12/09/2013 Reporting Scotland

Tonight, on Reporting Scotland: The First Minister is challenged over a

cancelled rail project and a controversial land deal that cost

taxpayers hundreds of thousands of pounds. The rising number of

children being poisoned after eating gel laundry tablets. Now a health

board is offering help to families. The Church of Scotland says it might

have to stop performing all weddings, because of the impact of

same-sex marriage legislation. The cost of watching football in

Scotland is going up - but are the fans getting value for money? It is

very poor. And that is judged by the fans that do not bother turning up.

Very expensive. And some of the quality of the football does not

merit the price they are charging. And the Rangers midfielder Ian Black

is given a three-match ban for betting on his own team not to win.

Good evening. Another row has broken out between the Labour Party and the

Scottish Government over the cancelled railway line, planned to

link Glasgow to the city's airport. Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont

says £840,000 of taxpayers' money was spent buying a patch of land

needed to build the track. But, when the plans were cancelled, it was

sold back for just £50,000, to its original owner. Tonight the

businessmen involved is accusing Labour of Here's our political

correspondent, Glenn Campbell. Trying to smear him.

This is the businessmen, John McGlynn, who is at the centre of

this land is a out. His company sold a patch of ground next to these

paisley warehouses for a premium price and purchased it back again

for what looks like a bargain. The land was needed at public expense

for the Glasgow Airport rail link until the Scottish Government

cancelled construction. At Holyrood, Labour challenged the

First Minister to explain the deal which Mr McGlynn, a former

Conservative donor, had managed to strike. Now he supports the yes

campaign. Since then he has been appointed to the Scottish Government

and national economic Forum and appointed to the Scottish Government

purchased the land back from the Scottish Government for just £50,000

and made a profit of £790,000. Is there some connection here or has Mr

McGlynn just benefited from the First Minister's gross incompetence

with public funds? If Joe and Lamb and had any evidence whatsoever that

anything untoward has been happening in property transactions, let her

bring it to the chamber or bring it into the public notice. -- Johann

Lamont. Do not make attacks on people in Scotland with no reason

whatsoever for making them and come to this chamber and attack people

who cannot and is back in the chamber. Ridiculous! Mr Salmond

recently opened the company's knew of disease but John McGlynn said his

business dealings with government are above board. I was unsure what

to think when I actually listen to the recording and I have to come to

the conclusion that this is a personal smear on my character in

some way. Saying that things are fishy, the language that is used, is

in my view not professional as it should be. Mr McGlynn is offering to

meet Joe and Lamb and and is demanding an apology from her. --

Johann Lamont. What are the Scottish Government

saying about this tonight? Is Labour saying sorry? No, they are not. They

are saying that their attack is not on him, but on the First Minister,

for, and they say it, by King high and selling low. It has become clear

tonight that in addition to the £840,000 that was paid for this

piece of land, Mr McGlynn also received an additional undisclosed

sum in compensation. -- biking high and selling low. Labour has said

they bought the land not from John McGlynn but from Strathclyde

Partnership for Transport which had purchased it from Mr McGlynn and

they say that when it came to it, the project, the Glasgow Airport

rail Link project being scrapped, they were obliged to sell the land.

By the time they had sold it, there had been the global economic crash

which had a sound effect on the value of commercial property. John

McGlynn has been clarifying his position tonight, saying that he

supports neither the Yes or No side in the independence debate although

he does favour further powers for this Parliament.

MSPs have voted in favour of the legislation to enable the

independence referendum to take place on the 18th of September next

year. The Scottish Parliament spent the afternoon debating the bill,

which sets out the date, the question to be asked, the campaign

finance limits and the period when government announcements should be

put on hold so they don't influence the outcome. The legislation will

now face further scrutiny in committee.

Scotland's largest health board is to give cupboard catches to every

household with a baby, to remind them of the dangers of gel laundry

capsules. Doctors in Greater Glasgow and Clyde have seen rising numbers

of children being harmed by the brightly coloured "liquitabs", which

haven't been locked away with other household chemicals. Our health

correspondent, Eleanor Bradford, reports.

This child's mother got the fright of her life when she turned round to

find her daughter had bitten into a laundry capsules. It was on a shelf

but the box they were in had a certainly done it that I did not

think she would be able to get into it. At the age she is, everything is

straight in her mouth. No damage was done but doctors here at the West of

Scotland mean Children's Hospital are seeing more children who have

got hold of liquitabs. We have had nine children through our health

unit in the last year. Nine seriously injured children needing

to be on a ventilator to breathe. One children had to be on a

ventilator. Certainly it was a surprise to need us to damaging

these things can't be. We first reported on this issue one year ago

and since then the manufacturers have changed their packaging. The

old-style, see-through boxes have gone, replaced with opiate boxes.

