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 1481 contributions
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Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Electricity Infrastructure Inquiry
Meeting date: 21 March 2023
Jackie Dunbar
I meant that, if they do not have anything else to add, I would hand back to you, convener. Sorry, I do not like putting words into people’s mouths.
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Electricity Infrastructure Inquiry
Meeting date: 21 March 2023
Jackie Dunbar
Good morning, panel, and thank you for coming along. I am going to ask Mark Hull a question, but any other panel members who would like to add comments should feel free to do so.
Mark, you are probably aware that, as part of our away days, the committee visited the Aberdeen Donside hydro project, which is not in my constituency, and we saw the fantastic work that goes on there. What role do local community projects such as that one have in supplying the current electricity network? How can we harness their potential as we move forward?
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Electricity Infrastructure Inquiry
Meeting date: 21 March 2023
Jackie Dunbar
Clare Lavelle, you are looking at me. Do you have anything to add?
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Electricity Infrastructure Inquiry
Meeting date: 21 March 2023
Jackie Dunbar
If the rest of the witnesses do not have a different view, I will hand back to you, convener.
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Electricity Infrastructure Inquiry
Meeting date: 21 March 2023
Jackie Dunbar
Scott, do you have anything to add?
Meeting of the Parliament
Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
Meeting date: 16 March 2023
Jackie Dunbar
I am pleased to take part in this stage 1 debate, and I thank everyone who has been involved in the scrutiny of the bill and the production of the report. I have not been part of the bill process but, like Liam McArthur, I have read and digested the report as much as possible.
Justice policy, and indeed how we treat people in custody, is a hallmark of our society. The Scottish Government has a proven track record of bringing about progressive change to Scotland’s justice system to ensure that it focuses on rehabilitation and improving the life chances of those who end up in the prison estate and that it has human rights at its centre.
The bill is the next step in that journey. It will ensure that the justice system is able to respond to increasing demand and that folk are not placed in the custodial estate unnecessarily, with all the disruption that that causes, as we have already heard.
The bill will make a big difference to the lives of folk who are affected by imprisonment, many of whom have adverse life experiences, and it will help to reduce reoffending, leading to fewer victims in the future. Many folk who are in contact with the criminal justice system have already experienced severe and multiple disadvantages, including homelessness, substance misuse, mental ill health and domestic violence or abuse. Individuals from the 10 per cent most deprived areas are overrepresented in prison arrivals by a factor of three, and that finding has been consistent across the past 10 years. Care-experienced folk are also disproportionately represented in the prison population. Around a quarter of the prison population in Scotland reports being in care as a child, and that proportion rises to just under half the prison population when we look specifically at young folk who are in custody.
Meeting of the Parliament
General Question Time
Meeting date: 16 March 2023
Jackie Dunbar
As international condemnation of the UK Government’s atrocious and dehumanising Illegal Migration Bill continues to pour in, the need for the full immigration powers of an independent state has never been clearer. Will the cabinet secretary assure Parliament that this Scottish Government will remain committed to Scotland’s role as a good global citizen before, and after, independence?
Meeting of the Parliament
General Question Time
Meeting date: 16 March 2023
Jackie Dunbar
To ask the Scottish Government what its policy is for the migration strategy in an independent Scotland, including how it could address any workforce and recruitment challenges resulting from the withdrawal from the European Union. (S6O-02026)
Meeting of the Parliament
Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
Meeting date: 16 March 2023
Jackie Dunbar
I absolutely agree with Emma Harper. Young folk on remand should be allowed access to the activities that the general prison population of young people have access to. I would welcome the cabinet secretary’s comments on whether he agrees with us, which he might provide in his summing up—or perhaps the minister will sum up.
Scotland is a modern and progressive society. The Scottish Government’s overarching aim for the justice system in Scotland is to improve public safety, support victims and reduce victimisation rates. Evidence shows that that is best achieved by reducing crime, reducing reoffending and having fewer folk experiencing crime.
Keeping our communities safe and protecting victims must remain a priority for us all. However, we must also recognise the severe and multiple deprivation that is experienced by many folk who encounter the criminal justice system, and the damaging impact that imprisonment can have on individuals, their families and their wider communities. We must have smart, compassionate justice that emphasises the need to protect victims, ensures public safety and gives people who have offended the support that they need to make different choices in their lives so that they can make a positive contribution to their and our communities.
Too often, folk cycle back into the criminal justice system and into prison because they cannot access the support that they sorely need in the community. Collectively, we can do better, which is why the bill includes a focus on the support that is provided to folk who leave prison so that they do not reoffend.
I welcome the fact that the bill is aimed at making a real difference to the lives of individuals who are affected by imprisonment, many of whom have adverse life experiences. I particularly welcome the fact that the Scottish Government is funding trauma specialists to develop a framework for training staff to create a more trauma-informed and trauma-responsive justice system.
The new vision for justice recognises the prevalence of trauma and endorses a more person-centred and trauma-informed justice system. The Scottish Government has commissioned NHS Education for Scotland to create a knowledge and skills framework specifically to support a trauma-informed workforce in the justice sector. Victims must play a more prominent role in cases, experience fewer delays and be supported in their recovery. I ask for a commitment that that will be a central tenet of the bill, because we must keep that objective in focus.
The bill will improve Scotland’s justice system and will enable us to continue our journey to Scotland being a more progressive and caring nation. I support the Government’s motion.
Meeting of the Parliament
Ferguson Marine
Meeting date: 16 March 2023
Jackie Dunbar
ScotWind presents a substantial opportunity for shipbuilding in Scotland. Can the Deputy First Minister advise what steps are being taken to ensure that the yard is in a position to compete for contracts arising from ScotWind?
