Browse content similar to 02/07/2012. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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can I have done things differently? What can we have done differently? | :00:13. | :00:18. | |
On Newsnight Scotland, as the parliamentary inquiry into the | :00:18. | :00:24. | |
latest banking inquiry -- scandal is announced, does it go far | :00:24. | :00:29. | |
enough? And the changing role of charities, | :00:29. | :00:33. | |
how the voluntary sector says it will pick up the slack left by | :00:33. | :00:38. | |
public sector cuts. Politicians agree there should be | :00:38. | :00:42. | |
an inquiry into the banking system, it is just what form that inquiry | :00:42. | :00:51. | |
should take up their Robert Quick seeing eye to eye on. Today the | :00:51. | :00:53. | |
finance secretary John Swinney added his calls for a full | :00:53. | :00:56. | |
independent investigation as to who knew what and when in the rate | :00:56. | :01:04. | |
rigging scandal. In a moment we will be speaking to Mr Swinney. | :01:04. | :01:09. | |
Since the crisis in front -- 2008, public trust has been shattered in | :01:09. | :01:12. | |
the banks. The bail-out of the Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS and | :01:12. | :01:20. | |
Lloyds TSB cost the taxpayer �36 billion. In exchange, the banks | :01:20. | :01:24. | |
were supposed to clean up act. But there are still revelations coming | :01:24. | :01:32. | |
thick and fast of a culture that has grown up. Barclays is that make | :01:32. | :01:37. | |
-- latest bank been drawn into the scandal, with the manipulation of | :01:37. | :01:44. | |
interest rates. We propose that. propose that Parliament do at -- | :01:44. | :01:49. | |
form an inquiry into banking industries. It will have a joint | :01:49. | :01:51. | |
committee drawn from the Commons and the Lord, chaired by the chair | :01:51. | :01:57. | |
of the Treasury Select Committee. He and his committee have been | :01:57. | :02:02. | |
quicker off the mark in investigating the issue, and we | :02:02. | :02:06. | |
want their hearings to proceed. Labour says politicians | :02:06. | :02:10. | |
investigating bankers will not win the public background. The Treasury | :02:10. | :02:15. | |
Select Committee tried this in 2009. Labour says only an independent | :02:15. | :02:18. | |
inquiry overseen by a judge, like Lord Leveson is doing into the | :02:18. | :02:25. | |
media, will do. We will vote for an independent and open public inquiry, | :02:25. | :02:29. | |
not an inadequate and weak plant cobble together over the course of | :02:29. | :02:35. | |
this morning. The independent inquiry is what our constituents | :02:35. | :02:40. | |
want, and it is the only way to achieve a lasting consensus on | :02:40. | :02:45. | |
reforms for the future. Speaking to Children's BBC, the Deputy Prime | :02:45. | :02:50. | |
Minister said. Banks used to be the jewel in the crown of a country, | :02:50. | :02:53. | |
and now they are a source of embarrassment and shame and people | :02:53. | :02:56. | |
need to take responsibility for the things that went wrong because they | :02:56. | :03:00. | |
went horribly wrong. As for the interest rate affair, the bankers | :03:00. | :03:06. | |
may not get out of jail free at all. Barclays may have been fined �290 | :03:06. | :03:10. | |
million so far, lost their chairman and chief executive will appear | :03:10. | :03:14. | |
before the Treasury Select Committee on Wednesday, but a | :03:14. | :03:16. | |
statement on the serious Fraud Office says the issues are complex | :03:16. | :03:20. | |
and added it is considering whether it is both appropriate and possible | :03:20. | :03:25. | |
to bring criminal prosecutions. For Scotland, the financial sector is | :03:25. | :03:29. | |
hugely important. Today the finance secretary called for a full and | :03:29. | :03:33. | |
immediate independent inquiry into a banking malpractice, and its | :03:33. | :03:38. | |
impact on consumers and businesses. Unless the industry can regain | :03:38. | :03:44. | |
public trust, who knows where all this will aimed? | :03:44. | :03:50. | |
John Swinney, the finance secretary, is live in Dundee. To start with | :03:50. | :03:54. | |
