Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has provided a total of £36,504,332.56 in 2023-24 to the Corra Foundation across a range of funds. This includes administrative costs to support the management of the funds identified.

The Scottish Government continues to keep the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, Fire Safety (Scotland) regulations 2006 and all relevant fire safety guidance under continuous review.

The legislative regime relative to fire safety in Scotland is different to that in England and Wales and Scottish Government officials have regular discussions with colleagues across the UK to understand any regulatory or guidance changes made.

We are not, at present, exploring the possibility of providing compensation to land managers in connection with the proposed ban on snares. We are still consulting on our proposals, but at this stage we are of the view that there are strong wildlife welfare reasons for bringing forward a ban. We also have not yet seen evidence of situations where no other form of essential predator or pest control is available.

We understand that in some cases the use of snares may be considered by land managers to be the most cost-effective method of controlling foxes. However we take the view that that animal welfare considerations should take precedence over cost considerations in this instance. We have not seen any evidence so far of any situations where no other form of predator control other than snaring is available to land managers.

Workforce numbers are reviewed regularly to make sure the Scottish Government is delivering its policy priorities efficiently and effectively. Enhanced recruitment controls are in place to ensure best value for taxpayers’ money, however these operate at the level of the Scottish Government, and there is no specific recruitment cap set centrally with workforce decisions managed across directorates and their divisions.

The Scottish Government revised the Code of Conduct for Property Factors in August 2021 to make it clearer, to drive up standards and to improve transparency and consistency. The changes ensured that the Code remains up to date and responds to concerns raised by homeowners.

There is evidence that the Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011 is working as intended. However, officials will be taking a wider look at the operation of the property factor sector to see what more can be done to promote an ongoing improvement in standards in line with the requirements currently set out in legislation.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-21034 on 15 September 2023. 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 .

A consultation on the Bill’s proposals ran from 29 August 2022 to 5 December 2022, where a wide range of views were received. On 22 June 2023, the Scottish Government published the Agriculture Bill - Analysis of Consultation Responses which details the findings of this extended engagement.

As is convention, following consultation on proposed legislation, Ministers are considering the views received to inform a new Agriculture Bill which will be introduced in 2023. In turn, Parliament will consider the proposals and provide further comment on draft proposals, accordingly.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-21034 on 15 September 2023. 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 .

On 22 June 2023, the Scottish Government published the Agriculture Bill - Analysis of Consultation Responses which details the findings of this extended engagement.