The Scottish Government is aware that issues are being raised on the minimum age to enter a marriage or civil partnership and that a Private Member’s Bill has been lodged at Westminster to increase the minimum age in England and Wales: Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Bill - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament

The Scottish Government will obtain more information on this issue and discuss the minimum age with key stakeholders. Before any steps were taken to raise the minimum age for entering a marriage or civil partnership in Scotland, there would need to be a full public consultation. If the member has any points she would like to discuss on the minimum age, I would be happy to meet her.

The 2017 Programme for Government initially committed to introducing Low Emission Zones (LEZs) into Scotland’s four biggest cities (Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen) between 2018 and 2020. Scotland’s first LEZ (with an initial focus on buses) was launched in Glasgow at the end of 2018.

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered an evaluation of this timeline and the new indicative timeline is for LEZs to be introduced into Scotland’s four biggest cities between February and May 2022. Once introduced, this is when a LEZ grace period of no less than one year and no more than four years will start.

Local authorities have the final decision on the duration of the grace period which is the most appropriate for their LEZ Proposal. Once the grace period has lapsed, penalty charge notice enforcement will commence.

The Interim Report on the future approach to the procurement of lifeline ferry services was published on 20 December 2017. The report confirmed that a decision on the future approach to procuring these services would be taken ahead of the current contract for the Clyde and Hebrides ending in 2024.

Transport Scotland is undertaking work to review the current position regarding various aspects of procurement legislation and subsidy control in the context of EU exit and other changes since the publication of the interim report in 2017.

The historical deaths reported in the Scottish Sun were shocking in their alleged nature. However, enforcement of the Zoo Licencing Act 1981 is a matter for Local Authorities. In addition, I am aware that Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park is a member of the British and Irish Association of Zoo's and Aquaria, and that these incidents are currently the subject of an investigation by BIAZA. It would therefore be inappropriate for me to comment further, or indeed launch a further investigation, at this time.

We are committed to increasing residential rehabilitation placements and getting more women into treatment and recovery. This includes keeping families together when it is appropriate to do so.

£100 million of the additional £250 million funding announced as part of the National Mission will support further investment in - and expansion of - residential rehabilitation and associated aftercare over the next five years.

In May 2021, the Scottish Government launched two funds worth a combined £10 million; a £5 million Recovery Fund to support services to provide additional residential rehabilitation capacity, and a £5 million Improvement Fund to support improvements to services for outreach, treatment, rehabilitation and aftercare, with dedicated support for women.

Through these funds, we are open to considering a range of proposals to increase placements for residential rehabilitation - including dedicated mother and baby residential care units.

Work is also underway working with the Residential Rehabilitation Development Working Group to develop a best practice pathways guide into and from residential rehabilitation treatment, including pathways for women and families.

The Scottish Government engages closely with Historic Environment Scotland (HES) on an ongoing basis on its work to develop and deliver protect historic buildings from the effects of climate change.

HES’s Corporate Plan is agreed with Ministers and includes a commitment to respond to the challenges of climate change by better understanding, managing and mitigating its impacts on the historic environment. A link to the plan is provided below:

• https://www.historicenvironment.scot/archives-and-research/publications/publication/?publicationId=1f65f457-a602-4ddc-af61-aa2500933d61

In delivering Scotland’s strategy for the historic environment, Our Place in Time (OPiT), HES chairs the Climate Change Working Group. The group’s first major output was A Guide to Climate Change Impacts on Scotland’s Historic Environment , which summarises the risks and hazards facing Scotland’s historic environment and offers routes to take action, to implement adaptation measures and enhance resilience to climate change. A link to this guide is provided below:

• https://www.historicenvironment.scot/archives-and-research/publications/publication/?publicationId=843d0c97-d3f4-4510-acd3-aadf0118bf82

HES has published a number of other key strategy documents, recognising the challenges facing Scotland’s historic environment as a result of climate change and setting out routes to take action, implement adaptation measures and enhance resilience to climate change. HES also publishes a range of research and guidance for traditional and historic building owners and managers to support energy efficiency and climate change adaptation.

The Scottish Government and HES have also worked collaboratively in partnership on a range of projects delivered through the Scottish Government’s Adaptation Scotland programme, including projects which provide key resources for those managing climate change impacts on the historic environment.

