Parliamentary questions
Sharon Dowey
756 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
26 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish and lay before Parliament a report on the operation of the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences (Scotland) Act 2024, as required to do so under section 6 of the Act.
Answer · Angela Constance: The report on the operation of the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences (Scotland) Act 2024 will be laid before the Scottish Parliament in the coming months.
26 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what continued action it is taking under the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences (Scotland) Act 2024 to identify people possibly eligible to have their convictions overturned.
Answer · Angela Constance: The initial stages of identifying individuals eligible to have their convictions quashed under the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences (Scotland) Act 2024 focused on the assessment of potential cases referred by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Servic…
26 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people it anticipated, before the passage of the legislation, could be eligible to have their convictions overturned under the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences (Scotland) Act 2024, and how that compares with to the number that it has so far identified as eligible.
Answer · Angela Constance: As part of the financial memorandum accompanying the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences (Scotland) Bill 2024, the Scottish Government provided a low, central, and high estimate for the potential number of individuals with convictions that may be quashed th…
22 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish Parliament Information Centre briefing, Neurodevelopmental Pathways and Waiting Times in Scotland, which was published on 24 June 2025 and states that "NHS Ayrshire and Arran have no functioning operational pathway for adult neurodevelopmental assessments",…
Answer · Tom Arthur: My officials have engaged with all health boards to understand what provision they have in place to deliver adult neurodevelopmental assessments. In relation to NHS Ayrshire and Arran, we are exploring how to address current issues that may be limiting access…
22 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its latest assessment is of the waiting times for children's neurodevelopmental assessments and any impact these have on children receiving additional support in school.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government does not hold data on neurodevelopmental assessment waiting times.We are clear that support should be put in place to meet a child’s requirements when they need it, rather than be dependent on formal diagnosis. A diagnosis of a n…
15 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to address any health challenges faced across NHS (a) Ayrshire and Arran, (b) Fife, (c) Greater Glasgow and Clyde and (d) Lanarkshire, in light of the Healthy Life Expectancy 2021-2023 report, which highlights that the NHS boards have a healthy life expectancy below the …
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is committed to supporting everyone to live longer, healthier and more fulfilling lives. That is why, the Scottish Government and COSLA recently jointly published a 10-year Population Health Framework. This Framework sets out a whole s…
15 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on what the main causes are for the decrease in healthy life expectancy to a near 10-year low across Scotland between 2021 and 2023, according to the Public Health Scotland’s Healthy Life Expectancy 2021–2023 data.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is committed to improving life expectancy and tackling health inequalities across Scotland. The recently published Population Health Framework, a joint publication by the Scottish Government and COSLA, highlights that the circumstances…
15 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to address the projected increase in the prison population, which is expected to rise between 7,950 and 8,750 prisoners from July to December 2025, according to its Prison Population Projections: July 2025 report.
Answer · Angela Constance: Scotland is not alone in facing challenges as a result of a rise in the prison population. There is no single reason for the increase and there is no single solution.The Scottish Government has therefore taken a range of actions to address this, including cha…
12 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent engagement it has had with the tenancy deposit schemes operating in Scotland.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: Scottish Government officials engage regularly with the three approved tenancy deposit schemes on a range of policy and operational matters, including formal engagement as part of monitoring each scheme for compliance with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (Scotland…
12 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to support the rights of commercial tenants.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Government introduced the Leases (Automatic Continuation etc.) (Scotland) Bill which will clarify and modernise the legal rights of commercial tenants to terminate their lease. The Bill will benefit commercial tenants, such as small businesses, w…
12 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-39300 by Jim Fairlie on 24 July 2025, whether it will consider reviewing the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 in light of the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) …
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Government has no plans at present to undertake a review of the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) (Regulations) 2021. Section 28 of the equivalent regulations in England place a duty on the Secretary of State t…
12 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with local authorities regarding the implementation of the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: Officials from the Scottish Government's animal welfare team meet regularly with local authorities to discuss the implementation and enforcement of the 2021 animal licensing regulations.
29 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it reportedly took them over one year to respond to the Independent Review of the Victim Notification Scheme.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The independent review of the VNS ran from spring 2022 to spring 2023. Its report which can be found at: Victim Notification Scheme (VNS): independent review - gov.scot, made 22 main recommendations for change, some of which contained multiple individual reco…
29 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which of the recommendations of the Independent Review of the Victim Notification Scheme have not yet been implemented, and for what reason.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39643 on 15 August 2025. In relation to the number of recommendations and those that we have taken forward through legislation. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's w…
29 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many of the recommendations of the Independent Review of the Victim Notification Scheme have been implemented.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: Whilst the Independent Review of the Victim Notification Scheme (VNS) made 22 main recommendations, some of these recommendations included further separate recommendations, for example, recommendation 8 involved nine separate recommendations.In our response t…
24 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce a presumption of shared parenting into law.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: No. It is the Scottish Government’s view that both parents should be fully involved in their child’s life, as long as this is practical and in the child’s best interests.There is no legal presumption in favour of shared parenting in section …
4 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what measures are being taken to improve the mental health of police officers.
