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The Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing is administered by Crown Estate Scotland who are responsible for completing the process of due diligence in line with relevant guidance.

Crown Estate Scotland advises that all INTOG applicants were required to confirm their compliance with all legal obligations regarding human rights. INTOG applicants were also required to make specific commitments ensuring that they, their group companies, and their supply chain partners have the appropriate policies and mechanisms in place regarding human rights.

Crown Estate Scotland reserves the right to void any application which is found to have provided false information in these commitments. If any companies have been found to have made false declarations on these matters Crown Estate Scotland will take the appropriate action including termination of Exclusivity Agreements.

The Scottish Government is clear that both public authorities and private enterprises have a responsibility to ensure human rights are respected and protected in the workplace. Scottish Ministers remain committed to defending the vitally-important legislation which protects human rights in Scotland and in the UK – including both the Human Rights Act 1998 and the constitutional protections built into the Scotland Act 1998.

The Scottish Government is not required to hold this information. As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, I have asked Douglas Millican, Chief Executive, to respond. His response is as follows:

The average wait time for customers calling Scottish Water’s customer helpline between 1st April 2022 and 1st April 2023 was 19 seconds. The chart below provides information about how many calls were handled by Scottish Water in each year since 2016.

Parliamentary question S6W-15763 asked “how many patients under 18 have been admitted to an NHS facility for vaping-related illnesses or disorders in each year since 2019”. At that time (March 2023) Public Health Scotland (PHS) responded that these data were not currently held. However, PHS are now carrying out work to identify the number of individuals with vaping related illness in Scotland and will publish figures in July 2023.

The Scottish Government is in regular contact with Scottish Water on these matters. 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 contaminants of emerging concern, and monitoring and assessing the risk to the water environment for many such substances is still in the development phase. Following action on source control for a range of pharmaceuticals agreed with SEPA under the second phase of the CIP, the third phase of the research sees further sampling and process optimisation trials at Wastewater Treatment Works that aims to help improve our understanding of whether better treatment can achieved at Scottish Water’s assets. In terms of drinking water, the Drinking Water Quality Regulator monitors Scottish Water’s performance. Regulation 4 of the Public Water Supplies (Scotland) Regulations 2014 as amended requires Scottish Water to ensure drinking water does not contain any substance at a concentration that could constitute a danger to human health.

Scottish Water is also a member of the One Health Breakthrough Partnership (OHBP), 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 Scottish Government’s Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) for the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP) attended the Home Office ESMCP Programme Board on 22 March 2023.

The methods used to treat sewage is a matter for Scottish Water to consider to ensure regulatory standards are met in an efficient manner. I refer the member to the answer for S6W-16184 on 11 April 2023 for further information on the discussions regarding the potential presence and impact of pharmaceuticals in water.

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 following table shows the number of contributory factors in injury road accidents where road surface was poor or defective in Highlands and Islands police division, broken down by council area. In addition to the Highlands and Islands, the North command area also covers Grampian and Tayside. These areas have therefore not been included.

The Scottish Government has engagement with Audit Scotland in relation to the Lochaber Guarantee and the year end accounts. The outcome of the most recent Consolidated accounts for the 2021-2022 financial year has been published in full on the Scottish Government’s website and the Auditor General has publicly commented on the findings in relation to Lochaber in December 2022 which can be accessed at this link https://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/publications/the-202122-audit-of-the-scottish-government-consolidated-accounts .

The Auditor General has stated at page 12 of the 2021-2022 Audit that:

“I have concluded for 2021-22, the Scottish Government’s approach to setting the level of provision against the potential exposure through the guarantee is reasonable”.

The Scottish Government has no outstanding liabilities in respect of Liberty Steel Dalzell and has engaged with Audit Scotland in relation to this matter.

Liberty Steel Dalzell is currently meeting ongoing interest payments on the outstanding loan, and Scottish Enterprise continues to work closely with the Company and its parent to secure full repayment as soon as possible. This is, however, a complex situation with multiple commercially sensitive dependencies.