Chamber
Plenary, 01 Feb 2007
01 Feb 2007 · S2 · Plenary
Item of business
Scottish Water
No, thank you. I want to get on.
That means that Scottish Water is delivering more for less. Our constituents are benefiting from lower charges, Scotland is benefiting from improvement in the environment and drinking water quality and, crucially, our economy is benefiting from a better service being delivered more efficiently. Those achievements are good news and we should pause to congratulate Scottish Water on its successes, which have been delivered by a focused and determined management and dedicated staff. They have shown that our model for the water industry, operating in the public sector, can match the performance of the very best of the private sector.
Mark Ruskell's motion displays a fundamental misunderstanding. He is wrong to assume that such improvements can be delivered without the system of robust economic regulation that this Administration put in place, which was approved by Parliament, with the support of Mr Ruskell's party. In the stage 3 debate on the Water Services etc (Scotland) Bill, Mr Ruskell said:
"The delivery of water services in Scotland is about striking a crucial balance between the economy, the environment and social justice. Those three drivers need to be at the heart of the development of our water services. I am content that the bill offers a structure to enable that balance to be struck and controlled by the Parliament."—[Official Report, 9 February 2005; c 14378.]
That is what we have—the correct system of regulation for Scottish Water. It achieves the maximum affordable improvement in public health and standards of environmental protection by improving our drinking water quality and the quality of discharges to the water environment. It supports housing and economic growth throughout Scotland through investment in new strategic water and sewerage capacity. It delivers those outcomes with a capital programme that means that we will get delivery over the next few years and that water charges will remain affordable. That is what customers want, that is what the people of Scotland want and that is what Parliament voted for.
I move amendment S2M-5510.2, to leave out from first "notes" to end and insert:
""welcomes the substantial improvements that have been made in Scottish Water's performance, all of this having been achieved while keeping Scottish Water in the public sector; recognises that the objectives set by ministers for 2006-14, which properly recognise the social and environmental priorities of the Scottish Executive, will not only deliver further improvements in drinking water quality, environmental protection, and customer service but also relieve development constraints, upgrade the water and sewerage system and reduce leakages; recognises that the role of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland is to assess the lowest reasonable overall costs of delivering the objectives that ministers have specified, taking account of appropriate external benchmarks, and affirms that Scottish Water operating in the current regulatory framework will go on to deliver further improvements in this vital public service."
That means that Scottish Water is delivering more for less. Our constituents are benefiting from lower charges, Scotland is benefiting from improvement in the environment and drinking water quality and, crucially, our economy is benefiting from a better service being delivered more efficiently. Those achievements are good news and we should pause to congratulate Scottish Water on its successes, which have been delivered by a focused and determined management and dedicated staff. They have shown that our model for the water industry, operating in the public sector, can match the performance of the very best of the private sector.
Mark Ruskell's motion displays a fundamental misunderstanding. He is wrong to assume that such improvements can be delivered without the system of robust economic regulation that this Administration put in place, which was approved by Parliament, with the support of Mr Ruskell's party. In the stage 3 debate on the Water Services etc (Scotland) Bill, Mr Ruskell said:
"The delivery of water services in Scotland is about striking a crucial balance between the economy, the environment and social justice. Those three drivers need to be at the heart of the development of our water services. I am content that the bill offers a structure to enable that balance to be struck and controlled by the Parliament."—[Official Report, 9 February 2005; c 14378.]
That is what we have—the correct system of regulation for Scottish Water. It achieves the maximum affordable improvement in public health and standards of environmental protection by improving our drinking water quality and the quality of discharges to the water environment. It supports housing and economic growth throughout Scotland through investment in new strategic water and sewerage capacity. It delivers those outcomes with a capital programme that means that we will get delivery over the next few years and that water charges will remain affordable. That is what customers want, that is what the people of Scotland want and that is what Parliament voted for.
