Sharon Dowey

7 Jan 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the 63,867 domestic abuse incidents reported to the police in 2023-24 involved a repeat offender, and, if there are no available statistics on this, for what reason this information is not recorded.

Answer · Angela Constance: Information on whether a suspected perpetrator involved in a domestic abuse incident in 2023-24 had been involved in a previous incident of domestic abuse is available in Table 10 of the Domestic abuse in Scotland 2023-24 publication.Due to the set-up of the …

5 Jan 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether its ministers were advised during 2025 that some police officers were unable to retire, despite meeting age or service thresholds, due to pension scheme interaction issues.

Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government has not been advised that some police officers have been unable to retire due to pension scheme issues.I am aware of the current administrative pause on buy-back of opted out pensionable service for some police officers impacted by the…

5 Jan 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether issues relating to police officers being unable to retire due to pension buyback or pension scheme interaction issues were discussed at any governance, oversight or management group to which the Police Workforce, Diversity and Inquiry Sponsorship team reports during 2025.

Answer · Ivan McKee: Officials from the Police Workforce, Diversity and Inquiry Sponsorship Unit attend the Scottish Police Pension Scheme Advisory Board (SAB), where a range of issues related to the Police Pension Scheme are discussed.Minutes from the SAB are available on the Sc…

5 Jan 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any risks associated with police officers continuing in service after they would otherwise have been entitled to retire, as a result of unresolved pension issues.

Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government has not carried out any assessments in relation to these matters as the deployment and management of officers, including Human Resources matters, are operational matters for the Chief Constable. Oversight is provided by the Scottish Po…

5 Jan 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether issues relating to police officers being unable to retire due to pension buyback or pension scheme interaction issues were discussed by officials within the Police Workforce, Diversity and Inquiry Sponsorship team during 2025.

Answer · Ivan McKee: Issues relating to police officers being unable to retire due to pension buyback or pension scheme interaction issues are operational matters for the Chief Constable with oversight from the Scottish Police Authority (SPA). Officials within the Police Workforc…

12 Dec 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of material relating to Freedom of Information request 202500493769, which states that "a delegation of the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has visited prisons in Scotland and picked up on issue…

Answer · Maree Todd: The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) visited Scotland in June 2025 to review the treatment and conditions of people deprived of liberty in prisons and secure care for minors. The visit ass…

12 Dec 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of recent increases in pre-employment vetting failures within the Scottish Prison Service, whether it will provide a breakdown of the reasons for every vetting failure, including (a) criminal history, (b) financial vulnerabilities, (c) undisclosed associations, (d) intelligence…

Answer · Angela Constance: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:SPS hold our serving staff and prospective staff to the highest of standards. While the vast majority of our staff adhere to the highest…

12 Dec 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42124 by Angela Constance on 9 December 2025, whether it will provide a breakdown of the specific grounds that led to Scottish Prison Service staff being removed, dismissed, or blocked from taking up employment due to security concerns, including ho…

Answer · Angela Constance: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:SPS hold our serving staff and prospective staff to the highest of standards. While the vast majority of our staff adhere to the highest…

8 Dec 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that Police Scotland keeps accurate and accessible records of the governance groups and policy boards it participates in.

Answer · Angela Constance: Police Scotland is by law, operationally independent of the Scottish Government, and is held to account by the Scottish Police Authority which provides oversight and scrutiny.The Keeper of the Records of Scotland oversees record keeping by public authorities.

8 Dec 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of recent freedom of information correspondence in which Police Scotland states that it does not hold a list of the meetings staff attend, whether it will publish a list of all governance groups, boards and oversight forums that Police Scotland participates in.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government does not hold this information.The Chief Constable of Police Scotland is responsible for the policing of Scotland and is accountable to the Scottish Police Authority for this, rather than to Scottish Ministers directly.

8 Dec 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether Police Scotland's record-keeping practices, including the absence of a list of governance groups attended, comply with the requirements of the Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 stipulates that the Chief Constable of Police Scotland is responsible for the policing of Scotland and is accountable to the Scottish Police Authority for this, rather than to Scottish Ministers directly.These ar…

24 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what governance structure it has in place to ensure oversight of major procurement decisions within fire and rescue policy, including vehicle procurement and operational equipment spending.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: The procurement of fire and rescue vehicles and operational equipment is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS). Oversight and Governance is provided by the SFRS Strategic Leadership Team and the SFRS Board.

24 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether its Fire and Rescue Unit has any formal governance board, oversight group or programme board that is responsible for strategic oversight of fire and rescue policy, and, if it does not, what the reasons are for this.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Fire and Rescue Unit is part of the Scottish Government Safer Communities Division. In common with all Scottish Government Divisions, strategic oversight is provided through Directors and Director Generals reporting to the Scottish Ministers.

