Contents
- Portfolio Question Time
- Active Travel
- Business Motions
- Parliamentary Bureau Motions
- Decision Time
- Health Inequalities (Nursing)
Portfolio Question Time
Justice and the Law Officers
Good afternoon. The first item of business is portfolio questions. To get as many questions in as possible, I would prefer short and succinct questions and answers.
HMP Shotts
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the chief inspector of prisons for Scotland’s recent comments regarding HMP Shotts. (S4O-03851)
The Scottish Government welcomes the publication by Her Majesty’s chief inspector of prisons of the progress report on HMP Shotts, which is a follow-up to a full inspection report that was published in June 2013.
The chief inspector, David Strang, commented on publication that good progress had been made towards achievement of the 51 recommendations that were made in 2013, noting that 31 recommendations had been fully achieved; that in relation to seven recommendations, meaningful progress was in evidence; and that 12 recommendations are to be addressed.
I am satisfied that, overall, the report is balanced. It records that, while there is a need to ensure that further progress is made, progress is being made in a number of important areas. Overall, the prison runs well and is safe, and there is evidence of positive relationships between staff and prisoners.
As I am sure the cabinet secretary is aware, one of the more serious aspects that was identified is that there is a lack of meaningful and productive work for prisoners. Does he accept that the provision of meaningful and productive work is essential to the wellbeing and rehabilitation of prisoners? If he does, will he tell me what steps the Government and the Scottish Prison Service are taking to improve that aspect of rehabilitation at HMP Shotts and, indeed, elsewhere?
The member raises a good point, because that was one of the key areas that the chief inspector of prisons identified as requiring further action.
Progress is being made at Shotts to ensure greater provision of purposeful activity. The Scottish Prison Service has carried out a national review of purposeful activity within the prison system, which was commissioned following the results of work undertaken by the Parliament’s Justice Committee back in 2013. We expect the findings of the review to be taken forward by the SPS. Following the review, there were some 131 recommendations on improving purposeful activity in the prison estate in Scotland. The Scottish Prison Service is developing an implementation plan to ensure that it takes forward those recommendations.
Question 2, in the name of Mary Fee, has not been lodged. An explanation has been provided that appears to be less than satisfactory.
Human Trafficking (Airports)
To ask the Scottish Government how the proposals in the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Bill will help deter trafficking through airports. (S4O-03853)
Our bill aims to clarify and strengthen the criminal law by introducing a new single human trafficking offence and by increasing the maximum penalty to life imprisonment. The bill will give Scotland’s law enforcement agencies greater tools in their armoury to use in bringing those responsible for the misery of human trafficking to justice, as well as guaranteeing support for victims.
The bill includes provisions for courts to impose new preventative orders, restricting the activities of people convicted or suspected of human trafficking offences, including controls on foreign travel. There are specific proposals in the bill that will allow for the detention of property, including aircraft, owned or possessed by persons arrested on suspicion of a trafficking offence.
The Lord Advocate’s recent summit and communiqué on human trafficking acknowledged the need for co-operation between law enforcement agencies across the United Kingdom in responding to this crime. Alongside our bill, we will continue to engage with the UK Government, UK border force and other relevant UK bodies to share intelligence and to disrupt and deter traffickers who seek to cross our borders.
I thank the minister for the extensive answer. The bill is very welcome indeed and will help to give my constituents the reassurance that we will not tolerate the use of our airports for this heinous crime. The bill will require the creation of a Scottish human trafficking strategy. How does the Government intend to work with the airports in drafting that strategy to ensure that they are doing all that they can to prevent human trafficking?
The member raises an important point because, alongside the improvements to the criminal law and the strengthening of the rights of victims, the bill will commit Scottish Government ministers to engage with relevant stakeholders in order to bring forward a trafficking and exploitation strategy for Scotland.
I assure the member of the Government’s intention to ensure that, in developing the strategy, we engage with organisations and front-line staff, including those at our airports and ports, so that they have an opportunity to have an input into the development of the strategy and so that the strategy is framed in a way that supports them by ensuring that they have the necessary skills and knowledge to identify the signs of trafficking and prevent traffickers from being able to bring people across our borders.
