Sharon Dowey

23 Mar 2026 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported comments by the Fire Brigades Union that years of real-terms budget reductions have left the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service “creaking”, and that proposed workforce reductions would increase the risk to community safety, particularly followin…

12 Mar 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting small and medium-sized businesses to take on more apprentices, particularly in sectors experiencing skills shortages, in light of reports that many smaller employers consider the cost and administrative requirements of training to be a barrier to offering apprentices…

Answer · Ben Macpherson: The Scottish Government is investing around £198 million this year to support 25,000 new Modern Apprenticeships (MAs), alongside 5,000 new Foundation Apprenticeships and over 1,200 Graduate Apprenticeships. Our investment enables continued support for o…

12 Mar 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to increase capacity in Scottish prisons.

Answer · Angela Constance: To maintain a safe and secure prison estate, we are investing just over £1 billion in our prisons to support frontline staff and progress improvements. We have already optimised the existing estate by creating 400 additional spaces and the Scottish Budg…

12 Mar 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the specific reasons were for it changing its review into grooming gangs into a public inquiry.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: I have consistently said that this Government was prepared to give every consideration to an Inquiry in Scotland if we felt it necessary. We now feel it is and this conclusion was reached after careful consideration.I have had significant engagement over the …

12 Mar 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its review into grooming gangs changing to a public inquiry, what assessment it has made of the Scottish prison capacity to accommodate any future prisoners resulting from the inquiry.

Answer · Angela Constance: We have always been clear that prison is necessary for those that pose the greatest risk to our society. The Scottish Government is investing over £1 billion in Scottish prisons to maintain safety and security, progress improvements and maximise capacit…

12 Mar 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what regulations it is considering reforming or removing in order to speed up the planning process.

Answer · Ivan McKee: Scotland’s planning system has already undergone significant system changes including through the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 and the adoption of National Planning Framework 4, Scotland’s long-term spatial strategy, which sets out where developme…

12 Mar 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the delivery of the National Treatment Centre at Carrick Glen.

Answer · Neil Gray: As outlined on page 17 of the Infrastructure Investment Plan 2021-22 to 2025-26: Major capital projects progress update (August 2025) the NHS Ayrshire and Arran National Treatment Centre has been paused.We are currently working with all health boards to devel…

12 Mar 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many wind farms there currently are in operation, broken down by how many are (a) connected to the grid and (b) fully operational.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) publishes ‘Renewable electricity – number of sites by region’ on an annual basis as part of the Accredited Official Statistics publication Energy Trends. The latest statistics were publ…

12 Mar 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what upgrades to the A77, excluding maintenance works, are planned for the next five years.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Recommendation 40 in the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) recommends that safety, resilience and reliability improvements are made to both routes. This will include, but is not limited to improving junctions, enhancing overtaking opportuniti…

12 Mar 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) fatal and (b) non-fatal accidents involving (i) HGVs and (ii) other vehicles on the A77 there (A) were in each of the last two calendar years and (B) have been in 2026 to date, also broken down by the section of the road that passes through South Ayrshire.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The following tables provide the number of injury road collisions on the A77 with the requested breakdowns.Please note that figures for 2025 and 2026 are provisional, as they are based on monthly returns received thus far from Police Scotland, with the most r…

12 Mar 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what account it takes of the additional costs associated with rurality when making funding provisions for rape crisis centres across the country.

Answer · Kaukab Stewart: The Scottish Government is committed to tackling all forms of violence against women and girls and to supporting specialist services, including Rape Crisis Centres, that provide vital support to victims and survivors of gender based violence.Our Equally Safe …

12 Mar 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review its guidance paper, Supporting Transgender Pupils in Schools, to outline the steps that it takes to govern gender identity ideology in schools.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Supporting Transgender Pupils in Schools Guidance provides a range of non-statutory guidance in relation to policy, practice and legal requirements which education authorities and schools may wish to consider, in fulfilling their responsibilities to suppo…

12 Mar 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to (a) clarify and (b) govern gender-related healthcare across organisations.

Answer · Jenni Minto: There are currently four gender identity services providing specialist gender identity healthcare to adults in NHS Scotland. A separate service for young people accepts referrals from across Scotland. The governance of each of gender identity healthcare servi…

12 Mar 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to review the content and delivery of relationships, sexual health and parenthood education (RSHP) in schools to ensure that it is age and stage appropriate, including for neurodivergent pupils.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: RSHP education is designed to help children and young people build positive relationships as they grow older and should present facts in an objective, balanced and sensitive manner within the framework of curricular values and an awareness of the law. The Sco…

12 Mar 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many windfarm applications have been submitted in the last two years, broken down by how many were not approved.

