Water, wastewater and drainage: consultation analysis

Methodology

For closed questions, we calculated the total counts for each available option, as well as the respective percentages in relation to the total number of responses received for each corresponding closed question. Charts were produced to better present the distribution of responses to each closed question. A full breakdown of the numbers and percentage responses to each closed question is included in Annex A. The majority of the analysis focusses on the qualitative responses to the consultation and responses received during engagement sessions.

Open-text questions were categorised using a thematic analysis whereby responses were assigned key themes and coded accordingly. This involved manually reviewing responses to each question to identify common themes. It is not possible to detail every response in this report; some organisations and individuals provided lengthy submissions which reflect their specific subject matter expertise or views. Full responses to the consultation, where permission for publication was granted, can be found on the Scottish Government’s website.

The main body of this report follows the consultation’s question order, and themes for each open-text question are presented in order of frequency (descending by the number of respondents mentioning the respective theme). The three most frequently mentioned themes are presented in full, followed by a summary of some other emerging themes.

Respondents were self-selecting and may not represent wider public opinion across Scotland. Where appropriate, individual quotes have been used to illustrate the narrative around specific themes, with quotes selected only from respondents who provided permission for their views to be published. Any typos in selected quotes have been corrected to ensure uninterrupted readability of shared views.