Podcasts By The Scottish Parliament

“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 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.

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