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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6W-22173

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 20 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government at which stations Scottish Fire and Rescue Service high reach appliances will be located.

Question reference: S6O-02621

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 October 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much public money it plans to spend in this financial year and in 2024-25 on any work designed to further the case for Scottish independence, including the costs of publication of any independence-related documents.

Question reference: S6W-21761

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Dorothy Bain on 17 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have received an alternative to prosecution from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service for committing an offence under the Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-restricted Goods and Services) (Scotland) Act 2021 since it came into force.

Between 24 August 2021 (when the legislation came into force) and 31 August 2023, the total number of cases reported to COPFS under section 1 of the Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-Restricted Good and Services) (Scotland) Act 2021 was 2503.

Of these 2503, 203 cases (8%), were marked for a direct measure, such as a fiscal fine, compensation orders, or diversion from prosecution.

The information is provided under the caveat that: COPFS uses a live, operational database to manage the processing of reports submitted to Procurators Fiscal by the police and other reporting agencies throughout Scotland.It is designed to meet business needs in the processing of criminal cases, rather than for statistical analysis, and the information within it is structured accordingly.

Offending behaviour which contravened section 1 of the 2021 Act may have been reported to the Procurator Fiscal and prosecuted under alternative legislation (e.g., section 38 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 – threatening or abusive behaviour) or as an offence at common law (e.g., assault or breach of the peace).

Question reference: S6W-21763

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 11 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide additional resources to Police Scotland to ensure that shoplifting is investigated promptly and to avoid this type of offending being deprioritised.

Policing is and will continue to be a priority for this Government. Police funding has increased year-on-year since 2016-17, with the Scottish Government investing more than £11.6 billion since the creation of Police Scotland in 2013. The total budget for policing in 2023-24 is over £1.4 billion, which includes an additional £80 million in resource funding. This provides a stable basis from which to improve the delivery of policing and enhance the safety and security of communities across Scotland.

Specific decisions on deployment of resources are a matter for the Chief Constable who is accountable to the Scottish Police Authority.

Anyone affected by this kind of incident should report it to Police Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-21762

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 11 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported warnings from several national supermarkets regarding an increase in shoplifting.

The Scottish Government recognises the disruption and harm to businesses from theft and antisocial behaviour, and Police Scotland and partners are taking action to tackle and reduce it.

As the First Minister made clear in the chamber on 5 October 2023, while the latest recorded crime data for shoplifting shows an increase, the level remains below pre-pandemic levels.

The Scottish Government fully supports the innovative Scottish Partnership Against Acquisitive Crime, which is led by Police Scotland and includes a number of other organisations including retailers.

The Partnership is taking a collaborative approach to preventing and deterring crimes such as shoplifting through the sharing of best practice and intelligence, alongside enforcement activity.

Anyone affected by this kind of incident should report it to Police Scotland who remain focused on keeping our communities safe from harm.

Question reference: S6W-21410

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 11 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to update its Partnership Information Network (PIN) policies in partnership with NHS Scotland employers.

The NHSScotland 'Once for Scotland' Workforce Policies Programme commenced work to review and transform existing workforce policies (PIN policies) on 1 March 2020. Work was paused during the pandemic and in response to service pressures before being restarted in June 2022.

The ‘Once for Scotland’ policies are developed nationally in partnership with NHSScotland employers, trade unions and the Scottish Government. The refreshed, simple, standardised, person centred policies and guides are accessible on an innovative digital solution. They set the national standard for employment practice in NHSScotland.

Question reference: S6W-21760

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 9 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been convicted of an offence under the Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-restricted Goods and Services) (Scotland) Act 2021 since it came into force.

The numbers of accused prosecuted and convicted under the new Protection of Retail Workers (Scotland) Act, which came into force in August 2021, will be available when the Criminal Proceedings National Statistics is published on the 24 th of October 2023. These statistics will cover the period up to March 2022.

Although the information about accused prosecuted and convicted under the new Act is not available yet, data about the number of charges resulting in a conviction has been extracted from the management information used to publish the Scottish Government Justice Analytical Services Criminal Disposals Dashboard (Source: Scottish Government Justice Analytical Services Criminal Disposals Dashboard ).

The number of charges under the new Protection of Retail Workers (Scotland) Act that have received a conviction in criminal court from August 2021 up to March 2023 was 543.

Question reference: S6F-02441

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 October 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 October 2023

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government will take to tackle the reported rising rates of crime and antisocial behaviour at retail premises.

Question reference: S6W-21587

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 29 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to reduce waiting times for physiotherapy appointments in NHS Ayrshire and Arran.

We committed in our Integrated Health and Social Care Workforce Plan (December 2019) to create 225 more Advanced Musculo-Skeletal Practitioners in Primary Care.

This is to support the embedding of multi-disciplinary teams in primary care settings and enable people to be seen by a specialist physiotherapist at the very earliest opportunity.

A total of 37 students were recruited in 2021-22, and a further 52 were recruited in 2022-23. It is anticipated that 50 students will be recruited in each of the next 2 academic years, meaning we are on track for meeting this commitment by 2025-26.

The first cohort of students will graduate in September 2023 and a number will be located in NHS Ayrshire and Arran.

Question reference: S6W-21405

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 29 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what conditions must be met to qualify for an energy saving grant from Home Energy Scotland.

The Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme was launched in December 2022 and offers homeowners in Scotland a grant, interest free loan or a combination of both to support the installation of zero direct emission heating systems and energy efficiency measures.

The scheme is open to all domestic homeowners in Scotland who live in the property they own.

Further information regarding scheme requirements is available on the Home Energy Scotland website: https://www.homeenergyscotland.org/funding/grants-loans/detail/