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 1489 contributions
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Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)
First Minister’s Question Time
Meeting date: 28 October 2021
Karen Adam
At the most recent meeting of the cross-party group on international development, we discussed those people who are the most disproportionately affected by climate change in the global south, such as young people, women and the marginalised. It was stressed that any international aid must get to local communities, because they are best suited to ensuring that the aid is distributed where it is most needed. What steps can the Scottish Government take to ensure that aid is reaching local communities and vulnerable groups?
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)
Covid-19
Meeting date: 26 October 2021
Karen Adam
Is the Scottish Government considering reintroducing shielding restrictions for people who are considered to be at high risk over the coming winter months?
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)
Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage
Meeting date: 26 October 2021
Karen Adam
The triple whammy of the downturn in oil and gas, Covid and Brexit has been devastating for our north-east communities. We desperately needed the investment, which would have been based in my Banffshire and Buchan Coast constituency and would have helped to deliver the just transition.
The Scottish Conservatives have described the move by the UK Government as a lukewarm “disappointing”. My constituents are not disappointed; they are once again feeling betrayed, angry and overlooked. Will the cabinet secretary join me in urging Conservative MSPs in this Parliament, particularly those who represent the north-east, to stand up for their constituents and urge their colleagues in the UK Government to reverse the decision and support the vital project?
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)
General Question Time
Meeting date: 7 October 2021
Karen Adam
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the problem of gulls in urban areas in the north-east and Moray. (S6O-00261)
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)
General Question Time
Meeting date: 7 October 2021
Karen Adam
I recently had a meeting to discuss issues that had arisen due to the prevalence of urban gulls in Banffshire and Buchan Coast. During the meeting, it was drawn to my attention that the most recent relevant Scottish Government research on the biodiversity of urban gulls is from 2006. Will the Scottish Government provide an update on research on urban gulls and their management in Scotland?
Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee
Scotland’s Island Communities
Meeting date: 6 October 2021
Karen Adam
Good morning. The witnesses mentioned questioning people and guiding them to think of life before March 2020, but things have changed significantly in many ways, and some things will never be the same again. Does the plan adequately accommodate the post-EU-exit and post-pandemic landscape? If not, how could the new landscape be incorporated into the plan? What would that look like in terms of changes of direction, aims and objectives?
Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee
Scotland’s Island Communities
Meeting date: 6 October 2021
Karen Adam
I thank the panel for a very insightful session. I have learned quite a bit from it.
I had a specific question about education, but it may have grown arms and legs from hearing people give their feedback. In considering how to close the attainment gap for children in an island context, it is clearly important to recognise that inequalities are caused not only by poverty but by a range of situational factors that surround each household, which could include access to subject choices that suit a young person’s needs, for example. The point that Kieran Sinclair made about access to support for the LGBT community is pertinent. Professionals need to be able to take a holistic, multi-agency approach to assess and respond to needs in each individual situation.
What does a holistic approach look like when it comes to seeing poverty through the lens of not just educational attainment but social support, general practitioner provision and housing, for example? How can we ensure that young people on the islands have the same opportunities that young people on mainland Scotland have to close that attainment gap?
Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee
Pre-Budget Scrutiny 2022-23
Meeting date: 5 October 2021
Karen Adam
My question is on data and analysis for human rights budgeting. I highlight that we are at the beginning of black history month and that, throughout the pandemic, black, Asian and minority ethnic people have been acutely affected by pre-existing inequalities across a huge range of areas. As the pandemic has progressed, many of those underlying inequalities have made its impact far more severe for BAME people. What are your views on the quality of data on the equality characteristics? What improvements are planned in the light of forthcoming human rights obligations? For example, will you increase sample sizes of data for specific groups such as particularly vulnerable and minority groups?
Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee
Pre-Budget Scrutiny 2022-23
Meeting date: 5 October 2021
Karen Adam
It is nice to see well-kent faces. I direct my question to Alison Evison. I will build on an issue that has been mentioned. The pandemic has made more stark some of the inequalities of which we were already aware. There are numerous examples relating to local authorities, including increasing requirements for social care, housing services, school meals, council tax relief funds, and even for domestic waste, as more people have been working from home.
Virtually every local authority service has been impacted by the pandemic. In the context of what was known before and what the post-lockdown world has exposed, how do you prioritise matters, or at least focus on them, when looking through that equalities lens? I ask that you go into a bit more detail about what you have already mentioned. What does that look like practically when it comes to pre-budget planning?
Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee
Proposed Right to Food (Scotland) Bill
Meeting date: 5 October 2021
Karen Adam
Good morning, Rhoda. You touched on the Scottish Government’s intentions. Have you had discussions with the Government about its policy intentions?
