Chamber and committees

The Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Economy (LCREE) Survey, published by the Office of National Statistics, estimates that in 2023 there were 2100 direct Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) roles in the nuclear industry in Scotland.

All children and young people in Scotland are entitled to receive the same level of access to NHS-delivered services, regardless of which school they attend.

Decisions around fees for hospital education services are a matter for local authorities and NHS Boards to consider in conjunction with independent schools. Where fees are applied, we would expect the independent schools to offer families the financial support needed in instances where there is a charge for the education services on offer.

Protecting our marine environment is a shared responsibility and the Scottish Government welcomes community-led initiatives. The Kyles Coastal Community Group is a member of the Coastal Communities Network that engages directly with the Scottish Government on many marine issues. The Kyles Coastal Community Group can contact Scottish Water or the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to raise any local wastewater concerns.

Schedule 3 (Transfer of staff, property etc to Qualifications Scotland) Section 2 (Transfer of staff) of the Education (Scotland) Bill as passed sets out that all employees assigned to the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) at the point of Qualifications Scotland being established, will transfer to Qualifications Scotland in line with the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE).

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39128 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.

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.