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 14171 contributions
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Meeting of the Parliament
Parliamentary Bureau Motions
Meeting date: 16 November 2022
Alison Johnstone
The question on the motions will be put at decision time.
Meeting of the Parliament
Decision Time
Meeting date: 16 November 2022
Alison Johnstone
Thank you, Mr Brown. We will ensure that that is recorded.
Meeting of the Parliament
Decision Time
Meeting date: 16 November 2022
Alison Johnstone
The next question is, that amendment S6M-06779.1, in the name of Jackie Baillie, which seeks to amend motion S6M-06779, in the name of Humza Yousaf, on improving care and services for people with chronic pain, be agreed to. Are we agreed?
Members: No.
Meeting of the Parliament
Decision Time
Meeting date: 16 November 2022
Alison Johnstone
There are four questions to be put as a result of today’s business. I remind members that, if the amendment in the name of Sandesh Gulhane is agreed to, the amendment in the name of Jackie Baillie will fall.
The first question is, that amendment S6M-06779.2, in the same of Sandesh Gulhane, which seeks to amend motion S6M-06779, in the name of Humza Yousaf, on improving care and services for people with chronic pain, be agreed to. Are we agreed?
Members: No.
Meeting of the Parliament
Chronic Pain Services
Meeting date: 16 November 2022
Alison Johnstone
Thank you. That concludes the debate on improving care and services for people with chronic pain.
Meeting of the Parliament
Business Motions
Meeting date: 16 November 2022
Alison Johnstone
The next item of business is consideration of business motion S6M-06792, in the name of George Adam, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, setting out a business programme.
Motion moved,
That the Parliament agrees—
(a) the following programme of business—
Tuesday 22 November 2022
2.00 pm Time for Reflection
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
followed by Topical Questions (if selected)
followed by Scottish Government Debate: Scotland’s Approach to 2022 Coastal States Negotiations - Securing Principled Sustainable Outcomes
followed by Committee Announcements
followed by Business Motions
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
5.00 pm Decision Time
followed by Members’ Business
Wednesday 23 November 2022
2.00 pm Parliamentary Bureau Motions
2.00 pm Portfolio Questions:
Covid Recovery and Parliamentary Business;
Finance and Economy
followed by Scottish Labour Party Business
followed by Business Motions
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
followed by Approval of SSIs (if required)
5.10 pm Decision Time
followed by Members’ Business
Thursday 24 November 2022
11.40 am Parliamentary Bureau Motions
11.40 am General Questions
12.00 pm First Minister’s Questions
followed by Members’ Business
2.15 pm Parliamentary Bureau Motions
2.15 pm Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Questions
2.30 pm Portfolio Questions:
Net Zero, Energy and Transport
followed by Scottish Government Debate: The National Drugs Mission: Taking Concrete Action to Tackle Stigma
followed by Business Motions
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
5.00 pm Decision Time
Tuesday 29 November 2022
2.00 pm Time for Reflection
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
followed by Topical Questions (if selected)
followed by Scottish Government Business
followed by Committee Announcements
followed by Business Motions
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
5.00 pm Decision Time
followed by Members’ Business
Wednesday 30 November 2022
2.00 pm Parliamentary Bureau Motions
2.00 pm Portfolio Questions:
Rural Affairs and Islands;
Health and Social Care
followed by Scottish Government Business
followed by Business Motions
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
followed by Approval of SSIs (if required)
5.00 pm Decision Time
followed by Members’ Business
Thursday 1 December 2022
11.40 am Parliamentary Bureau Motions
11.40 am General Questions
12.00 pm First Minister’s Questions
followed by Members’ Business
2.30 pm Parliamentary Bureau Motions
2.30 pm Portfolio Questions:
Social Justice, Housing and Local Government
followed by Scottish Government Business
followed by Business Motions
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
5.00 pm Decision Time
(b) that, for the purposes of Portfolio Questions in the week beginning 21 November 2022, in rule 13.7.3, after the word “except” the words “to the extent to which the Presiding Officer considers that the questions are on the same or similar subject matter or” are inserted.—[George Adam]
Motion agreed to.
Meeting of the Parliament
Time for Reflection
Meeting date: 15 November 2022
Alison Johnstone
Thank you very much indeed, Lucy.
Meeting of the Parliament
Presiding Officer’s Statement
Meeting date: 15 November 2022
Alison Johnstone
Before we move to the next item of business, I wish to address an issue that occurred at the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee this morning that members might be aware of, and which members have raised with me.
At that meeting, a visitor to the public gallery was asked to remove a purple, green and white scarf. Having declined to do so, the visitor was informed that she would not be able to return to the gallery. That request was made by officials in connection with the Parliament’s code of conduct for visitors, which sets out that
“The display of banners, flags or political slogans, including on clothing and accessories”
is forbidden.
Let me make one thing crystal clear: suffrage colours are not, and never have been, banned at the Scottish Parliament. We actively support and promote universal suffrage in a number of ways at Holyrood, and we will continue to do so.
I advise the chamber that the action that was taken this morning was not prompted by any member of the committee. The action that was taken was an error, and I apologise for it on behalf of the Parliament. The wearing of a scarf in those colours does not, in itself, breach the code of conduct for visitors. The Parliament wishes people to engage with the democratic process, including observing elected representatives debating and making the law of the country.
Meeting of the Parliament
Topical Question Time
Meeting date: 15 November 2022
Alison Johnstone
Members!
Meeting of the Parliament
Decision Time
Meeting date: 15 November 2022
Alison Johnstone
That concludes decision time.
