22/01/2016 Reporting Scotland

Scotland could be the first part of the UK to add

Concerns are mounting that there could be an increase

in birth defects, if the supplement isn't added.

Folic acid plays a crucial role in preventing birth defects such

as spina bifida, but most women don't eat enough

Here's our health correspondent Eleanor Bradford.

until a scan showed she was seven months gone

I was trying to get over the shock of having a baby

weeks' time but also that she had spina bifida.

We were terrified before she came along.

But the doctors were very good, they talked us through everything

Lily is one of an estimated 2,000 babies born in the last 16 years

in the UK whose disability could have been prevented if folic

acid had been added to the food chain.

Folic acid is found in several foods but particularly

It is vital in pregnancy to prevent brain and spine defects but 85%

That means if they have an unplanned pregnancy or don't take supplements,

16 years ago, the US started adding folic acid to flour.

The number of affected pregnancies fell and there

Every week in Scotland, there's another new pregnancy affected.

Are you frustrated by the lack of action so far?

It's a bit frustrating because this has gone on for years now.

That frustration is clearly shared by the Scottish Government,

If Scotland does decide to go ahead and add folic

acid to flour, it would have wide repercussions.

Supply lines don't end at the border.

UK manufacturers may just add it to all their bread.

For Yvonne, it can't come soon enough.

I know plenty of people who have had late pregnancies or not found out

If it was in the flour, it would reduce the risk

Scotland's record on tackling climate change and fuel poverty

is under renewed scrutiny, amidst criticism of the Scottish

Government's plan to cut spending on measures designed

Ministers have defended their record.

Our environment correspondent, David Miller, reports.

These are the experts who advise the UK and Scottish governments

High on the agenda, the Scottish Government's plan

What we will hold their feet to the fire about is,

Do they help protect the world from climate change?

Do they keep a Scotland which is worth living

in for our children and grandchildren?

Critics say the cuts will make it harder for Scotland to fight fuel

This year, the number of people in fuel poverty is the same as last

which is not a standard that should be acceptable.

If we want to tackle climate change and improve the quality of Scottish

we need to increase the budget for energy efficiency to at least

what it was last year but ideally above that so we can begin to invest

Last year, ministers pledged spending on climate change

We will ensure that climate change is a top priority through a Cabinet

agreement to embed climate change in the autumn budget process.

But campaigners say there is no evidence that has happened.

Renewable energy is an area where the committee sees Scotland

But members are warning more must be done on energy efficiency,

Scotland does have some of the world's most ambitious

But interim targets have repeatedly been missed.

Ministers are finding their pledges are coming under

David Miller, Reporting Scotland, at the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon

Bosses at NHS Highland says they are at risk of ending

the financial year more than ?2 million in the red.

The health board has revealed it's still struggling to contain

overspend problems at Raigmore hospital in Inverness

and in the rural north-west Highland area.

Scotland's biggest fish farm business -

Marine Harvest - announced earlier this week that it was losing

But now Reporting Scotland has seen new figures, which show just how

The volume of fish sold to key markets round the world fell

We know that at two 100 jobs are going from Marine harvest.

But now we also know just how tough the past year has been for the whole

The value of exports sold around the world was down by more than ?100

million last year, a fall of over 20% compared with the year before.

The Russian trade embargo was announced in late 2014.

And currency has changed dramatically.

Our largest competitor is Norway and their currency has dropped

These two major things have conspired against us.

Looking in detail at key export markets, the amount of fish sold

to Europe went up by a tiny amount but sales to the USA and Canada

were down by more than 28% and the volume going to the Far East

But exports are volatile and there's a lot of factors out of our control

which impact whether they go up or down.

But generally, we are seeing big investment in the salmon industry.

We need to find the structure to allow it to grow

We should know where the Marine Harvest jobs

are going within the next month but the rest of the industry might

We have remained static about production for 15 years

and costs have been rising during that time.

We can sustain and withstand that when prices are good

and when the market is good but when things go as they did

in 2015, it makes it much more challenging.

of Scotland's most rural communities, where other work may be

Football and Aberdeen closed the gap on Premiership leaders Celtic

to three points with a win over Dundee at Pittodrie.

Adam Rooney turned Jonny Hayes' cross into the net

for his 16th goal of the season after 13 minutes.

It takes Aberdeen's unbeaten run in the league to ten games.

Let's get the weekend weather forecast now with Christopher.

In the United States they are bracing themselves for a huge

snowstorm. It could affect 50 million people. It puts our recent

cold snap in perspective. Much million people. It puts our recent

quieter this side of the pond. Largely dry tonight. Any showers

fading away. A touch of frost in the north-east but for many a mild

fading away. A touch of frost in the night. Tomorrow there will be some

rain from the north-west. Away from the

UK it is fairly settled and drive. The cloud increasing through the

day. Some rain through the south-west

day. Some rain through the afternoon is dry. Temperatures on

the mild side. Still some wet weather to contend with across the

north-west Highlands and Orkney and Shetland. Saturday evening, that

rain is arriving pushing towards the central belt. For Sunday it will be

a cloudy day. Some outbreaks of rain at times. Once again very mild.

Outbreaks of rain, heaviest across the north-west and Shetland.

Elsewhere cloudy and drizzle. Very mild.

From everyone on the late team here in Glasgow and around