Question reference: S6W-00502
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 4 June 2021
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Current status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 15 June 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support local authorities that receive a large number of visitors to help them deal with problems related to litter, vandalism and antisocial behaviour that may increase during the summer months.
Answer
While it is for the local authority or national park authority to ensure it has sufficient services in place, the Scottish Government has in recent years supported authorities through its Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund which has helped create new toilets, car parks and waste disposal facilities. To support critical tourism projects in our more remote areas we are more than doubling this Fund to £6.2 million in 2021-22, bringing our total investment to over £15 million.
The Visitor Management Group, consisting of public bodies, National Parks and local authorities, was also established last September and has now developed an interim strategy and a list of associated actions for this year.
A number of actions are already underway including the establishment of the new Better Places Green Recovery Fund by NatureScot. This Fund has provided over £400,000 to 35 community and third sector projects so far, with a new round of £2.75m allocated to deliver additional short-term action for the 2021 season. This includes support for temporary toilets and ranger posts. We are also providing our National parks with an extra £3.6m in 2021 which will support, among other things, seasonal rangers and improved infrastructure to better manage visitors this summer.