Parliamentary questions
Claire Baker
1,724 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
14 Jan 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what work it is currently undertaking with local authorities to ensure that adequate specialist provision is available for under-18s with addiction issues across Scotland.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government published Standards for Young People Accessing Treatment or Support for Drugs or Alcohol on 15 December 2025.These Standards clearly set out:What young people aged 25 and under should expect when seeking help for their own alcohol or d…
14 Jan 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to review the current criteria for GP referral for NHS surgery for varicose veins.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government have no plans to review the criteria for referral and treatment of varicose veins.
14 Jan 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a full financial breakdown of how the £126 million in funding, which it saved in 2026-27 following the removal by the UK Government of the two-child benefit cap, will be spent on child poverty measures.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Eradicating child poverty in Scotland is a national mission and this Government’s top priority. That is why we have put tackling child poverty at the heart of the Scottish Budget for 2026-27, which outlines our plans to reinvest money previously committ…
14 Jan 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many staff have been transferred from its Social Security Directorate to Social Security Scotland, and for what purpose, in each year since 2018.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Transfer of staff from the Social Security Directorate to Social Security Scotland has not been a routine feature of delivering the Social Security Programme.Since 2018, a total of 17 staff have formally transferred from the Directorate to Social Security Sco…
14 Jan 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have undergone surgery for varicose veins under the NHS, broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) sex, in each of the last five years.
Answer · Neil Gray: This information is not held at sub-specialty level. Public Health Scotland uses the national waiting times datamart to track inpatient, day-case and new outpatient waits. While the system identifies the treatment specialty, planned procedure data is often in…
14 Jan 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average time has been from referral to treatment for patients referred by their GP for surgery for varicose veins, broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) sex, in each of the last five years.
Answer · Neil Gray: This information is not held by Scottish Government.
7 Jan 2026 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people in Mid Scotland and Fife who are eligible for the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment have not yet received their payment for winter 2025-26.
19 Dec 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many Pension Age Winter Heating Payments it expects will remain to be paid by 31 December 2025.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Pension Age Winter Heating Payment will support at least 880,000 pensioners with their heating bills this winter.Payments started in November and Social Security Scotland expects the vast majority of payments to be issued by the end of December. Work will con…
19 Dec 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many Pension Age Winter Heating Payments (a) had been and (b) were still to be paid, by 19 December 2025.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Pension Age Winter Heating Payment will support at least 880,000 pensioners with their heating bills this winter.As of 14 December 2025, more than 568,000 Pension Age Winter Heating Payments had been made.A release of Official Statistics on Pension Age Winter…
19 Dec 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many Pension Age Winter Heating Payments (a) had been and (b) were still to be paid, by 30 November 2025.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Pension Age Winter Heating Payment will support at least 880,000 pensioners with their heating bills this winter.As of 14 December 2025, more than 568,000 Pension Age Winter Heating Payments had been made.A release of Official Statistics on Pension Age Winter…
2 Dec 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the letter to the Finance and Public Administration Committee by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government on 28 January 2025, in which the cabinet secretary announced the proposed establishment of a 12-month £2 bus fare cap pilot in a regional transpo…
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Scottish Government is fully committed to delivery of the bus fare cap pilot. Engagement has taken place with Regional Transport Partnerships regarding the pilot, via an Expression of Interest process. This process was taken forward for RTPs to provide inform…
19 Nov 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent work it has undertaken with the agricultural sector to reduce the number of fatalities within the industry.
17 Nov 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, following the resignation of Lord Bracadale, when it expects a new chair to be in place for the Sheku Bayoh Inquiry.
Answer · Kate Forbes: As outlined in the answer to question S6W-41939 on 1 December 2025, while every effort will be made to expedite the process, the appointment of a new Chair to the Sheku Bayoh Public Inquiry is a complex matter and will take time to identify a suitable candida…
17 Nov 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the Sheku Bayoh Inquiry is expected to publish its final report.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The timing of the publication of the Sheku Bayoh Inquiry’s final report is a matter for the Inquiry. Public inquiries operate independently of government, and decisions about the report’s preparation and publication rest solely with the Chair. Thi…
17 Nov 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a timescale for the statutory consultation on the appointment of a new chair for the Sheku Bayoh Inquiry.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The appointment of a new Chair for the Sheku Bayoh Inquiry is an immediate priority, and steps to progress this have already commenced at pace. However, this is a complex process that must comply with statutory requirements. Under section 10 of the Inquiries …
4 Nov 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to prevent the permanent loss of church buildings with significant cultural or heritage value, in light of the decision by the Church of Scotland to reduce its estate.
