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-42458

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 6 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the Civil Litigation (Expenses and Group Proceedings) (Scotland) Act 2018, when it will publish the statutory review of qualified one-way costs shifting (QOCS), which it is required to undertake “as soon as practicable after the end of the 5-year period", which was 5 June 2023.

Under section 23 of the Civil Litigation (Expenses and Group Proceedings) (Scotland) Act 2018, Scottish Ministers must review the operation of Parts 1 to 3 and report to the Scottish Parliament as soon as practicable after the end of the five-year period following Royal Assent. The intention behind this period was to allow sufficient time for those Parts to be fully in force and operating as intended before the review took place.

While some sections came into force on Royal Assent and others shortly thereafter, implementation of Qualified One-Way Costs Shifting (QOCS)—which sits within Part 2 —required detailed court rules. Work on these rules was delayed because urgent rule changes were needed to keep courts operating under COVID-19 restrictions. As a result, QOCS did not come into effect until June 2021.

The Act specifies that the review must include information on the effect of QOCS on access to justice and the administration of the courts. To provide a meaningful assessment based on robust and meaningful data, the review will therefore focus on five years of actual operation rather than five years from Royal Assent. This approach reflects the original policy intention.

The Scottish Government will publish the review once sufficient evidence has been gathered and analysed. This will be after QOCS has operated for five years, ensuring the review reflects its practical effects on access to justice and court administration.

Question reference: S6W-42460

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 6 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the Civil Litigation (Expenses and Group Proceedings) (Scotland) Act 2018, which Minister or directorate has responsibility for progressing the statutory review of qualified one-way costs shifting (QOCS), and what oversight arrangements are in place to ensure that it is completed.

The statutory review of qualified one-way costs shifting (QOCS), as provided for under the Civil Litigation (Expenses and Group Proceedings) (Scotland) Act 2018, falls under the portfolio of the Minister for Victims and Community Safety, who has responsibility for civil law policy.

Operational responsibility sits with the Directorate for Justice – Civil Law and Legal System Division within the Scottish Government. Oversight arrangements include internal governance through the Justice Directorate’s policy teams and senior officials to ensure the review is completed in line with statutory requirements.

Question reference: S6W-42804

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 January 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of any delays to the national roll-out of body-worn video cameras on police officer safety, in light of reported reductions in assaults on officers in divisions where the technology is already in use.

Question reference: S6W-42803

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 January 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates that all frontline Police Scotland officers will be routinely equipped with body-worn video cameras, and what its position is on whether inconsistent access undermines (a) officer safety, (b) victim confidence and (c) public trust.

Question reference: S6W-42805

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 January 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether any delay to the roll-out of body-worn video cameras is preventing Police Scotland from fully realising any benefits in court efficiency, including reductions in officer court citations and earlier guilty pleas.

Question reference: S6W-42806

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 January 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government which governance group is responsible for overseeing the delivery of body-worn video cameras for Police Scotland; when it last considered progress, and what action it has taken to address any delays.

Question reference: S6W-42561

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 5 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether any special adviser provided advice or guidance on how the Scottish Government should handle or respond to the concerns raised by Professor Alexis Jay on 26 September 2025, including any recommendation regarding whether the parliamentary record should be corrected.

Question reference: S6W-42556

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 5 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce does not maintain a formal risk register, and whether it plans to introduce one.

Question reference: S6W-42559

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 5 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs personally approved the decision to clarify Professor Alexis Jay’s position solely within the minute of the National Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Strategic Group meeting of 8 October 2025, and for what reason this clarification was not made to the Parliament.

Question reference: S6W-42557

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 5 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether any civil servant or special adviser provided advice to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs recommending that she correct or clarify the parliamentary record following the letter sent to her by Professor Alexis Jay on 26 September 2025.

As already noted in my 11 December response to the member’s previous question (S6W-42117), following Professor Alexis Jay’s letter of 26 September, Scottish Government officials contacted Professor Alexis Jay about this matter. As Professor Jay’s request was for clarification of the quote by providing additional context, it was agreed that it would be minuted at the Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Strategic Group’s meeting on 8 October that the quote was correct, but was from January and not made specifically in relation to the amendment or the Victims Bill.

I considered these steps satisfactory when advised on 7 October by Scottish Government officials, noting that Professor Jay was content with this approach as it put her position on the public record via publication of the meeting minutes on the Scottish Government’s website.

I subsequently wrote to the editor of the Official Report on 17 December with a request to update the parliamentary record to clarify the context of Professor Jay’s quote. I was advised that the proposed change could not be made under the Official Report’s remit or the members’ correction procedure.

To ensure that the correction I sought was made widely known, I made two Points of Order, and wrote a letter to the Presiding Officer, which was copied to business managers and members who are not represented in the Parliamentary Bureau. I also placed a copy of this letter in SPICe.

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.