Holyrood, made browsable

Hansard

Every contribution to the Official Report — chamber and committee — searchable in one place. Pulled from data.parliament.scot, indexed for full-text search, linked through to every MSP.

129
Current MSPs
415
MSPs ever elected
14
Parties on record
2,096,198
Hansard contributions
1999–2026
Coverage span
Official Report

Search Hansard contributions

Showing 60 of 2,096,198 contributions. Latest 30 days: 3,026. Coverage: 12 May 1999 — 10 Jun 2026.
The Presiding Officer NPA Chamber
10 Jun 2026
Urgent Question
That concludes the urgent question. We will have a one-minute break to switch over, after which we will resume with portfolio questions.The rest of this Official Report will be published progressively as soon as the text is available.
Neil Gray SNP Chamber
10 Jun 2026
Urgent Question
I understand the motivation behind Mr Smith’s questions. He will understand that Police Scotland, the Courts and Tribunals Service and the Crown are rightly independent of Government. However, what we are able to see from the footage that Mr Kerr and Mr Smith have alluded to s...
Alyn Smith (Stirling) (SNP) SNP Chamber
10 Jun 2026
Urgent Question
I commend Paul Sweeney for his contributions in the chamber. There is a lot of unanimity across the Parliament, and we should all be careful with our words in general when discussing such matters.These are aggravated offences. I commend the cabinet secretary for his response, ...
Neil Gray SNP Chamber
10 Jun 2026
Urgent Question
I agree with Mr Kerr’s points. Of course, there is a right to protest and to organise peacefully, but that is not what we saw last night. We saw thuggery and intimidatory tactics seeking to divide communities. They will not succeed in Scotland.Last night, I was in live dialogu...
Stephen Kerr (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber
10 Jun 2026
Urgent Question
Looking at the footage of last night’s events, we see that it was not protest but criminal disorder. Families should be able to go about their daily lives in Scotland without fear of violence, intimidation or public disorder from a gang of balaclava-clad hooligans.Will the cab...
Neil Gray SNP Chamber
10 Jun 2026
Urgent Question
In the first instance, those efforts are being led by Police Scotland in the work that it is doing to reassure communities across Scotland. Work is ongoing in Government to ensure that we are able to protect and enhance communities, including minority ethnic groups and religio...
Clare Haughey (Rutherglen and Cambuslang) (SNP) SNP Chamber
10 Jun 2026
Urgent Question
The scenes in Glasgow city centre and in other parts of Scotland—and, indeed, in Belfast—were truly shocking. Those scenes and all racism must be condemned by all parties in the chamber. Shame on those who choose not to do so.How will the Scottish Government reach out to and w...
Neil Gray SNP Chamber
10 Jun 2026
Urgent Question
I fundamentally and completely agree with what Paul Sweeney has said—I believe that to my core. We are a welcoming nation. We have benefited from migration to this country and we continue to benefit from it. I say that particularly given the offices that I have held in health ...
Paul Sweeney Lab Chamber
10 Jun 2026
Urgent Question
Some members of the Parliament have sought to fan the flames of division with continual talk of “strangers” and calls for further protests tonight. Does the cabinet secretary agree that every one of us in the Parliament has a duty to calm tensions in this country and not to in...
The Presiding Officer (Kenneth Gibson) NPA Chamber
10 Jun 2026
Urgent Question
Before Paul Sweeney comes back in, I say to him that I am looking for questions rather than speeches. Other members are keen to come in, so it is important that we keep questions as brief as possible.
Neil Gray SNP Chamber
10 Jun 2026
Urgent Question
I completely agree with everything that Paul Sweeney has put on the record in his supplementary question. The Scottish Government’s approach is grounded in tackling hate consistently and proportionately across all communities, which is underpinned by a zero-tolerance stance on...
Paul Sweeney Lab Chamber
10 Jun 2026
Urgent Question
Last night, racist thugs stormed through the centre of Glasgow under the white nationalist slogan “White lives matter”. Members of the public were attacked indiscriminately because of the colour of their skin, and two police officers were injured. My prayers are with those who...
The Cabinet Secretary for Justice (Neil Gray) SNP Chamber
10 Jun 2026
Urgent Question
The actions of a very small number of individuals in parts of Scotland last night, which included the assaulting of police officers and members of minority ethnic communities, are shocking and unacceptable. Violence and racism have no place on our streets, and I utterly condem...
