Podcasts By The Scottish Parliament: Recent Episodes
The Scottish Parliament
Podcasts from the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland. Subscribe to listen to First Minister‘s Questions (FMQs) and other content.
The First Minister fields questions of national importance from Party Leaders in this weekly question time.
Read the full transcript from the Official Report https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
This episode was recorded ahead of the official Opening Ceremony of the Scottish Parliament, marking the beginning of our seventh session. As has become customary, MSPs invite one person from their local area to join us at Holyrood, to take part in the events of the day. We call these guests our local heroes, as they are selected thanks to the incredible work they do in their communities. All have fascinating stories, and in this episode you'll meet four of them.
The First Minister answers questions from backbench Members in this weekly question time.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
Pàdraig MacAoidh (Peter Mackay) is Scotland's Makar, or national poet. He's part of the programme for the Opening Ceremony taking place on 27 June 2026, to officially mark the seventh session of the Scottish Parliament.
He chats to us about the role, his inspiration behind the poem, and what else he's working on at the moment.
The First Minister fields questions of national importance from Party Leaders in this weekly question time.
Read the full transcript from the Official Report https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
The First Minister answers questions from backbench Members in this weekly question time.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
The First Minister fields questions of national importance from Party Leaders in this weekly question time.
Read the full transcript from the Official Report https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
The First Minister answers questions from backbench Members in this weekly question time.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
The First Minister answers questions from party leaders in this weekly question time.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
The First Minister answers questions from backbench Members in this weekly question time.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
In this podcast, the Presiding officer speaks with women Members about a range of topics including:
- How social media and rising workloads have shaped modern political life
- Why unpredictable hours make it tough for MSPs with caring responsibilities
- The importance of cross‑party working and respect in debate
- Why mentoring and supporting women in politics matters more than ever
- How getting out into communities helps rebuild trust
And much more.
The podcast features the Rt Hon Alison Johnstone MSP, Shona Robison MSP Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, Fiona Hyslop Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity, Sarah Boyack MSP, and Rhoda Grant MSP
In this conversation, the Presiding officer and Professor Kezia Dugdale explore:
- The growing pressure and polarisation in political debate
- Why respectful discussion matters more than ever
- How Parliament can open its doors to more women and people from under‑represented backgrounds
- The reality of balancing public service with modern family life
- Why diverse leadership leads to better decisions for Scotland
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Joe FitzPatrick
To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on the Scottish Government’s commitment to banning conversion practices.
Dr Pam Gosal MBE
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to research by Women's Rights Network Scotland reportedly showing that some children have been assaulted in Scottish hospitals.
Pauline McNeill
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland report indicating that staff shortages mean young prisoners at HMP & YOI Polmont lack enough opportunities for work, education or recreation and spend “far too long locked in their cells".
Jamie Greene
To ask the First Minister, in light of the reported rise in protests and rhetoric aimed at immigrants and minority groups, what action any future Scottish administration can take to restore kindness, decency and tolerance to politics.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Stuart McMillan
To ask the First Minister, following the Union Street fire in Glasgow, what discussions the Scottish Government has had with Network Rail regarding the organisation having a greater say over what types of businesses can be located in close vicinity to key transport hubs such as Glasgow Central.
Edward Mountain
To ask the First Minister what plans the Scottish Government has to regulate deposit fees in care homes.
Katy Clark
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that the Scottish Information Commissioner is taking legal advice on further legal action against the Scottish Government and his comments that he “can no longer trust the Government to handle this information unsupervised".
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Christine Grahame
To ask the First Minister what measures the Scottish Government can take, in discussion with the UK Government, to assist households in very rural areas that are wholly dependent on oil or liquefied natural gas for heating, and are not connected to the gas mains, to assist with increased costs.
Brian Whittle
To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of any impact on the NHS arising from reports that the number of consultants working in the private healthcare system is the highest on record.
Kevin Stewart
To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to promote vaccinations to combat measles, in light of reports of recent diagnoses in the NHS Grampian area.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
Presiding Officer Rt Hon Alison Johnstone MSP speaks with Ellie Craig MSYP, Chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament.
They talk about issues including:
- International Women's Day 2026
- Youth participation and how young people shape democracy
- Gender representation and creating a more inclusive Parliament
- Social media’s impact on political engagement
- Respectful political debate
- Encouraging higher voter turnout among young people
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Kenneth Gibson
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the UK Government’s Spring Statement.
Stephen Kerr
To ask the First Minister, in light of the recently published Commission on School Reform manifesto warning that the curriculum for excellence has been poorly implemented and is harming long-term prospects, what the Scottish Government's position is on whether a lack of clear, nationally specified curriculum content and standards has contributed to declining attainment and inconsistency across Scotland’s schools.
Katy Clark
To ask the First Minister, in light of the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day being equal rights and equal justice, what action the Scottish Government is taking to improve the legal rights of women and girls.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Michelle Thomson MSP
To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of warnings from industry leaders that high transmission charges are making wind farms in the north of Scotland uncompetitive, including any implications for its work to grow the renewable energy sector.
Liam Kerr MSP
To ask the First Minister, in light of reported renewed calls over the weekend to end the Lord Advocate’s dual role, when the Scottish Government will publish its proposals and begin a consultation on separating the prosecution function from the role of providing legal advice to the Scottish Ministers.
Mercedes Villalba MSP
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the outcome of the University of Aberdeen UCU ballot, which resulted in 83% of those voting in support of strike action and 90% in favour of action short of a strike.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Christine Grahame
To ask the First Minister what measures the Scottish Government is taking to standardise the criteria for urgent referrals to child and adolescent mental health services for an assessment, in light of reports that it is currently a postcode lottery.
Roz McCall
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reports that hundreds of teachers have sought medical treatment following attacks by pupils in the last five years.
Maggie Chapman
To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on the development of a Just Transition plan for the north east of Scotland, including how communities and workers have been engaged.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Michelle Thomson MSP
To ask the First Minister how often he or the Scottish Ministers engage with the Scottish Government’s Washington DC International Office regarding the Scotch whisky industry and other economic interests in the United States.
Rachael Hamilton MSP
To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will provide an update on the Service Delivery Review of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
Mark Griffin MSP
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that police stations across Lanarkshire, including in Bellshill, will be closed permanently to the public or have their hours reduced from 1 April.
Jamie Greene MSP
To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will make further changes to the draft Budget 2026-27 published in January in relation to business rates, hospices and the care sector.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Rona Mackay MSP
To ask the First Minister how the new measures that the Scottish Government has announced to tackle long-term unemployment will support its work to grow Scotland’s economy.
Brian Whittle MSP
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reported warnings that a significant proportion of the medical workforce is experiencing stress, anxiety and burnout.
Rhoda Grant MSP
To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to ensure the long-term financial and operational stability of specialist domestic abuse services in the Highlands.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Willie Coffey
To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government’s new national housing agency will support its work to deliver more affordable homes.
Liz Smith
To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to improve transparency and accountability within NHS boards.
Clare Haughey
To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government's launch of walk-in GP clinics will support its work to bring down waiting times and ensure everyone gets the care they need.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Keith Brown
To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update regarding the Scottish Government’s latest engagement with the UK Government in relation to the distribution of Local Growth Fund allocations in Scotland.
Douglas Ross
To ask the First Minister for what reason the Scottish Government is going to court to continue to allow it to house male prisoners in the female prison estate, in light of any projections it has made of the cost to taxpayers in Scotland of challenging the Supreme Court ruling in this way.
Pam Duncan-Glancy
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to findings published by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow indicating that a majority of clinicians anticipate practical challenges in implementing the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
David Torrance
To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is taking to support households with the cost of living this winter.
Tim Eagle
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the partial collapse of the Spey Viaduct, including what support it can offer to Moray Council in responding to the immediate consequences and the next steps for the local community.
Monica Lennon
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to the recent EIS findings that young people with additional support needs are being let down, and teachers are experiencing stress due to inadequate resourcing, in light of the reported reduction of nearly 20% in specialist ASN staff since 2010, despite a rise of over 710% in the number of pupils requiring such support since 2007.
Beatrice Wishart
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s position is on local authorities, which host renewable energy infrastructure, receiving Scottish Crown Estate revenue allocations, such as a share of the income from ScotWind projects.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Marie McNair
To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the potential implications for its work to eradicate child poverty in Scotland of the UK Government’s child poverty strategy.
Miles Briggs
To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of, and support it is providing to, childhood dementia awareness.
Jackie Baillie
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the independent investigation into NHS Scotland by the retired consultant surgeon and former President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, Mr Mike McKirdy.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Paul McLennan
To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on the Scottish Government's latest engagement with the UK Government regarding any impact on poverty levels in Scotland of the freeze to Local Housing Allowance.
Murdo Fraser
To ask the First Minister what funding is in place to ensure that the A9 dualling project is completed by the target date of 2035.
