Chamber and committees

On 25 April the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) started publishing weekly water scarcity reports. These use a range of hydrological and meteorological data to describe water scarcity levels across the country. The latest report can be found on SEPA’s water scarcity webpage and highlights areas in Scotland currently at risk of water scarcity. Scotland’s National Water Scarcity Plan explains what the different levels mean in terms of risk and sets out when regulatory action may be required.

The Scottish Government supports a wide range of research projects which investigate Scotland’s future risk and resilience to water scarcity. Within its Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Strategic Research Programme, the Scottish Government is funding a five-year project led by the James Hutton Institute that is developing our understanding of drought vulnerability in Scotland. Part of this project includes working with SEPA to improve drought risk assessment.

The Scottish Government also funds the Centre of Expertise on Water (CREW), which has funded, and continues to fund, projects to improve our understanding of water scarcity in Scotland. For example, in June 2024, CREW completed a study into the “Future Predictions of Water Scarcity in Scotland: Impacts to Distilleries and Agricultural Abstractors” and published a series of infographics highlighting potential future risk areas for different agricultural sectors.

Scotland’s National Water Scarcity Plan sets out how water resources will be managed prior to and during periods of prolonged dry weather ensuring the correct balance is struck between protecting the environment and providing resource for human and economic activity.

The Scottish Government are working closely with partners to provide information and guidance on emerging water scarcity issues directly to farmers and food producers. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has sent direct communications to all agricultural abstraction licence holders providing them with an early overview of the water scarcity risks for this year and where support can be found. These direct messages will continue to be used over the summer and will be targeted to specific catchments where water scarcity becomes an issue.

The Scottish Government is actively addressing water scarcity in agriculture through the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS). The scheme promotes sustainable land management practices, including water management and water-use efficiency measures to reduce the impacts of water scarcity on the agricultural sector.

In the 2024 and 2025 rounds of AECS, applications for irrigation lagoons, which are a key measure for reducing water scarcity, were able to be made as a simplified standalone item or as part of a wider application, open until 12 June 2025. To support further uptake, in 2024 we increased the grant ceiling for irrigation lagoons from £30,000 to £40,000.

The Scottish Government funded Farm Advisory Service (FAS) and Farming and Water Scotland (FWS) programmes provides largely free information and resources for farms and crofts in Scotland. Both FAS and FWS develop and share sector-specific guidance with farmers and food produces in various formats, such as at agricultural shows, training events, podcasts, videos and in articles. Farmers and food producers can access resources related to water scarcity and water management on both the FAS and FWS websites.

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) has a statutory duty set out in the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005 to secure the coherent provision by the post-16 education bodies (as a whole) of a high quality of fundable further education and fundable higher education.

Information on public bodies for which either the Scotish Government or Scottish Parliament are responsible is publicly available on the National Public Bodies Directory Executive non-departmental public bodies - National public bodies: directory - gov.scot.

Each entry on the national directory includes staff numbers and details of Scottish Government funding where the information is held. There is also a link to the respective public body website where details of the public bodies functions and board members can be found.

Decision-making on Scotland’s vaccination programme continues to be guided by the independent, expert advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The JCVI currently advises flu vaccination for all those aged 65 years and over, along with individuals who have specific underlying health conditions.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the JCVI advised routine flu vaccination for those 65 years and over, as well as those with underlying health conditions. Scotland followed this advice.

Our programme was expanded during the pandemic in order to protect the people of Scotland, the NHS and the wider health and social care sector, while it was under severe COVID-related pressure. The programme was expanded to those aged 55 years and over in 2021, and then to those aged 50 years and over in 2022 and 2023.

In winter 2024, as we moved beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, we reverted to the standard JCVI-advised groups and those aged 50-64 years were no longer included. This is in line with JCVI advice, endorsed by Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer.

I have asked Stephen Pathirana, Chief Executive of the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA), to respond. His response is as follows:

SPPA is in the process of providing retired police officers with a remediable service statement (RSS) in order to allow them to make an informed choice of benefits in respect of their service between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022. To date more than 3,400 RSS have been sent to retired police officers. Approximately 1,850 statements are outstanding, though the majority of retired officers are already in receipt of their final salary scheme benefits, which are anticipated to be more favourable. All retired police officers are expected to receive a RSS by 31 July 2025.

I have asked Stephen Pathirana, Chief Executive of the Scottish Public Pensions Agency, to respond. His response is as follows:

The overall programme to deliver the 2015 remedy in Scotland is being managed by the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA). This is a complex undertaking as it requires a remediable service statement (RSS) to be sent to eligible members numbering over 200,000 across the four pension schemes administered by the SPPA. Within that number more than 5,000 retired police officers are entitled to receive a RSS and make a choice about their pension benefits.

SPPA has introduced new digital automation processes which have had a positive impact on delivery speed and capability. The statutory deadline for providing a RSS was by 1 April 2025 or at a later date decided by the scheme manager. This discretion has been exercised and dates are set out on SPPA’s website: https://pensions.gov.scot/sites/default/files/2025-04/2025-04_Police_Circular_McCloud_Remedy_administration_%E2%80%93_Remediable_Service_Statements.pdf.

To date more than 3,400 RSS have been sent. SPPA expects to send most of the remainder by 31 May, with a small number of more complex cases issued by 31 July 2025.

We have had no such discussions with airlines or industry stakeholders.

It is a commercial matter for airlines to determine which routes to operate.

Glasgow Airport is a commercial business owned and operated by AGS Airports. I welcome the announcement that, following AGS’ acquisition by AviAlliance, £350 million is to be invested in AGS Airports over the next five years. This investment shows confidence in Aberdeen and Glasgow airports, and in Scotland’s aviation sector and the wider Scottish economy.

The Scottish Government’s Aviation Statement sets out the strategic importance of aviation and how we will aim to support, rather than downgrade, airports in Scotland. The National Planning Framework 4, our national spatial strategy for Scotland, is also supportive of airports as a key part of Scotland’s national connectivity.