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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-21404

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 whether it has any plans to widen eligibility for people to receive a grant from Home Energy Scotland to enable more people to make energy saving improvements.

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.

As the scheme is already open to all domestic homeowners in Scotland who live in the property they own, there are currently no plans to widen the eligibility of the scheme.

Question reference: S6O-02601

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how and when it will introduce a leavers fund for victims of domestic abuse, which would provide a social security payment for those who feel the need to flee their homes.

Question reference: S6W-21257

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 26 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it remains committed to the introduction of restorative justice services, and, if so, when it plans to roll this out fully across the country.

We remain committed to having restorative justice (RJ) services available across Scotland. We are clear that the needs and voices of persons harmed must to be central to RJ processes and that services must be safe, consistent, evidence-led, trauma informed and of a high standard.

Restorative justice is already possible, with RJ services available in some areas and national guidance in place. We are continuing our work to develop a national service, based on a hub and spoke model.

The pandemic slowed progress and initial development work also identified complexities which need further exploration. We are committed to taking the time to resolve these issues and develop a safe and robust system. Work is underway with partners across the justice system to do this.

A national Hub has been established within Community Justice Scotland (CJS) (focused on RJ for adults) and the Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice (CYCJ) are developing similar services for children and young people. Work is currently focussed on developing a policy and practice framework and on testing the model within the Lothian and Borders area.

Following testing and evaluation of the model in Lothian and Borders, we will work with CJS, CYCJ, partners across the justice system and adults, children and young people who may wish to access RJ to plan the expansion of RJ.

Question reference: S6W-21265

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 26 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many prisons are currently operating over their capacity, and to what extent that is the case.

The Scottish Government recognises that the imprisonment rate in Scotland is high and we are taking action to address that. I wrote to the Criminal Justice Committee on 13 September, to highlight the issue and outline the actions being taken to tackle the rise in the prison population, this letter can be found at: Scotland's Prison Population | Scottish Parliament Website

Furthermore, regarding operational matters, I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The prisoner population on 15 September 2023 of those establishments operating above their design capacity is detailed within the following table:

Establishment	Design Capacity	Population 15-09-23	Population levels


Addiewell	702	723	103%
Barlinnie	987	1409	143%
Dumfries	176	187	106%
Glenochil	668	743	111%
Greenock	224	232	104%
Inverness	93	126	135%
Kilmarnock	501	591	118%
Low Moss	784	829	106%
Perth	631	661	105%

Question reference: S6W-21262

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Dorothy Bain on 21 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many accused have been offered alternatives to prosecution for assault in each of the last five years.

The following table sets out the number of accused receiving a direct measure as a first substantive marking compared to the total number of accused receiving a first substantive marking (all types including: court, direct measure, no action, no decision) in cases including an assault charge (within the Scottish Government Classification of “Common Assault”):

Year	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Direct Measure	3,178	2,717	2,528	2,159	2,500
Total	25,926	25,052	23,409	22,896	23,059

Direct measures include a range of alternatives to prosecution, namely: fiscal fines, compensation orders, combined fiscal fine and compensation orders, fiscal work orders, diversion from prosecution, referral to the Children’s Reporter and warning letters.

Question reference: S6W-21263

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Dorothy Bain on 21 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many times the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service chose to take no action in (a) Ayr and (b) Kilmarnock in each of the last five years.

Prosecutors do not always choose to mark a case for no action, they may require to do so if there is not sufficient admissible evidence available in law to justify prosecutorial action or where the statutory time limits have been exceeded.

The following table sets out the total number of criminal cases in which no action was taken by the prosecutor at a) Ayr and b) Kilmarnock in each of the last 5 years.

Year	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Ayr PF Office	396	414	372	312	267
Kilmarnock PF Office	733	714	731	629	493

Question reference: S6W-21264

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Dorothy Bain on 21 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many fiscal fines have been issued to individuals who have committed an offence in Ayr in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S6O-02532

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates that body-worn cameras will be delivered to over 14,000 police officers, in light of its 2023-24 Programme for Government commitment to support Police Scotland to achieve this.

Question reference: S6W-20616

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 31 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-19825 by Natalie Don on 27 July 2023, when it anticipates it will be able to provide clarity regarding the sum outstanding on the anticipated £500 million in the fund, and how it anticipates the remaining allocation will be spent.

The Scottish Government remains resolute in its commitment to Keep the Promise and the implementation plan published last year sets out our actions and commitments to help care experienced children, young people and their families. The Whole Family Wellbeing Funding (WFWF) is a key element of these commitments.

We recently published the WFWF Year 1 evaluation interim report, which we are using to inform decisions on the best use of the outstanding WFWF. Our plans for the remaining allocation will be provided in due course.

Question reference: S6W-20511

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 29 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the policy grounds were for deciding that those over the age of 61 do not qualify for a student loan in Scotland.