Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6W-21933

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 02 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 19 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether monitoring of the whole sewage network will be a commitment in the next River Basin Management Plan.

River Basin Management Planning has a six year cycle with the next Plan due for publication at the end of 2027. The objective of the Plan is to protect and improve Scotland’s water environment based on comprehensive monitoring, assessment and classification carried out by SEPA. Monitoring the whole sewage network would not change SEPA’s classification of the water environment.

Priority locations have been identified for 1,000 new spill monitors, with installation programmed over 2023 and 2024 at a value of £70m. After 2024, Scottish Water will review the costs and benefits of extending monitor coverage to lower priority waters and agree a programme of work. The Scottish Government is supportive of this evidence based and proportionate approach. Scottish Water’s Improving Urban Waters Route Map sets out a programme of continued action to reduce wastewater pollution and sewage litter over the coming decade backed by investment of up to half a billion pounds.

Continued investment by Scottish Water contributes towards Scotland’s water quality being at its highest level ever, with 87% of the water environment rated as good, up from 82% six years ago. Scotland’s River Basin Management Plan sets out objectives, including those for Scottish Water, aiming to improve water quality to 92% of the water environment in good condition by 2027.

Question reference: S6W-21936

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 02 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 19 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what length of sewage piping has been laid or replaced by Scottish Water in each of the last 10 years.

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.

Reporting Year	Length of new sewers (km)	Length of replaced sewers (km)	Total (km)
2015-16	1652.20	29.99	1682.19
2016-17	408.71	0	408.71
2017-18	81.42	0	81.42
2018-19	77.81	3.71	81.52
2019-20	1066.64	2.72	1069.36
2020-21	279.93	0.66	280.59
2021-22	333.91	0.09	334
2022-23	481.62	0.75	482.37

Question reference: S6W-21935

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 02 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 19 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will request that Scottish Water introduces sewage monitoring in the nine local authority areas that do not have any at present.

As previously explained in my answer to S6W-15158 on 13 March 2023, Scottish Water has identified priority locations for 1,000 spill monitors, with installation programmed over 2023 and 2024. Decisions about the locations of these monitors are not based on local authority boundary; locations were identified based on amenity levels and predicted spill frequencies, and agreed with SEPA.

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-21938

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 02 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 19 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will introduce sewage monitoring on the (a) River Almond and (b) Water of Leith.

Question reference: S6W-21770

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 19 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21008 by Jenny Gilruth on 19 September 2023, what assessment it has made of the phonics approach in improving literacy.

Teachers require a broad professional knowledge of early reading as a complex interplay of skills and background factors in order to improve children's literacy.

Phonics approaches form one aspect of an overall pedagogy for early reading.

Education Scotland is currently working to develop updated guidance and research-informed professional learning resources which will support teachers to develop children’s early reading. The resources will include guidance and advice on phonics as part of an overall reading pedagogy. In line with other items of guidance relating to Scotland’s curriculum, the resources are being developed within a broader context which seeks to empower teachers and schools to adapt their approach to meet the needs of individual learners.

Question reference: S6O-02619

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 October 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on public interest journalism.

Question reference: S6O-02621

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 October 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much public money it plans to spend in this financial year and in 2024-25 on any work designed to further the case for Scottish independence, including the costs of publication of any independence-related documents.

Question reference: S6O-02639

Asked by: Kaukab Stewart, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 October 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any discussions between the City of Glasgow College senior management and trade union representatives regarding the ongoing industrial dispute.

Question reference: S6O-02634

Asked by: Clare Adamson, MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 October 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the potential role of emerging video games technology in education and skills development.

Question reference: S6O-02635

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 October 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any link between nutrition and behaviour in its work to address violence in schools.