There is warning labels on the front, and what is supposed to be

child frustrating catches that will take them before the end of the year

before these changes are seen in older products. In the meantime, the

poisoning continues. Scotland's largest health board and safety

experts have come up with a plan. We are coming up with packs like this

and it is a leaflet, the most important part of the campaign,

because we want to raise awareness of the issue. We have a covered

latch for every family to put this on their cupboard. Cupboard catches

will be handed out to every household in Greater Glasgow and

Clyde with a three or four -month-old child. But the safest

solution is to treat laundry capsules like bleach and keep them

out of reach. The Church of Scotland is

considering whether it can continue to marry people, in the light of

plans to introduce same-sex marriage. The convener of the Kirk's

legal questions committee told MSPs that the church had concerns about

being dragged through the courts and about how much it would cost.

Catriona Renton reports. Traditionally, marriage has been in

the foundations of the Kirk for centuries. The Church of Scotland

carries out the highest number of religious marriages in the country,

more than 5500 last year. The Kirk believes marriage should be between

a man and a woman. And with the game marriage bill making its way through

Parliament, one representative told MSP's that the Kirk had concerns

about court challenges under human rights laws and how much it would

cost. He said this might jeopardise managed in the Kirk altogether. The

journalist instructed my committee, together with the other councils and

committees of the Church of Scotland, to consider whether in

fact, and I am seeing this column clearly, whether in fact the Church

of Scotland, it is actually worth the Church of Scotland continuing to

offer marriages in Scotland. However, equality campaigners say

this is a bit of an overreaction. Nine countries in Europe have

same-sex marriage. In the last decade of those marriages, no

country had ever required a religious body to conduct same-sex

marriages against its will. The European Convention on human rights

is really clear on this. In a statement, the reverend Hamilton

clarified the Kirk's position, saying that they are urging that any

legislation is approved. The Scottish Government says they have

addressed this. We are putting in place, through the amendments to the

Duke equality act, very substantial safeguards both for churches and

councils. -- the UK equality act. The Church of Scotland said it has

no plans to stop conducting marriages, but it is reviewing

whether it should continue to celebrate them in the way that it

does now. And it is looking abroad to the continent where it is common

practice for the state to carriage at marriages and couples, if they

wish, and then have a church blessing. Some church leaders

believe that would make a church there are many more meaningful and

it would remove any potential legal challenge in the courts.

You're watching Reporting Scotland from the BBC. Still to come on the

programme. Hopes that Scotland's first Gaelic soap in 15 years will

be a hit with viewers. And in sport, there's an early

season award for league leaders Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

And we have all the details on the punishment meted out to the Rangers

midfielder Ian Black for breaching SFA betting rules.

Edinburgh has beat off competition from Stirling and Dundee to be the

home of a new National Performance Centre for Sport. It'll be built at

Heriot-Watt University in the capital. The facility will focus on

football but also support elite athletes in other sports. Lisa

Summers reports. A £30 million centre with expectations of

excellence. The Deputy First Minister announced Henriette what is

the winning bid. This will be a world-class facility and it gives

our top-class athletes the chants to perfect their skills and in hand

their performance and help to Scotland at the world rankings of

the sports. The government are putting up £25 million for the new

facility. Another five will come from Edinburgh City Council, and the

remainder from Heriot-Watt, who believe it was location and

flexibility that gave them the edge. Meeting the needs of elite football

players alongside up and coming young sports players, that will be

able to have access to those facilities and therefore can see

their careers in sport advanced. Hearts football club duties this

area for training and area behind me will be developed. We will have an

indoor hand in style pitch, also there will be more football pitches

and rugby pitches that will extend up this hill. -- Hamden style pitch.

There will be room for athletics, volleyball and rugby. There is just

a hint of optimism in the Scotland camp, but our national side has a

huge amount of catching up to do. It was said it would take a generation

to bring child through who have not had the required coaching, who have

not had the amount of time with the ball to develop and elite players so

we are on a journey and we have opened seven performance schools

across Scotland, we have got boys and girls having coaching daily.

