§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the current cleanliness, safety and freedom from pollution of beaches and coastal waters.
§ Sir Hector Monro[holding answer 5 July 1993]: The water quality survey of Scotland 1990 which my Department published in March 1992 assesses the cleanliness and freedom from pollution of Scottish coastal waters. The survey demonstrates that a high proportion of Scottish waters are of satisfactory quality. River purification boards monitor water quality at many beaches and I produce annually a report on monitoring of 23 bathing waters identified for the purposes of EC directive 76/160/EEC. That report is in the House of Commons Library and for 1992 showed that 15 beaches achieved the directive's water quality standards.
Individual local authorities take responsibility for the cleanliness and safety of beaches in their area. However, Keep Scotland Beautiful has assessed the standards achieved at some of the most popular beaches including the nine beaches in Scotland that successfully obtained a seaside award this year.