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 3346 contributions
|
Meeting of the Parliament
Football
Meeting date: 14 September 2023
Graham Simpson
He did not say that he played football; he just said that he had “worn ... football boots.” I am not entirely sure that I would like to see Mr Kerr marauding across a football pitch.
I noticed that Mr Kerr did not refer to Falkirk Football Club, which is in our shared region. That was a shame, because ahead of the debate I was recalling a time when I played at the former Brockville Park for a team from The Sun newspaper. I think that it was during that game—we played a few there—that former Partick Thistle manager Gerry Collins rather brutally body checked me off the pitch. I was also successfully man marking one of my football heroes, Danny McGrain, until our manager made the tactical blunder of taking me off, then it all started to go wrong. [Interruption.] Mr Kerr is laughing, but I am telling the truth, Presiding Officer.
I mention that match because football gives people great memories. Whether they play, just watch or do both, it is a game that brings people together. It can be good for their mental and physical health—or maybe not, depending on which team they support.
This was originally meant to have been an entirely different debate, following the commissioners’ deeply flawed consultation on supporters’ buses. That was a mad idea from the start, so I am pleased that it has been dropped. I hope that we will not see it again. I am not aware that there is an issue to solve in respect of fans on buses in Scotland, so let us not create one.
I want to talk about the good that football does in the community. In 2018, Scotland became one of the first countries in Europe to take part in a landmark UEFA study to illustrate the unique benefits of football participation nationwide. The strategic return on investment model was created to provide national associations with a tool to help them to understand the value of football participation at all levels. It provides tangible evidence of how football can improve lives. The SFA actually put a monetary value on participation in football: the 2018 report concluded that the total number of registered players in the game was worth more than £500 million annually to Scotland.
In my region, one of the best-known community clubs is Motherwell FC, which Gillian Mackay mentioned. Motherwell Football Club Community Trust uses the brand name of the club and the power of football to bring positive change to the local community. Ms Mackay has visited it, as have I. In 2021, UEFA’s social return on investment report demonstrated a huge variety of social, economic, educational and health benefits associated with the local community in Motherwell because of the programmes that were available through the trust and the club. Social benefits include improved educational attainment, reduced school absence through targeted social projects, and participation programmes spanning projects for disability football and children and young persons’ football.
Last year, I was delighted to visit Fir Park to see at first hand how much of a positive impact such programmes have on people of all ages and backgrounds. Efforts there to have me pull on my boots again have so far proved fruitless, but you never know—it might happen.
The 2021 UEFA report concluded that, even though it has a staff of just seven, supplemented by more than 60 volunteers, the impact of the Motherwell Football Club Community Trust’s activity was worth £13.6 million across social, economic, health and education measurements, which is very impressive indeed.
Cumbernauld Colts Football Club is an excellent example of how the presence of a community football club can positively impact on the lives of women and girls. It launched a women’s team earlier this year, with the aim of its becoming the biggest club in North Lanarkshire to offer girls football.
I should also mention Hamilton Accies, which has been running a very successful scheme that goes into local schools to teach young people about drug safety. Accies’ ground also has a food bank, a men’s shed and even a beach. Yes—a beach. I urge members to go there. The club has built a beach behind the ground.
I will briefly mention the contributions of other members. There have been various calls for the England football team to have its own national anthem. That sounds like a pretty good idea to me, but no one made any actual suggestions on that. Off the top of my head, I can think of “Land of Hope and Glory” or perhaps “Jerusalem”, but there might be other ideas.
Meeting of the Parliament
Football
Meeting date: 14 September 2023
Graham Simpson
“Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”, which Mr Kerr does regularly.
Neil Bibby talked about snobbery towards football; Douglas Lumsden revealed his own football memories, but then told us that he cannot remember what he had for dinner last night. Stuart McMillan reminisced about his piping tour of football grounds and spoke of his love for Greenock Morton FC. Michael Marra and Richard Leonard mentioned the serious issue of brain disease linked to heading the ball, which we should debate further, and Gillian Mackay mentioned Motherwell and Falkirk and, rightly, said that we need to see more Scotland games on free-to-view telly, as Tuesday’s game was.
Speaking of Tuesday’s game, before it started, I spent some time with British Transport Police at Glasgow Central station, watching how the officers marshall the fans. It was a seamless operation. England fans were in good spirits, and I hope that both teams get to the Euro finals. I am sure that they will, and I am sure that they will do well. I support the motion.
16:51Meeting of the Parliament
Football
Meeting date: 14 September 2023
Graham Simpson
I am not sure that that is a sight that I would wish to see. Stephen Kerr might wish to intervene to disabuse me of that notion.
Meeting of the Parliament
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 13 September 2023
Graham Simpson
To ask the Scottish Government what cross-government consideration there has been regarding the use of tunnels to improve connectivity between the islands. (S6O-02495)
Meeting of the Parliament
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 13 September 2023
Graham Simpson
In July, Shetland Islands Council wrote to the Secretary of State for Scotland and the First Minister, asking to meet about tunnels and other matters. A date has been arranged for the council leader to meet Alister Jack in London. Has the First Minister responded? If not, why not?
Public Audit Committee
Interests
Meeting date: 7 September 2023
Graham Simpson
I have no relevant interest to declare.
Public Audit Committee
Section 23 Report: “How the Scottish Government is set up to deliver climate change goals”
Meeting date: 7 September 2023
Graham Simpson
Is there a reason why they are not published?
Public Audit Committee
Section 23 Report: “How the Scottish Government is set up to deliver climate change goals”
Meeting date: 7 September 2023
Graham Simpson
Okay. I will leave it there.
Public Audit Committee
Section 23 Report: “How the Scottish Government is set up to deliver climate change goals”
Meeting date: 7 September 2023
Graham Simpson
Is there no costing?
Public Audit Committee
Section 23 Report: “How the Scottish Government is set up to deliver climate change goals”
Meeting date: 7 September 2023
Graham Simpson
However, that is just a figure. My problem is that we come up with figures, but we do not know what they mean for the individual. Neither do we know—because you have not given us any figures—what the cost of that will be nor how much the Government is prepared to help people with that, if at all. We do not know any of that.
