Publications from the Scottish Parliament include SP Bills, SP Papers, and the Official Report of the Scottish Parliament.

Other relevant publications include Scottish Government Papers (SG Papers, formerly SE Papers) and publications from Directorates.

N.B. References to parliamentary materials can vary. For guidance on how to reference materials in your own work refer to a referencing guide:

Scottish Parliament Bills (SP Bills)

A Scottish Parliament Bill (SP Bill) is a draft form of an Act. A Bill must pass through various parliamentary stages before it is passed, gains Royal Assent, and becomes an Act. If a Bill falls at any stage it does not become an Act.

References to SP Bills

SP Bill 29 Control of Dogs (Scotland) Bill [As Introduced] Session 3 (2009)

Scottish Parliament Papers (SP Papers)

Scottish Parliament Papers (SP Papers) include reports of Committees and other publications resulting from the work of the Parliament.

References to SP Papers

Justice Committee 10th Report, 2009, Report on Subordinate Legislation (SPP 258)

OR

Justice Committee, Report on Subordinate Legislation (SPP 258, Session 3, 2009)

Scottish Parliament Official Report

The Scottish Parliament Official Report provides a record of debates on Bills and other business before the Parliament. Constituent parts include: Meetings of the Parliament, Committee Meetings, and Written Answers.

References to the Official Report

Meeting of Parliament

Debate on the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Bill, Stage 1, SP OR 10 February 2010, Col 23646-23667

Committee meeting

Debate on the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Bill, Stage 2, SP OR LGC 24 March 2010, Col 2920-2929

*for a list of committee abbreviations see Guide to Recommended Citations for Scottish Parliament Publications:

Written answers

Shona Robison, written answer to question from Ken Macintosh, SP WA 11 February 2010, S3O-9481

Scottish Government Papers (SG Papers) include publications from the Scottish Government and reports and accounts of devolved agencies and other public bodies. they were formerly published as “Scottish Executive Papers” (or SE Papers).

References to SG Papers

Anniesland College, Report & Accounts 31 July 2008, SG/2009/36

Legislation

For information about legislation from the Scottish Parliament refer to out Legislation Guide:

Public Information Online

By Reference:

Follow the link to ‘Scottish Parliament’ then , under ‘Categories’, to ‘Official reports’, ‘Written Answers’, or ‘Official Reports of Committee Debates’. Then browse by session and date. (Alternatively, use options in the ‘Advanced Search’ screen.)

By Subject/Speaker:

Follow the link to the ‘Advanced Search’ screen. Under ‘Categories’ select the relevant source(s) (e.g. ‘Scottish Parliament Official Reports’). Enter terms in the ‘Keywords in document text’ search field.

Official Report (Scottish Parliament website)

Reference/Date:           

Follow the link ‘‘Find Official Reports by date’’ then choose a date range, select ‘Browse’ to view relevant documents.

Subject:                       

In the ‘Search the Official Report’ box select 'Advanced Search', enter keywords (and choose MSP) select ‘Search’ to display results.

In the Library

By Reference:

Use the SP Official Report (OR) or Written Answers (WA) reference to locate the debate by series/committee, session, and column.

By Subject (e.g. Bill) or Speaker:

Current Law Statutes: Annotations at the beginning of an act contains references to debates relating to the Bill.

‘Explanatory Notes’ to Acts of the Scottish Parliament contain references to debates on the related Bill (under ‘Parliamentary History’).

Public Information Online

The ‘Bill Tracker’ allows you to follow the progress of a Bill as it goes through the UK or Scottish Parliament.

• Bills can be filtered by Parliament, session and are then listed alphabetically.
• Follow the link the Bill you wish to track.

Documents associated with the passage of the Bill are listed in reverse chronological order (with other sort and search options available).

Bills (Scottish Parliament website)

This page provides links to ‘Current Bills’ and ‘Previous Bills by Session’ where individual Bills are listed. Each Bill’s page lists the stages the Bill has reached with links to associated documents.