the inquiry, is that as for an independent as you would like? | :03:54. | :03:59. | |
is a welcome step, but it is not nearly as much as is required in | :03:59. | :04:04. | |
the current circumstances. I think what we have seen in the Leveson | :04:04. | :04:08. | |
style inquiry is an ability without fear of favour to get to the nub of | :04:08. | :04:13. | |
issues that have been concerning members of the public about their | :04:13. | :04:19. | |
his relationships around the media and the collection with politics. - | :04:19. | :04:23. | |
- connection with politics. What we need is the level of public concern, | :04:23. | :04:27. | |
it has been very strong around the banking sector but it has reached a | :04:27. | :04:31. | |
new height of the course of the last few days with the Barclay's | :04:31. | :04:37. | |
issues and the interest-rate fixing. We must have a very full and | :04:37. | :04:41. | |
independent public inquiry that can scrutinise all of the issues | :04:41. | :04:46. | |
involved here. Politicians need to be in front of an independent | :04:46. | :04:50. | |
enquiry answering for the failure that they exercised over the | :04:50. | :04:54. | |
regulation of the banks in 2008 and other stages, and principal amongst | :04:54. | :04:58. | |
those must be the former Chancellor Alistair Darling. That was a time | :04:58. | :05:03. | |
when you and your colleagues in the SNP were calling for a light touch | :05:03. | :05:09. | |
regulation, and criticising the UK government for gold plating. What | :05:09. | :05:14. | |
we were calling for was appropriate regulation which guaranteed the | :05:14. | :05:17. | |
solidity and security of the financial sector. What was not been | :05:17. | :05:22. | |
delivered by the regulatory regime that has been presided over by | :05:22. | :05:26. | |
Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown was precisely that. Which you make | :05:26. | :05:31. | |
no criticism of prior to the banking crisis. What we find now is | :05:31. | :05:34. | |
people have got to be held to account for the issues they were | :05:34. | :05:38. | |
presiding over when they were in office, when they had access to | :05:38. | :05:43. | |
information and briefings. As an opposition politician at the time, | :05:43. | :05:46. | |
would you put your hands up and accept you got it wrong as well? | :05:46. | :05:51. | |
Lots of people have lots to learn about the approach and relation to | :05:51. | :05:56. | |
the much as services, but what is an important starting point is | :05:56. | :06:00. | |
holding to an account people like Alastair Darling and Gordon Brown | :06:00. | :06:03. | |
who presided over this fiasco of regulation in the financial | :06:03. | :06:06. | |
services sector and did not deliver the protection that members of the | :06:06. | :06:11. | |
public would expect. That is why an independent inquiry is essential to | :06:11. | :06:14. | |
provide the necessary weight and scrutiny to get the bottom of bad | :06:14. | :06:22. | |
vamp -- failure. Will the SNP MPs at Westminster join Labour in | :06:22. | :06:28. | |
voting to block the parliamentary inquiry that is being proposed? | :06:28. | :06:32. | |
approach taken by my colleagues in the House of Commons will be set | :06:32. | :06:34. | |
out in the cause of the parliamentary scrutiny of these | :06:34. | :06:39. | |
issues. You do not know whether they support the inquiry or not? | :06:39. | :06:42. | |
What we have said clearly is we believe there should be at fault, | :06:42. | :06:51. | |
public independent inquiry into the process. To begin the process of | :06:51. | :06:54. | |
rebuilding public confidence... Would you like there to be | :06:54. | :06:59. | |
prosecutions? There should be prosecutions if a criminal, if | :06:59. | :07:04. | |
there is a basis for those prosecutions to take their course. | :07:04. | :07:08. | |
We have made it quite clear in Scotland if there are any issues | :07:08. | :07:13. | |
that the crown of is invested, that is what should be done. The same | :07:13. | :07:17. | |
applies to the Serious Fraud Office, and any scrutiny that is required | :07:17. | :07:24. | |
to establish if criminal acts have taken place, and there should be | :07:24. | :07:28. | |
