Chamber and committees

Our response to the consultation on the masterplan was informed by our existing energy policy, and by our planning policies as set out in National Planning Framework 3 (2014).

We are currently preparing National Planning Framework 4. This will take into account more recent wider Scottish Government policies, including our climate change targets, and our energy policy which recognises that innovative use of hydrocarbons could play a role in reducing emissions including as part of a hydrogen future scenario. We expect to lay a draft National Planning Framework 4 in the Scottish Parliament for consultation and scrutiny in 2021.

(a) Additional Support Needs (ASN) Teachers - Full Time Equivalents

The following table sets out the full time equivalent of additional support for learning teachers in each authority in 2019.

As this is an operational matter relating to account management information, I have asked the Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise to respond to you directly.

SEPA uses consistent risk assessment principles across all business sectors, using the approach as described in the answer to question S5W-27671 on 12 March 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

Under its standard regulatory guidance (WAT-SG-13, available on its website), SEPA discourages the use of aluminium dosing due to its toxicity. Aluminium dosing at wastewater treatment works should only be used in situations where ferric dosing is impracticable. The operator also needs to provide full justification for the use of aluminium. If aluminium is proposed, the standards to be followed are those set out in SEPA's regulatory method (WAT-RM-12), which will determine discharge limits. However, to limit discharge levels in high dilution situations, a backstop discharge limit of 10mg/l dissolved aluminium may need to be used.

Where an aluminium-based product is proposed for use in municipal wastewater treatment, SEPA uses a tiered approach to assess the level of risk that the substance's use may pose the environment. This requires the operator in the first instance to share details of the process, the chemicals used and their properties (through for example a safety datasheet). If this information is not sufficient to demonstrate safe use, SEPA would require further information on the process and specific details like discharge and receiving water flow rates, for example. This information could then be used to assess the risk a chemical’s use poses to the environment, as the result of the environmental exposure versus the intrinsic chemical hazard (e.g. the risk quotient as defined by predicted environmental concentration divided by predicted no-effect concentration). SEPA may ask the operator to derive this, but may do so itself if necessary. Further information may then be required if a risk is indicated in an iterative process to refine the risk assessment. If safe use cannot be demonstrated, restrictions may be placed on the use of the substance.

Scottish Water have over 1,800 wastewater treatment works across Scotland. However, only a small proportion of these use aluminium as part of the waste water treatment process and it has used an average of around 2.5 million litres of chemicals containing Aluminium per annum over the last 5 years.

In terms of whether the company is required to conduct aluminium assessments, I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-27671 on 12 March 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

SEPA uses consistent risk assessment principles across all business sectors, using the approach as described in the answer to question S5W-27671 on 12 March 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

SEPA does not hold specific information relating to the scale of use of aluminium-based flocculants in the construction industry since 2015. Where a construction company applies to SEPA to use aluminium-based product in its wastewater treatment, then where a potential risk is identified, SEPA follows the same procedure as described in the answer to question S5W-27671 on 12 March 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

SEPA uses consistent risk assessment principles irrespective of the size of the company or public body, using the approach as described in the answer to question S5W-27671 on 12 March 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

SEPA is responsible for assessing the environmental impacts and risks arising from wastewater discharging from any company to the water environment.

Generally wastewater treatment processes use few chemicals and SEPA applies its standard regulatory methods to assess the risks arising from wastewater discharges which implement current Scottish regulations on effluent and water quality standards (for example WAT-RM-03 "Regulation of sewage discharges to surface waters", WAT-RM-05 "Regulation of Trade Effluent Discharges to Surface Waters" available from SEPA’s website). Specific guidance is available for certain activities and certain substances (for example WAT-SG-13 “Municipal sewage treatment works” and WAT-RM-12 “Regulation of discharges from Water Treatment Works" which includes guidance on discharges containing aluminium).

To assess impact, SEPA requires certain operators to monitor their effluent and SEPA also carries out monitoring of effluents and the receiving water environment. The ecological status of Scotland's water bodies is reported annually and actions to address any impacts identified are included in the River Basin Management Plans, available on SEPA's website ( https://www.sepa.org.uk/environment/water/river-basin-management-planning/ ). These include actions to address pollution impacts from Scottish Water and other companies' wastewater discharges in order to achieve Good Ecological Status where possible.