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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 3 July 2025
Answer status
Question type

Displaying 1669 questions Show Answers

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Question reference: S6W-39051

  • Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
  • Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 July 2025
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 30 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the level of skills and abilities of children starting primary school, and whether there has been a recorded decline in these over the last 10 years, including (a) cognitive, (b) motor, (c) practical and (d) social skills.  

Question reference: S6W-39100

  • Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
  • Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 July 2025
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 29 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what steps it is taking to make the parliamentary estate more pollinator-friendly, and whether these steps include (a) planting a more diverse array of plants for wild pollinators, (b) encouraging nature across the parliamentary estate more generally and (c) moving away from keeping bees in hives, in light of reports that organisations such as the Bumblebee Conservation Trust state that the latter is not a sustainable practice.

Question reference: S6W-39052

  • Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
  • Date lodged: Friday, 27 June 2025
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 25 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the policy recommendations in the University of Manchester report, On Hydrogen, including their potential impact on future (a) policy and (b) publicly funded research on hydrogen in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-39053

  • Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
  • Date lodged: Friday, 27 June 2025
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 25 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what medical assessment is required by decision makers when authorising the renewal of Blue Badges; what type of healthcare professionals are involved in the renewal process; how they are involved, and whether they are involved in all applications.

Question reference: S6W-39050

  • Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
  • Date lodged: Friday, 27 June 2025
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 25 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the University of Manchester report, On Hydrogen, what consideration it has given to the potential role that the recently established large industrial clusters could play in the decarbonisation of small industrial emitters.

Question reference: S6W-39054

  • Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
  • Date lodged: Friday, 27 June 2025
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 25 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, following the removal of peak rail fares in September, whether super off-peak tickets will still be available for purchase at a reduced rate to commuters, and, if so, to which routes this will apply.

Question reference: S6W-38214

  • Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
  • Date lodged: Thursday, 05 June 2025
  • Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 17 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-35205 by Jim Fairlie on 11 March 2025, whether it has reconvened the working group with third sector representatives to explore delivery options for free bus travel for asylum seekers, and, if it is the case that it has not yet done so, when this commitment is likely to be delivered.

Question reference: S6O-04832

  • Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
  • Date lodged: Thursday, 12 June 2025
  • Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, further to the response to question S6O-04050, what the findings were of the review of the terms and conditions of staff employed by MSPs, particularly in relation to parental leave policies.

Question reference: S6O-04824

  • Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
  • Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 June 2025
  • Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its discussions with the UK Government regarding the Asylum Right to Work Pilot proposal, in light of the Home Office reportedly stating that it is unable to commit to exploring the feasibility of the proposal.

Question reference: S6W-38215

  • Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
  • Date lodged: Thursday, 05 June 2025
  • Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-35787 and S6W-27244 by Jim Fairlie on 26 March 2025 and 13 May 2024 respectively, whether it will provide an update on how many (a) journeys have been made and (b) young people have now received a free bus pass through the Young Persons' (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel scheme, broken down by local authority area, based on the latest available data.