Seòmar agus comataidhean

Disputes about party walls are private legal matters to be resolved by agreement between those involved in the dispute or, if they cannot reach agreement, by going to court or by using Alternative Dispute Resolution, such as mediation. The Scottish Mediation Network can provide information on how to find to a mediator: https://www.scottishmediation.org.uk/

Under the common law doctrine of common interest which can apply to a shared wall, work on the wall can be legally challenged (i.e. an action can be raised in court) if it endangers the stability of the wall.

In England and Wales, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 makes detailed provision on disputes in relation to party walls. The Scottish Government has no current plans to introduce legislation along the lines of the 1996 Act.

The Scottish Law Commission reviewed the law on boundary walls in 1998. The Commission took the view at the time that was not necessary to introduce legislation either to reform or restate the existing law on boundary walls. The Commission’s Report is available at  http://www.scotlawcom.gov.uk/files/3012/7989/6663/rep163.pdf

I assume the member’s concern relates to common repairs.

Procedures for agreeing how common repairs can be carried out may be set out in title deeds for the properties.

If the title deeds do not lay down procedures for agreeing how common repairs can be carried out, decisions in relation to common areas of tenements may be taken under the Tenement Management Scheme contained in the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004. Owners who do not agree with decisions made under the Tenement Management Scheme can make an application to the sheriff for those decisions to be annulled.

If a decision has been taken to appoint contractors to carry out repairs under the title deeds or the Tenement Management Scheme, provision s for redress if building work on common areas does not meet required standards may depend on contractual and other arrangements in place when the contractors were engaged to carry out the work. Defective works may also, depending on the circumstances, result in other legal remedies being available to owners under the law of delict or otherwise.

If the member wishes to write to me to outline in more detail his specific concerns, I would be happy to consider further. However, the Scottish Government cannot intervene, or comment on, any private legal dispute.

Under current fish health legislation, it is a requirement to report increased mortality in aquaculture animals to either a veterinarian or Scottish Government's fish health inspectorate. As a consequence, the total number of salmon mortalities specifically attributable with mechanical sea lice treatments is not held.

Since late 2015 the Scottish Government have been in regular dialogue and raising awareness of the MMPA and its potential impact on Scottish seafood exports with Scotland’s aquaculture sector (through the SSPO), within the Seafish Regulatory Experts Group, directly with Seafood Scotland and through the Fisheries Management and Conservation Group which represents 90% of the Scottish commercial fishing industry (FMAC). The vast majority of discussions have taken place by phone and/or email exchanges.

Details of specific meetings are outlined below:

•  6 December 2016 – Conference call with lead officials in Defra and UK Embassy in Washington, involving representatives from Marine Scotland and Food and Drink.
•  27 September 2017 - Seafood Regulation Expert Group – SFIA HQ, Edinburgh - http://www.seafish.org/industry-support/legislation/seafood-regulation-expert-group
•  29 September 2017 – Conference call with the Canadian Aquaculture Management Directorate, involving representatives from Marine Scotland and Food and Drink.
•  30 November 2017 Seafish Domestic Aquaculture Advisory Committee (SDAAC) - http://www.seafish.org/industry-support/aquaculture/aquaculture-groups/seafish-domestic-aquaculture-advisory-committee

Scottish Government does not test the outflow of fish processing plants for pathogens.

The Code of Good Practice for Scottish Finfish Aquaculture recommends that drainage from areas where effluent and fish by products are generated should feed into a disinfection facility, with subsequent treatment of any discharge in accordance with CAR license conditions in place to control chemical discharge. Scottish Government’s fish health inspectorate produced disinfection guidance in 2006 which should be regarded as best practice at fish farm sites and processing plants. The disinfection guide can be found online; http://www.gov.scot/Topics/marine/Fish-Shellfish/FHI/healthpractice.

No salmon farms have been provided with financial compensation for fish culled for disease control purposes.

Ministers are currently giving this proposal full and proper consideration and will issue a decision as soon as possible.