Hansard

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur) LD

The final item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S6M-06148, in the name of Alex Cole-Hamilton, on sewage and Scotland’s waters. The debate ...

Alex Cole-Hamilton (Edinburgh Western) (LD) LD

There is not a member in the chamber who does not have, somewhere in their constituency or region, a beautiful expanse of our most vital natural resource. I ...

Siobhian Brown (Ayr) (SNP) SNP

Out of genuine interest, I ask whether the member agrees with the position that was put forward by Ross Finnie, formerly Minister for the Environment and Rur...

Alex Cole-Hamilton LD

That is a bit off topic. It is certainly an issue for debate at another time, but it says a lot about this Government’s priorities that that is the focus of ...

The Minister for Environment and Land Reform (Màiri McAllan) SNP

Will the member take an intervention?

Alex Cole-Hamilton LD

I will, from the minister.

Màiri McAllan SNP

Given the member’s comments on Loch Leven, perhaps I could get his view on the fact that SEPA inspected the location after the incident on 8 September and “...

Alex Cole-Hamilton LD

I am fascinated by that, because it flies in the face of fact. There are many witnesses to that happening. If the Government is telling us that it is not hap...

Audrey Nicoll (Aberdeen South and North Kincardine) (SNP) SNP

I thank Alex Cole-Hamilton for bringing the debate to the chamber. I welcome the opportunity to participate, not least as chair of the Nigg waste water treat...

Liam Kerr (North East Scotland) (Con) Con

I congratulate Alex Cole-Hamilton on securing this members’ business debate, not least because it is not before time, as he rightly pointed out. When I look...

Mercedes Villalba (North East Scotland) (Lab) Lab

I thank Alex Cole-Hamilton for securing this important debate. His motion rightly stresses the importance of affording the highest possible protection to our...

Ariane Burgess (Highlands and Islands) (Green) Green

I thank Alex Cole-Hamilton for securing this crucial debate. As we have heard already, The Ferret has identified that the untreated human waste flowing into ...

Siobhian Brown (Ayr) (SNP) SNP

I thank Alex Cole-Hamilton for bringing the debate to the chamber; I completely agree with him that Scotland’s natural environment deserves the highest stand...

Sarah Boyack (Lothian) (Lab) Lab

I thank Alex Cole-Hamilton for securing the debate, because the issue of sewage and pollution needs to be tackled more effectively. I also thank The Ferret t...

The Minister for Environment and Land Reform (Màiri McAllan) SNP

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. Th...

Liam Kerr Con

Will the minister take an intervention?

Màiri McAllan SNP

I have a lot that I want to put on the record this afternoon, but I will take a short intervention.

Liam Kerr Con

The minister appears to have entirely missed my point: if we monitor only 10 per cent of the overflows, as against the 80 per cent that are monitored in Engl...

The Deputy Presiding Officer LD

Minister, I can give you all the time back.

Màiri McAllan SNP

The figures that I cited are not linked directly to the monitoring of CSOs; they relate to a holistic assessment of the water quality in Scotland. If we brea...

Alex Cole-Hamilton LD

I am very grateful for the clarification from the minister, but her intervention did change the character of the debate. A person listening to the minister’s...

The Deputy Presiding Officer LD

Minister, again, I can give you all the time back.

Màiri McAllan SNP

If I was disingenuous, that was not my intention. I have just clarified my intention, which was to point out that SEPA has made an active assessment of the s...

Alex Cole-Hamilton LD

When I asked the First Minister about the matter a few months ago, Scottish Water contacted me and we had an in-depth meeting about this very issue. Scottish...

Màiri McAllan SNP

The point that I am trying to make is that, when we seek to refer to specific incidents, we should be very clear about the term “raw sewage” and the extent t...