Skip to main content
Loading…

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.  

Filter your results Hide all filters

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 15 July 2025
Select which types of business to include


Select level of detail in results

Displaying 876 contributions

|

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee

New Petitions

Meeting date: 4 October 2023

Foysol Choudhury

Data protection and privacy could be affected as well. We see quite a lot of stuff online. People post footage of cyclists and people in private cars. What measures will the police or the law take to protect them?

Meeting of the Parliament

Scottish Parliament Powers

Meeting date: 3 October 2023

Foysol Choudhury

Scottish Labour believes that the interests of the people of Scotland are best served when both the Scottish and UK Governments work together in co-operation. The Scottish Government has continually made relations with the UK Government strained, instead of finding consensus. When the two Governments cannot reach agreement on anything, the people of Scotland are the ones who suffer.

With regard to the internal market act, the two Governments must seek to work together. The UK Government must find a better way to regulate the market, which does not undermine devolution. [Interruption.]

Meeting of the Parliament

Scottish Parliament Powers

Meeting date: 3 October 2023

Foysol Choudhury

I want to make some progress.

Meeting of the Parliament

Scottish Parliament Powers

Meeting date: 3 October 2023

Foysol Choudhury

Labour is the party of devolution. We legislated for and enacted it and we will continue to advocate for and protect it when we are next in government. The UK Conservative Government continues to undermine devolution. As many members have outlined, over the past five years, it has repeatedly undermined and discarded the Sewel convention.

Unfortunately, the UK Government’s internal market act is no different. As the minister rightly outlined in his opening speech, that was made abundantly clear when, although the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Senedd withheld consent, the UK Government went ahead and passed the act regardless.

As Willie Rennie pointed out, this debate is about respecting the Scottish Parliament’s authority. As Neil Bibby outlined, the powers of devolution were established in 1998 by the then UK Labour Government. The internal market act tramples on devolution. It undermines the Scottish Parliament’s authority and allows the lowest regulatory standard under one Administration to be the rule for all. It provides the potential for UK ministers to ignore or override legislation in devolved areas in Scotland, but decisions on devolved policies should be made in Scotland.

Donald Cameron was right to say that the Scottish Parliament is one of the most powerful devolved legislatures in the world, yet the UK Government continues to seek to undermine and roll back this Parliament’s powers. The internal market act does just that.

The UK Government must develop a better way to maintain common standards and safeguards—a way that does not undermine devolution in Scotland or any democratic decisions across all the devolved legislatures in the UK. As Keith Brown mentioned, that approach must not try to strike down powers from the Scottish Parliament, which more than 70 per cent of the electorate voted for in 1997.

As part of the party of devolution, Scottish Labour seeks to further strengthen devolution—not to undermine or weaken it. Scottish Labour would like Scotland to be strengthened as part of a modern and changed United Kingdom.

As my colleague Martin Whitfield outlined, we would like power in Scotland to be based as near as possible to the place in which it is exercised. We would like power to be restored to the hands of local authorities and communities. That is why the next UK Government will transform Westminster and abolish the outdated House of Lords. It will transfer power out of Westminster and into local authorities, so that regions can better control the issues that impact them most.

Meeting of the Parliament

Scottish Parliament Powers

Meeting date: 3 October 2023

Foysol Choudhury

Yes. A rule that allows for the lowest regularity standard in one Parliament to be the standard of all disregards devolution and the authority of other legislative bodies across the board.

Scottish Labour is focused on strengthening devolution and on being the change that Scotland needs: a fresh start.

16:41  

Meeting of the Parliament

Scottish Parliament Powers

Meeting date: 3 October 2023

Foysol Choudhury

I think that my colleagues have answered that question. That is something for the incoming Labour Government to look at.

Scottish Labour is focused on protecting devolution. However, instead of strengthening devolution, the Scottish Government is doubling down on the politics of division. Many of my colleagues in the chamber today have outlined that Scotland needs two mature Governments that will work together.

Meeting of the Parliament

First Minister’s Question Time

Meeting date: 28 September 2023

Foysol Choudhury

I have previously raised the issue of sewage contamination in Scotland’s water, notably in the Water of Leith in my region, and have asked the Scottish Government for a meeting. In August, the cabinet secretary advised me that she did not think that a meeting would be useful. Given the clear severity of the issue across Scotland, will the cabinet secretary now agree to meet urgently with me?

Meeting of the Parliament

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 28 September 2023

Foysol Choudhury

Network Rail has previously been open to discussing the potential upgrade of the south suburban line. A train-tram solution would see vehicles running on the south suburban line, then transferring to streets to achieve convenient and more direct access to the city centre. What discussion has the Scottish Government had with Network Rail regarding the train-tram solution? Will it consider running a feasibility study on the proposal?

Meeting of the Parliament

Online Child Abuse, Grooming and Exploitation

Meeting date: 21 September 2023

Foysol Choudhury

Schools and local authorities have roles to play in keeping children safe online, but they are struggling with already-stretched budgets. At the same time, Police Scotland is losing police numbers and is having to abandon planned capacity improvements in the force. Does the minister share my concern that the stretched budget of that institution will impact on its ability to keep up with the complexity of the crimes?

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee

Continued Petitions

Meeting date: 20 September 2023

Foysol Choudhury

I am surprised to see that we have only five Scottish students in the years from 2009 to 2022. We should write to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland to find out the exact figure for how many Scottish students have received funding, and whether there is a cap. I know that the conservatoire is saying that there is no cap, but it is surprising that there are only five every year.