Consideration of options for extending the Borders Railway continues to be undertaken through the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2). This is a national appraisal of strategic transport interventions and will conclude later this year.

As detailed in the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal, STPR2 will create the evidence base for future transport investment decisions by the Scottish Government. Depending on the outcome of STPR2, feasibility work would then progress on the basis of, and informed by, findings from this appraisal work.

The Scottish Government is committed to bringing forward a Circular Economy Bill to advance Scotland's ambitions to promote an economy where materials remain in use for as long as possible, rather than being thrown away. Legislative plans will be set out in future Programmes for Government.

We have considered the transmission risk associated with close contact and the mixing of individuals in such environments, including engagement between clinicians and nightclub owners and a visit to see the sector in operation.

We do not underestimate the severe impact this pandemic has had on nightclubs across Scotland, but we must move very carefully to ensure continued suppression of Covid-19. Ventilation is just one of the factors that needs to be considered in relation to nightclubs alongside dancing, loud music and alcohol which each add a compound factor to the risk involved. We will keep plans under review and accelerate the lifting of restrictions if possible, and we will continue engaging with the sector on this.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. It would be a matter for individual GP practices in England to decide whether or not to register patients outside their practice areas.

Scottish Government officials work closely with transport operators and disabled peoples organisations to improve the experience of disabled passengers and remove the barriers which prevent them from travelling, or make their journey an unpleasant experience.

Significant progress has been made since the creation of the Accessible Travel Framework in 2016 to remove or reduce barriers to travel but we are cognisant that more can still be done. Through engagement with disabled people and their organisations we are aware that the lack of accessible toilets in and around transport hubs can be a contributing factor to preventing people from travelling.

The Ferries Accessibility Fund awarded funding of around £427,000 towards a range of projects to improve accessibility across the ferry network which included changing places facilities on vessels on both the Northern Isles and Clyde & Hebrides ferry networks. Rail accessibility remains a reserved matter to the UK Government under the Devolution Settlement, however Transport Scotland continues to work closely with Train Operating Companies and Network Rail to ensure the provision of accessible toilets in rail stations and rolling stock remains compliant with the Design Standards for Accessible Railway Stations and Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations.

American foulbrood (AFB) is a notifiable disease of honey bees. Figures of the disease incidence in GB are publically available in BeeBase, the database used by Scottish Government and the National Bee Unit in England and Wales. Last season in 2020, AFB was found in 8 honey bee colonies in 5 different apiaries.

Since 2015 there has been 60 honey bee colonies diagnosed with AFB in Scotland.

For context the number of inspections in Scotland recorded in BeeBase varies between 3,000 and 8,000 per year and there are currently 2830 beekeepers with a total of 17,783 honey bee colonies in 3,754 apiaries registered.

The Scottish Government takes the matter of honey bee health extremely seriously. Our honey bee health team continues to work with the affected beekeepers on disease control measures and has established a surveillance area to detect possible spread of disease to other colonies.

Although AFB has been historically present in Scotland, the work of the Scottish honey bee health team has achieved a significant reduction in the incidence and spread of the disease in Scotland. Unfortunately, as the causative bacterium is spore forming it can remain dormant on infected equipment and outbreaks continue to occur.

Beekeepers have a significant role to play in preventing and controlling disease within their apiaries and they have a legal obligation to report suspicion of a notifiable disease to their bee inspector. Training and education in biosecurity, good hygiene best practice and the ability to recognise diseases are essential aspects of beekeeping which are supported by Scottish Government.

Following a necessary pause to the implementation of Part 3 (Bus Services) of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 last year owing to the reallocation of national and local government resources to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, work resumed with a virtual stakeholder event held in March this year.

The outputs of that and ongoing engagement will feed into a consultation paper for launch later this year. That will inform the development of secondary legislation and supporting guidance. The timetable for the introduction of secondary legislation will be dependent, to an extent, on parliamentary process.

The COVID-19 sectoral guidance for close contact services is kept under constant review to reflect the latest public health advice and the latest information for all Strategic Framework levels. All close contact services are able to operate in Level 3 and below, in line with this guidance. The guidance was last updated on 26 May 2021 to reflect the outcome of the recent rapid review on face coverings in the sector.

Ice accretion and precipitation sensors were installed on the towers and deck in 2020. Weather forecasting, bridge monitoring and traffic management procedures have been continuously improved, and the mechanism of ice accumulation specific to the Queensferry Crossing is now better understood. A working group comprising Transport Scotland, the bridge Operating Company BEAR Scotland and a number of expert consultants has been established. A number of possible solutions are under consideration in terms of their feasibility.

Dog and puppy training businesses have been permitted to be open for normal operation of training classes since the easing of restrictions on‎ 26 April 2021. Those participating in any dog or puppy training should practice physical distancing and preventative hygiene to protect themselves and the persons with whom they are working.