the practical issues and consequences that arose from the implications of our decisions. Thank you, Deputy First Minister. That concludes that portfolio question session. We will now move on to the next portfolio question, which is net zero, energy and transport. Again, if a member wishes to request a supplementary question, they should press the request of speak button or indicate so in the chat room by entering the letter R during the relevant question. I call question number one, Natalie Donne. To ask the Scottish Government what level of response there has been to the public consultation on STPR2. Cabinet Secretary, Michael Matheson. As of 9 am, this morning there have been 82 completed responses in relation to the public consultation on STPR2. I would like to encourage everyone with an interest in how we invest in transport infrastructure to get involved in the STPR2 consultation. I am also aware that every member of this chamber will have received details about the consultation and I would want to encourage members to share those with their constituents. The consultation is open for 12 weeks with a closing date of midnight Friday 15 April 2022. I was very pleased to see how the Scottish Government's strategic transport review will benefit people and communities within my constituency. I understand that STPR2 relates to national projects and programmes, not real enhancement programmes. Therefore, some potential initiatives such as the reopening of this year's railway lines in Renfrewshire and Inverclyde have not made the final list of recommendations, but transport projects like that would still have real significant local benefit. How might such projects be taken forward and what role can the Scottish Government play to support that activity? The transport recommendations set out in STPR2 for rail focus on the decarbonisation of the remaining network, measures to increase the amount of freight by rail and to improve connectivity between the seven cities. However, there remains a pathway for regional and local rail projects to come forward, which is subject to a strong business case being developed and suitable funding being available. A recent example of that happening was the reopening of the Levenmouth rail line. In addition, I can say to the member that the Clyde metro recommendations represents a multi-billion-pound investment that, when completed, could better connect over 1.5 million people to employment education and to health services in the Glasgow City Region, including those who live within the member's constituency. We have a number of supplementaries given the general interest in the subject, and I hope to call them all first Liam Kerr. The response to STPR2 in the north-east has been one of disbelief, disappointment and dismay. As despite the cabinet secretary's weasel words, it ducks out of dualling USAN, dispenses with the promise of a 20-minute reduction in journey times to the central belt and fails to provide new stations at Cove and Newton hill. Crucially, there is nothing about relaying rail to Ellen, Peterhead and Fraserborough. So cabinet secretary, a straight question. Will this Government relay any rail lines north of Dice during the period of STPR2? Yes or no? Cabinet secretary? Let me try to be constructive for Mr Kerr in these matters and make it very clear to him that the focus of STPR2 is national strategic projects, which is why it sets out the national picture, which will take in terms of transport strategic investment. As I've just mentioned to him, there is a route through for local and regional projects in a way in which has happened in the past. That will allow those projects, which he refers to in the north-east, particularly on rail, that there is a pathway for them to be pursued, subject to the business case. That would not sit within STPR2, and the reason for that is because they are not national strategic projects. That's exactly why— Excuse me, cabinet secretary, could you resume your seat a second please? I don't want all this second guessing of the answer. The question has been asked to the cabinet secretary. Let us listen to the answer given by the cabinet secretary. Cabinet secretary, please resume. That is why, there is a process for local and regional projects to be considered outwith STPR2, which, as I mentioned, is a national strategic project programme. That's why the projects that the member made reference to have a route through to be considered in a way has been the case in the past. I supplementary Colin Smyth. The cabinet secretary is aware that considerable sums and efforts have been expended to develop business cases for the reopening of railways stations in communities such as Bita East Striggs and Thornhill. Those were submitted to Transport Scotland three years ago. Transport Scotland refused to consider those cases because they said that it would be a matter for STPR2. Therefore, it is astonishing that new railways stations do not feature in the recommendations. The cabinet secretary seems to suggest that they never were going to feature in those recommendations. Can he tell us why they do not feature and why have communities been left in limbo for three years waiting for STPR2 when there was no intention of taking those forward as part of it? I do not think that that is correct in the characterisation that was presented by the member because, over the course of the past three years, there has been a very detailed programme of work in looking at a whole range of potential interventions across the country that would be seen as being national strategic projects. Some of those that have been ruled out are on the basis that they are not viewed as being national strategic projects. However, the very schemes that the member made reference to still have a route through to be considered, subject to a robust business case being developed and presented for local and regional projects in a way in which I just mentioned to Mr Kerr. The sooner we get to more firmer proposals in light of what the minister said, the better. I am keen to advance the proposal for a Nubirac train station, which I think is strategically important for Nubirac, because it is disconnected from many other parts of Fife and Tayside. It is a vibrant community campaign that is backing the bid. Will the STPR2 make that train station more likely? I