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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-28436

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 16 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide clarity on the process that owners should follow to remove their dog from the XL Bully exemption list, in the event that their dog is latterly identified not to be an XL Bully-type.

Any person with an exemption certificate can seek for it to be withdrawn by the Scottish Government. This route involves writing to the Scottish Government asking for a certificate to be withdrawn. There is no fee payable. Any person with an exemption certificate can do this and it is a matter for a relevant person to consider whether to do so. In particular, if a person wishes to do this because they have reached a view they do not possess an XL Bully dog, that is a matter for them to consider. The Scottish Government will withdraw an exemption certificate if a request is made.

Question reference: S6W-28437

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 16 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration is being given to XL Bully dogs whose owners have been advised that they should not be neutered on veterinary grounds.

As a condition of receiving and retaining a valid exemption certificate , the owner of the XL Bully must arrange to have their dog neutered. Male dogs must be castrated and female dogs must be spayed.

For dogs 18 months or older as at 31 July 2024, evidence of neutering having occurred must be provided to Scottish Government by 31 January 2025.

For dogs younger than 18 months as at 31 July 2024, evidence of neutering having occurred must be provided to Scottish Government by 31 January 2025 or within one month of the dog reaching the age of 18 months, whichever is later.

This approach ensures there is discretion for the owner to ensure this age is reached before neutering the dog, though an owner can decide to neuter before 18 months without losing their exemption.

This reflects guidance on an appropriate age for health reasons as to when XL Bully dogs can safely be neutered. The Scottish Government’s policy on neutering was developed and informed through direct engagement with key animal welfare stakeholders.

The legislation does not permit XL Bully dogs to be exempted from being neutered. However, the Scottish Government, through direct engagement with the Dog Control Coalition which includes representation from the British Veterinary Association, continues to keep the approach on neutering under review.

Question reference: S6W-28435

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 16 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration is being given to XL Bully dog owners who are experiencing domestic abuse and are unable to seek support from fostering services, such as Dogs Trust Freedom, which provides fostering for those fleeing domestic abuse.

While the XL Bully dog has been added to the list of designated prohibited dogs under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, any individual XL Bully dog will not be classed as prohibited where the owner obtains a certificate of exemption that enables them to legally own the dog. The Scottish Government would encourage all XL Bully owners to apply for an exemption certificate for their dog. The closing date for online applications is 31 July 2024: https://www.gov.scot/publications/xl-bully-dog-rules/pages/overview/ .

The effect of an XL Bully dog owner who receives an exemption is that they must adhere to exemption conditions. In any given 12 month period, the exemption scheme conditions allows for an owner to be apart from their dog for up to 30 days. This flexibility can be used in a variety of situations including where a person experiencing domestic abuse is moving to a new location and there is a need for the Dogs Trust Freedom project or others to look after a dog for a short period during this period.

More generally in relation to housing, the Scottish Government has written to COSLA and social housing associations across Scotland to explain the process for the XL Bully dog safeguards. This information was shared with COSLA and housing associations to help tenants and landlords understand the changes where tenancy agreements include clauses relating to ‘prohibited’ dogs under the 1991 Act. As noted above, an XL Bully dog, where an exemption has been granted, is not a prohibited dog under the terms of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.

Question reference: S6W-28438

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 July 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 29 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many local authorities have provided NatureScot with annual deer cull information in each of the past five years.

Question reference: S6W-28439

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 July 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 29 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many local authorities in Scotland currently have a published deer management plan.

Question reference: S6W-28441

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 July 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 29 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many local authorities oversee the deer management that is undertaken on local authority grounds, and how many are actively involved in decisions regarding such management.

Question reference: S6W-28440

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 July 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 29 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many local authorities currently have a published deer management plan that is available for the public to view.

Question reference: S6W-28134

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 25 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-27858 by Natalie Don on 5 June 2024, whether it will provide a breakdown of the stated £5.3 million that "was provided to Scottish Government-led national policy delivery for 12 specific projects that are transforming how families are supported".

The following Scottish Government-led national policy delivery projects received a total funding of £5.3 million as follows:

Project name	2022-3	2023-24
Aberlour Mother and Child Units	£394,613	£1,023,506
Creating equitable outcomes and accessible pathways of support for young children in the earliest years of life	£0	£57,000
Dundee Pathfinder	£50,000	£20,150
Families Learning Together	£66,000	£123,241
Family Childminding Partnership	£0	£104,430
Understanding Family Support Needs of People in Prison Custody	£0	£1,191
Foundations for families	£118,997	£430,904
Whole Family Support Through General Practice	£0	£1,463
Grow Your Own Routes	£46,707	£1,212,359
Includem ADAPT	£525,000	£925,507
Inverclyde Transformation Initiative	£67,736	£170,515
Total	£1,269,053	£4,070,266

A separate project, Open Kindergarten, is due to commence shortly. For this reason, there is no spend for this specific project to date.

Funding for Element 3 projects will continue to be provided in financial year 2024-25 and 2025-26 and will help transform how we support families by moving from crisis intervention to preventive whole family support, in line with our commitments on #KeepingthePromise, Covid recovery and tackling child poverty.

Question reference: S6W-27910

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 13 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has implemented any of the recommendations in its report, Fit for the Future: developing a post-school learning system to fuel economic transformation.

There is significant progress being made to reform and improve key areas of the post-school learning system covered by James Withers’ review Fit for the Future, including on apprenticeships, skills planning and simplification of the funding body landscape. I provided the latest update on progress in a letter to the Education, Children and Young People Committee on 27 March 2024, available at Update to Committee - Post school reform | Scottish Parliament Website .

Question reference: S6W-27911

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 13 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any ongoing skills reviews currently in progress for which the Minister for Higher and Further Education is responsible.