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 11943 contributions
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Meeting of the Parliament
Decision Time
Meeting date: 25 April 2023
Alison Johnstone
The result of the division on motion S6M-08680, in the name of Shirley-Anne Somerville, as amended, is: For 82, Against 28, Abstentions 0.
Motion, as amended, agreed to,
That the Parliament deems the UK Government's proposed Illegal Migration Bill to be dehumanising and immoral; notes that the bill proposes that anyone who enters the UK by irregular routes would not be able to remain in the UK, and would be subject to detention and then returned to their home country or what the UK Government deems to be a safe third country such as Rwanda; agrees that the proposals in this bill will remove access to support for some of the most vulnerable people in the world, including children, potentially forcing them into further exploitation and destitution; acknowledges that the Home Secretary has no confidence that the bill is compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights; notes the strict limitations on any formal routes for people seeking asylum; agrees that the UK has moral and international legal obligations to uphold the 1951 Refugee Convention and offer a place of safety to people, including children, fleeing conflict and persecution, and affirms that sanctuary should be available under these obligations to those fleeing war and persecution, and that Scotland remains welcoming to such vulnerable people in their time of need, and agrees with the assessment of the Equality and Human Rights Commission that the bill risks undermining the universality of human rights and protections for victims of trafficking and modern slavery, as well as breaching the UK’s obligations under both the 1951 Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights.
Meeting of the Parliament
Decision Time
Meeting date: 25 April 2023
Alison Johnstone
I propose to ask a single question on the two Parliamentary Bureau motions. As no member objects, the final question is, that motion S6M-08699, on committee membership, and motion S6M-08700, on committee substitutes, in the name of George Adam, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, be agreed to.
Motions agreed to,
That the Parliament agrees that—
Mercedes Villalba be appointed to replace Carol Mochan as a member of the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee;
Paul O’Kane be appointed to replace Pam Duncan-Glancy as a member of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee;
Michael Marra be appointed to replace Daniel Johnson as a member of the Finance and Public Administration Committee;
Carol Mochan be appointed to replace Paul O’Kane as a member of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee;
Foysol Choudhury be appointed to replace Carol Mochan as a member of the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee;
Pam Duncan-Glancy be appointed to replace Michael Marra as a member of the Education, Children and Young People Committee;
Rhoda Grant be appointed to replace Mercedes Villalba as a member of the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee;
Neil Bibby be appointed to replace Sarah Boyack as a member of the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee;
Paul O’Kane be appointed to replace Pam Duncan-Glancy as a member of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee; and
Katy Clark be appointed to replace Foysol Choudhury as a member of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee.
That the Parliament agrees that—
Daniel Johnson be appointed to replace Colin Smyth as the Scottish Labour Party substitute on the Finance and Public Administration Committee;
Alex Rowley be appointed to replace Sarah Boyack as the Scottish Labour Party substitute on the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee;
Sarah Boyack be appointed to replace Mercedes Villalba as the Scottish Labour Party substitute on the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee;
Sarah Boyack be appointed to replace Paul O’Kane as the Scottish Labour Party substitute on the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee;
Paul Sweeney be appointed to replace Rhoda Grant as the Scottish Labour Party substitute on the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee;
Daniel Johnson be appointed to replace Paul Sweeney as the Scottish Labour Party substitute on the Economy and Fair Work Committee;
Mercedes Villalba be appointed to replace Colin Smyth as the Scottish Labour Party substitute on the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee;
Foysol Choudhury be appointed to replace Claire Baker as the Scottish Labour Party substitute on the Constitution, Europe and External Affairs and Culture Committee;
Colin Smyth be appointed to replace Katy Clark as the Scottish Labour Party substitute on the Public Audit Committee;
Colin Smyth be appointed to replace Rhoda Grant as the Scottish Labour Party substitute on the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee; and
Neil Bibby be appointed to replace Daniel Johnson as the Scottish Labour Party substitute on the Criminal Justice Committee.
Meeting of the Parliament
Ministers and Junior Ministers
Meeting date: 30 March 2023
Alison Johnstone
We move to the division on motion S6M-08469, in the name of Humza Yousaf. Members should cast their votes now.
