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Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs)
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Sanne Dijkstra-Downie

Scottish Liberal Democrats

MSP for Edinburgh Northern (Constituency)

About Sanne Dijkstra-Downie

Contact details

Contact online

Career as MSP

Career as MSP

Scottish Liberal Democrats
MSP for Edinburgh Northern (Constituency)
07 May 2026 to present

Committees

Sanne Dijkstra-Downie is a member of 2 committees

Climate Action Committee

Member

Transport Committee

Substitute Member

Cross-party groups

Sanne Dijkstra-Downie is not a member of any cross-party groups

Parliamentary and Government Roles

Sanne Dijkstra-Downie does not have any parliamentary or government roles

Party Roles

Sanne Dijkstra-Downie has 1 party role

Spokesperson for Climate, Environment & Energy

Scottish Liberal Democrats

Previous roles

Sanne Dijkstra-Downie does not have any previous roles

Previous roles in cross-party groups are not included in this list.

Register of interests

Sanne Dijkstra-Downie's register of interests

MSPs must provide details of their financial interests in the Register of Interests. They make an initial statement on becoming or being returned as an MSP. This is then updated with any changes they provide.

Here is the register for Sanne Dijkstra-Downie. The date of their initial statement was 04 June 2026.

Remuneration and related undertaking

I am a self-employed professional face painter at Flair Face Painting. I spend occasional days on this role, typically during school holidays. I earn between £1,001 and £2,000 gross per annum.

I am a Councillor for the City of Edinburgh Council (of City Chambers, High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1YJ). Following my election, I spend approximately 30 hours per month on this role, which varies widely from week to week. I receive a salary and use of a mobile phone, laptop and tablet. I estimate the total combined value of this remuneration is between £25,001 and £30,000 per annum. The basic annual councillor salary is deducted from my MSP salary.

Gifts

No registrable interests.

Overseas visits

No registrable interests.

Controlled transactions

No registrable interests.

Heritable property

No registrable interests.

Interest in shares

No registrable interests.

Voluntary

No registrable interests.

Recent Activity

Official Report

What Sanne Dijkstra-Downie has said in Parliament

These are the official transcripts of what was said by this MSP in the chamber and at committee meetings. You'll find the topic discussed and how many times this MSP has contributed to the discussion.

Interests

Climate Action Committee meeting date: 25 June 2026

Sanne Dijkstra-Downie (Edinburgh Northern) (LD): "My entry in the register of members’ interests says that I am a councillor at City of Edinburgh Council. I also declare that my husband is employed as a principal engineer by Sweco, which is an Edinburgh-based engineering consultancy firm."

Violence in Schools

Chamber meeting date: 23 June 2026

Sanne Dijkstra-Downie (Edinburgh Northern) (LD): "A recent report to City of Edinburgh Council’s education, children and families committee showed that there were more than 2,000 violent incidents in Edinburgh schools last year, which was a 43 per cent increase on figures from the previous year…

Climate Change

Chamber meeting date: 23 June 2026

Sanne Dijkstra-Downie (Edinburgh Northern) (LD): "In 2021, I spent a week at the 26th United Nations climate change conference of the parties—COP26—in Glasgow…

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Statistics 2024

Chamber meeting date: 9 June 2026

Sanne Dijkstra-Downie (Edinburgh Northern) (LD): "I thank the cabinet secretary for advance sight of her statement, and I welcome her to her role.I very much share the cabinet secretary’s ambition in relation to climate change requiring sensible and practical solutions, not ideological blockages…

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Statistics 2024

Chamber meeting date: 9 June 2026

Sanne Dijkstra-Downie (Edinburgh Northern) (LD): "I thank the cabinet secretary for advance sight of her statement, and I welcome her to her role.I very much share the cabinet secretary’s ambition in relation to climate change requiring sensible and practical solutions, not ideological blockages…

Votes

How Sanne Dijkstra-Downie has voted in Parliament

Find out how Sanne Dijkstra-Downie has voted recently.

Eradicating Child Poverty, the Scottish Government’s Defining Mission

Motion ref. S7M-01022

Submitted by: Shirley-Anne Somerville, Dunfermline, Scottish National Party. Date lodged: Tuesday, September 1, 2026

Supported by: Siobhian Brown, Simita Kumar, Màiri McAllan
Current status: Taken in the Chamber on Thursday, September 3, 2026

Result 36 for, 63 against, 15 abstained, 15 did not vote

MSP voted for

Disagreed

Eradicating Child Poverty, the Scottish Government’s Defining Mission

Motion ref. S7M-01022.4

Submitted by: Morven-May MacCallum, Highlands and Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats. Date lodged: Wednesday, September 2, 2026

