18/03/2016 Reporting Scotland


18/03/2016

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too far. Thank you for joining us. That's it.

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Now on BBC One, it's time for the news where you are.

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BBC Scotland has uncovered new concerns about the running

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of a major Scottish Government IT project.

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The system, to process payments to farmers,

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is millions of pounds over budget and months behind schedule.

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Our business correspondent David Henderson reports.

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Every year thousands of Scottish farmers receive state subsidies for

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their work. One know that has mentor form filling and paperwork. But that

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is changing. At this office in Edinburgh computer system is being

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set up so that farmers can apply online. But it has been plagued with

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problems and there is concern about the way it is being managed. We were

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developing the system and it was going well, we were doing some good

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work. But on that particular Friday, suddenly out of nowhere, 25 people

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were rolled off the project. This man working on the system told us

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that UK contractors were replaced within days with staff from

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overseas. The Indian contract as were generally coming in at a less

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than half the rate of UK workers. I was asked if I would work the

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weekend at one point. I asked one of my colleagues, have you been asked

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to work as well? He said, no, I have been told to. Over six months the

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number of contractors fell by 40. The number of UK contractors was

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reduced by 77. But the number of Indian contract is actually rose by

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44. It is possible for people from outside the EU to come and work in

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this country, but only if there is a shortage of workers from the UK and

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EU in that field and if the job has been advertised widely to European

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workers. But it is a controversial area, and the UK Government has

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tried to change the law to restrict immigration. This is Dominic Day was

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the delivery director for this computer system. We have learned he

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is also the director of another computer system. We have learned he

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company, and documents we have seen imply the firm it supplied staff for

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the project, meaning they stood to gain. And a business has bloomed for

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that company. This contractor on the project, who has since left, says it

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considers them. The whole situation seems to me to be completely

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engineered. The Scottish Government are paying just short of ?1000 per

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day for some of the workers on the project and the rates offered to the

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contractors are significantly less than that. I can easily imagine it

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is ?100 per day per worker. With the workers on the project that is a lot

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of money going straight to Dominic. It is unclear how many workers were

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supplied by this company, but the Scottish Government told us, partly

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to avoid any conflict of interest, our governance processes do not

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allow any individual to make resource in decisions on their own.

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We were told in understatement from Dominic that there was no conflict

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of interest. -- in a statement. And the company in overall charge of

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delivering the computer system said the current profile remains a mix of

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both non-EU and EU, permanent and contract staff, as it has been from

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the start of the programme in March 20 13. Across Scotland farmers are

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struggling to make ends meet as the cost of this computer project has

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risen. Its problems have delayed EU subsidies this year. The Scottish

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Government said it is working tirelessly with its partners to

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deliver much-needed change. But other authorities are now involved.

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Police Scotland say they are carrying out an enquiry, and the

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spending watchdog Audit Scotland is looking into the soaring cost of the

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ID programme and how it came about. It expects to report sometime in

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May. -- of the IT programme. Big disruption is expected for rail

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passengers travelling from Glasgow's Queen Street Station

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from next week. The high level station is closing

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for five months to allow It is one of Scotland's's busiest

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railway stations. Around 60,000 people use Glasgow Queen Street

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every weekday. But from Sunday no trains will run from the high level

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until the 8th of August while the tunnel is upgraded. These works are

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absolutely necessary. It is renewing the tunnel the trains go on. Then he

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is prepared and upgraded, and once we have done this work it will last

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for a generation. Some journeys will take up to 25 minutes longer. We are

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turning nine platforms into two. That is difficult. We are asking

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people to wait to be directed by our staff onto the platform. This

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concourse is usually very busy, especially during the week, but from

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Sunday that will be different as this high level will be effectively

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close, meaning some challenges, perhaps, for the Monday morning

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commute. I am not looking forward to it, but if the end result is good it

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will be worth it, I guess. Lots of queues, lots of disruption. People

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will be fed up. And for the Monday morning commute, people are advised

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to arrive early while the new system is put to the test.

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Delegates will gather in Glasgow tomorrow for the Scottish Labour

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conference, the latest in the political season.

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But Jeremy Corbyn won't be among them.

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Earlier, I asked our political editor Brian Taylor

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if it was unusual for the UK leader not to attend.

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I don't remember the occasion, but Labour tell me in 1991 the UK Labour

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leader was not there. Kezia Dugdale told me that that is because things

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changed. This is a conference about Scottish policy for Scottish

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elections and she is the Scottish reader. I said, the decision

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regarding Jeromy Corbyn being there was her call? Absolutely. There was

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no doubt Jeromy Corbyn's made in supporting that. We are a team and

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that is how it is going to be. It is possible he will be in his allotment

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this weekend, I am not sure. It is a signal you are sending that you are

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in charge? Yes, and it is not signal you are sending that you are

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unusual. I have been seeing this for the last six months. I am in charge.

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So she is in charge. She also wants to be First Minister. In an

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interview she said her party would come second, and all she meant by

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that she says now is that they would keep the Tories at bay. She was

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adamant when talking to me that she wants at the top job. I expect the

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Labour Party to do well in this election. I want to be First

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Minister. I want Nicola Sturgeon's desk and chair, the possibility of

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the power that she has at her fingertips. What will ECM urging as

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the main theme of the conference? The same as the main theme of the

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Scottish elections, tax and product tax. The Government was to rein back

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on those cuts for the upper earners. Kezia Dugdale was to talk about what

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that means. Using money coming from the UK for investment in the health

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service. Contrast that with what she said the position of the SNP which

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are naturally the SNP dispute. Let's get the weekend weather

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outlook now from Christopher. Good evening. A cloudy, grey day for

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many, all courtesy of high pressure. Been around for a week or more now,

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and staying with us into the weekend. There was some sunshine

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today for the lucky few. A lovely sunset on the west Coast from one of

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our Weather Watchers. Tonight cloudy skies for most. High pressure with

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us tomorrow. A few spots of rain or drizzle around the Northern Isles.

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Affecting Easterling coasts of England, down towards the Isle of

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Wight as well. A cloudy start for many in Scotland as well, but some

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early brightness through the central highlands. Through the course of the

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day, hopefully that cloud thinning and breaking through the central

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belt and the south as well. Just a touch more cheerful. Across the UK

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as a whole, a cloudy day for England and wheels and Northern Ireland.

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Where the cloud breaks, some bright Where the cloud breaks, some bright

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-- brightness. In the far north-east, some rain and drizzle,

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slowly working side words. Sunday a slight shift in wind direction.

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Coming in from the north west means a slight change in fortunes. Down

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towards the Lothians, some sunshine coming for you in the north-west,

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thicker cloud and outbreaks of rain. If you do get the sunshine, double

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digits. To next week, that area of high pressure slowly away. Some

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weather fronts bridging in across the four north, producing some spots

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of rain. But still fairly cloudy. That is the forecast for now.

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From everyone on the late team here in Glasgow and around

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