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-04369

Asked by: Yi-pei Chou Turvey, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 4 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the finding in the Care Inspectorate's report, Serious Incident Reviews - Justice Social Work 2024-2026, that around one fifth of serious incident notifications involved domestic abuse, and what action it is taking in response.

The Scottish Government notes the findings of the Care Inspectorate report on Serious Incident Reviews between 2024 and 2026 including the report that one fifth of serious incident notifications involved domestic abuse.

This demonstrates that domestic abuse remains a significant public protection issue within justice social work and reinforces the importance of robust risk assessment, effective risk management and strong partnership working across agencies.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of identifying what can be learned from serious incidents involving domestic abuse. The recent introduction of domestic homicide and domestic abuse-related suicide reviews (DHSRs) on a statutory basis reflects the importance of understanding the circumstances surrounding deaths where abuse is known or suspected and ensuring that lessons are identified and acted upon to improve services and strengthen public protection.

The Care Inspectorate report makes clear their intent to refresh and update the current serious incident review guidance during the next reporting period. This work will consider how the serious incident review process aligns with the DHSR process. In the meantime, domestic abuse offences that meet the criteria for a serious incident review should continue to be notified to the Care Inspectorate in accordance with current guidance.

Question reference: S7W-04371

Asked by: Yi-pei Chou Turvey, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 4 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the finding in the Care Inspectorate's report, Serious Incident Reviews - Justice Social Work 2024-2026, that nine local authorities reported no serious incidents during the reporting period while six reported 11 or more, and what steps it is taking to ensure the consistent identification and reporting of serious incidents across Scotland.

The Scottish Government notes the findings of the Care Inspectorate report on Serious Incident Reviews between 2024 and 2026.

The report makes clear that the number of notifications should not be interpreted as a direct measure of service quality or performance. Reported figures can be influenced by a range of factors, including population size, the volume of individuals subject to statutory justice social work supervision, geographical variation, and differences in local practices as dedicated justice social work teams seek to address local issues.

The Scottish Government expects all justice social work services to identify and report serious incidents in line with the relevant guidance and reporting framework.

The findings from serious incident review reporting are used to identify trends, share learning and inform continuous improvement activity. The Scottish Government will continue to work with partners to ensure that local authorities are supported to apply reporting criteria consistently and that lessons learned from serious incidents contribute to the development of effective and safe justice social work services.

Question reference: S7W-04367

Asked by: Yi-pei Chou Turvey, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 4 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any relationship between staffing pressures within justice social work services and the delays and other issues identified in the Care Inspectorate's report, Serious Incident Reviews - Justice Social Work 2024-2026.

The Scottish Government notes the findings of the Care Inspectorate report on Serious Incident Reviews between 2024 and 2026. The provision of Justice Social Work services is a matter for the local authorities who have a legislative duty to provide advice, guidance and assistance to those within the justice system.

We are taking action to strengthen the community justice workforce, including justice social work and the third sector. The Scottish Budget for 2026-27 included a further £10 million for community justice, bringing total investment to £169 million. This builds on the £25 million of additional funding committed in the previous two years.

Funding specifically for Justice Social Work Services has increased from £95m in 2016-17 to £148m in 2026-27 (an increase of 55.8% over this period). This investment supports justice social work teams to expand the availability and quality of community-based interventions, including structured programmes, supervision, and support for individuals with complex needs.

Question reference: S7W-04370

Asked by: Yi-pei Chou Turvey, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 4 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the finding in the Care Inspectorate's report, Serious Incident Reviews - Justice Social Work 2024-2026, that almost a quarter of serious incident reviews found that required justice social work progress reviews had not been completed within the required timescales or had not taken place at all.

The Scottish Government notes the findings of the Care Inspectorate report on Serious Incident Reviews between 2024 and 2026. The provision of Justice Social Work is a matter for the local authorities who have a legislative duty to provide advice, guidance and assistance to those within the justice system.

We published revised National Outcomes and Practice Standards for Justice Social Work in September of this year. The revised Practice Standards highlight the importance of regular reviews of the case management plan involving all relevant people involved to ensure progress is monitored and any remedial action required can be implemented. There is an expectation that these Standards will be integrated into practice and will be subject to further scrutiny from the Care Inspectorate in due course.

Question reference: S7W-04368

Asked by: Yi-pei Chou Turvey, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 4 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the finding in the Care Inspectorate's report, Serious Incident Reviews - Justice Social Work 2024-2026, that serious incident notifications increased by 34% compared with the previous reporting period, including what factors it considers have contributed to this increase.

The Scottish Government notes the findings of the Care Inspectorate report on Serious Incident Reviews between 2024 and 2026. In that report, the Care Inspectorate puts the increase in notifications in the context of the number of statutory community-based throughcare cases commencing and the number of community orders imposed having increased during this reporting period. The report suggests that improved awareness and application of the national guidance may also be a factor.

Question reference: S7O-00444

Asked by: Yi-pei Chou Turvey, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 October 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to Aberdeen City Council's recent report, Mapping the creative industries in North East Scotland, which recorded that the north east receives 44% of the Scottish average of regular arts funding.

Question reference: S7W-03954

Asked by: Yi-pei Chou Turvey, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 02 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Kirsten Oswald on 22 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of adults reported that noisy neighbours or regular loud parties were very or fairly common in their neighbourhood in each year for which data is available since 2016, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S7W-03950

Asked by: Yi-pei Chou Turvey, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 02 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Kirsten Oswald on 22 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of adults reported feeling safe when walking alone in their local neighbourhood after dark in each year for which data is available since 2016, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S7W-03956

Asked by: Yi-pei Chou Turvey, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 02 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Kirsten Oswald on 22 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of adults reported vandalism, graffiti or other deliberate damage to property as a neighbourhood problem in each year for which data is available since 2016, broken down by local authority area.

Scottish Household Survey results on percentage of adults reporting that vandalism, graffiti or other deliberate damage to property was very or fairly common in their neighbourhood, by year and by local authority area, are publicly available from https://www.gov.scot/publications/neighbourhoods-communities-2023-findings-scottish-household-survey/documents/ (see table 2.31 in the OpenDocument Spreadsheet).

Question reference: S7W-03952

Asked by: Yi-pei Chou Turvey, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 02 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Kirsten Oswald on 22 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of adults reported that animal nuisance, such as noise or dog fouling, was very or fairly common in their neighbourhood in each year for which data is available since 2016, broken down by local authority area.