Skip to main content

Parliament dissolved ahead of election

The Scottish Parliament is now dissolved ahead of the election on Thursday 7 May 2026.

During dissolution, there are no MSPs and no parliamentary business can take place.

For more information, please visit Election 2026

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 4 May 2021
  6. Session 6: 13 May 2021 to 8 April 2026
Select which types of business to include


Select level of detail in results

Displaying 1810 contributions

|

Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 2 February 2022

Sarah Boyack

The Deputy First Minister will be aware that I raised the same issue with him on 12 January. If someone goes to the NHS Inform website, it tells them how to log a vaccination that they got in England, which is by contacting the venue where they got the jab and putting in their Scottish passcode. If that does not work, they are to phone the helpline.

However, it does not give information about Wales or Northern Ireland. Can the Deputy First Minister confirm that a four-nations approach is being taken and that what he has just suggested will work for my constituents who, as it happens, had their vaccinations in Northern Ireland or Wales? That is still not what the NHS Inform website actually says.

Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 2 February 2022

Sarah Boyack

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Covid-19 certification scheme allows people who have received vaccines and boosters in different parts of the United Kingdom to demonstrate that they are fully vaccinated, to meet requirements for travel or visiting events where it is a requirement of entry. (S6O-00697)

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

United Kingdom Internal Market

Meeting date: 27 January 2022

Sarah Boyack

I would like to ask a couple of questions of the cabinet secretary. The answers to colleagues’ questions have been very interesting. In the light of the experiences with the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020, could the cabinet secretary outline his priorities for intergovernmental work? There is clearly an issue across portfolios. You talked about the transparency that we asked about in previous discussions with you regarding the common frameworks. What would be your short-term priority—I am not talking about fixing everything—in expecting a different approach on the issues, both from UK Government ministers and in civil service relations, so that the problems that you have identified can be aired and acted on?

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

United Kingdom Internal Market

Meeting date: 27 January 2022

Sarah Boyack

In relation to institutional memory and cross-departmental working, you said that John Swinney as Deputy First Minister is in charge of intergovernmental relations and Kate Forbes is in charge of telling us whether there are implications for Barnett consequentials. That suggests that there is a need for cross-Scottish Government working as well as cross-UK Government working.

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

United Kingdom Internal Market

Meeting date: 27 January 2022

Sarah Boyack

Is that analysis available to us? We are keen to see how that kicks across different areas of Government. I was going to ask you about support for Scottish producers in relation to the Northern Ireland protocol and the impact of the internal market but, having listened to your previous answer, I guess that you would say that a different minister would respond to that question.

In relation to institutional structures, are there recommendations in the House of Lords Constitution Committee report on the constitution that came out last week that would be useful for our committee to look at? There is an issue about the structure and there have always been issues with individual ministers. There is also an issue about the processes and ensuring that you and your colleagues have the structures as part of the common frameworks, as we have talked about before, so that the issues can be monitored and so that we can get parliamentary accountability on them.

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

United Kingdom Internal Market

Meeting date: 27 January 2022

Sarah Boyack

That is actually quite important for accountability. In fact, we have talked about, for example, having a traffic-light system for common frameworks. It would be useful if we could get that kind of cross-governmental feedback, because, after all, you have had questions from colleagues about the monitoring of the 2020 act and its impact on devolved issues such as agriculture, environmental standards—which is a recent matter—and so on. There is also the impact on Barnett consequentials to take into account. These things need to be properly processed, and the committee is interested in that, given the fact that, like you, we take a cross-governmental overview. We would certainly be very keen to monitor that.

I had to smile when you talked about “thin gruel” in relation to UK consequentials. It is a brilliant analogy that could be applied to how our local government colleagues sometimes feel about the Scottish Government. We need intergovernmental awareness at all levels of government, and I am very keen to get some feedback and cross-governmental analysis on this matter, as it would be useful to the committee’s work.

Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Holocaust Memorial Day

Meeting date: 27 January 2022

Sarah Boyack

I thank Jackson Carlaw for securing today’s members’ business debate and for his powerful speech. Gathering to commemorate Holocaust memorial day is an act of remembrance, respect and committing to not forgetting the horrors that Jewish people suffered, the fear that they experienced in their lives and the 6 million Jews who died as a result of the Nazi policy of extermination, and to reflecting on the 11 million other people who died under the Nazi regime. As colleagues have powerfully noted, today commemorates the date on which Auschwitz concentration camp was liberated by the Red Army.

