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 .

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.

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.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the totality of the Health and Social Care system deal with emerging pressures including any rise in COVID-19. In partnership with COSLA, we are developing the Winter Plan for 2023/24, working collaboratively with local systems and partners to ensure that the necessary steps are being taken now to support system resilience including preparations for the impact of COVID-19. This plan will be published in October. We will continue to monitor the situation in relation to COVID-19 over the course of winter and stand ready to enact the National Response Framework if needed.

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.

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 .

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.

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 formal business impact assessment is not a requirement for measures introduced during the passage of a Bill through Parliament.

We invited the Rural and Environmental Land Management Group to submit a report on the use of snares by Scottish land management businesses. We considered this report alongside a report from the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission. We concluded that other, more humane, methods of predator control such as shooting and trapping are available to land managers in most circumstances and that a ban on the use of snares would have a significant benefit for wildlife welfare with only a minor impact on some rural businesses.