Handling Offensive Weapons (Custodial Sentences)
To ask the Scottish Government how the length of custodial sentences for handling an offensive weapon has changed during the last 10 years. (S4O-03854)
The average length of custodial sentences for carrying an offensive weapon has increased for 10 years in a row and is now more than three times higher than it was a decade ago. Figures show that the average length of custodial sentences has increased, from 111 days in 2004-05 to 374 days in 2013-14.
I welcome those figures. Although there has been significant progress, how will the national roll-out of the no knives, better lives programme ensure that we continue to reduce the number of people who carry offensive weapons?
There are two key aspects to the approach that the Scottish Government has taken in helping to reduce the number of offences involving carrying an offensive weapon. The first is education and diversion activity, which involves educating young people about the risks of carrying a weapon and encouraging them into diversion programmes in order to move them away from any activity that involves carrying offensive weapons. The second aspect of our approach involves taking forward robust measures in our criminal justice system, making sure that we use the law effectively to take robust criminal action against anyone who is found to be carrying an offensive weapon.
Alongside that, we have been funding the no knives, better lives programme—over the past five years, we have provided £2.5 million to the programme. As of April last year, the programme is available across all local authority areas in Scotland. It is based at YouthLink Scotland and involves a system that targets young people, offering those who live in communities that experience the greatest effects of knife crime the opportunity to participate.
Local authorities invite YouthLink in to roll out the programme in their local areas. I encourage all local authorities to look at the work that YouthLink Scotland is doing in this field and to involve it in their local crime prevention strategies, because the no knives, better lives strategy is worth while and demonstrates that such intervention can make a difference in communities.
Domestic Abuse (South Scotland)
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to provide an appropriate legal process for resolving domestic abuse cases in the South Scotland parliamentary region. (S4O-03855)
The Scottish Government is committed to tackling the scourge of domestic violence. That work includes consideration of a new specific domestic abuse offence.
Although overall levels of recorded crime have fallen in recent years, the reporting and prosecution of certain categories of crime, including domestic abuse, have increased. That might be due to victims feeling more confident in reporting those crimes, in the knowledge that our law enforcement agencies will robustly investigate reports and prosecute where sufficient evidence exists. That is good news, as it means that more victims are able to access justice.
In November, the Scottish Government provided new funding of £1.47 million to help justice agencies deal with the efficient processing of summary court cases, including the increasing number of domestic abuse cases that are being heard in court.
I welcome the possibility of the creation of a domestic abuse offence later in this parliamentary session.
In view of the unpalatable history of domestic abuse cases in South Scotland, and given the extent of court closures and centralisation, what are the cabinet secretary and the Scottish Government doing to ensure that early intervention by the courts to protect victims is still happening, and what plans and funding are being put in place to deal with their needs?
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has made it clear that taking forward cases of domestic abuse is seen as a priority, and it has procedures in place for doing that. A range of training programmes have also been put in place for Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service staff, and cases are considered by senior members of staff—once those staff have completed an extensive training programme on domestic abuse—when decisions are made about whether they should proceed to court.
We also have in place a range of measures to ensure that vulnerable witnesses get the right support when they appear in court. One of the benefits of the court changes that are taking place is that in Edinburgh, for example, where more such cases will be heard, there are dedicated victim and witness facilities for those who are vulnerable, which we do not have at some of our smaller courts.
We have put in place a range of measures both within the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and in our courts to ensure that the right support is available for victims and that they get the right assistance when they appear in court.
The member will know that another aspect of the Scottish Court Service changes is the opportunity for videolinks to be established in remote courts to enable witnesses to give evidence without having to travel to a central point. That, too, could benefit those who are vulnerable when domestic violence happens to be part of the case.
Question 6, in the name of Clare Adamson, has been withdrawn and a satisfactory explanation has been provided.
Question 7 is in the name of Paul Martin, who appears not to be in the chamber. The Presiding Officers would be grateful for an early explanation as to why he is not here.
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (Control Room Reorganisation)
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service regarding the reorganisation of control room facilities. (S4O-03858)
The Scottish Government has regular meetings with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service at which it receives updates on a range of issues including control rooms. That was one of the issues that were discussed at my initial meeting with the service before Christmas, and we are meeting again tomorrow.
