 I would request those members who wish to ask a supplementary to please press the request to speak buttons, or indicate so, in the chat function, by entering the letters RTS during the relevant question. As ever, I would make a plea for succinct questions and answers in order to get in as many members as possible. 1. Jackie Baillie I ask the Scottish Government whether it will instruct Scottish Water to freeze water rates for 23-24 to help with the cost of living crisis. Cabinet Secretary Michael Matheson I don't think the minister's card is in. I think it will be for the Cabinet Secretary to indicate what his response is, Ms Baillie. There we go. Thank you, Deputy Secretary. The decision on the level of water charges are matters for the Scottish Water Board. The decisions must be taken with due regard to the principles of charging for water services set by Scottish ministers, including the key principle of affordability. Jackie Baillie My understanding is the minister intervened last year. I would encourage him to do so again this year, because inflation was at 10 per cent in September and expected to be at least 11 per cent at the end of the year. The pricing formula agreed between the Cabinet Secretary, Scottish Water and the Water Industry Commissioner is that prices will rise by CPI plus 2 per cent. That is an eye-watering rise of 12 or 13 per cent for every household in Scotland. With Scottish Water having reserves of more than half a billion pounds and paying senior executives eye-watering bonuses of £90,000 each, they can clearly afford to freeze water bills. Households are struggling. Freezing bills are entirely within your power to do. Let me try again. Will the cabinet secretary freeze water bills? Cabinet secretary. Let me try to deal with some of the facts here. Ms Baillie will be well aware of that. Scottish Water Water level, rate payment levels, are actually some of the lowest in the UK because of the way in which the organisation operates. I also think that it is wrong for Ms Baillie to try and portray the cash in hand that Scottish Water operates with is some sort of spare money that is quite literally just sitting in a bank account. It is actually money that is substantially allocated to projects including to meet their net zero targets and also to improve services overall but also to deal with emergencies as well. The third thing that I think that Ms Baillie also chooses to ignore is the very substantial water rates reduction programme that we have that was extended to 35% up from the 25% that was in place before which means that there are in excess of almost half a million homes that actually benefit from the scheme. I think that some 460,000 homes benefit from the scheme of which some 370,000 of them will actually pay less in water rates in Scotland in this financial year as well. I can assure the member that we will continue to make sure that we see the right investment into capital investment in Scottish Water while at the same time making them affordable for Scottish households. I will supplementary Natalie Dunn. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Unlike the situation elsewhere in the UK, Scottish Water is publicly owned. The Scottish Government continues to use its limited budget and constrained powers to work to cushion the impact of UK Government policies at the heart of the cost of living crisis. My understanding is that the water charges reduction scheme discount has increased from 25 to 35%. Targeting support to households with the lowest incomes is clearly a key priority during the cost of living crisis. Can I ask the cabinet secretary just how many households the Scottish Government estimates are being helped through this initiative? We did extend the water rates discount scheme that aligns to the council tax reduction scheme. Overall, on the region of 460,000 homes that benefit from that, some 370,000 homes as a result of an extension of the scheme by Scottish Water and the Scottish Government mean that those who are in full council tax reduction discounts actually pay less than they did this year than they did in 2020-2021 and a further 130,000 households who benefit from some level of council tax reduction also have enhanced reductions in their water charges. That is the way in which we have sought to try and make sure that the support is actually targeted at those who are the most vulnerable financially. It is a scheme that in total, alongside the other discount measures, costs us in the region of £182 million in supporting customers each year. Question 2. Alex Cole-Hamilton, who is joining us remotely. Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to address the discharge of sewage into rivers and locks and waterways. In December 2021, I set out in a statement of Parliament how since 2010 and backed by over £600 million, Scottish Water had upgraded 104 wastewater treatment works and 279 storm overflows. I set out how that had taken us to a position of having 66 per cent good water quality in Scotland as against only 16 per cent in England. On to confirm that Scottish Water would now undertake another suite of works within the regulatory period 21 to 26, backed by another £0.5 billion. That is focusing on improving remaining wastewater treatment works, 26 storm, priority storm overflows and developing solutions for the others. Scottish Water intends to publish its first progress report against this improving urban waters route map by 21 December, which will be the first anniversary of my statement to Parliament setting out the route map. Alex Cole-Hamilton. I'm very grateful to the Minister for that reply. At my members' debate last week, which minister was present, I highlighted the issue of raw sewage, sanitary towels and wet wipes being routinely discharged into Scotland's waterways. We know that in 2020 that happened at least 12,000 times, but Scottish Water only monitored 3 per cent of releases or spills. The actual figure is likely to be exponentially higher. It's even happening at 49 of 87 designated bathing waters, including Loch Leven, which has four layers of environmental protection. When I raised this with the Minister last week, she said that SIPA, in her words, found no evidence of sewage debris or pollution in the watercourse before it entered Loch Leven. So can I ask the Minister, would she be comfortable going for a swim in Loch Leven? Minister. Presiding Officer, I would love to have the time for a swim in Loch Leven, but I'll reiterate what I said during Alex Cole-Hamilton's members' debate, which is that, following the incident on 8 September, SIPA inspected the location and found no evidence of sewage debris or pollution in the watercourse before it entered Loch Leven. The discussion that the member and I had during that debate was about the way that we refer to the instances that are happening and the very specific nature of what is and what isn't being discharged into the environment. That's an important point. That is part of Scottish waters, improving urban waters' route map, that we will design monitors for more areas and better communication with the public. I would indicate that we have taken a strategic decision in the past to invest in improving storm overflows, not just monitoring the problem. Supplementary Jim Fairlie. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Loch Leven is a beauty spot in my constituency, so naturally I followed those claims of co-Hamilton following the report on this matter with great concern. Now, there are figures that clearly indicate that Scotland's water environment is in terms of being classified as in good condition ahead of both European average and south of the border. We're going to ask the First Minister what further work the Scottish Government will undertake to build on this and ensure that continued protection of our water environment, including Loch Leven, is done. Minister. I think the member for the question, and just to clarify again regarding Loch Leven, SEPA inspected the location, found no evidence of sewage debris or pollution in the watercourse before it entered Loch Leven, and this is because there was no discharge of untreated raw sewage from King raw sewage works into the adjacent watercourse. On the point about improving our river basin management plans, which again we published on the 21st of December, set out for each of the four key water environment themes, how by 2027 we will improve water quality from 87 per cent to 92 per cent good, water quantity from 90 per cent to 96 per cent good, fish migration from 88 per cent to 99 per cent good, and physical condition from 90 to 92 per cent good. Despite having an overall very good picture in Scotland, we are not complacent and we are driving further improvements. I raised in last week's debate that, as only 10 per cent of sewage overflow is monitored in Scotland, the data gathered, like Alex Cole-Hamilton says, likely under-represents the problem and makes the minister's comparisons with England where 80 per cent is monitored, a completely false equivalence. Minister, having reflected upon that debate, will the minister now look to increase monitoring to the 80 per cent that we see elsewhere? Minister, I have already confirmed that we have in place plans to improve monitoring as part of an overall picture of improving the situation, but I don't need to reflect on the exchange of the debate because my response now is exactly the same as it was then. That 66 per cent good quality figure is not based on the monitoring of CSOs or the sewage system generally. It is based on those four constituent parts of water quality, which I mentioned water quality, water quantity, fish migration and physical condition. All of those factors together create that 66 per cent, not monitoring of the sewage system. I supplement you, Mark Ruskell. Thank you. Lockleaven, of course, is one of Scotland's best wild swimming spots, but we are seeing unacceptable discharges in environmental quality. If you go down the road to Kinghorn, we have seen huge improvements to water quality that resulted from the beach being designated as a bathing water area. Can I ask the minister what consideration has been given to establish Lockleaven in other freshwater sites as bathing water areas in Scotland? Minister. I have rehearsed one or two of the details about Lockleaven, so I will not go over that point again. In relation to the member's comments on bathing waters, those are designated by Scottish ministers where they expect a large number of people to bathe having regard to past trends and available infrastructure or facilities provided or other measures to promote bathing. Any organisation or individual can submit a bathing water designation form, which is available on SEPA's website, for consideration. Currently in Scotland, we have three inland freshwater bathing waters at LUS on Loch Lomond, Loch Morlach near Abymor and at Doris on Loch Ness. Question 3, Evelyn Tweed. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government what investment is being made in safe, active travel routes in the Stirling area, including missing links in the national cycle network at Manor Powys and between Doon and Calender? Minister Patrick Harvie. The Government is investing up to £9.9 million in active travel routes in the Stirling area through the places for everyone programme and through investment in the national cycle network. Projects at Manor Powys and between Doon and Calender have committed funding totaling £170,000. Additionally, over £600,000 has been awarded directly to Stirling Council through the Cycling, Walking and Safer routes grant in the current financial year. Evelyn Tweed. I thank the minister for that answer. My constituent Christina McKenzie has recently suffered significant injuries while cycling near Cippin. Though active travel routes are welcome, there are still issues around the awareness of cyclists. Can the minister advise what steps the Scottish Government is taking to educate people on safe use of roads for all users? Minister. I did read about the incident affecting Ms McKenzie. First and foremost, I want to extend my good wishes for a speedy recovery and a return to record-breaking ways. I also want to be very clear that a hit-and-run incident such as this is a serious offence. It's in all road users' interests that those responsible are held to account for this crime and face the consequences of their actions. Road Safety Scotland has developed a significant number of social marketing campaigns to address those behaviours that cause the most harm on our roads. We also invest £400,000 a year in the Give Me Cycle space campaign, raising awareness amongst drivers of the need to give at least 1.5 metres when overtaking people on bikes. The campaign runs on TV, radio, social media and physical advertising and recorded over 140 million impressions last year. Post campaign analysis shows that awareness of the issues raised has significantly increased and more than 90 per cent of respondents agree with the overall message. The Government is committed to the vision and aspirations of the road safety framework to 2030. Fundamental to that is the adoption of the safe system approach. One of the five pillars of the system is safe road users. Recognising that road safety is also a life-scale, the Scottish Government through Road Safety Scotland has invested in a suite of online learning resources for young people as well. Minister, we are a wee bit pressed for time. I call question number four, Richard Leonard. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I remind members of my register of interests to ask the Scottish Government what its position is regarding the impact in Scotland of calls by rail workers for fair pay settlements? Minister Jenny Gilruth. I agree with those calls. It is unacceptable that network rail employees have not had a pay rise in the last two years. Quite unlike workers, of course, at ScotRail. I have written several times to UK ministers urging them to support negotiations to encourage a settlement. The Westminster Government's position contrasts, of course, with our own where we managed to secure a pay settlement with ASLE, the train drivers union, and where we continue to work with ScotRail to reach an agreement with the RMT. I would encourage the RMT's UK leadership to allow its ScotRail members the opportunity to vote on the newly enhanced offer. Richard Leonard. The Scottish Government resilience room was assembled. The Transport Minister wrote to the UK Government. The Deputy First Minister took to the media to denounce the UK Government. Let me quote him. He said there needs to be more urgency. Get this situation fixed and fast, he warned. The lack of action by the UK Government over rail strikes was, he thundered, a dereliction of duty. And he was right. But now four months later, and ScotRail workers have been forced to take industrial action for fair pay. They were on strike just last Saturday. So where now is the Scottish Government which owns ScotRail, which is the sole shareholder of ScotRail trains Ltd? You call for urgent Government action in the UK rail disputes. What about in this ScotRail dispute? Isn't it time that this Government got this situation fixed and fast, showed more urgency, recognised its own serious dereliction of duty and stepped up to settle this dispute? Mr Leonard, I need to move on to the minister. Please respond. I thank Mr Leonard for that question. Where the Scottish Government is assisting in trying to get to us to a resolution