SCOTLAND'S Climate Secretary has called on a UK minister to retract his “inaccurate and misleading” comments regarding the quality of water in Scotland.
Labour’s Environment Secretary Steve Reed said in a Channel 4 interview last night that pollution levels in Scotland are “worse than they are in England”.
It comes as the UK Government has faced huge pressure and widespread public anger over record sewage spills and rising bills, against a backdrop of poor governance at debt-ridden water firms in England.
When asked about public ownership, he said: "In any case, it is not guaranteed to work. And we know that from looking north of the border where, in Scotland, they have a nationalised water company but pollution levels in Scotland are worse than they are in England.”
Now, Gillian Martin has written a letter hitting out at the comments and claiming that it is "clear that Scotland has a higher performance".
It comes after the final report from the Independent Water Commission led by Sir Jon Cunliffe was published this week.
It found that 66% of Scotland’s water bodies are of good ecological status compared with 16.1% in England and 29.9% in Wales.
Although, the report does note that this is, in part, due to Scotland having a much lower population density.
Martin’s letter added: “It is also worth reflecting that much of the improvement is due to significant investment in the water industry to reduce pollution driven by Scottish Water and SEPA and efforts made by SEPA to address pollution from other sources such as agriculture.
“I was therefore extremely disappointed to hear you make inaccurate and misleading comments regarding performance in Scotland and to dismiss out of hand the value of public ownership of a key asset like water.”
Noting that the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) had found 87% of the Scottish water environment to be of “high” ot “good” quality – up from 82% in 2014 – Martin also insisted this was “in part, due to water being a publicly-owned asset, allowing for investment without shareholder returns or the pressure to make profits”.
The Scottish Government minister went on to tell Reed: “I am therefore asking that you acknowledge that your comments were inaccurate, that you apologise publicly for making them, and seek to correct them.”
Data on sewage spills is recorded differently in Scotland, with only 8% of outflows monitored compared to nearly all in England.
This can leave an overview of the most obvious data on bathing water quality superficially appearing to show Scotland actually has poorer-quality bathing spots than England.
For example, compared with England, Scotland’s monitored swimming spots are poorer quality: just 38% of the 85 identified locations were recognised as “excellent” according to EU standards, compared with 71% of those in England.
But this is because the Sepa has more coast to cover and less money than its English equivalent, meaning monitoring was more “selective”, Dr Simon Boxall, one of the UK's leading water quality experts previously told The National.
Overall, Boxall said, Scottish swimmers paddling in and around Scotland’s 18,743km coastline do enjoy cleaner water than those down south.
This hasn't stopped the Scottish Government, however, from receiving criticism over the number of sewage spills in Scotland.
Last September, Environmental Standards Scotland (ESS) said there were thousands of sewage overflow incidents in 2023 and noted that few of these incidents were publicly disclosed.
A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “This is absolute rubbish.
“Scotland has more pollution incidents than England for every mile of sewer – and Scotland’s monitoring of its water network is significantly worse.
“Rather than sending incorrect letters, this Government is fixing our broken water sector to clean up England’s waterways for good."
