Current status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 12 March 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking, in partnership with Scottish Water, to plan for and respond to long-term water resource pressures highlighted in the recent UN report on global water scarcity, and what assessment it has made of any impact of the reduction in Scottish Water’s budget on future resilience and infrastructure planning.
Scottish Water’s Long-Term Strategy recognises the pressures on its water resources and supplies over the next 25 years as a result of climate change and changing demographics across Scotland. Options to address these challenges will consider a range of measures including ways to reduce the demand for water in Scotland, improving connectivity across systems and potentially establishing new water sources. This work will continue during the next Strategic Review period (2027 – 2033) through a Draft Ministerial Objective to provide a report setting out options for addressing the deficit between supply and demand, as well as developing detailed options for areas which are considered not to be resilient to drought.
The Scottish Government works closely with Scottish Water and SEPA to monitor and mitigate long-term water resource pressures. This work is supported by weekly and seasonal water scarcity reporting and regular cross-agency coordination.
As reported in the answer to S6W-43601 on 12 February 2026, there is no reduction in spend that would negatively impact on future resilience and infrastructure planning. 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