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 3086 contributions
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Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012 (Post-legislative Scrutiny)
Meeting date: 6 February 2024
Clare Haughey
Okay. I call Ruth Maguire.
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Subordinate Legislation
Meeting date: 6 February 2024
Clare Haughey
Thank you, minister. Members should not put questions to the minister during the formal debate, and officials may not speak in the debate.
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012 (Post-legislative Scrutiny)
Meeting date: 6 February 2024
Clare Haughey
The next item on our agenda is the first of two oral evidence sessions as part of our post-legislative scrutiny of the Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012. I welcome to the meeting Alison Douglas, who is the chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland; Dr Alastair MacGilchrist, who is the chair of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems; Tracey McFall, who is the chief executive of the Scottish Recovery Consortium; and Justina Murray, who is the chief executive officer of Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs.
We will move straight to questions, starting with Sandesh Gulhane.
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012 (Post-legislative Scrutiny)
Meeting date: 6 February 2024
Clare Haughey
Please be brief, because we have to move on.
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012 (Post-legislative Scrutiny)
Meeting date: 6 February 2024
Clare Haughey
So, in essence, the Scottish Grocers Federation does not, on the basis of anecdote, accept Public Health Scotland’s evaluation of minimum unit pricing.
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012 (Post-legislative Scrutiny)
Meeting date: 6 February 2024
Clare Haughey
So things such as cigarettes, tobacco and newspapers are included.
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012 (Post-legislative Scrutiny)
Meeting date: 6 February 2024
Clare Haughey
I am sorry, but we will have to move on. You have had 12 minutes of questions and answers, and we have lots to get through. We will move on to questions from Tess White.
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012 (Post-legislative Scrutiny)
Meeting date: 6 February 2024
Clare Haughey
Thank you. Sandesh Gulhane has a declaration of interest.
Meeting of the Parliament
Budget 2024-25
Meeting date: 1 February 2024
Clare Haughey
The Health, Social Care and Sport Committee recently concluded its pre-budget scrutiny for 2024-25. The exercise highlighted several important themes as key areas for the Scottish Government to work on over the coming years.
The first of those themes relates to multiyear budgeting. Many respondents to the committee’s call for written views highlighted that the current model of single-year budgeting hampers the delivery of services and stands in the way of the transformative change that is required in the sector.
Following calls from our committee for the Scottish Government to bring forward its refreshed medium-term financial framework for health and social care, I note the cabinet secretary’s commitment that it will be published in the spring. I reiterate the committee’s request that the framework provides more detailed analysis than was previously set out in the medium-term financial strategy and the resource spending review.
In previous years, the committee has highlighted concerns about the availability and accessibility of data related to health and social care spending, and the Scottish Government subsequently gave a commitment to make progress in that area. However, the committee has heard evidence of on-going issues with data and the challenges that that creates in measuring and reporting on progress towards meeting defined budget and policy goals.
I welcome the cabinet secretary’s response to the committee’s pre-budget scrutiny letter, which sets out the range of data that is currently available to support decision making, analysis and scrutiny and indicates that there is
“ongoing work to improve availability and accessibility, and to improve transparency.”
The committee’s pre-budget scrutiny highlighted the importance of the NHS Scotland resource allocation committee formula in determining levels of funding to be allocated to individual health boards in Scotland. In his response to the committee, the cabinet secretary confirmed that
“Work to review the formula is underway”,
but that it “will take time” to complete.
We also heard concerns from Audit Scotland that a number of Scotland’s 14 territorial NHS boards might not be able to break even by the end of the latest three-year financial planning period, as they are currently required to do. It would be helpful to receive reassurance from the Scottish Government today that robust contingency plans are in place to deal with such an eventuality.
The cabinet secretary also told the committee that the level of co-operation between boards in reducing costs, particularly through shared services and functions, is “variable”. The committee would be grateful if the Scottish Government could keep it updated, as data becomes available, on how it is encouraging further co-operation between boards and on how effective that has been.
The committee heard evidence that workforce capacity remains the biggest risk to the recovery of NHS services after the pandemic. Equally, there is concern that any increases that have been committed to in the health and social care budget might be consumed by recent—welcome—pay settlements, which avoided strike action by healthcare staff in Scotland, and by the impact of inflation.
In that context, I welcome the cabinet secretary’s update that progress has been made towards reducing NHS Scotland’s reliance on agency staff. As the workforce is the sector’s most important asset, it is vital to retain a focus on getting the best out of the workforce, which includes using innovation to free up capacity while ensuring that the workforce’s health and wellbeing are consistently and proactively supported.
Issues that relate to preventative spend have been a recurring theme in the committee’s financial scrutiny this session. Evidence that was submitted to the committee highlighted the significant challenges of moving towards a preventative approach to health and social care spending in the context of acute short-term demand for services.
During the committee’s budget scrutiny session, the cabinet secretary made the point that performance on two key measures has been moving in the wrong direction—mortality rates are increasing and health inequalities are widening. A reinforced focus on preventative spending could have a real impact on reversing those negative trends.
We acknowledge that, in the face of the current severe budgetary pressures, maintaining a focus on prevention will be a huge challenge. However, for the long-term sustainability of health and social care services, we should not let that weaken our determination to keep that focus.
Many who submitted evidence to the committee argued for initiating a national conversation to involve the public in discussions about the future of health and social care in the context of increasing demand, demographic change and finite budgetary resources. I welcome the cabinet secretary’s acknowledgement in responding to our pre-budget scrutiny letter that, although the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that the fundamentals of Scotland’s NHS do not change, reform is required.
Furthermore, the committee received oral and written evidence that highlighted significant shortcomings in linking health and social care spend to specific outcomes. On the basis of that evidence, the committee asked the Scottish Government how it intends to shift away from a focus on short-term targets towards a long-term outcomes-based approach.
In response, the Scottish Government highlighted that its care and wellbeing dashboard provides a framework to drive progress towards a common set of long-term outcomes. In its updated format, that is a welcome innovation. As part of the annual budget process, it would be helpful to map progress towards the long-term outcomes against health and social care spending.
As part of the forthcoming five-year review, the committee would welcome a debate about how the national performance framework can be reformed to become a more effective tool to support strategic outcomes-based policy making and spending in health, social care and sport.
The committee’s scrutiny of the budget for 2024-25 highlighted key challenges that we need to confront to place health and social care spending on a more sustainable footing for the long term. I and my fellow committee members look forward to continuing to scrutinise the extent to which the coming year’s budget is meeting those challenges in the months ahead.
I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests, as I hold a bank nurse contract with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
16:23Meeting of the Parliament
Point of Order
Meeting date: 31 January 2024
Clare Haughey
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. With reference to section 3 of the “Code of Conduct for Members of the Scottish Parliament”, I raise a concern that proper procedure was not followed at First Minister’s question time on 25 January last week. In a supplementary question, Pam Gosal made a number of claims about the rent cap that was implemented under the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022. However, she failed to declare her interest—in the form of shares that are worth more than £1 million in three letting companies—as listed in her entry in the register of members’ interests.
It is vital that the public who view business in the chamber or who consult the Official Report are fully informed of potential conflicts of interest, particularly during business that is as closely followed as First Minister’s question time is. Before making the point of order, I waited one parliamentary sitting day to allow the member to correct the record. As far as I can ascertain, that has not been done. Will the Presiding Officer give guidance on how the Official Report can be amended to maintain this Parliament’s high standard of scrutiny in the area of members’ financial interests?
