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The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) sets the legal obligations to monitor and assess a range of chemicals in the water environment.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) monitors the water environment for a range of contaminants of emerging concern (including 4 antibiotics, 1 antidepressant, and 3 antifungal medicines) at targeted watercourses. Through the WFD watch-list prioritisation mechanism environmental quality standards for a number of pharmaceuticals are currently being developed by the EU. This includes antibiotic clarithromycin, painkiller ibuprofen, anticonvulsants and painkiller carbamazepine, anti-inflammatory diclofenac and estrogen medication EE2 in this study.

SEPA is working with partner organisations on the identification of chemicals of emerging concern in the environment, and is developing new analytical techniques that will allow it to screen environmental samples for a much larger number of chemicals, including a number of pharmaceuticals. This work will allow us to better understand the risks posed by pharmaceuticals in Scotland’s water environment.

The Scottish Government recognises that well-managed grouse moors can produce favourable habitats for certain species such as curlews and that land managers have an important role to play in enhancing biodiversity.

As I set out in my response to question S6W-03211 on 20 October 2021 the Scottish Government commissioned Scotland’s Rural College and the James Hutton Institute to undertake extensive research into the biodiversity and economic Impacts of grouse moors and the findings of this research were taken into account when we developed our response to the Werritty review. The research found that whilst some land management actions undertaken on grouse moors could enhance biodiversity, the findings were clear that there could also be a negative impact resulting in species decline.

Our Statement of Intent on biodiversity notes that Scotland’s land delivers multiple benefits to people, providing homes and water supplies, producing food, timber and space for leisure, as well as supporting biodiversity. We have a distinctively strong connection between people, place and nature which makes Scotland special in terms of landscape and access. All landowners and managers have an important role to play in helping to improve the state of nature.

All of these factors will be taken into account when we publish our new biodiversity strategy in Autumn 2022 followed by an underpinning 5 year delivery plan, including changes in the way we use and manage land and our approach to protecting habitats and ecosystems. We have also announced that we will introduce a Natural Environment Bill in year 3 or the current session, which will include statutory, enforceable targets for nature restoration, and actions to deliver on our ambitious voluntary commitment to protect 30% of Scotland’s land and seas by 2030, with 10% highly protected. We will invest at least £500 million in the natural economy over the course of this Parliament, including £150 Million for forestry, ongoing investment in peatland restoration and multi-year funding for the Nature Restoration Fund.

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

Sports sponsorship entails a range of alcohol advertising and promotional activity, which we know is seen by children and young people across Scotland. The findings of this report undertaken by researchers at the University of Stirling highlight just how much children and young people are exposed to alcohol marketing in a sports context.

We know this exposure creates positive attitudes towards drinking alcohol and can encourage them to start drinking alcohol or to drink more alcohol.

Whilst recognising the impact Covid-19 has had on the sporting sector as well as the importance of sponsorship income, we would encourage sports teams and organisations to diversify sponsorship away from alcohol brands. We applaud Scottish Women’s Football for the stance they have taken not to accept sponsorship from the alcohol or gambling industries.

We have committed to publicly consulting on a range of potential alcohol marketing restrictions to protect children and young people in Scotland. We are considering all methods of alcohol advertising and promotion in developing proposals for the public consultation which will be published in 2022.

Scottish Water is working in partnership with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) in the Chemical Investigation Programme (Scotland). Through environmental investigation this project identified chemicals of concern, their sources and concentrations leaving the sewerage system and how they should be addressed in the most sustainable way. The CIP 2 (Scotland) has provided a clear decision making framework for how compliance with the Environment Quality Standards Directive (2008/105/EC) and the subsequent revision (2013/39/EU) is to be addressed. To support this, an extensive monitoring programme of Priority Substances, substances with Environmental Quality Standards set by UK Technical Advisory Group on the Water Framework Directive (UKTAG)/Scottish Government (referred to as UKTAG Substances), substances of interest to SEPA (referred to as Watch List Substances), additional pharmaceuticals and sanitary determinands was conducted at 20 Wastewater Treatment Works (WwTW) within Scotland. At each site, sampling took place at the inlet to the WwTW, the final effluent discharge, and within the receiving watercourse upstream and downstream of the WwTW. The sampling programme took place between 2015 and 2020.

Pharmaceuticals are considered ‘contaminants of emerging concern’ and monitoring and assessing the risk to the water environment for many of these substances is still in the development phase. 23 pharmaceuticals were investigated during CIP2 Scotland. Following analysis with the PNEC (Predicted no effect concentration) the agreed approach with SEPA for 14 pharmaceutical was no further action. The agreed approach with SEPA for the 9 pharmaceuticals that were identified as substances of concern was to carry out a process optimisation study and to control them through source control. The next stage of this research, CIP3 Scotland, aims to carry out further sampling in relation to emerging pharmaceuticals and process optimisation trials at the WwTW in order to understand whether better treatment can be achieved at existing assets.

Scottish Water is also a member of the One Health Breakthrough Partnership ( www.ohbp.org ) which aims to reduce levels of pharmaceutical substances in the environment.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-01510 on 4 August 2021. I can now update that the cervical screening marketing campaign was launched on 11 October 2021. Although the primary focus of this campaign will be on encouraging those eligible to attend their cervical screening appointment when invited, the campaign will also provide information on screening intervals and the benefits of testing for human papilloma virus. Beyond this campaign, we will continue to work with our partners to identify further opportunities to communicate these important messages.

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

I refer the member to the answer to S6W-03394 on 19 October 2021. 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

I refer the member to the answer to S6W-03394 on 19 October 2021. 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
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Discussions on vaccine certification are conducted via the night time sector and wider hospitality’s trade representatives at a national level, the most recent of which took place with Ministers on 12 October 2021.

The National Infrastructure Mission includes all capital investment made by the Scottish Government, including that which is aimed at boosting supply chains and promoting private sector investment in our infrastructure and wider economy.

The Capital Spending Review, published on 04 February, sets out the total funding available to support the National Infrastructure Mission: £33,461 million over 5 years. A breakdown of this investment is provided in Table 3 on page 17/18. Table 4 of the Capital Spending Review shows the allocations made to individual portfolios and Annex A shows level 2 and level 3 budget allocations, by portfolio, across the same period.

The Infrastructure Investment Plan (IIP) lists in the Theme Chapters on pages 32 to 43 a breakdown of the main areas of investment by Scottish Government and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies – with a value of around £23.5 billion of capital investment. In addition, a value of £3 billion has been assumed for projects which are expected to be revenue funded. These two figures together are the basis of the £26 billion of investment cited in the Ministerial Foreword of the IIP.

The Infrastructure Investment Plan Pipeline, set out in Annex D, includes only a subset of the projects and programmes from the IIP total. Projects with a capital value of £5 million and Programmes with a £20 million value are included in this subset. As new projects and programmes are developed, they can be added to the pipeline when they are suitably ready, and consequently reported to the Parliament’s Public Audit Committee. This approach is explained on page 29 of the IIP.