Paul Sweeney (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab Chamber
10 Jun 2026
Urgent Question
To ask the Scottish Government what urgent action it will take in response to the reported violent racist demonstrations that took place last night in Glasgow.
Speaker unknown Chamber
10 Jun 2026
Urgent Question
14:04
The Presiding Officer (Kenneth Gibson) NPA Chamber
10 Jun 2026
Committee Conveners
Today’s business begins with the results of the elections for committee conveners. I will announce the results for each committee in turn.Stuart McMillan has been elected as convener of the Climate Action Committee. The total number of ballots was 121 and the results were as f...
Angela Constance SNP Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · GP Walk-in Centres (North Ayrshire)
It is disappointing that Mr Hoy does not welcome the prospect of a GP walk-in service for Stranraer. The important point is that the purpose of GP walk-in services is to free up capacity in the primary care system, so that people across our constituencies and regions can be se...
Craig Hoy (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · GP Walk-in Centres (North Ayrshire)
It is 77 miles from Sanquhar to Stranraer, which is a journey that takes a minimum of two hours by car or at least four hours by bus. Given that my constituents will be expected to make that journey to access the GP walk-in centre in Stranraer, does that not expose the policy ...
Angela Constance SNP Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · GP Walk-in Centres (North Ayrshire)
I expect the Glasgow site to open later this month. I very much appreciate the health board’s hard work to get the services up and running. I am sure that Michelle Campbell will join me in welcoming the opening of the sites and thanking our hard-working national health service...
Michelle Campbell (Renfrewshire North and Cardonald) (SNP) SNP Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · GP Walk-in Centres (North Ayrshire)
Work is well under way in preparation for Glasgow’s first walk-in clinic opening. Can the Scottish Government offer an update on when that wonderful resource for the good people of Cardonald will be open?
Angela Constance SNP Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · GP Walk-in Centres (North Ayrshire)
Ms Gibson has made an important point about reducing health inequality by improving access to healthcare. The Government is committed to providing a North Ayrshire walk-in service, which was one of the 14 additional services that were announced. That brings the total number of...
Patricia Gibson SNP Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · GP Walk-in Centres (North Ayrshire)
North Ayrshire’s people have Scotland’s lowest healthy life expectancy. The average adult remains in full health until just 53 years old. More than 28 per cent of people live with a long-term health condition, which is 6 per cent higher than the Scottish average. In view of th...
The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Care (Angela Constance) SNP Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · GP Walk-in Centres (North Ayrshire)
I have committed to expanding the walk-in service programme and will set out how I will do so in the first 100 days of this Government. Health boards were previously asked to generate proposals that considered their populations’ needs, taking into account local issues and circ...
Patricia Gibson (Cunninghame South) (SNP) SNP Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · GP Walk-in Centres (North Ayrshire)
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects a general practitioner walk-in centre to open in North Ayrshire. (S7O-00023)
Neil Gray SNP Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (Service Delivery Review)
The short answer is yes. I am happy to meet Ms Minto or any other member to discuss the matter further. The challenge of multiple organisations drawing on small rural populations is not new. The SFRS works collaboratively with a range of partners, including the coastguard serv...
Jenni Minto (Argyll and Bute) (SNP) SNP Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (Service Delivery Review)
I appreciate that these are independent decisions to be made by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, but I am interested to know whether the Scottish Government is looking at the cumulative impact of those changes on, for example, other rescue services such as the coastguard,...
Neil Gray SNP Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (Service Delivery Review)
I am more than happy to explore that with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in order to ensure that we are in a position to respond to the changing nature of fire and flood risk across Scotland. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s very successful prevention activities, a...
