Meeting of the Parliament 26 October 2022
I am very pleased to be taking part in today’s debate, and I thank Alex Cole-Hamilton for securing it. It is a topic that I know he cares about, as do I.
The debate has given me the chance to listen, as I always want to do. In closing, I will respond to what has been said, rebut some of what, in my view, is inaccurate and, most important, offer reassurance to the public—which I know has a strong interest in the issue—that the Scottish Government is absolutely committed to the protection of our water environment; that our water environment already meets standards that are high by international comparisons; and that we have achieved that by working with our public water company, Scottish Water, which is regulated by the independent SEPA, such that we consistently have the lowest water bills in the UK. Finally, I want to reassure the public that we are never complacent and that we are always striving for progress. We are doing what we can, with concrete plans that are backed by multi-annual funds.
I said that Scotland enjoys a higher standard than our neighbours. To put figures on that, 66 per cent of Scotland’s water environment is already classed as being in good condition, compared with a European average of around 45 per cent and a figure for England of just 16 per cent. I can understand why Liam Kerr and the other Tories might not want me to repeat those figures, given that it is their party that is presiding over that deficit down south, but I am very proud of the Scottish figures.