The Scottish Parliament

Question reference: S6F-02082

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 May 2023

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-02083

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 May 2023

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-17487

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 9 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6O-02060 by Màiri McAllan on 23 March 2023, whether any of the investment mentioned will address pharmaceutical contamination.

Investment underpinning Scottish Water’s Improving Urban Waters Routemap does not specifically target the issue of pharmaceutical pollution. However, in partnership with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), Scottish Water is carrying out the Chemical Investigation Programme (CIP) Scotland which involves sampling for priority substances of emerging concern; pharmaceuticals are considered to be substances of emerging concern. The current phase of the programme involves a process optimisation trial at Wastewater Treatment Works that aims to help improve understanding of whether better treatment can be achieved at Scottish Water’s assets.

Scottish Water is also a member of the One Health Breakthrough Partnership (OHBP – www.ohbp.org ) which is funded by the Scottish Government and brings together key stakeholders across the water, environment, and healthcare sectors who are committed to addressing pharmaceutical pollution in the environment through source control. The partnership is looking to develop sustainable “up-stream” solutions to minimise pharmaceuticals entering wastewater and surface water, and reduce the environmental impact of our healthcare practices.

Question reference: S6W-17068

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 9 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government which companies and industry bodies from the energy sector the new Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Just Transition has met with since taking on her new role.

Question reference: S6W-17177

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 9 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-16274 by Kevin Stewart on 6 April 2023, whether it will provide the information requested in the previous question in relation to its pilot to remove peak ScotRail fares regarding what its rationale is for running the pilot over a six-month period, and what its position is on whether this will be a sufficient period of time during which to assess the success or otherwise of the trial; what it considers would constitute the success of the pilot, and how this will be measured; what the rationale is for potentially removing peak fares, and what the evidence base is that suggests that removing peak fares will achieve this; in which geographical area(s) it expects the removal of peak fares to have the most impact, and what impact it projects the removal of peak fares will have on ScotRail's income from ticket fares during the trial period; for what reason it did not provide this information in its answer; what its position is on whether (a) sufficient planning was carried out and (b) an adequate strategy was in place prior to the announcement of the pilot, and when further details of the ScotRail peak fares pilot will be confirmed.

On 18 April 2023 the First Minister announced that the ScotRail Peak Fares pilot will commence at the start of October 2023 and last for 6 months. Transport Scotland , Scottish Rail Holdings and ScotRail are currently finalising the design, monitoring and evaluation of the pilot. This is an unprecedented intervention in the UK rail sector and the purpose of the 6 month trial is to collect evidence on the impact both on rail and other modes, including bus, that will inform the Fair Fares Review and form the basis of future proposals.

The topics that the member raises are being considered during the pilot development process and further details will be announced in due course and will be assessed as part of the evaluation.

Question reference: S6W-17057

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 9 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has undertaken of the potential impact on its legal challenge to the section 35 order, preventing the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill from proceeding to Royal Assent, of any change to the Equality Act 2010 by the UK Government to include biological sex as a protected characteristic.

Question reference: S6W-17558

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 9 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), as a percentage of frontline spend, this parliamentary session, broken down by financial year.

Net mental health expenditure is published on the Public Health Scotland website Scottish health service costs under data files mental health expenditure Excel workbook . This information is available for financial years 2011-12 to 2021-22 for each NHS Board in Scotland, split by various types of expenditure including Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), adult mental health services, and older adult mental health services. Please note that expenditure data is collected by broad specialties and therefore categories may include multiple ‘services’.

Question reference: S6W-17559

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 9 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to mental health services, as a percentage of frontline spend, this parliamentary session, broken down by financial year.

Net mental health expenditure is published on the Public Health Scotland website Scottish health service costs under data files mental health expenditure Excel workbook . This information is available for financial years 2011-12 to 2021-22 for each NHS Board in Scotland, split by various types of expenditure including Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), adult mental health services, and older adult mental health services. Please note that expenditure data is collected by broad specialties and therefore categories may include multiple ‘services’.

Question reference: S6W-17404

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 9 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what statute or regulation defines responsibilities towards (a) maintaining, (b) enhancing and (c) preventing the deterioration of the quality of water in the environment; to which statutory body or bodies any responsibility for this falls; who (i) measures and (ii) reports on the quality of water in the environment; whether the quality has been improving or declining; what the explicit and enforceable targets are for enhancing the quality of water in the environment, and (A) to what levels and (B) within what timescales, and what budget it provides for supporting enhancements in water quality.

The River Basin Management Plans are the key tools for implementing the European Community (EC)’s Water Framework Directive (WFD) .The regulations cover rivers, lochs, transitional waters (estuaries), coastal waters groundwater, and groundwater dependant wetlands. This legislation became law in Scotland as the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 (WEWS Act) and covers activities such as discharges to the water environment, abstractions, and physical works in rivers and lochs that can threaten the water environment and the animals and people that rely on it.

The Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 – more commonly known as the Controlled Activity Regulations (CAR) – and their further amendments of 2013 and 2017 apply regulatory controls over activities which may affect Scotland’s water environment.

Scotland’s third River Basin Management Plan (RBMP) set statutory objectives to protect and improve Scotland’s water environment by 2027. These objectives are based on ecological assessments and economic judgments. The regulations cover all types of water body, e.g. rivers, lochs, lakes, estuaries, coastal waters and groundwater.

This RBMP builds on previous RBMPs published in 2009 and 2015, setting revised objectives for the period from 2021 to the end of 2027 and providing a programme of actions for achieving the objectives. While, 66% of Scotland’s overall water environment meets ‘good’ ecological status, the RBMP objectives for the 2021-27 period, and the associated work programme aims to ensure that 81% of Scotland’s water bodies achieve a ‘good’ or better classification by 2027 and continue to improve as natural conditions recover beyond that date.

This RBMP sets out a framework for protecting and improving the water environment across Scotland. The Scottish Government, Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), responsible authorities and all of Scotland’s other public bodies are responsible for developing and implementing the RBMP. Detailed information about the RBMP can be found in the water environment hub . It provides information on each waterbody, pressures, measures and the objectives (targets) that we have set.

SEPA is responsible for monitoring, assessing and classifying Scotland’s water environment including coastal waters and Shellfish Water Protected Areas. The classification data is available to the public online at the water classification hub . The Scottish Budget has allocated nearly £3 million to improvement of the water environment in 2023-24.

Question reference: S6W-17387

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 9 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission's Report on the use of handheld remote-controlled training devices (e-collars) in dog training.

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Question reference: S6F-02082

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Question reference: S6F-02083

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Question reference: S6W-17487

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Question reference: S6W-17068

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Question reference: S6W-17177

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Question reference: S6W-17057

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Question reference: S6W-17558

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Question reference: S6W-17559

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Question reference: S6W-17404

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Question reference: S6W-17387

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