Details of how an MSP voted on an issue in the Chamber is available in the Official Report of that day’s meeting of the Parliament, which also contains the text of what was said during the debate.

Most of the voting takes place at Decision Time and is recorded under that heading in the Official Report.

The Scottish Parliament’s Education Service produces a range of resources designed to fit in with the curriculum in Scottish primary and secondary schools, as well as materials for teachers and interactive resources on the internet.

Green and white papers are consultation documents issued by the Government. Green papers set out policy proposals for discussion; white papers are more detailed statements of government policy.

These terms are primarily associated with documents issued by UK Government departments and are not generally used by the Scottish Government to describe the consultation documents it issues. Details of the Scottish Government's consultations are published on its website.

Hansard is the name used for the Official Report of proceedings in the UK Parliament that provides a full written record of what is said in Parliament, as well as Written Ministerial Statements and Written Answers.

In the Scottish Parliament, the Official Report is the full written report of what is said in public meetings of the Parliament and its committees. It includes debates, statements, questions, votes and evidence given to committees. For more information, see the publication The Official Report.

Official Reports of meetings of the Parliament are in the Official Report section of the website. Official Reports of committee meetings appear on the pages of the relevant committee in the Committees section of the website.

The text of what was said during a debate in the Chamber is available in the Official Report of that day’s meeting of the Parliament. (Official Reports of meetings in the Chamber are published on our website around 21.00 on the day of the meeting and on paper by 08.00 the day after the debate has taken place.)

The programme of parliamentary business in the Chamber is normally decided two weeks in advance, although it is subject to change. If you want to find out what is happening in the next two weeks, you can look in Section B of the current Business Bulletin. If you want to find out what is happening in the Parliament today, you can look in Section A of the Business Bulletin. (The Business Bulletin is published on our website each weekday when the Parliament is sitting and at regular intervals when the Parliament is in recess.)

Information about the current business of Scottish Parliament committees can be found on the web pages of each committee. Committee agendas and information about forthcoming committee business are published in Section C of the Business Bulletin. (Committee agendas normally appear two days before the meeting.)

You can order copies of the leaflets shown on our Publications page by using the Publications Order Form on our website.

If a bill is still in progress through the Scottish Parliament, you can express your concerns about it and attempt to change its provisions. There are various points at which you can do this. When and how you do this depends on the type of bill.

Information on how to contribute to the process of scrutinising and amending bills introduced by the Scottish Government (which are known as Executive bills) is available in Amendments to Executive Bills: Guidance on the website. The Scottish Government is responsible for most of the bills introduced to the Parliament. Other types of public bill, such as committee bills and members' bills, follow procedures similar to those for Executive bills.

Information on how to object to a private bill is available in Information for Objectors to Private Bills. Details of the procedures for scrutinising private bills are available in the Guidance on Private Bills in the Parliamentary Procedure section of the website.

A written question is one lodged by an MSP which is specified as being for written answer by a member of the Scottish Executive (the Scottish Government) or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body.

Written questions are published in Section E of the Business Bulletin. Answers are provided in writing and published in the Written Answers Report. All admissible written questions will receive an answer.

All questions selected for a Question Time slot that are not answered orally in the Chamber will receive a written answer, which will be published in the Written Answers report.

• General Question Time and Themed Question Time: This is the time in the Chamber each week (normally on Thursdays) when MSPs ask questions of the Cabinet Secretaries and Ministers. There is one period of time set aside for general questions and another set aside for questions on specified themes such as justice and health and wellbeing. The themes vary each week on a rota basis. (The rota for the period from 6 December 2007 was published in the Business Bulletin on 15 November 2007 and continues in operation.) Members who wish to lodge a themed or general question submit their names for selection. Names are chosen at random by computer. Successful members then submit their questions, which are published in Section D of the Business Bulletin, normally one week before they will be asked in the Chamber.
• First Minister’s Question Time: This is the period of up to 30 minutes each week (normally starting at noon on Thursdays) when MSPs ask questions of the First Minister in the Chamber. Six questions are selected by the Presiding Officer, and these are published in Section D of the Business Bulletin, normally on the Tuesday before they will be asked in the Chamber.
• SPCB Question Time: This is a period of up to 15 minutes at a meeting of the Parliament when MSPs put questions to members of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body on the provision of staff, services and facilities at Holyrood. Questions are selected at random by computer. These sessions take place occasionally.

All questions selected for a Question Time slot that are not answered orally in the Chamber will receive a written answer, which will be published in the Written Answers Report.

Tickets to attend Question Time sessions and First Minister’s Question Time can be reserved through Visitor Services.

The Business Bulletin is published on our website each weekday when the Parliament is sitting and at regular intervals when the Parliament is in recess. It contains information on forthcoming meetings of the Parliament and committees, a list of oral and written questions, current motions, bills, laid papers and committee reports, petitions and information on the progress of legislation. You can find current and previous Business Bulletins in the Parliamentary Business section of the website.

In November 1997, the Secretary of State for Scotland set up the Consultative Steering Group on the Scottish Parliament (CSG), which met for the first time in January 1998. The CSG was chaired by Henry McLeish, the Scottish Office Minister for Devolution, and was composed of representatives of the main political parties in Scotland and of other civic groups and interests. The remit of the CSG was to report on the “operational needs and working methods” of the Parliament and to make proposals for its Standing Orders and rules of procedure. Its main report, Shaping Scotland’s Parliament, was published in January 1999. (This report is no longer available on the Scottish Government website. Please contact the Scottish Government if you wish to obtain a PDF copy of the report.)

The Official Report is the full written report of what is said in public meetings of the Parliament and its committees. It includes debates, statements, questions, votes and evidence given to committees. For more information, see the publication The Official Report.

Official Reports of meetings of the Parliament are in the Official Report section of the website. Official Reports of committee meetings appear on the pages of the relevant committee in the Committees section of the website.

You can find news releases in the News section of the website. The Scottish Parliament’s Media Office issues news releases on a regular basis. These can be on a range of topics, from the launch of a consultation by one of the Parliament’s committees, to special events being held in the Parliament building.

You can find the Written Answers Report in the Parliamentary Questions & Answers section of the website.

The Written Answers Report contains the text of written questions lodged by MSPs and the answers given by members of the Scottish Government, the Presiding Officer and members the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body.

The Scottish Parliament does not have a public reading room in which you can consult official publications produced by the Parliament. However, most libraries provide internet access to the Scottish Parliament website, where all our publications appear, and some also hold printed copies of some documents.

You can purchase printed copies of parliamentary documents from Blackwell’s Bookshop.

If you have an issue that you want to raise, it is important to make sure that the right person gets to hear about it. The leaflet Who Represents Me? may help you decide who to contact. This publication outlines the roles and responsibilities of the different organisations that influence the lives of people in Scotland and provides useful contact details.