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 1524 contributions
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Meeting date: 10 March 2022
Fiona Hyslop
Yes. As the former minister who helped to establish it, I recognise both appeals.
Finally, on additional support in the form of medical aid and goods, we have heard about the importance of cash, but we have been able to mobilise other resources in Scotland.
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Meeting date: 10 March 2022
Fiona Hyslop
I will move on as I am conscious that other colleagues might want to come in. You have just returned from Dublin. Could you briefly share with us the Irish Government’s view? Obviously, Ireland is part of the EU’s political response to Ukraine but are there any practical lessons that we can learn from there? You have already indicated that there are some.
11:00Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Meeting date: 10 March 2022
Fiona Hyslop
I point out that no Russian minister has ever been invited to the Edinburgh international culture summit since 2014, when Russia invaded Crimea. Culture is very powerful in building connections, as we have learned from incoming refugees from other countries. I would impress on the cabinet secretary the importance of that cultural connection for when people arrive here, and also in the rebuilding of Ukraine when peace eventually arrives.
In terms of culture giving hope, one of the most hopeful things that we heard this morning from the consul general was the re-establishment of online learning for Ukrainian children in Ukraine. We also need to prepare support for online learning when they arrive here, not just assimilation in our schools, which they might do for social reasons, because the spirit of education and culture is not just to bring comfort and solace but to provide and build the future, in this case for Ukraine through the education of its children. That is surely something that the Scottish Government can try to support—a very practical measure to help children with their education when we receive families here.
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Meeting date: 10 March 2022
Fiona Hyslop
My second question is about what is happening here in Scotland, and perhaps Jane Salmonson could help with this. The Scottish Government has committed funding, and we know that we have the separate humanitarian emergency fund established. Clearly, in terms of humanitarian aid, I know that there are other Disasters Emergency Committee appeals, such as the Afghanistan appeal. Where do you think that the funding from the Scottish Government is coming from? There is £4 million committed. You referenced £2 million for the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal. Are those the correct figures? What is left for the remainder of this year and into next year?
We understand that the Scottish Government has provided medical aid in the form of, say, bandages or other medical equipment that is needed. Is there anything else that the Scottish Government can do in addition to the £4 million that has been allocated to this disaster—any other provisions, whether it is water or other mobilisation of governmental support? Reflecting on the continuous work of aid agencies across the globe, I would like to know how the Ukraine humanitarian appeal fits in with other work that you are all doing.
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Meeting date: 8 March 2022
Fiona Hyslop
Robert, do you have any views on that? On value for money, although trying to get people back on to the railways is a way to decarbonise, in terms of less use of cars, there is a need for expenditure, perhaps more on capital, on hydrogen or, indeed, more electrification. On the value-for-money issue, is there a competition between those two things, or do we need to do both to achieve our net zero targets?
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Meeting date: 8 March 2022
Fiona Hyslop
Thank you. I will stay with Mick Hogg for my second question, which is about the decarbonisation of ScotRail’s services. Scottish ministers aim to fully decarbonise ScotRail’s services by 2035, which will require a significant programme of electrification and the use of battery-powered or hydrogen-powered rolling stock. Is that target realistic? What needs to happen for that target to be met? How much confidence do those who operate the service have in the new systems, and what involvement do you want in ensuring that we can move to decarbonisation in a safe and responsible way?
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Meeting date: 8 March 2022
Fiona Hyslop
It was about the operation of new stock—whether it is battery powered or whether we will see further technology changes and a move to hydrogen. What are the railway workforce’s expectations of that?
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Meeting date: 8 March 2022
Fiona Hyslop
I come to Michael Clark next. You referred to Scotland’s experience of decarbonisation. Do you think that the 2035 target is realistic? I went on the hydrogen train at the 26th United Nations climate change conference of the parties—COP26—which, obviously, did not operate on hydrogen when it travelled. There are ambitions there, but there is also quite an expense. What is realistic? Is the target achievable by 2035?
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Meeting date: 8 March 2022
Fiona Hyslop
This is an opportunity to look at the future of rail in Scotland. I will start with Michael Clark. Network Rail will be subsumed into Great British Railways. Is it your understanding that Scottish ministers will retain a role in specifying and funding rail infrastructure outputs in Scotland? Those have been very successful in recent years, not least the Bathgate-Airdrie line in my constituency. If so, what will that look like under the current periodic review system? Or do you anticipate there being a different system? Will that control remain? If it does, what will the relationship look like? Can you comment on any discussions that you are already having with colleagues in Transport Scotland and other rail authorities?
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Meeting date: 8 March 2022
Fiona Hyslop
Mick, do you have any comments about Great British Railways and the future?