14 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last discussed crew accommodation standards on theMV (a) Helliar and (b) Hildasay roll-on/roll-off freight vessels with theoperator of the Northern Isles Ferry Services contract.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Government has not held any discussions with the operator on the subject of crew accommodation standards on MV Helliar and MV Hildasay.
14 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-40664 by Jim Fairlie on 1 October 2025, how many seafarer (a) deck ratings and (b) officers are currently employed on the MV (i) Helliar and (ii) Hildasay roll-on/roll-off freight vessel under the Northern Isles Ferry Services contract, and in each …
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The member may wish to request this information from the operator, Serco NorthLink Ferries.
14 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-40662 by Jim Fairlie on 1 October 2025, what the value is of the bareboat charterparty agreement with the operator, Serco NorthLink.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Government is unable to disclose this information as it is considered commercially sensitive.
7 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the ability to finance the removal of peak rail fares is a consequence of an improved UK budget allocation.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Following the conclusion of the Peak Fares Removal Pilot, Scottish Ministers have always been clear that further initiatives on peak fares would be considered if Budget was available. Through the Programme for Government, we have confirmed that permanently ab…
7 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it expects that modal shift or changes in passenger usage, resulting from the removal of peak rail fares, will allow the policy to be self-financing, and, if so, by when it expects the policy to be cost neutral.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The information requested by the Member can be found in the ScotRail Peak Fares Permanent Removal Outline Business Case, published on Transport Scotland website: ScotRail Peak Fares Permanent Removal Outline Business Case
7 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what adjustments have been made to the transport budget to finance the removal of peak rail fares.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41047 on 15 October 2025. 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-committe…
7 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government (a) how it plans to fund and (b) what the expected cost will be of the removal of peak rail fares, in each of the next five years.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41047 on 15 October 2025. 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-committe…
7 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what financial commitment will be required to maintain the removal of peak rail fares on an annual basis beyond the next five years.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The estimated cost to deliver the removal of peak fares is available in the ScotRail Peak Fares Permanent Removal Outline Business Case, published on Transport Scotland website: ScotRail Peak Fares Permanent Removal Outline Business CaseAny future predictions…
7 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the cost in the current financial year is of the removal of peak rail fares, and how this policy is being financed.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41047 on 15 October 2025. 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-committe…
25 Sep 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of attendees and the agenda for the Scottish Transport Summit, which was held on 17 September 2025.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Due to regulations set out in UK Data Protection legislation, we are unable to provide a list of names of those that attended the Scottish Transport Summit on 17 September. However, we can confirm that the Summit brought together senior officials from across …
22 Sep 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to improve clinical training and pathways for diagnosing and managing migraine.
Answer · Jenni Minto: We recognise the distress and pain that migraines cause and we take the issue of migraine seriously.The Centre for Sustainable Delivery launched the national headache pathway in October 2023, to improve care for migraines and headache across Scotland. The pat…
18 Sep 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress made on each of the recommendations in the Report from the Independent Working Group on Antisocial Behaviour the Independent Working Group on Antisocial Behaviour since its publication in February 2025, and what steps it is taking to accelera…
Answer · Siobhian Brown: Since the report from the Independent Working Group on Antisocial Behaviour was published on 25 February 2025, the Scottish Government has been engaging with partners including COSLA and Police Scotland regarding a comprehensive response. The Scottish Governm…
18 Sep 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding antisocial behaviour and fire-raising, how it isworking with local fire services to ensure they are adequately resourced andsupported to deliver local patrols and community engagement.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has four national youth engagement services on offer ranging from primary, secondary and tertiary interventions depending on local partnerships, funding and need. These are:FireSkills – This is a fully flexibl…
18 Sep 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the Scottish Fireand Rescue Service regarding fire-raising and antisocial behaviour in MidScotland and Fife.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has been working closely with partners, including Fife Council, to address a previous rise in fire-related antisocial behaviour. SFRS believes prevention and education to be the best method of dealing with fire-rela…