EIR/202600516590 · FOI/EIR · unclear
Information on water policy, rural investment and urban/rural equity in water services: EIR release
Information requested
1. All current and recent (last 10 years) policies, strategies, ministerial directions, funding programmes, and impact assessments concerning drinking water, wastewater, private supplies, and the water environment, with breakdowns or references to rural vs. Central Belt priorities.
2. Information on how rural economic and social needs are factored into water infrastructure funding and regulation.
3. Any internal reviews, equality impact assessments, or reports on disparities in water services between rural/remote Scotland and the Central Belt.
4. Details of grants, support schemes, or reforms aimed at addressing private water/wastewater systems in rural areas.
Response
1. All current and recent (last 10 years) policies, strategies, ministerial directions, funding programmes, and impact assessments concerning drinking water, wastewater, private supplies, and the water environment, with breakdowns or references to rural vs. Central Belt priorities.
There are no current and recent (last 10 years) policies, strategies, ministerial directions, funding programmes, and impact assessments concerning drinking water, wastewater, private supplies, and the water environment that are broken down between rural versus Central Belt priorities.
The Scottish Government has published policies, statements and Ministerial objectives in relation to Scottish Water’s functions in accordance with the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002, as amended. The Ministerial objectives that Scottish Water must deliver in each six-year regulatory period relate to public water and wastewater services provided across the whole of Scotland. The regulatory requirements are set out in relevant Regulations relating to public drinking water supplies and wastewater treatment. For drinking water, Scottish Water is required to deliver to the same standard across all of Scotland to protect public health. For wastewater, treatment requirements are tiered in relation to population sizes in line with the relevant Regulations reflecting that treatment requirements are dependent on the size of the agglomeration being drained and the nature of the receiving water. Therefore, publications and analysis in relation to Scottish Water’s functions are not split between rural and Central Belt priorities. However, I have included links that may be of interest for the current regulatory period (2021-2027) below:
Water industry: governance note 2021 to 2027 - gov.scot Investing in and paying for your water services from 2021: consultation - gov.scot Investing In And Paying For Your Water Services From 2021 : Summary Of Responses - Investing in and paying for your water services from 2021: consultation summary - gov.scot Investing in and paying for water services: consultation - gov.scot Scottish Water: directions 2020 - gov.scot
Looking to the next regulatory period, the Scottish Government has recently consulted on its statutory inputs into the Strategic Review of Charges for the next regulatory period (2027 to 2033): the Ministerial objectives and the Principles of Charging Statement:
Water services - investing in and paying from 2027: consultation - gov.scot Water industry - ministerial objectives and principles of charging statement: partial BRIA - gov.scot
Consultation analysis and the final principles of charging and ministerial objectives will be published ahead of the new regulatory period and will be accompanied by relevant impact assessments.
Information on Private Water Supplies, including grant funding that is available can be found here Private water supplies - Water - gov.scot
The Drinking Water Quality Regulator for Scotland publishes annual reports on Public and Private Water Supplies that may be of interest. These can be found here.
2. Information on how rural economic and social needs are factored into water infrastructure funding and regulation.
I can confirm that this is not how water investment decisions are prioritised or made. Water infrastructure funding is driven by the need to comply with regulatory requirements, which are assessed and enforced by the regulators.
The mandatory standards apply irrespective of location, meaning that drinking water needs to be the same quality whether or not the user is rurally located.
Wastewater treatment regulations are determined by the need to protect the water environment across Scotland. One factor in regulations is population, due to the effect of higher concentration of people on receiving waters. There are other factors, such as whether the receiving waters are protected.
3. Any internal reviews, equality impact assessments, or reports on disparities in water services between rural/remote Scotland and the Central Belt.
I can confirm that the Scottish Government has not undertaken any internal reviews, equality impact assessments or reports that specifically assess disparities in water service provision between rural or remote Scotland and the Central Belt.
4. Details of grants, support schemes, or reforms aimed at addressing private water/wastewater systems in rural areas.
The answer to your question is that we have had a number of initiatives aimed at assisting the owners of private water supplies (PWS). These have not been restricted to rural areas.
PWS Grant Scheme
We provide funding to local councils to deliver the private water supply grant scheme, offering up to £800 to eligible households and businesses to improve their existing private water supply. Further information is available at:
https://www.mygov.scot/private-water-supplies/apply-for-grant https://www.pkc.gov.uk/article/17905/Private-water-supply https://www.gov.scot/policies/water/private-water-supplies/
Emergency Bottled Water Scheme
The scheme involves Scottish Water delivering pallets of bottled water to Local Authority depots for onward distribution to affected users of PWS. The scheme reimburses Scottish Water and Local Authorities for costs incurred in providing the bottled water.
Further information is available at https://www.pkc.gov.uk/media/42432/Advice-for-Private-Water-Supply-Owners-Users-Prolonged-dry-weather-etc-/pdf/Advice_For_Private_Water_Supply_Owners_-_Users
PWS Connections Programme
The Connections programme provides grant funding to extensions of public water mains and to a pilot programme to identify potential extensions of the public water mains. Grant funding does not cover costs for residents’ private pipework that is required to meet the water main or the Scottish Water connection fees.
Further information is available at:
https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fdwqr.scot%2Fmedia%2Fsmtokm5q%2F6-pws-trainingday-scottish-goverment-water-policy-pws-connections-project-4th-september-2024-accessibleformat.pptx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202200322403/
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Contact Please quote the FOI reference Central Correspondence Unit Email: contactus@gov.scot Phone: 0300 244 4000 The Scottish Government St Andrew's House Regent Road Edinburgh EH1 3DG
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