Seòmar agus comataidhean

While the Scottish Government does not currently have targets directly relating to soil health, I would refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17413 on 9 May 2023 which provides our current restoration target for peatland soils. The Scottish Government is committed to improving soil health, as shown by the programmes and strategies that contribute to wider soil health both directly and indirectly which contribute to our commitment to becoming a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture. These include our Agriculture Reform Programme, Peatland Restoration Programme, the second Scottish Climate Change Adaptation Programme, the draft Biodiversity Strategy, the Land Use Strategy and the National Planning Framework 4.

Soil health is important for the delivery of our Vision for Agriculture. Preparing for Sustainable Farming under the National Test Programme supports a range of measures including funding for farmers and crofters to undertake soil testing and personal development to improve nutrient planning and nutrient management which will help promote sustainable management of soils. We also support farmers, crofters and land managers with tools, skills, and knowledge to manage and improve their soils through a range of initiatives, for example: Farming for a Better Climate and its farmer-led soil regenerative agriculture network, Scotland’s Farm Advisory Service, the Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund and the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme.

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 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.

The results of NatureScot’s Site Condition Monitoring programme show:

(a) 240 out of 307 (76%) freshwater habitat and associated species natural features are in favourable condition

(b) 3,773 out of 4,864 (78%) earth science, terrestrial habitats and associated species natural features are in favourable condition

There are no legal requirements for owners of protected sites to manage their land in order to achieve a specific standard of condition. It is an offence to intentionally or recklessly damage a protected area. Owners and occupiers must not carry out certain operations that could potentially damage SSSIs without prior consent from NatureScot.

The main sources of financial support for land managers for positive management of protected areas is through the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) and Forestry Grant Scheme. NatureScot can also enter in to management agreements with owners and occupiers of land to support a range of actions to improve and maintain their condition.

I refer the member to the question S6W-16845 on 25 April 2023 which details how we arrived at our restoration targets. We are currently reviewing the proposals put forward in the Climate Change Committee’s Progress in reducing emissions in Scotland: 2022 Report to Parliament and will publish our response in due course.

Annual budgets are allocated and approved based on delivery forecasts and budget requirements from our delivery partners. The pipeline of work changes from year to year and so, therefore, does our allocated budget. We allocated around £20 million, £23 million and £23.7 million in funding in the years 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23 respectively. There has been underspend in each of these years due to a range of factors including a reduction in the number of hectares delivered and over-estimation of capital required.

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 Bathing Waters (Scotland) Regulations 2008 Reg 4 states Scottish Ministers and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) must exercise their relevant functions so as to take such realistic and proportionate measures as they consider appropriate with a view to increasing the number of bathing waters classified as “good” or “excellent”. However, there is no obligation to take measures which would result in disproportionate expense or where any change in classification is infeasible.

Following significant investment and improvements in the first two cycles of river basin management planning, 98% of Scotland’s designated bathing waters now meet ‘sufficient’ or better environmental water quality standards, and more bathing waters are now rated as ‘excellent’ than ever before.

During the third cycle we continue to apply measures to protect bathing waters aiming to achieve further good or excellent classifications, avoiding deterioration and implementing plans to ensure that the health of bathers at designated sites is protected”. SEPA will continue with a focused approach in diffuse pollution priority catchments to drive compliance with environmental legislation to help achieve water quality objectives and improve bathing water quality.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency is responsible for monitoring, classifying, protecting and improving designated bathing waters with aim to reduce the risks to human health, where a large number of people bathe, by protecting and improving bathing water quality. SEPA monitors and classifies bathing waters on an annual basis following strict EU standards and publishes the results on its’ website. Bathing Waters : Summary of last season (sepa.org.uk) .

The Bathing Water (Scotland) Regulations 2008 Reg11(4) requires that for bathing waters classified as poor SEPA must take such action as it considers necessary, whether in relation to the regulation of any controlled activity or under any other functions to ensure that the bathing water can be classified as “sufficient”, “good” or “excellent”, unless permanent advice against bathing has been issued.

The following table shows that the number of bathing waters designated as good and excellent has steadily increased in the past three years.

The Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 (CAR) introduced a comprehensive control regime for abstractions which allows the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), on behalf of the Scottish Government, to manage water resources across Scotland. Under CAR, SEPA is provided with a three-level abstraction authorisation process: General Binding Rules (GBRs); Registrations; and Licences.

