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 764 contributions
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SPCB Supported Bodies Landscape Review Committee
SPCB Supported Bodies Landscape Review
Meeting date: 27 February 2025
Ash Regan
With regard to upholding women’s rights across Scotland, do you agree with John Swinney that trans women are women—in relation to the points of policy that I have raised—or do you agree with Reem Alsalem that, when it comes to single-sex spaces, sex means sex?
SPCB Supported Bodies Landscape Review Committee
SPCB Supported Bodies Landscape Review
Meeting date: 27 February 2025
Ash Regan
But CEDAW is within your remit—
Meeting of the Parliament
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 27 February 2025
Ash Regan
In the light of the remarkable improvements at Berwickshire high school, where banning mobile phones in all school buildings has led to rising attainment, better behaviour and a significant reduction in bullying, does the minister not agree that mobile-free learning environments have clear educational benefits? I believe—and I think that many across the chamber agree—
Meeting of the Parliament
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 27 February 2025
Ash Regan
—that it should be the national policy—
Meeting of the Parliament
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 27 February 2025
Ash Regan
—on mobile phones.
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Budget (Scotland) (No 4) Bill
Meeting date: 25 February 2025
Ash Regan
The Scottish budget is a testament to what constructive politics can achieve and what productive opposition delivers. For Alba, this year was the first time that we were a participant in the process, and it delivered tangible benefits for some of Scotland’s most vulnerable—pensioners and children—by negotiating from a point of principle. Protecting the most vulnerable in the face of the brutal decisions made by the UK Labour Government is not just an economic choice, it is a moral imperative.
Alba’s persistence has secured mitigations of enhanced heating support for pensioners this winter, in addition to the winter fuel payment for all pensioners next winter. However, until fuel poverty is consigned to the history books of our energy-abundant nation, we will not have done enough. Westminster Exchequers cannot continue the exploitation of Scotland’s resources. They must, instead, start directly benefiting our people and businesses. With bigger thinking, we can push devolution to its limits, exposing the walls that stifle Scotland’s ambition.
Hunger must never be a barrier to learning. Today, we are one step closer to eradicating that barrier, but we must continue to strive to fulfil the Government’s election promise to primary school children in the current parliamentary session. Glasgow City Council’s announcement about joining Inverclyde Council in funding universal school meals in primary schools is welcome and it should drive other councils to put politics aside and find solutions for every school child to have the nourishment that they need to grow, learn and thrive.
Each budget is a step forward on the road to independence. Each pound invested in our communities and every measure that is designed to protect our people provides proof that Scotland can govern itself effectively and more compassionately than Westminster ever would.
17:19Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Topical Question Time
Meeting date: 25 February 2025
Ash Regan
A lack of clarity and, I have to say, a lack of understanding by the Government of the law has left working women in Scotland in the absolutely ridiculous position of having legally provided single-sex spaces open to anyone who identifies into them.
The minister has repeatedly said that she expects public bodies to uphold the law, but I am not hearing what the Government is doing about it. Perhaps I can make a suggestion: the Government could get the situation under control by making the upholding of public sector duties a condition of Government funding. Will she commit to that?
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Topical Question Time
Meeting date: 25 February 2025
Ash Regan
That is a no, then.
SPCB Supported Bodies Landscape Review Committee
SPCB Supported Bodies Landscape Review
Meeting date: 20 February 2025
Ash Regan
I want to turn to accountability and scrutiny mechanisms. We are interested to know whether the scrutiny that you are receiving is robust and whether you feel that it is appropriate. Could you give us your view on how you are scrutinised, and whether you think that there are more effective ways in which that could be done?
SPCB Supported Bodies Landscape Review Committee
SPCB Supported Bodies Landscape Review
Meeting date: 20 February 2025
Ash Regan
I, too, want to ask about the mechanisms around the accountability and scrutiny functions. In your written submission, you suggest—as you have done in your exchange with Richard Leonard—that your mechanisms are appropriate and robust. Annual reports feature as a main part of that scrutiny, certainly for the committees in the Parliament, and you suggest that there are ways in which that mechanism could be made more effective. Could you explain that?
