We move to PE1988, which was lodged by Sue Wallis. The petition calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to review the process for allowing raw sewage discharge from homes into Scottish coastal waters, to provide additional funding to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency for enforcement, and to introduce legislation to ban households from discharging raw sewage.
We last considered the petition in December 2023, when we agreed to write to the Scottish Government. Its response to the committee reiterates SEPA’s approach to regulation. The submission highlights two consultations, the first of which relates to proposals for an integrated environmental authorisation framework. The second consultation sought views on the regulation of private wastewater treatment systems to protect the environment.
The petitioner’s written submission states that the response from the Scottish Government provides a circular argument and does not provide more insight on regulation, as requested by the committee. She notes SEPA’s requirement to contribute to improving the health and wellbeing of people in Scotland and argues that the responses to the petition from both SEPA and the Scottish Government have not addressed that point. The petitioner states that all responses and strategies have focused entirely on environmental issues, to the exclusion of other linked duties.
Do members have any comments or suggestions for action?