Stuart McMillan
To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on whether the Scottish Government will instigate a direct award to Ferguson Marine for the replacement of MV Lord of the Isles.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Kenneth Gibson
To ask the First Minister what impact the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement will have on Scotland.
Dr Pam Gosal MBE
To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government plans to commemorate the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence.
Alex Rowley
To ask the First Minister, in light of ExxonMobil's announcement of the closure of the Mossmorran ethylene plant, what action the Scottish Government is taking to mitigate any damage this will cause to the Cowdenbeath area and the wider Scottish economy.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
“We were given a space… and in there we were allowed to develop a voice.”
We chat with Afam and Justine from Commission Advocating Rights for Minorities (CARM).
CARM worked with the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee to test what a truly participatory approach to human rights budgeting could look like. Their lived experience shaped the scrutiny process, influenced MSPs directly, and helped reframe how the Committee thinks about voice and accountability.
Members of CARM worked with the Committee exploring participation and accountability in Scotland’s budget. They composed questions for Ministers, co-designed scrutiny themes, and helped MSPs hear lived experience in people’s own words.
In this episode, Afam and Justine explain what that work involved, why the experience mattered, and how the framework they helped shape is now influencing organisations beyond Holyrood.
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Clare Haughey
To ask the First Minister, in light of the UK Government’s reported decision to revisit compensating Women Against State Pension Inequality, what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the potential social security implications for those affected in Scotland.
Douglas Ross
To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government will take in response to reported figures from the road safety charity, Brake, which show that over the last year road deaths and serious injuries rose by 2.8% nationally, with Moray recording the highest increase with a rise of 83%.
Carol Mochan
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to news that public satisfaction with the NHS has dropped to its lowest level in more than a decade, according to the Scottish Household Survey.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Kevin Stewart To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the report on regional economic growth by former University of Glasgow principal, Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli.
Rachael HamiltonTo ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will maintain its manifesto commitment to freeze income tax rates and bands.
Ariane Burgess To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government is still on track to restore 250,000 hectares of peatland by 2030.
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Christine Grahame
To ask the First Minister what discussions the Scottish Government has had with the UK Government regarding the implementation of the proposed scheme for the renovation of military homes in Scotland.
Douglas Lumsden
To ask the First Minister when the Scottish Government will announce a timetable for improvement works on the A96 north of Inverurie, following the publication of its corridor review consultation report.
Michael Marra
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the Auditor General’s report, 2024/25 audit of the Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts, which indicates a £1 billion underspend by the Scottish Government.
Beatrice Wishart
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to the recent news that Eastern Airways, which runs lifeline regional services in the Highlands and Islands, has entered administration.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Emma Harper
To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government has had any initial response from the UK Government in relation to the letter sent to the Minister of State for Food Security and Rural Affairs on 22 October regarding the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund.
Roz McCall
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reports that Babcock, in Fife, has had to hire workers from overseas as a result of reductions in some college courses.
Pauline McNeill
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s position is regarding the reported 200,000 public sector workers who are still waiting on their pension entitlement following the 2018 McCloud judgement on pension discrimination.
Ash Regan
To ask the First Minister for what reason the Scottish Government has reportedly abandoned key provisions of the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022, including the proposed licensing system, as communities prepare for potential disorder during Bonfire Night.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Clare Adamson
To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of any implications for its work to mitigate the two-child benefit cap of the UK Government's reported proposals to replace the cap with a tapered system.
Brian Whittle
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reports that the mental health budget has been reduced in the 2025-26 Autumn Budget Revision.
Michael Matheson
To ask the First Minister, following Scotland’s Global Investment Summit 2025, whether he will provide an update on the Scottish Government’s work to attract international investment into Scotland’s economy.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Gordon MacDonald
To ask the First Minister, regarding the potential impact on marginalised communities and public services in Scotland, what the Scottish Government’s response is to UK Government proposals to introduce a mandatory digital ID scheme.
Liz Smith
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s position is on whether NHS Tayside should exempt legal claims by former patients of Professor Sam Eljamel from the three-year time-bar which is currently in place.
Jackie Baillie
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reported comments from the chair of the British Medical Association in Scotland, that Scotland's NHS is "dying before our eyes".
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Elena Whitham
To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of any implications for its work to address poverty amongst older people of recent findings by the Living Wage Foundation that a majority of people on a low-income pension in the UK are unable to cover basic living costs.
Brian Whittle
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reports that proposed changes to the counting method for NHS waiting lists will result in numbers falling despite no more patients being seen.
Foysol Choudhury
To ask the First Minister what urgent action the Scottish Government is taking in light of Public Health Scotland's estimate that dementia in Scotland is set to rise by more than 50% by 2044.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Gordon MacDonald
To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the potential impact on households in Scotland of the forecasts from the Food and Drink Federation that food and drink inflation could reach 5.7% by December.
Murdo Fraser
To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government will support town and city centres as retail destinations.
Maggie Chapman
To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to protect renters in the private sector from homelessness.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Ruth Maguire
To ask the First Minister, in light of reports of the rising rate of poverty for families with a baby under one and new evidence from Save the Children that increasing Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods payments could significantly reduce the child poverty rate for this priority group, whether the Scottish Government will consider increasing these payments.
Brian Whittle
To ask the First Minister what urgent steps the Scottish Government is taking in response to reports that nursing and midwifery vacancies have risen by 60% in six months.
Paul Sweeney
To ask the First Minister what additional support the Scottish Government is giving to the Public Dental Service, in light of reports that there has been a 10% rise in spending over the last two years due to increased demand.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
As part of the launch of an exhibition on the Scottish Parliament building, internationally renown architect and co-founder of EMBT, Benedetta Tagliabue, chats to us about her work. She oversaw the completion of the Parliament project after the untimely death of her partner, lead architect Enric Miralles, during construction. She discusses the history of the project, the inspiration behind elements of the design, and what can be found in the exhibition.
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Evelyn TweedTo ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to reduce the number of road traffic incidents on the trunk road network, in light of reports of a number of serious accidents over the summer.
Tess WhiteTo ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on the steps that the Scottish Government is taking as a result of the Supreme Court judgment in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers
Alex RowleyTo ask the First Minister, in light of SEPA's warnings of water scarcity over the summer and the introduction of restrictions on water abstraction last week in some areas, including North Fife, what action the Scottish Government is taking to secure water supply in Scotland in the face of changing climate conditions.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions is available here: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/recent-publication?meeting=16549&iob=141274
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Joe FitzPatrickTo ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the Sarcoma UK report, Unique Among Cancers.
Tim EagleTo ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that several local authorities are delaying the introduction of a visitor levy.
Marie McNair To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the latest Office for National Statistics inflation statistics and any implications for its work to support low-income households.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions is available here: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/meeting-of-parliament-26-06-2025
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Audrey Nicoll To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on the Scottish Government’s latest engagement with the UK Government regarding funding and timescales for the development of the Acorn carbon capture and storage project.
Maurice Golden
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that up to 100 truckloads of Scotland's waste will be moved each day to England as a result of the landfill ban on biodegradable waste.
Pam Duncan-Glancy
To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on the Scottish Government’s position on the funding of Scotland’s higher education institutions.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions is available here: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/meeting-of-parliament-19-06-2025?meeting=16502
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Kenneth Gibson To ask the First Minister what the impact on Scotland will be of the Chancellor’s Spending Review 2025.
Liam Kerr To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on whether the home leave for prisoners system is operating appropriately and as intended.
Foysol Choudhury To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government is working to ensure that patients are accurately informed of waiting times for NHS treatments following referrals to a specialist.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions is available here: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/meeting-of-parliament-12-06-2025?meeting=16486
To celebrate the Scottish Parliament building's 20th anniversary, our art curator Fiona McDougall chatted to artist Soraya Smithson, who designed the Canongate Wall on the Royal Mile. This part of the Holyrood campus had not yet been finalised when head architect, Eric Miralles, tragically died during construction.
As a close family friend, Smithson was tasked with completing the design of the wall, and used it highlight some of the ideas that had inspired Miralles when he took on the project.
You can find our more about the Canongate Wall on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/visit/events-and-exhibitions/canongate-wall
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Ben MacphersonTo ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government is supporting film and TV production in Edinburgh and throughout Scotland.
Roz McCall To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that Police Scotland’s national child abuse investigation unit now carries out 700 child sexual abuse investigations a year, representing an increase of 30% since 2015.
Mark Ruskell To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to secure a direct ferry route between Scotland and France.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions is available here: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/recent-publication?meeting=16416&iob=140223
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Clare AdamsonTo ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on the Scottish Government’s latest engagement with the UK Government regarding its plans for the winter fuel payment and any implications for the Scottish Government’s work to deliver a universal Pension Age Winter Heating Payment in Scotland.
Stephen KerrTo ask the First Minister, in light of it being almost five years since the Scottish Government committed to spending £60 million to renew every play park in Scotland and of reports that less than half of the funding has been spent, what action the Scottish Government is taking to ensure that children do not miss out on renewed facilities.