That is excellent timing, minister. I recently met Fire Brigades Union representatives who are seeking reassurance that sufficient staff will be in place to ensure that the migration to a single control room in the east is achieved safely and with minimal disruption both to the provision of services and to the staff involved. I ask the minister to ask questions about that process. There has already been a change in Dumfries, but that is comparatively small in the context of the change that is taking place in the east.
Will the minister also ask questions about the support that is being given to staff—particularly those who will be required to change jobs—other than training in CV writing and interview skills? Many of those people are concerned about losing their uniformed status. I would be grateful if the minister could either address those points today or pick up those issues with the SFRS when he meets it tomorrow.
I am happy to discuss those issues with the SFRS tomorrow. I note the member’s long-standing interest in the issue with regard to Edinburgh and I am happy to take forward those matters and keep in touch with her on them.
Human Trafficking
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address human trafficking. (S4O-03859)
I recognise Christina McKelvie’s long-standing interest in pursuing the issue as one of the co-conveners of the cross-party group on human trafficking.
On 11 December 2014, we introduced the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Bill. If the bill is approved by Parliament, it will clarify and strengthen the law to prosecute and disrupt traffickers. It will also strengthen the rights of victims. That will include giving adult victims of trafficking rights to access immediate support and assistance that are equivalent to those that child victims already have.
The proposals in the bill build on the actions that were taken following the human trafficking summit that was hosted by the Scottish Government in October 2012. The Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland and the Solicitor General Lesley Thomson hosted a further human trafficking summit at the Scottish Parliament on 17 October 2014, which was attended by the heads of prosecution services from across the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was agreed that prosecutors would work together to share information to ensure that there would be robust and effective prosecutions of those who engage in this heinous crime.
I attended the event for prosecutors, and it was heartening to see like-minded people in the room.
The bill includes victim support measures. As the cabinet secretary mentioned, adult victims will be given the same assistance that children already receive. That is extremely important.
The bill also includes a duty to secure such support and assistance, and I hope that the Government will press for that assistance to be provided as soon as possible. That assistance should include the provision of accommodation, because trafficking victims can be left destitute; assistance with day-to-day living; medical advice and treatment; language translation and interpretation services, because it is becoming ever more difficult for people to go and give evidence to the Home Office; counselling; and repatriation and legal advice.
I draw the cabinet secretary’s attention to a campaign by the refugee women’s strategy group on the fact that victims have to give evidence on some of the horrible things that have happened to them, sometimes in front of their children, and ask the Scottish Government to look at that.
How does the cabinet secretary intend to implement the provision on assistance and give adult and child victims of human trafficking the best support possible?
Christina McKelvie has raised an extremely important point. The very nature of human trafficking and exploitation is such that it is often hidden. Those individuals who have been trafficked or exploited are often reluctant to come forward and get assistance and support. That is why the provision of support to those who have been trafficked or exploited is a key measure in our bill.
The areas that the member has highlighted are all key areas. For example, if a person has been trafficked or exploited, they might have been completely dependent for their accommodation on the person who was controlling their situation. Once they are no longer in that situation, they might become much more vulnerable and might not have accommodation. Such factors will have to be taken into account when consideration is given to the type of support that will be required for the victims of trafficking, given the complexity of such crime, its controlling nature and its impact on the individuals concerned.
A key part of the work that we will take forward as part of the national strategy that the bill will place a requirement on ministers to develop and to regularly review will be ensuring that we have the right provisions in place to support victims of trafficking effectively when they come forward. The member has raised a number of important points, all of which I will be more than happy to consider as we proceed with the bill and as we begin to develop the national strategy.
Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill (Stage 2 Timetable)
To ask the Scottish Government when stage 2 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill will commence. (S4O-03860)
Lord Bonomy is expected to complete his post-corroboration safeguards review by April this year. The timing of stage 2 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill is a matter for the Parliament, but the Scottish Government does not anticipate that stage 2 will commence until there has been an opportunity to consider Lord Bonomy’s recommendations.
