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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Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Continued Petitions
Meeting date: 18 May 2022
Jackson Carlaw
No, we did not. I am sorry, but we lost the last sentence, Mr Lyon. Could you conclude that point again?
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Continued Petitions
Meeting date: 18 May 2022
Jackson Carlaw
I understand all that and it is a helpful exposition of the position. It sounds—and I am choosing my words carefully—as though force majeure motivated the change in the position as opposed to a re-evaluation of HIAL’s original thinking and as though an evolution of the various points that you have just raised led to the change of heart. Is there a bitterness in HIAL that the change has been brought about and that it is not the route that you would have preferred to take?
That leads me to another question that has come up in some of the evidence that we have received. I have to say that Prospect seemed reassured on this point, but is there a commitment that the strategy that will now be followed will be sustained? Is there no suggestion that the plan is to return to the original proposal after a period of time and when there is a further window of opportunity?
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Continued Petitions
Meeting date: 18 May 2022
Jackson Carlaw
Thank you. That is clear.
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Continued Petitions
Meeting date: 18 May 2022
Jackson Carlaw
That is great—thank you.
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Continued Petitions
Meeting date: 18 May 2022
Jackson Carlaw
Rhoda Grant—do you have an observation or a question?
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Continued Petitions
Meeting date: 18 May 2022
Jackson Carlaw
PE1895, which was lodged by Gary Wall, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to make it mandatory for NatureScot to explain its conservation objectives in decision making within the framework of the Scottish regulators’ strategic code of practice and the Scottish Government guidance “Right First Time: a practical guide for public authorities to decision-making and the law”.
We last considered the petition on 2 February, when we agreed to write to NatureScot, asking whether it routinely provides information about its conservation objectives when rejecting licensing applications. In its response, NatureScot explained that the circumstances under which licences can be granted do not always relate to conservation objectives. It states that licence refusals are routinely issued, and that its approach is always to explain to the applicants the reasons for the refusals against the relevant legal tests.
In their recent submission, the petitioner cites case law that they believe highlights the requirement for NatureScot to balance objectives when deciding whether to grant exemptions for licensing. They also stress the requirement on NatureScot to be transparent, accountable, consistent and proportionate, and express concerns about conflicts with NatureScot’s policies and a lack of oversight and accountability.
Do members have any comments to help us advance our thinking?
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Continued Petitions
Meeting date: 18 May 2022
Jackson Carlaw
PE1905, on the public inquiry into the response of religious organisations to allegations of child sexual abuse since 1950, was lodged by Angela Rosina Cousins on behalf of UK XJW’s Support. The petition calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to order a public inquiry into the actions taken by religious organisations in response to child sexual abuse allegations since 1950.
At our last consideration of the petition, we heard directly from the petitioner about her experiences and the issues that she would like to see addressed. I thank Angela again for taking the time to come to the Scottish Parliament and speak to the committee on what was clearly a particularly difficult topic. I think that I speak for all members when I say that the committee found Angela’s evidence compelling, although it was difficult to deliver.
In that session, we heard that victims of that abuse are hidden in plain sight and need to be heard, as they are often isolated from everyday life. The petitioner made her case for the Scottish Government to conduct a public inquiry into the matter and raised the significance of mandatory reporting mechanisms.
Members will also recall the submission that we received from the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse that is under way in England and Wales. The inquiry undertook a specific investigation into child protection in religious organisations and has published its report, along with recommendations, including recommendations for further work. Members can find a link to the full report in their papers.
The evidence session was difficult for the committee. Having reflected on that evidence, do members have any comments on how we might now choose to proceed?
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Continued Petitions
Meeting date: 18 May 2022
Jackson Carlaw
We will keep the petition open and progress accordingly.
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Continued Petitions
Meeting date: 18 May 2022
Jackson Carlaw
PE1917, which was lodged by Amy Stevenson, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to provide full legal aid to all parents who are fighting for access to their child or children, regardless of income.
We last considered the petition on 23 February, when we agreed to write to a number of stakeholders. Since then, we have received written submissions from the petitioner, Relationships Scotland and Shared Parenting Scotland. The submissions highlight a number of issues with the current legal aid provision that is dependent on income, including the costs of legal proceedings, the impact of the financial barriers on children, the importance of early resolution mechanisms and the need to consider children’s rights and put children’s interests first.
I am inclined to write to the Scottish Government highlighting the evidence that we have received, requesting that legal aid provision relating to parental responsibilities be included as part of its planned review of the legal aid system and asking for information on the scope of the review now that it is under way, the plans and timetable for consultation and the timetable for introducing the legal aid reform bill.
Does that proposal meet with the approval of the committee?
Members indicated agreement.
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Continued Petitions
Meeting date: 18 May 2022
Jackson Carlaw
Our final petition today is PE1925, which was lodged by David Singleton. The petition calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to increase the 40mph speed limit for heavy goods vehicles in Scotland to 50mph, in line with other parts of the United Kingdom.
We last discussed the petition on 9 March, when we agreed to write to the Scottish Government. The response from the Scottish Government confirms that HGV speed limits are being considered as part of the national speed management review. Transport Scotland indicated that it would be happy to engage directly with the petitioner.
Do colleagues have any suggestions for action?