Monica Lennon (S6F-04140)To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to maintain its policy aim of keeping pace with the EU on environmental protection.
Willie RennieTo ask the First Minister for what reason there has reportedly been no financial agreement between the Scottish Funding Council and the University of Dundee, in light of the alternative financial recovery plan being launched four weeks ago.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions is available here: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/recent-publication?meeting=16416&iob=140223
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Willie CoffeyTo ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made, regarding any implications for its work to grow Scotland’s economy, of analysis from Future Economy Scotland indicating that average earnings in Scotland are £15,000 less per year than they would have been if wages had not flatlined since the financial crisis.
Graham SimpsonTo ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to The Hunter Foundation report, Lessons from Singapore for Scotland's Economy.
Foysol Choudhury To ask the First Minister, in light of recent reported incidents, how the Scottish Government is working to prevent knife crime.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions is available here: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/recent-publication?meeting=16416&iob=140223
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Topics covered this week include:
Collette StevensonTo ask the First Minister, regarding any implications for its work to tackle poverty, what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the Department for Work and Pension’s forecasts reportedly indicating that the UK Government’s planned reductions to disability benefits will impact 700,000 families that are already in poverty.
Sandesh Gulhane To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is taking to address the performance of NHS 24, in light of reports that nearly one in five calls to the service went unanswered last year.
Michelle Thomson To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the recently announced UK-USA trade deal and its potential implications for businesses in Scotland.
A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions is available here: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/recent-publication?meeting=16416&iob=140223
We talk with Ariane Burgess MSP, Convener of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee about the committee's Housing Inquiry.
A year on from the official declaration of the national housing emergency by the Scottish Parliament, the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee say a Housing Emergency Action Plan with clear milestones and outcomes would ensure progress towards ending the crisis can be properly assessed.
It is one of ten recommendations for the Scottish Government made in the Committee’s Housing Inquiry Report.
Read the report in full: https://digitalpublications.parliament.scot/Committees/Report/LGHP/2025/5/15/5e27adfd-6d08-4d34-a701-17fc4ffe5f83#Annex-A
First Minister John Swinney MSP answers questions from party leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.
Questions included:Kevin Stewart To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to water scarcity alerts issued by SEPA for the east of Scotland, in light of low rainfall and warm temperatures.
Brian WhittleTo ask the First Minister, in light of the publication of the Programme for Government, what action the Scottish Government is taking to ensure that prevention is more strongly integrated into the health system.
Jackie BaillieTo ask the First Minister when the landslip shelter on the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful will be complete.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament
Listen back to FMQs. Questions this week included: Jackie Dunbar
To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of any implications for its work to grow Scotland’s economy of the EY ITEM Club Spring Forecast, which downgraded expectations for UK output over the next two years.
Edward Mountain
To ask the First Minister, in light of the reported high demand for neurodevelopmental assessment services, when the Scottish Government plans to publish the report on the work that it funded on the five “tests of change” across Scotland, which concluded in March 2024.
Mark Griffin
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reports of local authorities suspending council housing allocations.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament
Listen back to FMQs. Questions this week included: Kevin Stewart To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reported comments made by the chair of the North Sea Transition Task Force that the North Sea’s future should be a “national mission”.
Stephen Kerr
To ask the First Minister what engagement the Scottish Government has had with the UK Government regarding what assessment has been made of the potential impact of an extension of US tariffs on Scottish businesses that export to the US market.
Katy Clark
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on whether the reported increased annual cost of Scotland's prisons to over £77,000 per prisoner represents good value for public money.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament
Listen back to FMQs. Questions this week included: Kenneth GibsonTo ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the UK Government’s Spring Statement.
Murdo FraserTo ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to reduce waiting times for children and adolescents for the diagnosis of autism and ADHD.
Mercedes VillalbaTo ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to prevent instances of water scarcity in 2025.
Ash Regan To ask the First Minister, in light of reports of an escalation in gang-related violence in Edinburgh, with recent shootings in Niddrie and West Pilton, what immediate action can be taken to support the emergency services in ensuring the safety and reassurance of communities in the Edinburgh Eastern constituency.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament
Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone MSP and First Minister John Swinney MSP make a statement to Parliament following the death of Christina McKelvie MSP.
Listen back to FMQs! Questions this week included: Michelle Thomson To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the recent UK Living Standards Review 2025, from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, and any implications for its work to grow Scotland’s economy.
Rachael Hamilton To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government is marking Endometriosis Awareness Month.
Kevin Stewart To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to tackle Islamophobia in Scotland, in light of reports of an attack on a mosque in Aberdeen at the weekend.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament
Listen back to FMQs! Questions this week included: Christine GrahameTo ask the First Minister, regarding any potential impact on planning legislation in Scotland, what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that the UK Government has proposed giving people living near power infrastructure hundreds of pounds off their bills each year.
Jamie GreeneTo ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is considering to further support Scotland's universities, in light of reports that the University of the West of Scotland reported a multi-million pound deficit in the last financial year, with other universities across Scotland in a similar financial position.
Carol Mochan To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on how the Scottish Government is working to improve healthy life expectancy.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament
In this SPICe seminar Professor Luke March, Personal Chair of Post-Soviet and Comparative Politics at the University of Edinburgh and Professor Peter Jackson, Chair in Global Security at the University of Glasgow explore the current geopolitical situation in relation to Ukraine. We look to explain:
- Russia’s approach to Ukraine and what that might also mean for countries in Eastern Europe;
- The international response to the crisis including the change of approach by the United States under President Trump; and
- Given the change of position in Washington, what Europe and NATO’s response should be and how the UK fits into the approach.
We hope you enjoy this discussion!
Listen back to FMQs! Questions this week included: * Marie McNair
To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government will mark International Women’s Day, and its theme of "Accelerating Action" to reach gender equality.
- Annie Wells
To ask the First Minister what plans the Scottish Government has to tackle the reported rising number of cases of drug-driving.
- Foysol Choudhury
To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on how the Scottish Government is working to tackle Islamophobia in Scotland, in light of reports that anti-Muslim hate incidents across the UK reached record levels in 2024.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament
Listen back to FMQs! Questions this week included:
Michael Matheson MSPTo ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the recent study by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit regarding the contribution of the net zero sector to the UK and Scotland’s economy.
Brian Whittle MSPTo ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to support farmers responding to threats to livestock from disease.
Mark Ruskell MSPTo ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government will protect the lives of racing greyhounds.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament
Listen back to FMQs! Questions this week included:
Clare Adamson To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to the recent Labour Market Outlook survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development on UK business confidence.
Pam Gosal To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on the Scottish Government’s plans to update the School Premises (General Requirements and Standards) (Scotland) Regulations 1967.
Colin Smyth To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to reduce the disability employment gap.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament
Is Scotland’s salmon farming industry on a sustainable path? In this episode, we hear from Finlay Carson MSP, Convener of the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee, and Deputy Convener Beatrice Wishart MSP as they discuss the findings of the Committee’s latest report. With calls for stronger regulation, more research and urgent action from the Scottish Government, they outline what needs to change to ensure the industry can grow sustainably.
Read the full report on the Scottish Parliament website.
Listen back to FMQs! Questions this week included:
Rona Mackay
- To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on the Scottish Government’s work to keep The Promise, in light of the fifth anniversary of it being made.
Douglas Lumsden
- To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the Court of Session’s decision regarding the Rosebank oil field and the Jackdaw gas field.
Jackie Baillie
- To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to address the reported shortage in clinical radiologists, which is projected to rise to 263 fewer posts than needed by 2028.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament
Listen back to FMQs! Questions this week included:
Kevin Stewart
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to the recent CBI report, which reportedly suggests that businesses are preparing to “cut staff and raise prices”.
Jackson Carlaw
To ask the First Minister whether he will join HM The King and other world leaders in commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz extermination camp and offer his reflections on the theme of this year's Holocaust Memorial Day, "For a Better Future".
Collette Stevenson
To ask the First Minister, in light of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report, UK Poverty 2025, whether he will provide an update on the Scottish Government's actions to tackle poverty in Scotland, including in relation to any potential impact of planned UK Government welfare reforms.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament
Listen back to FMQs! Questions this week included:
- Christine Graham
To ask the First Minister, in light of the inauguration of Donald Trump as US President, and the reported prospect of import tariffs, what sectors of Scottish business it anticipates may be most affected.
- Meghan Gallacher
To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is taking to address concerns regarding waiting times in A&E departments, following reports of a mother having to wait 50 hours for medical care at University Hospital Wishaw.
- Pauline McNeill
To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government plans to make creating sexually explicit “deepfake” images and videos a crime.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament
Listen back to this week's FMQs! This week:
- Jackie Dunbar To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the potential economic impact of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners' reported £800 million investment in battery energy storage sites in Scotland.