Answer · Angela Constance: Whilst this is an operational matter for the Chief Constable, I am pleased that Police Scotland has signed up to the Mental Health at Work Commitment, which prioritises mental health in the workplace. In addition to Trauma Risk Incident Management assessments…
4 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs has had with Police Scotland regarding the mental health of police officers in the past year.
Answer · Angela Constance: I have regular meetings with the Chief Constable where discuss relevant issues. Whilst this is an operational matter for Police Scotland, we have discussed the impact that mental health issues have on officers. most recently at our meetings on 27 February and…
4 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the measures that are in place at Police Scotland to deal with police officer trauma are sufficient.
Answer · Angela Constance: Whilst this is an operational matter for the Chief Constable, I welcome Police Scotland’s commitment to supporting officers after critical incidents.Scotland’s police officers and staff do a challenging job and I also welcome the Chief Constable&r…
1 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on plans for the delivery of a treatment centre at Carrick Glen Hospital.
Answer · Neil Gray: We are working with all health boards to develop a whole-system NHS infrastructure plan. This will reflect on needs across Scotland and support continued safe operation of existing facilities, as well as determination of longer term investment priorities. The…
27 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is regarding the new Police Scotland Interim Guidance - Searching of transgender persons and searching by transgender police officers and police staff, including that transgender detainees can ask for a separate area search, meaning that one hal…
Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government accepts the recent Supreme Court judgment on the definition of sex in the Equality Act 2010 and expects all public bodies, including Police Scotland, to comply fully with their legal duties. The Scottish Government is aware of Police S…
25 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Recorded Crime in Scotland 2024-25 finding that only an estimated 21% of crime is reported to the police.
Answer · Angela Constance: The finding that 21% of crime is reported to the police comes from the 2023-24 Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) main findings report, which was published on 10 June 2025.This figure is heavily influenced by the inclusion of fraud and computer misuse c…
25 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to address the reported increase in violent crime committed by those aged 16 or under, in light of the finding in the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2023/24 that 31% of violent crime offenders were under 16, while in 2021-22 the figure was 8%.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Government is taking action with partners to address youth violence through prevention, early intervention, community engagement and punishment where necessary through the criminal justice system. We have invested over £6 million to support…
25 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with local authorities following the publication of its report, Suspected drug deaths in Scotland: January to March 2025, on 10 June 2025, which found that Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and Lanarkshire were the police divisions with the highest rates of suspected …
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government regularly engages with local health boards through the Public Health Scotland-led National Drug Deaths Incident Management Team process, which strives to support and coordinate multi-agency activities to reduce drug related deaths incl…
25 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the reasons for public confidence in local policing having reportedly fallen, following the publication of the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2023/24 results on 10 June 2025, which found that less than half of adults believed that police in the…
Answer · Angela Constance: There are a complex range of factors and influences behind confidence in policing in Scotland.However, it would be remiss not to acknowledge the findings of the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2023-24, including those on public trust in policing is falling.…
25 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what work it is engaged in to tackle the reportedly significant impact of bank and credit card fraud, following the publication of the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2023/24 results, which found that bank and credit card fraud constituted 47% of all fraud committed in the year.
Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government is working with law enforcement partners such as Police Scotland, the National Cyber Security Centre as well as the financial industry in combatting fraud.Police Scotland has established a cyber and fraud specialist division to enhance…
25 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what work it is engaged in to address the increase of 16% in shoplifting incidents recorded in 2024-25 compared with 2023-24, and how it will work with local authorities to protect retailers and their staff.
Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government recognises the significant impact of shoplifting and retail crime on victims.Our budget for 2025-26 includes an additional £3 million for Police Scotland to work in partnership with the retail sector to help tackle retail crime.F…
25 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what work it plans to undertake following its report, Suspected drug deaths in Scotland: January to March 2025, published on 10 June 2025, which found that there were 76 more suspected drug deaths compared with the previous quarter.
Answer · Maree Todd: Every death is a tragedy and through our National Mission we are determined to continue our efforts to reduce harm and deaths. The total funding for alcohol and drugs, including health board baseline, exceeds £160 million in 2025-26.We are taking a wide…
23 Jun 2025 · Topical Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that there were almost 30,000 breaches of community payback orders in the last 11 years.
18 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its work to further the case for Scottish independence, whether it will set out what the evidence base was for the statement by the First Minister in his Scotland 2050 Conference speech, that "a clear majority of Scots … believe that our nation should have the right to …
Answer · Angus Robertson: The Scottish Parliament elections in May 2021 resulted in 72 of the 129 MSPs elected on manifestos which commit them to a referendum on Scottish independence during this Parliament.A range of publicly available polling evidence is available showing support fo…