Current status: Taken in the Chamber on Thursday, September 3, 2026

Result 59 for, 54 against, 0 abstained, 16 did not vote

MSP voted for

Agreed

Eradicating Child Poverty, the Scottish Government’s Defining Mission

Motion ref. S7M-01022.1

Submitted by: Mark Griffin, Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour. Date lodged: Wednesday, September 2, 2026

Supported by: Paul Sweeney
Current status: Taken in the Chamber on Thursday, September 3, 2026

Result 35 for, 68 against, 9 abstained, 17 did not vote

MSP voted for

Disagreed

Eradicating Child Poverty, the Scottish Government’s Defining Mission

Motion ref. S7M-01022.2

Submitted by: Holly Bruce, Glasgow Southside, Scottish Green Party. Date lodged: Wednesday, September 2, 2026

Current status: Taken in the Chamber on Thursday, September 3, 2026

Result 15 for, 83 against, 13 abstained, 18 did not vote

MSP voted against

Disagreed

Eradicating Child Poverty, the Scottish Government’s Defining Mission

Motion ref. S7M-01022.5

Submitted by: Julie MacDougall, Mid Scotland and Fife, Reform UK . Date lodged: Wednesday, September 2, 2026

Current status: Taken in the Chamber on Thursday, September 3, 2026

Result 21 for, 90 against, 0 abstained, 18 did not vote

MSP voted against

Disagreed

Motions

Motions made by Sanne Dijkstra-Downie in Parliament

Find out what motions Sanne Dijkstra-Downie has submitted recently.

Questions

Questions Sanne Dijkstra-Downie has asked

These are the questions that this MSP has asked in Parliament. It also includes any answer to those questions.

Question reference: S7W-02901

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats

Date lodged: 3 September 2026

Current Status: Answer expected on 18 September 2026

"To ask the Scottish Government how many online advertisements or social media accounts offering illegal waste disposal services have been identified and removed in each of the last five years, and what assessment it and its agencies have made of the role of online platforms in facilitating waste crime."

Question reference: S7W-02904

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats

Date lodged: 3 September 2026

Current Status: Answer expected on 18 September 2026

"To ask the Scottish Government whether it is satisfied that the current definition and recording of waste crime adequately capture large-scale illegal waste operations, including sites where waste is deliberately stored or buried over an extended period, rather than being disposed of through fly-tipping."

Question reference: S7W-02905

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats

Date lodged: 3 September 2026

Current Status: Answer expected on 18 September 2026

"To ask the Scottish Government how much money has been recovered from individuals and organisations involved in illegal waste operations in each of the last five years."

Question reference: S7W-02902

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats

Date lodged: 3 September 2026

Current Status: Answer expected on 18 September 2026

"To ask the Scottish Government whether it has identified any illegal waste sites in Scotland containing more than 20,000 tonnes of waste, comparable to the "super sites" recently identified in England, and, if so, how many such sites are known to SEPA."

Question reference: S7W-02903

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats

Date lodged: 3 September 2026

Current Status: Answer expected on 18 September 2026

"To ask the Scottish Government how many high-priority illegal waste sites SEPA is currently monitoring, broken down by (a) estimated tonnage of waste and (b) site location."

Question reference: S7W-02906

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats

Date lodged: 3 September 2026

Current Status: Answer expected on 18 September 2026

"To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the total cost to taxpayers of investigating, securing and clearing illegal waste sites over the last five years, and what proportion of these costs has subsequently been recovered from those responsible."

Question reference: S7W-02907

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats

Date lodged: 3 September 2026

Current Status: Answer expected on 18 September 2026

"To ask the Scottish Government how many vehicles have been searched or seized using powers introduced under the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024 in relation to suspected illegal waste activity, and how many of these cases have led to enforcement action since the introduction of the Act."

Question reference: S7W-02342

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats

Date lodged: 7 August 2026

Current Status: Answered by Alison Thewliss on 26 August 2026

"To ask the Scottish Government, in light of individuals being advised that they face a wait of 50 weeks for such treatment, whether it is satisfied with the current waiting times for audiology treatment in NHS Lothian, and what action it is taking to reduce waiting times and improve access to treatment."

Question reference: S7W-02295

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats

Date lodged: 5 August 2026

Current Status: Answered by Stephen Gethins on 26 August 2026

"To ask the Scottish Government what its latest estimate is of the total number of jobs that have been created in Scotland's supply chain as a direct result of the ScotWind programme, and how this compares with the estimates made when the programme was launched in 2022."

Question reference: S7W-02296

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats

Date lodged: 5 August 2026

Current Status: Answered by Stephen Gethins on 26 August 2026

"To ask the Scottish Government what its latest estimate is of the total value of ScotWind project expenditure that will be spent in Scotland over the lifetime of the programme, and how this compares with the estimates it has previously provided."