To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the number of civil penalties imposed during the last year for which figures are available by each assessor in Scotland in respect of non-return of land valuation schedules prior to the abolition of the domestic rating system.

Assessors have no powers to impose civil penalties in these situations. Any person failing to furnish a return to the assessor is liable to a penalty not exceeding £400, following prosecution at the instance of the procurator fiscal. Information on the number of such cases is not held centrally.