Seòmar agus comataidhean

I congratulate Clare Adamson on securing the debate and on her long-standing commitment to the issue.

In my constituency, we have many inland waterways, which historically powered local industries. In the Borders, the River Tweed and Gala Water turned the looms in the knitting and weaving sheds; in Penicuik, the River Esk powered the paper mill; and the reservoirs in the Pentlands keep the water on tap in the city.

Those industries are long gone, but the rivers and waterways flow on, put to other uses, often leisure. However, they are not always benign and are often more lethal in the sleepy summer months. Like reservoirs, the river waters can be bitterly cold when the sun blazes on.

Four people died from accidents in water in the Scottish Borders in 2021, including 15-year-old Ellice Murray from Kelso, who died while kayaking with her dad and brother in the River Tweed, and 19-year-old Jack Reid, who died after getting into difficulty in the River Tweed near Innerleithen.

No water fatalities were reported in 2022 in the Scottish Borders. Following the tragic deaths in 2021, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service ran a water safety initiative centred around the River Tweed to educate the public. Flyers giving advice on water safety were posted at more than 40 locally known areas for swimming and other water-based activities. A water safety event was held at the River Tweed in Kelso, where water rescue teams performed live rescue scenarios in front of the public, highlighting the importance of their actions should they get into difficulty in the water and, in addition, what they can do to help others, including how to deploy lifebelts.

Another aid is learning to swim and to swim safely. I am pleased to say that the new Galashiels academy will have a swimming pool, as will the replacement Beeslack secondary school in Penicuik. Both Peebles and Penicuik high schools already have access to swimming pools nearby.

However, learning to swim is only one of the safety measures to take for prevention. As I have indicated, inland waters in particular can be pretty risky. I speak from experience, as I had to instil water safety into my two young sons at the earliest of ages. We lived in a cottage in Minnigaff, in Galloway, where the sunny back garden ran down to meet two rivers: the Penkiln and, beyond that, the River Cree. Beyond that was the lade that had powered a mill.

I knew that to forbid my sons from going near the rivers would make them even more attractive, so, day in, day out, we walked along the banks with Roostie, our Irish setter, to observe the rivers in their seasonal moods. With their friends, they would play in the Penkiln in the summer holidays, building a dam to make a pool large enough to swim in. I dipped my toe in, so I can testify that the water was icy cold—incidentally, good for cooling an evening libation of chardonnay. The boys were immune to the temperature. Over the summer months, the river would run so low that the dorsal fins of the trout would rise above the water mark.

So it was, on a hot summer’s day while I was pottering about in the kitchen, that Angus, my eldest son, came running in to tell me that the Penkiln was in spate. I looked down the garden, but, because of the banking, I could not see the river below, and I quickly dismissed what he had said. Above, the sky was a blistering blue, with not a cloud to be seen. However, something niggled me, so I changed tack, took to my heels and ran down the garden and, sure enough, although the Cree beyond was hardly moving save for the floating river weeds, the Penkiln was a muddy torrent. A sudden and distant thunderstorm in the hills was all it took to sweep away their dam and tear lumps out of the river bank. Any child who was unaware of the things of the river could have been caught up in it, with little chance of survival. I hope that, in part, it was my lessons that paid off.

The 2020 act seems a bit of a devil, because it would apply to practically anything, including snares and vaping products.

What about the IMA and the sale of snares?

As, I think, NatureScot pointed out in its evidence to the committee, if the licence renewal is made triennial, say, rather than annual, that would surely reduce the administrative burden on NatureScot and, indeed, on those who apply for licences. Therefore, perhaps that is a good reason, on top of everything else, for the Government to consider at least three-year renewal as the target.

I should be giving evidence.

May I say something? An interim interdict could be heard the next day on cause, if you wish. Am I correct? I do not know, because it is a long time since I was in practice.

I just want to ask a brief question. I have to say that I welcome the idea of protocols, because it seems to me that they might formalise what is already happening. How do the police feel about establishing protocols, or is it still early days? The police have primacy in all those aspects, so what is their reaction?

That is fine, then.

I appreciate that. The main point is that the police are content with the protocols. I take comfort from that.

I understand that.