Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22080 on 23 October 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

There is no specific qualification required to investigate and confirm the presence of RAAC in a building. The Institution of Structural Engineers note on their website that: “Identification can be undertaken by an experienced estate/ maintenance manager/ or building owner”.

It is recommended that the investigation and assessment of RAAC, once identified, should be undertaken by a suitably competent structural engineer.

Issues of RAAC competence and capacity building were discussed at the Cross-Sector Working Group meeting of 22 September. Minutes from that meeting are published on The Scottish Government Website at: Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC): Cross Sector Working Group - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22080 on 23 October 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

Issues of RAAC competence and capacity building were discussed at the RAAC Cross-Sector Working Group meeting of 22 September. Minutes from that meeting are published on The Scottish Government Website at: Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC): Cross Sector Working Group - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

Out with Working Group engagement, officials have reported no specific queries from organisations or local authorities on the cited topic.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22080 on 23 October 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

The Bathing Water Directive is implemented in Scotland by the Bathing Waters (Scotland) Regulations 2008. Under these Regulations Scottish Ministers designate bathing waters where they expect a large number of people to bathe, having regard to past trends and infrastructure and facilities provided, or other measures taken to promote bathing. We have set this figure at around 150 bathers. Across Europe large numbers of bathers can range up to 300 bathers per day.

We have taken a proportionate approach to designating bathing waters and there are no plans to change it. 2023 not only sees the highest number of bathing waters ever in Scotland, but the highest number rated excellent for water quality – and a total of 98% of locations achieving a classification of sufficient or better.

The Cross-Sector Working Group on RAAC remains our main forum for engagement with public sector partners and key stakeholders in the private sector. Meetings provide updates on sector progress, recent UK information and topics of interest such as RAAC identification and assessment process and a presentation and Q&A with IStructE. The minutes of the meetings of that group are published on The Scottish Government Website.

Outwith those meetings, officials will also continue to engage with sector organisations on a one-to-one basis.

The Cross-Sector Working Group on RAAC remains our main forum for engagement with key stakeholders in the private sector. The minutes of the meetings of that group are published on The Scottish Government Website.

Outwith those meetings, officials will also continue to engage with organisations on a one-to-one basis.

In accordance with the Scotland Act 1998, fines received by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency are returned to the Scottish Consolidated Fund.

The accounts for the Scottish Consolidated Fund are published annually by the Scottish Government and the most recent is available at https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-consolidated-fund-accounts-year-ended-31-march-2022/ .

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, I have asked its Chief Executive to respond. His response is as follows:

The data provided in the following table is an extract from the Annual Returns, publicly available on the Water Industry Commission for Scotland (WICS) website. The data is contained in the D tables lines D6.3 for New Sewers added during the year and D6.6 for Sewers replaced. Further detail can be found in the commentary to the Annual Returns which are also published on the WICS website. Data is only available from 2015-16 as before this period Scottish Water did not report length of new sewers or length of sewers replaced in the tables.