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: S6W-42075

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 5 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish an annual breakdown of ScotRail passenger complaints by category, including cleanliness, punctuality and customer service.

Question reference: S6W-42073

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 5 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when each of its ministers last took a ferry for official business-related travel.

Question reference: S6W-42076

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 5 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve the cleanliness of ScotRail trains, including in relation to cleaning frequency, staffing levels and passenger feedback mechanisms.

Question reference: S6W-42070

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 5 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many empty homes there currently are in the West Scotland region.

Question reference: S6W-42072

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 5 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many planning officials there currently are in Scotland, and what assessment it has conducted of any future need.

Question reference: S6W-42074

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 5 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of reported trends in ScotRail passenger complaints relating to train cleanliness since the transfer of ScotRail to public ownership.

Question reference: S6W-42071

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 5 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many planning applications are currently stalled due to infrastructure constraints in the West Scotland region.

Question reference: S6W-41837

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 20 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it will bring the A75 and A77 up to the standard required for major freight traffic to Cairnryan Port.

The A75 and A77 are vital components of Scotland’s strategic trunk road network, providing essential links between Cairnryan Port and the wider UK and European markets. Both routes are designed to higher standards than local roads, with features that support durability, safety, and resilience.

The South West Scotland Transport Study (2020) highlighted their economic importance: the A75 west of Dumfries carries goods worth around £20 million daily, while the A77 south of Ayr carries £10 million daily, the highest HGV proportions in the region.

Since 2008, significant investment has been made:

A75: Six major schemes, including alignment upgrades, overtaking lanes, and the Dunragit Bypass, totalling over £50 million.

A77: Five major improvements, including the £29 million Maybole Bypass opened in 2022, totalling £64 million.

Maintenance spend since 2007 has been substantial, £173.1 million on the A75 and £146.7 million on the A77, with further allocations in 2024/25 of £20.8 million and £12.5 million respectively. Upcoming works include resurfacing, drainage, and targeted upgrades.

Looking ahead, Recommendation 40 of STPR2 commits to further improvements in safety, resilience, and reliability on both routes. This will include enhanced junctions, additional overtaking opportunities, and carriageway widening or realignment to address pinch points.

A75: Design and assessment work to consider options for realigning the A75 trunk road with bypasses at the villages of Springholm and Crocketford is underway and proceeding at pace. This work will culminate in the identification of a preferred route option for the scheme in early 2027.

A77: Work is underway to further develop and prioritise locations on the A77on the single carriageway section south of Ayr identified as part of STPR2 Recommendation 40. This will include further business case development and stakeholder involvement in this process.

This demonstrates the Scottish Government’s ongoing commitment to ensuring these critical corridors meet the needs of major freight traffic and support Scotland’s economic connectivity.

Question reference: S6W-41825

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 19 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has conducted into labour shortages in Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders, and what steps it is taking to reverse depopulation trends in rural South of Scotland communities.

Skills Development Scotland publish annual Regional Skills Assessments (RSAs), which provide detailed information on regional labour markets. The latest RSA for the South of Scotland region was published in October 2025.

Through delivery of our Addressing Depopulation Action Plan, £30,000 was provided to Dumfries & Galloway Council with £30,000 in 2024-25 to undertake research into the local drivers of depopulation. The local authority has also received a total of £120,000 across 2024-25 and 2025-26 to scope and deliver locally-led depopulation interventions, including increasing local economic opportunities as a key priority.

We continue to engage closely with local authorities through the jointly chaired SG/COSLA Population Roundtable and our Population Programme Board includes representation from both COSLA and South of Scotland Enterprise, to ensure we are collaboratively addressing local depopulation trends.

Question reference: S6W-41654

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 18 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported proposals to reduce wholetime firefighter posts in Inverclyde, and what assessment it has made of fire service resilience across Scotland.

Consideration of the options for change included in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) Service Delivery Review impacting Inverclyde have included extensive analysis of historic response data along with assessment of the current and future risks present in communities. No decisions have yet been taken on the conclusions of the Service Delivery Review. Decisions on the location of fire stations, the number of appliances and the crewing patterns of staff are operational matters for SFRS. SFRS continues to respond to every emergency with the appropriate level of resources.