I move amendment S2M-5510.2, to leave out from first "notes" to end and insert:
""welcomes the substantial improvements that have been made in Scottish Water's performance, all of this having been achieved while keeping Scottish Water in the public sector; recognises that the objectives set by ministers for 2006-14, which properly recognise the social and environmental priorities of the Scottish Executive, will not only deliver further improvements in drinking water quality, environmental protection, and customer service but also relieve development constraints, upgrade the water and sewerage system and reduce leakages; recognises that the role of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland is to assess the lowest reasonable overall costs of delivering the objectives that ministers have specified, taking account of appropriate external benchmarks, and affirms that Scottish Water operating in the current regulatory framework will go on to deliver further improvements in this vital public service."
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Murray Tosh):
Con
The next item of business is a debate on motion S2M-5510, in the name of Mark Ruskell, on Scottish Water.
Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green):
Green
This debate is an opportunity for all of us in the chamber—apart from the Tories—to restate our commitment to public ownership and control of Scottish Water ...
Dave Petrie (Highlands and Islands) (Con):
Con
Does the member agree with the water industry commissioner's report that, for every million gallons of expensively treated water that is produced, half a mil...
Mr Ruskell:
Green
I argue that the regulatory system is at fault. We can trade figures throughout the debate, but South West Water's charges for the coming year will be 40 per...
Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con):
Con
Hear, hear.
Mr Ruskell:
Green
A blow for democracy over there.The view was also reported that Scottish Water should be freed from state ownership, but that was apparently a misrepresentat...
The Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development (Sarah Boyack):
Lab
I very much welcome the debate. We have systems of managing our water networks in Scotland that are different from those in the rest of the United Kingdom. T...
Mark Ballard (Lothians) (Green):
Green
Will the minister take an intervention.
Sarah Boyack:
Lab
No thanks. I want to get started.We have a unique model: it is a third way that provides a public sector company that is directed by ministerial policy, that...
Dave Petrie:
Con
Does the minister accept that in all Scottish Water's new works it is in partnership with private companies such as Miller Group, Babtie Group and so on and ...
Sarah Boyack:
Lab
No. Scottish Water is using private companies to deliver our investment programme, which is set by Scottish ministers. It is using the best system of deliver...
Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP):
SNP
Will the minister take an intervention?
Sarah Boyack:
Lab
No, thank you. I want to get on.That means that Scottish Water is delivering more for less. Our constituents are benefiting from lower charges, Scotland is b...
Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con):
Con
We started this morning with a consensual debate on procurement from the Greens. I am disappointed that this debate will not produce the same cross-party con...
Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP):
SNP
Is the member aware that Banff and Buchan College's Peterhead centre, which is in my constituency, has just received a bill for £39,000, which represents use...
Murdo Fraser:
Con
I am sure that the private sector will make errors in many cases.I was going to talk about the Welsh Water model, which of course has support from Mr Stevens...
Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP):
SNP
If we are to believe Murdo Fraser, privatisation is built into the model that has been delivered by the Scottish Executive. He also wants us to believe that ...
Sarah Boyack:
Lab
Would Rob Gibson like to explain specifically what model the SNP supports and how it would deliver that?
Rob Gibson:
SNP
Certainly.
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Con
You have one minute.
Rob Gibson:
SNP
We need a Government that is prepared to direct the process to the WIC and Scottish Water and which sets priorities that can be achieved by the accountancy m...
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Con
Your time is up.
Rob Gibson:
SNP
There is a large sewage plant at Seafield that affects 30,000 people because of the unbearable smells that come from it in the summer.
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Con
Mr Gibson, you must wind up.
Rob Gibson:
SNP
I am winding up.The Green party motion suggests that it is possible to have the current model and, with direction, ensure that it works.
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Con
I am sorry, Mr Gibson, but you must stop now. You are way over time.
Mr Andrew Arbuckle (Mid Scotland and Fife) (LD):
LD
On the way to Parliament today, I was, for a short time, critical of Scottish Water. There was a hold-up in the traffic, and it was only when I read the expl...
Mr Ruskell:
Green
Will the member give way?
Mr Arbuckle:
LD
No. I have only four minutes; otherwise, I would.Twenty years ago, the total proposed capital spend on water services and sewage works in Fife was some £5 mi...
Stewart Stevenson:
SNP
Will the member take a 10-word intervention?