Chamber and committees

We will have a short suspension to allow for a change of witnesses.

Agenda item 6 is a discussion of recent correspondence that the committee has received. I refer members to paper 5. The clerks have made some suggestions about how we might want to take the various issues forward, but ultimately the decision on what action to take is for us.

I will take each of the letters in turn. With regard to the first letter, which is from Police Scotland and relates to the use of cyberkiosks, do members have anything that they want to raise? If not, are we happy to agree the recommendation that has been made?

Members indicated agreement.

The second letter is from the Scottish Prison Service and relates to purposeful activity. Do members have any comments?

I will ask about what I think of as support staff—or non-warranted staff, as you described them, Mr Page. Does that cohort of staff include, for example, specialist forensic investigators and information technology specialists? Would they be included in the numbers that you mentioned?

I apologise to James Gray—I forgot to bring you in. I know that you wanted to respond to Rona Mackay’s questions, so you are very welcome to come in now.

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?

Good morning, and welcome to the 25th meeting in 2022 of the Criminal Justice Committee. There are no apologies.

Our first item of business is a decision on whether to take item 3 in private. Do members agree to take item 3 in private?

Members indicated agreement.

That is a good point. In the letter that we received from the minister, there was reference to information on the offence being included in the Scottish Government’s annual fireworks campaign. I do not know what the starting date for that is, but we could perhaps go back to the Government for clarification.

The second letter is from the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans and is on charging fees for access to court transcripts. Again, I will open up to members for any comments.