Chamber and committees

The 14 Combined Sewer Overflows identified by Scottish Water catchment studies since 2015 as being at risk of spilling during dry weather are a high priority under Scottish Water’s Improving Urban Waters Route Map. Any reports of dry weather spills are also investigated for potential operational reasons, such as blockages, and Scottish Water follows established reporting requirements for pollution incidents and provides this information in their annual reports: Annual Reports - Scottish Water . New technology is being trialled with a view to identifying and solving problems before customers and the environment are affected.

By using a risk-based approach and focusing resources on maintaining critical assets, Scottish Water aims to minimise the risk of failure and ensure that infrastructure is functioning properly. The approach combines proactive and responsive measures, underpinned by regular inspections and data analysis. This helps Scottish Water provide a reliable and high-quality service to customers while also being cost-effective and efficient. Additionally, Scottish Water completes around 3,600 sewer repairs every year to ensure the sewer network operates effectively whilst providing an opportunity to survey adjacent pipes for any defects which could allow groundwater to enter the system.

Scottish Water does not hold information on the reasons for spills for historic events reported to SEPA and this information is not correlated to rainfall data. However, from 2015 onward Scottish Water has conducted over 100 catchment studies for both water quality and aesthetic needs and this has identified 14 Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) that have a risk of spilling in dry weather. These assets are now in Scottish Water’s investment programme with solutions being delivered in line with their Improving Urban Waters Route Map commitments.

The information requested on the number of bike pump tracks is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

We understand the significance of sports and leisure facilities in helping to achieve our vision of a more active Scotland.

The Cycling Facilities Fund was launched in October 2020 with £8million of funding made available to drive a legacy from the UCI Cycling World Championships 2023 held in Scotland. Over half of the fund has now been invested by sport scotland in 36 cycling projects across Scotland to meet the real demand for community facilities of this kind; 25 of the 36 projects awarded funding are for bike pump tracks.

Local groups can apply for capital funding via sport scotland’s application-based funding programme, the Sport Facilities Fund. The Sport Facilities Fund provides investment in capital projects that create new or improved places for clubs and communities to participate in sport and physical activity, including cycling facilities such as pump tracks.

Scottish Water does not record groundwater levels or infiltration routinely, however, infiltration may be investigated where an issue is identified at any of their assets. This is due to complexities in how infiltration can be accurately captured on an ongoing basis, bearing in mind the length of the sewer network and number of variables involved.

New technology being trialled will give the company real-time insights into how its network is operating and enable it to be more proactive in how it responds to issues and solve problems before customers and the environment are affected.

Strong literacies skills help people fulfil their potential, achieve their goals, and take advantage of opportunities and the Scottish Government wants every citizen in Scotland to have the literacy capabilities necessary to bridge the poverty gap, to understand and shape the world they live in, and to enjoy the rich knowledge and benefits that being able to read, write and use numbers can bring.

Scotland has its own adult literacies guidance and action plan contained within Adult Literacies in Scotland 2020 which encompasses numeracy. Its impact will be reviewed as part of the Adult Learning Strategy for Scotland, this will produce recommendations on next steps for adult literacies within the context of the Adult Learning Strategy.

Statistics on school attendance and absences can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/school-attendance-and-absence-statistics/

We are grateful to all those who responded to the Government’s consultation on electoral reform. We are considering the responses to the consultation and the analysis and will publish a formal response in due course. The responses were independently analysed, and the analysis of the consultation can be found on the Scottish Government website.

As noted, a Bill on electoral reform was announced in the Programme for Government 2023-24. We anticipate that this will be introduced to Parliament by spring 2024.

There are now 2 independent dentists working in the Campbeltown area listed with NHS Highland to provide NHS General Dental Services. In addition, a Public Dental Service (PDS) dentist visits Campbeltown one day per month to provide NHS dental care and advice to patients. NHS Highland is currently recruiting for a replacement PDS Senior Dental Officer/Tutor in the area.

We are working to increase the number of publicly funded placements so that by 2026, at least 1000 people are publicly funded to go to rehab every year - a 300% increase on the number prior to the launch of the National Mission.

Public Health Scotland have been monitoring the number of publicly funded residential rehabilitation placements in Scotland. Publications are available for 2021-2022 and 2022-2023: Public Health Scotland Publications . The latest report, published 27 June 2023, reports a steady increase in the number of placements approved and that there were 812 placements for residential rehabilitation approved in 2022-2023.

Alongside this, we are investing in capacity to increase the number of residential rehabilitation beds by 50% which is an increase from 425 beds to 650 beds by 2026.