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.
Filter your results Hide all filters
Displaying 1575 contributions
|
Meeting of the Parliament
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 16 November 2022
Keith Brown
I do not recognise the figure that Jamie Greene has just mentioned. I have been told that there has been a 5 per cent increase in the most recent year, from 4,311 crimes to 4,512 crimes.
In relation to resources for the police, as we have heard, we have far more police in Scotland. They are better paid, and we have lower crime rates in Scotland. Perhaps the Tories should take the example of Police Scotland and inform their colleagues south of the border of how to run a police service.
Meeting of the Parliament
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 16 November 2022
Keith Brown
The construction of HMP Highland is currently scheduled to be completed in late 2024. An opening date will be confirmed nearer the time to ensure that the prison is operational within a sufficient timeframe to allow for commissioning and staff familiarisation.
There will be a limited number of spaces for females, which will be used to accommodate brief stays for court appearances.
Meeting of the Parliament
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 16 November 2022
Keith Brown
I do not know whether Edward Mountain supports the building of a new prison in the Highlands. The prison is an example of the Scottish Government’s commitment to the Highlands.
In that regard, I mention the Berriedale Braes, which were left in the state that they were in for generations by previous Governments. We are also doing work on the A9, whereas Conservatives such as Murdo Fraser wanted to put that money towards trams in Edinburgh.
We have a strong commitment to the Highlands. As I have said, the building is scheduled to be completed by 2024, but I do not—
Meeting of the Parliament
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 16 November 2022
Keith Brown
That is exactly the case. We could also mention the new justice centre in Inverness, which is funded by the Government.
The record will show—you will remember the parliamentary session that I am referring to, as well, Presiding Officer—that Murdo Fraser voted to have trams, at a cost of £500 million. I made that point, and he has now accused me of having told an untruth, so we will have to see how that figures in the Official Report.
I will not do as has been done repeatedly through these exchanges and make a point of order, but I think that it is important that members stick to the facts.
Meeting of the Parliament
Decision Time
Meeting date: 16 November 2022
Keith Brown
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I am still unable to connect to the app. I would have voted no.
Meeting of the Parliament
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 16 November 2022
Keith Brown
Several round-table meetings have taken place to help steer the joint Scottish Government and public sector response to the act of spiking. Significant work was undertaken to raise awareness and heighten vigilance in the run-up to the return to university and college campuses. We are currently working with members of the round table to bring together the range of initiatives and information within one resource area in advance of the festive period, to reassure the public that there is a co-ordinated response to the dangers of spiking, in whatever form it might take.
Meeting of the Parliament
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 16 November 2022
Keith Brown
If the member has information about cases of spiking, he should pass those on to the police, who are the proper authority to consider such cases and take action. That would be the sensible and responsible thing to do.
Meeting of the Parliament
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 16 November 2022
Keith Brown
I can give the member that assurance. That is what we have done, whether it has been with landlords, the organisations that I have mentioned, the police, universities and higher education representatives and representatives of students. We will continue to do that as we take forward the matter.
Meeting of the Parliament
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 16 November 2022
Keith Brown
I hope that the member will allow me to check my diary before I make a commitment, but if it is possible for me to attend, I will certainly do so.
The member’s point about the reporting of such crimes is a matter to take up with the relevant authorities. We do not direct the authorities in relation to statistics. There might well be a very good case to be made for what the member suggests, and I am happy to write to him to tell him where it would be best to take up the issue in relation to the police and the UK Statistics Authority.
It is true that, over the 10-year period from 2012-13, there has been a 21 per cent decrease in the crime of motor vehicle theft, but there has been a 5 per cent increase in such crime in the most recent year. That might include theft of motorcycles.
I suggest that the member takes up the issue relating to the reporting of such incidents with the relevant authorities, once he has had confirmation from me of the best way to do so.
Meeting of the Parliament
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 16 November 2022
Keith Brown
I agree with that. It seems obvious to me, not just for the Scottish Government but for public services in England and Wales, that when there is runaway inflation—caused, of course, by the Tories’ economic mismanagement—that needs to be acknowledged within year. We can surely recognise the additional pressures—whether on police pay or on paying for heating, lighting and feeding in hospitals, jails and police stations—that are caused by the cost of living crisis. There has not been one word from the Conservatives—or, as far as I know, Labour—to say, “You have to increase the funding available if you want to protect these public services.”
Just as we have done with the police, we will continue to protect all the public services in Scotland to the best of our ability with the resources that are available.
