Insights
Popular topics
What the Scottish Parliament spends its time on. Every chamber debate, motion and question since 1999 is sorted into 34 policy topics by the words in its title or opening, so you can see what takes up the most room, what comes back every session, and what gets debated far more, or far less, than MSPs ask about it.
Debated out of proportion
Debating time is set by the Government and the Parliamentary Bureau; questions are what individual MSPs choose to raise. Comparing the two shows which subjects get more chamber time than members’ questions would suggest, and which get less. All sessions since 1999.
Debated more than asked about
- Independence and the constitution: 2.1% of debating, 1.1% of questions (2.0×)
- International affairs: 1.2% of debating, 0.6% of questions (2.0×)
- Elections and standards in public life: 1.6% of debating, 0.8% of questions (1.9×)
Asked about more than debated
- Councils and local services: 9.8% of questions, 1.9% of debating (5.3×)
- Ferries and islands: 2.7% of questions, 1.1% of debating (2.6×)
- NHS and health: 18% of questions, 7.4% of debating (2.5×)
- Broadband and digital: 1.6% of questions, 0.7% of debating (2.3×)
- Roads, rail and buses: 7.1% of questions, 3.4% of debating (2.1×)
Where debating time goes
Share of words spoken in chamber debates, all sessions since 1999. 8,804 debates, statements and members’ business items. An item can count towards more than one topic, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
| Topic | Share of debating | Debates | Share of questions | Compared with questions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NHS and health | 7.4% | 546 | 18% | Asked about 2.5× more |
| Policing and justice | 7.0% | 507 | 8.8% | About in line |
| Taxes and public finances | 5.7% | 372 | 5.7% | About in line |
| Jobs and the economy | 5.6% | 342 | 8.2% | About in line |
| Schools and childcare | 5.2% | 387 | 7.2% | About in line |
| Children and young people | 4.5% | 316 | 5.1% | About in line |
| Roads, rail and buses | 3.4% | 297 | 7.1% | Asked about 2.1× more |
| Equality and human rights | 3.1% | 205 | 2.9% | About in line |
| Culture, sport and tourism | 3.0% | 216 | 3.1% | About in line |
| Brexit and Europe | 2.6% | 176 | 2.4% | About in line |
| Climate and environment | 2.6% | 197 | 4.6% | Asked about 1.8× more |
| Farming and food | 2.3% | 164 | 3.1% | About in line |
| Independence and the constitution | 2.1% | 116 | 1.1% | Debated 2.0× more |
| Covid-19 | 2.1% | 170 | 2.5% | About in line |
| Housing and homelessness | 2.1% | 135 | 3.0% | About in line |
| Energy, oil and gas | 2.1% | 171 | 3.7% | Asked about 1.7× more |
| Poverty and cost of living | 1.9% | 138 | 1.4% | About in line |
| Councils and local services | 1.9% | 152 | 9.8% | Asked about 5.3× more |
| Fishing and the sea | 1.8% | 134 | 2.1% | About in line |
| Social security and benefits | 1.6% | 121 | 2.6% | Asked about 1.6× more |
| Colleges and universities | 1.6% | 125 | 3.1% | Asked about 1.9× more |
| Elections and standards in public life | 1.6% | 160 | 0.8% | Debated 1.9× more |
| Planning and town centres | 1.4% | 87 | 2.0% | About in line |
| Land, forestry and wildlife | 1.4% | 98 | 1.5% | About in line |
| Social care and carers | 1.4% | 104 | 1.7% | About in line |
| Drugs and alcohol | 1.3% | 89 | 2.0% | Asked about 1.6× more |
| Fire, floods and emergencies | 1.2% | 90 | 1.3% | About in line |
| International affairs | 1.2% | 89 | 0.6% | Debated 2.0× more |
| Public services and reform | 1.1% | 76 | 2.0% | Asked about 1.8× more |
| Mental health | 1.1% | 86 | 1.6% | About in line |
| Ferries and islands | 1.1% | 84 | 2.7% | Asked about 2.6× more |
| Armed forces and veterans | 0.8% | 62 | 0.5% | Debated 1.7× more |
| Broadband and digital | 0.7% | 56 | 1.6% | Asked about 2.3× more |
| Animal welfare | 0.7% | 53 | 0.8% | About in line |
Always on the agenda
NHS and health, Policing and justice, Taxes and public finances, Jobs and the economy, Schools and childcare and Children and young people have been among the ten biggest topics in debates in every one of the 6 completed sessions.
Share of words spoken in chamber debates in each session. Darker cells are a bigger share; bold figures were in that session’s top ten. S7 is still under way and is not counted in “Top ten in”.