am in danger of repeating myself here, and clearly Mr Rennie must have heard my answer. There is a process for local and regional projects, just as there was for the St Andrews railway station development and for Levenmouth, which were not in STPR1. They have gone through the normal process, which is for a local regional development. A robust business case has been put together, it has been considered and it was then considered as being appropriate for investment to be made. Levenmouth is a £70 million investment, not just in several new train stations but in the reopening of a line. There is a clear history of how the types of regional and local projects are taken through. They are not something that sits within STPR2 itself, but there is a route there, including for the type of station that the member made reference to in his constituency. supplementary Maggie Chapman, who is joining us remotely. Thank you. The cabinet secretary will be aware of the excellent campaign for northeast rail and their ambitions to connect Peterhead and Fraserbro to the rail network. These are currently the two largest towns in the UK without rail links. I have heard the cabinet secretary's answers to previous questions, and I do understand that, while it is not explicitly included in STPR2, he might ask him whether he agrees that such links are regionally strategic and will be invaluable for the economic transformation of the northeast. Will he support plans to develop those links? I recognise the member's interest in those particular developments. It is important that any rail connectivity projects that are proposed, whether they are in the north-east or any other part of Scotland, have a robust and detailed business case supporting what would be a very significant financial investment. There is a process for considering proposals of that nature. I want to encourage the member and those stakeholders who have been involved in the campaign in the north-east to make use of the existing process that they can use for considering local and regional transport investments of that nature. Given that it has been successful in a number of parts of the country over recent years, I see no reason as to why it cannot also be an effective process for those in the north-east of Scotland. To ask the Scottish Government what oversight role it plans to take over the Clyde metro project in order to support its timely delivery. Minister Jenny Gilruth. The delivery of the Clyde metro will be transformational for the city of Glasgow and communities, towns and cities in the Clyde area. It is of national significance and it is one of this Government's strategic priorities as set out in the SCPR2 recommendations that are currently out for public consultation. One of the early decisions needed following the consultation will be around the delivery model for the medium to longer term. Senior officials representing organisations that are likely to become involved in the delivery process are already working together to explore suitable governance and oversight. Programme Steering Group will meet for the first time this month, chaired by Transport Scotland's chief executive. Last September, council leader Susan Aitken confirmed that the metro was part of the plan to decarbonise Glasgow and indicated that it was a multi-billion-pound project that should be funded in part by private investment. Last month, we learned from the publication of the second strategic transport project review that there is no final design for the metro, no dates attached to completion and no funding. Can the minister tell me when we are going to see genuine progress on the matter? Is there a timetable for the first phase? Could you tell me that, which I understand is to the ear link? I recognise very much so having lived in Glasgow for a number of years some of the challenges in the city around BIC connectivity. Glasgow, as she will know, has one of the lowest levels of car ownership in the UK and also some of the highest levels of pollution, so it is really important that we get that right. There are a number of recommendations within SDPR 2 that look at mass transit projects, and that project itself can, of course, as the member knows, provide an opportunity for transformational change, particularly for poorer communities. The member asked a specific question with regard to costings. An early estimated cost of the metro project is of the order between £11 billion and £16 billion based on the out-turn cost of other comparable projects, with a timescale of 25 to 35 years to complete. It is going to need longer-term political leadership that she spoke to in a new approach to delivery, but that delivery model, as I mentioned in my initial answer, has not yet been agreed. To the timescale question, I am sorry that I cannot give her a definitive answer, but she will recognise in the answer to my original question that the chief executive of Transport Scotland will be meeting this month with the programme steering group, and I very much hope that, at that meeting, we can get the timescales that the member is seeking today. A number of supplementaries, first, from Graham Simpson, who is joining us remotely. Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer, and I listened to the Transport Minister's earlier answer. When I look at the map of the applied metro, it is all rather vague. There is a random squiggle coming out to East Kilbride, with a loop around the town. I am not sure where that is or what exactly the route is. When are we going to get some level of detail on all this? I thank Graham Simpson for his supplementary question. He is asking again about the specifics of something that has yet to be decided, but I would like to reflect that the metro project itself is an umbrella term that looks at a level of public transport provision to serve and improve connectivity in the Glasgow city region. It is going to look at a vast range of transport modes existing within the term metro in the GCR context, including, of course, subway, tramway, tram train and bus rapid transit, but I do not want to pre-dudge the outcome of the initial meeting that is happening later this month with the programme steering group in terms of the specifics that he speaks to. Again, as I referenced in my answer to Pauli McNeill, I would hope that we would get further