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: S7W-00075

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 26 May 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what funding is available to local authorities for the rollout of 20mph speed limits in 2026-27.

Question reference: S7W-00074

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 26 May 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when the national 20mph implementation group last met and what it discussed.

A national 20 mph Task Group was established to ensure a coordinated and effective approach to the implementation of 20 mph speed limits across Scotland. The group last met on 24 January 2024 and guidance to support the rollout can be viewed at: The Implementation Guide for 20 mph Speed Limits in Scotland | Transport Scotland

Since then, matters relating to the delivery of 20 mph speed limits have been discussed on a regular basis with individual local authorities to allow us to monitor progress. 20 mph has also been discussed through existing road safety governance structures, including Local Partnership Forums.

Question reference: S7W-00149

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 May 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, further to the answer to question S6W-44327 by Jackson Carlaw on 9 April 2026, whether it will provide an update on when it will conclude its work to review the provision of paternity and partner leave for MSP staff.

Question reference: S6W-44327

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jackson Carlaw (on behalf of the SPCB) on 9 April 2026

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what progress has been made towards reviewing allowances for paternity and parental partner leave for all staff.

The SPCB is responsible for setting the minimum terms and conditions on which staff must be employed. The SPCB works in partnership with its recognised trade unions to agree terms and conditions for Scottish Parliamentary Service staff. Any changes to terms and conditions would have cost and productivity implications which the SPCB would require to consider.

MSPs may exercise discretion to offer terms and conditions in excess of these minimum terms and conditions, provided they are able to do so within their capped Staff Cost Provision. The SPCB is aware that MSPs and parliamentary groups have taken the opportunity to do so, particularly in respect of enhanced parental leave entitlements.

The SPCB is committed to meeting the different needs of colleagues and to delivering an inclusive and welcoming environment for all. The SPCB will consider these matters further at the earliest opportunity in Session 7 and in doing so will work with MSPs, their staff and staff representatives, including MSP staff trade unions, to ensure that staff are employed on terms and conditions which are comparable with staff employed by Members of other UK legislatures.

Question reference: S6O-05702

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 March 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any potential public health impact of silica air pollution.

Question reference: S6W-44172

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 18 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress that Transport Scotland has made towards changing the speed limit from 30mph to 20mph on appropriate roads for which it is the transport authority.

The Scottish Government is committed to introducing 20mph limits on appropriate roads across Scotland by the end of March 2026. Of the 75 locations on the trunk road network that were assessed as being appropriate for a reduced speed limit. Good progress has been made in implementing these with 64 already having a 20mph speed limit in place. 10 of the remaining locations are currently programmed to have a 20mph speed limit in place by 31 March 2026. The exception is the A78 in Greenock. While Transport Scotland will have the necessary Temporary Traffic Regulation Order made and associated works on the trunk road complete by 31 March, the 20mph speed limit will not become live until Inverclyde Council complete their works on the adjacent side roads. Inverclyde Council have indicated that this will be done on 27 April.

Question reference: S6W-44173

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 17 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what funding will be available to local authorities that are still undertaking the roll out of 20mph zones to move forward, in light of the targeted £4 million funding not continuing beyond the fiscal year 2024-25.

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: Answered by Gillian Martin on 17 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: 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-43962

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 10 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.

The legislative requirements for Early Learning and Childcare settings falls under The Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act which was enacted on 1 April 2024. The Act is applicable to all health and care staff in Scotland. Statutory guidance was published on 1 April 2024 alongside the Act to support services to understand their responsibilities and ensure staffing arrangements meet the individual needs of people using care services.

The Health and Social Care Standards also detail expectations in relation to meeting the needs of people experiencing care, which includes children in ELC settings. In particular, section 3 includes details about staffing arrangements to meet individual needs.

The Care Inspectorate guidance on adult to child ratios in early learning and childcare settings sets out the minimum expectations for staffing levels in children's services. However, all children should have a personal plan where the service would capture, among other things, children's support needs, interests and stage of development, and this should be used to inform decisions about staffing levels. The ongoing maintenance of this guidance is the responsibility of the Care Inspectorate.

Under the Additional Support for Learning (ASL) Act 2004, education authorities are responsible for identifying and meeting the additional support needs of children in ELC settings. In line with the National Standard, we expect local authorities and funded providers to work together to support children with additional support needs to access appropriate support to ensure that children's disabilities or additional support needs do not provide a barrier to them accessing a full range of experiences, and meets their individual needs. It is for education authorities to determine the most appropriate provision for children and young people with ASN, taking account of their legislative responsibilities and the individual circumstances and wishes of children, young people and their families. Education authorities are supported with these decisions through the statutory supporting learners' code of practice guidance, which is accessible online at Additional support for learning: statutory guidance 2017