Stephen Kerr (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (Service Delivery Review)
Ministers previously told Parliament that almost £1 million of specialist wildfire pumping units would be deployed within weeks. A Scottish Conservative freedom of information request later revealed that they were still not operational, during Scotland’s worst wildfire season ...
Neil Gray SNP Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (Service Delivery Review)
These are independent decisions for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to make, but it is open to Parliament to take a view on those matters—in the way that a view is normally taken, for example, on investigations undertaken through the committee structure—or otherwise. Obvi...
Joe Fagan Lab Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (Service Delivery Review)
There is profound concern about the potential outcomes of the service delivery review, not least from the firefighters and their union. Given the gravity of the decisions that are about to be made, does the Government agree that there should be full parliamentary scrutiny and ...
The Cabinet Secretary for Justice (Neil Gray) SNP Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (Service Delivery Review)
I met the SFRS board chair on 4 June, when we discussed the overall objectives of the service delivery review and the consultation and outreach process that the SFRS has undertaken. Recent large fires in Glasgow and Fife have been dealt with commendably by our front-line firef...
Joe Fagan (South Scotland) (Lab) Lab Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (Service Delivery Review)
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service board regarding the outcome of the service delivery review that is due to be considered on 22 June. (S7O-00022)
Stephen Flynn SNP Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · Active Travel (Funding)
I am happy to answer.If Mr Cole-Hamilton wishes to write to me, I will write back to him as swiftly as I possibly can.
The Presiding Officer NPA Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · Active Travel (Funding)
That was not quite on the nose for the general question, but do you want to respond, cabinet secretary?
Alex Cole-Hamilton (Edinburgh North Western) (LD) LD Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · Active Travel (Funding)
I hope that the cabinet secretary will agree that one of the safest ways to get students from Kirkliston in my constituency to their catchment high school in South Queensferry is via the council-funded coach service that has been operating well there for several years. A decis...
The Presiding Officer NPA Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · Active Travel (Funding)
I realise that everyone is finding their feet, including me. I remind members that they should only press their button if they want to ask a supplementary to the general question that has been asked.Alex Cole-Hamilton has a supplementary.
Lloyd Melville (Angus South) (SNP) SNP Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · Active Travel (Funding)
My apologies, Presiding Officer. I pressed my button in error, thinking that I would have to do that for my general question later on.
The Presiding Officer NPA Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · Active Travel (Funding)
Lloyd Melville has a supplementary.
Julie MacDougall Reform Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · Active Travel (Funding)
I apologise.
The Presiding Officer NPA Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · Active Travel (Funding)
That is not relevant to this question. We are on supplementaries to the question that Patrick Harvie asked.
Julie MacDougall (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Reform) Reform Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · Active Travel (Funding)
I recently met the chief executive of Forth Valley College. It was incredibly harrowing to hear about how apprenticeship courses are being cut—
The Presiding Officer NPA Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · Active Travel (Funding)
Julie MacDougall has a supplementary.
Stephen Flynn SNP Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · Active Travel (Funding)
Mr Harvie will be pleased to know that £3.2 million is still going to regional transport partnerships—£1.6 million will be available for local direct awards and £1.4 million is going to bikeability schemes, which all our weans can benefit from. Of course, that forms part of a ...
Patrick Harvie Green Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · Active Travel (Funding)