clarity and detail on some of those specifics at that meeting later this month. Given that some 56 per cent of households in Glasgow do not have access to a car but rely on walking, cycling and public transport, would it be the Government's hope that a Clyde metro scheme will reduce inequalities and help people to get to work in education more easily? I share John Mason's optimism that the Clyde metro will create the opportunity to connect people, businesses and the communities of Glasgow in surrounding areas like never before, but, most importantly, it will connect poorly-served areas that tend to be in the more deprived parts of the city. That prospect is significant and exciting for us as a nation, and it is one for our major cities and, most importantly, for all the people who live in Glasgow and feel a disconnect potentially from their public transport opportunities. By developing a thorough and accurate picture of social and economic needs across the region, we will ensure that the phasing of the project is designed in such a way as to maximise its positive impacts on reducing inequalities and improving people's lives. To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to improve the safety and resilience of roads and bridges in the north-east. The trunk road network in Scotland is subject to an annual road safety review and measures are prioritised where they are expected to contribute to the Scottish Government's 2030 casualty reduction targets. Our network is made up of root corridors that are of strategic importance to the economic stability and growth and social wellbeing of Scotland. We work closely with local groups and stakeholders, engaging with local resilience partnerships, key businesses and interest groups. Minister may wish to see an ambitious strategic transport review, but my constituents will be far keener to see existing issues resolved. Transport Scotland said that it will review the dangerous Huntley Tesco A96 junction by August 2022. Can the minister confirm his date and will she visit the site to understand the dangers that constituents face on the rural road network? Alexander Burnett will know that he is responsible for individual local authorities to manage their own budgets in terms of allocating the total financial resources available to them on the basis of local need. I would like to reflect that the north-east has recently benefited from road investment in recent years. Additionally, we have seen £745 million of investment in the AWPR. He asked a very specific question with regard to a road in Huntley and we are more than happy to meet him on that issue and to seek an update from officials regarding the outcome of the report that he has requested. The Scottish Government has a strong record of investing in roads in the north-east, the city of Aberdeen bypass, which opened fully to traffic in February 2019, was the longest length of road under construction in the UK at the time, and the programme for government commits to developing a programme of wider enhanced public transport improvements in the north-east. Can I ask the minister to set out what some of those are and outline the differences that they will make to the lives of people in the north-east? One of the SEPR2 recommendations is rapid transit for the Aberdeen city region. We awarded £12 million from our bus partnership fund to enable work to begin on the development of the system and also bus priority on key transport corridors. On rail, we have committed £200 million to deliver improvements between Aberdeen and the central belt by 2026. We will also be looking at opportunities to improve the reliability and efficiency of the Aberdeen to Inverness rail corridor alongside our commitment to decarbonise the rail network. That will build on the work already undertaken in line in recent years, including opening a new station at Contour. Taken together, those improvements will improve region-wide connectivity and increase capacity for both freight and passengers. To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to improve bus services in the west of Scotland. The Transport Scotland Act 2019 provides local transport authorities with enhanced options to improve bus services according to their local needs. Following consultation last year to inform the development of the necessary secondary legislation and guidance, we will publish the analysis report in due course. The new community bus fund will also support local transport authorities to explore the full range of options set out in the 2019 act. We are also committed to over £500 million of investment in bus priority infrastructure to tackle the negative effects of congestion on bus services. Neil Bibby Thank the minister for that answer. Today I met with council-owned loading buses who provide the best bus services in Scotland and achieve some of the highest levels of passenger satisfaction. It costs just £1.80 for a single ticket for a 16-mile journey from one end of Edinburgh to the other. Yet, in Greater Glasgow and the west, a journey of just two miles can cost £2.50. Does the minister think that this is fair and acceptable? If not, will she support councils in the west to use new transport powers to take control of bus networks so that we can make bus travel in the greater Glasgow and west area as affordable as it is in Edinburgh? To respond to the specifics of Mr Bibby's question, the Transport Scotland Act provides an enhanced suite of options for local transport authorities, including those in the west, to improve bus services according to their local needs. Local transport authorities ask for flexible options so that they can put in place what works for their area. I reflect on some of the differences that Mr Bibby has highlighted between different parts of the country. Nonetheless, the act gives viable options for partnership working and franchising, replacing underused powers in the Transport Scotland Act 2001. It also gives wider powers for local transport authorities to run their own buses, which sits alongside their existing availability to subsidised services. The act is not restrictive in the way that local transport authorities can provide their own bus services, be that running of services directly or through an arms-length company. This week, around 930,000 young people across Scotland became able