Chamber and committees

This is an operational matter for Scottish Water.

The decision was taken by Scottish Water in consultation with its staff and trade unions. Scottish Water is not required to consult either the Water Industry Commissioner or the Water Customer Consultation Panels on such a matter.

As the Deputy First Minister said in his response to you on 14 November, workers will all be treated on an equal basis, which must be good for employee morale. That will in turn benefit the public in terms of the quality services that are delivered. The protocol will help to attract high-quality staff. The contractors have also bought into it. The protocol represents a genuine partnership and flows from our approach of attempting to achieve reform by building consensus. It demonstrates that agreements, such as our memorandum of understanding with the Scottish Trades Union Congress, can help to deliver tangible benefits and it is indicative of our commitment to improve the quality of public services.

I have asked Dr Jon Hargreaves, Chief Executive of Scottish Water to respond. His response is as follows:A water treatment plant with the same specification as that proposed for Milngavie would take approximately three years to build but commissioning and site finishing would run on beyond this period.

I have asked Dr Jon Hargreaves, Chief Executive of Scottish Water to respond. His response is as follows:The filters proposed for the treatment plant at Milngavie are dual media with sand and anthracite. It is estimated that about 1% to 5% of the anthracite will be lost with the backwash water every year and this will therefore require topping up on an annual basis. It is estimated that the sand and the anthracite will require replacement approximately every 20 years.

I have asked Dr Jon Hargreaves, Chief Executive of Scottish Water to respond. His response is as follows:The historical raw water quality data indicates a maximum turbidity of 2.9 FTU and a maximum colour of 23 degrees Hazen. The plant has been designed to cope with significantly poorer raw water quality than these values.

I have asked Dr Jon Hargreaves, Chief Executive of Scottish Water to respond. His response is as follows:It is assumed that this question is to ask whether the filters will perform as effectively when challenged by raw water quality which is poorer due to surface run-off from a storm event. The plant proposed for Milngavie has been designed to cope with a raw water quality significantly poorer than the poorest quality indicated in the historical record data. The works is designed such that no unfiltered water is allowed to pass into supply.

I have asked Dr Jon Hargreaves, Chief Executive of Scottish Water to respond. His response is as follows: It is assumed that this question refers to surface water run-off during storm events, which can lead to a deterioration of raw water quality. The plant proposed for Milngavie has been designed to cope with a raw water quality significantly poorer than the poorest quality indicated in the historical record data.

The Executive has set a national target of 25% recycling and composting of municipal waste by 2006. Eleven Area Waste Plans are being prepared which show how waste will be managed over the next 20 years including measures for recycling. The Executive has allocated over £230 million in the next three years in the Strategic Waste Fund for local authorities to implement the Area Waste Plans. The Scottish Executive has also commissioned research to identify possible incentives for householders in Scotland to improve their waste practices. The Executive intends to make provision in the Local Government Bill for local authorities to draw up Integrated Waste Management Plans, based on the National Waste Strategy and Area Waste Plans. The Executive will have the power to set targets in these plans, and to revise these plans to ensure that targets, such as those for recycling, are met.

I have asked Dr Jon Hargreaves, Chief Executive of Scottish Water to respond. His response is as follows:Held within the Corporate Geographical Information Systems (GIS) systems are maps of the Greater Glasgow area. These maps are constantly being updated, as new developments are built or refurbishment works to our water mains and sewers are carried out.Scottish Water is currently in the process of verifying the data held in GIS to include the locations of valves and ancillary equipment and this exercise will be complete by the end of this month.