criminal prosecution, is an essential foundation of building | :07:28. | :07:35. | |
public, since -- confidence in the regulatory system and rebuild | :07:35. | :07:37. | |
confidence in the banking sector which has taken a shattering blow | :07:37. | :07:42. | |
as a consequence of the last few days. The Serious Fraud Office is | :07:42. | :07:47. | |
considering its position. Two you know if the economic crime office | :07:47. | :07:55. | |
in the Crown Office for Fine Scottish police are looking at | :07:55. | :07:59. | |
launching an inquiry? The Crown Office will explore any issues that | :07:59. | :08:03. | |
have to be assessed, they will act independently of ministers, | :08:03. | :08:06. | |
responsible to the lord advocate. It is appropriate that | :08:06. | :08:10. | |
investigations are taken forward on that basis by the Crown Office. | :08:10. | :08:14. | |
there any at the moment? I am certain that the Crown Office will | :08:14. | :08:17. | |
be exploring any issues that are relevant to be explored in relation | :08:17. | :08:23. | |
to the possibility that criminal conduct has been undertaken in this | :08:23. | :08:26. | |
respect. That is an essential part of rebuilding public confidence in | :08:26. | :08:31. | |
the banking sector which has been to a devastated by the events of | :08:31. | :08:35. | |
the last few days. Do you agree with Nick Clegg that our banks, | :08:35. | :08:39. | |
including Scottish based banks, that -- are a source of | :08:39. | :08:43. | |
embarrassment and shame? We have got to be careful with the language | :08:43. | :08:47. | |
that he has used. There have been significant mistakes made in the | :08:47. | :08:51. | |
banking sector over the last number of years, many of those issues have | :08:51. | :08:58. | |
been confronted in the course of the events, as 2008, particularly | :08:58. | :09:03. | |
in relation to RBS and HBOS. The particular examples that have taken | :09:03. | :09:07. | |
place in relation to Barclays and the interest rates Council of of a | :09:07. | :09:11. | |
different order. -- the interest rate scandal are of a different | :09:11. | :09:19. | |
order. These are not just mistakes that had been made, these are | :09:19. | :09:22. | |
malicious and calculated act to try and deceive the market and deceive | :09:22. | :09:27. | |
the public. With consequences for the public. If you are so concerned | :09:27. | :09:32. | |
about... In those circumstances, those different -- issues are or a | :09:32. | :09:35. | |
different order and must be treated differently. If you are so worried | :09:36. | :09:39. | |
about these issues and the inability of the current system to | :09:39. | :09:43. | |
properly regulate our banks, why are you and your colleagues in the | :09:43. | :09:48. | |
SNP proposing to keep a UK-wide system of regulation if Scots vote | :09:48. | :09:53. | |
for independence? We are not voting or ordering for the current state | :09:53. | :09:59. | |
of play. What we are arguing for is an appropriate regulatory | :09:59. | :10:02. | |
environment for the interests of Scotland, that is why we have | :10:02. | :10:05. | |
established the Fiscal Commission which is led by some eminent | :10:05. | :10:10. | |
economists and advisers to provide exactly the appropriate | :10:10. | :10:13. | |
circumstances and regime of the regulation of the financial- | :10:13. | :10:19. | |
services sector in Scotland. What we will do is take time in the cold | :10:19. | :10:22. | |
light of day to explore what the best result for Scotland is. So it | :10:23. | :10:28. | |
might be different from the rest of the UK? What the events of the lot | :10:28. | :10:31. | |
today tell us quite clearly is we have got to get those regulatory | :10:31. | :10:34. | |
regimes correct, in the interest of the people of Scotland, and that is | :10:34. | :10:39. | |
what the Fiscal Commission in Scotstoun will do. | :10:39. | :10:42. | |
Charities say they are facing growing pressure to fill the gap | :10:42. | :10:46. | |
left by cuts in the public sector. Around three-quarters are reporting | :10:46. | :10:50. | |
a rise in demand for the services while at the same time reporting a | :10:50. | :10:56. | |
