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 1587 contributions
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Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)
Topical Question Time
Meeting date: 26 October 2021
Keith Brown
I think that Russell Findlay misunderstands, because that is not a Scottish Government policy but declared guidance from the Lord Advocate. The issue that Mr Findlay raised is one for the Lord Advocate, although I take on board the suggestion that was made and will give it further consideration. However, as to prosecutions, Mr Findlay should be aware that those decisions are for the Lord Advocate alone.
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 6 October 2021
Keith Brown
I would point out that the Scottish Government has no role in the outcome of an FAI. However, Richard Leonard rightly raises the situation in which recommendations are made but are not accepted by, for example, a public agency or other organisation. In response to his point, I undertake to look into the case to see what action, if any, has been taken by the Scottish Prison Service and to discuss it with him further. At that point, if he remains unsatisfied, we can consider how to take matters forward.
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 6 October 2021
Keith Brown
Although the allocation of resources, including those for the police estate, is for the Scottish Police Authority and the chief constable to determine, we have committed to protecting the police resource budget in real terms in every year of the current parliamentary session, as we did in the previous session. Scottish Government funding for the SPA in 2021-22 increased by £75.5 million, which brings the annual policing budget to more than £1.3 billion. In relation to on-going investment in its estate, Police Scotland will continue to ensure that, in all cases, the primary focus of its approach is on the health and safety of all officers, staff and the public.
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 6 October 2021
Keith Brown
All our prison establishments across Scotland have similar facilities. Although HMP Dumfries does not currently feature in the Scottish Government’s infrastructure investment programme, it will continue to benefit from the general investment that is provided by the Scottish Government for the prison estate. Improvements to the capital infrastructure of our prisons will have benefits for prisoners, prison staff and wider communities.
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 6 October 2021
Keith Brown
I have said before to members throughout the chamber that we will listen to any sensible proposals that might help us to deal with—in this case—rising crime. Of all the different areas, cybercrime had the biggest increase over the recorded crime period that we last reported on, so I am happy to listen to any proposals from Dean Lockhart, if he wants to write to me with fuller details.
It is worth saying that the bulk of the responsibility for online activity rests with the UK Government, but we have to do our bit as well, and we are doing that with training, through the cyber-resilience partnerships that we mentioned. Earlier today, we addressed the issue in the serious organised crime task force that has been established. It will be the main focus of that group’s next meeting, so we are taking the matter seriously. I am happy to listen to any suggestions.
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 6 October 2021
Keith Brown
Fatal accident inquiries are inquisitorial judicial proceedings before sheriffs or sheriffs principal that are held in the public interest to investigate the circumstances of a death, to establish the time, place and cause of a death, and to identify reasonable precautions that might be taken to prevent deaths in similar circumstances. It is not the purpose of an FAI to establish blame or guilt in the civil or criminal sense.
Fatal accident inquiries play a significant role in exposing systematic failings and unsafe working practices and in ensuring that there are systems to safeguard and protect those who are held in legal custody. When the sheriff identifies reasonable precautions that might have avoided the accident or death, defects in any system of work that led or contributed to the accident or death, or any other fact that is relevant to the death, they might make recommendations to prevent similar deaths from happening in the future.
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 6 October 2021
Keith Brown
Yes—I think that the current system of FAIs, whereby the duty to make the decision lies with the Lord Advocate, is the right one. I am not aware of anybody else having made sustained proposals for an alternative system. The matter was discussed at length with the previous Justice Committee. It looked at the issues, including the time that some FAIs take, but it did not come forward with an alternative proposal. The current system has major benefits—although they are not all advertised in the chamber—not least that the Lord Advocate’s role in criminal investigations is joined up with the FAI system.
The current process is the right one, but that is not to say that we are complacent. The Government and, I am sure, the Crown Office will always look to make improvements. Improvements have already been made, further improvements are being made and we will continue to improve the system.
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 6 October 2021
Keith Brown
Each year since 2017, the Scottish Government has given Parliament an annual update on our support for veterans and the armed forces community. We will do so again in November this year.
The member will be aware that, as part of our response to the United Kingdom-wide strategy for our veterans, the Scottish Government committed to improving the collection, use and analysis of veterans data. In 2022, Scotland’s census will for the first time include a question on previous service in the UK armed forces. Analysis of that data will support a programme of work to better identify and support the veterans community in Scotland.
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 6 October 2021
Keith Brown
That is an interesting point. Over many years, I have asked the UK Government to provide more data, including crucial service leaver data. With a week’s notice to the Scottish Government, the UK Government has only just announced that it will do so.
We want to undertake some of the analysis that the UK Government will now undertake, particularly in relation to veterans who have died after leaving the service and the reasons for those deaths. We will work with National Records of Scotland, whose procedures differ from those of the Office for National Statistics, to get the same output of information and analysis of that information. I just wish that it could have happened many years ago.
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 6 October 2021
Keith Brown
I am happy to get in touch with those that are responsible—Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority—on the issue that the member has raised. On the general point about funding, I just detailed the increased budgets that we have made available, which—incidentally—provide £15 million more than the Conservatives proposed at budget time.
In case the member had not noticed, it is also true to say that we have just gone through a decade of austerity. Furthermore, it would be easier if Police Scotland was not facing an additional £11 million cost because of the United Kingdom Government’s national insurance increase, as Mr Greene found out when he asked a question at committee this morning. Such things must be paid for, and they squeeze other resources. It would be good if Donald Cameron recognised that.
