Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government has no jurisdiction over the flying of flags in Scotland. It is for Local Authorities to ensure that schools meet the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 in relation to these matters.

The Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011 provides the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland to issue property factor enforcement orders and to determine whether or not that Enforcement Order has been met.

A person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with a property factor enforcement order commits an offence. Any further action in relation to non-compliance with a property factor enforcement order (PFEO) is an operational matter that fall within the responsibilities of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS). These matters have been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who will reply in writing within 20 days.

The Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011 also provides that the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland serves Notices to Scottish Ministers of a failure to comply with a PFEO. To date 79 Notice to Ministers have been received. This figure may not be fully comprehensive as information may not be available due to the Scottish Government’s data retention policy.

On receipt of a Notice, the first aim is to encourage compliance and address the issue. If this cannot be achieved, Scottish Ministers will remove registration as this will prevent the entity from legally operating as a property factor in Scotland. To date, the Scottish Ministers have removed registration from 3 property factors for failing to meet the requirements of the fit and proper person test, part of which included failing to comply with a PFEO. These property factors were removed in January 2015, January 2016, and April 2019 respectively.

Scottish Ministers have sought additional powers in the Housing (Scotland) Bill to obtain further information and to carry out inspections with a view to supporting compliance and providing information to fully re-assess the fit and proper person test, if required.

No powers are available to the Tribunal or any relevant body to secure compliance with a property factor enforcement order that a property factor has already failed to comply with.

However, Section 23 of the Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011 (“the 2011 Act”) requires the First-tier Tribunal to serve notice on the Scottish Ministers where they have determined that a property factor has failed to comply with a property factor enforcement order.

Failure to comply with a property factor enforcement order, without a reasonable excuse, is a criminal offence under section 24 of the 2011 Act which can be reported to Police Scotland. A person found guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

In respect of the actions that the Scottish Ministers will take when receiving a notice from the First-tier Tribunal, I would refer to the answer to question S6W-39119 on 29 July 2025.

The other matters of this question relate to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. These matters have been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who will reply in writing within 20 days.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Public Health Scotland collects data provided by NHS Health Boards on child health reviews as part of the Universal Health Visiting Pathway. These reviews, which take place at 13-15 months, 27-30 months and 4-5 years, cover the following domains:

1.Speech, language and communication development

2.Emotional/behavioural development

3.Personal/social development

4.Fine motor development

5.Gross motor development

6.Vision

7.Hearing

8.Problem solving development

The 4-5 year review was first introduced in April 2017 and implemented by Health Boards between April 2017 and 2020. Therefore, data is only available for all Health Boards for the past 5 years. The latest available data is published by Public Health Scotland here: https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/early-child-development/

Coverage for the 4-5 year review has increased substantially, from 23% in 2017-18 to 76% in 2023-24. Therefore, comparisons between these time periods need to be made with caution.

Further detail on the Universal Health Visiting Pathway is available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/universal-health-visiting-pathway-scotland-pre-birth-pre-school.

The EU published a recast Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive which came into effect on January 2025. Article 4, in particular places requirements in relation to Individual Systems – more commonly known as Private Wastewater Treatment Systems. The Scottish Government is reviewing its policies to establish how it should align with this Directive.

I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-36642 on 2 May 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39113 on 29 July 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39113 on 29 July 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

There is no need to calculate additional costs as Serco Northlink Ferries will transport passengers’ cars on a corresponding freight sailing at no extra cost.

Serco NorthLink Ferries (SNF) carry out ongoing assessments to monitor capacity across the Northern Isles routes.