with the unions in ScotRail. That's really important. I spent some time meeting with the railway unions only three weeks ago. Last week I met with ScotRail as well to talk about their approach to engaging and working with our trade union partners. And I do want to again put on record the difference in approaches between this Government working with our trade union partners. That adopted by the UK Government who are bringing forward anti-trade union legislation. Only two weeks ago came forward with additional anti-trade union legislation in an attempt to ban legitimate trade union action, which is quite despicable. I hope that the member would agree with that. As union members have observed, I think that the RMT's Mick Hogg was quoted earlier back in June saying that he wanted to work with the Scottish Government and perhaps the UK Government should take a leaf out of the Scottish Government's approach to union engagement. I think that it is important to recount, though, that the pay offer that was put on the table to the RMT previously represents a 5% increase in basic pay plus an excess revenue share premium potentially worth up to £195 every four weeks if targets are exceeded. I accept that the RMT took a decision not to put that to their membership in Scotland. That is in their gift. I suppose that they are consolidating a technology payment into basic pay on top of the 5% that was already offered. That was worth up to £500 per member for all general grades of staff. That would have looked at, for example, 7.4%, or for a conductor, 6.5%. Minister, I need to ask you to bring your answer to a close by summarising some of the points. It is untrue and unfair for the member to characterise the Scottish Government's involvement in this process as lacking urgency. I am engaging with trade union partners. I myself have undertaken a lot of that work and Scotland will continue to make the trade unions on a regular basis. However, it is worth saying that the wider UK dispute is no doubt playing into what we are seeing in Scotland at this morning time. Very brief supplementary, Graham Simpson. ScotRail has made what I would describe as a fair and affordable offer to RMT staff. Isn't it time that the union barons of the RMT put that offer to their members and stopped holding the country to ransom? Minister. I won't associate myself with the language that Mr Simpson has used today, but I do think that it should be for the RMT's members in Scotland to have the democratic say on the offer that was put on the table. Thank you. Moving on to question number five, Fiona Hyslop. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the outcomes of its attendance at the European Hydrogen Week in Brussels. I visited Brussels last week at the start of European Hydrogen Week, engaged with a range of stakeholders including European Parliament and also with key hydrogen partners. This was an opportunity to showcase Scotland as a potential exporter of green hydrogen to the EU and highlight our extensive renewable capability, skills base and energy experience. I also hosted a high level round table at Scotland House in Brussels where we discussed the importance of the North Sea Collaboration. Outcomes from the visit will support delivery of our hydrogen ambitions. I set out a hydrogen action plan, particularly the realisation of Scotland's export potential. Fiona Hyslop. I refer members to my register of interests. I've heard and related to the Scottish Government over a number of years the interest from Germany in green hydrogen export from Scotland and this was again emphasised to me in meetings in Germany held as part of an MSP visit in the summer. How is the cabinet secretary ensuring that Scotland does not just act simply as a supplier for renewable energy for export by internationally based and owned companies and can the Scottish Government assure me it will be proactive in securing jobs, supply chains, value and benefit to the peoples and communities here in Scotland from renewable energy technologies in industry which could include equity steaks and ownership. There is huge potential for Scotland to maximise the hydrogen economy here, not just for our own domestic purposes but also for export purposes and that's why just back in September I published the hydrogen proposition which helps to set out the scope of investment opportunities here in Scotland and the process that companies who are considering investing in Scotland can choose to do. It was also a supply chain event which in September allowed us to bring together stakeholders and companies from right across the country and internationally to look at the opportunities here in Scotland. There are some 50 plus projects I believe in Scotland in the hydrogen field which collectively if they all realised their ambition would deliver an excess of 5 gigawatts of hydrogen by 2030 but key to this is to ensure that we are not simply a production base but also a manufacturing base for the capabilities that go alongside that which is why Scottish Enterprise and SDI have been undertaking a piece of work on electrolyzor manufacturing with indigenous Scottish-based businesses and also looking at the