Scottish Government officials have been, and continue to be, in daily contact with Police Scotland on recent reports of spiking. Police Scotland are pursuing every single report of spiking through a Gold command established on this issue and led by an Assistant Chief Constable - which is reaching out to universities, licensed premises, Public Health Scotland, and victim support organisations. Police Scotland have also established connections with the Scottish Ambulance Service to ensure that any spiking cases are brought to their attention.

I will be chairing an urgent roundtable with partners and representatives from across the sector on 4 November to discuss how we can achieve the right balance of targeted and universal intervention.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03384 on 27 October 2021. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The Scottish Government has met all four Rail unions on a number of occasions recently, but union representatives have not chosen to use those meetings to discuss ScotRail’s Fit for the Future document.

The priority for the new National Public Energy Agency will be to accelerate the transformational change in how we heat and use energy in homes and buildings in Scotland. We need to see the decarbonisation of heating systems of 1 million homes and 50,000 non-domestic premises between now and 2030.

We remain supportive of the future potential for a public energy company in Scotland - and, through the Agency, will support others with an interest in exploring options to take this forward, including those with a local focus.

Development of the agency will be a collective effort, requiring input from a range of stakeholders across the public, private and third sectors. We will continue working collaboratively with local authorities as part of this process, given their key role in supporting local heat and energy efficiency measures. This will facilitate existing shared ambitions to further empower local communities and to develop new zero carbon heating solutions to be rolled out through both national support, and regional and local approaches.

There will be a) a positive impact with the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as we decarbonise our rail network and reduce the number of diesel trains operating on the network and b) & c) with ScotRail’s proposed May 2022 timetable we will see around 44,000 additional seats daily between today’s timetable and May 2022 encouraging passengers to consider train as an alternative means of transport thus, supporting modal shift.

ScotRail, when proposing the May 2022 timetable, has examined in detail previous, current and expected passenger demand. ScotRail has developed a proposed timetable that offers an increase in the number of services compared to current service levels as well as service patterns that meet demand, with scope for growth, while recognising the need for financial and environmental sustainability as we work towards Net Zero.

Researchers at the University of Sheffield carried out various sets of modelling of minimum unit pricing for alcohol for the Scottish Government, including the modelling carried out in 2016. The modelling estimated the costs and benefits of various minimum unit prices. At the time the modelling was carried out, minimum unit pricing in the form introduced in Scotland on 1 May 2018, was not present in any other country.

Since minimum unit pricing at 50 pence was introduced on 1 May 2018, we are able to evaluate the real-life impact of this. Public Health Scotland are leading the comprehensive evaluation of the impact of a 50 pence minimum unit price on four outcome areas: implementation and compliance; alcoholic drinks industry; consumption; and health and social harms. More information on this can be found on the MUP Evaluation pages on Public Health Scotland’s website.

The Scottish Government remains committed to reducing the harms caused by alcohol and, in particular, the harms faced by hazardous and harmful drinkers. It is important that an effective level of minimum unit pricing for alcohol is in place in order that we can make inroads into reducing these harms.

Since a minimum price for alcohol at 50 pence per unit of alcohol was introduced on 1 May 2018, there have been two significant events that have impacted on the policy: the pandemic and the change in the legal landscape due to the UK Internal Market Act 2020. Both of these have significantly altered the context in which a review of the level of the minimum unit price would have been expected to have taken place after May 2020.

Prior to the pandemic, there were early encouraging signs of a reduction in alcohol sales and a reduction in alcohol specific deaths following the introduction of a minimum price at 50 pence per unit on 1 May 2018. However, the pandemic and its impact have changed many people’s behaviour around alcohol consumption, and this needs to be taken into account. In 2020, various surveys show those who were drinking heavily before the pandemic were more likely to increase their drinking during lockdown, thereby increasing their risk of harm.

We are in the process of gathering evidence of and analysing the impact the policy has had, and the considerable impacts the pandemic has had and continues to have on our society and economy. It is the affordability of alcohol that matters, not just the price, and that will depend on other factors such as people’s incomes and inflation. In reviewing the price we will look at all relevant factors. The impact the UK Internal Market Act 2020 might have on any proposed change to the level of minimum unit price is under consideration. What is clear, however, is that any proposed change must be supported by a robust rationale and evidence base.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03743 on 26 October 2021. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03745 on 26 October 2021. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers