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: S6O-05664

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 March 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of NHS Tayside having stopped accepting referrals for children without co-existing mental health disorders in March 2025, what further action it has taken to support children in accessing timely autism spectrum disorder assessments.

Question reference: S6W-43619

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 March 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any potential environmental impact, what its position is on the decommissioning and storage of nuclear submarines at dockyards in Scotland, including Rosyth.

Question reference: S6W-43872

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 5 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the active travel budget being underspent over the last two years of budget decisions, for what reason it was reduced in the Autumn revision of the Budget.

The active travel budget was adjusted in the Autumn Budget Revision. The original 2025-26 active travel budget was £164.8 million, comprising £12.4 million resource and £152.4 million capital. In addition, a further £23.9 million for Cycling, Walking & Safer Routes was allocated within the ‘central government grants’ budget line, bringing the total original allocation for 2025-26 to £188.7 million.

The comparator figures for 2025-26 are lower following agreed transfers at the Autumn Budget Revision. Funding was moved from the Active Travel budget to Local Authorities and to the Road Safety Directorate of Transport Scotland so that these delivery partners could take forward active travel projects directly. A further £0.5 million was transferred into the Active Travel budget to support Bikeability.

Following these adjustments, the revised total of £135.9 million, consisting of £13.1 million resource and £122.8 million capital, reflects these transfers and ensures that the budget is aligned with where delivery responsibility sits for the remainder of the year.

This revision is a technical adjustment to support delivery and does not represent any reduction in the Scottish Government’s commitment to active travel investment.

Question reference: S6W-43873

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 4 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the £60 million Bus Infrastructure Fund is included under the Active and Sustainable Travel budget, rather than having its own line in the 2026-27 Budget.

The ‘Support for Active Travel’ budget line was re-named ‘Support for Active and Sustainable Travel’ when the Bus Infrastructure Fund was launched at the start of financial year 2025-26 and brings together programmes and investment designed to facilitate and encourage greener alternatives to car use. In 2026-27 that budget continues to deliver the Active Travel programmes and the Bus Infrastructure Fund, which has been increased to £60 million for the next financial year.

This change was made to better reflect the Scottish Government’s policy intention and approach, so that we could show and encourage everyone with an interest in active and sustainable travel that like them, we see how our funding and interventions can and should work better together. We are investing to support high quality active travel and bus infrastructure, sustainable travel integration and behaviour change investment to promote walking, wheeling and cycling for everyday shorter journeys.

Question reference: S6W-43961

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it last published a report on safe staffing levels in early learning and childcare provision.

Question reference: S6W-43962

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether the safe staffing guidance for early learning and childcare settings has been reviewed, including in relation to safe staffing levels when supporting children with additional support needs.

Question reference: S6W-43953

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on (a) what new action it has taken to reduce waiting times for gender-affirming care at Glasgow's Sandyford Gender Identity Clinic, and (b) what funding it has allocated in the Budget 2026-27 to support this work.

Question reference: S6W-43818

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 25 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to waste being sent for incineration in Scotland, whether (a) it knows where this waste comes from and (b) it is possible for waste to be sent from other parts of the UK to be burned in Scotland's incinerators.

Question reference: S6W-43820

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 25 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what resources it estimates will be required to conduct a revised incinerator capacity analysis.

Question reference: S6W-43817

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 25 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its recent agreement with Environmental Standards Scotland regarding action to prevent excess incineration capacity, whether it plans to conduct its revised incinerator capacity analysis earlier than 2027, and when it plans to publish this analysis.