Meeting of the Parliament
Parliamentary Bureau Motion
Meeting date: 30 March 2023
Alison Johnstone
The question on the motion will be put at decision time.
Meeting of the Parliament
Ministers and Junior Ministers
Meeting date: 30 March 2023
Alison Johnstone
There will be a division.
For
Adam, George (Paisley) (SNP)
Adam, Karen (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP)
Adamson, Clare (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP)
Allan, Alasdair (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (SNP)
Arthur, Tom (Renfrewshire South) (SNP)
Beattie, Colin (Midlothian North and Musselburgh) (SNP)
Brown, Keith (Clackmannanshire and Dunblane) (SNP)
Brown, Siobhian (Ayr) (SNP)
Burgess, Ariane (Highlands and Islands) (Green)
Callaghan, Stephanie (Uddingston and Bellshill) (SNP)
Chapman, Maggie (North East Scotland) (Green)
Coffey, Willie (Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley) (SNP)
Constance, Angela (Almond Valley) (SNP)
Dey, Graeme (Angus South) (SNP)
Don, Natalie (Renfrewshire North and West) (SNP)
Doris, Bob (Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn) (SNP)
Dornan, James (Glasgow Cathcart) (SNP)
Dunbar, Jackie (Aberdeen Donside) (SNP)
Ewing, Annabelle (Cowdenbeath) (SNP)
Ewing, Fergus (Inverness and Nairn) (SNP)
Fairlie, Jim (Perthshire South and Kinross-shire) (SNP)
FitzPatrick, Joe (Dundee City West) (SNP)
Forbes, Kate (Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch) (SNP)
Gibson, Kenneth (Cunninghame North) (SNP)
Gilruth, Jenny (Mid Fife and Glenrothes) (SNP)
Gougeon, Mairi (Angus North and Mearns) (SNP)
Grahame, Christine (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (SNP)
Gray, Neil (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)
Greer, Ross (West Scotland) (Green)
Harper, Emma (South Scotland) (SNP)
Harvie, Patrick (Glasgow) (Green)
Haughey, Clare (Rutherglen) (SNP)
Hepburn, Jamie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (SNP)
Hyslop, Fiona (Linlithgow) (SNP)
Kidd, Bill (Glasgow Anniesland) (SNP)
Lochhead, Richard (Moray) (SNP)
MacDonald, Gordon (Edinburgh Pentlands) (SNP)
MacGregor, Fulton (Coatbridge and Chryston) (SNP)
Mackay, Gillian (Central Scotland) (Green)
Mackay, Rona (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (SNP)
Macpherson, Ben (Edinburgh Northern and Leith) (SNP)
Maguire, Ruth (Cunninghame South) (SNP)
Martin, Gillian (Aberdeenshire East) (SNP)
Mason, John (Glasgow Shettleston) (SNP)
Matheson, Michael (Falkirk West) (SNP)
McAllan, Màiri (Clydesdale) (SNP)
McKee, Ivan (Glasgow Provan) (SNP)
McKelvie, Christina (Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse) (SNP)
McLennan, Paul (East Lothian) (SNP)
McMillan, Stuart (Greenock and Inverclyde) (SNP)
McNair, Marie (Clydebank and Milngavie) (SNP)
Minto, Jenni (Argyll and Bute) (SNP)
Nicoll, Audrey (Aberdeen South and North Kincardine) (SNP)
Regan, Ash (Edinburgh Eastern) (SNP)
Robertson, Angus (Edinburgh Central) (SNP)
Robison, Shona (Dundee City East) (SNP)
Roddick, Emma (Highlands and Islands) (SNP)
Ruskell, Mark (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green)
Slater, Lorna (Lothian) (Green)
Somerville, Shirley-Anne (Dunfermline) (SNP)
Stevenson, Collette (East Kilbride) (SNP)
Stewart, Kaukab (Glasgow Kelvin) (SNP)
Stewart, Kevin (Aberdeen Central) (SNP)
Sturgeon, Nicola (Glasgow Southside) (SNP)
Swinney, John (Perthshire North) (SNP)
Thomson, Michelle (Falkirk East) (SNP)
Todd, Maree (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP)
Torrance, David (Kirkcaldy) (SNP)
Tweed, Evelyn (Stirling) (SNP)
Whitham, Elena (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (SNP)
Yousaf, Humza (Glasgow Pollok) (SNP)
Against
Baillie, Jackie (Dumbarton) (Lab)
Baker, Claire (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Balfour, Jeremy (Lothian) (Con)
Bibby, Neil (West Scotland) (Lab)
Boyack, Sarah (Lothian) (Lab)
