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Seòmar agus comataidhean

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 4 May 2021
  6. Current session: 13 May 2021 to 8 February 2026
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Displaying 1419 contributions

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Social Justice and Social Security Committee [Draft]

Adult Disability Payment

Meeting date: 27 November 2025

Carol Mochan

That is helpful—thank you.

I have one more question, which is about the focus on physical disability and whether mental and behavioural disorders are picked up in the way that they should be. Do you have any feedback on that?

Social Justice and Social Security Committee [Draft]

Adult Disability Payment

Meeting date: 27 November 2025

Carol Mochan

I will explore some of the points that you made about inconsistency. The report describes stakeholder views that ADP decisions can appear inconsistent. A couple of constituents have raised issues with timescales for redeterminations, appeals at the First-tier Tribunal and challenges around that. People I have been speaking to have wondered about inconsistent decision making. Did you get much of that in producing the report?

Social Justice and Social Security Committee [Draft]

Adult Disability Payment

Meeting date: 27 November 2025

Carol Mochan

Audit Scotland has recommended defining acceptable levels of client satisfaction. Can that be done in a way that provides meaningful opportunities for improvement and which avoids arbitrary target setting?

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

General Question Time

Meeting date: 27 November 2025

Carol Mochan

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the financial sustainability of Ayrshire College. (S6O-05213)

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

General Question Time

Meeting date: 27 November 2025

Carol Mochan

Forecasts show that most colleges are not sustainable. Ayrshire College is facing a £2.1 million reduction in core teaching funding, over and above a 20 per cent real-terms cut since 2021-22. That huge blow means that the college is already having to make difficult decisions. Does the Government recognise that, and that it must work urgently with the college and its trade unions to address its funding challenges and ensure that we secure and protect jobs, alongside young people’s education?

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 26 November 2025

Carol Mochan

Data released only yesterday revealed that NHS Dumfries and Galloway has the third lowest rate of child dentist registrations in Scotland. Significant inequalities exist, with more than a 10 per cent gap between children living in the most and least deprived areas. Why are children in Dumfries and Galloway considerably worse off when it comes to registration? What is the Government’s response to that inequality, and what action will it take to address it?

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

St Andrew’s Day 2025

Meeting date: 25 November 2025

Carol Mochan

I thank Michelle Thomson for bringing the debate to the chamber; I am pleased to speak in it. I acknowledge the work of the cross-party group on St Andrew’s day and the people who continue to run that group, as others have mentioned.

The motion highlights the on-going work of the former MP and MSP Dennis Canavan to ensure that St Andrew’s day continues to be an important day that recognises our patron saint. He took forward the campaign to make it a bank holiday to be enjoyed by everyone.

As a proud Scot, I believe that it is really nice, and important, that we—like many countries around the world—celebrate our patron saint as part of celebrating our history, our culture and our country. When I was young, I had family who lived abroad for many years, and they enjoyed St Andrew’s day and saw it as a great opportunity to invite international friends over to enjoy and celebrate Scotland. The real wonder was in people from cultures from around the world enjoying one another’s culture; that was so important to them.

St Andrew is both Scotland’s patron saint and our national symbol, officially recognised—as others have said—in the 1320 declaration of Arbroath. The relationship is represented by the saltire flag, with the blue-and-white X-shaped cross symbolising the way in which St Andrew was martyred. In addition, as the motion states, we need to acknowledge

“the economic benefits that global recognition brings to Scotland through the culture, business, education, tourism and retail sectors, supported by the use of the Saltire as both the national flag and the ‘Brand Scotland’ identifier of Scottish produce and marketing”.

We see that in Scotland, and I am sure that others will often see it when they are abroad. People will notice our flag in shops and retail outlets, wherever they go. We have great relationships around the world.

St Andrew’s day is recognised and celebrated around the world by people who believe that they have a connection to Scotland. They are known as the Scottish diaspora. The diaspora consists of Scottish people who emigrated—as we know, we were a great nation for emigrating around the world—and now their descendants, whose number is estimated to be anything between 30 million and 40 million people.

I know that, in my South Scotland region, there is plenty going on this week to celebrate St Andrew’s day. That includes traditional events such as ceilidhs, and a mixture of others involving important history and institutions. In my area, the local Burns club is having an evening event to celebrate the day, and there is even karaoke. I am sure that those who are attending are very pleased that I will be dealing with amendments later tonight, so I will not be singing in Ayrshire.

In a world where there is such division as there is today, I hope, as we celebrate St Andrew’s day, that—as others have said—we can look beyond the division to a message of hope and unity that we in this country and around the world so desperately need. We know that St Andrew would have hoped for that also.

I thank Michelle Thomson again for bringing the debate to the chamber, and I thank members for their contributions.

17:47  

Social Justice and Social Security Committee [Draft]

Wellbeing and Sustainable Development (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 20 November 2025

Carol Mochan

Good morning. A key argument for the inclusion in the bill of a definition of the term “sustainable development” is that there is no statutory definition of it, but, as we have heard, there are multiple references to the term in law. How would a new definition simplify the landscape?

Social Justice and Social Security Committee [Draft]

Wellbeing and Sustainable Development (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 20 November 2025

Carol Mochan

You might have answered this question in your opening remarks, but, to be clear, what is behind the decision to align the definition of sustainable development with the concept of wellbeing? Do you have a few words to describe that?

Social Justice and Social Security Committee [Draft]

Wellbeing and Sustainable Development (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 20 November 2025

Carol Mochan

I get the need for the term to be understandable. The committee has heard evidence that the definition could be strengthened—in particular, by referring explicitly to environmental limits and planetary boundaries. Do you have a view on that?