24 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether its Fire and Rescue Unit maintains a standalone divisional risk register, and, if so, when it was most recently updated.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Fire and Rescue Unit is part of the Scottish Government Safer Communities Division. The Fire and Rescue Unit has a risk register and contributes to the Safer Communities Division and Directorate risk registers. In line with good practice, these risk regis…

20 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the suitability and operational performance of newly procured 4×4 and multi-role vehicles for wildfire and road traffic incidents response.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: The process of procuring and designing Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) off-road vehicles is based on the established operational needs of the organisation while taking into account feedback from internal and external stakeholders. Operational performa…

20 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what 4×4 or multi-role vehicles the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has procured in the last three years, and, for each type of vehicle, what the (a) cost, (b) number ordered, (c) number delivered and (d) intended operational role is.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: In the past three years, SFRS has procured the following 4x4 and multi-role vehicles:10x Ford Ranger Wildfire Units for dedicated wildfire management @ £44,050 each (£440,500);4x Iveco Daily Wildfire Support Units for supporting and providing addi…

20 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the 4×4 or multi-role vehicles procured by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in the last three years have entered operational service, and how many are currently awaiting deployment.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: All vehicles listed in the answer to question S6W-42094 on 26 November 2025 have been deployed except for two of the Ford Ranger Multi-Role Units (which are at the final stage of commissioning work expected to be deployed by next month) and the Ford Ranger Ul…

13 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason no reconviction statistics have been published since the 2020-21 cohort, and what impact this delay has had on (a) the transparency of its approach to and (b) its monitoring of repeat offending.

Answer · Angela Constance: The most recent reconviction statistics were published on 27 August 2025 and are for the 2021-22 cohortReconviction Rates in Scotland: 2021-22 Offender Cohort - gov.scotA reconviction is defined in our statistics as someone who is reconvicted within 12 months…

12 Nov 2025 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce the number of repeat shoplifting offenders, in light of reports that 10 individuals have accumulated over 1,500 charges in the last four years.

3 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent direct engagement it has had with Retailers Against Crime regarding measures to reduce shoplifting and improve safety for retail staff.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Government sits alongside Retailers Against Crime (RAC) in the Scottish Partnership Against Acquisitive Crime (SPAACE) and are working collectively with other agencies to deliver upon the SPAACE Strategy 2023-2028. To date there have been three m…

3 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent engagement the Retail Industry Leadership Group has had with Retailers Against Crime regarding shoplifting and violence towards shopworkers.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41648 on 17 November 2025. 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-committ…

8 Oct 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on Police Scotland’s decision to withdraw from the Stonewall Diversity Champions scheme.

Answer · Angela Constance: Participation in the Stonewall Diversity Champions programme is an operational matter for Police Scotland.

8 Oct 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether its membership of the Stonewall Diversity Champions scheme represents value for money for the taxpayer.

Answer · Kaukab Stewart: The Scottish Government has renewed its annual employer membership of the Stonewall’s Diversity Champion scheme for 2025. The Scottish Government keeps this under annual review, as with all its corporate memberships, to ensure they are providing value f…

8 Oct 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the Scottish Prison Service paying an annual membership fee of £3,090 to the Stonewall Diversity Champions scheme represents value for money for the taxpayer.

Answer · Angela Constance: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:The Scottish Prison Service has a diverse workforce and is committed to providing a supportive and inclusive environment for all.Stonewa…

8 Oct 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the Scottish Prison Service continuing its membership of the Stonewall Diversity Champions scheme, in light of the decision by organisations such as Police Scotland and the Scottish Parliament to withdraw from the scheme.

Answer · Angela Constance: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:The Scottish Prison Service has a diverse workforce and is committed to providing a supportive and inclusive environment for all.Stonewa…

12 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of the Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Act 2023.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government (SG) is committed to implementing all elements of the Bail and Release (Scotland) Act 2023 (“the 2023 Act”).The SG has already commenced various sections of the 2023 Act. This includes all of Part 1 which relates to bail an…

9 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what factors are considered when allocating investment for research on what are considered less survivable cancers, and whether any measures are in place to respond to any reported underfunding for such conditions.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Within the Scottish Government, funding of Health and Care Research comes under the remit of the Chief Scientist Office (CSO).CSO funds research projects via its Translational Clinical Studies (TCS) Committee and the Health Improvement, Protection and Service…

3 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to colleges seeking to reduce costs or increase income in order to remain financially viable.

Answer · Graeme Dey: With public finances at their most strained since devolution, this government has made a long-term commitment to supporting the college sector by increasing teaching funding by 2.1% and capital maintenance by 4.9% compared to 2024-25.In addition, £3.5 m…

3 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to colleges in relation to financial sustainability.

Answer · Graeme Dey: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-40330 on 17 September 2025. 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-commit…

3 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to colleges that are facing a material reduction in income following changes of policy in relation to the transfer of funds between revenue and capital departmental expenditure limit budgets.

Answer · Graeme Dey: In 2024-25 the Scottish Government worked with the Scottish Funding Council and enabled a £13.4m ‘swap’ of capital for resource funding, recognising that colleges required additional resource funding for maintenance purposes.Aware of the mai…