Chamber and committees

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-44004

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 27 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 10 March 2026

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.

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 publication, and applications can continue to be submitted until 31 March 2026. Applications received after this date may still be considered in certain circumstances. Additionally, individuals may choose to opt out of receiving the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment.

Management information published on 4 March 2026 shows that as of 21 February 2026,over 1,051,000 Pension Age Winter Heating Payments had been issued and the total value of payments issued was over £188.1 million.

Question reference: S6W-44006

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 27 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 9 March 2026

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.

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, therefore it is not currently possible for the Scottish Government to commit to a delivery date. The Scottish Government continues to work with the DWP to progress this policy.

Question reference: S6W-44002

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 27 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 9 March 2026

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.

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 request for a formal impact assessment to be carried out. We will continue to work with the DWP to ensure this work is carried out as quickly as possible, noting that progress is reliant on DWP resources.

Question reference: S6W-44005

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 27 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 9 March 2026

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.

Question reference: S6O-05608

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 March 2026

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.

Question reference: S6O-05516

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 February 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 February 2026

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.

Question reference: S6W-43049

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 January 2026

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.

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 committed to our Two Child Limit Payment.

The Scottish Fiscal Commission have forecast that, of the £141 million which would have been allocated to the Two Child Limit Payment in 2026-27, £14 million will be invested to meet the additional demand on devolved benefits as a result of the Two Child Limit being removed. This includes increased spending on Benefit Cap mitigation and for the Scottish Government’s Five Family Payments.

Of the £126 million made available in 2026-27 after meeting these costs, the Scottish Government will invest:

£50 million in a package of Whole Family support that will wrap around families and help break the cycle of poverty. This will further enhance existing support and will include support with skills and direct assistance via trusted third sector organisations.
£61.5 million in our Tackling Child Poverty Fund to supercharge action on child poverty across the life of the next Parliament, with details of investment set out in our forthcoming Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan.
a further £21 million to meet the cost of increased expenditure on the Scottish Child Payment in 2026-27. This includes uprating the payment to £28.20 per child per week from April.

Through the Scottish Spending Review, we have also committed to developing the systems and legislation needed to increase the value of our Scottish Child Payment to £40 per week for all children under the age of 1 commencing in 2027-28. Investment in this enhanced support will be met from the reallocation of Two Child Limit Payment funding.

These measures, alongside others announced in the Scottish Budget and Spending Review, will help to support the delivery of the Third Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan to be published by the end of March 2026, setting our ambitious path towards the 2030 statutory Child Poverty Targets.

Question reference: S6W-43051

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 27 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what specialist residential provision is currently provided for under-18s experiencing addiction issues, broken down by local authority area.

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 this can be extended to 16-17-year-olds. However, these decisions must be made on a case-by-case basis, in conjunction with the chosen provider, referrer, social work and the Care Inspectorate.

As part of developing work in this area, 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 drug use
Recommendations for delivery: action by local commissioners and local services to support the Standards

We are now developing a plan to implement these Standards and will work with our local partners, including local authorities and Alcohol and Drugs Partnerships, on their delivery.

Question reference: S6W-43045

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 27 January 2026

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.

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 drug use
Recommendations for delivery: action by local commissioners and local services to support the Standards

Alcohol and Drugs Partnerships (ADPs) were consulted in the development of the Standards and the Standards were endorsed by COSLA.

We are now developing a plan to implement these Standards and will work with our local partners, including ADPs on delivery of the Standards.

Question reference: S6W-43050

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 23 January 2026

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.

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 Scotland. These transfers took place to support the safe transition of new benefits and services from programme development into operational delivery rather than into existing job roles.

For wider context, as part of Programme closure, we are forecasting that 187 staff will transfer on 27 March 2026 from the Directorate to the Digital, Delivery and Change Division within Social Security Scotland to provide ongoing support to the live running, maintenance, and continuous improvement of our digital ecosystem and benefit products.

2018-2027 Staff transfers from the Social Security Directorate to Social Security Scotland

2018-19

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22

2022-23

2023-24

2024-25

2025-26

2026-27

forecast

Staff transfers

187

forecast

Total inc. forecast figures

204