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-36014

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 1 April 2025

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

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 to specify expected standards of behaviour when travelling and development of a behaviour code linked to operator’s conditions of carriage and existing legal protections.

We are exploring the legal means to suspend access to concessionary travel for perpetrators of persistent antisocial behaviour of any age, and this will inform development timescales. The National Concessionary Travel Schemes in Scotland are provided on a universal statutory basis, therefore detailed and thorough consideration of any process and penalty must be undertaken to ensure consistency and fairness.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6W-36013

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 31 March 2025

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

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 data collected. Additionally, operator thresholds for reporting antisocial behaviour will vary affecting the consistency of any shared data.

Nevertheless, Transport Scotland is working with the Confederation of Passenger Transport and operators to encourage the industry to collect more data and to similar standards to improve knowledge of antisocial behaviour on buses. This supports the recommendations from the Independent Working Group on antisocial behaviour. Furthermore, the Transport Focus Your Bus Journey survey provides an indication of perceived trends in behaviour on buses. The results for Scotland show that in 2023 5% of respondents stated that passenger behaviour caused concern (8% in England). This increased to 6% in 2024.

Question reference: S6W-35943

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 31 March 2025

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.

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/officers who claimed for in-person attendance at meetings and fact-finding visits to two local authority areas; and teas/coffees for meetings.

Members provided their services free of charge with costs - other than travel expenses, which were met by the Scottish Government - being assumed within their own organisation’s budgets. There were no meeting venue costs as these were held hybrid in Scottish Government buildings or members’ sites. Refreshments were also provided by the respective hosts for these meetings. Most engagement meetings, with stakeholders, were hybrid so incurred no direct expense.

We do not hold any other known direct costs or estimates. The group was supported by a secretariat - generally two Scottish Government officials - whose time costs were contained within existing budgets. One member did require printed copies of meeting papers - contained within a central budget. The Scottish Community Safety Network held two online engagement sessions and costs of these were met from within their existing Scottish Government grant.

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-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: 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: 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.