Official Report: search what was said in Parliament
The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.
The Official Report search offers lots of different ways to find the information you’re looking for. The search is used as a professional tool by researchers and third-party organisations. It is also used by members of the public who may have less parliamentary awareness. This means it needs to provide the ability to run complex searches, and the ability to browse reports or perform a simple keyword search.
Searching by different views
The web version of the Official Report has three different views:
- Report: this is the whole Official Report for a particular meeting of a committee or Parliament
- Item of business: this is each individual agenda item in an Official Report. For example, Portfolio Questions would be the item of business in a Meeting of the Parliament report
- Contribution: this is each time someone has made a spoken contribution to a meeting.
Depending on the kind of search you want to do, one of these views will be the best option. The default view is to show the report for each meeting of Parliament or a committee. For a simple keyword search, the results will be shown by item of business.
Search by MSP
When you choose to search by a particular MSP, the results returned will show each spoken contribution in Parliament or a committee, ordered by date with the most recent contributions first. This will usually return a lot of results, but you can refine your search by keyword, date and/or by meeting (committee or Chamber business).
We’ve chosen to display the entirety of each MSP’s contribution in the search results. This is intended to reduce the number of times that users need to click into an actual report to get the information that they’re looking for, but in some cases it can lead to very short contributions (“Yes.”) or very long ones (Ministerial statements, for example.) We’ll keep this under review and get feedback from users on whether this approach best meets their needs.
Searching by keyword
There are two types of keyword search:
- A keyword search without quotation marks will look for every instance of each word used and rank the results by frequency and proximity. It will also include variants of the keywords using “porter stemming”. This is when the search looks for the “stem” of a word regardless of its ending. So, for example, a search for [salmon farm] will return each instance of “salmon” and each instance of “farm” as well as potentially including results for “farms”, “farmed” and “farming”.
- A keyword search with quotation marks will only return instances of that exact phrase used. So, for example, a search for “salmon farm” in quotation marks will only return instances of that exact phrase.
Combining search filters
If you select an MSP’s name from the dropdown menu, and add a phrase in quotation marks to the keyword field, then the search will return only examples of when the MSP said those exact words. You can further refine this search by adding a date range or selecting a particular committee or Meeting of the Parliament.
More complex keyword searches
It’s also possible to run basic Boolean searches. For example:
- a search for “salmon farm” AND “Loch Lomond” will return only results which include both exact phrases
- a search for “salmon farm” NOT “Loch Lomond” will return results for “salmon farm” but exclude results which also include “Loch Lomond”
- a search for “salmon farm” OR “Loch Lomond” will return all results for “salmon farm” and all results for “Loch Lomond” regardless of whether they appear together
Searching by date
There are two ways of searching by date.
You can either use the Start date and End date options to run a search across a particular date range. For example, you may know that a particular subject was discussed at some point in the last few weeks and choose a date range to reflect that.
Alternatively, you can use one of the pre-defined date ranges under “Select a time period”. These are:
- Current session (all Official Reports since the current sessions started)
- Last 6 months
- Last 12 months
- each of the previous sessions of Parliament. (Selecting the information icon above the “Select a time period” menu will give you the exact dates for each session.)
- All sessions
- You can also choose to select a custom date range, although adding a Start or End date will mean the search automatically defaults to this option.
If you search by an individual session, the list of MSPs and committees will automatically update to show only the MSPs and committees which were current during that session. For example, if you select Session 1 you will be show a list of MSPs and committees from Session 1.
If you add a custom date range which crosses more than one session of Parliament, the lists of MSPs and committees will update to show the information that was current at that time.
All Official Reports of meetings in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
All Official Reports of public meetings of committees.
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Displaying 1614 contributions
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Meeting of the Parliament
Carbon Neutral Islands Project
Meeting date: 19 January 2023
Jackie Dunbar
As a member of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee, I am happy to speak in this afternoon’s debate. As the member for Aberdeen Donside, I want the innovative work of the carbon neutral islands project because I believe that supporting our island communities on their journey to net zero is crucial for Scotland as a whole.
Carbon neutral islands will be in the vanguard in our reaching our net zero emissions targets by 2045: they will lead the way on the journey to net zero while supporting other areas across Scotland. Islands can lead the way in offering solutions for current and future challenges. Scotland’s islands have been leaders in renewable energy development and innovation, so the Scottish Government is determined to harness that potential and build on that success to meet Scotland’s 2045 net zero ambitions.
The carbon neutral islands project will embrace the opportunity for island communities to lead the way in realising Scotland’s climate change ambitions. In directly supporting six islands on their journey to be carbon neutral by 2040, the project will not only benefit the environment but will support local economies, facilities and general wellbeing through investment in communities.
Meeting of the Parliament
Carbon Neutral Islands Project
Meeting date: 19 January 2023
Jackie Dunbar
I am an Aberdonian: money is money, as far as I am concerned. As long as it is new money and there are no strings attached, I welcome it.
