- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 9 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason there has reportedly been a reduction of nearly 800 police officers since 2013, and what plans it has to reverse any such trend.
Answer
The recruitment and deployment of police officers is a matter for the Chief Constable. The Scottish Government has increased police funding year-on-year since 2016-17, investing more than £14.6 billion since the creation of Police Scotland in 2013, with £1.64 billion being invested this year. Scottish Government funding in 2024-25 enabled Police Scotland to undertake the highest level of recruitment since its inception and Scotland continues to have more police officers per capita than England and Wales.
The Chief Constable has made it clear that she intends to bring the frontline of policing to its strongest possible position and that frontline strength goes beyond an overall officer headcount to focus on the whole policing workforce. Police Scotland’s three-year Business Plan 2024-2027 sets out an ambitious programme of workforce modernisation, reducing back-office duplication and creating capacity to deal with new and emerging threats. The current Police Scotland workforce figures indicate that the total policing workforce stands at 22,482 (FTE).
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 9 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish a full household impact assessment of its net zero strategy, disaggregated by income group, rurality and housing tenure.
Answer
The forthcoming draft Climate Change Plan will set out our pathway to net zero over the plan period of 2026-2040, in a way that is just and fair. Our plan will also set out the estimated costs and benefits of the policies and proposals within.
The plan will be subject to, and published alongside, a suite of impact assessments which ensure policies and proposals are informed by evidence and consider their potential effects on individuals, businesses, and communities. These published impact assessments will include, amongst others, an Equalities Impact Assessment (EQIA) and an Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA), which ensure our policy drives progress towards our National Outcomes, statutory targets and commitments within the Policy Prospectus.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 9 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to reverse any decline in visible neighbourhood policing since the formation of Police Scotland in 2013.
Answer
The operation of Police Scotland, including staffing, is a matter for the Chief Constable, who is supported by the Scottish Government to shape the workforce in response to operational needs. Police Scotland’s 2024-25 Annual Policing Plan outlines a future model focused on strengthened community policing. As of 31 March 2025, there were 16,553 FTE officers and 5,929 support staff, totalling 22,482 FTE. The Chief Constable has confirmed that the 2025-26 budget will maintain officer numbers between 16,500 and 16,600. We are increasing policing investment by £90 million this year, bringing total funding to a record £1.64 billion.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 9 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to Police Scotland survey data, which reportedly shows that only 31% of officers feel supported by their executive team and many are leaving due to stress.
Answer
Officer wellbeing and retention are operational matters for Police Scotland. I refer the member to my response to S6W-35420 on 17 March.
The Chief Constable has stated to the Criminal Justice Committee that the wellbeing of police officers and staff is one of her main priorities. Police Scotland has made a £17 million investment in wellbeing, which includes a 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme and enhanced occupational health services, to support officers and staff wellbeing.
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
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 9 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to reduce the number of police officers assigned to non-criminal complaints investigations, in light of reported concerns that police resources are being diverted to investigate “hurt feelings”.
Answer
The operation of Police Scotland, including the deployment of officers, is for the Chief Constable. The latest official statistics show there were 16,553 FTE police officers in Scotland on 31 March 2025. The Scottish Government supports the Chief Constable in having the flexibility to develop and utilise her workforce in a way that responds to the challenges she faces by ensuring she has the right workforce in place. In 2025-26, we are increasing investment in policing by £90 million to a record £1.64 billion to support police capacity and capability.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 9 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the detailed Project Willow report by EY-Parthenon and in relation
to Project 4, how it plans to increase the production of Scottish softwood from
approximately 6.2 Mtpa in 2023 to approximately 10.1 Mtpa by 2040, as set out
at page 88 of the report.
Answer
Forest Research publishes production forecasts every 5 years for softwood availability in Scotland and the UK. The most recent forecast, published in 2022, estimates that over 8 million cubic metres (m3) of softwood is currently available annually in Scotland. The current the average annual harvest is 6.82 million m3.
The volume forecast to be available annually by 2040 is expected to rise to over 12 million m3. This means that if demand increased to 10 million m3 by 2040, approximately 2 million m3 of surplus timber would still be available.
Project Willow predicts a requirement of 2.1 million m3 of feedstock by 2040 under their growth case scenario. This is just over half the predicted increase in timber availability over that period.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 9 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to close the reported (a) funding gap faced by Integration Joint Boards and (b) £560 million NHS-related deficit.
Answer
We sympathise with the pressure the social care sector is facing and that is one of the reasons that the 2025-26 budget includes almost £2.2 billion for social care and integration – exceeding our commitment to increase funding by 25% by almost £350 million. At £21.7 billion, the overall financial envelope for Health and Social Care also reached record levels.
However it is important to note that while the Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care support policy in Scotland, it is for local authorities and health boards to work with the Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) to ensure that social care support services are in place to provide people with the appropriate support.
While agreeing budgets is the responsibility of partnerships, The Scottish Government will continue to work closely with the health and social care sector to understand key pressures and opportunities to ensure we achieve best value of money and improve the outcomes of our population.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 02 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Allan on 9 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the findings of the Just Transition Commission regarding the potential loss of thousands of jobs.
Answer
We welcome this report from the Just Transition Commission. I set out the Scottish Government response to this report in my ministerial statement on Tuesday 3 June, confirming that we accept the headline recommendations in principle. Ahead of further just transition planning, we need clarity on the UK Government’s intentions in a range of key reserved areas, including the future regulatory and fiscal regimes for North Sea oil and gas and support for the Acorn CCUS project.
We continue to provide support to the region, including through the new £8.5 million round of the Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray, our £125 million investment in the Aberdeen City Region Deal as well as up to £26.3m for the Energy Transition Zone through the Energy Transition Fund.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 02 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Allan on 6 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what accountability mechanisms are in place to monitor the delivery and impact of its Just Transition plans on energy workers.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the importance of accountability in relation to our plans for a just transition. This is why we established the Just Transition Commission in 2019 to advise on and scrutinise our journey to net zero.
The Commission has published a number of reports which consider our approach to delivering a just transition for energy workers. These include the July 2024 publication ‘A Just Transition for Grangemouth’, which has informed the development of our Grangemouth Just Transition Plan; and its most recent report, ‘A Just Transition for Aberdeen and the North East’. The Scottish Government accepts in principle the headline recommendations in the latter report, but will take time to consider them in detail, before providing a full response.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answer expected on 19 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason £85,000 was provided to Sikh Sanjog between 2017-18 and 2020-21 as part of the Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund; what this funding was used for, and what the outcomes were of the Open Door Project.
Answer
Answer expected on 19 June 2025
