Podcasts By The Scottish Parliament

What’s Wrong About Foodbanks?

A recording from the Festival of Politics session titled "What’s Wrong About Foodbanks?".

A decade ago foodbanks were an oddity. In 2018 there are over 400 foodbanks run by The Trussell Trust alone across the UK. Join chair Deputy Presiding Officer Christine Grahame MSP and panellists including Professor John McKendrick, Glasgow Caledonian University; Lindsey Welsh, Development Officer Moray Foodbank; and Emma Revie, CEO, The Trussell Trust to debate whether the existence of foodbanks is actually a sign of the UK’s strong social fabric and the real scandal is that they haven’t been around for longer.

First Minister’s Questions (FMQs) - 4th April 2019

The First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, answered questions from MSPs in The Scottish Parliament on the 4th April 2019.

Conversation points: Ongoing ScotRail service issues, HPV vaccination success and the potential to roll out to boys, inadequate temporary housing for homeless individuals, the progress of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act, 2018.

The UK after Brexit

The Scottish Parliament Information Centre hosted a seminar on 27 March 2019 offering perspectives from Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish perspectives on challenges and opportunities for the UK after Brexit. Speakers included Prof. Nicola McEwan, University of Edinburgh; Prof. Dan Wincott, Cardiff University and Dr Katy Hayward, Queens University Belfast.

First Minister’s Questions (FMQs) - 28th March 2019

The First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, answered questions from MSPs in The Scottish Parliament on the 28th March 2019.

Conversation points: Brexit's potential effects on child poverty in Scotland, First Minister's responses to recent developments in Westminster, how income supplements may impact poverty rates in Scotland.

Festival of Politics - Abnormally Funny: Disability & Comedy

A recording from the Festival of Politics session titled "Abnormally Funny: Disability & Comedy".

A 2017 survey by disability charity Scope found that one in four people avoided having conversations with disabled people because of feelings of discomfort and fear of saying the wrong thing. Join chair Ethan Young, Civic Participation Officer at Inclusion Scotland, and panellists including Dr Sharon Lockyer, Centre for Comedy Studies Research, Brunel University; Laurence Clark, stand-up comedian and disability rights campaigner and Colin Young, Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland to debate common misconceptions about disability, and to ask whether or not comedy by disabled people helps to change attitudes. 

First Minister’s Questions (FMQs) - 21st March 2019

The First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, answered questions from MSPs in The Scottish Parliament on the 21st March 2019.

Festival of Politics - Politics and Social Media

A recording from the Festival of Politics session titled "Politics and Social Media".

In 2008, there were around 1.5 million election-related tweets. In 2012, there were 31 million. Join chair Anas Sarwar MSP and panellists Dr Paolo Gerbaudo, Director of the Centre for Digital Culture, King’s College, London and author of Tweets and the Streets; Victoria Boelman, Director of Research, The Young Foundation; and Ben Macpherson MSP, Minister for Europe, Migration and International Development, to debate this political communication switch and its impact on everything from voter turnouts to political candidates’ behaviour and the threat to digital democracy.

First Minister’s Questions (FMQs) - 14th March 2019

The First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, answered questions from MSPs in The Scottish Parliament on the 14th March 2019.

The potential implications of Brexit on Health and Social Care

This event at the Scottish Parliament looked at the potential impact of Brexit on staffing, public health, medicines and medical devices in health and social care.

It was chaired by Lewis MacDonald MSP, Convener of the Parliament's Health and Sport Committee, who introduced Emma Harper MSP, Vice Convener with an update on the Committee's work.

Discussion then moved on to the guest speakers:

Professor Jean McHale and Elizabeth Speakman, spoke about their work on the ERSC funded project Health Law Outside the EU: Immediate, Intermediate and Long-Term Impacts, and Karen Hedge, National Director, Scottish Care then presented the social care perspective.

First Minister’s Questions (FMQs) - 7th March 2019

The First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, answered questions from MSPs in The Scottish Parliament on the 7th March 2019.