Chamber and committees

Scottish Water will deliver 95 improvement projects set out in its Improving Urban Waters Routemap Annual Update 2025 by December 2027. These projects include 19 overflows impacting Water Quality and 27 with sewage-related debris issues.

For Portobello specifically, Scottish Water, in collaboration with SEPA and the council, is currently carrying out a £1m study to identify potential bathing water impacts. This includes a pollution study to determine possible misconnections between the combined sewer system and the surface water/burn network. It also includes updating an impact assessment model to identify whether routine overflow events from the combined sewer system are impacting bathing water performance.

The Scottish Government does not hold Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) expenditure information organised in this way. Funding is awarded to projects which deliver benefits across multiple habitats and ecosystems.

Across both the Competitive Fund and Edinburgh Process funding strands, the NRF supports projects under five strategic themes: habitat and species restoration; freshwater restoration, including restoration of natural flows in rural catchments; coastal and marine initiatives; control of invasive non-native species; and urban nature restoration.

The NRF Interim Evaluation Report (2021-24) found that around 50% of the Competitive Fund's budget in its first three years was allocated to projects primarily categorised as freshwater and wetland, or coastal and marine projects.

Each location can present unique challenges. Given this and level of investment often required, an evidence-led, targeted and prioritised approach to managing water quality at specific locations is essential. Within the last 10 years, Scottish Water has invested £2.7bn in improving and maintaining Scotland's public drainage system and infrastructure, with the Improving Urban Waters Routemap committing an investment of up to £500m.

In preparation for the current investment period (SR21-27), comprehensive studies were carried out to prioritise actions. Investigations found that 24 overflow locations required upgrades to deliver an improvement in water quality, and these are included in Scotland's third River Basin Management Plan (211222-final-rbmp3-scotland.pdf) to be delivered by December 2027.

Statistical information about road collisions in which one or more people are injured is collected by Police Scotland and reported to the Scottish Government and the Department for Transport using the Great Britain-wide ‘STATS19’ data collection. Floating bus stops (and similar) are not amongst the pre-determined location options that police can select as part of this data collection. As a result, they are not separately identified in road casualty statistics.

The Scottish Government does not routinely collect data through other sources on the number of collisions or injuries involving cyclists and pedestrians at or around floating bus stops and bus boarders. Such infrastructure is typically delivered and managed by local authorities, who are therefore best placed to hold any location-specific information relating to incidents on their networks.

The Scottish Government welcomes the Scotland's Places of Worship Fund announcement by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) on 18 August 2026. This new pilot scheme for 2026-27 will provide up to £1 million to help eligible listed places of worship across Scotland recover VAT costs associated with repair and conservation works.

The Fund has been developed in direct response to the closure of the UK-wide Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme and is expected to open for applications in autumn 2026.

The Scottish Government and HES have worked closely to explore options to ensure that Scotland's listed places of worship are not disproportionately affected by the withdrawal of the UK-wide scheme. This pilot scheme will help assess demand and gather evidence to inform consideration of future arrangements.

Listed places of worship may also continue to access support through HES's wider grant programmes, details of which can be found on the HES website.

Following the reported damage to the Parallel Roads of Lochaber Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), a number of actions have been taken. This includes the arrest of alleged perpetrators of the damage and the preparation of a report for the procurator fiscal, and separate enforcement notice action by The Highland Council in relation to unconsented development.

The damaging activities at Achanbobane have caused irreparable damage to some of the protected interest of the SSSI because the processes which created them, glacial ice and meltwater deposition, cannot be replicated. Nevertheless, NatureScot is working with The Highland Council to ensure that the limited re-instatement which is possible is carried out without further damage to the site.

As a stronger deterrence to further damage to the SSSI occurring at Achnabobane, in September 2025 Scottish Ministers put in place a Nature Conservation Order. Only through the vigilance of the community, NatureScot and partners will any further damaging activity be detected and reported, allowing rapid action to be taken to stop it.

