The
Deputy Presiding Officer (Murray Tosh):
The next item of business is a debate on motion S2M-1266, in the name of
Allan Wilson, on Scotland's beaches, a national resource, and on three
amendments to that motion.
The Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development (Allan Wilson):
Having opened the debate on bathing water quality last December, I am
particularly pleased to move a related motion today on the importance of
Scotland's beaches.
I am sure that everybody would agree that the debate should celebrate the
success of the 40 Scottish beaches, including 14 first-time winners, that
have recently secured Keep Scotland Beautiful seaside awards for quality and
cleanliness. I am sure that all members will want to join me in
congratulating all those involved who have worked in concert to win those
awards. It would be remiss of me not to single out Montrose for a special
mention as the most improved beach in Britain, not just in Scotland.
Although none of us would want to diminish that achievement, it would be
wrong to say that all is right with the seaside world. It is clear that that
is not the case; there is always room for improvement. We have been reminded
of that recently with the publication of the Marine Conservation Society's
"Beachwatch 2003" report last week. The report showed that litter on
Scotland's beaches continues to be a problem. I would argue that we have a
collective social responsibility to address in that respect. I want to say
more about that a little later.
The debate should also send a clear signal about the national importance of
Scotland's beaches as a natural attraction for visitors to our shores. Given
that tourism accounts for around 9 per cent of Scottish employment, it plays
a crucial role in the Scottish economy. In the latest Visit Scotland tourism
attitudes survey, three of the top five attributes that were attached to
Scotland as a tourism destination were linked to our environment. The key
factors were peace and quiet, fresh air and scenery. As all members know,
Scottish beaches can provide all those attributes, so I make no apology for
talking them up.
Although I will not go over the ground that we covered when we debated
bathing water quality in December, it is difficult to draw a distinction
between beaches and bathing water, so I will refer briefly to bathing water
quality before I move on to address other matters. The debate last year drew
attention to the best ever Scottish bathing season in terms of water
quality. It acknowledged that there is no room for complacency, however, and
trailed a public consultation on our bathing waters designation policy. The
consultation is now well under way and it will help to shape the way in
which we review the designations, based on new data on bathing water usage.
Some members might be tempted to use today's debate to press for the bathing
waters in their area to be designated. I hope that they will be patient and
allow us to go through due process before we come to a view.
Important though it is, the quality of bathing water is not the only
determinant of the quality and standard of a beach. The majority of people
who visit a beach are more likely to walk or sit on the sand than they are
to enter the water. I will let members guess why that is the case. High
standards of cleanliness on the beach must be provided and must continue to
be a priority.
It is natural for central and local government to bear the brunt of regular
criticism about unclean beaches. That is fair enough and I have no general
problem with that, as it goes with the job. However, it overlooks a
fundamental point, which is one that I hope we can collectively drive home
in the debate. The point is a fairly obvious one, which is that it is not
central and local government that is dropping the litter; it is the person
in the street or on the beach who is doing so.
Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): Does the minister agree that to a large
extent the serious problem on our beaches is plastic waste, which is
becoming a hazard to many marine life species both on the beaches and in our
seas. I refer the minister to the recent death of a rare Cuvier's beaked
whale in Loch Tuath on Mull. Its stomach was found to be full of black
plastic. Does the minister agree that any measures that the Executive might
take to address the problem with regard to plastic would be welcomed?
Allan Wilson: I agree entirely, which is one of the reasons why I will move
on to address plastic waste. The new recycling targets that we are setting
for plastic will mean that we will recover more plastic packaging than has
been the case in the past.
Local authorities spend millions of pounds each year clearing rubbish and
that is money that could be better spent elsewhere. It is a sad fact that
many people in this country discard their plastic refuse or other litter
carelessly. They have no pride in their surroundings, no respect for their
environment and no consideration for the image of their country. That
attitude has to change and that can happen only through education, raising
awareness and effective deterrents. No one body or person can do all of that
on its or their own. The only way to achieve those goals is by working
together.
A review of litter and fly-tipping legislation that was carried out for the
Executive in 2002 highlighted a lack of a strategy in many areas of
Scotland. With support from us, Keep Scotland Beautiful has established the
Scottish fly-tipping forum, which includes representatives from major
stakeholders such as the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the local
authorities, the police, Network Rail, NFU Scotland and landowners.
Significant progress is being made by the forum to create local working
partnerships that can tackle fly-tipping incidents in their areas. Members
will no doubt have seen or heard the adverts highlighting the creation of
the fly-tipping stop line as part of the forum's dumb dumpers campaign. The
stop line has received 400 calls since its launch in March, which is a
significant number. Co-operative action is also in hand to update the code
of practice on litter and refuse, which includes beaches and sets minimum
standards of cleanliness.
All of that helps to address the range of issues in the "Beachwatch 2003"
report, but I would like to say something specifically about plastic waste,
as it features so prominently in the report and is the subject of
recommendations about packaging use and recycling. As I hinted, in 2004, for
the first time, we are setting a specific target for the amount of plastic
packaging that must be recycled; the target is 21.5 per cent and will
increase to 23.5 per cent in 2008. As members know, we are already
disbursing hundreds of millions of pounds through our strategic waste fund
to meet our landfill reduction targets and our own target of recycling 25
per cent of waste by 2006.
There is much more that I could say, but I want to listen to what others
have to say. We are doing and planning to do a lot. Those efforts should
help to ensure that we have even more to celebrate at the seaside awards and
that we have better results in the next Beachwatch report. Our beaches are a
national resource that attract economic benefits to the country, and we
should treat them with the respect that they deserve.
I move,
That the Parliament recognises the importance of Scottish beaches in
attracting visitors to Scotland; welcomes the results of the recent Keep
Scotland Beautiful survey of resort beaches with the granting of Seaside
Awards to 40 Scottish beaches including 14 new recipients; acknowledges the
impact of beach litter as highlighted in the recent Marine Conservation
Society's Beachwatch 2003 Report; commends the partnership approach taken
between the Scottish Executive and other bodies to help address the issues
raised in Beachwatch 2003; endorses the continuation of that approach, and
encourages the public to take more responsibility for its own litter to
ensure that Scotland's beaches continue to be a valued and productive
national resource.
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