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.
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Displaying 1268 contributions
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Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
National Planning Framework 4
Meeting date: 22 February 2022
Miles Briggs
That is helpful. One of the key things that I have picked up during the committee’s work on planning is that it needs to be accompanied by a 10-year capital investment plan across the public sector. That will be challenging for the national health service and education services, in particular. The minister will be aware of conversations that we have had in the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee about how a lot of new-build development can destabilise general practice surgeries. Therefore, we need to see that complementary capital investment.
My other question is about renewables. We have received some evidence expressing concern that NPF4, as it is currently drafted, could lead to delays in renewable energy developments. The minister said that he uses the word “minimum” in terms of numbers expected around housing. Is it the same for targets around renewables? Is it your opinion that we need to see a presumption in favour of renewables in NPF4? Again, the language will be key. Local authorities will be delivering not necessarily targets but the minimums that we expect.
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
National Planning Framework 4
Meeting date: 22 February 2022
Miles Briggs
That is helpful. My question is on the draft delivery plan. I note that the onshore wind policy statement specifically looks at 8GW to 12GW of onshore wind being delivered in a much shorter timescale than we had in which to deliver the renewable energy that we now produce. Planning departments will look at renewable energy projects, although they will not necessarily take them forward. There is a huge issue around how we meet the target and what delivery plan the Scottish Government expects local authorities to use. Often, the planning authorities that are involved are large and rural rather than urban. I would be interested in seeing where the discussion goes. It is possibly something that we can take forward around the draft delivery plan. The devil will be in the detail.
Social Justice and Social Security Committee
Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Meeting date: 10 February 2022
Miles Briggs
I thank the witnesses for joining us. During the pandemic, COSLA issued framework guidance on supporting people with no recourse to public funds. That guidance is being updated. We have heard evidence, and received written evidence, about inconsistencies in how that is being rolled out across local authorities. Have the witnesses seen that, in their experience?
I will bring in Maggie Lennon first. If anyone else wants to come in, they should put an R in the chat function.
Social Justice and Social Security Committee
Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Meeting date: 10 February 2022
Miles Briggs
Yes—thanks.
Social Justice and Social Security Committee
Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Meeting date: 10 February 2022
Miles Briggs
Thank you for that. I am not sure whether anyone else wanted to come in on that point.
If not, I will move on to discuss models that are in place to support unaccompanied children and young people and how such models could be developed. Perhaps we could bring in Phil Arnold on this. How is that different, how do services engage directly with young people, and is there a model that the committee could consider?
Social Justice and Social Security Committee
Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Meeting date: 10 February 2022
Miles Briggs
I have a question about the Scottish crisis fund and about how you think that has made a difference. In the interests of time, I will merge that with my second question. When you look at pressured areas, such as Glasgow City Council and the City of Edinburgh Council, how has that made a difference, and how has it been administered?
Andy Sirel, you touched on the role of the British Red Cross. I will bring you in, and anyone else who wants to comment can put an R in the chat function.
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
National Planning Framework 4
Meeting date: 8 February 2022
Miles Briggs
We have already touched on infrastructure. The draft NPF4 says:
“We want an infrastructure-first approach to be embedded in Scotland’s planning system.”
What should that look like? Will NPF4 as drafted help to achieve that?
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
National Planning Framework 4
Meeting date: 8 February 2022
Miles Briggs
Yes, please, convener. I want to drill down into the competing pressures and strategic outcomes. For example, we know the targets that the country has set itself for the production of renewable energy. Do the witnesses think that NPF4, as it is currently drafted, will help to deliver renewable energy in their council areas, given the competing demands that exist, such as those relating to the restoration of peatlands? How will that be taken into consideration? That is quite a wide question, but I want to look at how NPF4 will meet the targets in the world of renewables.
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
National Planning Framework 4
Meeting date: 8 February 2022
Miles Briggs
The development of the national planning framework is the opportunity to demand of all councils that we meet our renewable energy targets. Will NPF4 help you to do that? There will be more difficult and challenging issues. For example, many communities will come to you with objections to larger wind turbines, but the job of meeting the targets has really been given to planning departments. Will you have the tools to help you to deliver in that regard? This is a national mission across Scotland, which planning departments are tasked to achieve. What would make the process easier? A lot of applications end up being called in by the Scottish Government because of the challenges. Will NPF4 make your job easier or more difficult?
Social Justice and Social Security Committee
Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Meeting date: 3 February 2022
Miles Briggs
In that case, can I go back on my word and briefly ask another question, convener?
