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 11722 contributions
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Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Decision Time
Meeting date: 19 February 2025
Alison Johnstone
The result of the division on motion S6M-16511, in the name of Kate Forbes, on protecting the powers of the Scottish Parliament, is: For 73, Against 47, Abstentions 0.
Motion agreed to,
That the Parliament notes the publication of the UK Government’s consultation and review of the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020, which sets out that it will “not consider whether to repeal the UK Internal Market Act or any part of it”; recalls that both the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Senedd refused to give the Act legislative consent; notes the position of the Welsh Government, which opposes the Act, believing it to be “an unwarranted attack on devolution”; reaffirms its decision regarding the Act on 3 October 2023, and calls for it to be repealed.
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Decision Time
Meeting date: 19 February 2025
Alison Johnstone
The next question is, that motion S6M-16499, in the name of Paul McLennan, on the Renters’ Rights Bill, which is UK legislation, be agreed to.
Motion agreed to,
That the Parliament agrees that the relevant provisions of the Renters’ Rights Bill, introduced in the House of Commons on 11 September 2024, which restrict the behaviour of private landlords, in relation to those with children and those who are benefit claimants, namely clauses 49, 52, 54, 137, 139, 142 and 145 of the Renters’ Rights Bill, so far as these matters fall within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament and alter the executive competence of Scottish Ministers, should be considered by the UK Parliament.
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Decision Time
Meeting date: 19 February 2025
Alison Johnstone
That concludes decision time.
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Powers of the Scottish Parliament
Meeting date: 19 February 2025
Alison Johnstone
Mr Kerr.
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Powers of the Scottish Parliament
Meeting date: 19 February 2025
Alison Johnstone
That concludes the debate on protecting the powers of the Scottish Parliament.
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Renters’ Rights Bill
Meeting date: 19 February 2025
Alison Johnstone
The next item of business is consideration of motion S6M-16499, in the name of Paul McLennan, on the Renters’ Rights Bill, which is United Kingdom legislation.
Motion moved,
That the Parliament agrees that the relevant provisions of the Renters’ Rights Bill, introduced in the House of Commons on 11 September 2024, which restrict the behaviour of private landlords, in relation to those with children and those who are benefit claimants, namely clauses 49, 52, 54, 137, 139, 142 and 145 of the Renters’ Rights Bill, so far as these matters fall within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament and alter the executive competence of Scottish Ministers, should be considered by the UK Parliament.—[Paul McLennan]
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Renters’ Rights Bill
Meeting date: 19 February 2025
Alison Johnstone
The question on the motion will be put at decision time.
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Business Motions
Meeting date: 19 February 2025
Alison Johnstone
The next item of business is consideration of business motion S6M-16519, in the name of Jamie Hepburn, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, setting out a business programme.
Motion moved,
That the Parliament agrees—
(a) the following programme of business—
Tuesday 25 February 2025
2.00 pm Time for Reflection
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
followed by Topical Questions (if selected)
followed by Stage 3 Proceedings: Budget (Scotland) (No 4) Bill
followed by Committee Announcements
followed by Business Motions
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
5.00 pm Decision Time
followed by Members’ Business
Wednesday 26 February 2025
2.00 pm Parliamentary Bureau Motions
2.00 pm Portfolio Questions:
Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, and Parliamentary Business;
Justice and Home Affairs
followed by Scottish Green Party Business
followed by Appointment of Member of the Standards Commission for Scotland
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 27 February 2025
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: Local Government Finance (Scotland) Order 2025
followed by Scottish Government Debate: Increasing Investment in Scotland
followed by Business Motions
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
5.00 pm Decision Time
Tuesday 4 March 2025
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 5 March 2025
2.00 pm Parliamentary Bureau Motions
2.00 pm Portfolio Questions:
Deputy First Minister Responsibilities, Economy and Gaelic;
Finance and Local Government
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 6 March 2025
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:
Net Zero and Energy, and Transport
followed by Committee Debate: Tackling Drug Deaths and Drug Harm
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 24 February 2025, 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.—[Jamie Hepburn]
Motion agreed to.
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Business Motions
Meeting date: 19 February 2025
Alison Johnstone
The next item of business is consideration of business motion S6M-16520, in the name of Jamie Hepburn, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, on a stage 2 timetable.
Motion moved,
That the Parliament agrees that consideration of the Housing (Scotland) Bill at stage 2 be completed by 29 May 2025.—[Jamie Hepburn]
Motion agreed to.
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Decision Time
Meeting date: 19 February 2025
Alison Johnstone
There are five questions to be put as a result of today’s business. The first question is, that amendment S6M-16511.2, in the name of Rachael Hamilton, which seeks to amend motion S6M-16511, in the name of Kate Forbes, on protecting the powers of the Scottish Parliament, be agreed to. Are we agreed?
Members: No.