Work will start on the facility next bring. The plan is to have the

performance set up and running by 2016. Scotland's spending watchdog

performance set up and running by has warned that the government

target for changing to renewable resources has been hindered aid

economic crisis and the caution of the private sector. Ordered sectors

says uncertainties over UK energy policy and access to the grid are

also delaying investment. Television viewers in Scotland are

getting a new soap opera. It is backed by the producer of the hugely

successful comedy series The Inbetweeners. As we are about to

report, it will be in Gaelic, the first continuing drama since Machair

ended in 2000 -- in 1998. Not since Machair fizzled out 15 years ago has

there been a programme in the Gaelic language. Even if producers try to

create the programmes on a budget, they will all be speak perfect to

high-ranking soaps. The producer in charge to charge The Inbetweeners.

It became a phenomenon phenomenon. We did it on a low budget. We got an

audience for it and that is the best way of convincing people to give you

money. Location filming has begun where Chris Young lives and both

experienced and novice TV actors have been brought in. I had no idea

there was this many people involved and all the intricate jobs involved.

It is brilliant. White back the scripts are originated in Gaelic,

unlike Machair which was largely written in English and translated.

Onset a speaking director, a former star of the BBC programme River

City, it is a treat for all involved. It is about performance,

director, through rehearsals and going for the take. It is all

through the medium of this language and that is how it has to be. The

crew and non-Gullikson beakers are picking up phrases. -- non-Gillick

speakers. It could create a non-dash-mac money spinning

reduction centre here on the Isle of Skye.

Let's take a look at other stories from across Scotland.

The Scottish Government is investing more than £14 million in new

electric vehicles and charging points. Ministers want Scotland's

towns and cities to be free of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2050.

Tourist businesses could boost their income if they made better use of

Scottish produce, according to Visit Scotland. It's launched a new

quality award for any outlet offering Scottish food and drink

based on research showing that visitors will pay more for an

authentic experience. Not only are visitors looking to find businesses

where they can have Scottish produce on the menu, also there willing to

pay more for food with problems and that is good news for the tourism

industry and also for the food and drink sector.

There was a big drop in the value of fish landed at Scottish ports last

year. Scottish Government figures show that prices were down ine per

cent. £466 million worth of fish was landed in total. There was also a

five per cent drop in the number of fishermen working in the industry

with nearly 50 fewer fishing boats. Cat owners in the north-east are

being asked to record what their pets catch and bring back into their

homes. The North-East Scotland pets catch and bring back into their

Biological Records Centre is compiling a so-called "mammal atlas"

of the area. You have to use trapping techniques to build up a

profile of where they might be most of the time. But by tapping into the

resource of cats bringing species into the house, we can get a better

understanding of where they might be.

United Airlines has announced plans to introduce an Edinburgh to Chicago

service, the first scheduled, nonstop flight between the two

cities. They'll operate from May to October.

There's more from around the country, 24 hours a day, on the BBC

Scotland website. Going to watch football in Scotland

is getting more expensive according to a BBC survey. Most of the

country's 42 clubs took part in the survey. Those in charge say clubs

are working hard to make the game more attractive to supporters. Our

correspondent reports. The fans are often referred to as the lifeblood

of the game and they dig deep to buy the gate -- to buy the tickets. So

that club offers the best value for money? The BBC asked all clubs for a

financial breakdown of the match day experience. The cheapest pies to be

found at St Johnstone. Inverness fans enjoy the cheapest programmes.

Hibernian fans have to dig deep, the tickets are over £350. Celtic topped

the table for the most expensive season ticket. Partick Thistle

allows free entry for children up to the age of 16. We're proud to do it

and have been doing it for a number of years. You have to balance

attendances and season-ticket money compared to what's happening on the

pitch. It is something we are committed to. We see the benefit it

has put the number of children coming through the gates and we are

delighted to keep it going. But not all fans are convinced they are

getting their moneys worth. A day out at Tynecastle a couple of weeks

ago was £60. You pay for what you out at Tynecastle a couple of weeks

get the is not brilliant. The SPL product is very poor. That is judged

by the fans who do not come. Some of the quality of the food hall is not

shown in the price they are charging. So why those in charge

doing enough to get people through the turnstiles? When you look at

what ever it is, sporting or theatrical, live events are

difficult to produce. Scottish book all continuing lead delivers good

value for families. All 42 clubs are doing whatever they can to make that

experience as affordable as possible. -- Scottish football. Our

national obsession with the beautiful game shows no sign of

ending any time soon. Lets get some on the pitch news. It

has been an interesting day. Rangers midfielder Ian Black will serve a

three match ban for breaching Scottish Football Association

betting rules. He admitted betting on 160 matches over a seven-year

stretch into loading three matches when he bet involving his own side.

