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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 5365 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S7W-04041

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 23 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how the Bus Infrastructure Fund will aim to support rural services in areas such as the Scottish Borders.

The Bus Infrastructure Fund supports bus services through improving the infrastructure that they rely on. In 2026-27 £20 million has been provided to all local authorities through Tier 1 of the fund, which is dedicated to supporting the design, development, and delivery of bus infrastructure, including improvements to accessibility such as enhanced bus stops, shelters, real-time information and small-scale bus priority measures. The fund’s allocation methodology places significant weight on rural dispersion, with funding invested to support public transport services and address local transport needs.

Question reference: S7W-03976

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 23 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment has been made of the condition of ScotRail carriages.

Transport Scotland's Service Quality Incentive Regime (SQUIRE) inspectors carry out service quality audits on approximately 250 train services during each four-week railway reporting period. These audits assess a range of factors, including cleanliness, presentation and the condition of train interiors and exteriors, providing a regular and comprehensive assessment of the condition of ScotRail carriages across the network.

Where issues are identified through routine inspections, maintenance activities or the SQUIRE regime, appropriate remedial action is taken to maintain standards and support a safe, reliable and comfortable environment for passengers.

Question reference: S7W-03971

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 23 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of the condition and maintenance of pavements, footways and other pedestrian routes on the incidence of slips, trips and falls, particularly among older people, and what action it is taking with local authorities and other relevant bodies to improve the safety and quality of walking infrastructure.

Local authorities have a duty under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 to manage and maintain local roads and pavements in their area. Assessment of the condition and maintenance of local pavements is not undertaken by the Scottish Government and is a matter for the relevant local authority.

Transport Scotland does however manage and maintain pavements that form part of the trunk road network. Defects identified are assessed and addressed in accordance with established risk-based maintenance standards and response times.

Furthermore, the Scottish Government is investing £41 million in road safety in 2026-27, including £14.5 million through the Road Safety Improvement Fund to support local authorities in delivering measures to reduce road-related risk and casualties on the local road and pavement network.

Question reference: S7W-03841

Asked by: Collette Stevenson, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 23 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many bus journeys have been made using the £2 bus fare cap since the introduction of the scheme, broken down by local authority area.

Since it was launched in the Highlands and Islands, over 1.7 million journeys have been made using the £2 bus fare cap. Of these journeys, over 1.5 million journeys took place in the mainland HiTrans Regional Transport Partnership area (Highland, Moray and Argyll & Bute (except Lomond and Helensburgh), over 100,000 journeys took place in Orkney, 52,000 in Shetland and 15,000 in Comhairle nan Siar.

Figures correct as of 28 September 2026.

Journey data on the £2 fare cap scheme launched on 7 September 2026 in the Strathclyde area is not yet available.

Question reference: S7W-04003

Asked by: Joe Fagan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 23 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the economic contribution of the A77.

An assessment of economic contribution of A77, together with the wider transport network in South West Scotland was reported in the South West Scotland Transport Study.

As part of the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2), an assessment of the future potential economic impact of improvements to the A77 and A75 is included in the Appraisal Summary Table that supported STPR2 Recommendation 40 (Access to Stranraer and the ports at Cairnryan).

Question reference: S7W-04005

Asked by: Joe Fagan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 23 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has received regarding the upgrading of the A77 from (a) ferry operators, (b) port operators, (c) road hauliers, and (d) the Northern Ireland Executive and its agencies.

I recently met with the South West Scotland Transport Alliance, representing Stena Line, P&O Ferries and Belfast Harbour, together with the Road Haulage Association. The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss the challenges associated with the A77 and A75 and stakeholders’ priorities for improvement.

My officials are in regular contact with Northern Irish counterparts on transport matters, including the importance of the A77 and A75 as strategic links to the ports at Cairnryan for passenger and freight travelling to Northern Ireland.

Question reference: S7W-04157

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 23 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions have taken place between Transport Scotland and (a) CMAL or (b) CalMac about replacing the MV Isle of Arran vessel upon its scheduled retirement.

Transport Scotland engages regularly with both Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) and CalMac on fleet planning and replacement requirements.

CalMac's recently published Vessel Deployment, Disposal and Cascade Plan confirms the MV Isle of Arran’s planned disposal in 2027. Capacity and resilience across the fleet will be maintained through the introduction of new vessels and the redeployment of existing vessels across the network.

Question reference: S7W-03886

Asked by: Alan Brown, MSP for Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Liam McArthur (on behalf of the SPCB) on 23 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what assessment it has made of whether the resources allocated to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman are sufficient, in light of reported increases in case-handling response times.

All officeholders are required to submit an annual budget bid to the SPCB for approval. It is for the SPSO to decide on its total bid. Budget bids, including the SPSO’s, were scrutinised by the SPCB in late 2025 before consideration by the Finance and Public Administration Committee in January 2026. The bids were agreed by Parliament as a whole in the Budget Bill for 2026-27.

The SPCB considered a request for contingency funding from the SPSO on 25 June 2026. The SPCB approved contingency funding of up to £203,304 for six investigative roles for the remainder of the 2026-27 period. The SPSO had requested this resource to cover three financial years, however, the SPCB did not considered it possible, at this stage, to consider the bids for 2027-28 and 2028-29. As a matter of good financial governance, these should be considered as part of the budget process. The SPSO have been advised to re-submit those requests as part of the 2027-28 budget process.

The SPCB will consider all officeholder budget bids for 2027-28 in November.

Question reference: S7W-04436

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) local authorities, (b) regional transport partnerships and (c) Police Scotland regarding the potential safeguarding risks associated with reductions in rural bus services and isolated bus stops, particularly for young people at risk of child sexual exploitation or criminal exploitation through so-called county lines networks.

Question reference: S7W-04437

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review its best practice guidance on taxi and private hire car licensing to assess the extent to which existing driver training requirements adequately address child sexual exploitation and so-called county lines awareness, including the potential for survivor-led organisations to contribute to such training.