First Minister's Questions 15th January 2026

Podcasts By The Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Parliament

Government

4.8 • 25 Ratings

🗓️ 15 January 2026

⏱️ 51 minutes

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Summary

The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time.Topics covered this week include:Keith Brown To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update regarding the Scottish Government’s latest engagement with the UK Government in relation to the distribution of Local Growth Fund allocations in Scotland. Douglas Ross To ask the First Minister for what reason the Scottish Government is going to court to continue to allow it to house male prisoners in the female prison estate, in light of any projections it has made of the cost to taxpayers in Scotland of challenging the Supreme Court ruling in this way. Pam Duncan-Glancy To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to findings published by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow indicating that a majority of clinicians anticipate practical challenges in implementing the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill. 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

Transcript

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0:00.0	to the next item of business as First Minister's questions.
0:02.9	Question number one I call Russell Finley.
0:04.9	The cost of living is hitting hard for people across Scotland.
0:11.1	And John Swinney promised to help.
0:14.6	So what did he do?
0:16.1	Well, he's cutting income tax, but only for some,
0:29.6	and by a maximum of £31.75 per year.
0:35.6	That works out at 61 pence a week. That wouldn't even buy you a bag of peanuts.
0:39.3	John Swinney's budget might even...
0:43.3	It's your tax cuts.
0:49.3	Let's carry on with our business.
0:52.3	Rachel Hamilton is entirely right. It wouldn't even buy you a bag of peanuts.
0:57.6	John Swinney's budget might even have broken a world record
1:01.8	because a Scottish government tax advisor says, and I quote, that it may be the smallest tax cut in history. Does John Swinney really think his insulting tax cut
1:17.9	will actually help Scotland's struggling households?
1:21.9	First Minister.
1:26.9	I'm pleased to see that the additions for the pantomime dame are being entered early by Rachel Hamilton in Parliament today, because that was frankly pantomime stuff from the Conservative Party.
1:43.3	The Conservative Party has come forward with a
1:48.6	proposition about tax cuts which would involve a billion pounds worth of cuts in public
1:54.5	expenditure with not a scrap of detail about how that would be delivered. So that is a
2:00.6	false proposition. However,
2:02.6	my Government has brought forward a range of measures which build on the existing cost of living
	...

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