Seòmar agus comataidhean

Scotland’s AI Strategy , published in 2021, set out a vision for Scotland to become a leader in the development and use of trustworthy, ethical and inclusive AI. Creative Scotland were represented on the steering committee during its development.

The Scottish AI Alliance is tasked with the delivery of the strategy. They recently hosted a roundtable on encountering AI through art, and continue to host and promote events and engagement around the application and impact of AI in the culture sector.

As such, the Scottish Government has no plans to develop an artificial intelligence strategy specifically in relation to the culture sector.

River Basin Management Planning has a six year cycle with the next Plan due for publication at the end of 2027. The objective of the Plan is to protect and improve Scotland’s water environment based on comprehensive monitoring, assessment and classification carried out by SEPA. Monitoring the whole sewage network would not change SEPA’s classification of the water environment.

Priority locations have been identified for 1,000 new spill monitors, with installation programmed over 2023 and 2024 at a value of £70m. After 2024, Scottish Water will review the costs and benefits of extending monitor coverage to lower priority waters and agree a programme of work. The Scottish Government is supportive of this evidence based and proportionate approach. Scottish Water’s Improving Urban Waters Route Map sets out a programme of continued action to reduce wastewater pollution and sewage litter over the coming decade backed by investment of up to half a billion pounds.

Continued investment by Scottish Water contributes towards Scotland’s water quality being at its highest level ever, with 87% of the water environment rated as good, up from 82% six years ago. Scotland’s River Basin Management Plan sets out objectives, including those for Scottish Water, aiming to improve water quality to 92% of the water environment in good condition by 2027.

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, I have asked its Chief Executive to respond. His response is as follows:

The data provided in the following table is an extract from the Annual Returns, publicly available on the Water Industry Commission for Scotland (WICS) website. The data is contained in the D tables lines D6.3 for New Sewers added during the year and D6.6 for Sewers replaced. Further detail can be found in the commentary to the Annual Returns which are also published on the WICS website. Data is only available from 2015-16 as before this period Scottish Water did not report length of new sewers or length of sewers replaced in the tables.

The Scottish Government has been exploring the workforce demand for skilled stonemasons through engagement with the stonemasonry short life working group led by Historic Environment Scotland. The working group was set up to look at stonemasonry and traditional skills provision in Scotland with a view to identifying sustainable models of stonemasonry training for future delivery.

Additionally, Historic Environment Scotland ran a stonemasonry consultation in early 2023 to inform understanding of the size, shape and resilience of the stonemasonry sector in Scotland.

The stonemasonry working group have since provided their report of findings and recommendations to Ministers for their consideration.

The Minister for Higher and Further Education and Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development met recently to discuss the report and will also meet with HES and key stakeholders in due course to discuss the report’s findings and proposals for sustainable provision of a Stonemasonry apprenticeships and traditional skills in Scotland.

The Purpose and Principles for Post-School Education, Research and Skills, and the Independent Review of the Skills Delivery Landscape publications both make clear that the system needs to be reformed to deliver both for the learner and the needs of employers. This includes a commitment to national, regional and local skills planning to ensure that the education and skills system continues to be responsive to learner and employer needs.

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, I have asked its Chief Executive to respond. His response is as follows:

Scottish Water intends to install 29 monitors in the Almond Valley, and 67 monitors along the Water of Leith.

As previously explained in my answer to S6W-15158 on 13 March 2023, Scottish Water has identified priority locations for 1,000 spill monitors, with installation programmed over 2023 and 2024. Decisions about the locations of these monitors are not based on local authority boundary; locations were identified based on amenity levels and predicted spill frequencies, and agreed with SEPA.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20943 on 26 September 2023.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

I refer the member to the answer to S6W-15158 on 13 March 2023 for further information on Scottish Water’s approach to identifying locations for new CSO monitors.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) regulates sewage discharges to the water environment under the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 and must consider protection of designated nature conservation areas when determining discharge standards.

As part of River Basin Management Planning, when setting objectives for protection and improvement of the water environment SEPA also considers impacts to the condition of areas protected for nature conservation. SEPA has identified 13 conservation areas in Scotland which are not at their target objective for nature conservation and a contributing factor identified is the status of the water environment. However, none of the 13 areas are failing to meet good ecological condition due to sewage discharges.

Scotland’s River Basin Management Plan sets out measures for these areas to improve the status of the water environment, which will also contribute to improving the condition of the protected nature conservation area.

I last met Scottish Water on 7 June 2023.