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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-37427

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 19 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what support it will provide to those impacted by the potential closure of the Notre Dame Centre in Glasgow.

While the Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care policy in Scotland, it is for Health and Social Care Partnerships to ensure that support services are in place to provide people with the appropriate support in the right place and at the right time. Decisions on how best to deliver services to local communities, are ultimately for local partners to make.

We continue to protect and prioritise additional investment into social care, despite an extremely challenging Budget settlement. This includes almost £2.2 billion for social care and integration – exceeding our commitment to increase funding by 25% by almost £350 million.

We would encourage all partners to work together to find solutions that put the needs of local people and those impacted by the decision, particularly those who are most vulnerable, at the centre.

Question reference: S6W-37492

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 19 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any safety implications for (a) court staff and (b) the public arising from the reported shift from static to dynamic policing in court buildings, as piloted at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

Question reference: S6W-37493

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 19 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what evaluation it has conducted of the dynamic policing model pilot at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, and whether it included input from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, sheriff clerks, and other key stakeholders on its effectiveness and safety.

Question reference: S6W-37494

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 19 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address reported concerns raised by court staff regarding their safety in courtrooms where the police presence has been reduced under the dynamic policing model pilot.

Question reference: S6W-37394

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 16 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it recommends be taken if there are no open beds available for those under 18 years of age who have been referred to secure care accommodation.

There are multiple routes by which a child may be referred to secure accommodation. The head of each centre retains discretion over whether or not to accept any individual child’s placement.

If a placement is required, and secure accommodation capacity is reached, then all appropriate and safe alternatives will be considered by the relevant decision makers. They will ensure that the bests interests of each child are prioritised and that any risks are managed appropriately to protect each child and the community. The Scottish Government will assist in every appropriate way.

Where a children’s hearing includes a secure accommodation authorisation in their decision, the hearing also needs to decide where a child is to be placed if, for any reason, their secure authorisation cannot be implemented. This may be because of the professional judgement of the chief social work officer or the head of the relevant secure centre, or for other reasons.

An alternative to secure care should therefore have been prepared by the local authority and authorised by the hearing. This position, and its requirements, are unaffected by questions of capacity.

Where a child is remanded by the court to the care of the local authority and a secure place is not available, an alternative place of safety must be identified until a bed becomes available.

Refreshed guidance on community alternatives to the deprivation of liberty for children was published in March. This guidance highlights the importance of exploring alternatives that prioritise children’s rights and welfare, ensuring that secure accommodation is only ever used when absolutely necessary.

Recognising the complexities and demands and pressures this can bring to bear for professionals. The Scottish Government have agreed to fund a dedicated professional secure care lead at Social Work Scotland for the next 12 months.

Question reference: S6W-37395

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 16 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of any instances of people under 18 being diverted from secure care accommodation due to a lack of open beds in (a) 2023, (b) 2024 and (c) 2025 to date.

The Scottish Government does not routinely hold case-specific information in respect of children’s cases. The principal responsibilities lie variously with the Principal Reporter, the chief social work officer of the implementation authority and the head of the relevant secure unit(s).

The Scottish Government have agreed to fund a dedicated professional secure care lead at Social Work Scotland for the next 12 months. This policy and practice adviser will work alongside Scottish Government officials to enhance our partnership with local government and improve the coordination of relevant services across the country.

Question reference: S6W-37396

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 16 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many emergency beds were used within secure care accommodation for young people in (a) 2023, (b) 2024 and 2025 to date.

The information is not available in the format requested. Information on the use of emergency beds for 2023 and 2024 can be found in Table 2 of the Children's Social Work Statistics: Secure Care 2023-24.

In December 2024, the Care Inspectorate published a protocol and procedures for secure accommodation services on the use of registered emergency beds. (Secure Emergency Bedroom Protocol November 2024.pdf).

Question reference: S6O-04694

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to support dental practices.

Question reference: S6W-37290

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 13 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many self-catering accommodation operators have been removed from the non-domestic rates register in each of the last five years.

The maintenance of the valuation roll, including the collection of evidence, valuation of properties, and decisions on the removal of properties, are the responsibility of the independent Scottish Assessors, in accordance with the legislative framework established by the Scottish Government.

Table 1 shows the number of self-catering properties removed from the non-domestic rates valuation roll since 2020-2021, by the financial year from which the decision was made effective. The Scottish Government does not have information relating to how many operators were the ratepayers for these subjects.

Decisions to remove a property from the valuation roll are generally retrospective, and the financial year from which a property is retrospectively removed from the valuation roll may precede the year in which this decision is made.

This table may also include some properties which were later reinstated to the valuation roll, and may count them more than once, for example if a property was removed, re-added, and removed again.

Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.

Table 1: Self-catering properties removed from the valuation roll, by year for which the deletion was effective

Year effective	Properties removed from the valuation roll
2020-2021	1,370
2021-2022	1,250
2022-2023	1,540
2023-2024	3,810
2024-2025	570

Question reference: S6O-04670

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 May 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle any violence against teachers and school staff in South Ayrshire.