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 5973 contributions
|
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Ferry Services Inquiry
Meeting date: 28 February 2023
Edward Mountain
When we have what I would call an urgent operational requirement to get more ferries serving the islands as soon as possible, we need to shorten the chain of decision making so that who operates the asset controls what the asset is. It has been my experience in life—as I am sure that it has been yours, minister—that, if you tell someone what they are going to use but that is not what they want, that will never be satisfactory or competent to complete the job.
My final question is: are you still open to CMAL being absorbed into CalMac, as the REC Committee suggested, so that there is a seamless process for requirement, design and supervision of the build?
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Subordinate Legislation
Meeting date: 28 February 2023
Edward Mountain
Before they do, I note that, yesterday, I read a figure in the press that suggested that the young persons scheme will cost £300 million. Perhaps you could comment on whether that is ridiculous or reasonable. I have no view.
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Subordinate Legislation
Meeting date: 28 February 2023
Edward Mountain
My slight concern about what you have just said is that those companies that are doing everything correctly are picking up the tab for those people who have defaulted. I am just trying to get my brain around whether that is right. Are you comfortable that it is right that those companies that abide by the scheme and do everything that they should do pick up the can for those that do not?
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Subordinate Legislation
Meeting date: 28 February 2023
Edward Mountain
Under agenda item 2, the committee will consider a draft statutory instrument. I welcome the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport, Michael Matheson. Thank you for joining us today. I also welcome, from the Scottish Government, Aedan MacRae, energy policy officer, and Robert Martin, team leader, electricity security.
The instrument has been laid under the affirmative procedure, which means that the Parliament must approve it? before? it? comes into force. Following this evidence session, the committee will be invited, under the next agenda item, to consider a motion to approve the instrument. I remind everyone that the officials can speak under this agenda item 2, but not under the next agenda item.
I invite the cabinet secretary to make a short opening statement.?
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Ferry Services Inquiry
Meeting date: 28 February 2023
Edward Mountain
Just to clarify, it cannot be mechanical problems with any of the ships, because CalMac said that only 1,678 mechanical problems cancelled sailings but that the Scottish Government approved the cancellation of 1,551 sailings. According to CalMac, you are carrying the can for that.
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Ferry Services Inquiry
Meeting date: 28 February 2023
Edward Mountain
He has not. He offered to ring me and give me an explanation, which was not satisfactory to me. That information should have been given to the committee. I do not want to dwell on this too much longer, but you are carrying the can as far as I can see. CalMac talks about substitute vessels not being available for any other reason. All those are given as reasons, so it cannot be for those reasons. It would be useful if you exerted some pressure to say that you have not cancelled those sailings, because it may give the wrong impression that you have. Minister, I know that you would not want that on your shoulders.
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Ferry Services Inquiry
Meeting date: 28 February 2023
Edward Mountain
For clarity—I think that Liam Kerr has asked about this before—the issue is that national insurance does not have to be paid, which means that the Government employs people without paying national insurance. I think that that is the issue that you are being asked to justify, minister.
Chris Wilcock is trying to catch your eye—you might not want him to.
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Subordinate Legislation
Meeting date: 28 February 2023
Edward Mountain
The committee will therefore report the outcome of the instrument in due course. I invite members to delegate the authority to me as convener to finalise the report for publication. Are members happy to do that?
Members indicated agreement.
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Ferry Services Inquiry
Meeting date: 28 February 2023
Edward Mountain
Welcome back. Our next agenda item is an evidence session as part of our inquiry into a modern and sustainable ferry service for Scotland. I refer members to the papers for this item, which is the 11th evidence session in our inquiry into Scotland’s ferry services.
Our first panel today is made up of representatives from Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd, which is a company owned by the Scottish Government and is the asset owner of some of Scotland’s ports and vessels. On behalf of the committee, I am pleased to welcome from CMAL: Morag McNeill, chair; Kevin Hobbs, the chief executive officer; Jim Anderson, director of vessels; and Ramsay Muirhead, director of port infrastructure and planning. I thank them for accepting our invitation. We are very pleased to have them here.
I believe Kevin Hobbs would like to make a brief opening statement.
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Ferry Services Inquiry
Meeting date: 28 February 2023
Edward Mountain
Thinking about what you have just said, I am told that the yard that is building 801 and 802 has questioned whether it was sensible to commission liquefied natural gas vessels. It has been instructed to provide such vessels, because that was the commitment. Was LNG a mistake? Is it a fuel that we should be using in future for our ferries, given that it is difficult to get, comes in a lorry from Kent, I think, and needs special storage? Is it going to be a fuel of the past rather than a fuel of the future?