I am sorry that the cabinet secretary did not choose to answer that question by explaining why the cut took place and why it took place during the election purdah period. I have returned to my job to meet local community organisations that are doing the work that the Scottish ...
The Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport (Stephen Flynn) SNP Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · Active Travel (Funding)
I thank Patrick Harvie for his question, because it gives me the opportunity to restate what the First Minister said. We support cycling, walking and wheeling, which is why £226 million-worth of investment is going into sustainable and active travel. I am very proud of that—I ...
Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green) Green Chamber
09 Jun 2026
General Question Time · Active Travel (Funding)
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of comments made by the First Minister in the Parliament on 2 June that the Scottish Government prioritises active and safe travel routes and the encouragement of cycling, walking and wheeling, for what reason Transport Scotland reporte...
Stephen Kerr Con Chamber
09 Jun 2026
Committee Conveners
Thank you.
The Presiding Officer NPA Chamber
09 Jun 2026
Committee Conveners
Yes.
Stephen Kerr (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber
09 Jun 2026
Committee Conveners
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. For guidance, would it be possible for the same person to be nominated again in those circumstances?
The Presiding Officer NPA Chamber
09 Jun 2026
Committee Conveners
The process is opened again for further nominations. However, to be clear, any other member who is nominated will have to come from the party from which the original member was selected.
Helen McDade Reform Chamber
09 Jun 2026
Committee Conveners
What happens then?
The Presiding Officer NPA Chamber
09 Jun 2026
Committee Conveners
If a candidate receives the majority of votes, that candidate will become the committee convener. If the majority is against it, that candidate will not be the committee convener.
Helen McDade (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Reform) Reform Chamber
09 Jun 2026
Committee Conveners
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I just wonder what the process is. Can you explain what happens once a vote has been cast when there is only one candidate, so that we know what we are voting against?
The Presiding Officer NPA Chamber
09 Jun 2026
Committee Conveners
Willie Rennie’s election as convener will be subject to election by secret ballot.Fifteen out of 15 convenerships will be subject to secret ballots.I have also received two valid nominations for convener of the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee. The nomin...
The Presiding Officer NPA Chamber
09 Jun 2026
Committee Conveners
Craig Hoy’s election as convener will be subject to election by secret ballot.Willie Rennie has been nominated as convener of the Transport Committee. If any member objects to his election as convener, please press your point-of-order button now.An objection was received.
The Presiding Officer NPA Chamber
09 Jun 2026
Committee Conveners
Mark Ruskell’s election as convener will be subject to election by secret ballot.Craig Hoy has been nominated as convener of the Social Justice, Housing and Local Government Committee. If any member objects to his election as convener, please press your point-of-order button n...
The Presiding Officer NPA Chamber
09 Jun 2026
Committee Conveners
Bob Doris’s election as convener will be subject to election by secret ballot.Mark Ruskell has been nominated as convener of the Rural Affairs Committee. If any member objects to his election as convener, please press your point-of-order button now.An objection was noted.
The Presiding Officer NPA Chamber
09 Jun 2026
Committee Conveners
Paul Sweeney’s election as convener will be subject to election by secret ballot.Bob Doris has been nominated as convener of the Public Service Reform Committee. If any member objects to his election as convener, please press your point-of-order button now.An objection was noted.
The Presiding Officer NPA Chamber
09 Jun 2026
Committee Conveners
Neil Bibby’s election as convener will be subject to election by secret ballot.Paul Sweeney has been nominated as convener of the Public Petitions Committee. If any member objects to his election as convener, please press your point-of-order button now.An objection was noted.
The Presiding Officer NPA Chamber
09 Jun 2026
Committee Conveners
Helen McDade’s election as convener will be subject to election by secret ballot.Neil Bibby has been nominated as convener of the Public Audit Committee. If any member objects to his election as convener, please press your point-of-order button now.An objection was noted.
← Back to list
Chamber

