HUMZA Yousaf has dismissed reports of a dissident block of SNP’s MSPs set to challenge Scottish Government legislation. 

Over the weekend, we reported that a group of 15 backbenchers will publish their own set of policy papers and scrutinising and amending government legislation.

The group would be mostly made up parliamentarians who backed Kate Forbes in the leadership contest and would be unashamedly pro-business. 

The party's relationship with industry has come under scrutiny in recent weeks, with concerns raised over the Deposit Return Scheme, the ban on alcohol advertising and Highly Protected Marine Areas.

READ MORE: Humza Yousaf faces 15 rebel SNP MSPs prepared to challenge government

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"The SNP has historically had legendary discipline where people even haven't asked questions. It is that that is changing and I would say that cannot be a bad thing if you get to better policy outcomes," one source told The Herald on Sunday. 

On Monday, Mr Yousaf took part in his first official visit as First Minister as he travelled to Ayr Academy to announce an extra £15 million for low-income families to access school-age childcare in a number of projects around Scotland.

Asked if he was concerned about party unity, he told the PA news agency that he was not.

He said: “I read beyond the headline, it seemed to suggest that there were some MSPs that wanted to – in their own words – work constructively with the Government to put forward some policy suggestions.

“I’ve got a very open door as First Minister. Any good policy suggestions that come from my own group, be it from the frontbenches or the backbenches, I’ll be very keen to look at. ”

READ MORE: Scots to receive free school age childcare in new child poverty plan

Following polling which showed Scottish Labour gaining on the SNP, he said it was important not to be “complacent”.

He said: “Hence why I’m here for my first visit, because we want to try to help as many households, particularly low-income households, as we possibly can with childcare and that helps individuals get into work, and stay in work and, of course, it helps the economy too.”

During the SNP leadership contest, Mr Yousaf said he would go to court to fight the UK Government’s use of Section 35 to block the Gender Recognition Reform Bill.

However, he said he would not do so if legal advice told him such a court case was not winnable.

Mr Yousaf said: “We don’t make legal advice public for very, very good reason.”

He continued: “It’s something I’ll examine in very close detail as First Minister.

“But my starting principle has always been that we should challenge that Section 35, that Westminster veto to legislation that was passed by a majority of the Scottish Parliament.”

Mr Yousaf said he did not think this case merited an exception to the convention of not publishing Government legal advice.

He said: “I don’t think this is an exceptional circumstance.

“It is important that ministers look at that legal advice.

“I don’t think we should just dismiss that convention, there’s good reason for why that legal advice is not published.”

READ MORE: Scottish deficit in 2023–24 'revised up from £9bn to closer to £18bn'

Reflecting on his first few days as First Minister, he said they had been “pretty hectic but memorable, historic” and “surreal”.

He added: “I managed to take my daughter to feed the ducks and play in the park yesterday which I’m really, really pleased about.

“So a bit of normality amongst what has been quite a hectic schedule.”