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: S6W-39874

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 10 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to support commercial tenants.

Question reference: S6W-39875

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 10 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what recent engagement it has had with the tenancy deposit schemes operating in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-39872

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 10 September 2025

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.

Question reference: S6W-39546

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 7 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce a presumption of shared parenting into law.

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 11 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, which is the key legislation in relation to contact, residence and parental responsibilities and rights. When deciding whether to make an order under section 11 (e.g. a contact or residence order) the welfare of the child must be the court’s paramount consideration.

The Scottish Government has no plans to change the law to introduce a presumption of shared parenting, as this could cut across the driving principle of the legislation that the welfare of the child is paramount.

However, section 16 of the Children (Scotland) Act 2020, once in force, will require the court to consider the effect of any order under section 11 of the 1995 Act on the involvement of the child's parents in bringing the child up. We plan to make further commencement regulations later this year to bring provisions, including section 16, into force in October 2026.

Question reference: S6W-39643

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 July 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 26 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the recommendations of the Independent Review of the Victim Notification Scheme have been implemented.

Question reference: S6W-39642

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 July 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 26 August 2025

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.

Question reference: S6W-39644

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 July 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 26 August 2025

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.

Question reference: S6W-39229

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 29 July 2025

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.

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 30 April 2025.

Minutes of these meetings can be found at:

Police Scotland and Scottish Government meeting: February 2025 - gov.scot

Police Scotland and Scottish Government meeting: April 2025 - gov.scot

Question reference: S6W-39228

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 29 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what measures are being taken to improve the mental health of police officers.

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 and Occupational Health counselling, Police Scotland has invested £17 million to enhance welfare provision. This included a new 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme, direct access to occupational health services and a greater focus on mental health.

This highlights the priority that Police Scotland places on supporting the health and wellbeing of the workforce, supported by a Health and Wellbeing Action Plan to underpin delivery.

Question reference: S6W-39227

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 29 July 2025

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.

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’s commitment to workforce wellbeing. I am pleased that in addition to the provision of Trauma Risk Incident Management assessments and Occupational Health counselling, Police Scotland has invested £17 million to enhance welfare provision. This included a new 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme and direct access to occupational health services, where officers suffering psychological or physical trauma can be supported.