Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-30125 on 30 September 2024. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

There are no environmental regulations which specifically control the release of non-biodegradable material in sky lanterns. The Environmental Protection Act 1990 includes the offences of littering and offences relating to waste management, including the handling and disposal of non-biodegradable waste. Any event that results in waste generation, such as lantern festivals, must ensure proper disposal of waste to avoid environmental harm. These offences may be relevant where the release of lanterns was determined to have met the statutory definitions for those offences, which would be determinable on a case-by-case basis.

Organisers of public events, like lantern festivals, are required to ensure waste materials are collected and disposed of in a manner that minimises environmental impact. The Duty of care: code of practice for managing controlled waste provides statutory guidance on the duties that must be complied with by anyone who produces, keeps, imports or manages controlled waste in Scotland.

Organisers of events, including lantern festivals, must comply with the legislation, and will be subject to enforcement if offences are committed. Zero Waste Scotland’s guide “How to Plan and Deliver Environmentally Sustainable Events” provides guidance for event organisers and suppliers. This is available at https://www.visitscotland.org/events/advice-materials/sustainability#sustainable.

The Environmental Protection Act 1990 (“the EPA’’) regulates waste management, including the handling and disposal of non-biodegradable waste. SEPA and local authorities both have statutory enforcement functions under the EPA. Any event that results in waste generation, such as lantern festivals, must ensure proper disposal of waste to avoid environmental harm.

In addition, under section 87 of the EPA it is an offence to throw down, drop or otherwise deposit, and then leave, litter in an area which is open to the air and to which the public has access. Local authorities have powers to issue fixed penalty notices if they have reason to believe a littering offence has been committed. Section 89 of the EPA places duties on certain organisations to keep land free from litter, as far as is practical. The 2018 Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse gives practical guidance on fulfilling these duties.

Many Local Authorities have put restrictions in place to prevent the release of sky lanterns and helium balloons on Council owned property and land and when an event is supported by the local authority.

The Duty of care: code of practice for managing controlled waste sets out duties of care for disposal of waste and specific information for waste producers. This includes complying with special requirements for the disposal of waste batteries and waste electrical and electronic equipment which are covered by producer take back schemes.

Funding for flood resilience is distributed to local authorities through the general capital grant. The allocation mechanism is agreed by Ministers and COSLA Leaders on a national basis.

The current distribution agreement is that 80% of available funding is allocated to a list of prioritised flood protection schemes, and 20% allocated to local authorities to fund other actions within Flood Risk Management Plans.

Since 2008, the Scottish Government has made available £42 million per year to local authorities to invest in flood risk management actions – a commitment that is in place until 2026. The 2020 Programme for Government also committed an extra £150 million for flood risk management.

Whitesands is one of the 31 flood protection schemes eligible to receive this funding, as long as the scheme remains viable. 15 such schemes have already been completed across Scotland, with a further 5 due to be completed in 2024.

Work is underway to deliver the 84 actions in the Scottish Government’s Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 Strategy which runs until 2026, with 65 actions delivered to date. Updates on delivery will be reported in the next annual progress report due to be published in 2025.

Consideration is underway on the impact of the £0.1 million reduction in the Air Quality budget which formed part of a recent savings exercise.

Supporting communities to build resilience to emergency events is an established and integral part of the Scottish Government's approach to resilience and will remain so going forward. Scottish Government promotes community-led action, based on local priorities, and provides a combination of investment and other forms of support in ways that build on the strengths and resources of individual communities. Scottish Government works to embed community resilience through a number of connected policy areas which enables collaboration between community resilience groups, voluntary sector organisations, Government and statutory responders, through established networks and relevant meetings at the national and more local levels. As part of Scotland’s National Adaptation Plan and wider Just Transition commitments, the Scottish Government is developing a Flood Resilience Strategy, due to be published by the end of this year, which will set out what needs to be done to make Scotland’s communities more flood resilient over the coming decades. We continue to fund the Scottish Flood Forum’s vital work to support flood risk communities. Scottish Government has also committed up to £5.5 million, in 2024-25, to fund a network of Climate Action Hubs so that, by Autumn 2024, every area of Scotland will have access to a Hub, alongside a support package for delivery. The Hubs will empower communities to take further collective action, shaped locally, to transition to low carbon, reduce emissions, and improve resilience in the face of ongoing climate change and extreme weather events. The Ready Scotland website and associated digital campaigns also provide a range of advice and support to individuals and communities to help them to prepare for and respond to weather-related disruption.

