We are currently consulting on the best time to launch the Bus Partnership Fund, as we recognise that local authorities and bus operators have ongoing pressures, due to the pandemic. However, we expect the Fund to be launched by the end of the financial year so that local authorities can begin to access funds in 2021-22.

The allocated budget for this year of £10 million was repurposed for the Bus Priority Rapid Deployment Fund, which has already made awards to local authorities for temporary bus priority infrastructure to reduce the negative impacts of congestion on bus services, and is currently being administered.

We are progressing our work with stakeholders to review the extension of discounts available on all public transport to those under the age of 26. This looks at a range of options, including free bus travel for those under the age of 26 through a cost and benefits appraisal in order to fully consider financial sustainability. We committed within the Programme for Government to report on the review by the end of December 2020.

The Scottish Government's commitment of over £500 million pounds over five years announced in the recent Programme for Government is the highest ever investment in active travel. This record level of funding was warmly welcomed by our active travel partners and will provide confidence for long term investment in large scale, transformational active travel infrastructure projects many of which span several years.

The Scottish Government will, as a matter of course, consider the case for additional support for active travel as part of the annual budget process.

Bids into Phase 3 of the Bus Emission Abatement Retrofit scheme were assessed against four criterion; project fit and rationale, deliverability, emissions reduction and value for money. Scoring for each criterion enabled an average score to be calculated per bid, with bids then being ranked according to the scores.

Funding per bus varied across bidders for several reasons. Firstly, the largest orders for retrofitting kit typically achieved the lowest average costs, in tandem with price variations between exhaust equipment suppliers who were chosen by individual operators. Secondly, some operators did not include a funding request for technologies such as eFans which are complimentary to exhaust retrofitting, which also contributed to some bids having a lower average grant per bus/coach.

The implementation of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 has been affected by the Covid 19 Pandemic. This has impacted particularly on the development of guidance and regulations and the related consultation processes. This, along with the limited parliamentary space available in this term, means that the Act will not be implemented in full by the end of the current parliamentary session.

Discussions continue with the operators of ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper to secure appropriate arrangements for the maintenance of rail services beyond the 20 September.

The Scottish Government is committed to increasing the economic benefit delivered to Scotland by amending the current economic link provisions set out in licence conditions.

We will publish firm plans as part of our Future Fisheries Management Strategy later this year.

The information requested can be found on the Air Quality in Scotland website at: http://www.scottishairquality.scot/laqm/aqma

The Scottish National Investment Bank team are working with partners across the public sector to develop investment opportunities, including in the transport sector. Once formally established, the Scottish National Investment Bank will communicate its outcomes accordingly.

The implementation of Spaces for People schemes is a matter for the local authorities and public bodies which successfully applied for funding. Sustrans Scotland, which administers Spaces for People, is offering support to help overcome any barriers to delivery.