Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-17861

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 23 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the most recent research is that it has undertaken on Scotland’s resilience to seasonal water scarcity, and what the findings were.

The Scottish Government supports a wide range of research projects which investigate Scotland’s resilience to water scarcity. The Scottish Government’s Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS) funds the Centre of Expertise on Water (CREW), the James Hutton Institute and Scotland’s Rural College to conduct both short and long-term research projects.

There are ongoing and future research projects included in the 2022 RESAS funded 5-year strategic research programme, aimed at improving our understanding of seasonal water scarcity in Scotland and how we can change behaviours to build resilience to water scarcity. Many of these projects are at an early stage and the findings have not yet been published.

In addition, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), Drinking Water Quality Regulator (DWQR), and Scottish Water carry out their own complementary research into Scotland’s resilience to seasonal water scarcity.

Question reference: S6W-17858

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 23 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it incentivises responsible water usage by (a) industry and (b) the agriculture sector, in order to prevent seasonal water scarcity.

The Scottish Government is working with key business sectors, Scottish Water, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), and other stakeholders to make sure water is used efficiently.

We continue to invest in the public network, reducing leakage and increasing water efficiency which helps conserve water in the environment, and we are working to develop technologies and other approaches to enhance resilience during extended periods of water scarcity.

SEPA, applies controls on water usage through abstraction licences. It also works with stakeholders to better communicate the impacts of water scarcity, and encourage water users to develop contingency plans to minimise their impact on the environment, and make their business more resilient.

Work with Scottish Water’s non-domestic customers has been ongoing. Scottish Water encourages its customers to use water efficiently and businesses are metered, and Licensed Providers are encouraged to provide water efficiency advice to their customers so that water is saved and bills are reduced.

Leakage has reduced continually year on year since 2006. In its regulatory determination for the 2015-21 period, the water industry commission for Scotland (WICS) set a target for Scottish Water to achieve the Economic Level of Leakage (ELL) (500 Megalitres per day) by 2019-20. Scottish Water achieved this target four years early and is continuing to reduce leakage further.

Question reference: S6W-17677

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 18 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many local authorities applied to the £1.5 million pot to top up their direct allocation of funding from the Edinburgh Process Fund, in order to deliver larger scale, multi-year nature restoration projects, in 2022-23, and, of these, which local authorities received funding, and how much each local authority received.

Five local authorities applied to the competitive top up fund in 2022-23, requesting funding for a total of twelve projects. Each local authority that applied was awarded funding for one of their projects, as detailed in the following table:

Local Authority	Title of Project	Funding Awarded (£)
Angus	Montrose Coastal Erosion	350,000
South Ayrshire	Wetland creation and pollinator corridors Belleisle Golf Course	114,300
Dundee City	Tr-Action: Planting Climate Resilient Woodlands in Dundee	182,276
Renfrewshire	Restoring Renfrewshire’s Rivers	350,000
Scottish Borders	Leader Water Riparian Habitat Improvements	81,000
Total		1,077,576

The competitive top up fund referred to in the question comprised just over £1 million (as detailed in the table), with the remaining £0.5 million allocated to the National Parks.

Question reference: S6W-17672

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 18 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how its £65 million annual Nature Restoration Fund was allocated in the 2022-23 financial year.

The Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) comprises £65 million for the current Parliamentary term. In 2022-23, the Nature Restoration Fund made its annual allocation of £13.5 million available through two main strands, each of which is further sub-divided, as follows:

The competitive strand, which is subdivided into;

- ‘ Helping Nature ’ projects less than £250,000 lasting 1-2 years

- ‘ Transforming Nature ’ projects greater than £250,000 lasting 2-4 years

The Edinburgh Process strand, which is subdivided into;

- Direct allocations to Local Authorities and the National Parks

- A competitive top-up fund open to Local Authorities only

In 2022-23, the competitive strand comprised approximately £7 million (details of which can be found on NatureScot’s website at https://www.nature.scot/funding-and-projects/scottish-government-nature-restoration-fund-nrf ); and a further £6.5 million was distributed through the ‘Edinburgh Process’ strand. I also refer to my answers in response to S6W-17674, S6W-17675, S6W-17677, S6W-17678 and S6W-17679 on 18 May 2023.

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

Question reference: S6W-17679

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 18 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will continue to distribute funding to (a) national parks and (b) local authorities, as part of its Edinburgh Process Fund, in 2023-24.

Question reference: S6W-17674

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 18 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what allocation of funding Scotland's (a) two national parks and (b) 32 local authorities received from its Edinburgh Process Fund in 2022-23, and what formula was used to distribute such funding.

In relation to the allocation of funding for the national parks and local authorities, I refer the member to S6W-09126 on 29 June 2022, in response to Mark Ruskell MSP. In reference to (b), the distribution methodology for the 2022-23 ‘Edinburgh Process’ below was approved through the formal financial governance process including political sign-off from Scottish Ministers and COSLA political Leaders:

50% on ‘area of natural greenspace’ (as defined by PAN 65 and calculated by reporting on the State of Scottish Greenspace); and
50% on the composite green indicator defined by NatureScot (including local nature reserves, area of reserves) and used in the annual redetermination on Biodiversity and Ranger Services.

In addition, Local Authorities and National Parks were eligible to participate in partnerships that applied to the competitive element of NRF in 2022-23.

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

Question reference: S6W-17675

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 18 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what monitoring it puts in place for funding allocated to national parks and local authorities from its Edinburgh Process Fund.

Question reference: S6W-17678

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 18 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with COSLA regarding its Edinburgh Process Fund.

Question reference: S6O-02263

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the energy minister has had with ministerial colleagues regarding the recommendations to the Scottish Government contained in the report, Our Power: Offshore Workers’ Demands for a Just Energy Transition.

Question reference: S6W-17645

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 11 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-16075 by Kevin Stewart on 6 April 2023, which confirmed that no Dundee taxi drivers had been successful in applying for the Low Emission Zone Retrofit Fund due to their vehicles' unsuitability for retrofitting, what additional support it will provide for taxi drivers in Dundee in 2023-24.

The Scottish Government provides annual funding to Energy Saving Trust (EST) an independent organisation working to address the climate emergency, to provide a range of services including delivery of the Switched-on Taxi Loan on behalf of Scottish Ministers.

The Switched-on Taxi loan provides an interest-free loan with a repayment term of up to 6 years to support both private and hackney taxi owners and operators with the purchase of zero and ultra-low emission vehicles.

Since 2019 taxi drivers and operators in the North East of Scotland electoral region have received interest free loans worth almost £800,000. Currently the Switched-on Taxi loan is closed and Scottish Ministers are considering the position for the current financial year. Taxi drivers and operators can register their interest with Energy Saving Trust should future rounds of funding become available.

Chamber and committees