S7W-01904

Asked by: Burgess, Ariane (Scottish Green Party - Highlands and Islands)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to reform inheritance law in Scotland.

Answered by None

The Scottish Government has no immediate plans to reform inheritance law in Scotland. The most recent consultations on testate and intestate succession took place in 2015 and 2019. The analysis of the consultation findings concluded that there was no clear consensus on substantive reforms to the law. Research into aspects of succession has also been commissioned and we await the findings. The Scottish Law Commission is considering reforms to executry law as part of their current programme of law reform.

S7W-01719

Asked by: Cole-Hamilton, Alex (Scottish Liberal Democrats - Edinburgh Western)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7W-01042 by Kirsten Oswald on 7 July 2026, regarding the number of incidents involving possession of a knife or bladed article that have been recorded in schools in each of the last five years, whether it will provide a breakdown of these figures by local authority.

Answered by None

Table 1 shows the number of police recorded crimes of Having in a school an article with a blade or point, by Local authority, from 2021-22 to 2025-26.

Table 1: Recorded crimes of Having in a school an article with a blade or point (used and not used) by Local authority, Scotland, 2021-22 to 2025-26.

S7W-01643

Asked by: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken to assess the relationship between domestic abuse experienced by men, addiction recovery, suicide risk, family court-related stress, loss of child contact and post-separation coercive control, including factors that can push recovered fathers further away from their children.

Answered by None

The Scottish Government is absolutely clear that there is no excuse for domestic abuse, regardless of the sex of the victim or perpetrator. That is why legislative changes adopted to address the issue, such as the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018, provide equal protection for both female and male victims. We also continue to fund services that support male survivors of domestic abuse.

Equally Safe, Scotland’s strategy to prevent and eradicate all forms of violence against women and girls, acknowledges that men and boys can experience domestic abuse, while recognising that it disproportionately affects women and girls. This approach is informed by a range of sources, including police recorded crime statistics, findings from the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey, academic research, voices of lived experience and professional expertise, and international human rights frameworks.

It is the Scottish Government’s view that both parents should be involved in their child’s life, provided this is practical and in the child’s best interests. We recognise how distressing it can be for a parent if they are not seeing their child. The Scottish Government provides funding to Shared Parenting Scotland who provide advice, assistance and other support to parents experiencing difficulties in having contact with their children. They also run courses for separated parents, including Love, Loss & Living: Managing the Emotions of Being Separated From Your Child.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken a specific piece of work to assess the relationship between substance use and men’s experiences of domestic abuse. However, we recognise that research shows that experiences of trauma can be an important factor in the development of substance use issues and can affect an individual's recovery journey.

Suicide prevention is a priority for the Scottish Government. Together with COSLA, we are driving forward Creating Hope Together, Scotland’s Suicide Prevention Strategy and accompanying Action Plan (2026-29). We recognise that factors such as domestic abuse, substance use and involvement with the justice system can increase the risk of poor mental health and suicide. The strategy includes a focus on reaching people who may be at higher risk as a result of these experiences.

We encourage anyone experiencing symptoms of poor mental health to contact their GP to discuss their wellbeing. Further support is available from services such as Samaritans and Breathing Space, as well as the Suicide Prevention Scotland website which has further information and resources.

S7W-01683

Asked by: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide a breakdown by local authority for male victims and female suspected perpetrator domestic abuse incidents in each of the last five financial years.  

Answered by None

Table 1 shows the number of domestic abuse incidents recorded by police, where information was known, showed that the incident involved a male victim and female suspected perpetrator broken down by local authority from
2020-21 to 2024-25.

Table 1: Number of domestic abuse incidents recorded by police involving a male victim and female suspected perpetrator, where information was known, by local authority 2020-21 to 2024-25

S7W-01685

Asked by: Eagle, Tim (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Highlands and Islands)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors the efficacy of the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund.

Answered by Brown, Siobhian - Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise

The Whole Family Wellbeing Funding (WFWF) Programme aims to create the enabling conditions for local areas to transform their delivery of holistic whole family support. As such, system change outcomes are the key focus of the Programme evaluation, with the long-term outcomes being improvements in the wellbeing of children, young people and families.

WFWF has been independently evaluated since 2022. This is done on a national basis, informed by CSPP reporting and more in-depth case studies. Report findings show that Children’s Services Planning Partnerships (CSPPs) value the flexibility of the funding to respond to local needs, have strengthened the delivery of early family support, and are supporting more families to access services. Evaluations have also found evidence of improvements in service quality, informed by feedback from families, with many families reporting support that is delivered without stigma or judgement. CSPPs continue to report positive partnership working and have made further progress against programme recommendations identified in earlier evaluations available from Year 1 and Year 2. The Year 3 activity review also highlights continued progress against earlier recommendations.

We are continuing to evaluate the WFWF programme and have commissioned IPSOS to carry out the Year 3-4 evaluation. This will cover the period April 2024 to March 2026, with publication planned for early 2027.

S7W-01684

Asked by: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government what specific support pathway exists for male victims of domestic abuse who are also dealing with addiction recovery, family breakdown, child contact loss and suicide risk. 

Answered by None

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01643 on 29 July 2026. 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.

S7W-01695

Asked by: Briggs, Miles (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Lothian)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been diagnosed with dementia in each year since 2021.

Answered by None

The Scottish Government does not hold data on the number of people diagnosed annually with dementia, but Public Health Scotland (PHS) does publish information on the number of people in different health settings with a diagnosis of dementia. This doesn’t necessarily reflect when a person would have been first diagnosed with dementia.

S7W-01524

Asked by:

Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to Freedom of Information request FOI/202400419507, whether the meeting between the then Deputy First Minister and the WAVE Trust on 1 June 2022 (a) followed an offer to make a charitable donation or (b) was arranged entirely independently of any such offer, and whether it will review its guidance to ensure there can be no perception that access to Scottish Ministers may be influenced by financial offers, including those intended for charitable purposes.

Answered by Todd, Maree - Minister for Mental Wellbeing, Public Health, Sport, Alcohol and Drugs

As previously stated in the Scottish Government's response to the Freedom of Information request FOI/202400419507, the then-Deputy First Minister did not engage with or accept the offer of a donation to a charity of his choice from the CEO of the WAVE Trust: https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202400419507/ The meeting was arranged entirely independently of this offer.

The Scottish Ministerial Code already clearly sets out the standards expected of all members of the Scottish Ministerial team. Paragraph 3.22 of the Code notes that ‘…Ministers should not accept gifts, hospitality or services which would, or might appear to, compromise their judgement or place them under an obligation to people or organisations that might try to influence their work in government.’ It is the personal responsibility of each Minister to determine how any activity would engage with the terms of the Code, based on the circumstances around any specific event or interaction.

S7W-01890

Asked by:

Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is cooperating with HM Revenue & Customs and other UK authorities, in light of reports that 58,000 fraudulent Scotland football kits were seized, amounting to a total of £5 million in potential profit.

Answered by None

The Scottish Government works with HM Revenue & Customs and other partners on the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce, including the National Crime Agency and Border Force, to disrupt all aspects of organised criminality including the production, distribution and sale of counterfeit and illicit goods.

The Scottish Government also supports the Scottish Anti Illicit Trade Group which was re-launched in March 2025 bringing together a wide range of agencies, including HMRC, and brand representatives to identify and develop interventions and tactics that improve the combined effectiveness of enforcement activity.

S7W-01748

Asked by:

Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce stricter penalties for antisocial behaviour on buses.

Answered by None

The National Bus Travel Concession Schemes (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Order 2026 enables Scottish Ministers to suspend or withdraw concessionary travel from any cardholder who breaches a national Code of Conduct. It applies to every user of the National Concessionary Travel Schemes, irrespective of age. Transport Scotland is working with bus operators, Police Scotland and local authorities to finalise the Code and the processes that will sit behind it.

We are separately reviewing the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 in order to establish whether the wider statutory framework remains fit for purpose.