Meeting of the Parliament 03 October 2023

03 Oct 2023 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Scottish Parliament Powers
Cameron, Donald Con Highlands and Islands Watch on SPTV

No—I am sorry; I do not have time. I have already gone through that.

Let me touch on a few other issues. Section 35 of the Scotland Act 1998 is frequently mentioned as representing an attack on devolution. As I have said on numerous occasions, section 35 is intrinsic to the 1998 act. It is part and parcel of the devolution settlement and it is not a new clause or concept. It was explicitly included in the 1998 act by the founders of devolution: the Labour Administration of the day. Fundamentally, it is risible to argue that the powers of this Parliament should be undermined for the use of section 35, which was included in the founding text of devolution.

I turn to the Sewel convention.

In the same item of business

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur) LD
The next item of business is a debate on motion S6M-10703, in the name of Jamie Hepburn, on protection of Scottish Parliament powers. Members who wish to par...
The Minister for Independence (Jamie Hepburn) SNP
This debate fulfils a commitment that I made during a members’ business debate on a similar range of concerns, which Keith Brown brought before the Parliamen...
Martin Whitfield (South Scotland) (Lab) Lab
Will the minister give way?
Jamie Hepburn SNP
Yes—briefly.
Martin Whitfield Lab
Much of what the minister has said carries resonance, but have the past 16 years not also been a missed opportunity for the Scottish Government to devolve po...
Jamie Hepburn SNP
The actions and the role of local government are of critical importance to the people who live in our communities. In that regard, we place the highest impor...
Donald Cameron (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Con
Our constituents elect us to this chamber to discuss, debate and scrutinise legislation and to assist them with their problems, whether they be ordinary or e...
Jamie Hepburn SNP
Would Donald Cameron not recognise that what I set out on the UK Energy Bill was precisely that—it was a take-it-or leave-it approach? The UK Government is d...
Donald Cameron Con
I will come to that in a moment. The arguments that we have just heard are not rational; that was just empty rhetoric from the minister. Let me state some h...
Clare Adamson (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP) SNP
Will the member take an intervention?
Donald Cameron Con
No—I will not. I want to make some progress. As the Scottish Conservatives’ amendment states, “the UK Government is investing directly in Scotland and is w...
Martin Whitfield Lab
Will the member give way?
Donald Cameron Con
Very briefly.
Martin Whitfield Lab
I inquire about Donald Cameron’s view of the value of legislative consent motions. Should they be sought by the Westminster Government? If, for whatever reas...
The Deputy Presiding Officer LD
Mr Cameron, I can give you time back for interventions.
Donald Cameron Con
I totally believe in the need for a legislative consent mechanism, but I do not think that the specifics require an explanation from the UK Government—that i...
Jamie Hepburn SNP
Will the member take an intervention?
Donald Cameron Con
No—I am sorry; I do not have time. I have already gone through that. Let me touch on a few other issues. Section 35 of the Scotland Act 1998 is frequently m...
Clare Adamson SNP
Will the member take an intervention?
Donald Cameron Con
I will in a second. Every member of the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee has acknowledged that the Sewel convention is under str...
Jamie Hepburn SNP
Will the member take an intervention?
Donald Cameron Con
I will in a moment. I will just finish this point. As I have previously noted, we regularly pass legislative consent motions in the Parliament without a div...
The Deputy Presiding Officer LD
Will you resume your seat for a second, Mr Cameron? Minister, you know as well as I do that it is up to members whether to take interventions. Okay? You hav...
Donald Cameron Con
Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. What about the times when the Scottish Government has brought ludicrous arguments about not consenting? I refer to the ...
Jamie Hepburn SNP
Does Mr Cameron think that it is peculiar when he says that the Sewel convention is being used normally? In the period from when the Parliament was convened ...
Donald Cameron Con
As I have just said, in 2021 alone, the Scottish Government consented to eight bills.
Alasdair Allan (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (SNP) SNP
Will the member give way?
Donald Cameron Con
No, I will not. The Sewel convention is working. To characterise it as at risk or collapsing is ludicrous. Week in, week out, we consent to Westminster legi...
The Deputy Presiding Officer LD
I appreciate that we are going to have some excitable debate at times, but there is a bit of time in hand to take interventions, so contributions should be m...
Neil Bibby (West Scotland) (Lab) Lab
I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the debate. After a number of turbulent years for devolution, I will start with a point of general agreeme...