opportunities to attract inward investment into electrolyzor manufacturing here in Scotland and I hope that we will be able to capitalise on that in the months and years ahead to make sure that we not only produce hydrogen but manufacture the component parts that go into the process of producing hydrogen and in particular electrolyzors. Question number 6, Christine Grahame Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government what it can do to address any bus drivers shortages across Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale. Minister, Jenny Gilruth. I know that the shortage in bus drivers which is more prevalent in some areas than others is creating real challenges for local communities. Short notice cancellations on bus drivers are not people who have no other way to travel and I am acutely aware of how this disproportionately impacts lower-income workers who are proportionally more reliant on bus than others. Particularly people who work on sociable hours. I have convened the bus task force to address the issues affecting the industry. This includes establishing a subgroup that is focused on driver shortages. I also met on Tuesday with the unions representing the bus workforce to hear their concerns and ideas about the situation. Christine Grahame. I thank the minister for that answer. Minister, whether I am speaking to Laudian regional transport, the main servicing with Laudian in my constituency or bus is servicing the borders, the answer to the driver shortage remains the same. Brexit and Brexit. Apart from those meetings what else can be done under this devolved government to remedy the impact that this is having on my rural constituency and delivery of the bus services? I think that Christine Grahame is absolutely right. The evidence is becoming increasingly clear about just how harmful Brexit has been and will be for Scotland's economy and communities. The current bus driver shortage has been exacerbated by Brexit and that is preventing people from the EU coming here to work freely. I discussed this earlier in the week with Laudian buses when I visited their depot in Edinburgh. We have repeatedly sought though a formal role in determining what occupations are in shortage in the devolved nations but the UK Government has unfortunately denied that thus far. Bus drivers are not included, for example, in the shortage occupation list. I will be writing to the UK Government to raise this issue again shortly. We need the Conservatives at Westminster to act or to hand the powers over that aspect to the Scottish Parliament to allow us to find solutions here to that problem ourselves. Additionally, in the space of reserve competencies fuel prices are also becoming increasingly challenging for our operators. That is my UK Government counterpart to join the bus task force. She was unable to join the inaugural meeting but I very much hope that she will be able to join the next meeting in December. Thank you, Presiding Officer. The shortage of drivers is hitting services in the border such as the frequency of the X95 but so too is funding. The minister knows the 102 service between Dumfries and Edinburgh through middle of the border is under threat because the tender for that service came in 90 per cent higher than the previous services such as fuel that the minister has made. Does the minister think that more or less bus services will be under threat as a result of her decision to withdraw the network support grant plus from bus companies? Minister, I presume the member is referring to the network support plus grant. Is that accurate? The member will know that that funding came to an end this month. However, in an update to the chamber during the last portfolio questions I confirmed that I was urgently seeking from my officials on what more we might be able to do to help support the bus industry. I very much recognise the challenges they are facing at this moment in time, particularly in relation to fares and in relation to driver shortages that we have touched on. We are already investing in the bus network and with the resource spending review has provided over £2.1 billion for bus for the rest of this Parliament so there is significant funding there but I recognise the challenge here and that's why I say to the member as I said in Parliament only a matter of weeks ago that we have the options in this space. However, the member needs to recognise some of the financial challenge that has been put to this Government, not as a result of this Government's actions, of course. We will work within the competencies of this Parliament to see what more the Government might be able to deliver and I hope to be able to update Parliament further in the coming days to that end. Question 7, Martin Whitfield. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve air quality on Scotland's polluted streets. Compared to the rest of the UK and other parts of Europe, Scotland enjoys a high level of air quality. Air quality objectives are being met across the vast majority of Scotland and levels of the main air pollutants have declined significantly over the last three decades. The introduction of the low-emission zones in our four largest cities is a key initiative in further improving urban air quality. Modelling predicts that there will be a significant reduction in harmful vehicle emissions on some polluted streets within the low-emission zones when enforcement starts and I welcome this. Martin Whitfield. I thank the minister for that answer. With the landslides being dealt with by long-term but temporary traffic lights on the A77 that keeps vehicles stationary for very long periods of time every stationary car, stationary lorry, motorbike, camper van and vehicle is releasing high quantities of pollution into the atmosphere to help meet on net zero targets as well as road safety as the Scottish Government got to reduce the pollution occasioned by this stationary traffic. Minister. The transport minister has just informed me that she met with the action task force on this very issue yesterday and if the member is content, I'll confer with my colleague after this meeting and I'll update him in writing. And supplementary, Jackie Dunbar. Thank you, Presiding Officer. We know that air pollution in Scotland is often worse in inner city deprived areas. Worse in existing inequalities in local environmental quality and human health. Can I ask the minister what impact it has anticipated that the low emission zones will have on improving air quality in those highly affected areas? Minister, briefly please. It's no doubt that air pollution has a negative impact on health and the introduction of the LEZ in our four largest cities is, as I said, a key initiative by the local authorities in preparation for LEZ introduction. The assessments predict that the LEZ will deliver a significant reduction in emissions of harmful air pollution within the four cities. I can squeeze in at number eight if I get brief questions and minister brief and succinct answers. Question number eight, Jenny Minto. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I'll try or I'll speak quickly. To ask the Scottish Government how peatland restoration will be measured on proposed land management plans in the forthcoming land reform bill. Minister, Mary McCallan. The forthcoming land reform bill is in its early days. We've just closed the consultation. However, that consultation includes a range of proposals including land management plans which will help to ensure that large-scale land holdings contribute to Scotland's net zero and nature restoration goals. Existing schemes supporting peatland restoration have monitoring and reporting requirements and land owners seeking financial support can apply to NatureScot's peatland action fund, which sets out clearly how the project's outcomes are measured. Jenny Minto, I thank the minister for that answer. Peatland restoration is fundamentally about restoring the habitat to its best possible condition. This can be tied into land rights and responsibilities where the Scottish Government wants to restore communities' relationship with the land but also ensure that they have certainty about their social and economic future. Can I ask what plans the Scottish Government has to ensure that communities who get their land get full support and technical assistance to undertake peatland restoration? The connection between people and land is something that is very important to me. As I know it is to the member at the Scottish Government, we fund NatureScot to deliver the peatland action programme across Scotland. Peatland action welcomes approaches from all landowners and managers interested in undertaking peatland restoration on their land, whether that is private, public or community owned. Through its website and network of project officers, peatland action offers a range of both general and bespoke guidance and advice on the peatland restoration processes from design to delivery. That concludes portfolio questions on net zero energy and transport. Point of order, Brian Whittle. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. During that series of questions there was not a single conservative question officially down there. Apart from the last question there, I was the only one that was not allowed to do a supplementary to a question. I understand that some of the answers and the questions were long, but after I tried to do a supplementary other questions got a supplementary. I would like an explanation please, Deputy Presiding Officer. Mr Whittle, I think the member is aware that questions are randomly drawn, not by me, and not a matter for the chair, they are randomly drawn. Second, the management of a question time really is up to the Presiding Officer and the chair, and a number of factors are taken into account. I can assure the member that of the supplementaries taken three were taken from the Scottish National Party members and two from the Conservative Party, one from Labour and one from the Green Party. One can see that that is a fair allocation. As I say, it is a matter for the Presiding Officer in the chair and I hope that that would be accepted as the authority of the chair by the member. Before we move on to the next item of business, there will be a short pause to allow those members who wish to change position to please do so now.