Plenary,
Meeting date: Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Official Report
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Parliamentary Bureau Motions
The next item of business is consideration of two Parliamentary Bureau motions. I ask Margaret Curran to move motions S2M-4436 and S2M-4437, on the approval of Scottish statutory instruments.
Motions moved,
That the Parliament agrees that the draft Public Appointments and Public Bodies etc. (Scotland) Act 2003 (Treatment of Office or Body as Specified Authority) Order 2006 be approved.
That the Parliament agrees that the draft Private Water Supplies (Notices) (Scotland) Regulations 2006 be approved.—[Ms Margaret Curran.]
The Conservative group will oppose the draft Private Water Supplies (Notices) (Scotland) Regulations 2006. Around 150,000 people in rural Scotland rely on private water supplies. We fully support the Executive's ambition to improve the quality of water obtained from private sources, which can be variable, as members will know. However, to us, this SSI seems like the Executive using a massively expensive hammer to crack a relatively small nut. The SSI will be particularly onerous for small local businesses, including bed and breakfast establishments and other tourism-related enterprises, which could face quarterly testing of their private water supplies, with each test costing as much as £630.
The Executive is making £8 million per annum available to local authorities over the next two years to provide grants to improve private water quality, but the costs of the proposed tests will not be covered by the grants. The quarterly testing would continue until the water in question was judged "wholesome". We are told that the grants will work out at an average of £800 per applicant. However, it is estimated that, in certain cases, the remedial work to bring the water quality up to standard could cost as much as £10,000.
We believe that this SSI will come as a massive shock to many small businesses, which will be unaware of the impending legislation. Further, users of private water are usually in economically fragile areas and this latest set of proposed charges could well tip the balance for some small businesses and make them non-viable. It is our view that the legislation's provisions could be introduced much more gradually, with due recognition of the disproportionate financial impact that the charges are likely to have.
The draft Private Water Supplies (Notices) (Scotland) Regulations 2006 will implement the revised drinking water directive in respect of private water supplies. The overriding objective of the regulations is to ensure the provision of clean and wholesome drinking water and significant health benefits to those using such supplies. That basic health and safety requirement is vital for a buoyant and successful rural economy.
The quality of water from private supplies is highly variable and when it is poor it can cause significant health problems. Health Protection Scotland estimates that those served by private supplies are 10 times more likely to become ill from drinking contaminated water than those served by the public supply. It is therefore essential that rural businesses meet modern quality standards and ensure that the water that they offer the public is safe to use.
The Executive is sensitive to the impact that the regulations will have. That is why a new grant scheme, as well as information and advice, will be available alongside the new regulations. That will assist individuals and businesses who need to improve their private supplies. In each year, £8 million has been identified by the Scottish Executive for that purpose.
Will the minister repeat the assurances that she gave when this issue was considered by the Environment and Rural Development Committee: that the Executive would monitor how the regulations were implemented by local authorities in order to guarantee that there would be proportionality in their application and that there would not always be a need to have recourse to the maximum possible testing regime for individual rural businesses?
Of course I am prepared to repeat that reassurance. It is important that the regulations are proportionate and that the requirements are the minimum necessary to protect human health, comply with the water directive and promote real and lasting improvements in the supplies from private sources.
VisitScotland recognises the importance of these measures to the tourism industry in Scotland. It is very supportive. The regulations are founded on the principles of better regulation; they are proportionate, targeted and risk based. They have been approved by the Environment and Rural Development Committee and they have the full support of health professionals. The requirements of the regulations are the minimum necessary to protect human health and comply with the drinking water directive. They will promote real and lasting improvements in private supplies in Scotland. I commend the regulations to Parliament.