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.
The web version of the Official Report has three different views:
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.
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.
There are two types of keyword search:
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.
It’s also possible to run basic Boolean searches. For example:
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:
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.
Displaying 1381 contributions
Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: 9 March 2023
Christine Grahame
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing legislation in Scotland similar to the United Kingdom Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Bill. (S6O-01995)
Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: 9 March 2023
Christine Grahame
To ask the First Minister what impact the proposed pay settlement for teachers, if accepted, will have on other Scottish Government budgets. (S6F-01901)
Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: 8 March 2023
Christine Grahame
On a point of order, Presiding Officer.
I understand that this is an amendment to a business motion, but I am hearing a speech about council matters. I seek your guidance as to whether this is relevant.
Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: 7 March 2023
Christine Grahame
Your contribution is extremely interesting and valuable, particularly when you speak from your own experience, but do you agree that it is practically impossible to have personnel at very rural bus stations such as the one that I described earlier, which is in the middle of fields in the middle of nowhere? That is just not practical, so we must have something else in rural stations.
Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: 7 March 2023
Christine Grahame
Of course every girl and woman has the right to travel on public transport without fear of harassment or worse, and of course it is not acceptable that they have to adapt and accommodate such possible events. The reality is that there are measures that will help, such as better lighting at bus stops and train stations and a role for CCTV, although I note that we do not always feel secure that those function, and they are of limited use in prevention.
It goes without saying that having personnel at bus stations and transport hubs, especially at weekends and late at night, makes everyone feel more secure. I would go so far as to suggest that, especially at weekends and at night, a police presence would not go amiss.
However, I believe that there is not a woman in the Parliament who has not experienced some form of harassment, quite often of a sexual nature, during the course of their adult life. It certainly happened to me in my younger days. I will describe two occasions—there were others, none of which I officially reported. Travelling one winter’s evening in my late teens, I felt my hair being tugged—it was long in those days. I could see in the reflection of the bus window the man who was sitting behind me stroking my hair. I called over the bus conductor—we had them in those days—but he did not believe me. “Are ye sure, hen?” he said. Frightened, as the bus turned into the dark street where I was alighting, I stood up at the last minute. The man stood up, too, and followed me. I rushed off the bus and crossed the road to the stop opposite, where a man was standing. I told him what was happening. He seemed to disbelieve me but noticed that I was being followed, so, on my request, accompanied me to my road end.
The man who was following me simply stood at the bus stop. It was not my imagination. I dread to think what would have happened had that man at the other stop not been there or had not believed me. The minister said that it is important to be believed. So it is.
The second occasion was years later. On the last bus on a summer evening, I was aware that a young man was immediately behind me standing too close for comfort as I rose to leave at the terminus. I got off the bus and walked along the main road, which was unexpectedly quiet. He kept apace too close by. Concerned, to put it mildly, I suddenly crossed the wide road to put distance between us. He, too, crossed the road. I crossed again to put the width of the road between us, and I made up my mind to run to the first door and bang it, ring the bell and shout if he followed. He stayed where he was and entered a driveway. However, when I checked, he had come back on to the pavement and turned to go back.
I have other personal examples. I have told members that for two reasons. First, nothing has changed. I cannot say whether things are worse because of underreporting, and I encourage the reporting of every instance. Secondly, women are still taking evasive, preventative protection measures for their safety, and they have to. I wish it were otherwise, but it is not.
In my constituency, I have been advised by Borders Buses that, although it is satisfied with CCTV on the buses, it has concerns about its female drivers when the shift is over and they have to disembark in quiet places. That is especially an issue in rural constituencies such as mine.
As an aside, it is also the case that female taxi drivers have to take special care. Taxis are sometimes the better choice, and some taxi drivers will wait to see that the person has opened the front door of the property before they leave.
I am afraid that vigilance, and people having strategies if they find themselves in a concerning situation, are still necessary. We all have that sense when something is not quite right. Trust that sense.
It is also important that girls in schools are made well aware of situations that put them at risk. I am afraid that that is unfortunate but necessary. The use of a mobile phone so that family can track them is awful, but not a bad idea. Situations that might—just might—put them at risk should be avoided. Taking a late-night taxi, for example, might well be the better choice.
Finally, although this is not exactly about public transport, when I park my car to take the train to my local office—not just at night-time—I do so where people will be about. Without naming the station, there is one at which I would not wait for the train. The station is in the middle of fields, few take the train there, and a person can return to find that their car is the only one parked there. I learned that when I returned one late afternoon, and I vowed that it would not happen again. Experience has shown me that that could be risky. There is CCTV there, but it has its limitations, and it will be of use only after the event. It certainly did not give me comfort. It is, of course, not practical to have personnel at those rural train stations.
