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There is nothing in Scottish Government guidance, which prevents the use of schools by community groups. Since March of this year the published guidance for schools has explicitly stated under the section on local implementation that “If undertaking a particular activity is not explicitly precluded through this guidance – i.e. if it is not listed as a routine measure – then schools and local authorities should treat it as permissible provided they take account of relevant risks.”

This was in line with advice from the Advisory Subgroup on Education and Children’s Issues, to ensure that only those measures that were necessary and proportionate were retained. This was also to ensure that there was alignment with equivalent measures across wider society where possible. The most recent version of the guidance for schools was updated on 31 May and can be accessed here: Supporting documents - Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance on reducing the risks in schools - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Scottish Rail Holdings Ltd consulted with Transport Scotland before authorising ScotRail Trains Ltd to implement the temporary timetable providing greater certainty to passengers and minimising unplanned cancellations.

CrossCountry is a cross-border rail operator responsible to the DfT. Whilst the Scottish Government has not had recent direct correspondence with them we are aware that six Fife station calls were removed as part of a Covid timetable ‘derogation’ process by the DfT.

Transport Scotland officials are in discussion with the DfT and have been advised that no decisions have been made about permanent changes to the timetable.

Fire prevention and awareness raising are an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The Service has been assured that manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (EVs) have taken steps to ensure that their products are safe. Provided that the Lithium Battery power source has not been damaged, available statistics show that fires started by EVs remain very rare. SFRS has therefore no specific contact with ferry operators on the transportation of EVs.

It is a matter for vessel operators to ensure any cargo carried is safe. There is currently no difference in the advice provided to ferry customers with EVs over that of customers with internal combustion engines.

The Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) carried out a consultation in relation to EV’s travelling on ferries that included firefighting best practice. The MCA published the outcome of this consultation in March 2022 and details can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-safety-of-electric-vehicles-on-passenger-ro-ro-ferries .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-08883 on‎ 20 June 2022. 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 plans to introduce legislation to restrict a property factor business’ ability to own 50% or more of residential buildings.

Legislation to restrict ownership of property to particular categories of business or individual would raise fundamental property right issues.

There are also no plans for the Scottish Government to introduce legislation to ensure that homeowners retain decision-making rights rather than property factor companies.

In tenements, owners have the right to vote to make decisions on the commonly owned areas of their property regardless of whether they own one property or numerous properties. Procedures on voting are laid down in title deeds or, where these are unclear, unworkable or non-existent, then the default provisions of the Tenement Management Scheme (TMS) under schedule 1 of the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 will be followed. Under the TMS a majority is required for undertaking repairs and maintenance. A unanimous decision from owners is required for undertaking improvements unless reasonably incidental to the maintenance.

We have already committed in Housing to 2040 to review and consider potential reforms to the current eviction grounds under the Private Residential Tenancy (PRT) after 5 years of operation, which will be at the end of this year.

We have already started to seek views on the effectiveness and operation of the existing eviction grounds for the Private Rented Sector as part of the New Deal For Tenants consultation to help inform the review when it begins and we will continue to work with stakeholders during it.

As highlighted in Generation Rent’s research, measures are in place under the PRT where a tenancy has been ended due to misleading information, the First-tier Tribunal have the power to make a wrongful termination order against the landlord and award compensation to the tenant. The use and effectiveness of wrongful termination orders will form part of the review.

Asylum and immigration are matters reserved to the UK Parliament and handled by the Home Office. This includes decisions relating to refugee resettlement programmes, UK visa routes and the operation of the UK asylum system. The Scottish Government has no control over these processes.

There is no provision in UK Immigration Rules for someone abroad to be given permission to travel to the UK to seek asylum. There is therefore no resettlement route for people seeking asylum from Hong Kong. The UK Government has established refugee resettlement routes and visa routes, including the Hong Kong BN(O) visa route. Decisions about eligibility criteria for refugee resettlement and visa routes are made by the UK Government.

Scotland’s approach to supporting refugees and people seeking asylum is set out in the New Scots refugee integration strategy. Developed and led in partnership by the Scottish Government, COSLA and the Scottish Refugee Council, New Scots provides a clear framework for all those working to support integration and assists the work of partners across local authorities, public services, the private sector, third sector and community organisations. The key principle of New Scots is that refugees and asylum seekers should be supported to integrate into communities from day one of arrival.

We are seeking further clarification from the Home Office to fully understand the operational impact of the Nationality and Borders Act.

We have no current plans to make regulations under section 9(8) and (9) of the 2015 Act.

We are aware of the global issues affecting construction which are impacting the pace of affordable housing delivery and we are working closely with the construction industry and housing partners to mitigate this where possible. Given these are global issues, largely outwith our control, it is impossible to quantify the extent of any current delays and when we may return to a more normal pace of delivery.

Despite these challenges and those caused by the global pandemic including necessary lockdowns, we are continuing to deliver affordable homes across Scotland, including accessible homes for social rent. Official statistics recently published show that we have now reached the previous 50,000 affordable homes target and have started on our ambitious plans to deliver a further 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, having already delivered 1,119 affordable homes towards this.