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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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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

Question reference: S6W-35785

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 when the species licensing review will (a) conclude and (b) report to ministers, and by what date the findings will be published.

Question reference: S6W-35442

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 17 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work by the Scottish Prison Service to address reports of noise disturbance at HMP Cornton Vale.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS recognise and appreciate the patience and understanding shown by our neighbours as we try to deliver a lasting solution to the impact of noise.

We have taken a number of actions relating to the estate and supporting the women in our care to minimise the impact of noise.

We are in the final stages of designing and implementing a physical adaptation to the estate that is expected to deliver a significant reduction in noise from parts of the establishment identified as impacting our neighbours.

Local residents’ association and local elected representatives have been invited to a meeting at the establishment on 24 March, where SPS will present an update on progress and answer any queries presented by the group.

Question reference: S6O-04477

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 March 2025
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what discussions it has had with the Scottish Parliamentary Pension Scheme trustees about investments in Tesla and any other companies that may conflict with the scheme's Statement of Investment Principles.

Question reference: S6O-04458

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it will conclude its assessment of the case for a new rail station at Newburgh.

Question reference: S6O-04435

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide an update on its work to end conversion practices, including whether it anticipates any delay to its joint work with the UK Government on this as a result of recent ministerial changes.

Question reference: S6W-34938

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many train (a) arrivals and (b) departures there have been at (i) Cameron Bridge and (ii) Leven rail station each month since June 2024.

Question reference: S6W-34987

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason NatureScot reportedly did not invite each of the groups involved in the development of the Grouse Code of Practice to (a) meetings and (a) engage in consultation with it to discuss grouse licence conditions.

In developing the Grouse Code of Practice NatureScot established the Grouse Code Working Group to develop the conditions of the licence for grouse moors and the accompanying Code of Practice. This was then introduced in July 2024.

As I set out in response to S6W-34518 on 25 February 2025, NatureScot subsequently added a condition to licences so that certain relevant offences committed anywhere on a landholding can be taken into consideration as to whether to revoke or suspend a licence. No additional engagement was undertaken and it was not considered necessary to carry out further consultation as this addition did not deviate from the policy intention when the licensing conditions and Grouse Code of Practice were initially developed.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6W-34988

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) meetings and (b) other discussions NatureScot and Scottish Land and Estates have held to discuss (i) the legal opinions regarding the wording of the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024 and (ii) what land should be included in a 16AA licence to shoot grouse.