The Scottish Parliament

Question reference: S7W-01941

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce an equivalent to the UK Government's Places of Worship Renewal Fund for England.

Question reference: S7W-01942

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7W-01102 by Ben Macpherson on 13 July 2026, what oversight it has of colleges' compliance with relevant health and safety legislation and guidance issued by the Health and Safety Executive.

Question reference: S7W-01943

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-43897 by Angus Robertson on 4 March 2026, how it is progressing work to ensure that listed places of worship in Scotland are not disproportionately affected by the end of the UK-wide Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.

Question reference: S7W-01508

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 23 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to include proposals to review the regulation of the keeping and sale of exotic animals as pets in its forthcoming Programme for Government.

Question reference: S7W-01412

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 23 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of its legal duties to protect and restore seabed habitats under the Marine Strategy Regulations 2010, and how it is delivering on these duties.

The UK wide Marine Strategy Regulations 2010 set out various requirements related to the UK wide endeavour of the achievement or maintenance of Good Environmental Status of marine waters within the marine strategy area, including with respect to seafloor integrity.

Environmental Standards Scotland's (ESS) report, Protecting Scotland's seafloor: an assessment of Scottish Ministers' implementation of the Marine Strategy Regulations 2010, contains findings and recommendations concerning the Scottish Ministers’ implementation of those Regulations, which the Scottish Government is carefully considering.

I have written to the Chief Executive Officer of ESS confirming that the Scottish Government will work constructively with ESS to agree an appropriate action plan within the suggested timescale. The Scottish Government's position on the report's findings and recommendations will be set out through that engagement and in its formal response.

Question reference: S7W-01414

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 23 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it assesses the contribution that Scottish measures are expected to make towards the agreed Scottish share of UK-wide seafloor integrity targets.

The UK wide Marine Strategy Regulations 2010 set out various requirements related to the UK wide endeavour of the achievement or maintenance of Good Environmental Status of marine waters within the marine strategy area, including with respect to seafloor integrity.

Environmental Standards Scotland's (ESS) report, Protecting Scotland's seafloor: an assessment of Scottish Ministers' implementation of the Marine Strategy Regulations 2010, includes findings and recommendations relating to the assessment of the contribution that Scottish measures make towards UK wide seafloor integrity objectives and targets.

The Scottish Government is carefully considering the report. I have written to the Chief Executive of ESS confirming that the Scottish Government will work constructively with ESS to agree an appropriate action plan within the suggested timescale. The Scottish Government's position on the matters raised in the report will be set out through that engagement and in its formal response.

Question reference: S7W-01413

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 23 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it is responding to each of the five recommendations in the Environmental Standards Scotland report, Protecting Scotland’s seafloor: an assessment of Scottish Ministers’ implementation of the Marine Strategy Regulations 2010.

The Scottish Government is giving careful consideration to Environmental Standards Scotland’s (ESS) report, Protecting Scotland's seafloor: an assessment of Scottish Ministers' implementation of the Marine Strategy Regulations 2010. I have written to the Chief Executive Officer of ESS confirming that the Scottish Government will engage constructively with ESS to agree an appropriate action plan within the suggested timescale. The Scottish Government's position on the report’s findings and recommendations will be set out through this engagement and in its formal response.

Question reference: S7W-01411

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 23 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Environmental Standards Scotland's recent report, Protecting Scotland’s seafloor: an assessment of Scottish Ministers’ implementation of the Marine Strategy Regulations 2010, what steps it is taking to address the data gaps which currently prevent assessment of Good Environmental Status (GES) for seafloor integrity.

Question reference: S7W-01568

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Simita Kumar on 22 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide information regarding who represented the Anti-Racism Coalition at the meeting attended by the First Minister and the Scottish Refugee Council in June 2026, following disorder in Glasgow and other parts of Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-01571

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Simita Kumar on 22 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government who has been involved in the establishment of the Anti-Racism Coalition and determining its terms of reference.

Since February 2026, the Scottish Government has had Roundtable meetings with the following funded organisations who support delivery of the Anti-Racism Delivery Plan, published in March 2026:

Anti-Racism Observatory for Scotland (AROS)
Article 12 in Scotland
Black and Ethnic Minority Infrastructure Scotland (BEMIS)
Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER)
Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA)
Council of Ethnic Minority Voluntary Organisations (CEMVO)
Intercultural Youth Scotland (IYS)
Minority Ethnic Carers of People Project (MECOPP)

A Terms of Reference for these Roundtables is being developed collaboratively and will be published once agreed.

Separately, a range of different stakeholder organisations are reflecting shared concerns about the nature and extent of protest activity, disorder and incidents of hate, prejudice and intimidation and their impact on faith communities, adversely racialised communities, people seeking asylum and refugees. This is independent of government and there is not a formal or constituted body as such called the Anti-Racism Coalition. These organisations include:

Anti-Racism Observatory for Scotland
Black and Ethnic Minority Infrastructure Scotland (BEMIS)
Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER)
Council of Ethnic Minority Voluntary Organisations (CEMVO)
Scottish Refugee Council

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Question reference: S7W-01941

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Question reference: S7W-01942

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Question reference: S7W-01508

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Question reference: S7W-01571

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