Podcasts By The Scottish Parliament

First Minister's Questions 20 February 2025

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 

Future-Proofing Scotland’s Salmon Industry

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.

First Minister's Questions 6 February 2025

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 

First Minister's Questions 30 January 2025

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 

First Minister's Questions 23 Jan 2025

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 

First Minister's Questions 16 January 2025

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 

First Minister's Questions 09 January 2025

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 

First Minister's Questions 19 December 2024

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 

First Minister's Questions 12 December

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 Minister's Questions 5 December 2024

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.