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The Scottish Government is demanding an apology from UK Environment Secretary Steve Reed for making "inaccurate and misleading" comments about water quality north of the border. Reed came under fire after claiming that under publicly-owned Scottish Water "pollution levels in Scotland are worse than they are in England".
The UK Government minister made the remarks to Channel 4 News as he dismissed calls for water services south of the border to be nationalised. Gillian Martin, the Scottish Government Secretary for Climate Action and Energy, said she was "extremely disappointed" that Reed had made the comments as he sought to "dismiss out of hand the value of public ownership of a key asset like water".
Scottish water quality figures disputed
Martin wrote to Reed noting that Monday's report from the Independent Water Commission, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, had found 66% of Scotland's water bodies to be of good ecological status. This compared with just 16.1% in England and 29.9% in Wales.
While she accepted the figures for the different countries were "not calculated on the same basis", Martin stated: "It is clear that Scotland has a higher performance." She insisted that "much of the improvement" seen in water in Scotland was "due to significant investment in the water industry to reduce pollution", driven by both Scottish Water and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa).
Public ownership benefits highlighted
Martin told the UK Environment Secretary: "Your comments sought also to undermine the idea of public ownership in the minds of voters, yet this is clearly what the people of Scotland continue to want." She argued that public ownership and control had allowed Scotland to keep water bills lower for people, compared to what those with privatised water supplies in England have to pay.
Noting that Sepa had found 87% of the Scottish water environment to be of "high" or "good" quality - up from 82% in 2014 - she 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."
Nationalisation debate continues
Sir Jon's review of water services south of the border did not explore renationalising water companies - with the Government at Westminster opposed to this despite demands from campaigners for a return to public ownership in England. Reed however warned that nationalisation would cost £100 billion and would slow down efforts to cut pollution.
The UK Government has been contacted for comment.
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