As part of the response to the significant wildfire in the Cairngorms two commercially hired helicopters were in use for water bombing the fire. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) assessed that additional aerial support to drop water on the fire could aid the response. The Scottish Government sought to explore every available avenue of support and that included requesting military assistance in the form of aerial support to drop water on the fire from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to supplement the existing aerial resources that were in place. The response was that the MoD did not currently possess aerial firefighting assets stationed within the UK.

The MOD did offer Chinook helicopters for the movement of people, troops and logistical support. However, the Scottish Government received assurance from SFRS that it had sufficient firefighters and volunteers along with logistical support to deal with the fire and therefore the offer of this other military support was not taken up.

The Scottish Government continues to improve transport infrastructure and make travel more accessible and affordable for all through the Accessible Travel Framework and the National Transport Strategy, which includes “Reduces Inequalities” and “Improves our Health and Wellbeing” as two of its four priorities.

Support is delivered through mainstream transport investment, affordability measures, equality legislation and race equality policies. Equality Impact Assessments help identify and address barriers affecting protected groups, supporting more inclusive transport outcomes.

Measures include enhanced passenger assistance, improved access at rail stations and transport hubs, clearer travel information, and embedding accessibility in the design of new transport infrastructure.

Free bus travel for eligible disabled people and free public transport for blind and visually impaired passengers help reduce the cost of accessing services, employment and recreational opportunities. The Accessible Travel Framework also expects operators to improve accessibility and the passenger experience.

The Scottish Government engages with disabled and minority ethnic representative bodies, including the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland and the Transport Equalities Group, to ensure policies reflect lived experience and address barriers to travel.

The Scottish Government will continue to ensure that the promotion of Gaelic is a priority commitment and that this is supported in education and learning, in arts and culture, in media and broadcasting and in other relevant sectors in Scottish public life. For example, in education, the Scottish Government will continue to support the growth of GME and welcomes the excellent support and resources which Storlann and Sabhal Mor Ostaig provide for GME teachers and pupils. In arts and culture, the work of Feisean nan Gaidheal, Ceolas and the Royal National Mod continue to provide opportunities for young and old and enrich the cultural life of Scotland. In broadcasting, MG ALBA provides a wide and diverse range of high quality programmes and adds value to other important areas of Gaelic activity with our support. In connection with Gaelic speaker communities in the Highlands and Islands, the Scottish Government will build on the wide range of projects and initiatives that are in place in these areas with the provisions that are set out in the Scottish Languages Act, 2025. A number of Gaelic bodies and projects are based in island communities and the work of centres such as Cnoc Soillier, Carinish and Grinneabhat are important for the promotion of Gaelic in these communities. In particular the 2025 Act, enables local authorities to designate areas of linguistic significance for the Gaelic language. This intervention will be supported by Statutory Guidance, by the preparation of Standards and Requirements and with additional funding. In these matters the Scottish Government will continue to provide support and to work closely with relevant local authorities.

The Scottish Government has developed, with fleet managers, a public sector fleet decarbonisation Action Plan. This takes into consideration key factors such as whole life vehicle cost, access to infrastructure and operational requirements.

The Plan is based on most public-sector fleet vehicles decarbonising through battery electric technology, reflecting the advanced nature of this solution, whole-life costs and access to expanding charging infrastructure. The Plan also recommends Public Bodies to develop bespoke fleet decarbonisation strategies for their organisations, supporting development of operating models that ensure access to reliable infrastructure, meet operational requirements and mitigate risks. Alternative technologies, including hydrogen, may have a role, particularly for some heavier-duty or specialist applications. However, hydrogen vehicles and green hydrogen currently remain more expensive than battery electric alternatives, with limited refuelling infrastructure. Lessons from deployments, including Aberdeen's hydrogen buses, add to the evidence base to support a bespoke fleet decarbonisation by each local authority.