Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S7W-02591

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any financial impact on the voluntary sector of excluding charity shops and Community Amateur Sports Club community retail shops from the Water and Sewerage Charges Exemption Scheme, and whether it has any plans to review the scheme’s eligibility criteria.

Question reference: S7W-01848

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 7 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the incident of subsidence in Coalsnaughton Road, Tillicoultry, what role it will play regarding compensation for houses that may have to be demolished, repaired and secured.

An eight-week investigation by the Mining Remediation Authority has now confirmed that the cause of recent ground movement affecting housing in Coalsnaughton is linked to historic coal mining. This means that remediation and compensation is a statutory responsibility of the Mining Remediation Authority (MRA) as the relevant UK regulator.

A link to the press release from the MRA can be found here: Government to support evacuated residents inCoalsnaughton- GOV.UK

On 27 July 2026, the UK Government announced that the MRA will take over management of the incident response and that costs incurred by the Scottish Government and Clackmannanshire Council will be reimbursed, where they fall under the MRA’s remit.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with Clackmannanshire Council, and where appropriate, the UK Government and MRA to participate in the ongoing resilience and recovery operation.

The Scottish Government has provided £1 million directly to Clackmannanshire Council to support residents. How that funding has been deployed locally is a matter for the Council. Whilst some of that funding may be reimbursed by the MRA, the Scottish Government has confirmed that this funding will continue to be available to the Council and that financial flexibilities remain in place, so they can continue to provide support to residents.

Question reference: S7W-01849

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 7 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the £1 million funding given to Clackmannanshire Council to support residents of Coalsnaughton Road, Tillicoultry, affected by ground movement in the area, whether this funding was supplied through other agencies to act as grant money and/or security during the construction phases.

Question reference: S7W-01851

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 7 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the incident of subsidence in Coalsnaughton Road, Tillicoultry, what the anticipated cost would be of any additional payments or financial assistance that it is considering providing to support the accommodation of evacuated households.

Question reference: S7W-01850

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 7 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the incident of subsidence in Coalsnaughton Road, Tillicoultry, how much public money has been spent and paid out to various authorities and organisations throughout the construction period and the subsequent recovery period.

Question reference: S7W-01682

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Simita Kumar on 5 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether current domestic abuse services, addiction services and mental health services are trained to recognise male victimisation, post-separation abuse and coercive control where the victim is male.

Services that provide specialist support to male survivors of domestic abuse, addiction services and mental health services are independent of Scottish Government and as such, responsibility for staff training rests with their boards. As such, the Scottish Government does not hold information on the specific training delivered by individual services.

The Scottish Government provides funding to Men’s Advice Line, SACRO’s FearFree Project, AMIS, The Scottish Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline, ASSIST, and the LGBT Domestic Abuse project. We encourage anyone experiencing domestic abuse to seek help.

Question reference: S7W-01643

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Simita Kumar on 29 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken to assess the relationship between domestic abuse experienced by men, addiction recovery, suicide risk, family court-related stress, loss of child contact and post-separation coercive control, including factors that can push recovered fathers further away from their children.

The Scottish Government is absolutely clear that there is no excuse for domestic abuse, regardless of the sex of the victim or perpetrator. That is why legislative changes adopted to address the issue, such as the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018, provide equal protection for both female and male victims. We also continue to fund services that support male survivors of domestic abuse.

Equally Safe, Scotland’s strategy to prevent and eradicate all forms of violence against women and girls, acknowledges that men and boys can experience domestic abuse, while recognising that it disproportionately affects women and girls. This approach is informed by a range of sources, including police recorded crime statistics, findings from the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey, academic research, voices of lived experience and professional expertise, and international human rights frameworks.

It is the Scottish Government’s view that both parents should be involved in their child’s life, provided this is practical and in the child’s best interests. We recognise how distressing it can be for a parent if they are not seeing their child. The Scottish Government provides funding to Shared Parenting Scotland who provide advice, assistance and other support to parents experiencing difficulties in having contact with their children. They also run courses for separated parents, including Love, Loss & Living: Managing the Emotions of Being Separated From Your Child.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken a specific piece of work to assess the relationship between substance use and men’s experiences of domestic abuse. However, we recognise that research shows that experiences of trauma can be an important factor in the development of substance use issues and can affect an individual's recovery journey.

