Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-28955 on 28 August 2024.

Building regulations set out technical requirements applicable to building work to protect the public interest. The Scottish Government publish technical handbooks which explain how to achieve the requirements set out in the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004. Work to improve compliance with building regulations is at the core of the current work of the Building Standards Futures Board. Information on this work can be found at: https://www.gov.scot/groups/building-standards-futures-board/.

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 aware of the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023, enforceable in England and Wales but, as yet, have no intelligence on how effective it has been in preventing this sort of crime.

The theft of agricultural plant and machinery is a significant concern to our rural communities and can have serious consequences for the agricultural sector in terms of cost and confidence. The Scottish Government continues to work with partners across the Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime (SPARC) and through the continued expansion of the local partnerships against Crime (LPARCS) across Scotland with this sort of theft a priority for the group.

SPARC and the local partnerships share intelligence on organised crime groups operating across borders, providing specific information to the rural and farming community on how to best secure and prevent theft of equipment, as well as other crimes. They also demonstrate crime prevention measures in relation to the marking, tracking and securing of farm machinery and tools, including in the highest impacted areas.

The Scottish Government has not conducted research to discover the rate of ‘false negatives’ after the application of the FAST (Face, Arm, Speech, Time) test.

Public Health Scotland are best placed to advise on research they have undertaken. Public Health Scotland can be contacted at: General enquiries - Contact us - Public Health Scotland

Despite deeply challenging financial circumstances, we are investing record funding of £1.55 billion in policing in the current financial year, which is an increase of £92.7 million. It is for the Scottish Police Authority, working with the Chief Constable, to determine how to allocate its budget to meet policing priorities.

Enforcement of all traffic offences is a matter for Police Scotland, which operates independently of Scottish Ministers. However, the Scottish Government fully supports Police Scotland and its partners in dealing with the misuse of such vehicles. Local policing teams are ideally placed to identify where the misuse of such vehicles is causing distress to the public and ensure that those areas can be prioritised to prevent future incidents.

The Scottish Government was previously in contact with Police Scotland in June 2022 about the issue of quad bikes and other off-road vehicles. Police Scotland then outlined work ongoing within local policing divisions in raising awareness of the dangers of misusing such vehicles. The Scottish Government has encouraged local authority partners to continue to work closely with Police Scotland on these issues.

The Scottish Government is committed to reforming crofting law, subject to agreement by parliament, to support the future of crofting. The Scottish Government sets out its legislative agendas for each year in the respective Programme for Government.

A consultation on proposals for crofting law reform was launched on 6 June 2024, and will close on 2 September 2024. Throughout July and August, officials have held public events throughout the crofting counties, which have been well attended with positive discussion.

The Scottish Government has not formally assessed how effective current legislation is regarding the management of gulls in relation to any public health and safety concerns.

In previous years, NatureScot have seen a large number of applications submitted for gull management for public nuisance issues which is not a licensable purpose under Section 16(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. In response, NatureScot provided guidance this year on the differences between gull behaviours which result in impacts on public health and safety and that which is considered to be nuisance behaviour. They also provided further advice in relation to alternatives to licenced control. A copy of the guidance is available on NatureScot’s website: Species Licensing Review - Terms of Reference | NatureScot

The topic of Scottish independence was not discussed.

As noted in the answer to parliamentary question S6W-27596 on 30 May 2024, the Scottish Ministerial Code only applies to Scottish Ministers and does not apply to special advisers, who are bound by the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers. The Scottish Government has no plans to extend the application of the Ministerial Code to special advisers.

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 is investing £60 million to renew play parks in Scotland, so children have access to free, high-quality outdoor play in their own communities. Since funding began in 2021, a total of 887 play parks have been renewed or are in the process of being renewed by local authority partners. To support the delivery of the programme we agreed with CoSLA and our local authority partners a suite of national principles to guide and inform the renewal programme. The national principles set out how local authorities should review their existing estate, prioritise renewal work and design play parks that offer improved play opportunities for children and families. At the heart of the national principles is the recommendation for local authorities to engage with children and families within the local communities to inform delivery of a renewal that meets the needs of local people.

Funding to support the Play Parks renewal programme has been allocated as follows:

2021-22 - £5 million

2022-23 - £5 million

2023-24 - £10 million

2024-25 - £15 million

The Scottish Government has no plans to review the law in relation to the protection and management of gulls.

NatureScot has responsibility for the issuing of licences under Section 16(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which permits the killing and taking of wild birds, including gulls, for specified reasons. These reasons include the preservation public health and safety, the prevention of bird strikes on aircraft at airports, and the prevention of serious damage to farmer's crops and livestock.

The Scottish Government has asked NatureScot to undertake a review of its species licensing functions. Further details about this review can be found on NatureScot’s website: Species Licensing Review - Terms of Reference | NatureScot