The innovative carbon neutral islands project highlights islands as hubs of innovation in our move towards becoming carbon neutral. The project is underpinned by three key principles: alignment, fairness and replicability. First, the project aims to align with existing island-based climate change efforts and to avoid duplication of those efforts. Secondly, the project will support islands to become carbon neutral in a just and fair way. Thirdly, the project will provide opportunities for all Scottish islands through an effective process of learning and sharing good practice related to net zero and climate resilience.
The project also provides an opportunity to demonstrate the low-carbon energy potential of islands as hubs of innovation in relation to renewable energy and climate change resilience, which will positively impact on island economies, facilities and general wellbeing by allowing for reinvestment in the communities.
Our island communities are directly benefiting Aberdeen and the north-east of Scotland by bringing in a new era of renewable energy potential while sustainably transitioning away from traditional oil and gas mineral extraction. The six islands in the project will act as catalysts for decarbonisation across all Scottish islands.
The Scottish Government is working closely with Community Energy Scotland to deliver the project. For each of the islands, the Scottish Government is developing in-depth carbon audits, community climate change action plans and climate change investment strategies. On each carbon neutral island, the Scottish Government’s delivery partner, Community Energy Scotland, is working closely with a steering group that is made up of key members of the island community.
Although we must acknowledge that our island communities face unique challenges, we must also acknowledge that the Scottish Government is committed to supporting those communities. The Scottish budget for 2023-24 commits overall funding of £3 million for carbon neutral islands for creating jobs, protecting our island environments from the impact of climate change and contributing to delivery of Scotland’s statutory climate change targets. In September 2022, the Government announced that
“Six island local authorities will receive a share of £4.45 million to assist critical projects on climate change, population retention and tourism.
A total of 11 projects, spread across 31 islands, have received funding for the current financial year as part of the Islands Programme.”
On 9 December 2022, the Scottish Government announced a £1.4 million islands cost crisis emergency fund that targets immediate support at those who are struggling with the cost of living crisis, with the money to be shared either through existing schemes or as new support. The successful roll-out of the £30 million islands programme is funding projects that will encourage people to live healthier lifestyles and improve their resilience. I welcome that.
Scotland is delivering lasting action to secure a net zero future in a way that is fair and just for everyone. Scotland can rightly be proud of the action that it has taken so far to respond to the climate crisis. The Scottish Government has committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2045, with an ambitious interim target of a 75 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030. Those targets, including one to decarbonise the north-east, form the heart of the Scottish Government’s indicative nationally determined contribution to the Paris agreement, which was published ahead of COP26. Scotland’s emissions are down by 51.5 per cent since the 1990 baseline, and Scotland continues to outperform the UK as a whole in delivering long-term reductions.
I again welcome the debate and the steps that are being taken in the face of the global climate emergency.
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Budget Scrutiny 2023-24
Meeting date: 17 January 2023
Jackie Dunbar
How can we upskill the industry to ensure that we have the proper skills in place?
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Budget Scrutiny 2023-24
Meeting date: 17 January 2023
Jackie Dunbar
Good morning to you and your officials, cabinet secretary. I will ask some questions regarding the Scottish Government’s response to the report on energy price rises. In your response to the committee’s pre-budget letter, you list the home and energy efficiency programmes that have been expanded in response to the queries about the escalation of retrofitting programmes this winter. What has the impact of that been so far on the take-up of those programmes and on fuel poverty rates?
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Budget Scrutiny 2023-24
Meeting date: 17 January 2023
Jackie Dunbar
You mentioned earlier that the uptake of the programmes was lower than hoped for. If demand continues at those levels, are there any contingency plans for how the funding could be used, or will a low uptake affect the funding allocation in future years?
Meeting of the Parliament
A75 Improvements
Meeting date: 11 January 2023
Jackie Dunbar
Does the member recognise that the Scottish Government has committed to substantial improvements to the A75 through the strategic transport projects review 2 and is taking those forward?
Meeting of the Parliament
Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan
Meeting date: 10 January 2023
Jackie Dunbar
Will the cabinet secretary provide more detail on how the £75 million energy transition fund will support our energy sector and the north-east to make progress on the energy transition as we move towards net zero?
Meeting of the Parliament
National Health Service (Winter Pressures)
Meeting date: 10 January 2023
Jackie Dunbar
What actions are being taken to ensure that health boards retain the ability to respond to local circumstances to alleviate some of the unique pressures that they currently face?
Meeting of the Parliament
Independence Referendum
Meeting date: 10 January 2023
Jackie Dunbar
Would Ross Greer agree that it is totally undemocratic and, quite frankly, a disgrace that, in 2023, we have folk 25 years old and under who have never been able to have a say on whether their country should be independent, and that they are their own generation?
Meeting of the Parliament
General Question Time
Meeting date: 22 December 2022
Jackie Dunbar
It was recently announced that the Scottish Government intends to invest approximately £5 million in additional road safety measures for the A9 between now and 2025. What does the Government anticipate that it will achieve through that welcome investment?