| Topic | S1 | S2 | S3 | S4 | S5 | S6 | S7 | Top ten in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NHS and health | 7.0% | 8.7% | 6.5% | 5.7% | 7.0% | 9.4% | 7.7% | 6 of 6 |
| Policing and justice | 8.2% | 9.5% | 6.9% | 6.4% | 5.6% | 6.6% | 6.3% | 6 of 6 |
| Taxes and public finances | 5.7% | 4.4% | 7.7% | 6.3% | 5.1% | 5.0% | 5.4% | 6 of 6 |
| Jobs and the economy | 5.6% | 4.0% | 4.2% | 7.1% | 6.0% | 5.4% | 8.2% | 6 of 6 |
| Schools and childcare | 5.0% | 7.0% | 5.4% | 3.9% | 5.0% | 5.6% | 3.9% | 6 of 6 |
| Children and young people | 3.6% | 5.2% | 3.1% | 5.2% | 4.2% | 5.1% | 4.7% | 6 of 6 |
| Roads, rail and buses | 4.2% | 4.7% | 3.3% | 2.6% | 3.1% | 3.1% | 4.2% | 3 of 6 |
| Equality and human rights | 1.2% | 2.7% | 0.9% | 2.5% | 5.0% | 5.0% | 1.7% | 3 of 6 |
| Culture, sport and tourism | 3.6% | 2.6% | 2.8% | 3.6% | 3.3% | 2.2% | 1.4% | 3 of 6 |
| Climate and environment | 1.4% | 2.9% | 3.4% | 1.9% | 2.3% | 3.5% | 4.3% | 3 of 6 |
| Farming and food | 2.6% | 2.7% | 2.0% | 2.8% | 2.1% | 2.0% | – | 2 of 6 |
| Independence and the constitution | 0.8% | 0.6% | 1.0% | 4.4% | 3.7% | 1.1% | 3.5% | 2 of 6 |
| Covid-19 | <0.1% | – | <0.1% | – | 6.1% | 4.6% | – | 2 of 6 |
| Councils and local services | 3.9% | 2.1% | 3.0% | 1.8% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 1.4% | 2 of 6 |
| Brexit and Europe | 2.0% | 1.5% | 0.6% | 1.5% | 7.2% | 1.9% | 1.8% | 1 of 6 |
| Housing and homelessness | 3.4% | 2.0% | 2.3% | 1.9% | 0.7% | 2.9% | – | 1 of 6 |
| Energy, oil and gas | 1.7% | 2.1% | 1.7% | 2.7% | 1.7% | 2.0% | 4.9% | 1 of 6 |
| Poverty and cost of living | 1.3% | 2.0% | 0.9% | 1.6% | 1.5% | 3.7% | 2.2% | 1 of 6 |
| Fishing and the sea | 2.7% | 2.3% | 2.3% | 1.7% | 1.1% | 1.2% | 2.2% | 0 of 6 |
| Social security and benefits | 0.5% | 1.2% | <0.1% | 2.7% | 2.2% | 2.4% | <0.1% | 0 of 6 |
| Colleges and universities | 1.5% | 1.3% | 1.7% | 2.3% | 1.3% | 1.5% | 1.2% | 0 of 6 |
| Elections and standards in public life | 3.0% | 1.2% | 1.6% | 1.5% | 1.1% | 1.2% | 2.8% | 0 of 6 |
| Planning and town centres | 1.0% | 1.9% | 1.2% | 1.7% | 0.8% | 1.9% | 0.4% | 0 of 6 |
| Land, forestry and wildlife | 2.1% | 0.7% | 1.7% | 1.0% | 1.7% | 1.3% | – | 0 of 6 |
| Social care and carers | 1.0% | 1.0% | 0.5% | 1.7% | 1.4% | 2.3% | – | 0 of 6 |
| Drugs and alcohol | 1.3% | 0.8% | 1.9% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 1.9% | 2.2% | 0 of 6 |
| Fire, floods and emergencies | 0.7% | 0.8% | 1.8% | 1.6% | 0.9% | 1.2% | 4.0% | 0 of 6 |
| International affairs | 1.2% | 1.1% | 0.8% | 1.2% | 0.9% | 2.0% | 0.6% | 0 of 6 |
| Public services and reform | 1.2% | 0.9% | 1.2% | 1.7% | 0.4% | 1.0% | 4.3% | 0 of 6 |
| Mental health | 1.6% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 1.5% | 1.3% | 1.2% | 0.7% | 0 of 6 |
| Ferries and islands | 0.5% | 0.7% | 0.4% | 0.9% | 1.3% | 2.0% | 0.7% | 0 of 6 |
| Armed forces and veterans | <0.1% | 0.7% | 0.5% | 1.2% | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 0 of 6 |
| Broadband and digital | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.7% | 1.3% | 1.1% | 2.4% | 0 of 6 |
| Animal welfare | 1.2% | 0.7% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 1.0% | 0.8% | – | 0 of 6 |
How this is worked out
- Topics
- A fixed list of 34 subjects, each defined by a set of words. For example, “Ferries and islands” matches ferry, CalMac, CMAL, island, vessel and harbour. Matching is on whole words or word starts, so it is approximate: a motion congratulating a school football team counts towards both schools and sport.
- Debates
- Chamber debates, members’ business debates, ministerial statements and bill debates, matched on the heading. Each is weighted by the words spoken in it, as a stand-in for time; the Official Report does not record reliable timings for earlier sessions. Remarks from the chair are left out. Question times and First Minister’s Questions are questions, not debates, and committee meetings are not included.
- Motions
- Every motion lodged, matched on its title and opening words. Amendments and the Parliament’s housekeeping motions (business programmes, committee membership and similar) are left out.
- Questions
- Every written and oral question, matched on the opening of the question.
- Compared with questions
- A topic’s share of debating divided by its share of questions in the same period. “Debated 2× more” means it took twice the share of chamber debating that it took of questions. Questions are lodged by individual MSPs, while the business of the chamber is mostly set by the Government and the Parliamentary Bureau.
- Updated
- 15 November 2026