Podcasts By The Scottish Parliament

First Minister's Questions 22 January 2026

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

First Minister's Questions 8 January 2026

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

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 2nd October 2025

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

First Minister's Questions 4th September 2025

The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.

Topics covered this week include:

Evelyn Tweed

To 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 White

To 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 Rowley

To 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 

First Minister's Questions 19 June 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

First Minister's Questions 12 June 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 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

First Minister's Questions 5 June 2025

The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.

Topics covered this week include:

Ben Macpherson

To 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

First Minister's Questions 29 May 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 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 Kerr

To 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 Rennie

To 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

First Minister's Questions 22 May 2025

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 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 Simpson

To 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