I want to use my speech to reflect on the fantastic event that I attended yesterday, which was held by the Edinburgh Interfaith Association. It was a moving event that focused on this year’s theme—“one day”. It was a call for us to unite in solidarity against intolerance, harassment and the intimidation that people still experience today because of their faith. The speeches that we heard captured the need to remember, now and in the future.

In my studies at university, the Holocaust was modern history. We still had a raft of family members who were alive during the second world war. From my childhood, I remember my father’s Jewish friend and colleague, who had come with his wife to make a new life in Scotland. However, to young people today, the Holocaust is history—they do not have such family connections—so the memories that survivors share with us today are especially precious, and we must share those experiences.

I call on members to check out and share the video that the Edinburgh Interfaith Association broadcast yesterday. It provides a platform for the voices of survivors including Henry Wuga, so that they can say in a way that is powerful as well as emotional, how their lives were changed forever on just one day. It is also a challenge to us and to society to reflect on how we come together.

As colleagues from across the chamber have highlighted, in recent years we have seen genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Darfur and Bosnia. The challenge to us, as MSPs from different parties, is to come together on the issue, and to build a more inclusive society.

People are still being attacked because of their religious beliefs and ethnic backgrounds. As Professor Joe Goldblatt noted in The Scotsman this week, antisemitism has been on the rise in the last decade and, shockingly, there was a 49 per cent increase in antisemitism in the first six months of last year.

I left yesterday’s interfaith event uplifted. I was also moved by the art of school pupils from Preston Street and Longstone primary schools, whose art was inspiring.

We have a responsibility not just to keep memories alive, and not just to communicate them to young people, but to think about how we can redouble our work to celebrate the world that we live in and to create a more diverse world. As Emma, who is a young Jewish student, put it brilliantly yesterday, we need to recognise the importance of biodiversity, not just for our planet but for humanity, to celebrate our cultural and ethnic diversity. Holocaust memorial day is a reminder that we have responsibility to support interfaith dialogue, to live in harmony and to support peacekeeping across the world in order to keep humanity safe.

13:16  

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2022-23

Meeting date: 20 January 2022

Sarah Boyack

Thank you, convener; I will keep it swift.

I draw the cabinet secretary’s attention to the excellent evidence that we heard in last week’s committee meeting about international development expenditure. One of the key themes that came across was the importance of wellbeing and sustainability legislation coming forward, along with a plea for a more joined-up approach to international development expenditure. I do not want to trigger a whole new conversation on that today, but we took evidence on it last week, and I hope that the cabinet secretary will pick it up in the Scottish Government’s approach to international development funding.

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2022-23

Meeting date: 20 January 2022

Sarah Boyack

If the convener will indulge me, I have one final question.

In your letter, I note the national events in the budget. You highlighted the UCI cycling event that is happening next year. Is there any chance of getting the £9 million or £10 million mainstreamed into the budget, so that we would have the resources for some of the things that we have just been talking about, such as health prescribing, when the policy is developed?

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2022-23

Meeting date: 20 January 2022

Sarah Boyack

I would be interested in that offer of follow-up of information that you have just given me regarding culture in communities. One of the really striking things—following on from Mark Ruskell’s point—is that culture is not a requirement, yet it is critical to people’s health and wellbeing and to our communities. Having the funding available at local level is critical. We have taken evidence on that before in the committee, and the benefits to people are critical, as I say.

I return to the point about health prescribing. Some very good evidence has been presented to us directly. Representatives of Art in Healthcare came to the Parliament before Christmas, and work was done in different communities to support people through the pandemic. As we recover, that work will need to continue. It is not a matter of ticking a box and moving on. Community projects have helped to employ artists and other people in the cultural sector, and they have critically supported communities. How do we increase that?

We are living in an era when inflation is rocketing. How do we support people to afford to access culture? I saw an excellent paper from Scottish Opera showing what it is doing in touring around the country. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society is attempting to encourage people to get into the festival and is trying to take the festival fringe out to them. Affordability will be an absolutely massive issue for culture.

In practical terms, what will be available for community groups and councils to ensure that the venues are there and so that we can see those activities happening?