Questions and answers

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 ��˿�� 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-37000

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 24 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in engaging with officials from the Senedd with regard to the Welsh Government's commitment to phase out greyhound racing.

Question reference: S6W-36424

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 22 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out regarding traffic options to enable safer pedestrian access on the A84 at Bridge of Teith.

Transport Scotland and our operating company BEAR Scotland have held discussions with various local stakeholders regarding the A84 Teith Bridge and options for active travel improvement between Doune and Deanston. Transport Scotland is working closely with Stirling Council in regard to this matter.

Consideration has been given to widening the existing bridge. The existing structure is Category A listed, therefore options to widen the bridge or construct a new facility immediately adjacent to it cannot be taken forward. In addition, there would be a need to realign and widen the A84 and acquire land. The limited width on the bridge deck and the inability to widen the bridge means that any improvement to the active travel infrastructure must be either a new structure further away from the existing bridge, or restrictions to vehicular space on the existing bridge.

Restrictions to vehicular space will impact the movement of vehicles across the bridge introducing queuing and delay, including to public transport services. To assess the impacts of this, a vehicular traffic modelling exercise was undertaken considering the viability and merits of potentially introducing permanent traffic signals. The detailed traffic modelling simulates the operation of vehicles in one direction at a time across Teith Bridge with traffic signals on both north and southbound approaches. This would allow the vehicular space on the bridge to be reduced to a single lane and give more space for wider footways. A pedestrian phase in the signals would allow active travel users to cross the A84 on the south side of the bridge.

Two options have been modelled. The first used traffic signals to control vehicles on the A84 in one direction at a time across the bridge. A second option incorporated the adjacent B8032 into the traffic signals. This improves access and egress to and from the local road, however increases delay for traffic on the A84. Both options included the pedestrian phase for crossing the bridge. Traffic survey data was gathered in early 2024 to inform the modelling. To simulate peak visitor times and future years, appropriate factors based on existing and historical traffic data were applied to test a range of scenarios.

The exercise was completed in January 2025, ahead of schedule. The modelling showed that the three way operation incorporating the B8032 would result in unacceptable levels of delay and queuing. A simple vehicular shuttle operation on the bridge may operate with acceptable levels of delay and queuing for vehicles including in average traffic conditions in the summer. However, the modelling indicates that in the peak hours in the summer and easter periods there may be longer delays to vehicles which may not be acceptable. As a result, further investigation is required.

Transport Scotland and BEAR have shared the results of the modelling with Stirling Council and met with them to discuss it. Stirling Council has requested that a live exercise be undertaken to directly investigate the impact on delays to vehicular traffic.

Taking account of the requirements of all modes of travel, including public transport services, it is recognised that the best form of improvement may not be amendment to the trunk road and the existing bridge, or that these may only be a temporary measure. It may be more practical and effective to create an entirely new, offline facility. The results of the traffic modelling exercise will help to inform this. Alternative options would lie outwith the trunk road and therefore outwith the responsibility of Transport Scotland. Progression of these would be the responsibility of Stirling Council or the Regional Transport Partnership to take forward, and Transport Scotland has suggested that the Council continue to appraise the best means of active travel connection between the two communities.

Discussions are underway in Transport Scotland to establish the potential for bringing forward the live exercise, however this will be subject to available budgets and the prioritisation of active travel schemes across the country. Should it be possible to undertake the trial, following this, further discussions will be held with stakeholders, including Stirling Council, and a decision on any further steps balancing the needs of the users of all modes of travel will be made.

Question reference: S6W-36318

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 22 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made with the appointment of the Traffic Commissioner for Scotland.

The post of Traffic Commissioner for Scotland is currently vacant but I understand the role has been advertised on the UK Government’s Public Appointment website. The closing date for applications is 28 April 2025.

On 2 April, I received a letter from the Secretary of State for Transport, the Rt. Hon. Heidi Alexander MP advising that Richard Turfitt (Senior Traffic Commissioner) will cover the role on a temporary basis. I welcome Mr Turfitt’s temporary appointment to allow work to progress on improving bus services in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-36321

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 22 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill, which is currently being considered by the House of Lords.

My officials have had multiple discussions with their counterparts in the Department for Transport on the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill both before and after it was introduced in the House of Lords.

In addition, the Minister for Local Transport, Rt. Hon. Simon Lightwood MP, wrote to me in December when the Bill was introduced, setting out the Bill’s purpose, territorial extent and application, and its interaction with Scotland. We also discussed the UK Government proposals when Mr Lightwood and I met in person on 3 April 2025.

Question reference: S6W-36319

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 22 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish an updated environment strategy.

Question reference: S6W-36941

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support households in rural areas with energy costs, in light of the 6.4% increase to the Ofgem price cap.

Question reference: S6W-36963

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of any unintended consequence of the public procurement process that may have resulted in small businesses being disadvantaged, including losing out on freelance contracts to large internationally owned firms.

Question reference: S6O-04556

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 April 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what the timescale is to adapt the HMP Stirling estate to address the ongoing noise complaints, in light of reports from residents that the noise disturbance is getting worse.

Question reference: S6W-35786

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 26 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-05017 by Mairi McAllan on 6 January 2022, what plans it has to update the list of game species, including removing species that have been red-listed.

Question reference: S6W-35787

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 26 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-27244 by Jim Fairlie on 13 May 2024, whether it will provide an update on how many journeys have been made through the Young Persons’ (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel scheme, broken down by local authority, based on the latest available data.

The following table shows the number of journeys, broken down by local authority, made through the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme since its launch in January 2022 up to 28 February 2025. Journeys are based on the local authority in which the card was issued, therefore some journeys will have been undertaken outwith the local authority area.

Local Authority	Total Journeys
Aberdeen City	11,755,210
Aberdeenshire	5,817,811
Angus Council	2,795,910
Argyll & Bute	1,592,223
City of Edinburgh	42,368,125
Clackmannanshire	949,142
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar	290,964
Dumfries and Galloway	2,808,657
Dundee City	9,078,908
East Ayrshire	5,095,101
East Dunbartonshire	2,729,489
East Lothian	5,856,702
East Renfrewshire	2,688,049
Falkirk	2,943,570
Fife	15,847,992
Glasgow City	26,926,132
Highland	4,210,245
Inverclyde	3,073,230
Midlothian	5,444,718
Moray	1,703,065
North Ayrshire	5,677,541
North Lanarkshire	8,155,430
Orkney Islands	285,724
Perth & Kinross	4,563,953
Renfrewshire	6,794,793
Scottish Borders	2,696,004
Shetland Islands	553,252
South Ayrshire	2,923,356
South Lanarkshire	7,440,121
Stirling	2,524,385
West Dunbartonshire	3,564,053
West Lothian	4,880,594
Total	204,034,449