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-02848

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether all the public funding required for the deployment of artificial intelligence technology proposed to support thrombectomy services has been approved, and, if not, what funding remains to be approved.

Question reference: S7W-02850

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government who has responsibility for providing the final financial approval required for the deployment of artificial intelligence technology proposed to support thrombectomy services.

Question reference: S7W-02838

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what formal mechanisms are in place to ensure that the Scottish Ministers maintain active oversight of, and provide appropriate support for, the implementation of recommendations arising from any independent or internal reviews into the prosecution of sexual offences, and how frequently progress is jointly assessed with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

Appropriate governance and oversight mechanisms will depend on the nature of a review and the scope of its recommendations. For example, following Lady Dorrian’s 2021 review on Improving the Management of Sexual Offence Cases the Scottish Government established the Lady Dorrian Review Governance Group to consider approaches to implementing the review’s recommendations. Many of the recommendations requiring legislation were taken forward in the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill, which was enacted last year, and the Group remained active throughout the Bill’s passage.

For internal reviews, responsibility lies with the relevant organisation. For example, in 2021 the then Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain KC, commissioned Susanne Tanner KC to carry out a review of how prosecutors deal with reports of sexual offences. The report, which was published in December 2025, is being considered by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

There are also regular cross-sector forums where key issues relating to the prosecution of sexual offence cases may be reviewed and discussed as necessary, including the Victims Taskforce, which I co-chair with the Lord Advocate. Details of the Taskforce’s meetings and work can be found here: Victims Taskforce - gov.scot.

Question reference: S7W-02846

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2026
Current Status: Holding Answer by Simita Kumar on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of Glasgow City Council's new pay and grading structure on the delivery of outcomes funded through the Equally Safe fund.

Question reference: S7O-00252

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2026
Current Status: Due to be taken in the Chamber on 22 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that frontline police officers are not routinely used to fill any gaps in mental health provision.

Question reference: S7W-02837

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 16 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to work proactively with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service to address any systemic delays in the prosecution of sexual offences and to improve support for survivors of sexual violence.

Survivors show great bravery and trust in our justice system when they come forward to report sexual violence. There has been a long-term increase in the reporting and prosecution of sexual offence cases, which in part reflects the growing confidence victims have in reporting, as well as the success of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) in prosecuting these cases.

The Scottish Government and COPFS meet regularly at both Ministerial and official level, and improving the experiences of survivors of sexual offences is a key area of focus. Through the Victims Taskforce, co-chaired by myself and Lord Advocate, we are working with justice partners to improve the experiences of victims and survivors, including those affected by sexual violence - in particular COPFS are members of the Trauma-informed Workstream of the Taskforce, dedicated to implementing the trauma informed knowledge and skills framework, and the Communications Workstream, which focuses on improving communication with victims and witnesses. The Taskforce’s work is informed by the Victims and Survivors Advisory Board, ensuring that lived experience is central to the development of a trauma-informed and person-centred justice system that better meets the needs of victims and survivors.

The Scottish Government has also significantly increased investment in COPFS over recent years, recognising the growing volume and complexity of casework, including the increase in sexual offence cases. The Crown Office budget allocation for 2026-27 is £259.9 million – more than double the Service’s published budget for 2019-20.

Question reference: S7W-03309

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 29 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the code of practice on investigative functions as set out in section 57 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016, (a) how many revisions there have been since the Act came in to force, (b) how long each revised version was in place for, and (c) what was the reason for each review.

Question reference: S7W-03323

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 29 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many police officers on modified duty were conducting "back office" roles in Police Scotland in the last year.

Question reference: S7W-03324

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 29 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many police officers not on modified duty were conducting "back office" roles in Police Scotland in the last year.

Question reference: S7W-03322

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 29 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how often resource tolerance indicators have been met by Police Scotland in each of the last five years.