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Chamber and committees

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 6 July 2025
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Displaying 876 contributions

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Meeting of the Parliament

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 11 December 2024

Foysol Choudhury

Worker co-operative and employee-owned businesses have been shown to be more productive and resilient than those that operate under traditional business models. However, the report on inclusive and democratic business models finds that they are poorly integrated into Scotland’s wider economic strategy. Does the minister agree that co-operatives and employee-owned businesses should be treated as key to our economy? Will he consider directing national bodies to take further action to support their growth, as recommended in the report?

Meeting of the Parliament

Human Rights

Meeting date: 10 December 2024

Foysol Choudhury

I am pleased to close in this debate on behalf of Scottish Labour and join members in marking human rights day 2024.

As my colleague Paul O’Kane mentioned, the Labour Party has a history of protecting human rights. It was the transformative post-war Labour Government that helped to establish our system of human rights and build the Council of Europe. As Alex Cole-Hamilton said, the events of recent days remind us that we should not take those rights for granted. I also echo the cabinet secretary’s remark that human rights are a force for good and the key to global peace.

However, members have shared their disappointment that the Scottish Government has broken its promise to introduce a human rights bill in the current parliamentary session. The theme of this year’s human rights day is “Our rights, our future, right now”, but the Scottish Government seems to be using the theme “Our rights, our future, not now”.

Members have praised human rights defenders, but organisations are protesting outside Parliament today after another broken SNP promise. Maggie Chapman mentioned the protest and the disappointment felt by the organisations and individuals who are pushing for the law. She also mentioned their loss of trust in the Scottish Government.

Tess White mentioned the open letter that was signed by more than 100 organisations, which called the Scottish Government’s decision to kick the human rights bill into the long grass a “dismissal” of the human rights issues that Scottish people face. An open letter from Just Citizens states that it is tired of being used as only a “box-ticking exercise”. Another organisation has stopped engaging with the Scottish Government altogether due to broken promises. We must note that incorporation into law is not a cure for all the issues that we face.

SNP First Ministers have declared human rights to be a priority and a “great success” of devolution, but evidence that was presented by the Scottish Human Rights Commission says otherwise. Members such as Tess White, Alex Cole-Hamilton and Rhoda Grant have mentioned the report on human rights in the Highlands and Islands, which found that Scotland is failing to meet its core minimum obligation on food and housing.

The SHRC’s review of conditions in prison and forensic mental health settings also found that 83 per cent of recommendations by human rights bodies made during the past 10 years had yet to be implemented. With our prison death numbers being some of the highest in Europe, that is not good enough. Regardless of the human rights bill being delayed, the Scottish Government needs to deliver on existing rights.

I am pleased to join members in reaffirming our commitment to human rights. I understand that the process of incorporating human rights into Scots law has been complicated by the judgment of the Supreme Court—as Karen Adam and Keith Brown mentioned—but the Scottish Government is still able to meet its current obligations. The Supreme Court judgment does not prevent the Scottish Government from tackling the housing emergency, delivering a humane prison system or ensuring that no child goes hungry.

I hope that the Scottish Government will recognise the issues that have been raised in the debate and mark human rights day through action to protect the existing rights of Scots.

16:33  

Meeting of the Parliament

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 5 December 2024

Foysol Choudhury

To ask the Scottish Government how it is working to ensure that pupils have access to practical science activities as part of the curriculum. (S6O-04087)

Meeting of the Parliament

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 5 December 2024

Foysol Choudhury

Science technicians are a key part of science departments in schools, supporting teachers with their work and practical lessons. However, the Royal Society of Chemistry’s science teaching survey in 2024 noted that 39 per cent of respondents from mainstream and specialist schools stated that they are understaffed for science technicians. Can the minister advise how the Scottish Government is working to address the shortage of science technicians?

