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On air quality management, you make the point that air quality has a potential impact on vulnerable people, the elderly and schoolchildren. What should be done about monitoring around those populations, for example at schools and hospitals? What are you looking for the Scottish Government to conclude about what an adequate form of monitoring should be? Should all schools and hospitals be covered by air quality monitoring? Should it be targeted at certain areas? We have not had a response on that from the Government yet, because it is reviewing what the monitoring might look like, but what is your view at the moment? What are you looking to see?

From where you are sitting right now, does that mean monitoring at every primary school, secondary school and hospital?

If air quality limits change, as they might do if the Scottish Government remains aligned with the European Union, that might open up other areas, which potentially would breach air quality limits. Does the review of the current monitoring network look at how the limits might change over time and how that might bring in more communities? Is a weighting given to vulnerability within that? Does the air quality monitoring review look at the need to particularly identify the most vulnerable people in our society?

I want to pick up on an issue that was raised in the air quality inquiry that was carried out in the previous session, on which we have had a bit of evidence in this inquiry—the issue of the source of emissions in rural areas and, in particular, the role of ammonia in seeding particulate emissions. This is a question about the joined-up nature of Government policy. Is that an issue that the rural affairs secretary is considering? Is it being considered as part of the reform of subsidy for agriculture? Is action being taken elsewhere in the Government to address that issue in CAFS, as well as any other sources of emissions that we have not covered this morning?

Further to the convener’s point, we have had a response from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities in the inquiry, which is, of course, a broader inquiry that incorporates your report and looks at air quality in a broader sense. That response suggested that councils have been very busy on climate change and perhaps have not prioritised air quality. I am trying to tempt you to comment on leadership. Do you think that there is an issue around leadership in individual councils or across local authorities as a whole in Scotland? It was quite disappointing to get just a one-page letter from COSLA that said that councils have been quite busy and that there are resource issues.

It is related to that. In relation to schools, there has been a lot of concern in Scotland about vehicle idling. How does the Scottish Government support local authorities in having the appropriate resource to enforce engine idling measures? It is a form of antisocial behaviour and people are concerned about it, but we are aware that local authorities are stretched in terms of funding.

We are seeing variations between councils across Scotland. The achievements in air quality management that Fife Council has managed to make have been highlighted in evidence. It is almost an exemplar. Why do you think there is that variation across Scotland? Why are some councils doing better than others?

Further to the previous question, I know that Transport Scotland is responsible for procurement of trains, and I note that, in relation to the decarbonisation programme, there has been quite a lot of concern about the continual use of high-speed trains on the ScotRail network, not just from a carbon perspective, but from an air pollution perspective and, as the unions have highlighted, a safety perspective, too. When it looks at such big procurements—that is, the big leasing of trains over a number of years—how does Transport Scotland take air quality into account? Is that baked into the process? After all, it is clearly an area where Transport Scotland is responsible.

SEPA has section 85 powers and enforcement powers, but we also heard evidence that it is involved in local air quality management groups on the ground. Do you see that role as important? If SEPA is involved in developing plans on the ground, do you see the potential for conflict? SEPA obviously has expertise and can give scientific advice, but it is also an enforcement agency. What should SEPA’s role be in the future? Do you see a conflict?

A number of members are interested in monitoring. I am aware that there is a current Scottish Government review into provision of data monitoring. To go back to the vulnerable people in our society who could be most affected by poor air quality—even poor air quality that is compliant with legal limits—is there an understanding of what proportion of schools and hospitals are currently covered in Scotland by air quality monitoring? What investment might be needed to ensure that all the appropriate schools and hospitals are covered?