Chamber and committees

The Environmental Protection Act 1990 (“the EPA’’) regulates waste management, including the handling and disposal of non-biodegradable waste. SEPA and local authorities both have statutory enforcement functions under the EPA. Any event that results in waste generation, such as lantern festivals, must ensure proper disposal of waste to avoid environmental harm.

In addition, under section 87 of the EPA it is an offence to throw down, drop or otherwise deposit, and then leave, litter in an area which is open to the air and to which the public has access. Local authorities have powers to issue fixed penalty notices if they have reason to believe a littering offence has been committed. Section 89 of the EPA places duties on certain organisations to keep land free from litter, as far as is practical. The 2018 Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse gives practical guidance on fulfilling these duties.

Many Local Authorities have put restrictions in place to prevent the release of sky lanterns and helium balloons on Council owned property and land and when an event is supported by the local authority.

The Duty of care: code of practice for managing controlled waste sets out duties of care for disposal of waste and specific information for waste producers. This includes complying with special requirements for the disposal of waste batteries and waste electrical and electronic equipment which are covered by producer take back schemes.

Work is underway to deliver the 84 actions in the Scottish Government’s Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 Strategy which runs until 2026, with 65 actions delivered to date. Updates on delivery will be reported in the next annual progress report due to be published in 2025.

Consideration is underway on the impact of the £0.1 million reduction in the Air Quality budget which formed part of a recent savings exercise.

Funding for flood resilience is distributed to local authorities through the general capital grant. The allocation mechanism is agreed by Ministers and COSLA Leaders on a national basis.

The current distribution agreement is that 80% of available funding is allocated to a list of prioritised flood protection schemes, and 20% allocated to local authorities to fund other actions within Flood Risk Management Plans.

Since 2008, the Scottish Government has made available £42 million per year to local authorities to invest in flood risk management actions – a commitment that is in place until 2026. The 2020 Programme for Government also committed an extra £150 million for flood risk management.

Whitesands is one of the 31 flood protection schemes eligible to receive this funding, as long as the scheme remains viable. 15 such schemes have already been completed across Scotland, with a further 5 due to be completed in 2024.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-29483 on 18 September 2024. 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.

We are currently working with the other UK administrations to refine the drafting of the Scottish-led FMPs and will undertake further discussions with stakeholders prior to formal consultation. Draft FMPs will be published at the time of the formal consultation. Timings for this will be confirmed in due course.

The Commonwealth Games is a hugely important event for Scottish sport.

Hosting the 2026 Games will deliver economic and sporting opportunities for Glasgow and Scotland, and it is vital that the event leaves a positive legacy.

Scotland, and in particular Glasgow, has a world-renowned reputation for delivering outstanding major events, from Glasgow 2014 to the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships.

Details are still being finalised, but the legacy of Glasgow 2026 is expected to include vital infrastructure upgrades to sporting facilities. which will benefit individuals, communities and clubs in Glasgow, particularly at the grassroots level.

Inspirational performance by Scottish athletes on the world stage can also inspire the public to be more active, try a new sport, or join a local sports club, contributing to our vision of a more active Scotland.

As confirmed in the Programme for Government, we will shortly publish the Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan to support Scotland’s just transition to a green economy.

Scottish Government capital investment is primarily focussed on the demand sectors of heat, transport and industry.

In support of the delivery of our energy ambitions this financial year (2024-2025) we have allocated:

• over £145 million for active travel, in addition to the over £2 billion we invest in public transport annually.
• £266 million budget for Heat in Buildings.
• £12.2 million for hydrogen projects.
• £9 million to Scotland’s manufacturing industries through the Scottish Industrial Energy Transformation Fund.
• £2 million to support the Acorn Carbon transport and storage project.
• Our Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray continues to support a range of pioneering projects with an allocation of £16.4 million

Funding for future years will be subject to annual budget allocations.

The Scottish Government is committed to an infrastructure solution to address landslip risks at the A83 Rest and Be Thankful and shares the urgency communities and businesses place on maintaining and improving connectivity of this vital route.

As part of the comprehensive route options assessment process for the permanent solution, five options were assessed, two of which included tunnels. The options were assessed across a range of criteria including Engineering, Environment and Economics along with performance against the Scheme Objectives.

In June 2023, the ‘Brown Option’, consisting of a 1.4km debris flow shelter on the line of the existing A83, was selected as the Preferred Route Option as it improves resilience and operational safety of the trunk road network by reducing the impact of disruption for travel to, from and between Argyll and Bute and the Central Belt of Scotland. The Brown Option performed most favourably across a broad range of environmental criteria including cultural heritage, visual, population and human health, climate, and materials and waste. It also had the greatest potential to be delivered quickly and provides the greatest opportunity to encourage sustainable travel.

While the tunnelling options would equally provide improved resilience and operational safety of the trunk road network, the associated costs for both construction and ongoing operation and maintenance of these options were significantly greater than the preferred route option.

The full assessment can be found in the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) Stage 2 Route Options Assessment Report which is available on the Transport Scotland website.

Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) stage two route options assessment report - A83 Access to Argyll and Bute | Transport Scotland

Although it is the statutory responsibility of all local authorities to manage and maintain the school estate, the Scottish Government is providing them with significant funding towards improving their school estate.

The £2 billion Learning Estate Investment Programme is being delivered in partnership with local authorities and will benefit tens of thousands of pupils across Scotland. It follows on from the successful £1.8 billion Scotland’s Schools for the Future Programme which completed in 2021 and delivered 117 new or refurbished schools.

Our latest school estate statistics, published on 10th September 2024, show that the proportion of schools in “good” or “satisfactory” condition has increased from 62.7% in April 2007 to 91.7 % in April 2024. Investment through the Learning Estate Investment Programme will build on this remarkable progress.

The Scottish Government has provided record funding of over £14 billion to local councils this year – a real-terms increase of 2.5% compared with the previous year. This includes £145.5 million to maintain teacher numbers and £242 million to support previous teacher pay deals.

We have also made available £29 million to support the 2024-25 teachers’ pay deal.

We value the teaching profession which is why Scotland has the most teachers per pupil and the highest paid classroom teachers in the UK.