I thank the cabinet secretary for his reply. Given the controversial nature of the discussions around the abolition of the requirement for corroboration, does the Government have any proposals for further public consultation arising from the results of Lord Bonomy’s review before stage 2 takes place?
It is important that we wait to receive the report from Lord Bonomy before looking at the issues that Lord Bonomy and his group have raised. What is contained within that report will then be reflected in the response that the Government makes about the need for any further consultation. At this stage, it is important that we allow Lord Bonomy and the group to complete their work and await the outcome from the report. We will then consider the report in detail and we will respond in due course on what we see as being the most appropriate way forward, which will be dependent upon the recommendations that are contained within the report.
Rural Affairs, Food and Environment
Waste Recycling Plants (Location)
To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to prevent waste recycling plants being located next to residential areas or town centres. (S4O-03861)
That is a matter for planning authorities. Local development plans should identify appropriate locations for new infrastructure and decisions on planning applications should protect residential amenity.
That was a slightly disappointing answer.
Two years ago this month, there was a major fire at the waste recycling plant in Johnstone, in my constituency. It resulted in one of the highest turnouts of fire service personnel that had been seen in the west of Scotland for many years. Thankfully, because of the prevailing wind, the fire did little damage to adjacent houses or to Johnstone town centre. However, it resulted in the main railway line to Ayrshire being closed for a number of hours.
I realise that there is little that can be done in terms of retrospective legislation but, frankly, I do not think that it is acceptable to say that it is a matter for the local authorities to address using their existing powers. I am asking the minister to say what the Scottish Government will do, using its powers to legislate and set regulations, to change the regulations and the rules to prevent such plants from being located next to town centres or residential areas in future.
The member will appreciate that I am not the minister for planning. Under the Scottish planning policy on the location of waste facilities, local development plans
“should safeguard existing waste management installations and ensure that”
new development
“does not compromise waste handling operations, which may operate 24 hours a day and partly outside buildings.”
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency regulates waste facilities either through a licence under the Waste Management Licensing (Scotland) Regulations 2011 or through a permit that is issued under the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2012. Under section 36(2) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, SEPA cannot issue a waste management licence for land that does not have planning permission for that use. The licence and PPC permit conditions relate to the management and control systems for the activities that are carried out and the precautions to be taken—for example, the type of waste that is accepted and the storage and treatment processes. Those conditions must be complied with or SEPA will have to take the appropriate enforcement action.
Air Quality (Central Scotland)
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve air quality in the Central Scotland region. (S4O-03862)
Local authorities have the lead responsibility in assessing and promoting air quality. The Scottish Government has supported a number of councils across Central Scotland by providing them with practical and financial assistance in implementing their action plans, continuing to operate a comprehensive network of around 90 air quality monitoring stations and utilising the data to develop and inform policy initiatives.
Most of the councils in my region regularly publish data on air quality and issue it on their websites. Will the minister encourage all councils to publish all air quality information and to standardise the data that is supplied to members of the public in a format that conveys the information in a manner that is more understandable and that can be easily accessed on individual council websites?
I agree that clear information needs to be available to the public to inform people about local air quality. For that reason, in 2007 we established the Scottish air quality website and database. The website allows members of the public to obtain alerts when high pollution episodes are forecast. Through the forthcoming low emissions strategy consultation, we will seek views on potential improvements that can be made to the consistency and clarity of communications regarding air quality, reflecting the potential number of pollutants that might be involved.
It has been more than a year since Friends of the Earth Scotland revealed that 14 of the country’s top 20 pollution hotspots for nitrogen dioxide were breaking European Union safety limits, including the Raith interchange in Central Scotland. Does the Scottish Government agree that, to achieve sustainable improvements in air quality, it must not only complete the redevelopment of the Raith interchange to avoid bottlenecks but improve public transport in the region overall through the electrification of Lanarkshire railways and, where necessary, the better regulation of local bus services?
The Government is committed to improving air quality across the country. We have seen significant reductions in pollution emissions over recent decades through tighter industrial regulation, improved fuel quality, cleaner vehicles and an increased focus on sustainable transport. We are meeting domestic and European air quality targets across most of Scotland, although there are still localised hotspots of poorer air quality in a number of urban areas. Scotland’s national transport strategy includes among its three strategic outcomes a commitment to improving air quality. Initiatives such as the green bus fund and the plug-in vehicles road map are making a major contribution to improving air quality.
