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As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, and the Scottish Government does not hold this information, I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows:

Scottish Water has advised that investigations have been on-going into reports of sewage leaking to a nearby water channel in the area; these investigations have included camera surveys and extensive dye testing of a nearby sewer pipeline. A fault has been identified and a repair made in a buried manhole chamber. Scottish Water has advised that they are continuing to monitor this area and remain in communication with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).

The Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill, which is currently being considered by the Scottish Parliament, will introduce a number of reforms which are intended to improve access to justice, one of the three pillars outlined in the Aarhus Convention. 

The Bill will introduce a modern set of regulatory objectives which promote greater access to affordable legal services for consumers. It will also introduce direct regulation of legal businesses, remove restrictions on charities to allow them to directly employ solicitors, simplify the complaints process and introduce a register of regulated legal service providers. These reforms are designed to improve access to justice in Scotland.

The length of residential rehabilitation treatments varies substantially. This data on individual placements is not collated centrally. The Scottish Government have commissioned PHS to establish the necessary data infrastructure to monitor residential rehab in Scotland. It will include more detailed information on treatment length. This monitoring data is not yet available.

City of Edinburgh Council received £5.3m in 2023-2024 of Area Based Scheme funding from the Scottish Government. Private homeowners are also able to access interest-free loans from Home Energy Scotland and should contact Home Energy Scotland either by calling 0808 808 2282 or by emailing Contact Home Energy Scotland .

The Scottish Government will produce a Section 36 report, as soon as is reasonably practicable, and in accordance with our statutory duty as outlined in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.

A public consultation on the UK Dolphin and Porpoise Conservation Strategy took place in 2021 and we are working on amendments to the strategy, in partnership with the other UK administrations and the working group, ahead of implementation in early 2025.

These amendments include the addition of a number of species of whale and dolphin that are regularly sighted in UK waters and updates to the evidence base and the areas identified where further action can be taken. In the meantime, the Scottish Government continues to take action to improve the conservation of UK cetaceans.

We recognise that bycatch and entanglement in fishing gear can pose a risk to our iconic marine life and remain committed to tackling this issue in our waters.

We are working in partnership with the UK Government and other administrations on implementing the bycatch mitigation initiative.

Through the Future Catching Policy, Scottish Ministers will be delivering on their obligations to minimise and, where possible, eliminate bycatch of sensitive species as part of wider efforts to ensure the sustainability of our fishing fleet.

As our first priority, we will take firm measures to increase selectivity by introducing additional technical measures to reduce unwanted catch and bycatch of sensitive marine species, working with stakeholders to explore and deliver solutions.

Putting in place the remaining fisheries management measures remains a top government priority. We want to achieve this as soon as possible, however developing the evidence based and effective fisheries management measures for over 180 sites is a complex and challenging process.

I committed to publishing a public consultation on this issue during the passage of the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill and following engagement with bereaved families and hosting a roundtable involving victims organisations, media representatives and others.

The consultation is now open and was published on 9 July 2024, will run for
‎ 12 weeks until 1 October, and will provide an opportunity to contribute to future policy approaches to this sensitive, complex and emotive issue. A link to the consultation paper is provided here: https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781836014812

There is no current plan to bring forward regulations, however the Scottish Government has established a short life working group to encourage a proportionate approach to assessments required for planning applications. An initial scoping meeting, held on 25 June and hosted by the Chief Planner, has set out the group’s intention to use feedback from practitioners and authorities to identify priority areas for improvement and opportunities for increased proportionality and streamlining.

The Scottish Government is engaging with Homes for Scotland and the housebuilding industry relating to the findings of their recent work on SME housebuilders, and is also currently making arrangements for a discussion with SME housebuilders to consider how their experience of the planning system can be better supported.

Upon the request of the Scottish Government, research was conducted between March 2023 and March 2024 to model the impact of a reduction in meat and dairy intakes on the nation’s micronutrient intake. This work was led by Food Standards Scotland (FSS), in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, in response to the Climate Change Committee (CCC)’s recommendation in the publication, Progress in reducing emissions in Scotland, 2022 Report to Parliament . It revealed that Scotland could make significant progress towards the CCC targets for reduction in meat consumption by following existing dietary advice shown in the Eatwell Guide. The Scottish Government and FSS are seeking to carry out additional research dedicated to assessing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with dietary intakes as part a review of the Scottish Dietary Goals (SDG) in 2024-25. Additionally, the Scottish Government is engaging the CCC to explore the evidence base which has informed the Committee’s recommendation in the publication, Progress in reducing emissions in Scotland, 2023 Report to Parliament .