- Edward Mountain To ask the First Minister, in light of the rise in the number of people under 50 being diagnosed with bowel cancer, what proposals the Scottish Government has to extend the national bowel screening programme to those under 50 years old.
- Claire Baker To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government is responding to reports that 182 sexual assaults, including rapes, have taken place in hospitals in the last five years.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament
Listen back to this week's FMQs! This week:
- Clare Haughey - To ask the First Minister, in light of recent freezing temperatures, whether he will provide an update on what steps the Scottish Government is taking to support low-income households with their energy bills.
- Liz Smith -To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is regarding the latest reported concerns on the use of Hikvision CCTV devices by local authorities in Scotland.
- Maggie Chapman - To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on the effectiveness of the National Planning Framework 4 principles in creating sustainable places across Scotland that enhance human and environmental wellbeing.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament
Listen back to this week's FMQs! This week:
- Christine Grahame asked whether the Scottish Government will encourage the public not to buy puppies or dogs during the festive period, in light of the reported possibility that these may be the product of irresponsible breeders, including illegal puppy farms;
- Sandesh Gulhane what steps the Scottish Government is taking in response to the reported announcement that NHS Scotland's IT software supplier, INPS, has entered administration, in light of concerns that this could leave GPs without the digital infrastructure to maintain electronic health records;
- and Mark Griffin asked what consideration the Scottish Government has given to what the potential impact might be on Deaf and Deafblind people of the termination of its contract with Contact Scotland BSL.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament
Listen back to this week's FMQs! This week:
- Michelle Thomson asked the First Minister what plans the Scottish Government has to bring forward legislation to criminalise non-fatal strangulation;
- Liz Smith asked what discussions the Scottish Government has had with local authorities regarding the reported impending closure of library facilities across Scotland;
- and Pam Duncan-Glancy asked the First Minister about reported comments from the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland that “children are being let down” by an education system that needs “radical reform”.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament
First Minster John Swinney MSP takes questions from party leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time. Topics covered this week included, Scottish Government's position regarding any potential risk to the environment of excessive removal of peat during excavation projects; What efforts the Scottish Government is making to establish the country as a world leader in the green hydrogen sector.
First Minster John Swinney MSP takes questions from party leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time. Topics covered this week included, when the Scottish Government last met with Ineos or Petroineos to discuss the refinery at Grangemouth, and road safety.
First Minster John Swinney MSP takes questions from party leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time. Topics covered this week included, smart electricity meters in Scotland, Scottish Government's response to reports that its spending on private consultants has almost doubled in the space of five years and the Scottish Government's response to reported concerns that its proposed formula for calculating rent controls in the Housing (Scotland) Bill will require above-inflation rent rises for hundreds of thousands of renters, thus not tackling unaffordable rents.
First Minster John Swinney MSP takes questions from party leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time. Topics covered this week included, young people's digital skills, funding to complete the dualling of the A9 between Perth and Inverness and what plans the Scottish Government has to end the reported increase in families in the Central Belt living in temporary accommodation.
First Minster John Swinney MSP takes questions from party leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time. Topics covered this week included, the impact of the UK Government Budget on Scotland, the Scottish Government's response is to the reported rise in sex crimes.
The First Minister takes questions from Members during FMQs.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament
The First Minister takes questions from Members during FMQs.
Topics covered this week included alcohol related deaths, and teacher numbers in Scotland.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament
The First Minister takes questions from Members during FMQs.
Topics covered this week included energy bill reduction, embedding domestic abuse experts in 999 control rooms and the numbers of young people involved in violent crime.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament
The First Minister takes questions from Members during FMQs.
Topics covered this week included junk food advertising, Transport Scotland's consultancy fees and the Flamingo Land Lomond Banks planning application.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament
The First Minister takes questions from Members. Topics covered this week included the closure of the Grangemouth oil refinery, a Just Transition, and the reported rise in hospice care costs.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament
The First Minister takes questions from Douglas Ross MSP, Anas Sarwar MSP and other Members during FMQs.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
The First Minister takes questions from Douglas Ross MSP, Anas Sarwar MSP and other Members during FMQs.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
The First Minister takes questions from Douglas Ross MSP, Anas Sarwar MSP and other Members during FMQs.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
The First Minister takes questions from Douglas Ross MSP, Anas Sarwar MSP and other Members during FMQs.
Topics covered this week included NHS waiting lists, dentistry, and new licenses for oil and gas.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
The Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes MSP takes questions from MSPs this week.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
The First Minister takes questions from Douglas Ross MSP, Anas Sarwar MSP and other Members during FMQs.
Topics covered this week included health and care worker visa applications, synthetic opioids being linked to rising numbers of deaths, and teacher numbers in Glasgow.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
The First Minister takes questions from Douglas Ross MSP, Anas Sarwar MSP and other Members during FMQs.
Topics covered this week included student immigration, implementation of placental growth factor-based testing for pre-eclampsia, and support the Ferguson Marine shipyard.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
The Public Audit Committee have published their report on Adult Mental Health in Scotland.
The Committee heard compelling evidence that the demand for mental health care is continuing to rise, with the Covid-19 pandemic and cost-of-living crisis compounding the issues faced by an adult mental health system already under significant strain.
In this podcast, Convener Richard Leonard MSP travelled to Chris's House, a suicidal crisis centre in Wishaw, to discuss the report's findings with Anne Rowan, founder of Chris's House, and Dr Pavan Srireddy, Vice Chair, Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland.
Together they discussed issues including the increasing demand for services, pressures on staff, how outcomes are measured and what needs to happen next to ensure people receive the help they need.
Read the report: https://digitalpublications.parliament.scot/Committees/Report/PA/2024/2/28/c0ad50ea-5444-452a-b67a-a285ea574ff6-1
The First Minister takes questions from Douglas Ross MSP, Anas Sarwar MSP and other Members during FMQs.
Topics covered this week included sextortion, a new ferry contract, affordable housing and healthcare on Skye.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
John Swinney MSP leads FMQs for the first time as Scotland's First Minister.
The First Minister took questions on education, mental health, new appointments and more.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this week's session of First Minister's Questions, Humza Yousaf takes questions on his decision to step down, climate targets, the UK Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act and more.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
Listen back to this week's session of First Minister's Questions. The First Minister took questions from Douglas Ross, Anas Sarwar and other MSPs.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
The First Minister takes questions from MSPs in the weekly session of FMQs.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
The First Minister takes questions from MSPs in the weekly session of FMQs.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
The First Minister takes questions from MSPs in the weekly session of FMQs.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
Gillian Mackay asked about 40 Days for Life protests, Jamie Greene asked about probationary teachers leaving the Teacher Induction Scheme, and Jackie Bailie asked about long waits in A&E departments. Listen back to the full session of First Minister's Questions here!
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
The First Minister takes questions from MSPs in the weekly session of FMQs.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
The First Minister takes questions from MSPs in the weekly session of FMQs.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
The First Minister takes questions from MSPs in the weekly session of FMQs.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
The First Minister takes questions from MSPs in the weekly session of FMQs.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
The First Minister takes questions from MSPs in the weekly session of FMQs.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
First Minister Humza Yousaf takes questions from MSPs at FMQs.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
Listen back to this week's First Minister's Questions as Humza Yousaf MSP takes questions on the Post Office scandal, , XL bully dogs, Scottish Cancer survival rates and more.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
‘Devolution looks very different now than it did in 1998.’
Dr Andrew Tickell, Lecturer in Law at Glasgow Caledonian University, hosts this discussion with the Convener and Deputy Convener of the Parliament’s Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee, Clare Adamson MSP and Donald Cameron MSP.
On Monday, the Committee held a joint event with Strathclyde University Law School to discuss their report 'How is Devolution Changing Post-EU?' with leading academics and lawyers from across the UK.
The Committee found that devolution has changed and now looks “very different” after the UK’s departure from the EU, a key difference being how the regulatory environment within the UK is managed compared to how it was managed within the EU.
Recommendations from the report include the establishment of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the UK and Devolved Governments and the development of supplementary agreements on both Common Frameworks and the use of delegated powers by UK Ministers in devolved areas.
You can read the report in full here: How Devolution is Changing Post-EU | Scottish Parliament
First Minister's Questions returns for 2024. Listen back as Humza Yousaf MSP takes questions on the Post Office scandal, The Promise, XL bully dogs, A96 dualling and more.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
First Minister Humza Yousaf takes questions from MSPs in the last FMQs session of the year.
Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
Deputy First Minister Shona Robison MSP leads First Minister's Questions this week. Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
First Minister Humza Yousaf MSP answers questions from oppositions party leaders and other MSPs during this weekly question time.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
Deputy First Minister Shona Robison MSP answers questions from oppositions party leaders and other MSPs during this weekly question time.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
First Minister Humza Yousaf MSP answers questions from oppositions party leaders and other MSPs during this weekly question time.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
First Minister Humza Yousaf MSP answers questions from oppositions party leaders and other MSPs during this weekly question time.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
First Minister Humza Yousaf MSP answers questions from oppositions party leaders and other MSPs during this weekly question time.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
First Minister Humza Yousaf MSP answers questions from oppositions party leaders and other MSPs during this weekly question time.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
First Minister Humza Yousaf MSP answers questions from oppositions party leaders and other MSPs during this weekly question time.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
Gillian Baxendine, Head of our Participation and Communities Team, facilitates a Panel session on the sustainability of the voluntary sector as part of the 2023 Third Sector in Parliament Conference.
The group also discuss current challenges and how these may impact the ability of organisations to engage with institutions such as the Scottish Parliament.
The panel is made up of:
Anna Fowlie – Chief Executive, Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations
Bridie Ashrowan – Chief Executive, Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations' Council
Matt Baker – Orchestrator, The Stove Network
We hope you enjoy listening!
A Committee recently published its report into Public Participation at the Scottish Parliament.
This builds on recommendations made by a Citizen’s Panel which met in October and November 2022 to answer the question “How can the Scottish Parliament ensure that diverse voices and communities from all parts of Scotland influence our work?".
In this podcast, The Citizen Participation and Public Participation Committee's convener, Jackson Carlaw MSP, speaks with Professor Sabina Keston-Siebert, Adam Smith Business School, Glasgow University and Dr Andy Williamson, Centre for Innovation in Parliament, Inter-Parliamentary Union, to discuss the report and its implications.
First Minister Humza Yousaf MSP answers questions from oppositions party leaders and other MSPs during this weekly question time.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
First Minister Humza Yousaf MSP answers questions from oppositions party leaders and other MSPs during this weekly question time.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
RAAC in public buildings, delayed discharge, a Just Transition, Net Zero targets, school meal debt and more. Listen as the Deputy First Minister takes questions from MSPs.
Transcripts of First Minister's Questions are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
First Minister's Questions returns following summer recess. MSPs put questions to the FM in a session spanning 45 minutes and covering a range of topics.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
First Minister's Questions returns following summer recess. MSPs put questions to the FM in a session spanning 45 minutes and covering a range of topics.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
We caught up with curator Mariana Rettore to discuss the World Press Photo Exhibition, on display at the Scottish Parliament until 26 August 2023. Find out more here: https://www.parliament.scot/visit/events-and-exhibitions/world-press-photo
The First Minister takes questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs in this the last session on First Minister's Questions before summer recess.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
Listen here as the First Minister takes questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
We talk about Elect Her and the event we are co-hosting with them on the 24th of June, called Scotland's Women GatHER. It's aimed at encouraging women to enter politics, and anyone interested can sign up via https://www.parliament.scot/visit/events-and-exhibitions/elect-her-23.
Listen here as the First Minister takes questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
First Minister Humza Yousaf MSP answers questions from Members during First Minister's Questions.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
First Minister Humza Yousaf MSP answers questions from Members during First Minister's Questions.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
With developments in artificial intelligence (AI) speeding up, what effect will this technology have on our democracy?
What do we mean when we talk about artificial intelligence? What are the opportunities and what are the dangers?
And how, as citizens and as a democracy, should we react?
This Scotland's Futures Forum podcast, recorded in May 2023, explored the potential impact of AI on our lives and the implications we should consider.
Featuring expert contributions from Professor Ewa Luger, Professor of Human-Data Interaction at the University of Edinburgh, and Richard Leonard MSP, convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Public Audit Committee.
You can find out more on the Scotland's Futures Forum website.
First Minister Humza Yousaf MSP answers questions from Members during First Minister's Questions.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
First Minister Humza Yousaf MSP answers questions from Members during First Minister's Questions.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
First Minister Humza Yousaf MSP answers questions from Members during First Minister's Questions.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
First Minister Humza Yousaf MSP answers questions from Members during First Minister's Questions.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
First Minister Humza Yousaf MSP answers questions from Members during First Minister's Questions.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
First Minister Humza Yousaf MSP answers questions from Members during First Minister's Questions.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
[This episode has been edited to remove silences during suspensions only]
First Minister Humza Yousaf MSP answers questions from Members during his inaugural First Minister's Questions.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
[This episode has been edited to remove silences during suspensions only]
Meet our Gaelic Development Officer, Alasdair, for a chat about the language and how we use it at the Parliament. We're also keen to hear from Gaelic speakers and learners about our latest Language Plan, which is open for consultation here: https://yourviews.parliament.scot/pco/glp2023/. Follow our Gaelic Twitter account here: https://twitter.com/ParlAlba
"It truly has been the privilege of my lifetime."
On Thursday 23 March 2023, after her final FMQs, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP delivered what will be her final speech to the Scottish Parliament before her planned resignation.
Opposition leaders and MSPs from all parties then had an opportunity to respond to the statement.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon leads her final session of FMQs. Transcripts of First Minister's Questions are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
Welcome to this week's episode of First Minister's Questions. Topics covered this week included NHS waiting times, proposed pay settlement for teachers and Scottish Apprenticeship Week.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
Welcome to this week's episode of First Minister's Questions. Topics covered this week included NHS waiting times, proposed pay settlement for teachers and Scottish Apprenticeship Week.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
The First Minister takes questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
The Scottish Government’s 10-year economic strategy has the overriding vision to deliver a wellbeing economy for Scotland.
But what does it mean and what would it look like? Listen to the Scotland's Futures Forum seminar with Dr Lukas Bunse and Frances Rayner from the Wellbeing Economy Alliance Scotland, and reflections from political economist Miriam Brett and Simon Farrell, former co-owner and managing director of one of the UK’s most successful brand agencies.
You can find out more at https://www.scotlandfutureforum.org/a-wellbeing-economy/
The First Minister takes questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
The First Minister takes questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
The First Minister takes questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
Our phones and laptops harvest information on everything from our habits to our likes and medical issues. Information is collected and shared without our awareness or permission by data gathering companies and so-called ‘data vultures’.
Who is regulating this mass surveillance and how can we protect our privacy and democracy from a trend that is undermining equality for all?
Listen back to the Festival of Politics 2022 panel featuring Dr Sam Fowles, Prof Ewa Luger, and Prof Charles Raab.
The First Minister takes questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
The First Minister takes questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
Welcome to the first FMQs session of 2023. Listen back as the First Minister takes questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
Nicola Sturgeon takes questions from MSPs. Topics covered this week included:
🟣 Shortages in antibiotics in light of the growing number of Strep A cases
🟣 The appointment of a Women’s Health Champion for Scotland
🟣 And how the Scottish Government is supporting public transport to be better used and more affordable.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament
Find out more about the Parliament at: http://www.parliament.scot/
The First Minister takes Questions from MSPs in the Scottish Parliament's Debating Chamber. Topics this week included: NHS waiting times, Strep A and Child Disability Payment.
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament
The First Minister takes questions from MSPs in the Scottish Parliament's Debating Chamber. Topics this week included: alcohol sport sponsorship, teachers strikes, and Doddie Weir's legacy.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
This seminar explores the energy cost crisis, focussing on the drivers of the energy crisis in the Scottish context, what policy levers can be used to tackle the problem and what lessons can be learned for the future.
Two of Scotland’s leading experts in energy systems and policy, Professor Stuart Haszeldine (University of Edinburgh) and Professor Matthew Hannon (University of Strathclyde) give their views on factors influencing the current energy cost crisis and the future of energy policy in Scotland.
Chaired by Edward Mountain MSP.
In this session, Deputy First Minister John Swinney MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
Deputy Presiding Officer Liam McArthur MSP joins Professor A.C. Grayling CBE, one of the UK’s most prolific philosophers and authors, in conversation to discuss Professor Grayling’s timely book, For the Good of the World: Is Global Agreement on Global Challenges Possible?
Professor Grayling discusses the three most urgent challenges facing the world today: climate change, technology and justice.
As Master of the New College of the Humanities, and an author of over 30 books, he dissects both the threats and the inspiring solutions. Can human beings collectively agree on a set of values to save the planet from extinction?
This event was recorded live at the Scottish Parliament in August.
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
The Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone MSP joins Lemn Sissay OBE, one of the nation’s best-loved poets, to discuss his No1 best-selling memoir My Name Is Why, at the Festival of Politics. Now an award-winning PEN Pinter Prize playwright, performer and BAFTA-nominated broadcaster, Lemn reflects on a childhood spent within the institutional care system where bureaucracy and neglect often superseded love.
Having found a powerful creative release in words, Lemn talks about race, family and the meaning of home.
This event was recorded live at the Scottish Parliament in August.
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
The World Press Photo exhibition has returned to the Scottish Parliament this summer, and we catch up with the curator of this year's event - Marika Cukrowski.
You can find out more about the exhibition at https://www.parliament.scot/visit/events-and-exhibitions/world-press-photo.
