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 14272 contributions
|
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)
General Question Time
Meeting date: 28 October 2021
Alison Johnstone
Before we move on to First Minister’s question time, I invite members to join me in welcoming to the gallery Dr Gabriele Andretta, President of the State Parliament of Lower Saxony. [Applause.]
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)
Parliamentary Bureau Motion
Meeting date: 28 October 2021
Alison Johnstone
The question on the motion will be put at decision time.
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)
Decision Time
Meeting date: 28 October 2021
Alison Johnstone
There are four questions to be put as a result of today’s business. The first question is, that amendment S6M-01803.2, in the name of Murdo Fraser, which seeks to amend motion S6M-01803, in the name of John Swinney, on the Covid recovery strategy, be agreed to. Are we agreed?
Members: No.
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)
Decision Time
Meeting date: 28 October 2021
Alison Johnstone
The result of the division on motion S6M-01803, in the name of John Swinney, on the Covid recovery strategy, is: For 85, Against 28, Abstentions 0.
Motion agreed to,
That the Parliament welcomes the publication of the Covid Recovery Strategy, published on 5 October 2021, which sets out the Scottish Government’s ambitious vision for a green recovery and details the actions that will be taken in partnership with local government, business organisations, the third sector and others across Scotland to address systemic inequalities made worse during the pandemic, make progress towards a wellbeing economy, and accelerate inclusive person-centred public services by focusing on improving financial security for low-income households, supporting the wellbeing of children and young people, and creating good, green jobs and fair work.
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 27 October 2021
Alison Johnstone
Good afternoon. I remind members of the Covid-related measures that are in place and that face coverings should be worn when moving around the chamber and across the Holyrood campus.
The first item of business is portfolio questions, and the first portfolio is Covid-19 recovery and parliamentary business. I remind members that questions 7 and 8 are grouped together, and that I will take any supplementaries on those questions after both have been answered. If a member wishes to request a supplementary question, they should please press their request-to-speak button or indicate so in the chat function by entering the letter R during the relevant question.
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)
Decision Time
Meeting date: 27 October 2021
Alison Johnstone
The next question is, that motion S6M-01769, in the name of Michael Matheson, as amended, on global ambitions for COP26, be agreed to. Are we agreed?
Members: No.
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)
COP26 Global Ambitions
Meeting date: 27 October 2021
Alison Johnstone
It is a matter for the Presiding Officer who is in the chair at any point to make a ruling on any question that is put to them. I will certainly look into the matter that Mr Simpson has raised, but I have no doubt at all that my Deputy Presiding Officer will have handled it in a manner that they saw fit.
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)
Business Motion
Meeting date: 27 October 2021
Alison Johnstone
The next item of business is consideration of business motion S6M-01797, in the name of George Adam, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, setting out a business programme. I call George Adam to move the motion.
Motion moved,
That the Parliament agrees—
(a) the following programme of business—
Tuesday 2 November 2021
2.00 pm Time for Reflection
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
followed by Topical Questions (if selected)
followed by First Minister’s Statement: COVID-19 Update
followed by Scottish Government Debate: A Progressive approach to Sustainable Procurement and Fair Work Practices
followed by Committee Announcements
followed by Business Motions
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
5.00 pm Decision Time
followed by Members’ Business
Wednesday 3 November 2021
2.00 pm Parliamentary Bureau Motions
2.00 pm Portfolio Questions:
Health and Social Care;
Social Justice, Housing and Local Government
followed by Scottish Government Debate: Early Learning and Childcare-1140 Hours and Beyond
followed by Legislative Consent Motion: UK Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill
followed by Business Motions
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
followed by Approval of SSIs
5.00 pm Decision Time
followed by Members’ Business
Thursday 4 November 2021
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:
Constitution, External Affairs and Culture
followed by Scottish Government Debate: Accessing Scottish Social Security Benefits
followed by Business Motions
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
5.00 pm Decision Time
Tuesday 9 November 2021
2.00 pm Time for Reflection
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
followed by Topical Questions (if selected)
followed by First Minister’s Statement: COVID-19 Update
followed by Scottish Government Debate
followed by Committee Announcements
followed by Business Motions
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
5.00 pm Decision Time
followed by Members’ Business
Wednesday 10 November 2021
2.00 pm Parliamentary Bureau Motions
2.00 pm Portfolio Questions:
Justice and Veterans;
Finance and Economy
followed by Scottish Government Debate
followed by Business Motions
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
5.00 pm Decision Time
followed by Members’ Business
Thursday 11 November 2021
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:
Education and Skills
followed by Scottish Government Debate
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
5.00 pm Decision Time
(b) that, for the purposes of Portfolio Questions in the week beginning 1 November 2021, 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 (Hybrid)
Parliamentary Bureau Motions
Meeting date: 27 October 2021
Alison Johnstone
The next item of business is consideration of four Parliamentary Bureau motions. I ask George Adam, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, to move motions S6M-01798, on code of conduct for councillors; S6M-01799, on model code of conduct for members of devolved public bodies; S6M-01800, on approval of a Scottish statutory instrument; and S6M-01801, on designation of a lead committee.
Motions moved,
That the Parliament agrees that the Code of Conduct for Councillors (SG/2021/229) be approved.
That the Parliament agrees that the Model Code of Conduct for Members of Devolved Public Bodies (SG/2021/230) be approved.
That the Parliament agrees that the Forestry (Exemptions) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021 [draft] be approved.
That the Parliament agrees that the Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee be designated as the lead committee in consideration of the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Bill at stage 1.—[George Adam]
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)
Parliamentary Bureau Motions
Meeting date: 27 October 2021
Alison Johnstone
The questions on the motions will be put at decision time.
