- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 13 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the response to the members' business debate on motion S6M-06148 (Sewage and Scotland's Waters) by the Minister for Environment and Land Reform on 26 October 2022 (Official Report, c. 124), how many of the (a) 40 waste water treatment works and (b) 26 priority storm overflows, which the Minister stated would be improved over the next six years, have since undergone improvement works.
Answer
Scottish Water publishes an annual update to its Urban Waters Route Map and the most recent update from December 2022 is available on its website at https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/-/media/ScottishWater/Document-Hub/Key-Publications/Urban-Water-Improvements/141222IUW22AnnualUpdateV22.pdf
In its December 2022 update, Scottish Water confirmed that 54 projects have been initiated to develop solutions and support delivery of all high priority discharges by 2027. Following discussions with SEPA, some initially identified needs have been removed/downgraded. Scottish Water intends to target investment towards a revised list of 104 high priority CSO discharges (detailed on its website at https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/-/media/ScottishWater/Document-Hub/Key-Publications/Urban-Water-Improvements/110522HighPriorityUIDs.pdf ); this includes 24 storm overflows which have been assessed as potentially impacting water quality. Scottish Water has also initiated projects and is scrutinising options to enable improvement works to be delivered at 39 identified waste water treatment works.
Scottish Water’s capital investment projects involve a significant period of development work, including identifying options, determining costs and completing all land, planning and permitting activities in advance of delivering any scheme on site. The projects identified in the routemap will develop over the next two years, in line with Scottish Water’s capital investment process, to the point where clear timescales for improvements can be agreed. It is anticipated that the majority of improvements will be in place closer to the 2027 target timeframe, but Scottish Water will review all opportunities to deliver improvements in the shortest possible timeframe, where possible. Scottish Water will continue to provide annual updates on its website to outline progress being made in delivering commitments under its Improving Urban Waters Route Map.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 13 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many of the approximately 1,000 network and treatment works combined sewer overflows (CSOs) which, according to Scottish Water's Improving Urban Waters route map, are "discharging to the highest priority waters (including all designated shellfish and bathing waters)", have had monitoring installed on them, and whether it will provide a list of these CSOs.
Answer
As referenced in the answer to S6W-15157 on 13 March 2023, in its annual update to its routemap, Scottish Water confirmed that priority locations have been identified for the 1,000 spill monitors, with installation programmed over 2023 and 2024. Over the past year, Scottish Water has invested significant time in developing a prioritisation approach for monitoring locations, based on amenity levels and predicted spill frequencies, and agreed this with SEPA. This has been published on Scottish Water’s website at https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/-/media/ScottishWater/Document-Hub/Key-Publications/Urban-Water-Improvements/EDMmethodology.pdf . Scottish Water has also made considerable effort to review the marketplace to determine the most appropriate monitors to deliver maximum value for customers. A priority list of locations will soon be available on Scottish Water’s website and Scottish Water has committed to providing an annual update on its website to outline progress being made in delivering commitments under its Improving Urban Waters Route Map.
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
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 13 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government to which countries, including other parts of the UK, Scottish plastic waste was exported in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022, broken down by the percentage exported to each.
Answer
Details of transfrontier shipments of waste are not published or held by Scottish Government, but are held by SEPA.
Information on exports to other UK countries is not available for the years requested.
Due to the cyber attack suffered by SEPA in 2020, data for that year is unavailable. The 2021 data is expected to be available from 28 March 2023, following publication of official statistics on Waste from All Sources. SEPA does not yet have a complete dataset for 2022, as returns are still being processed.
SEPA’s Waste from All Sources Discover Tool is available here: Waste (from all sources) (sepa.org.uk)
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 13 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) volume and (b) percentage of Scottish waste was exported to other parts of the UK in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.
Answer
That information is not available for the years requested.
Due to the cyber attack suffered by SEPA in 2020, data for that year is unavailable. The 2021 data is expected to be available from 28 March 2023, following publication of official statistics on Waste from All Sources. SEPA does not yet have a complete dataset for 2022, as returns are still being processed.
SEPA’s Waste from All Sources Discover Tool is available here: Waste (from all sources) (sepa.org.uk)
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 13 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) volume and (b) percentage of Scottish plastic waste was exported to non-UK countries in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022, broken down by that which was exported (A) directly from Scotland and (B) via other sites in the UK.
Answer
Details of transfrontier shipments of waste are not published or held by Scottish Government, but are held by SEPA.
Information on exports to other UK countries is not available for the years requested.
Due to the cyber attack suffered by SEPA in 2020, data for that year is unavailable. The 2021 data is expected to be available from 28 March 2023, following publication of official statistics on Waste from All Sources. SEPA does not yet have a complete dataset for 2022, as returns are still being processed.
SEPA’s Waste from All Sources Discover Tool is available here: Waste (from all sources) (sepa.org.uk)
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 13 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the Deposit Return Scheme, whether it has made an application for an exemption under the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020, and, if not, what plans it has to submit any such application.
Answer
The Scottish Government has been following the process for excluding the deposit return scheme regulations from the Internal Market Act 2020 and we expect a decision from the UK Government as soon as possible.
I recently met with ministers and senior officials from each UK administration at the inter-ministerial group on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to again ask for urgent clarity from the UK Government on this matter, and by the end of March at the latest.
- Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether pharmacy provision is keeping up with demand.
Answer
Ensuring sufficient community pharmacy provision is the responsibility of NHS Health Boards in their local areas. Arrangements are set out in the NHS (Pharmaceutical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2009 and decisions regarding pharmacy provision are made through a Board’s Pharmacy Practices Committee (PPC). The process is independent of Scottish Ministers and Government.
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to promote interoperable prescribing systems between the NHS providers and homecare medicines services providers.
Answer
There are currently no plans to introduce an interoperable prescribing system for homecare medicine services. Any proposed changes will be considered as part of the wider Digital Prescribing and Dispensing Pathways Programme being taken forward by NHS National Services Scotland.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how much of the announced £170 million for multi-disciplinary teams in NHS Scotland will be dedicated towards supporting people living with myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).
Answer
We are providing £170m to support the delivery of extended multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) making it easier for patients to see the right person, at the right time, in GP practices and the community.
Whilst the fund does not have direct provision to support living with myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), the reforms are focused on strengthening the whole general practice team for the benefit of all patients.
We have recruited 3,220 whole time equivalent (WTE) healthcare professionals, such as pharmacists, mental health workers and physiotherapists, into these MDTS. This is helping to refocus the role of the GP on patients with more complex conditions, in turn improving patient outcomes, community health and practice sustainability.
- Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 13 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many transgender women are currently held within the female estate of the Scottish Prison Service; what crime, or crimes, each individual was convicted of and, in the case of any prisoners being held on remand, what crime they are accused of.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
On 10 March 2023, there were 7 transgender women located within the female estate in the care of the SPS. Out of those 7; 4 individuals were sentenced, and 3 were held on remand.
The 4 sentenced individuals all had an index offence in the Non-sexual crimes of violence group. The remanded individuals are alleged to have committed index offences in the Non-sexual crimes of violence group and the Crimes against society group.
