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.
Criathragan Hide all filters
Displaying 349 contributions
|
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 12 March 2025
Claire Baker
Does the minister recognise that the UK Government has said that around 520 agricultural estates will be affected, that that has been confirmed by a “BBC Verify” report and that up to three quarters of farmers will pay nothing as a result of the changes? What will that mean for farming in Scotland?
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 12 March 2025
Claire Baker
To ask the Scottish Government what additional focus areas it has identified, following the publication of the “Women’s Health Plan 2021 to 2024: Final Report”. (S6O-04421)
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 12 March 2025
Claire Baker
The women-centred approach to health is long overdue, and although progress is being made, there is a way to go, including in improving human papillomavirus immunisation and cervical cancer screening. Figures from health boards this week show that some women are waiting more than eight months for further checks following an abnormal smear test. Colposcopy exams can help to identify cervical cancer, but too many women are having to wait months for those vital follow-up checks. How is the Scottish Government working with health boards to address those waiting periods and ensure that early intervention is embedded into the cervical screening process?
Meeting of the Parliament
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 6 March 2025
Claire Baker
The cabinet secretary knows that the performance measure does not take account of short-form trains. It is in effect a cancellation for passengers if they are unable to board a train. In my region, across December and January, one train was short formed 65 per cent of the time. Why are those routes targeted for short forming, and when can we see improvements?
Meeting of the Parliament
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 6 March 2025
Claire Baker
Addressing driver behaviour must be part of the approach to reducing fatality rates. National speed awareness courses have been in place in England and Wales for a number of years, and studies have shown that they can be more effective at reducing reoffending than a fine and penalty points. The Scottish Government has been asked about this on a number of occasions—most recently today at First Minister’s question time—but we still do not have an answer as to why those courses are not available in Scotland. Is the Scottish Government committed to introducing the courses, and what are the next steps?
Meeting of the Parliament
Portfolio Question Time
Meeting date: 6 March 2025
Claire Baker
To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to improve road safety. (S6O-04406)
Meeting of the Parliament
General Question Time
Meeting date: 27 February 2025
Claire Baker
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when it will reach a decision regarding extending the terms of reference for the inquiry into the death of Sheku Bayoh. (S6O-04363)
Meeting of the Parliament
General Question Time
Meeting date: 27 February 2025
Claire Baker
I thank the Deputy First Minister for that response and for the letter that I received from her this week, detailing her decision. As she has recognised, the decision is a great disappointment to Sheku’s family and friends.
As highlighted in correspondence from the inquiry chair, Lord Bracadale, the decision to extend the terms could have considered whether there had been a potentially flawed prosecutorial decision as a result of a misunderstanding of factual evidence, misconceived instructions and a failure to properly consider the issue of race. I note the Crown’s commitment to keep evidence at the inquiry under review, but what reassurance can be provided to Sheku’s family, and to the public, that the process of the inquiry has allowed all relevant matters to be properly examined?
Meeting of the Parliament
Appointment of Member of the Standards Commission for Scotland
Meeting date: 26 February 2025
Claire Baker
I am delighted to speak to the motion inviting members of the Parliament to agree to the appointment of Malcolm Bell as a member of the Standards Commission for Scotland.
As members might know, the Standards Commission is part of the ethical standards framework, and its role is to encourage high ethical standards in public life by promoting and enforcing the codes of conduct for councillors and members of devolved public bodies. The commission issues guidance to councils and public bodies and adjudicates on alleged contraventions of the codes that are referred to it by the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland.
As members of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, Jackson Carlaw, Christine Grahame and I sat as a recruitment panel on 13 January 2025. The panel’s unanimous decision was to recommend Malcolm Bell to the Parliament for appointment as a member of the Standards Commission for Scotland.
Malcolm Bell, who is in the public gallery this afternoon, brings a wealth of public sector experience, having served as a senior police officer and having been an elected councillor in and convener of Shetland Islands Council. He has also held a number of public appointments, including as vice-chair of NHS Shetland. Mr Bell is a member of the Accounts Commission for Scotland and an honorary sheriff, and was recently appointed as a justice of the peace. I am confident that he will be an asset to the commission.
Meeting of the Parliament
Appointment of Member of the Standards Commission for Scotland
Meeting date: 26 February 2025
Claire Baker
I thank Douglas Ross for that contribution. The panel was unanimous in its decision, and I recognise that Mr Bell will bring a wealth of experience to the commission.
I close by thanking Ashleigh Dunn, who served as a member of the commission from 2017 to 2025. I wish her the very best for the future.
I move,
That the Parliament agrees, under section 8 of the Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000, that Malcolm Bell be appointed as a member of the Standards Commission for Scotland.
