Podcasts By The Scottish Parliament

We talk with Ariane Burgess MSP, Convener of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee about the committee's Housing Inquiry.

A year on from the official declaration of the national housing emergency by the Scottish Parliament, the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee say a Housing Emergency Action Plan with clear milestones and outcomes would ensure progress towards ending the crisis can be properly assessed.

It is one of ten recommendations for the Scottish Government made in the Committee’s Housing Inquiry Report.

Read the report in full: https://digitalpublications.parliament.scot/Committees/Report/LGHP/2025/5/15/5e27adfd-6d08-4d34-a701-17fc4ffe5f83#Annex-A

First Minister John Swinney MSP answers questions from party leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.

Questions included:

Kevin Stewart 

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to water scarcity alerts issued by SEPA for the east of Scotland, in light of low rainfall and warm temperatures. 

Brian Whittle

To ask the First Minister, in light of the publication of the Programme for Government, what action the Scottish Government is taking to ensure that prevention is more strongly integrated into the health system.

Jackie Baillie

To ask the First Minister when the landslip shelter on the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful will be complete.

 

Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament 

 

Listen back to FMQs. Questions this week included: 

Jackie Dunbar

To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of any implications for its work to grow Scotland’s economy of the EY ITEM Club Spring Forecast, which downgraded expectations for UK output over the next two years.

Edward Mountain

To ask the First Minister, in light of the reported high demand for neurodevelopmental assessment services, when the Scottish Government plans to publish the report on the work that it funded on the five “tests of change” across Scotland, which concluded in March 2024.

Mark Griffin

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reports of local authorities suspending council housing allocations.

 

Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament 

The First Minister takes questions from MSPs.

Listen back to FMQs. Questions this week included: 

Kevin Stewart

 

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reported comments made by the chair of the North Sea Transition Task Force that the North Sea’s future should be a “national mission”.

Stephen Kerr

To ask the First Minister what engagement the Scottish Government has had with the UK Government regarding what assessment has been made of the potential impact of an extension of US tariffs on Scottish businesses that export to the US market.

Katy Clark 

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on whether the reported increased annual cost of Scotland's prisons to over £77,000 per prisoner represents good value for public money.

 

Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament 

Listen back to FMQs. Questions this week included: 

Kenneth Gibson

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the UK Government’s Spring Statement.

Murdo Fraser

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to reduce waiting times for children and adolescents for the diagnosis of autism and ADHD.

Mercedes Villalba

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to prevent instances of water scarcity in 2025.

Ash Regan 

To ask the First Minister, in light of reports of an escalation in gang-related violence in Edinburgh, with recent shootings in Niddrie and West Pilton, what immediate action can be taken to support the emergency services in ensuring the safety and reassurance of communities in the Edinburgh Eastern constituency.

 

Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament 

Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone MSP and First Minister John Swinney MSP make a statement to Parliament following the death of Christina McKelvie MSP. 

Listen back to FMQs! Questions this week included: 

Michelle Thomson 

To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the recent UK Living Standards Review 2025, from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, and any implications for its work to grow Scotland’s economy.

Rachael Hamilton 

To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government is marking Endometriosis Awareness Month.

Kevin Stewart 

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to tackle Islamophobia in Scotland, in light of reports of an attack on a mosque in Aberdeen at the weekend.

 

Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament 

Listen back to FMQs! Questions this week included: 

Christine Grahame

To ask the First Minister, regarding any potential impact on planning legislation in Scotland, what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that the UK Government has proposed giving people living near power infrastructure hundreds of pounds off their bills each year.

Jamie Greene

To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is considering to further support Scotland's universities, in light of reports that the University of the West of Scotland reported a multi-million pound deficit in the last financial year, with other universities across Scotland in a similar financial position.

Carol Mochan 

To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on how the Scottish Government is working to improve healthy life expectancy. 

Transcripts are available on our website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament 

In this SPICe seminar Professor Luke March, Personal Chair of Post-Soviet and Comparative Politics at the University of Edinburgh and Professor Peter Jackson, Chair in Global Security at the University of Glasgow explore the current geopolitical situation in relation to Ukraine. We look to explain: 

• Russia’s approach to Ukraine and what that might also mean for countries in Eastern Europe;
• The international response to the crisis including the change of approach by the United States under President Trump; and
• Given the change of position in Washington, what Europe and NATO’s response should be and how the UK fits into the approach.

We hope you enjoy this discussion!