Meeting of the Parliament

Scots Language (Open University Support)

Meeting date: 4 December 2024

Foysol Choudhury

I join members in congratulating Emma Harper, who is a great champion of the Scots language, on securing this members’ business debate, and in welcoming the continued work of the Open University and Education Scotland in teaching the Scots language.

For too long, children were shamed for speaking Scots. A 1946 report on primary education said that it was

“not the language of ‘educated’ people”.

We must recognise how much things have changed for the better in recent years. The Open University programme, which helps to embed Scots in schools, demonstrates that. For pupils, the effects of having their teachers communicate on their level can only be positive.

I also welcome the work of the Open University in developing Scots education for refugees and migrants. The “New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy” notes how difficult it can be for people to integrate without language skills, but Scots is not included in traditional English lessons, despite its being used in daily life.

I look forward to seeing the Open University’s research, and to seeing how we can support learning for new Scots. I also note the Open University’s previous success in Scots education. Its first course in Scots language and culture opened in 2019, and it has since taught 15,000 students. It is also important to note that the course is attended by more people from outside Scotland than from inside Scotland. That is a great demonstration of the value of the Scots language and of how it enables learning between cultures and attracts interest outwith Scotland.

I am pleased that Scots remains a living language and am pleased by its revival in recent years. I see that revival in my position as the shadow culture spokesperson for Labour.

Meeting of the Parliament

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 4 December 2024

Foysol Choudhury

The MacMillan Skills Hub in Muirhouse, in north Edinburgh, will fully reopen in January. The project, which was completed with support from the Scottish Government and others, will include a 96-seat theatre, a social enterprise cafe, artist studios and a council library. It is a great example of local culture benefiting all. Can the cabinet secretary advise whether the Scottish Government would consider working with the Brunton Theatre Trust in a similar effort to replace the Brunton theatre in Musselburgh, which was recently forced to close?

Meeting of the Parliament

Scots Language (Open University Support)

Meeting date: 4 December 2024

Foysol Choudhury

I thank Elena Whitham very much for the intervention. I totally agree with her.

Creative Scotland has a Scots policy that commits it to funding and to advocating for the language. Just a few weeks ago, it opened its fund for Scots artists. The newest Scots makar says that he wants to build bridges between the Scottish languages, and the previous Scots makar wrote many poems in Scots. We must note that culture plays a vital role in keeping the language alive.

The Scottish Languages Bill is now working its way through Parliament. It calls for promotion of Scots in our schools. Although there is still much to be done on the bill, courses such as the one from the Open University and Education Scotland are a positive step in promoting use of Scots in professional settings. I again join members in welcoming that partnership, and I hope to see more and more teachers signing up.

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Empire, Slavery and Scotland’s Museums

Meeting date: 28 November 2024

Foysol Choudhury

You have said that all the work is done by volunteers, but do you have any expertise? Lucy Casot talked about the Welsh model. Has the steering group been in touch with anyone in Wales to find out whether that model is working?

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Empire, Slavery and Scotland’s Museums

Meeting date: 28 November 2024

Foysol Choudhury

A lot of museums are making changes to have a dedicated space for showcasing the history involved. How is the group working on that with MGS and other organisations?

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Empire, Slavery and Scotland’s Museums

Meeting date: 28 November 2024

Foysol Choudhury

Good morning. I want to draw my colleagues’ attention to the fact that I was part of the steering group at the beginning. However, when I was elected as an MSP, I walked away—or rather, I thought that I would leave them to do all the hard work, which they have done.

Zandra Yeaman, I have visited the Hunterian museum and have seen the work that you are doing and which you have done. I know from my involvement with the group that Professor Sir Geoff Palmer and others, including Jatin Haria and you, have been doing a lot of very important work, because this is a story that needs to be told. We all want this to be successful.

However, there is a question that I have always had. I have seen your presentation and have attended quite a few meetings. I know that this will take time, as we have heard from you and others, but what can the committee do to speed things up, and how can we spread the message?