We’ll be hosting the exhibition between in Parliament from 28 July to 27 August 2022, and entry is free.
What happens when decisions made by artificial intelligence (AI) don’t work as intended?
Who is accountable, and how are they held accountable?
In this podcast from the Scotland's Futures Forum, Richard Leonard MSP chaired a seminar with Professor Subramanian (Ram) Ramamoorthy, Chair of Robot Learning and Autonomy in the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh, and Professor Shannon Vallor, Baillie Gifford Chair in the Ethics of Data and AI at the Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI) at the University of Edinburgh.
You can find out more about the event at https://www.scotlandfutureforum.org/artificial-intelligence-and-accountability/
We're absolutely buzzing to share this episode with you!
The Scottish Parliament has been home to several beehives since 2014, expertly cared for by local beekeeper Stuart Hood.
Learn about what beekeepers do, how honey is made, and what unique way we use beeswax at the Scottish Parliament.
Show notes
Read about our sustainability efforts here:
https://www.parliament.scot/about/how-parliament-works/sustainability
Visit us and take a guided tour:
https://www.parliament.scot/visit
Find out more about Hood's Honey:
https://www.hoodshoney.com/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, Deputy First Minister John Swinney MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
What are the tensions between open trade and regulatory divergence in the UK's approach to its internal market?
The Constitution Committee recently released a report on the Internal Market, and in this podcast the Deputy Convener Donald Cameron MSP was joined by Professor Michael Keating, and Dr Chris McCorkindale to discuss some of the key themes in the report.
You can find out more about the Committee's work by visiting their webpage, or by reading their report "UK Internal Market Inquiry" on the Parliament's website.
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
The food system is reportedly globally responsible for a third of all greenhouse gases – so avoiding a lot of meat and dairy is widely recognised as helping reduce environmental impact.
On the other hand, a vegan diet and meat-substitutes can involve intensive water production, high air-miles from flying certain products across the globe, as well as impacting the source nation’s supply chain. And that’s without even discussing how we move the giant tankers of food-service and restaurant industries around?
Join the panel to discuss the good, bad and best ways of consuming food that is best for us and the planet.
This event is brought to you in partnership with James Hutton Institute. It is chaired by Emma Harper MSP, with panellists Prof Derek Stewart; Dr Malte Roedl; Debs Roberts and Prof Mads Fischer-Moller.
Join the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, Alison Johnstone MSP, in conversation with Prof Suzanne Simard, Professor of Ecology at the University of British Columbia who is credited as transforming the world’s understanding of trees. She was the scientist who discovered that every tree in a forest is linked by underground fungi, allowing them to communicate and build communities around powerful, nurturing Mother Trees.
Listen to the final First Minister's Questions of 2021 from Thursday 23 December.
In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
George Monbiot is a writer, activist and environmentalist. As well as having a regular Guardian column, his books include: Feral, Age of Consent, How Did We Get into This Mess? and Out of the Wreckage: A New Politics for an Age of Crisis. His latest collection, This can’t be happening (Penguin), is a collection of galvanising speeches and essays, calling on humanity to stop averting its gaze from the destruction of the living planet, and wake up to the greatest predicament we have ever faced.
This event is chaired by Alison Johnstone MSP, Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament.
Listen to First Minister's Questions from Thursday 16 December 2021. In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
Listen to First Minister's Questions from Thursday 09 December 2021. In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
Scotland’s policies on climate change came under global scrutiny at COP26 in Glasgow. In this podcast Dean Lockhart MSP – Convener of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee - spoke with Professor Dave Reay, Executive Director of the Edinburgh Climate Change Institute, and Jess Pepper, Founding Director of the Climate Café, about what COP26 means for Scotland.
One of the ways the Scottish Parliament is trying to get young people more involved in the democratic process is to partner with the Scottish Youth Parliament. In this episode we'll hear from both organisations about the agreement that's just been signed and what it means for the future.
Find out more about the agreement: https://archive2021.parliament.scot/newsandmediacentre/117566.aspx
Listen to First Minister's Questions from Thursday 02 December 2021. In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
Listen to First Minister's Questions from Thursday 25 November 2021. In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
Listen to First Minister's Questions from Thursday 18 November 2021. In this session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
Listen to First Minister's Questions from Thursday 11 November 2021. In this session, Deputy First Minister John Swinney MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in the chamber.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
Listen to First Minister's Questions from Thursday 4 November 2021.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
Listen to First Minister's Questions from Thursday 28 October 2021.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this podcast introduced by Kenneth Gibson MSP, Convener of the Finance and Public Administration Committee, we learn about the public's understanding of powers held by the Scottish Parliament.
Professor Graeme Roy from the University of Glasgow presents key findings of a research project undertaken in collaboration with SPICe - the Parliament's independent research body.
The project also investigated whether better understanding of devolved powers has led to improved parliamentary scrutiny.
Listen to First Minister's Questions from Thursday 7October 2021.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
Listen to First Minister's Questions from Thursday 30 September 2021.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
Listen to First Minister's Questions from Thursday 23 September 2021.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
Listen to First Minister's Questions from Thursday 16 September 2021.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
Listen to First Minister's Questions from Thursday 9 September 2021.
Discussion topics include: Air traffic control in Inverness, Scottish Islands, COVID-19, Vaccine Passports, NHS waiting times.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
Listen to First Minister's Questions from Thursday 2 September 2021.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
In this episode, we speak with the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, Alison Johnstone MSP, about her background and her ambitions for the Scottish Parliament in Session 6.
You can follow the Presiding Officer on Twitter at www.twitter.com/POScotParl
Listen to First Minister's Questions from Thursday 24 June 2021.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
Listen to First Minister's Questions from Thursday 17 June 2021.
You can find out more about the Parliament at http://www.parliament.scot/, and transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
Listen to the First Minister's Questions from Thursday 10 June 2021.
Find out more about the Parliament: http://parliament.scot/
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
The Scottish Parliament Information Centre, SPICe, has recently published its 'Key Issues for Session 6' briefing. The publication outlines some of the key subjects likely to be of particular interest in the coming Parliamentary Session.
You can read the briefing in full here: https://digitalpublications.parliament.scot/ResearchBriefings/Report/2021/5/12/df69604c-1a2f-4a50-94fe-26c48f8623e7#
This episode of the podcast, featuring Graeme Cook and Alexa Morrison, researchers from SPICe, looks specifically at the climate and nature emergency. The section of the briefing on 'Scrutiny in a climate and nature emergency' can be read here:
https://digitalpublications.parliament.scot/ResearchBriefings/Report/2021/5/12/df69604c-1a2f-4a50-94fe-26c48f8623e7#Conclusion
Other documents referenced in this podcast:
-
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (or, IPCC) FAQs;
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former Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Roseanna Cunningham's declaration of a climate emergency in Session 5;
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the IPBES review;
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the State of Nature in Scotland report;
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scotland's biodiveristy progress as of 2020;
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the Environment Strategy for Scotland;
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the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change;
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the Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019;
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the 2019 Scottish Climate Act;
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the UK Climate Change Committee's advice to the Scottish Government;
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the UN Sustainable Development Goals;
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the Conveners Group Session 5 Legacy report;
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and the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.
Listen to the First Minister's Questions from Thursday 3 June 2021.
Find out more about the Parliament: http://parliament.scot/
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
Listen to the first First Minister's Questions of a new Session of Parliament.
Find out more about the Parliament: http://parliament.scot/
Transcripts of FMQs are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/what-was-said-and-official-reports/what-was-said-in-parliament/
The Scottish Parliament Information Centre, SPICe, has recently published its 'Key Issues for Session 6' briefing. The publication outlines some of the key subjects likely to be of particular interest in the coming Parliamentary Session.
You can read the briefing in full here: https://digitalpublications.parliament.scot/ResearchBriefings/Report/2021/5/12/df69604c-1a2f-4a50-94fe-26c48f8623e7#
This episode of the podcast, featuring Lizzy Burgess and Alison O'Connor, researchers from SPICe, looks specifically at COVID-19. The section of the briefing on COVID-19 can be read here:
https://digitalpublications.parliament.scot/ResearchBriefings/Report/2021/5/12/df69604c-1a2f-4a50-94fe-26c48f8623e7#Introduction
Reflecting on his career at the Scottish Parliament since the first election in 1999, and his time in the Presiding Officer's chair, outgoing Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh joins us for this podcast before the May election.
Listen to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answer questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs on Wednesday 24 March 2021.
Topics covered include:
- Vaccines for unpaid carers
- School inspections
- Veterans' health
Listen to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answer questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs on Thursday 18 March 2021.
Topics covered include:
- ScotRail's shift to public ownership
- Airline recovery
- The return of Universities and Colleges
Listen to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answer questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs on Thursday 11 March 2021.
Topics covered include:
- Covid vaccinations
- Air Traffic Control
- Economic recovery from the pandemic
Listen to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answer questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs on Thursday 4 March 2021.
