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-35791

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 28 March 2025

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.

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 investment next year of a record £1.62 billion for policing.

Retail workers must be safe at work, abuse and violence are unacceptable. Strong legal protections are in place, including specific offences for assaulting or threatening retail staff.

Police Scotland remain focused on keeping communities safe from harm and bringing offenders to justice.

Question reference: S6W-35953

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 27 March 2025

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

Question reference: S6O-04487

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 March 2025

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

Question reference: S6W-34588

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 27 February 2025

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.

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 areas that contribute to violence prevention and harm reduction.

Preparations are currently being made for a further meeting involving those cross-party MSPs who attended the summit.

Question reference: S6W-34993

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 26 February 2025

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.

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 Parliament, provides dog owners with information on caring for their pets. This has been promoted by various marketing campaigns in recent years working in partnership with the relevant stakeholders.

Furthermore The Scottish Government would encourage all dog owners to follow the guidance and advice from reputable organisations such as the Scottish SPCA, the Dogs Trust and others if they require assistance with the use of crates for their dogs and crate training.

Question reference: S6W-34994

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 26 February 2025

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.

Question reference: S6O-04375

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 February 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 February 2025

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

Question reference: S6W-33825

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 4 February 2025

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

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 budget to support the delivery of high-quality education and training.

The £13.2m (2.1%) increase in the 2025-26 net college resource budget allocation includes funds of £4.5m to support the college lecturer pay settlement and funds to cover increased pension costs.

In addition to this, as negotiations progressed around the budget agreement, we have now agreed a proposal to invest a further £3.5m in targeted support for the College sector. This will be used to create an Offshore Wind Skills Programme and College Care Skill Programme, supporting a pipeline of skilled workers.

Colleges continue to deliver exceptional learning to students while driving forward reforms, and the Scottish Government and the SFC will continue to work closely with the sector to diversify funding opportunities and deliver more flexible funding arrangements.

The Scottish Funding Council will now 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.

Question reference: S6W-33823

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 4 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with (a) the college sector and (b) Ayrshire College regarding its draft budget 2025-26.

The Scottish Government engages regularly with the college sector on a range of issues, including the 2025-26 budget, via Colleges Scotland.

The Scottish Government has had no direct engagement with Ayrshire College on the 2025-26 budget.

With the publication of the 2025-26 budget, it is now the role of the Scottish Funding Council to engage closely with colleges to identify the best split of available resources, taking into account Government priorities and the needs of the college sector.

Question reference: S6W-33826

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 4 February 2025

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.