Briggs, Miles (Lothian) (Con)
Burnett, Alexander (Aberdeenshire West) (Con)
Cameron, Donald (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Carlaw, Jackson (Eastwood) (Con)
Carson, Finlay (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con)
Choudhury, Foysol (Lothian) (Lab)
Clark, Katy (West Scotland) (Lab)
Cole-Hamilton, Alex (Edinburgh Western) (LD)
Dowey, Sharon (South Scotland) (Con)
Duncan-Glancy, Pam (Glasgow) (Lab)
Findlay, Russell (West Scotland) (Con)
Fraser, Murdo (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Gallacher, Meghan (Central Scotland) (Con)
Golden, Maurice (North East Scotland) (Con)
Gosal, Pam (West Scotland) (Con)
Grant, Rhoda (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
Greene, Jamie (West Scotland) (Con)
Griffin, Mark (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Gulhane, Sandesh (Glasgow) (Con)
Halcro Johnston, Jamie (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Hamilton, Rachael (Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con)
Hoy, Craig (South Scotland) (Con)
Johnson, Daniel (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab)
Kerr, Liam (North East Scotland) (Con)
Kerr, Stephen (Central Scotland) (Con)
Lennon, Monica (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Leonard, Richard (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Lumsden, Douglas (North East Scotland) (Con)
Marra, Michael (North East Scotland) (Lab)
McArthur, Liam (Orkney Islands) (LD)
McCall, Roz (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
McNeill, Pauline (Glasgow) (Lab)
Mochan, Carol (South Scotland) (Lab)
Mountain, Edward (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Mundell, Oliver (Dumfriesshire) (Con)
O’Kane, Paul (West Scotland) (Lab)
Rennie, Willie (North East Fife) (LD)
Ross, Douglas (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Sarwar, Anas (Glasgow) (Lab)
Simpson, Graham (Central Scotland) (Con)
Smith, Liz (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Smyth, Colin (South Scotland) (Lab)
Stewart, Alexander (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Sweeney, Paul (Glasgow) (Lab)
Villalba, Mercedes (North East Scotland) (Lab)
Webber, Sue (Lothian) (Con)
Wells, Annie (Glasgow) (Con)
White, Tess (North East Scotland) (Con)
Whitfield, Martin (South Scotland) (Lab)
Whittle, Brian (South Scotland) (Con)
Wishart, Beatrice (Shetland Islands) (LD)
Meeting of the Parliament
Ministers and Junior Ministers
Meeting date: 30 March 2023
Alison Johnstone
The result of the division on motion S6M-08469, in the name of Humza Yousaf, on the appointment of Scottish ministers, is: For 71, Against 56, Abstentions 0.
Motion agreed to,
That the Parliament agrees that Jenny Gilruth, Màiri McAllan, Neil Gray and Angela Constance be appointed as Scottish Ministers.
Meeting of the Parliament
Ministers and Junior Ministers
Meeting date: 30 March 2023
Alison Johnstone
Excuse me. Can we hear only the member who is standing up to speak. Do continue, Mr Hoy.
Meeting of the Parliament
General Question Time
Meeting date: 30 March 2023
Alison Johnstone
Thank you, Mr Doris.
Meeting of the Parliament
General Question Time
Meeting date: 30 March 2023
Alison Johnstone
I again ask members to ensure that their questions are concise.
Meeting of the Parliament
Parliamentary Bureau Motion
Meeting date: 30 March 2023
Alison Johnstone
The next item of business is consideration of Parliamentary Bureau motion S6M-08474, on suspension and variation of standing orders. I ask George Adam to move the motion on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau.
Motion moved,
That the Parliament agrees that, for the purposes of committee meetings taking place on Tuesday 18 April—
(a) in Rule 6.3A.1 after “member” the words “or members” be inserted;
(b) Rule 6.3A.2 be suspended;
(c) in Rule 6.3A.4 the first sentence be suspended.—George Adam]