The Dementia Strategy for Scotland (published by Scottish Government and COSLA in 2023) sets out an ambitious 10-year vision for dementia policy in Scotland, developed in collaboration with people with lived experience and wider partners. This includes third sector, local authority and healthcare organisations. The first 2-year delivery plan was subsequently published in February of this year, setting out the key deliverables being prioritised in this initial period. This was agreed with the National Dementia Lived Experience Panel, and local/national delivery partners including HSCP representatives and dementia charities. It includes:

• Launching the new Rethink Dementia anti-stigma campaign on Wednesday 4th September. The campaign is intended to increase awareness that maintaining relationships with someone with a diagnosis is an important part of helping them keep well for longer.
• A £600,000 fund to support and sustain community-led work across Scotland, allocated via a Resilient Communities Programme board made up of local, national and community representatives.
• Continuing our additional investment of £3.5m a year, to enhance access to dementia post-diagnostic support, in addition to the routine spending on dementia support services by local partnerships.
• Working with partners in Public Health Scotland to develop a clearer understanding of the number of people with dementia in Scotland, with a strengthened focus on inclusion and equalities.

This work sits alongside ongoing activity, locally and nationally, to improve the dementia experience. This includes embedding a Getting It Right for Everyone approach to care and support wrapped around the person, continued investment of over £88m in local carers support, and collaborations with Alzheimer Scotland and others to empower people living with dementia to participate in the design, and development, of the National Care Service.

We look forward to continuing to engage with partners within the Member’s region and beyond, to improve the dementia experience.

Scottish Water continues to deliver a high quality service throughout Scotland as demonstrated in its Annual Report for 2023-24, available here. Compliance with its statutory obligations is independently regulated by the Drinking Water Quality Regulator for Scotland (DWQR), the Water Industry Commission for Scotland (WICS) and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). Scottish Water is required to meet strict drinking water standards and its performance is reported on annually by the DWQR; available here. It must also ensure the water it discharges into the environment meets strict standards; SEPA’s water environment classification is available here and Scottish Water publishes the information it provides to SEPA here. WICS’ most recent report on its performance in the 2021-27 regulatory period is available here. Ministers meet with Scottish Water and its regulators routinely to discuss a variety of matters.

Scottish Water’s Improving Urban Waters Route Map sets out a programme of continued action to reduce wastewater pollution and sewage litter over the coming decade backed by investment of half a billion pounds. As part of the programme, Scottish Water is progressing improvements to 109high priority unsatisfactory CSOs, identified in conjunction with SEPA, that have water quality or sewer related debris impacts

Many of these unsatisfactory discharges are due to sewer related debris – materials such as wet wipes that have been inappropriately flushed away by consumers into the sewer system. Scottish Water’s Nature Calls campaign aims to highlight how consumers can help to protect our environment by disposing of their wet wipes, plastics etc in the waste bin.

We need to fundamentally transform the way social care is delivered in Scotland, and we have listened to thousands of people, including the social care workforce, who have told us this.

People who receive support through social care, their families and communities, and the workforce must be involved in planning and delivery at local level. But the system needs to work and people have told us, clearly, that it does not provide the high standard of care that people should rightfully expect. We are committed to establishing a National Care Service that delivers clear, consistent national care standards by the end of this Parliamentary term.

The Scottish Government will continue to engage with GMB and other Trade Unions as we co-design the National Care Service.