Green Jobs Fund comprises two tranches of money – £50m which has been baselined into our Enterprise Agencies capital funding; and £50m under the direct control of Scottish Ministers. As of 25 June 2021, no specific projects have been funded for 2021-22. Scottish Enterprise are currently in the process of a green jobs call to business. The first application window, offering grants between £50k and £500k, closes on Thursday 1 July. Awards will be made in early September 2021. Highlands and Islands Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise are directing their support towards businesses already within their knowledge base and expect to make related awards by the end of September 2021. The policy for the second tranche of funding is currently under development and we expect to make related awards in October 2021.

The Scottish Government has supported the purchase of green buses between 2011 and 2018 through the Scottish Green Bus Fund, and then since 2020 through the Scottish Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme. Details of the buses purchased through these schemes are published on Transport Scotland Webpages.

Details of buses purchased through the Scottish Green Bus Fund are published at https://www.transport.gov.scot/public-transport/buses/scottish-green-bus-fund/#45456

Details of buses purchased through the Scottish Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme are published at https://www.transport.gov.scot/public-transport/buses/scottish-ultra-low-emission-bus-scheme/scottish-ultra-low-emission-bus-scheme-completed-bids/

We welcome the research of the Poverty Alliance, who worked in partnership with Transport Scotland to explore the links between child poverty and transport. As of April 2021, over 1.4 million older and disabled people were eligible for free bus travel, and almost 150,000 young people aged 16-18 could get a 1/3 discount on bus travel, through our concessionary travel schemes. We will not stop there and we continue to take ambitious action to make public transport more affordable and to ensure our young people can access education, employment and training opportunities – as demonstrated by our commitment to free bus travel for everyone under the age of 22.

We are also taking a number of actions to support low income families, including doubling the Scottish Child Payment to £20 per child per week, and delivering a Low Income Pandemic Payment of £130 for all households in receipt of Council Tax Reduction in April 2021 and for other households who are exempt or who have no liability – including those in temporary accommodation.

As we work to support a fair and sustainable economic recovery from COVID-19 it is imperative that we also introduce a fair system for paying for transport which alleviates the strain on those living in poverty, particularly children, and reduces inequalities.

a) Assessment of the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; The Scottish Government continues to monitor evidence on the Four Harms of COVID-19. These are the direct impact of COVID-19, other health impacts, societal impacts, and economic impacts.

We are using this information to inform decisions about COVID-19, including how we move through phases of the Coronavirus Route Map .

The virus will impact different groups of people in different ways, and our society will be affected in different ways over time. We’re carefully monitoring the data and regularly update new evidence to COVID-19 in Scotland (data.gov.scot) .

b) Assessment of the potential impact of COVID-19 vaccines on i) Menstrual Cycles; The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have reviewed reports of menstrual disorders and unexpected vaginal bleeding suspected as adverse reactions to vaccination with the three COVID-19 vaccines currently being used in the UK: Pfizer/BioNTech, COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca and COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna.

These reports have also been reviewed by independent experts of the Commission on Human Medicines’ COVID-19 Vaccines Benefit Risk Expert Working Group and members of its Medicines for Women’s Health Expert Advisory Group.

A range of menstrual disorders has been reported as suspected adverse reactions after all three of these COVID-19 vaccines including heavy bleeding, delayed periods and unexpected vaginal bleeding. The number of reports of menstrual disorders and vaginal bleeding is low in relation to both the number of females who have received COVID-19 vaccines to date and the background rate of menstrual disorders generally.

ii) Menstrual Health; The current evidence does not suggest an increased risk of either menstrual disorders or unexpected vaginal bleeding following vaccination with the vaccines reviewed (Pfizer/BioNTech, COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca or COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna). The advice from the NHS remains that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks for most people. The MHRA will continue to closely monitor reports of suspected menstrual disorders and vaginal bleeding with COVID-19 vaccines.

Healthcare professionals are advised that anyone presenting with menstrual disorders and/or unexpected vaginal bleeding following COVID-19 vaccination should be treated according to clinical guidelines for these conditions, as usual.

The safety of all vaccines and medicines is monitored by the MHRA on a UK-wide basis. This includes reports from the Yellow Card Scheme which allows health professionals and patients across the UK to flag up suspected adverse reactions to any vaccine or medicine, as well as reports from worldwide use and on-going scientific evidence.

If a woman is concerned about changes to her period, she is advised to speak to her GP, especially if she experiences bleeding after menopause.