to benefit from the free bus travel. The scheme will have a positive impact on young people in my constituency, Motherwall and Loretia, particularly those travelling to college or university. In welcoming her to her post, I can ask the minister to provide an update on the number of applications that have been received and the number of cards that have been issued. Ms Adamson asked a specific question with regard to an update on the under-22 scheme, Presiding Officer. I seek your guidance on whether or not I am committed to respond. Please go ahead, but if there is anything that you can say in particular about the West of Scotland, that would be most helpful, because that is the response to the question. By close of business on 1 February, the Improvement Service reported that 123,038 applications have been submitted via their online platforms. Those can take up to 10 working days to process, and not all applications are yet approved. As you will be aware, the scheme is now open to all eligible young people to apply since 10 January. We had the formal launch of the scheme on Monday, where I visited young people in the city of Glasgow in the west of the country. In Glasgow, the recently published transport plan described that the effort to set up a franchising scheme would rely on untested legislation and cost the local transport authority £4 to £15 million to build a business case and take at least seven years to implement. I was rather disappointed to hear that lack of ambition from officers in Glasgow City Council would the minister like to engage with City Council at other stakeholders, including parliamentarians in the city, to try to ensure that we can achieve a franchising system for greater Glasgow without those rather unambitious timescales? I am more than happy to meet him and to engage with wider partners on that point, but I would reflect some of the points that I made to Mr Bibby in response to his question with regard to the powers that already exist in the Transport Scotland Act of 2019. I am very grateful to ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives from the nuclear energy sector and what was discussed. Together with Scottish Government officials, I met representatives from EDF generation and EDF renewables on Thursday 16 December 2021. Various issues were discussed, including the end of generation at Henderson B and the move into defuelling the continued operation of tornness and the place of nuclear in the just transition. Further discussions may take place in future as required. I am very grateful to the cabinet secretary for that response. Henderson B has shown what nuclear power can provide for Scotland—clean, reliable power to keep the lights on and keep prices low. As our nation is in the midst of an energy crisis, will the cabinet secretary confirm that the Scottish Government will invite an official representation from the nuclear sector to be part of that just transition energy commission? When he is making reference to the just transition energy commission, I presume that he is referring to the energy just transition programme, which will go alongside our energy strategy. That will be a wider engagement. If there are members of the nuclear energy sector who wish to engage with us in helping to shape the report that will go alongside our energy strategy, I am more than happy to give them an assurance that they will have an opportunity to feed into that particular process. To ask the Scottish Government how it supports island communities with their connectivity to mainland or other islands. The Scottish Government supports the transport connectivity of our island communities through the procurement and management of the Clyde and Hebrides and Northern Isles ferry service contracts. In addition, funding to local authorities operating their own ferries was increased by £7.7 million to £19.2 million in the current financial year. The Scottish Government also provides significant support to air services in the islands, including the air discount scheme, and continues to directly subsidise the air services from Glasgow to Campbelltown, Tiree and Barra and to enable their continued operation. I look forward to meeting with the member soon. I know that we are due to discuss further matters relating to island communities that she represents. Jenny Minto, I thank the minister for that answer and look forward to meeting with her soon. Obviously, making sure that people are proactively engaging in the process is crucial to shaping how island communities are able to travel both to the mainland and to other islands, as has been raised with me this week by Dura Community Trust and the Dura Development Trust. I therefore ask the minister how the Scottish Government is encouraging community organisations to fully involve themselves in consultation processes. Jenny Minto is absolutely correct. We need to ensure that community views on ferry services input into decision making. I know that there are a number of existing opportunities for feedback and consultation on services, including twice yearly consultations by CalMac ferries on timetable changes and on regular engagement by Transport Scotland with local elective members, including through twice yearly ferry stakeholder groups and local ferry committees. Transport Scotland is also currently working with CalMac and the ferry community board to see how the current timetable consultation process could be improved. I will be more than happy to discuss that with Jenny Minto. I know that we are due to meet recently, but if she has views on how we might do that better for island communities and her constituency, I will be more than happy to listen to those and take on board actions from that. Including free ferry travel in the under-22's bus scheme would level the travel playing field for young islanders with their counterparts on mainland Scotland. If the emphasis is to encourage more young people to use buses, what consideration is the Scottish Government giving to connecting and joining up island communities with fixed links? I think that Beatrice Bushart raises a really valid point. This week was extremely important in terms of the roll-out of the under-22's provision. However, she and her constituency will have different challenges in that space. I recognise representing it an island community. There are no plans at this moment in time to widen the scheme, but let me take away her point today regarding some of the issues that she has raised because I recognise that bus provision in her community might be a wee bit different to other parts of the country. I ask what support is available to Orkney and Shetland councils who provide inter-island ferry services. Their fleet is ageing and the cost of replacing ferries is beyond their reach. We have supported local authority ferries and we will continue to engage with council, including Orkney and Shetland. The Scottish Government has been clear that, while responsibility for internal ferries sits wholly with local authorities, we recognise the funding pressures that that can bring. I note that Shetland Islands councils have submitted a bid to the levelling up fund for replacing ferry infrastructure for which they are responsible, and the Scottish Government is committed to continuing to engage on those important issues. To ask the Scottish Government what additional financial assistance it plans to provide to help local authorities to meet their net zero targets. The Scottish Government works with local authorities to support and fund climate action across a number of key policy areas, including, for example, £2 billion learning estate investment programme, which is delivering digitally enabled low-carbon schools and campuses, £200 million green growth accelerator programme, which is supporting investment in low-carbon infrastructure. Last week, we announced funding to unlock £60 million for local authorities to invest in electric vehicle infrastructure over the next four years. I thank the minister for the answer. Some councils, including the SNP-led Glasgow City Council, have stated that it will cost billions of pounds in order to bring housing in line with the expectations. It appears that the Scottish Government wants councils to get the private sector to help to foot the bill, but in smaller and more rural council areas where massive industry and service sectors are less prevalent, how is that possible? In south Ayrshire, retrofitting plans could cost as much as £575 million alone. I reiterate, what will the Scottish Government actively do to help to take the burden beyond the low-level support offered? We recently published our heat and building strategy, which sets out a range of actions that we are going to take forward in order to help to support decarbonisation of both council and social housing sectors. Within that record investment of £1.8 billion over the lifetime of this Parliament to assist that programme of work. However, as was also set out at the time, the level of investment that will be required in order to achieve that far exceeds what the public purse is able to provide itself. That is why we have also set up the GreenHeat finance programme to look at a range of different options to lever in additional private sector investment to support what is a hugely ambitious programme of decarbonising £1 million at domestic premises between now and 2030 and 50,000 non-domestic premises. That is a hugely ambitious programme that will require both public and private finance, and the measures that we have put in place with the strategy and with the task force are to help to address the types of issues that the member has highlighted. To ask the Scottish Government what implications the announcement of a hybrid model of working could have for Scotland's net zero ambitions. Any significant shift in the way that we work could have an impact on emissions. Research commissioned by the Scottish Government's Centre for Expertise on Climate Change showed that the emissions outcome from working from home at an individual level depends on the home type and commuting behaviour. In most instances, replacing a long-car commute with working from home will reduce emissions, but that also depends on the heating system at home. The lowest emissions future is best achieved through where our homes, workplaces and transport network are low or zero emissions, and we are committed to supporting the transition in order to achieve that outcome. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. Hybrid working during the pandemic forced a necessary shift in working practices across the public and private sectors, triggering flexible thinking around the challenges and opportunities that hybrid working presents. With so many emissions wrapped up in the daily work commute, can the cabinet secretary detail what steps the Scottish Government is planning to monitor, quantify and evaluate the potential of hybrid working to contribute to this Parliament's bold and ambitious net zero targets? There is no doubt in my mind, and from dialogue that I have had with a range of businesses, including at a national level, that many of them will continue to utilise a hybrid working model into the future and beyond the pandemic, given that they have had to put structures and arrangements in place in order to continue to operate during the close of the pandemic. At this stage, it is still unclear as to the exact nature of the impact that it will have on overall climate change targets. Potentially it will be positive, but there are a number of mitigating factors that could influence that, but at this stage we do not understand the full details of that. That is larger because of the unique events that we have experienced over the close of the past two years and the need to build up data and understanding of that. One of the other impacts that we need to understand is that the significant change in travel patterns has a significant impact on our public transport system, which is geared up to move a significant number of people around in any given day, and when those numbers drop back, it has a significant financial impact on the fair box. There are a number of factors that will come through the change to hybrid working and for those who continue to operate in that model going forward that will impact on our transport system and on our climate change targets. We will have to model those and identify them and model their impact as we go forward so that we can get a better understanding of their overall impact on our climate change targets. That concludes portfolio questions. There will be a very short pause before we move on to the next item of business.