Our reporter has been following what when he bet involving his own side.

has been happening. Can you tell us more on the details on the crime and

punishment here? We know that even Black was charged with 160 charges

of betting on the court matches totally against the rules of the

Scottish Football Association. We know three of the matters related to

him betting on his then registered club not to win the game. Ian Black

left Hampden this afternoon along with his representative and neither

of them would make any comment. Inside the hearing, alongside Ian

Black, was a players union boss who told us afterwards that the outcome

of the hearing was a warning to other players in Scotland who do bet

on football. If there is any good outcome for this then it has raised

the spectre of this regulation. We as a union that in talking to

players for the last three years about it. There is a role on

betting. At least it has opened it up and it is in the public domain.

-- a room on betting. -- a round left. Even black played a part in a

match last season against East Stirlingshire and he that on a

draft. He came off the substitutes bench and there was a 3-2 win for

Rangers. There was a rule that no Scottish football player can bet on

any much anywhere in the world. A group of Rangers shareholders have

dropped their demands for the removal of three of the clubs

current directors and the appointment of two of their own

faction. A club statement to the stock exchange says the group added

agreed they would be no boardroom changes providing the annual general

meeting is convened by the 31st of October.

On the field, he may be at the summit of Scottish football but

there is still room for improvement for Inverness Caledonian Thistle

stuff that is according to Captain for Inverness Caledonian Thistle

Richie Warren who won the test DFL Player of the Year award for

August. It reflects the fine start to the season and comes along way

since the bitter inception as Heather Dewar reports. September

1993. Two Highland league clubs Inverness Thistle and Canada William

Culliton -- Caledonia will vote to Red Jasmine. -- thought to emerge as

one. -- opt to combine. 100 years gone, for what! That moment led to

the very inception of Inverness Caledonian Thistle. 20 years later

this is the club as we now know it and they have well and truly

cemented their place in the top flight. We are progressing forward

well. The club itself is on a solid footing. We have the boys lined up

for next year as well so the long-term future is looking rosy.

Performances like these have put them top of the league. The Captain

Richie Foran was rewarded with the SPFL Player of the Month Award for

August. What is the secret to success? Ask the players and they

will tell you hard work and an incredible team spirit. It is a

warning there is more to come. We want to do better and we are always

looking for improvement. I have never met a player who said he had

that perfect game. We have been good -- good, but good is not good

enough. After 20 years, is winning the Premiership achievable? On

current form, it is surely not impossible. Tim Visser says he is

hopeful Scottish clubs will avoid being excluded from the Heineken

club -- Heineken Cup. Clubs from England and France had threatened to

break away saying they are not happy the way the tournament is organised.

Talks continue on that front. Tim Visser says he envisages Scottish

clubs -- does not envisage clubs being left out. The diversity of

countries in the Heineken Cup is great. It was the tournament's

greatest asset, getting all the nations involved. It gives them the

opportunity to play against teams from other countries.

Interesting day on and off the pitch.

Time for a weather update. We will be battening down the

hatches at the weekend. There are still a few heavy patches of rain to

come tonight but afterwards it will clear although it will remain cloudy

and misty and temperatures will drop. Tomorrow, we start off with a

fair amount of cloud for southern Scotland and you will see some bits

and pieces of patchy rain at first stop the emphasis is on dry and

bright weather with some decent spells of sunshine. At around 3pm,

may be some thicker spells of rain. But that will be interspersed with

good spells of sunshine in the central belt. The North Highlands

will see very good weather as well and towards the Northern and Western

Isles you may see a few light showers. Temperatures tomorrow will

be cooler than we have seen recently. Throughout the rest of the

afternoon and towards the evening the showers will die away and you

will be treated to some evening sunshine. Tomorrow night will be

cooled and the high-pressure system means it will remain dry and settled

for the weekend. In the east you will see dry and bright weather, but

in the West, a very deep area of low pressure is threatening, and on

Sunday that will bring very wet and windy weather. The Met Office has

issued as yellow weather warning for Sunday. That weather will sweep

across the country on Sunday morning. The main fact is the wind,

and you will see some potentially damaging gusts with the winds

reaching around 70 mph. Keep up-to-date online.

A reminder of the main news. Royal mail will be privatised within

weeks. UK government says shares will be sold workers and the public.

For the first time, President Assad has confirmed he is willing to put

his country's chemical weapons under international control.

Church of Scotland is considering whether it can continue to carry out

weddings under plans for same-sex legislation. That is all for now.

weddings under plans for same-sex Thank you for joining us. Goodbye..