Answer · Gillian Martin: Since 1 January 2024, the Energy Consents Unit has received 57 applications for consent to construct, extend and/or operate wind farms under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989.Two of these applications have been approved in this time, with the remaining 5…

11 Mar 2026 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact on business confidence and investment of non-domestic rates threshold having limited movement since 2020-21.

5 Mar 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce waiting times for assessments for neurodivergent conditions, such as autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Answer · Tom Arthur: There has been a significant increase in demand for neurodevelopmental diagnostic assessments in recent years, including for autism and ADHD, which is creating challenges for a range of services. In response to this, the Scottish Government is working with th…

5 Mar 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the current situation regarding the Tarbolton Moss landfill site.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government continues to seek solutions to address immediate risks and to progress with long-term remediation at the Tarbolton Moss former landfill site, engaging with partners including South Ayrshire Council and SEPA.SEPA continues to monitor th…

5 Mar 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to support the work of the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) to ensure we have a robust independent oversight body to secure public confidence in policing.The 2026-27 Scottish Budget provides funding of £8.…

5 Mar 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of the Cass Review.

Answer · Jenni Minto: I refer the member to my response to S6W-34484 on 25 February 2026 which clarified that The Cass Review only considered services offered by NHS England. It also outlined how the Scottish Government considered its recommendations in the context of NHS Scotland…

18 Feb 2026 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how people who are concerned with the impact on the natural environment of energy infrastructure can make their concerns known.

11 Feb 2026 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to continue providing funding to any organisations that challenge the judgment in the For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers case.

6 Feb 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been allocated to community audiology in its draft Budget 2026-27, and how this funding will be used to deliver more care in the community.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The draft 2026-27 Scottish Budget includes additional funding for community audiology of £1 million, underlining our commitment to support community audiology policy development and the Service Renewal Framework vision to shift the balance of care to th…

3 Feb 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time equivalent (FTE) Scottish Public Pensions Agency staff are currently working on matters related to the Matthews (Second Options) Case for retained firefighters.

Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Public Pensions Agency has four full-time-equivalent staff working on the administration of the Matthews Second Options exercise. This exercise is being delivered in partnership with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

3 Feb 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work of the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) regarding the Matthews (Second Options) Case for retained firefighters, and whether a calculation and statement will be sent by the SPPA to all eligible members by the March 2026 deadline.

Answer · Ivan McKee: In March 2025 the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) paused delivery of the Matthews Second Options exercise to enable it to accelerate progress in other dependent remediation work.The timescale for issuing calculations and statements to firefighters was …

29 Jan 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what factors have contributed to the reported increase in the number of prisoners subject to an Order for Lifelong Restriction living in the community on licence in recent years.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Parole Board for Scotland are responsible for directing the release of an individual subject to an Order for Lifelong Restriction (OLR) and for setting licence conditions. They will only direct release when they are satisfied that imprisonment is no longe…

28 Jan 2026 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent report by the Instituteof Chartered Accountants in England and Wales showing that business confidencein Scotland has fallen for the sixth consecutive quarter and is lower than theUK average.

7 Jan 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it has been working with NHS boards to reduce A&E waiting times in order to meet the standard for 95% of all patients to be admitted, discharged or transferred within four hours of arrival, in light of recent Public Health Scotland statistics for the month ending 30 November 2025…

Answer · Neil Gray: I recognise the significant pressures facing our Emergency Departments. Improving flow and reducing waiting times is central to the NHS Scotland Operational Improvement Plan, which takes an ambitious but realistic approach to shifting the balance of care and …

7 Jan 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government to what extent it considers that any increases in NHS waiting times contributed to the 8% increase in suspected drug deaths from January to September 2025, compared with the same period in 2024, as set out in its quarterly report, Suspected drug deaths in Scotland: July to September 2025.

Answer · Maree Todd: It is not possible to determine whether any suspected drug deaths are linked to waits for treatment. However, in 2011, the Scottish Government set a Standard that 90% of people referred for help with problematic drug or alcohol use will wait no longer than th…

7 Jan 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to address the 8% increase in suspected drug deaths from January to September 2025, compared with the same period in 2024, as set out in its quarterly report, Suspected drug deaths in Scotland: July to September 2025.

Answer · Maree Todd: Drug deaths remain far too high, and the latest suspected drug death figures indicate that 898 people are believed to have died in the first nine months of 2025. This is a stark reminder of the scale of the challenge we face.Through the National Mission, we h…