In conclusion, even at my stage in life, I have to think ahead about what is safe and what is not safe. Although, in my experience, the vast majority of men are decent folk and some might be unaware that their behaviour might make a woman feel ill at ease, there are, sadly, those few who are predatory and will always be with us. Identification through reporting is therefore key, followed by prosecution if appropriate. We know that what may appear to be “low-level” sexual intimidation can progress—the Sarah Everard case has taught us that. Yes, we can push transport providers and local authorities to improve safety but, in my view, vigilance from women will still be required.
15:54Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: 7 March 2023
Christine Grahame
The minister says that the scheme is industry led, but I have a letter that was published on 6 March, signed by among others, the director of the Confederation of British Industry Scotland, the policy chair of the Federation of Small Businesses, the chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce and the chief executive of the Scottish Council for Development and Industry, alongside hundreds of individuals who describe DRS in its current form as “reckless”. Will the minister, at very least, instruct Circularity Scotland to remove glass from the current recycling scheme?
Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: 2 March 2023
Christine Grahame
No strikes.
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Meeting date: 1 March 2023
Christine Grahame
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of its contributions to development in Malawi through its Malawi development programme 2018-23. (S6O-01939)
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Meeting date: 1 March 2023
Christine Grahame
I very much welcome a debate on preparing a new dementia strategy, because it is a miserable, cruel disease that impacts on so many people, and it is increasing.
I have to confess that I am not a big fan of strategies unless and until they convert into practical changes. I have read the summary paper, although I am disappointed in the low number of individuals who responded. Citizen Space—I do not know how many of the public have heard of that—had just over 139 responses, and I believe that the consultation ran only from September to December last year. That seems to be a low response given the incidence of dementia, and quite a short response window.
Like others, I have had friends who have succumbed to dementia and have left their loving partner distraught after years of watching their loved one slip away. In the paper, there is the following quote:
“Dementia is like having a hole where someone used to be. They are gone, but you can’t mourn them, and you can’t move on. The lives of those closest to them is held in limbo, with guilt affecting every decision of every day.”
How true.
Here, the support of community, which is addressed in the paper, is crucial, as well as that of professionals. I shall give examples in my own constituency in a moment, but, on language, which the minister referred to, I make a plea that dementia should not be referred to as a “journey”—this is not “Strictly Come Dancing”. I baulked at referring to a dementia journey. Why do we not refer to the progress of dementia? That seems to be a bit more sensitive and respectful, but perhaps that is just me.
On the question “What supports work well for you?”, which was posed in the consultation, I share this reply from the paper:
“I had this huge desire to just to be able to be in the company of somebody who was going through the same process as me. Someone who was having similar experiences, who had similar hurdles to climb over and whose mountains to climb were just as high as mine. I needed to hear their experiences, I wanted to find out how they overcame them, how they overcame their difficulties.”
I will take members to Cowan Court in Penicuik in Midlothian, which is a place where carers have a cup of tea and a chat while their loved ones are being looked after. I have visited and sat with the carers as they had a very brief respite while their loved ones were looked after. We were there to chat, but for one woman it was all so traumatic that she could not speak because she was so tearful. Such is the unremitting stress 24 hours a week, seven days a week, together with anxiety as to what further damage the disease has done as each day and, indeed, each night passes.
I will give other examples of live initiatives. The Scottish Borders Council was the first local authority in Scotland to appoint a champion for older people and people living with dementia. As part of her role, Councillor Elaine Thornton-Nicol has been responsible for encouraging all her fellow councillors to undertake dementia-friendly training to better understand the needs of people living with it.
There is also a Borders dementia working group, which meets monthly in Galashiels. That is for people living with dementia and their carers who are interested in influencing local and national policy and in making the Borders more dementia friendly.
Another example is Peebles memory cafe, which meets twice a month in Firholm day unit, providing a friendly, supportive meeting place for anyone who is affected by dementia to socialise, share stories and enjoy a cup of tea with others.
Why am I giving those examples? I note that the minister referred to building on what is there and to “short-term deliverables”. When summing up, will the minister specify whether the Scottish Government has undertaken an audit of such initiatives across Scotland?
16:46Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Meeting date: 1 March 2023
Christine Grahame
I think that we would all agree that the partnership between Malawi and Scotland remains important—perhaps now more than ever, as both countries face immense global challenges. How is the Scottish Government ensuring continued support for Malawi and other partner countries such as Rwanda and Zambia beyond March 2023?