Chamber and committees

Before I bring in Pauline McNeill, does Jamie Greene want to come in?

Yes.

That is very helpful. Jamie Greene has a follow-up question on the initial topic.

I thank Alex Cole-Hamilton for bringing the debate to the chamber. I welcome the opportunity to participate, not least as chair of the Nigg waste water treatment works stakeholder group in my constituency of Aberdeen South and North Kincardine. The motion for debate focuses on our beaches and bathing waters around Scotland: special places that should be clean, healthy and unspoiled by humans. We are responsible for making that happen.

The north-east coastline is home to many fantastic beaches and bays that host swimmers, paddle boarders, surfers and a treasure trove of marine life. My constituency hosts the fabulous Greyhope bay, which is consistently recorded as the best place to watch bottlenose dolphins from land in the UK. Only this week, I met representatives of VisitAberdeenshire to discuss how to make the north-east a leading visitor destination. The natural environment was a key part of our discussion. I, for one, am very much invested in the work to keep our precious waters clean, safe and pollution free.

Since I became chair of our local stakeholder group, I have had the opportunity to better understand the scale of our waste water infrastructure in Scotland and the significant challenges that our behaviour and climate change, to name but two factors, are placing on it.

In recent years, Scottish Water and SEPA have worked together to upgrade more than 100 waste water treatment works and around 280 overflow points. I welcome the measures that were announced last December by the Scottish Government that will see the investment of a further £0.5 billion to improve Scotland’s waste water network.

We know that climate change is a significant pressure on our waste water system, with the increasing frequency and intensity of storms being a significant challenge. I welcome the programme of installation of event monitors by Scottish Water and the development of approaches to create intelligent networks that help to reduce the risk of flooding and pollution incidents. Less than half a mile from my home, a new water retention pond holds back water, but floods during heavy rainfall. The pond enables the slow release of water and has brought an added welcome benefit by creating a natural habitat for flora and fauna. Our stakeholder group recently visited the site at Nigg, giving us an invaluable opportunity to understand the process of managing waste water in an increasingly sustainable and smart way, using the heat produced as an energy source and supplying the end product, or “cake”, to the agricultural sector as a form of fertiliser.

I pay tribute to my stakeholder group colleagues from Scottish Water, SEPA and Aberdeen City Council, the ward councillors and, importantly, community members who come together to address a range of issues from odours to reporting processes, freak weather events and public awareness.

I also commend the nature calls campaign, which aims to get us all to think about how our own behaviour is contributing to pollution and how we can prevent it. One issue that the campaign highlights is the use of wet wipes, which contain plastic and pollute our water, costing Scottish Water around £7 million a year to clear and resulting in mountains of wet wipes ending up in landfill. I ask the minister to do all that she can within the legislative constraints that we have in Scotland to support the effort to ban wet wipes containing plastics.

I again thank Alex Cole-Hamilton for bringing forward this important debate and highlighting the opportunities and challenges that we all face as we seek to preserve our precious water for generations to come.

How does NHS Grampian aim to cultivate a positive and supportive workplace culture at Dr Gray’s and its other sites?

Members have made fair points. As was set out in previous correspondence, what is sought is not straightforward to implement. Bearing in mind the points that members have made, are members content with the suggestion that we note the cabinet secretary’s response but say that the matter should remain a priority, particularly in the context of support for victims? The committee has regularly considered that issue, and it is part of our action plan for reform of the justice sector that we review progress before the end of the year.

Are members content with all that?

My only point in response to that is to question whether that information is available at this point. We can ask the questions, but I wonder whether, if the information had been available, it would already have been shared with us.

The final letter is from NHS Scotland on the issue of medical prescriptions upon liberation. It is a detailed letter following our correspondence in relation to seeking clarity about the availability of prescriptions on release from custody. Bearing in mind the recommendation that has been made, I open that up for comments.

I think that that is the point that we are making—that it is appropriate that the response goes back to the Wise Group. It is at the front end and is probably best placed to comment on the content of the correspondence, if you are content with that. That is at the heart of why we are proposing—

Thank you. That completes our business in public. We now move into private session. Our next meeting will be on Wednesday 26 October, when we will begin to take evidence as part of our pre-budget scrutiny process.