Podcasts By The Scottish Parliament

First Minister’s Questions 18th December 2025

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

First Minister’s Questions 11th December 2025

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

First Minister's Questions 4th December 2025

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

First Minister's Questions 27th November 2025

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

Working with communities to scrutinise government spending - human rights budgeting

“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.

First Minister's Questions 20 November 2025

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

First Minister's Questions 13 November 2025

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 Hamilton

To 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.

First Minister's Questions 6th November 2025

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

First Minister's Questions 30th October 2025

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

First Minister's Questions 9th October 2025

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