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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.

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Question reference: S6W-42887

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 20 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it has been working with NHS boards to reduce A&E waiting times in order to meet the standard for 95% of all patients to be admitted, discharged or transferred within four hours of arrival, in light of recent Public Health Scotland statistics for the month ending 30 November 2025, which state that only 66.7% of A&E attendances met this threshold.

I recognise the significant pressures facing our Emergency Departments. Improving flow and reducing waiting times is central to the NHS Scotland Operational Improvement Plan, which takes an ambitious but realistic approach to shifting the balance of care and ensuring people receive treatment as quickly as possible.

This government are investing over £220 million in 2025-26 to improve hospital flow, reduce delayed discharges and expand community alternatives such as Hospital at Home and front door frailty services.

To support resilience over winter we are investing up to £20 million to increasing social care capacity and easing pressure at the hospital front door. While performance remains below where I want it to be, I remain committed to supporting Boards to deliver safe, timely care.

We are also working with local government colleagues to ensure social care capacity and funding is maximised to allow people to receive the right care in the right place.

Question reference: S6W-42884

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 20 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the 63,867 domestic abuse incidents reported to the police in 2023-24 involved a repeat offender, and, if there are no available statistics on this, for what reason this information is not recorded.

Information on whether a suspected perpetrator involved in a domestic abuse incident in 2023-24 had been involved in a previous incident of domestic abuse is available in Table 10 of the Domestic abuse in Scotland 2023-24 publication.

Due to the set-up of the administrative system used by Police Scotland to record these cases, it is only known whether the suspected perpetrator was involved in a previous incident. If they were, it is not known whether they were the victim or suspected perpetrator for those earlier incidents.

Going forward, following the roll-out of a new crime recording system (UNIFI) across all divisions of Police Scotland, it may be possible to identify if offenders of domestic abuse aggravated crimes have committed earlier domestic abuse aggravated crimes (for 2024-25 onwards). Scottish Government statisticians will work with Police Scotland analysts to explore this further and will provide users with an update in the next Domestic Abuse bulletin. It should be noted this would only be possible for domestic abuse aggravated crimes, not all domestic abuse incidents.

Question reference: S6W-42797

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 15 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether issues relating to police officers being unable to retire due to pension buyback or pension scheme interaction issues were discussed at any governance, oversight or management group to which the Police Workforce, Diversity and Inquiry Sponsorship team reports during 2025.

Officials from the Police Workforce, Diversity and Inquiry Sponsorship Unit attend the Scottish Police Pension Scheme Advisory Board (SAB), where a range of issues related to the Police Pension Scheme are discussed.

Minutes from the SAB are available on the Scottish Public Pension Agency website at: https://pensions.gov.scot/police/scheme-governance-and-legislation/scheme-advisory-board and they show that the SAB has not discussed police officers being unable to retire due to pension buyback or pension scheme interaction issues.

Question reference: S6W-42796

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 15 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether issues relating to police officers being unable to retire due to pension buyback or pension scheme interaction issues were discussed by officials within the Police Workforce, Diversity and Inquiry Sponsorship team during 2025.

Question reference: S6W-42795

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 13 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any risks associated with police officers continuing in service after they would otherwise have been entitled to retire, as a result of unresolved pension issues.

The Scottish Government has not carried out any assessments in relation to these matters as the deployment and management of officers, including Human Resources matters, are operational matters for the Chief Constable. Oversight is provided by the Scottish Police Authority rather than by Scottish Ministers directly. These arrangements are in place to ensure the operational independence of Police Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-42798

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 13 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether its ministers were advised during 2025 that some police officers were unable to retire, despite meeting age or service thresholds, due to pension scheme interaction issues.

The Scottish Government has not been advised that some police officers have been unable to retire due to pension scheme issues.

I am aware of the current administrative pause on buy-back of opted out pensionable service for some police officers impacted by the McCloud Public Service Pensions Remedy. I wrote to the UK Government in February 2025 seeking a resolution through changes to the relevant UK primary legislation, however this was not agreed. I remain confident that a resolution will be found.

Question reference: S6W-42886

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 January 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 21 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to address the 8% increase in suspected drug deaths from January to September 2025, compared with the same period in 2024, as set out in its quarterly report, Suspected drug deaths in Scotland: July to September 2025.

Question reference: S6W-42885

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 January 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 21 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government to what extent it considers that any increases in NHS waiting times contributed to the 8% increase in suspected drug deaths from January to September 2025, compared with the same period in 2024, as set out in its quarterly report, Suspected drug deaths in Scotland: July to September 2025.

Question reference: S6W-42562

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 7 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of material relating to Freedom of Information request 202500493769, which states that "a delegation of the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has visited prisons in Scotland and picked up on issues around drugs and the impact on prisoners and staff", what specific concerns were raised by the CPT; what actions have been taken in response, and whether it will publish any observations CPT shared with its ministers or officials.

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) visited Scotland in June 2025 to review the treatment and conditions of people deprived of liberty in prisons and secure care for minors. The visit assessed progress since inspections in 2018 and 2019 and included checks on police custody facilities, focusing on treatment, detention conditions, and safeguards. The CPT will publish the report in due course, and the Scottish Government will carefully consider its findings.

Question reference: S6W-42563

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South 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, in light of recent increases in pre-employment vetting failures within the Scottish Prison Service, whether it will provide a breakdown of the reasons for every vetting failure, including (a) criminal history, (b) financial vulnerabilities, (c) undisclosed associations, (d) intelligence suggesting links to organised crime, (e) failure to provide required documentation and (f) any other identified grounds, in each of the last five years.

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

SPS hold our serving staff and prospective staff to the highest of standards. While the vast majority of our staff adhere to the highest standards of conduct, SPS continue to be vigilant to any potential corruption concerns within our establishments. Maintaining the safety and security of Scotland’s prisons is and remains an absolute priority.

The following table sets out the number of prospective employees who have been prevented from taking up SPS employment. Due to differences relating to data recording, categories have been amended as follows: (a) criminal history, (b) financial vulnerabilities, (c) corruption or integrity risks, (d) association with serving or liberated prisoners, (e) failure to provide required documentation and (f) any other identified grounds. Any other identified grounds include reasons such as failed medical assessments and unsatisfactory employment history.

Calendar Year	Reason						Number of external job applications received
Calendar Year	a	b	c*	d*	e	f
2020	12				3	30	8468
2021	10					37	7396
2022	8		3	4	2	26	6967
2023	14		5	6	1	48	9614
2024	30		6	4	3	81	12754

*These figures cannot be provided prior to 2022 due to changes in reporting and recording processes.