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The main aim for the private water supply connections project is to build resilience to private water supply communities affected by water scarcity. The funding is being spent to determine whether a connection to the public water main is a viable option and some communities will be shortlisted to have the public water network extended into their area so households can make a connection.

So far, five pilot projects in Aberdeenshire have been chosen and Scottish Water have carried out Water Impact Assessments for each to better understand the feasibility and cost of connections. Three of the pilot communities have been shortlisted to have the public water network extended into their areas using a selection criteria that maximised the connection potential and ensured value for money. They will be notified shortly and the design of the new public water network for these areas is underway.

Overall, the results of the Water Impact Assessments were positive. The studies indicated that there was capacity in the network to support all of the pilot communities. The process also highlighted that these studies can remove a significant cost barrier for groups seeking a connection, which can range from between £3,000 and £25,000 without a guarantee that a connection can be made. As a result, I have asked my officials to establish a two-year, Scotland-wide Water Impact Assessment programme so that other regions impacted by water scarcity can benefit. Local authorities have been asked to nominate eligible communities.

It takes some time to carry out these assessments, liaise with communities, design and then deliver the project and therefore no properties have been connected since June 2022. I have asked Scottish Water to hire a project manager to work on the project full- time. When this in place I expect further progress to be made.

The latest annual report was published on 30 June 2023 at https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotland-hydro-nation-annual-report-2022/

National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) expects city and town centres to be at the heart of place-based strategies.NPF4 wants planning to help town centres adapt and be vibrant, healthier, creative, enterprising and resilient places for people to live, learn, work enjoy and visit; and identity opportunities to enhance them.

As NPF4 now forms part of the statutory development plan, it has an enhanced position and influence on planning decisions which we expect to make a real difference to places, including our town centres.

Aberdeen City Council has received direct funding of £590k through the Place Based Investment Programme (PBIP) for 2023-24 and will receive further funding over the course of this Parliament. The Programme accelerates ambitions for place, 20-minute neighbourhoods, town centre action, community led regeneration and community wealth building.PBIP includes £140m allocated to Scotland’s local authorities over this Parliament.

Aberdeen City Council has also benefitted from £9.849m from the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund supporting a number of projects including £1.9m for the Inchgarth Community Regeneration Hub in 2023-24.

The Scottish Government welcomes the Our Union Street white paper and the range of ideas it captures.

The Scottish Government recognises that our cities and towns are a national asset and is pleased to see that many of the aims in the Our Union Street white paper align with aims of National Planning Framework 4.

The Scottish Government would encourage Our Union Street, as it progresses, to consider entering its achievements into the government’s new Scottish Planning Innovation Awards in the future.

The Scottish Government engages with the pharmaceutical industry directly as well as via the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, and through Four Nations partners as part of UK-wide pandemic preparedness and resilience measures. This has ranged from long-standing arrangements to build and maintain stockpiles of medicines to address challenges from potential influenza pandemics to more recent measures to establish stockpiles of medicines and associated consumables for the response to COVID-19. Collaborative working across the UK also includes working in partnership with the pharmaceutical industry to develop onshore vaccine manufacturing capacity, with potential for pandemic deployment.

11 July 2023

Mercedes Villalba (North East Scotland) (Scottish Labour Party): To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made on large-scale water infrastructure development projects, such as reservoir expansions, to increase Scotland’s water resilience in the future.

Scottish Water, as the publicly owned provider of services in Scotland, is required to plan for the future provision of water through a sustainable water resource management approach; planning ensures that Scottish Water secures continuous, safe, clean drinking water for customers whilst supporting economic growth and protecting the environment. Scottish Water’s water resource planning looks 25 years ahead, taking account of water resource availability and the changing demands for water and making sure that these balance. Scottish Water also uses climate change scenarios to inform long-term investment requirements which may include additional sources of water or increased connectivity across the country. Scottish Water currently has no plans to build additional reservoirs.

Investment needs are reviewed for each regulatory period. This will consider the need to invest in resilience measures to ensure that services can be maintained and protected given the growing impacts of climate change. An example of this is the Glasgow Resilience Project, details of which are on Scottish Water’s website at https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/in-your-area/investments-in-your-area/220421-glasgow-resilience-project .

Scottish Water also has well-developed drought plans and has put these in place to ensure that public supplies are maintained. Investment in resilience measures over many years means that Scottish Water has ensured that supplies have been maintained through prolonged dry periods in recent years. Scottish Water will continue to focus on the efficient management of its existing water resources, which includes a range of measures from leakage reduction to encouraging customers to use water efficiently. Considering how we all use water and can minimise consumption is important in improving resilience to climate change and protecting the environment.

The pharmaceutical industry continues to successfully support pandemic preparedness and resilience in Scotland, as described in the answer to question S6W-19343 on 11 July 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 Scottish Government is considering the income threshold for access to the Part-Time Fee Grant in light of the current changing financial landscape and the issues relating to individual earnings. This will form part of a wider review of student support for part-time learners, highlighted in the Initial Priorities paper of the Purpose and Principles for Post-School Education, Research and Skills, published on the 28 June.

Since independent hospice representatives met with Ministers in March 2023, SG officials have had a number of meetings with Health and Social Care Partnerships from April through to July to discuss the independent hospice sector’s calls for a national framework for hospice funding, and this engagement is continuing.

The Bathing Water (Scotland) Regulations 2008 require at the end of the bathing water season each year that the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) assesses each bathing water on the basis of samples collected during the season, plus the preceding 3 bathing seasons, and classifies the bathing waters for the coming season. SEPA must advise Scottish Ministers of the classifications and SEPA also publishes the classification results on its website at https://www2.sepa.org.uk/bathingwaters/Classifications.aspx . SEPA is required to monitor water quality at each bathing water during the bathing season and the first water quality sample at each designated bathing waters must be taken shortly before the start of the season, usually, around 15 May and SEPA publishes the results on its website.

Public Health Scotland recently published guidance with information on the risks and the steps the public can take to wild swim as safely as possible, available at https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/wild-swimming-how-to-swim-safely-in-scotlands-outdoor-water/ .

Freshwater rivers and lochs that are not designated as bathing waters are managed for the purpose of protecting fish and wildlife. SEPA publishes its water quality classification for each water body online at https://www.sepa.org.uk/data-visualisation/water-classification-hub/ .

SEPA classifies 84% of Scotland’s rivers and lochs at good or better for water quality and 98% of classified bathing waters meet bathing water quality standards with more being rated excellent than ever before.