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 1450 contributions
Economy and Fair Work Committee
Meeting date: 22 September 2021
Maggie Chapman
I am sorry to cut across you like that, Mr Burnett.
Andrew Richards talked about the circular economy. I am thinking of some kind of local content requirement, not only to shorten supply chains but—importantly—to catalyse local manufacturing. Should the Scottish Government be looking at something in that space to ensure that we have the drivers in place to support local manufacturing and—if demand is the issue—to drive up demand for it?
Economy and Fair Work Committee
Meeting date: 22 September 2021
Maggie Chapman
Thank you, convener—I am sorry to jump in again like this.
My question is probably most appropriately directed at Andrew Richards, who talked about the race to the bottom and the shift in risk from the public sector to the private sector, and about the need for investment in the construction industry more generally. What could the Scottish Government do to mitigate some of that shifting risk? I am thinking about some of the broader issues around driving up demand, such as the need for retrofitting and house building. Is there space for a national construction company, or something like that, which would allow us to focus and target investment and therefore limit the risk shift that you describe?
Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee
Meeting date: 21 September 2021
Maggie Chapman
I will draw on the evidence that you have produced about medical professionals practising conversion therapy. What sanctions do they face? Does the practice largely go unchallenged because of fear of discussing it?
Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee
Meeting date: 21 September 2021
Maggie Chapman
Thank you—that is helpful.
Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee
Meeting date: 21 September 2021
Maggie Chapman
I have a second question, in which I will seek to draw out some of what Barbara Bolton has just said. What is your response to the suggestion that medical practitioners and psychotherapists could be criminalised if they do not affirm a young person’s gender identity? There is an issue around the balance between consent and affirmation, which can be seen as blurred. Even in law, we cannot legislate for blurred lines.
Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee
Meeting date: 21 September 2021
Maggie Chapman
Thank you both for coming today, and for your powerful and informative contributions, previously and this morning. I am very mindful of the view that we should stop talking and get on. I share somewhat your frustration at the fact that we are still talking about the issue.
Igi Moon talked about the importance of intersectionality. Thank you for raising that issue, because I do not think that we have previously heard the matter being articulated in that way.
My questions draw on strands of what Pam Duncan-Glancy and Jeremy Balfour talked about earlier—in particular, medical professionals, in which I include the full range of healthcare professionals from clinical and medical professionals to psychotherapeutic professionals. How do we provide clarity on what is and is not allowed in respect of that setting being the safe space that you mentioned, and in relation to therapists being able to allow challenging and confusing exploration with patients, clients and survivors? I am interested to hear how you think our definition in law will impact on that.
Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee
Meeting date: 21 September 2021
Maggie Chapman
I thank both of you for the clear summaries that you have provided this morning and for your detailed submissions.
I want to follow up on how legislation might have an impact on healthcare professionals, among whom I would include psychotherapeutic professionals. How can we ensure that the way in which we craft the definition the legislation provides clarity on which practices are allowable and which are not? There is an issue around medical professionals being able to offer support, guidance and advice on a range of options for people who may suffer from gender dysphoria, for instance.
I would be interested to hear your views on how we get that element right so that we ban what we need to ban but do not encroach on some of the very sensitive conversations that a medical professional should have with a patient—with the person in front of them.
Economy and Fair Work Committee
Meeting date: 15 September 2021
Maggie Chapman
I have no relevant financial interests, but I refer members to my entry in the register of member’s interests. I am a member of Unite the Union.
Economy and Fair Work Committee
Meeting date: 15 September 2021
Maggie Chapman
That links to what you said in answer to a previous question around diversification and loves local. There is a huge opportunity there.
I want to extend this a little bit and look more broadly. Decades of business support and economic development have not really changed systemic issues in our economy, with low productivity, stagnating rates of entrepreneurialism and so on. What could we do better in the coming years so that we do not just keep doing more of the same? How can we do that better and in a way that will drive the change in direction that we need, not only around net zero but longer term and more broadly? That question is for Adrian Gillespie and Malcolm Roughead.
Economy and Fair Work Committee
Meeting date: 15 September 2021
Maggie Chapman
We might come back to you on the learning that you get from that tool, because it sounds really interesting.
You both talked about linking economic transformation to community wellbeing. That is really important, and it is a strand of work that is in development around the wellbeing economy. My second question is on that subject. How are you supporting businesses and modelling the leadership to enhance activities in line with the wellbeing economy? I am particularly interested in the links to community wealth building and those kinds of fundamental transformations that will change how people relate to their local economies, never mind a broader economic system.