Topics covered include:
- Self-isolation facilities
- UK Budget
- School after-care
Listen to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answer questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs on Wednesday 25 February 2021.
Topics covered include:
- Homelessness
- Mesh implants review
- Covid19 transmission in courts
Listen to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answer questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs on Wednesday 17 February 2021.
Topics covered include:
- Preparedness for the COVID-19 pandemic
- Child poverty and the National Child Payment
- Coronavirus vaccination priority
Listen to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answer questions from Opposition Leaders and other MSPs on Wednesday 10th February 2021.
Topics covered include:
- Mental health concerns for new parents
- Vials of COVID-19 vaccine being wasted
- The option of summer school programmes
- Travel expectations for vaccination hubs
Listen to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answer questions from Opposition Leaders and other MSPs on Wednesday 3rd February 2021.
Listen to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answer questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs on Thursday 28th January 2021.
Listen to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answer questions from Opposition Leaders and other MSPs on Wednesday 20th January 2021.
Listen back as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answers questions from Opposition Leaders and other MSPs on Wednesday 13th January 2021.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from Opposition Leaders and other MSPs on Wednesday 23rd December 2020.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from Opposition Leaders and other MSPs on Thursday 17th December 2020.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from Opposition Leaders and other MSPs in First Minister's Questions on 10th December 2020.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from Opposition Leaders and other MSPs in First Minister's Questions on 3rd December 2020.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answers questions from Opposition Leaders and other MSPs on Thursday 26th November 2020.
Better support is needed to help BAME women in the transition from school to the workplace, according to a report published by a group taking part in a Scottish Parliament project aimed at increasing women’s involvement in politics.
Listen to Hayley Forrester, the Scottish Parliament's project lead, Elena Soper, National Programmes Coordinator for YWCA Scotland, and participants Raman and Lauryn as they discuss the project, how it came together, and the findings of their report.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answers questions from Opposition Leaders and other MSPs on Thursday 19th November 2020.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answers questions from Opposition Leaders and other MSPs on Thursday 12th November 2020.
What is a green recovery? And what should it look like? These are the questions that the Environment Committee have been asking during their inquiry. Listen as we chat to their convener, as well as Parliament staff and a community worker to explore how people feel about Scotland's green recovery, and learn a little bit about the parliamentary process at the same time.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answers questions from Opposition Leaders and other MSPs on Thursday 5th November 2020.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from Opposition Leaders and other MSPs on Thursday 29th October 2020.
What is social care and how is it delivered?
The Health and Sport Committee heard from the Director of the Coalition of Care & Support Providers in Scotland, Annie Gunner Logan, as part of their Inquiry into social care during the pandemic.
If you would like to find out more about the Committee's work on social care, please visit https://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/CurrentCommittees/113970.aspx
Transcript of the session from the Parliament's Official Report:
Hello, and thank you for the invitation to join the discussion this morning. I am very pleased to be here for this session. This is a pivotal time for social care, and I thank members for their continuing and enduring interest and attention.
I have not given you a fresh paper today, because the paper that we originally submitted back in February is still valid. I went back to it in June and wondered whether any of it would be relevant after Covid, and then I realised that not only is it still relevant, it is now hyper-relevant. I will pull out the key parts of that, with particular emphasis on the bits about commissioning and procurement—because they are of interest to the committee—and then I will talk about how things could be different.
First, I want to say something about what social care in the third sector is, what it does and why it matters; our paper goes into that a little bit. Social care in the third sector is not a service like other public services. We do not cure people, deliver their babies, put their fires out, bring them to justice or get them educated and qualified. We do not generally wear uniforms, and you will not see us in television drama series on Saturday nights.
What we do is get alongside people when they have very significant challenges in their lives and struggle to participate in society as full citizens, and we support them, wherever possible, to make their own decisions and move their life forward as best they can. Where the world makes it very difficult for people to do that because of their age, impairment or whatever, we do what we can to help by ensuring that they are comfortable, are cared for and can have at least some kind of independence and peace of mind in their individual circumstances.
When you look at what third sector care and support organisations say that they are all about, you do not find much about services; rather, you find things such as,
“Our vision is for the people we work with to live meaningful and independent lives in a world which supports them to achieve their own ambitions”;
“Our mission is to enable everyone to live a valued life—the life they choose”;
and “Your way to a brighter future”.
The shortest statement that I could find among our membership is simply: “We support good lives”.
It is hard to capture and summarise those organisations’ work, partly because what they do to support people in practice will vary according to individual need and preference. That work is not seen as particularly exciting, sexy or critical—certainly not to TV producers on a Saturday night. To have to live without it, however, leads to huge stress and distress for people and when that work becomes the focus of attention, as it has during the pandemic, everybody finds out how important it is.
Over time, a substantial architecture of legislation overlaid that basic proposition of a supportive relationship for people with challenges in their lives. The foundations in modern times were the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 and the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970—I am getting a bit anoraky already—both of which conferred very important rights on people with care and support needs as well as duties on public bodies to meet them.
The National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 introduced the market to social care and, since 1999, the Scottish Parliament has introduced a significant range of additional legislation that refined, revised and modified all those acts.
Over time, we have also codified that basic proposition of a supportive relationship into a set of categories—home care, housing support, care at home, day services, respite and so on—and a set of tasks, generally to serve budgetary and monitoring requirements. Probably similarly to Eddie Fraser, I am long enough in the tooth to have been in front of a predecessor committee, during which we took a lot of time to identify what personal care might be and how it differs from any other kind of care—simply because we had put ourselves in the position of considering making some of it free but not all, so we had to codify what was free and what was not.
Over time, that codification has infiltrated our system to the extent that an awful lot of the supportive relationship that we have with people is now pre-specified as those categories and tasks—the latter often precisely timed, down to 15 minutes in some cases—in detailed contractual arrangements, again primarily for budgetary and monitoring purposes.
The risk is that those arrangements, rather than what people want and need, should now be described as social care. I echo some of what Eddie has said: we can help someone use the toilet, but we cannot run an errand for them; we can help them get dressed, but we cannot clean out the fridge—even if the errand, or the fridge, is what is really important to them.
That is what people mean when they say that social care has become service led, rather than person centred, which is what we all want it to be. I encourage the committee to see care and support not as a service but as a vehicle through which people who face all sorts of challenges can live their lives alongside those of us who are fortunate enough not to face those challenges. Eddie is absolutely right to say that it is a rights-based issue.
That thought is not original in any way and the independent living movement has put it far better than me. Committee members have probably already been referred to Inclusion Scotland’s “Our shared ambition for the future of social care support in Scotland”—I would highly recommend it if you have not.
The paper that we submitted back in February sets out what we think are the key ingredients for making a success of all that: the right policy framework, the right workforce, good critical challenge—we were clear in our paper that there is not enough of that—a diverse range of providers, appropriate use of digital technology, and so on. I am happy to go into any and all of that, but I will not repeat it all again today.
I want to say something about commissioning and procurement, because those are the mechanisms by which the third sector becomes engaged in all those issues. It is worth separating the two. Strategic commissioning is the exercise though which the needs of a population are identified, the desired outcomes for that population are agreed and decisions are made about what kind of care and support needs to be put in place to meet those needs. By its nature, that should be a very collaborative affair.
In contrast, procurement is not collaborative—it is competitive. It involves the codification of meeting assessed needs into detailed category and task-based specifications, which are appended to contracts and put out to tender using public procurement processes that are, fundamentally, no different from any other kind of public purchasing mechanism. That is why we find ourselves looking at documents in which groups of disabled people are described as “lots”, and why charities like our members have to bid against each other in order to be awarded a contract to support the people who are grouped into those lots. More often than not—and this is the critical part—such contracts are not underwritten by a financial arrangement that covers the cost of delivering them properly. When up to 80 per cent of a non-residential service is workforce costs, it is clear what will happen when we compete on price. If you ask me—the committee is asking me, which is why I am here—you can trace an enormous number of the critical failures in our social care system, particularly those that have been identified in the past six months, back to that issue. It is the root cause.
A good example that has already appeared on the committee’s radar is something that we discovered in the pandemic, which is that many care workers, especially in the private sector, receive only statutory sick pay if they have to self-isolate, which is why a fair few kept turning up to work when they should not have done. However, the national care home contract, which was drawn up by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and Scotland Excel on behalf of local authorities, does not allow for any more pay. Many care at home contracts that have been drawn up by individual councils do not allow for more sick pay either. It is not just about bad employers; although they undoubtedly exist; it is much more complex than that.
The position that is taken by central and local government procurement is that fair work is a matter for social care employers to sort out, so tendering processes need to be sharpened up even further in order to root out the bad employers—that is more or less what the guidance says. However, an awful lot of contract values are simply not sufficient to support much more than statutory minimums and plenty of providers get hauled in by commissioning officers and told to shave more off their price.