Single Use Carrier Bags (Impact of Charging)
To ask the Scottish Government what impact the introduction of charges for single use carrier bags has had on the number of bags becoming litter or landfill waste. (S4O-03863)
As expected, early reports from some major retailers indicate reductions in bag use of up to 90 per cent since the introduction of the charge. It is encouraging to see that so many shoppers are now in the habit of reusing bags. We expect that those positive early indications will lead to a visible reduction in bag litter on our streets and beaches.
I have received a lot of positive feedback from my constituents about the impact of the carrier bag charge and how it has helped to make them more aware of the difference that simple actions can make to the environment. Has the introduction of the charge been as widely welcomed among shoppers in other parts of Scotland?
A poll following the introduction of the charge showed that 85 per cent of people agreed that it is a positive step and only 9 per cent disagreed. That has been backed up by comments in the media and online indicating that most people have welcomed this important litter reduction measure and adapted well to it.
National Marine Plan
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the final version of Scotland’s national marine plan. (S4O-03864)
The national marine plan was laid before the Scottish Parliament on 11 December 2014. The plan will be adopted and published following parliamentary scrutiny in accordance with schedule 1 to the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.
As the minister might know, the popular Fisherrow sands in Musselburgh are in my constituency. What plans are there to enhance recreational beach usage, and what will be done to ensure clean beaches and acceptable water quality?
The national marine plan sets out objectives and policies to support the sustainable growth of marine recreation and tourism in Scotland, including recreational beach activities. The policies also ensure consideration of development impacts on the sector, and the plan sets out requirements to support growth that cover the protection and improvement of access, infrastructure and facilities in addition to the protection and enhancement of the unique natural resources that the sector relies on. The plan’s general policies also ensure that measures to address marine litter must be taken to support Scotland’s marine litter strategy, and any activity must not result in the deterioration in the level of water quality applied by the water framework directive and other related directives.
How will data for the national marine plan be collected from the range of sectors and collated and co-ordinated in an on-going way for the national marine plan interactive? Just as important, how will it be shared with regional marine planners? I appreciate that the cabinet secretary is not here today, and I would respect it if the minister wished to respond later.
Given the level of detail that the member has asked for and given that the matter falls within the cabinet secretary’s portfolio, I am sure that she will appreciate it if I say to her that, if she were to write to the cabinet secretary, he would be able to give her a more detailed response to her question.
I appreciate that the plan was laid before Parliament in December, but will the minister confirm that it is still open to alteration and reconsideration, if necessary, given that the cabinet secretary is coming before the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee next week and the committee still has to report its findings with regard to the national marine plan?
We will be very happy to come back to the member on that question when we have further information.
Lima Climate Change Conference (Outcomes)
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the outcomes of the recent climate change conference in Lima. (S4O-03865)
The Lima call for climate action has kept the international negotiations moving forward, but very important issues—principally, the overall level of global ambition—have yet to be resolved. Scotland’s messages about the need for high ambition and climate justice will continue to be highly relevant in the crucial year ahead if the new climate treaty in Paris in 2015 is to stand a good chance of limiting global temperature rise to no more than 2°C, as the international community has already agreed to do.
I thank the minister for her answer, and I welcome her to what is, I think, her first portfolio question time in the chamber.
Scotland leads the way in the international community with its ambitious climate change targets. Can the minister give us some assurance that the Government remains committed to achieving those targets and to setting an example for the rest of the world?
The Government remains extremely committed to the targets. Indeed, as was set out in the programme for government last November, the Scottish Government will continue to lead work to support the delivery and achievement of our world-leading Scottish climate change targets. The Cabinet sub-committee on climate change, which has been established, will ensure that the climate change policy is given the highest priority in all Government objectives. In fact, the sub-committee is meeting again tomorrow.
