Chamber and committees

My question is inspired by Mark Ruskell’s line of questioning. It is slightly different, but it is about getting SEPA’s reflections on a recurring situation in my constituency, on which SEPA has been proactive, I must say. Late last year, SEPA, Police Scotland and the fire service and I had a meeting about Promat, which is a former industrial site in the Springburn part of my constituency. It is a huge derelict site, it is incredibly difficult to secure its perimeter, and there is a dangerous building. I am convinced that criminal elements are fly-tipping there—I am talking about not occasional fly-tipping, but industrial-scale fly-tipping, if you like. Goodness knows what is in there. Tonnes of stuff appears there from time to time.

In the summer months, young people breach the perimeter, go in and have fun. Mr Ruskell talked about fires, and fires tend to happen there, too. The fire service does not know what is in there and SEPA has deep concerns. However, it is a constant war of attrition and I am sure that there will be additional issues when the summer months come again.

I genuinely think that Police Scotland, SEPA, the local authority and the fire service are all doing what they can with their existing powers. Regarding the responsibilities of the site owners, I make no judgment about the work that they are or are not doing because that is not the reason for my question. I suspect that Promat is not the only site in Scotland where such things keep happening. Does SEPA have a view about how all public agencies can work more effectively to tackle such hazards? I do not expect you to comment on the Promat site in my constituency, but is there a more general gap in legislation, monitoring and enforcement, and if so, what is it, and how could we plug it?

I apologise for cutting in and really do not mean to be discourteous, but I am not talking about a man with a van dumping a few mattresses; I am talking about organised, high-volume, industrial quantities of waste.

Forgetting about the concessionary schemes, I am merely pointing out that, if we predict that bus fares could increase by as much as 5 per cent, there is a relationship between that, the reimbursement rate and the capping in the concessionary schemes. What will reimbursement look like if we get into mechanisms to control bus fares in Scotland—for example, if we say that the most that any bus ticket may be increased by is 2 per cent? There would then be a cap in Scotland and a knock-on effect on the concessionary travel schemes. I am not saying that that is the mechanism that you would use to do it. The point that I am making is that there are levers that could be used to bring in price capping in the bus sector. Has the Government looked at anything in relation to that more generally?

Can you say a little more about why you think that embedding this topic in core education is so important, and why it is important that parents are involved in what that will look like? I guess, from what you are saying, that you would also expect Education Scotland to be speaking to you about what that might mean in practice.

I thank everyone for their answers. I am sure that Public Health Scotland, Education Scotland and the whole family wellbeing fund will be listening to this exchange in order to engage with you on an on-going basis.

Audrey Nicoll mentioned the importance of data sharing between the public sector and the third sector. There was supposed to be a single shared assessment between the NHS and third sector organisations. That was to be prioritised, but it has never been implemented. Can you give us any update on that, cabinet secretary? In your written response, you mention that the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill could be a vehicle to finally realise what we want to see happen in that area.

I have no further questions, but may I write to you about the specifics of that case to see whether a best-practice template could be embedded in public practice?

I welcome the fact that the Scottish Affairs Committee is turning its attention to this really important topic. Paul Sweeney’s comments about the swirl of misinformation around the facility has reminded me that, although the efficacy of the approach is not in its infancy, the facility is still in its infancy. Is there a slight nervousness about it being quite early on to assess the outcomes from the facility, and is there a feeling that the evidence and lived experience need to be gathered over a period in order to properly analyse what the outcomes are and what lessons can be learned? Is that a caveat in relation to any inquiry at this time?

Thank you.

You mentioned the “Just say no” campaign. I was hoping that you were younger than me. I remember that campaign and I was hoping that you would not remember it.

Can you say a bit about the importance of external organisations in delivering some of that education? I will name check Public Health Scotland, which is also involved in some of this work. The reason I mention that is that I want bodies such as Public Health Scotland to listen to this evidence session so that they continue to engage with the panel and other agencies, as set out in the Scottish Government’s response to your recommendations. Can you say a little bit more about the importance of external organisations as part of drug education both within schools and in communities?