20/01/2016 Reporting Scotland

Newsnight is coming up over on BBC Two.

Good evening. The number of Scots in employment has reached an all-time

high. It means levels of employment have returned to where they were

before the financial crisis. Here's our business correspondent. A

new business teeing off in Edinburgh. It sells wearable

technology which allows golfers to see how they've performed on the

course. As this market expands, so does the company and its workforce.

We've gone from a team of three at the start of 2015 to 18 of ten at

the end of the year and we are about to move to larger offices. We've

launched a product. Success that firms like this hack is helping

drive down the improvement rate and bringing more people the labour

market. This latest rise in employment levels means Scotland

passes another lines -- landmine. -- landmark.

There has been a bit of a problem since the recession in that Scotland

has created fewer full-time jobs, more part-time jobs and few were

self-employment jobs. So, although the implement figures as a whole lot

going up, the composition isn't as good as as it is in the rest of the

UK. And problems remain. Falling oil prices mean thousands of jobs lost

in the offshore oil industry and the trend continued today with a firm

preparing to lay off more than 60 workers. For 19 years, Stuart Massey

was an offshore driller and now he's out of work. It is difficult. There

isn't anything about when we were in work and regular phone calls from

agencies offers seeing that my offering trips here and there.

That's dried up and offices -- offers that jobs fairs have dried

up. So it's proving to be hard, but growth in the rest of the jobs

market is more than making up for that.

Relatives of flu -- three victims of the Glasgow bin lorry have taken the

first formal step of bringing a private prosecution against the

driver. Lawyers have delivered a bill of criminal letters to the Lord

Advocate beginning the process of a private prosecution. The Lord

Advocate has seven days to respond. A 40-year-old woman has been

arrested and charged with the murder of a grandmother in Fife earlier

this month. The 82-year-old was found dead in her flat at the

beginning of January. A woman is preparing to appear in court

tomorrow. There is a court to an end to the

council tax freeze. In an official report, there's acknowledgement

about who has been helped by the freeze. A local government

correspondence reports. There has been a big freeze in town

halls for nearly nine years but who is helped most by the frozen council

tax? Are the poorest gaining from bills that aren't going up or losing

app when councils face tight budgets and cut services? The government has

today called for the freeze to end. We have a system of local taxation

that is broken with huge increases in property values but no changes in

the way they are taxed. Meanwhile, probably from 2017 onwards it would

be a idea to give councils more power over their tax and spend. What

happens next is now in play. The SNP will bring forward the postal is for

the longer term of local government finance before the election and we

will challenge other parties -- pieties to do the same. We know the

Scottish Government is about 2/ half ?1 billion from local government

budgets and the reason that is important is that it pays for

schools and social care and services that contribute to tackling poverty.

But inept council tax simple. Any council would lose out on government

cash so any rises need to be big ones. Last week, an 18% rise was

proposed and more may follow. Politicians say the policies need to

be thought of over and options for change are likely to be a big part

of the election debate in the weeks ahead.

A parliamentary enquiry into the closure of the Forth Road Bridge is

to begin. It was closed for up to three weeks. Transport Scotland told

the infrastructure committee they couldn't predict what had happened.

One of the Syrian refugee families who arrived in Scotland has broken

to the BBC exclusive. Talking about their experience, they say if they

hadn't fled their country they would been dead by now.

The freedom to have fun without covering their ears to muffle the

sounds of war. These scooters were given to the children by families

living in a block of flats in Clydebank where they moved to just

over a month ago. Women in Glasgow from seven different countries have

got together to knit warm clothes for the Syrian arrivals. Is good to

do it because you know you're really helping someone, keeping them warm,

especially the children. He is helping the families settled in and

has brought the hats. The eldest daughter is 12.

TRANSLATION: I would like to say to the Scottish people, thank you and I

hope will be be a good example. I am held -- happy because they settled

us with Scottish neighbours to learnt their language. The father

has decided not to show his face in case it puts the family in Syria at

risk. TRANSLATION: We have come from hell

to Paradise. Clydebank is his Paradise in the context of war.

TRANSLATION: Losing my friends in the war and destroying my house... I

was looking from placed to place for shelter. After a while, they started

bombing there also. What do you think would have

happened to you if you had stayed? TRANSLATION: We would be dead. This

is our new life which we can live freely.

She has learned her first 100 words of English. In fact, she's working

at the most important ones. It seems she's starting to integrate

already. Angry MSPs have complained that

hundreds of nurses could have been recruited with money squandered on a

new IT system for NHS 24 which has so far failed to work. MSPs intent

to find out whether there are similar IT problems elsewhere in

government. As the name suggests, NHS 24 is on

call around the clock to help patients. In 2011 it was decided

that a new IT system would improve the service. Five years on, it's

still not in place and the project's ?41.6 million over budget. The new

Chief Executive said the original business case had been weak, the

contract contained gaps and delays added to the price. The committee

convener voiced anger at the cost. That would be about 1900 nurses that

could be employed as a result of this overspend. Do not that

unacceptable? I do. The organisation should apologise and ashamed it has

found itself in this position. Is that correct? The organisation is

not happy. The committee then turned to the predecessor. He said he felt

let down by a senior colleague. Mr Turner signed off the contract but

it later emerged eight key -- that key service specifications were left

out because the printed version did not match the online contract which

had been updated over months. Begat swine spotted. Why didn't it happen?

That has tormented me since this came to light. The MSPs were told

the IT system failed tests but should be up and running this year

for patience although it might cost another ?7 million. Eventually, they

were assured it would save the health service money.

East Kilbride have set themselves up for a clash with Celtic after a 2-0

victory in their fourth-round tie tonight.

Full-time and joy is unconfined for it skilled wide players and

supporters here. The non-league team have only been in existence for six

years and they've earned a money spinning home tie against Celtic in

the next round. The goals have Adam a small fortune, coming from Jack

Smith just before half-time and Winter. The stadium is just too

small for a time of this magnitude. It only holds 657 game against

Celtic is likely to be switched to a much larger venue.

Time to find out what the weather will be like tomorrow with

Christopher. Good evening. A cold night but it is

cloud dependent. In the north-west, some clear skies

and potentially the aurora on display. Ice in western parts and

freezing rain at time. A dry start further east and by the time the sun

comes up some brightness as well but freezing patches. And East/ West

split tomorrow. Hopefully reasonably bright in the morning with sunny

intervals in the north-east of Aberdeen share and Shetland. On the

West Coast the winds will increase. Elsewhere they are largely liked. On

Thursday morning the cloudy wet weather will go East Woods. If you

start drying bright it will be different later. It will slowly turn

milder though. Across the UK, the wet weather stretches across western

parts. Largely dry further east by cloudy. The wind will increase as

the rain arrives, particularly on the coast and the rain will reach

all parts in the evening and is a precursor to heavy rain overnight.

An early rain Warner -- warning in force for that. Low pressure in

charge so wet and windy as we head towards Friday. Really wet on Friday

morning. But the rain was shift to the North Sea. Behind it, improving

with sunshine across western parts. Quite windy but temperatures quite

mild. A fuse showers in the north-west. For the start of the

weekend, largely dry with one or two like showers. Pretty mild compared

with of late. Thank you. Next update is tomorrow

morning in Breakfast. Good night.