I, too, welcome the minister to her new post. Although we are very proud of our targets in Scotland, the Scottish Government has failed to meet them in the first three years. It is important not only that we talk the talk but that we walk the walk, so what new initiatives will the minister be launching over the next 12 months and will any of them require cross-party support? Just before Christmas, the First Minister said that the Opposition parties were not supportive enough; well, if we know what policies are being brought forward, we can talk about them.
As I said in my previous answer, the Cabinet sub-committee on climate change is meeting tomorrow to discuss a range of issues around climate change objectives in the Government.
We are taking a number of steps to ensure that Scotland remains on track to meet its climate change ambitions. We intend that the report on proposals and policies 2 will be delivered in full. Where policies and proposals are not being delivered, we will seek to bring forward new policies to achieve the same, if not a greater, level of emissions abatement.
Preparatory work for producing the next RPP, which is due for publication in 2016, has already commenced, and we aim to lay RPP3 as soon as reasonably practicable. In addition, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy has agreed to fund a new macroeconomic model to help in preparing RPP3.
Clyde 2020
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making toward implementing the Clyde 2020 proposals. (S4O-03866)
Following the Clyde 2020 summit in April last year, Marine Scotland, with support from the Firth of Clyde forum, has continued to engage with those stakeholders who have an interest in the Clyde.
The outputs of those discussions will form the basis of the Clyde 2020 action plan, and the governance arrangements are currently being developed. The action plan will help to better co-ordinate existing work and underpin action to contribute to a better and healthier Clyde. We are working towards publication of the action plan early this year.
I welcome the Clyde 2020 process and the south Arran marine protected area in my constituency.
When Parliament debated Scotland’s inshore fisheries last April, members on all sides of the chamber sought a regulating order for the Clyde as proposed by the Sustainable Inshore Fisheries Trust to boost the Clyde’s environment and economy and to help to meet the Clyde 2020 targets.
At that time, the cabinet secretary said that he was looking forward to receiving an application for that regulating order, which I understand will be lodged this quarter. Does the Government support the use of such regulating orders to deliver local control over fisheries in general or only in specific circumstances?
The Scottish Government is aware that the Sustainable Inshore Fisheries Trust is currently consulting locally on plans for a regulating order for the Clyde. We are not aware of the trust’s detailed plans, and we have not yet received an application. When and if an application is received, Marine Scotland will consult on and assess it before any decision is made on whether to support it.
Regulating orders are also subject to parliamentary approval, and they are but one of the mechanisms that are available to manage our inshore fisheries in Scotland.
Flooding Infrastructure (Perth and Kinross)
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the flooding infrastructure in Perth and Kinross. (S4O-03867)
In 2007, all the existing flood defences in Scotland were assessed as part of the establishment of the Scottish Government’s flood defence asset database. Since then, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has undertaken a new national flood risk assessment, the outputs from which were approved by ministers on 22 December 2011.
The national flood risk assessment pulls together all the latest information relating to the sources and impacts of flooding and, for the first time ever, we now have a national picture of flood risk throughout Scotland. That is a major step forward in our understanding of flood risk, and it is a key milestone towards Scotland being able to target efforts to plan and invest in reducing impacts in areas that are most vulnerable to flooding. Ultimately, it will help Scotland become more resilient to the impacts of flooding.
The minister will be aware that, in 2012, the Water of Ruchill in Comrie flooded very badly, causing thousands of pounds of damage and causing people to be homeless for a period. The minister will also be aware of an audit report that found that, although Perth and Kinross Council should check flood situations monthly, in the previous three years such checks had happened only yearly. That is simply not good enough. What information has the Scottish Government got from local authorities with regard to ensuring that flood-prone areas are checked frequently?
Flood protection schemes are primarily a matter for local authorities. I understand the residents’ frustrations about the time that it has taken to implement measures to protect Comrie from future flooding. However, it is also important to ensure that the right measures are put in place, and that can take time.
Perth and Kinross Council received funding for a scheme at Almondbank during the previous round of funding applications, but it was not in a position to apply for funding for Comrie as it did not have an approved scheme with all the appropriate statutory consents in place. The council is investigating the options for a flood protection scheme for Comrie, but I understand that that is in the very early stages and the implementation of any scheme may be a number of years away.
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