Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Permanent Secretary has confirmed in a letter to Members on‎ 6 March that written authority from Scottish Ministers (the equivalent of a Ministerial Direction) has not been sought.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15420 on 13 March 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

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

The pilot period for the commitment concluded on 31 August 2022, and a final evaluation report has been published on the Transport Scotland website . Support has been provided to delivery organisations to continue activities until 31 March 2023.

The total number of bikes issued during the pilot period was 2600 and the total figure to date is 3650.

The total cost of the pilot period was £2,922,704.15, which was made up of £1,912,135.12 Capital and £1,010,569.03 Resource funding. The total cost to date is £4,498,149.19, which is made up of £3,090,887.49 Capital funding and £1,407,261.70 Resource funding. The resource element of the budget is not used to procure bikes, but to fund activity such as training sessions and staffing to support the objectives of the pilot programme.

We are currently considering how best to continue delivery from April 2023.

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.

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

When Scottish Forestry receive a report of suspected unauthorised felling, investigations, including site visits and evidence gathering is then carried out.

When investigations conclude that it is likely that unauthorised felling has occurred, Scottish Ministers have a range of powers available to achieve a positive outcome. The priority is normally to secure the replanting of the site and protection of the woodland. The most appropriate action is often to issue a restocking notice to secure the replanting of the site.

Prosecution is considered in each case where unauthorised felling has taken place. A range of factors, such as the seriousness of the impact and whether there were aggravating circumstances are taken into account when considering whether to pursue a prosecution. The final decision on whether to pursue a case to prosecution lies with the Procurator Fiscal and not with Scottish Ministers. Where replanting has been secured and the woodland has been protected it is often concluded not to be in the public interest to pursue a prosecution.

Prior to April 2019, when the Forest and Land Management Scotland Act 2018 was enacted, prosecutions were required in order to secure a restocking notice. Since April 2019 Scottish Forestry have greater powers and so are able to secure the restocking of a site by issuing Restocking Directions.

Scottish Forestry have issued 36 Restocking Directions for unauthorised felling from April 2019 to the year end 2020-21.

Sewer networks are dynamic and non-compliance can be short-lived. At the time of writing SEPA is not aware of any current, ongoing non-compliance with sewer network licences.

The inspection of sewer networks by SEPA can be the result of both planned work and in response to a notification of an issue by a member of the public or by Scottish Water. These inspections are normally targeted to specific areas, such as a pumping station and overflows in the local area which are in themselves part of a much larger sewer network.

SEPA investigations from June 2021 to date found 78 incidences of networks being non-compliant with their licence conditions. Reasons for non-compliance included:

Blockage of downstream sewer,

Sewage debris visible as a result of a discharge,

Significant visible impact on receiving waters due to the presence of oil or grease,

Significant deposition of sewage solids.

Scottish Water investigate reports of non-compliance, which can involve CCTV surveys, and undertake work to rectify issues identified such as clearing of tree roots, fats oils and grease, identifying and deterring illegal disposal of wastes and cross connections, and clearing watercourses and the surrounding areas.

Between 2010 and 2021, SEPA required Scottish Water to improve 279 sewer overflows and 104 wastewater treatment works, which were causing significant pollution. As a result, water quality is now at its highest level to date, with 87% of Scotland’s waters having good or better water quality.

Scottish Water’s route map for improving urban waters sets out actions required by Scottish Water, as well as significant work needed with other partners, to deliver long term improvements. The route map signals Scottish Water’s prioritised investment programme in this area.

Scottish Forestry is the Scottish Government agency responsible for regulating forestry activities and leads on unauthorised felling.

Scottish Forestry does not routinely discuss unauthorised felling with the bodies listed.

Unauthorised tree felling may be discussed with them on a case by case basis if required, for example:

• Police Scotland can be requested by Scottish Forestry to assist with unauthorised felling where suspects refuse to be interviewed under caution or where a wildlife crime is suspected.
• NatureScot is an agency within Scottish Government advising on the natural environment, but plays no part in the delivery of felling regulations. NatureScot maybe be engaged in the process if the site is home to a protected species.

NatureScot has a range of legislative powers available to them under the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996. A summary of how NatureScot has used those powers since 2017 has been provided in the following table: