Parliamentary questions
Claire Baker
1,724 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
12 Jun 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support is available to victims of cuckooing, where a person's home is taken over by others for criminal activity.
Answer · Neil Gray: I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01001 on 24 June 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/…
12 Jun 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Police Scotland regardingcross-border organised crime and so-called county lines drug activity affectingScotland.
Answer · Neil Gray: I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01001 on 24 June 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/…
12 Jun 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many criminal prosecutions linked to cuckooing, where a person's home is taken over by others for criminal activity, there have been in each year since January 2016, and how many convictions there were.
Answer · Neil Gray: I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01001 on 24 June 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/…
12 Jun 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with social landlords regardingthe risks posed by cuckooing, where a person's home is taken over byothers for criminal activity, to tenants.
Answer · Neil Gray: This answer covers the ten questions that you have tabled on cuckooing.The Scottish Government has not had any discussions directly with social landlords on cuckooing. However, the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce (SOCT), which I chair, involves a wide range…
12 Jun 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what role adult support and protection services play in identifying and responding to cases of suspected cuckooing, where a person's home is taken over by others for criminal activity.
Answer · Neil Gray: I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01001 on 24 June 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/…
12 Jun 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking, in partnership with relevant agencies and support organisations, to raise public awareness of cuckooing, where a person's home is taken over by others for criminal activity.
Answer · Neil Gray: I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01001 on 24 June 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/…
12 Jun 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on amending the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015 to end cuckooing, where a person's home is taken over by others for criminal activity.
Answer · Neil Gray: I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01001 on 24 June 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/…
12 Jun 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what data it holds regarding the prevalence of cuckooing, where a person's home is taken over by others for criminal activity, and how this is collated.
Answer · Neil Gray: I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01001 on 24 June 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/…
12 Jun 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has carried out, or plans to carry out, an assessment of available data on the prevalence of cuckooing, where a person's home is taken over by others for criminal activity.
Answer · Neil Gray: I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01001 on 24 June 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/…
12 Jun 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the implications for Scotland of the introduction in the UK legislation, the Crime and Policing Act 2026, of a specific criminal offence relating to cuckooing, where a person's home is taken over by others for criminal activity.
Answer · Neil Gray: I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01001 on 24 June 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/…
11 Jun 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has carried any recent public health campaigns relating to ketamine use and, if so, what evaluation has been made of their effectiveness.
Answer · Maree Todd: At this time the Scottish Government has not carried out any public health campaigns in relation to ketamine use.The Scottish Government however provides funding to Public Health Scotland, to monitor ketamine use and related harms, through its RADAR (Rapid Ac…
11 Jun 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to raise awareness among young people of the risks associated with ketamine use, including that of permanent bladder damage.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government are aware of an increase in ketamine use by young people, and published the Standards for Young People in November 2025, to ensure support in drug services meets their needs.Several Scottish Government funded organisations are publicis…
11 Jun 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what data is collected on ketamine-induced bladder damage in Scotland.
Answer · Maree Todd: There is currently no national collection of data on ketamine-induced bladder damage. The Scottish Government are ensuring that Alcohol and Drug Partnerships and specialist services take the needs of ketamine usage into account in commissioning and delivering…
11 Jun 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have received treatment for ketamine dependency in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) age group and (b) NHS board area.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Public Health Scotland provide information through Drug and Alcohol Information System (DAISy) the national database that holds data about drug and alcohol services.The DAISy initial assessments report t…
11 Jun 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of a 2024 UK Government report suggesting that ketamine use among young people in England and Wales had increased by 231% since March 2013, what plans it has for related research to be carried out in Scotland.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government is concerned at reports of harm from ketamine, particularly amongst young people.The Scottish Government does not publish data on treatment for ketamine dependency at the level of detail requested.In the 2023 Scottish Health Survey, 3%…
11 Jun 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what specialist services are available in Scotland for people experiencing long-term health complications arising from ketamine use.
Answer · Maree Todd: The UK Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) recommended in their ketamine review of January 2026, that work on drug treatment should be collaborative with specialist urology, pain management, hepatology and gastroenterology services.In Health Boards…
8 Jun 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will evaluate recent research from the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences on the impact of reintroducing large herbivores on the richness and abundance of pollinator species, and whether it has any plans to incorporate these findings into its biodiversity strategy…
Answer · Gillian Martin: There is evidence of the benefits of large herbivore impact on biodiversity outcomes in some circumstances from a range of contexts, including in the UK. The Scottish Biodiversity Delivery Plan includes an action to explore how best to support optimal herbivo…
8 Jun 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what research it has undertaken on the use of wild or semi-wild large herbivores as a nature-based tool for insect conservation and habitat restoration.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government are not currently planning to undertake further research in this area, as evidence of the potential benefits in the right circumstances already exists.
3 Jun 2026 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it is taking forward plans to rebalance the non-domestic rates system.
12 Mar 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to annex 1 of the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2026-2031, for what reason the monetary investment in the Tackling Child Poverty Fund as a result of the allocation of “two child limit funds” has increased from £49 million to £61.5 million, and how …
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Budget 2026-27 committed £61.5 million to the Tackling Child Poverty Fund, with Annex 1 of the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2026-31 setting out further detail of how these funds have been allocated in 2026-27. This represents an inc…
12 Mar 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its estimated cost for 2026-27 is of (a) uprating the Scottish Child Payment and (b) introducing the £40 weekly payment for under-one-year-olds.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The cost of uprating Scottish Child Payment for 2026-27 will be around £17.7 million.Estimated costings of the premium relating to children under the age of one were included in the Scottish Fiscal Commission’s report, Scotland’s Economic an…
12 Mar 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to annex 1 of the Tackling Child PovertyDelivery Plan 2026-2031, how it planned to fund the statutory requirementto uprate the Scottish Child Payment, including the introduction of a £40 weeklypayment for under-one-year-olds, had the “two-child limit”…
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: We put eradicating child poverty at the heart of the Scottish Budget 2026-27 and Scottish Spending Review, which sets out the Scottish Government’s spending plans up to 2028-29.If funding previously commitment to the planned Two Child Limit Payment was …
27 Feb 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what resources it has committed to progressing the policy commitment to deliver automatic individual payments of universal credit in Scotland, and how it is ensuring this remains a priority within the work of the social justice directorate.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government remains committed to working with the DWP towards the delivery of split payments for Universal Credit. During 2025 we engaged with the DWP to update the policy design specification, which we resubmitted to them in early 2026 with a req…
27 Feb 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-36671 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 2 May 2025, whether it expects automatic split payments of universal credit in Scotland, as it committed to in 2017, to be delivered by the end of 2026, and, if not, when this can be expected.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The delivery of the split payment policy is reliant on the DWP’s ability to carry out an impact assessment of the proposed policy and then to make the necessary changes to the Universal Credit system. The DWP have not yet provided a delivery timetable, …
27 Feb 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that split payments of universal credit will be delivered, as set out in part 6, section 94 of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018, and what action it has taken in the last six months regarding this work.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-44002 on 9 March 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/…
27 Feb 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many Pension Age Winter Heating Payments were still to be paid by 24 January 2026, and what the estimated total value was of any such payments.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government is delivering the strongest package of winter support compared with anywhere else in the UK.Pension Age Winter Heating Payment is forecast to support at least 880,000 pensioners with heating bills this winter.Applications can continue …
27 Feb 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many Pension Age Winter Heating Payments were still to be paid by 26 February 2026, and when any such payments will be paid.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government is delivering the strongest package of winter support in the UK.Pension Age Winter Heating Payment is forecast to support at least 880,000 pensioners with heating bills this winter.The information requested is not available in any data…
25 Feb 2026 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any recent discussions it has had with Fife Council regarding a solution for households in West Wemyss and Denbeath that were issued with eviction notices, following the sale of their tenanted properties by Wemyss Estate to Torah Capital last year.&nb…
11 Feb 2026 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it is working with local and national bodies to maximise the cultural and economic potential of the Adam Smith heritage in Kirkcaldy.
14 Jan 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what specialist residential provision is currently provided for under-18s experiencing addiction issues, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Maree Todd: There are currently no residential rehabilitation services in Scotland that are designed to support under-18s specifically through recovery from substance use.Whilst most residential services provide support to adults over 18, there are some instances where t…