Suicide prevention is a priority for the Scottish Government. Together with COSLA, we are driving forward Creating Hope Together, Scotland’s Suicide Prevention Strategy and accompanying Action Plan (2026-29). We recognise that factors such as domestic abuse, substance use and involvement with the justice system can increase the risk of poor mental health and suicide. The strategy includes a focus on reaching people who may be at higher risk as a result of these experiences.

We encourage anyone experiencing symptoms of poor mental health to contact their GP to discuss their wellbeing. Further support is available from services such as Samaritans and Breathing Space, as well as the Suicide Prevention Scotland website which has further information and resources.

Question reference: S7W-01683

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Kirsten Oswald on 29 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide a breakdown by local authority for male victims and female suspected perpetrator domestic abuse incidents in each of the last five financial years.

Table 1 shows the number of domestic abuse incidents recorded by police, where information was known, showed that the incident involved a male victim and female suspected perpetrator broken down by local authority from
2020-21 to 2024-25.

Table 1: Number of domestic abuse incidents recorded by police involving a male victim and female suspected perpetrator, where information was known, by local authority 2020-21 to 2024-25

Local Authority	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25
Aberdeen City	210	165	128	148	190
Aberdeenshire	125	92	126	119	124
Angus	149	159	161	196	145
Argyll and Bute	88	80	83	83	81
City of Edinburgh	507	489	482	525	489
Clackmannanshire	137	96	80	99	70
Dumfries and Galloway	147	112	117	149	168
Dundee City	321	239	284	303	384
East Ayrshire	225	214	243	199	184
East Dunbartonshire	97	78	92	41	56
East Lothian	89	97	110	131	128
East Renfrewshire	78	75	66	27	43
Falkirk	302	289	227	248	287
Fife	906	837	780	738	890
Glasgow City	1,313	1,171	1,139	645	739
Highland	366	350	300	300	359
Inverclyde	125	57	63	36	64
Midlothian	109	113	83	107	120
Moray	93	90	75	76	94
Na h-Eileanan Siar	15	18	21	23	34
North Ayrshire	232	203	183	220	225
North Lanarkshire	759	717	688	625	606
Orkney Islands	18	8	8	18	17
Perth and Kinross	132	125	185	164	200
Renfrewshire	324	147	148	127	131
Scottish Borders	155	153	153	144	137
Shetland Islands	22	16	29	12	16
South Ayrshire	202	177	149	184	165
South Lanarkshire	554	546	545	541	611
Stirling	91	98	108	124	131
West Dunbartonshire	166	144	119	114	130
West Lothian	319	247	286	294	262
Total	8,376	7,402	7,261	6,760	7,280

Source: Official Statistics on Domestic Abuse in Scotland, 2024-25

Question reference: S7W-01684

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Simita Kumar on 29 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what specific support pathway exists for male victims of domestic abuse who are also dealing with addiction recovery, family breakdown, child contact loss and suicide risk.

Question reference: S7W-01642

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Simita Kumar on 28 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase specialist national provision to support male victims of domestic abuse.

Domestic and intimate partner violence, in all its forms, has no place in Scotland. Equally Safe, Scotland’s strategy to prevent and eradicate all forms of violence against women and girls, recognises that men and boys can also be victims of violence and abuse.

We are providing almost £46 million over 2026-2028 through our Delivering Equally Safe Fund, to allow all fund recipients to continue the vital work they undertake to prevent violence and support survivors. In addition, the Victim Centred Approach fund will provide £6 million for specialist advocacy support for survivors of gender-based violence in 2026-27. This includes services which support male survivors -

Men’s Advice Line, who provide emotional support and practical advice and information for male victims of domestic abuse in Scotland.
SACRO’s FearFree Project which supports male and LGBTI survivors of domestic violence.
AMIS, a charity that support men experiencing domestic abuse through their national helpline, website and training services.
The Scottish Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline to support both male and female victims and survivors.
ASSIST, who as part of their work provide advocacy support to male survivors of domestic abuse in the West of Scotland and the Lothians.
LGBT Domestic Abuse project, which works across Scotland to raise awareness and improve service responses of LGBT people's experiences of domestic abuse and other forms of gender based violence.

Our Equally Safe delivery plan commits to the development of a more sustainable funding model aligned to the ambitions of Equally Safe, which will include appropriate national provision of support to male victims of domestic abuse.