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The Scottish Government is taking action to prevent and support the removal of plastic pollution in seas and waterways through measures detailed in the Marine Litter Strategy.

The refreshed Marine Litter Strategy aims to address the amount of litter entering the marine environment, as well as to help tackle existing litter, in order to achieve ecological, economic and social benefits. The Strategy’s action plan focuses on the most problematic types of marine litter including fishing and aquaculture gear, sewage-related debris, and plastic pellets, and will drive forward our work up to 2027 co-ordinating the efforts of our stakeholders and partners, working at a national and international level to help tackle this global problem.

The Scottish Government supports the removal of existing litter through funding the work of organisations that support and co-ordinate beach cleans and local community engagement, such as Local Coastal Partnerships. We have also funded litter removal offshore through KIMO’s Fishing for Litter scheme, and at our rivers with Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Upstream Battle project, preventing litter entering waterways, travelling downstream, and ultimately reaching the sea.

The Scottish Government is taking action to prevent and support the removal of plastic pollution in seas and waterways through measures detailed in the Marine Litter Strategy and the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy.

The refreshed Marine Litter Strategy aims to address the amount of litter entering the marine environment, as well as to help tackle existing litter, in order to achieve ecological, economic and social benefits. The Strategy’s action plan focuses on the most problematic types of marine litter including fishing and aquaculture gear, sewage-related debris, and plastic pellets, and will drive forward our work up to 2027 co-ordinating the efforts of our stakeholders and partners, working at a national and international level to help tackle this global problem.

The Marine Litter Strategy covers a wide range of actions. We are working with the UK Government and Devolved Governments to put an end to pollution caused by wet wipes containing plastic, and we announced our intention to ban the sale and supply of these items on 22 April 2024, with legislation to be in force by mid-2026. We are also working to improve the management of end-of-life fishing and aquaculture gear to reduce litter and improve recycling rates, contributing to our circular economy. In addition, we are developing international solutions to prevent plastic pellet pollution, which can be found on our beaches and risk the health of our marine wildlife.

Litter has to be tackled from source, and in June 2023 we published a new National Litter and Flytipping Strategy for Scotland, which includes litter which may be washed from the land into waterways and the sea. This six-year Strategy aims to prevent litter and flytipping through influencing behaviour, improving the delivery of services, and strengthening enforcement. Published with an accompanying action plan, it sets out how we will achieve our vision of a Scotland not blighted by litter and flytipping.

The National Litter and Flytipping Strategy includes a variety of preventative measures. Fixed penalty notices for flytipping offences have been increased from £200 to £500 as of 1 January 2024. This is intended to act as a deterrent to flytipping and is one of the key actions for Scottish Government in the Strategy’s Year One Action Plan. In addition to fixed penalty notices, flytippers can also be issued a civil penalty by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). These include fixed monetary penalties of £600, and variable monetary penalties up to £40,000.

In January 2024, Scottish Government published our draft Circular Economy & Waste Route Map which sets out a range of priority actions to deliver sustainable use of our resources and progress a circular economy in Scotland by 2030, including measures to drive responsible consumption, production and re-use.

As part of this wider work, the Scottish Government is committed to matching or exceeding the standards set out by the EU Directive on single-use plastics where we are able to do so and in a manner that contributes towards maintaining and advancing standards.

From 1 June 2022 Scotland became the first part of the UK to implement a ban on some of the most problematic single-use plastic products through the Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Scotland) Regulations 2021. In addition, the Scottish Government has committed to introduce a minimum charge on single-use disposable beverage cups, ban the sale and supply of single-use vapes by 1 April 2025 and ban wet wipes containing plastic.

Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) has confirmed that there are no cells within the SPS estate that exceed their maximum capacity.

The management of the police custody estate is a matter for Police Scotland. Cell availability across Scotland varies on a daily basis.

It is Scottish Government policy to place children in secure accommodation where detention is required by the court.

Subject to Royal Assent, once the relevant provisions in the Children (Care and Justice) Scotland Bill are commenced, this will ensure that the use of Young Offenders Institutions (YOI) will be prohibited for under 18s.

The Bill passed on 25 April - discussions have already begun with secure accommodation providers, the Scottish Prison Service, The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and local authority representatives. The aim is to arrange the transition of young people from YOI to secure care or community alternatives as soon as is safely possible. We will update Parliament once firm arrangements are in place.

Under the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, VisitScotland is required to consider island communities when carrying out its functions.

VisitScotland published an Islands Impact Screening Assessment in March 2024 which is available at .

Sustainable and thriving island communities are vital to Scotland. The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 emphasises the importance of ‘island-proofing’ policies to consider and address specific island characteristics when policy is being developed and delivered.

Island Communities Impact Assessments (ICIAs) help to ensure equitable and fair outcomes by finding the best ways to deliver policies for islanders. The duty to carry out ICIAs has been a legal requirement since December 2020. This means that Relevant Authorities must consider any impact on islands when developing or reviewing policies, strategies or services which are likely to have an effect on an island community which is significantly different from its impact on other communities (including other island communities).

ICIA guidance is available at the following link:

Additional support tools have also been created to guide policymakers through the process. These are available here:

On the morning of Monday 6th May 2024 there were 192 people under the age of 21 held in the prison estate. This population is broken down by index offence group in the following table.

Where individuals in custody are accused or convicted of multiple offences, these are summarised by index offence. This is the offence for which they have received the longest sentence or, where they are on remand, which would on average receive the longest sentence. Some offences cannot be classified in this way because the charges originate in other jurisdictions or because the data required was not available at the time the snapshot was taken.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

A Cell Sharing Risk Assessment is conducted on every occasion where two (or more) individuals are required to share one cell.

The process is an individualised approach where the following overarching areas are considered based on the information held on each individual;

• If they are likely to cause injury or harm to each other
• If they are likely to cause damage to property
• If they are likely to otherwise prejudice the good order and running of the prison

SPS do not determine individuals as ‘high’ or ‘standard’ risk through this process as it is a dynamic process used to assess each individual’s suitability to share with another or others.