The Scottish Government is taking action to reduce the amount of litter entering all our waters, not just in the Clyde, to bring ecological, economic and social benefits. Our approach and actions are listed in our Marine Litter Strategy, overseen and co-ordinated by the steering group.

There is currently no centrally held assessment of the impact of marine litter on tourism. The evidence base for the levels of marine and coastal litter is limited and the Marine Litter Strategy seeks to build on existing data capture.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-10108 on 1 August 2017. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-10108 on 1 August 2017. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

The following table details the funding from the Scottish Government’s core Third Sector budget provided to all 32 Third Sector Interfaces for 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 and also funding from Scottish Government’s core Third Sector budget covering a period of 18 months from 1 April 2017 to 30 September 2018, which clearly demonstrates that progress has been made towards the provision of three year rolling funding.

The funding from the Scottish Government’s core Third Sector budget provided for Third Sector Interfaces supports the following six objectives/outcomes:

• People have opportunities to volunteer and are supported to do so

• Volunteer involving organisations are able to recruit, manage and support volunteers

• Social enterprise is effectively supported to develop and grow

• Third sector organisations are well managed and deliver quality services

• Third sector organisations feel better connected with the Community Planning Process and are able to influence and contribute effectively to the design and delivery of the Single Outcome Agreement outcomes and Community Planning outcomes

• The Third Sector Interface is responsive to the diversity of the community and is well managed, governed and effective

The third sector, including Third Sector Interfaces also has access to resources through a range of programmes across the Scottish Government.

In the year 2016 nearly 13,000 orthopaedic patients in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde were treated within the legal treatment time guarantee with around 1,300 patients waiting longer than 12 weeks. I recognise that for some patients they are waiting too long for treatment which is why I have made £50 million available to NHSScotland with up to £11.2 million being made available to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. This additional funding will build up their capacity to make sure that all patients are treated in a timely fashion.

As part of our 2017-18 Budget, NHS Territorial Boards are receiving inflationary uplifts of £136 million (1.5%) and NRAC parity funding of £50 million. This delivers increased funding of 2.1% and takes all Boards, for the first time, to within 1% of NRAC parity. For NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde this means additional funding in year of £31.1 million. Every year NHS Boards identify a level of savings which are then retained for local reinvestment and these plans are continually developed throughout the year, to deliver better services, better care and better value.

I have also made £50 million available to NHSScotland with up to £11.2 million being made available to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. This additional funding will build up their capacity to make sure that all patients are treated in a timely fashion including in the specialty of orthopaedics.

In the longer-term the Scottish Government has committed £200 million to expand the Golden Jubilee National Hospital as well as create five new diagnostic and treatment centres to help meet future need. The Golden Jubilee will be significantly expanding its current orthopaedic capacity particularly to help meet future capacity demand for the west of Scotland Boards, including NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

In the year 2016 the median wait for orthopaedic surgery in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde was 61 days with the longest 323 days. I announced on 30 May that £50 million pounds was being made available to NHSScotland to help improvement in performance and reduce waiting times for patients between now and March 2018. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde will receive up to £11.2 million of this funding to improve waits for their patients including in the specialty of orthopaedics.

While the Taylor Review’s ambition for all work to be fair and decent aligns with the Scottish Government’s Fair Work agenda, the report fails to recognise that Scotland has been ahead of the curve for some time with regards fair work issues, including promoting the Living Wage as the most effective means of tackling in-work poverty, establishing the independent Fair Work Convention, and supporting trade union representation in all workplaces.

The Scottish Government is disappointed that Mr Taylor's report falls short of recommending the repeal of the UK Government's Trade Union Act and abolition of employment tribunal fees, both of which would have a positive impact on the protection of workers' right, job security and tacking exploitation, throughout the UK.

The Scottish Government does not organise nationwide street counts of rough sleepers. The Scottish Government agree with many in the housing sector, including third sector organisations, that street counts are not a reliable or effective way to gather information on rough sleeping.

Information on rough sleeping is collected by local authorities at the point that a homeless application is made. I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-10273 on 26 July 2017 for more detail on this. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.