GBRs represent a set of mandatory rules which cover specific low risk activities. Activities complying with these rules do not require an application to be made to SEPA, as compliance with a GBR is considered to be compliance with an authorisation. Abstraction activities which do not comply with any relevant GBR must obtain authorisation from SEPA in the form of a Registration or water use Licence to abstract water.

All water users undertaking a controlled activity have a duty to take all reasonable steps to secure efficient and sustainable water use. During periods of prolonged dry weather, SEPA will review authorised abstraction volumes and, where necessary, SEPA have direction from Scottish Government to suspend specific abstraction authorisations using regulations under CAR. When suspensions are applied, abstractors are required to suspend their abstraction activities from Scotland’s water environment, including rivers and underground sources across Scotland and in sensitive habitats, to mitigate impacts the environment.

Further requirements for abstractors are set out by SEPA in their Water Scarcity Plan in conjunction with Scotland’s third River Basin Management Plan 2021 - 2027.

The Scottish Government is committed to the sustainable management of fish stocks in our waters. The majority of commercial stocks are managed by the use of Total Allowable Catch (TAC) limits which are agreed with other Coastal States in a variety of negotiations forums. TAC levels are informed by the best available independent scientific advice, and are used with an aim to ensure sustainable fishing levels in the long term. This is a long standing commitment of the Scottish Government and the Fisheries Management Strategy sets out our ambition to fish within limits based on the best available scientific advice, using the precautionary principle, and aligned with the delivery of fishing at Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY).

This aligns with our commitments from the Fisheries Act 2020 and Joint Fisheries Statement which outline that sustainable fishing means environmental, economic, and social considerations are appropriately balanced when managing our fisheries to benefit present and future generations.

There are a range of domestic fisheries management measures including technical measures which have now been retained into UK law through the Fisheries Act 2020. These technical measures range from basic Minimum Conservation References Sizes (MCRS) of specific species of fish, to mesh sizes and structure of fishing nets. It is worth noting that while the majority of commercial stocks have TACs set, scallop, crab and lobster are Non-Quota Stocks without a TAC and are managed by domestic management through a range of input controls and technical measures, such as through a national licence, days at sea limits, minimum and maximum landing sizes, and gear restrictions.

The Scottish Government are fully committed to transparency and probity in the management of, and accountability for, the public finances.

For central government and non-departmental bodies, our capital borrowing powers are restricted and the UK capital grant allocation is limited, so where it is deemed value for money, private finance is considered alongside a range of financing approaches including capital grant, capital borrowing, financial transactions and other forms of finance. Should additional capital borrowing powers become available, we will examine all options to ensure the lowest cost financing route is utilised.

Local authorities determine their own programmes for capital investment and make their own decisions as to the financing of capital investment programmes. In determining their capital investment programme, local authorities are required by legislation to comply with The Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities, to ensure that all capital investment decisions are prudent, affordable, and sustainable.

The use of private finance to fund capital expenditure, as with all financing arrangements, should be transparently reported in accordance with the Scottish Public Finance Manual. The Scottish Public Finance Manual is issued by the Scottish Ministers to provide guidance on the proper handling and reporting of private and public-private finance.

The Scottish Government has not specifically considered the economic impact of delayed treatment for patients with essential tremor.

We recognise the importance of ensuring patients can access the treatment they require. Currently, patients who are eligible for magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) for essential tremor can be referred to NHS Tayside in conjunction with the University of Dundee. Patients can also be referred to other services through cross border referral routes if appropriate.

The Scottish Government recognises the benefits magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) could provide to eligible patients with essential tremor.

Having access to appropriate treatment is crucial to a patient’s employment prospects. The commissioning of specialist services through NHS National Services Division (NSD) allows all patients regardless of their Health Board to access the specialist care and treatment they need. At present, no new application has been received to designate MRgFUS as a national specialist service to NHS Tayside. NSD will continue to work with the MRgFUS team in NHS Tayside in the meantime.

Alternatively, eligible patients for magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) for essential tremor can be referred to NHS Tayside in conjunction with the University of Dundee. Patients can also be referred to other services through cross border referral routes if appropriate.