Sharon Dowey

25 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is offering to any colleges that are projected to record a budget deficit in 2025-26.

Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) regularly monitors individual institution’s financial sustainability and considers appropriate forms of support. The indicative allocations published by the SFC on 10 April will enable colleges to move forward with pla…

25 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work it is doing to support the Scottish Funding Council in increasing transparency in relation to revised funding models for colleges.

Answer · Graeme Dey: In the approach to the recent indicative college allocations for Academic Year 2025-26, the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) responded to requests from the sector to address issues regarding transparency and funding comparability between learners on similar cou…

25 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that colleges are adequately and fairly funded.

Answer · Graeme Dey: I recognise the financial challenges colleges are currently facing. The 2025-26 budget sees a £13.2 million uplift on 2024-25 to the college resource allocation, in recognition of the vital role colleges play in communities across Scotland. On top of th…

25 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to any colleges that will see a reduction in their core teaching grants.

Answer · Graeme Dey: It is the Scottish Funding Council’s (SFC) responsibility to ensure the fair and equitable distribution of the funding across the college sector. SFC have confirmed no college will see a funding reduction in Academic Year 2025-26 when compared with 2024…

25 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the Scottish Funding Council regarding a revised funding model for colleges.

Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government continues to engage with the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) regularly on a range of issues. This has included SFC’s plans to implement changes to the Council’s approach to college funding allocations in response to requests…

24 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many body-worn cameras Police Scotland owns.

Answer · Angela Constance: Police Scotland currently deploys Body Worn Video (BWV) to officers in Tayside, Armed Policing and as part of a legacy Grampian Police solution in A division.In total, Police Scotland currently owns the following devices:A Division (legacy solution) – 2…

24 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its commitment in the 2023-24 Programme for Government to "support Police Scotland in its plan to roll out body worn cameras to officers over the next two years, to over 14,000 officers and staff from 2024", by what date this will be achieved.

Answer · Angela Constance: Following commencement of a national BWV solution in Spring 2025 to Tayside Division, Police Scotland have advised that the target schedule to complete rollout is Summer 2026 for circa 10,695 front-line officers and staff and then into Spring 2027 for rollout…

24 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on when a police officer should press "record on" when having access to a body-worn camera, and what discussions the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs has had with Police Scotland regarding this matter.

Answer · Angela Constance: Police Scotland have advised that their Body Worn Video (BWV) Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been developed in collaboration with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) and other partners to ensure officers capture end to end footage, …

24 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many police (a) officers and (b) staff currently have access to a body-worn camera.

Answer · Angela Constance: As highlighted in the launch of Police Scotland's Body Worn Video (BWV) rollout, around 750 Tayside (D) Division officers, including road policing officers, operational support and custody staff, will be equipped with the new devices over the coming weeks. As…

24 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made with the implementation of the Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Act 2021.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Minister for Housing and I wrote to the Convener of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee on 11 March outlining some of the challenges that remained around the implementation of the Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Act 2021 and ou…

24 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made with the implementation of the Female Genital Mutilation (Protection and Guidance) (Scotland) Act 2020.

Answer · Kaukab Stewart: The Minister for Housing and I wrote to the Convener of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee on 11 March to provide an update on the implementation of the Female Genital Mutilation (Protection and Guidance) (Scotland) Act 2020 and our plan…

24 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made with the implementation of the Children (Scotland) Act 2020.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Government wrote to the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee on 11 March 2025 to provide an update on commencement and implementation of the Children (Scotland) Act 2020:Letter from the Minister for Victims and Community SafetyThe…

19 Mar 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to invest in the west of the South Scotland region.  

18 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will establish a formal system for reporting and tracking antisocial behaviour on buses, and, if so, when.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: There are no plans for Transport Scotland to introduce a formal reporting and tracking system for antisocial behaviour as there is no requirement on all operators in this deregulated sector to collect and share this data, which will affect the coverage of any…

18 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish the behaviour code for all passengers who have a concessionary bus pass.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: As noted in my previous response on 6 January 2025 (S6W-32278 on 6 January 2025),applicants already have to agree to specific terms and conditions when signing up for the scheme, however we are working to strengthen these through changes to application forms …

17 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it anticipates that Bairns’ Hooses will be rolled out across Scotland to all child victims or witnesses of abuse or violence and children whose behaviour has caused significant harm or abuse.

Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: In accordance with the Programme for Government 2024-25, we are working with partnerships across Scotland to test our approach to Bairns’ Hoose across ten areas – providing safe, trauma informed environments for child victims and witnesses to acce…

17 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many children it anticipates will access support from a Bairns’ Hoose when they are rolled out across Scotland.

Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: We believe that appropriate trauma-informed services and support should be available to all children who need them. Our phased approach to Bairns’ Hoose testing and implementation will help ensure that the principles of Bairns’ Hoose can meet the …

17 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many meetings the National Bairns’ Hoose Governance Group had between February 2023 and June 2024.

Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: The National Bairns’ Hoose Governance Group had five meetings between February 2023 and June 2024.

17 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many (a) Bairns’ Hooses are currently operational across Scotland and (b) child victims or witnesses of abuse or violence and children whose behaviour has caused significant harm or abuse currently have access to a Bairns’ Hoose.

Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: (a)The Scottish Government is taking a phased approach to the development of Bairns’ Hoose, to create a system that works nationally and allows for flexibility to accommodate the needs of different areas (urban, rural, island) across Scotland. The first…

17 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent in total on the National Bairns’ Hoose Governance Group to date.

Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: The Scottish Government invested approximately £40k to support the important work of the National Bairns' Hoose Governance Group. The Group held its final meeting in June 2024 and has since been replaced by the National Bairns Hoose Implementation Group.

17 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent in total on the Bairns’ Hoose Pathfinder Fund to date.

Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: To date, the Scottish Government has supported the Pathfinder phase of Bairns’ Hoose development with an almost £10 million investment from 2023 to 2025.

14 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it cost to produce the report by the Independent Working Group on Antisocial Behaviour, Antisocial Behaviour - Whose responsibility? Towards a more effective response to antisocial behaviour in Scotland, which was published on 25 February 2025.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: Total known direct costs were £7,792.64 including VAT. This covered publishing costs for the main report and the supporting evidence paper - A Review of Antisocial Behaviour in Scotland - Data Survey and Literature Review; travel expenses of any members…

13 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the findings of recent Scottish Retail Consortium research indicating that one in six people in Scotland has witnessed verbal or physical abuse of shop workers, and one in five members of the public has witnessed thefts from shops in the past year.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Government recognises the distress caused by crime on its victims and is fully supportive of activity to reduce this harm. Our Budget will make an additional £3 million available in 2025-26 to tackle retail crime. This is in addition to an …

18 Feb 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to deal with violence in schools. 

13 Feb 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to introduce legislation aimed at reducing the amount of time domestic pets can be left unaccompanied in crates. 

Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Government has no current plans to introduce such legislation.

13 Feb 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to encourage responsible dog ownership, specifically with relation to the use of crates for domestic pets.

Answer · Jim Fairlie: The vast majority of dog owners are responsible people who take good care of their animals and enjoy the widespread benefits of dog ownership and companionship.The Scottish Government Code of Practice on the Welfare of Dogs, approved by the Scottish Parliamen…

5 Feb 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken following the cross-party summit on violence amongst young people, which was held on 13 January 2025.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: Following the cross party summit on violence among young people held on 13 January, Scottish Government officials are preparing a report on key issues raised. This will be published and shared across Scottish Government to help inform policy development on ar…

20 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of the recommendations of the Independent Review of the Skills Delivery Landscape.

Answer · Graeme Dey: The Post-School Education and Skills Reform Programme, developed in light of the recommendations of James Withers’ Independent Review of the Skills Delivery Landscape and the Scottish Government’s own report on the Purpose and Principles for Post-…

20 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what procedures are in place to ensure that funding for the further education sector is tailored to suit the regional needs of colleges.

Answer · Graeme Dey: It is the Scottish Funding Council’s role to work closely with the college sector to identify the best split of the available resources, taking into account Government priorities and the college sector’s needs.Colleges are responsible for their ow…

20 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the proposals in the draft Budget 2025-26 might impact on the college sector.

Answer · Graeme Dey: Despite the increase in resource funding for 2025-26, the Scottish Government recognises the challenges across the college sector.The Scottish Government has increased investment in the college sector, with more than £750m allocated in the 2025-26 draft…