In any other kind of market, suppliers, which is what many of us have become, would take their business elsewhere, but in publicly funded social care, the public sector is the only purchaser in town. It is the opposite of a monopoly, where there is just one provider; it is a monopsony. Very few charities support self-funders. That is not the business that we are in, so we have only one purchaser.
For a hard-pressed public authority, the proposition of being able to control costs because its suppliers have nowhere else to go is initially very attractive. The public authority just lets the market do what it does: the providers compete with one another and bring the price down for the purchasing authority. Eventually, however, the public authority will run out of road, because a price-driven market in a monopsony under severe financial pressure will eventually see the quality providers exit the market. That is what we began to see pre-Covid.
So how could things be different? We have been working with our members on some alternatives to a competitive market in social care. We call them our big ideas. Fundamental to those ideas is the actualisation of self-directed support. We never liked competitive tendering much, to be honest, but the introduction of self-directed support is what tipped us over the edge, because we could not see how people could possibly be supported to exercise choice and control on their own behalf in a system in which all the choices about the support available to them had already been made for them by the procurement processes. Those two thoughts cannot be kept in one head at the same time.
Sustainability and the appropriate use of resources are also fundamental to our thinking, so we came up with four tests for any alternative to competitive tendering in the market environment. Does it shift power? Does it increase choice and control for individuals? Does it improve accountability and transparency? Does it improve social care sustainability? Having set those tests, off we went.
We are still working on our big ideas and at an appropriate moment—very soon, I hope—we will share them with the committee. For now, I can say that they include things such as alliancing, which is a particular type of contracting arrangement in which commissioners and providers collaborate with each other as equal partners in pursuit of a common endeavour, sharing risk and agreeing, rather than competing, on who does what and with what resource.
Those ideas include suggestions such as agreeing at a national level a suite of sustainable rates for different kinds of support, which everybody signs up to. Then, if we must have a competition locally, let us have it on quality, not price. When I refer to a sustainable rate, I mean a rate that will cover, and continue to cover, the cost of a properly rewarded and supported workforce, following fair work principles.
Those ideas also include a suggestion that we go back to grants, instead of contracts, again to stabilise our organisations and our workforce and, critically, to link the amount of grant, and its conditionality, to the meeting of individual need and outcomes, as required by self-directed support.
Therefore, our big ideas are just that: ideas. However, if I may respectfully say so, the national care service is just an idea. These are all half-formed things that have not yet been tried and which need a lot more fleshing out to see how they will work in practice. However, we know enough about what does not work to be able to give at least half a mind to what might work. That is the territory that we now need to enter. We are up for that. I hope that you are up for that. I will stop there and leave more time for discussion.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in a hybrid meeting of the Scottish Parliament on Thursday 8th October 2020.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in a hybrid meeting of the Scottish Parliament on Thursday 1st October 2020.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP took questions from opposition leaders and other MSPs in a hybrid meeting of the Scottish Parliament on Thursday 24th September 2020.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs on Thursday 17th September 2020.
In this episode of the podcast Allan Campbell, from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe), summarises what he and has team think stands out from the Scottish Government's Programme for Government 2020/21.
Find out more about SPICe's work on their blog:
https://spice-spotlight.scot/
Get access to SPICe's briefings:
https://digitalpublications.parliament.scot/ResearchBriefings
This episode was recorded on Monday 7 September 2020.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs on Thursday 10th September 2020.
Talking points include: COVID-19, homelessness, airports, sport, Scotland's test and protect app.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs on Wednesday 2nd September 2020.
Talking points include: COVID-19, education and care homes.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs on Wednesday 26th August 2020.
Talking points include: COVID-19, care homes, face masks.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs on Thursday 20th August 2020.
Talking points include: COVID-19, Scottish Football, Cancer Treatment
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs on Wednesday 12th August 2020.
Parliament's Health and Sport Committee have just released their report into the supply and demand for medicines in Scotland.
We spoke with the Convener of the Committee, Lewis Macdonald MSP, to find out more.
You can read the full report on the Scottish Parliament website at https://bit.ly/medicines-report
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs on Wednesday 24th June 2020.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs on Wednesday 17th June 2020.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs on Wednesday 10th June 2020.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs on Wednesday 3rd June 2020.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs on Wednesday 27th May 2020.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs on Wednesday 20th May 2020.
The Presiding Officer, Ken Macintosh MSP, speaks about the work Parliament has done to ensure MSPs can represent constituents in Parliament during the coronavirus outbreak, and some of the new ways of working coming to Parliament in the next few weeks.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs on Wednesday 6th May 2020.
Elected on 1st April 2020 due to the need for a third Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament following changes brought on by the official response to the coronavirus, Lewis Macdonald discusses the circumstances of his election and the challenges the Parliament faces during this unprecedented time.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs on Tuesday 28th April 2020.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs on Tuesday 21st April 2020.
In the first ever Virtual Leaders' Questions session, opposition party leaders put questions to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP on the Scottish Government's ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Today, Wednesday 1st April, the First Minister and Cabinet took questions from MSPs on Scotland's response to the COVID-19 epidemic.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs on Thursday 19th March 2020.
An statement on the coronavirus by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP, followed by a statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport Jeane Freeman MSP.
There follows a range of questions by MSPs answered by all ministers in the Scottish Government.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs on Thursday 12th March 2020.
The Finnish education system is among the best in the world, regularly appearing at or near the top of PISA and other surveys. How do they do it and what can we learn from them?
Join Olli-Pekka Heinonen, Director General at the Finnish Education Agency and former Minister of Education, as he discusses the Finnish approach to education and how Finland is preparing its people for the jobs and challenges of the future.
You can find out more about the talk, and the work of the Scotland's Futures Forum in their blog post on the Olli-Pekka Heinonen visit.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs on Thursday 5th March 2020.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs on Thursday 27th February 2020.
The Infrastructure Commission for Scotland wast established by the Scottish Government to provide independent, informed advice on the nation’s vision, ambition and priorities to create a 30-year infrastructure strategy to meet the country’s future economic growth and societal needs.
The Commission has recently presented the Scottish Government with a report (Key Findings Report - A blueprint for Scotland), which sets out “an overall 30-year infrastructure vision to support and enable inclusive net zero carbon economy”.
Featuring, Ian Russell CBE, Chair of the Infrastructure Commission for Scotland. Introduced by Edward Mountain MSP, Convener of the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs on Thursday 20th February 2020.
This year's Scottish Budget was presented to the Parliament by Kate Forbes MSP, Minister for Public Finance and Digital Economy on Thursday 6 February 2020.
Join Allan Campbell and Ross Burnside from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, SPICe, as they provide an impartial and factual viewpoint about what the Scottish Government has proposed.
Among the topics discussed are the reasons why this year's process is a little different, some of the key terms used in the budget and the changes to tax and expenditure.
Learn more by visiting SPICe's blog.
A new Bill at the Scottish Parliament proposes tougher regulations around the care of animals, including increased sentences for wildlife crime and more protections for service animals including service dogs.
Join Gillian Martin MSP, the convener of the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee as she discusses the Committee’s report into The Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) (Scotland) Bill.
You can find out more about the report on the Committee's web page.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs on Thursday 6th February 2020.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs on Thursday 30th January 2020.
As part of the Parliament's Oral History project, the Presiding Officer, Ken Macintosh MSP, spoke about his career and the past 20 years at Holyrood.
You can listen to more interviews from the Oral History project at http://bit.ly/2U2dNtM
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs on Thursday 16th January 2020.
Talking points include: Offshore wind investment, Shipbuilding in Port Glasgow, the Climate Emergency, Coronavirus, toxicology services at Glasgow University, rising air pollution levels in Scottish cities
Recorded as part of the Festival of Politics in partnership with the Royal Society of Edinburgh, this panel looks at the issue of gender inequality in STEM across public, private and education sectors.
Chaired by Deputy Presiding Officer Christine Grahame MSP, this panel includes:
- Professor Niamh Nic Daéid FRSC FRSE, Professor of Forensic Science and Director of Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science at the University of Dundee
- Professor Joanna Wardlaw FRSE, Chair of Applied Neuroimaging & Head of Neuroimaging Sciences and Edinburgh Imaging
- Professor Raffaella Ocone OBE FREng FRSE, Professor of Chemical Engineering at Heriot-Watt University
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs on Thursday 16th January 2020.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs on Thursday 9th January 2020.
Join our panel to hear as they consider whether public health laws promote healthy living or undermine freedom of choice.
Chaired by Emma Harper MSP, this event also featured
- Pennie Taylor, freelance health journalist and broadcaster
- Professor Linda Bauld, Chair of Public Health at the Usher Institute at the University of Edinburgh
- Professor John Coggon, Chair in Law at the University of Bristol
- Dr Iain Kennedy, Representative for the British Medical Association Scotland Council
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP answered questions from opposition party leaders and other MSPs on Thursday 19th December 2019.