tougher struggle to -- get funding. We have been talking to one family | :10:56. | :11:04. | |
and one fundraiser. You are cheeky! Two year-old Harry | :11:04. | :11:08. | |
suffers from a severe form of epilepsy. The seizures can come at | :11:08. | :11:14. | |
any time of the day or night. But Harry's parents can now sleep more | :11:14. | :11:21. | |
easily thanks to a special sensor in Harry's bed. This is the centre, | :11:21. | :11:25. | |
there are two of them which were placed under the mattress. If there | :11:26. | :11:29. | |
is a certain amount of movement, an alarm alerts his parents. | :11:29. | :11:34. | |
benefit because we are able to get a good night's sleep, and it is | :11:34. | :11:41. | |
also beneficial to Harry because it detect a seizure, and the alarm | :11:41. | :11:47. | |
goes off, we are able to get to him. If we did not have that, there are | :11:47. | :11:51. | |
seizures that we do not catch which could be fatal. These sensors have | :11:51. | :11:56. | |
given Harry's mum and dad peace of mind but they have not been paid | :11:56. | :12:01. | |
for by the health-service, but by a charity. A charity which has raised | :12:01. | :12:08. | |
millions. This is a photograph of Muir. Founder Ann Maxwell's Sun | :12:08. | :12:13. | |
Muir has the same condition as Harry. We have some way towards �8 | :12:13. | :12:18. | |
million we have raced, I do not keep a running total amount every | :12:18. | :12:23. | |
event adds more. We have funds from a variety of sources. Many | :12:23. | :12:26. | |
charities are facing a twin challenge. It is getting harder to | :12:26. | :12:30. | |
raise money while the demands for their services are rising. More | :12:30. | :12:34. | |
than three-quarters of Third Sector organisations expect the demands | :12:34. | :12:42. | |
placed on them to increase in the next 12 months, but nearly one 5th | :12:42. | :12:45. | |
expects staff among them -- numbers to fall. The state of the economy | :12:45. | :12:50. | |
has made fund-raising even more difficult. 62% of smaller charities | :12:50. | :12:55. | |
saw their income drop between 2009 and 10, while 40% spend more than | :12:55. | :13:02. | |
they received. Even Ann Maxwell has found fund-raising harder. | :13:02. | :13:06. | |
probably work two or three times as hard to achieve the same as vote. | :13:06. | :13:10. | |
The answer is to keep your head down, keep working hard, and keep | :13:10. | :13:17. | |
your eye on the course. In Scotland we do not hear much about the Big | :13:17. | :13:21. | |
Society but there is an ongoing debate about just what role | :13:21. | :13:25. | |
charities and volunteers should play, complementing services funded | :13:25. | :13:31. | |
by the taxpayer. For there has been an indication in writing from the | :13:31. | :13:34. | |
Government that the NHS would like to step in and help us provide a | :13:34. | :13:38. | |
lot, but the funding realistically is not available in the short-term. | :13:38. | :13:47. | |
It would be my dream come true that we become redundant on this one. | :13:47. | :13:51. | |
Ann Maxwell's story may be described as inspirational by some, | :13:51. | :13:56. | |
and her work has helped many children like Harry. But the | :13:56. | :14:00. | |
charity -- the problems facing many charities are intense. | :14:00. | :14:03. | |
Her Martin Sime is the chief executive of the Scottish Council | :14:03. | :14:05. | |
for Voluntary Organisations, the National body for Scotland | :14:05. | :14:15. | |
charities. Is part of the problem that charities have become too | :14:15. | :14:19. | |
large to an extent and delivery arm of the state? There is all kinds of | :14:19. | :14:22. | |
different wishes between charities and government and local government | :14:22. | :14:28. | |
and the health staff -- service. All sorts of relationships. | :14:28. | :14:31. | |
Charities add value in a number of different ways, sometimes they get | :14:31. | :14:36. | |
100% funded for that and sometimes they get no funding whatsoever. | :14:36. | :14:40. | |
There are many points in between. As your film showed, there are many | :14:40. | :14:43. | |
brilliant project and great ideas that charities are doing and most | :14:43. | :14:49. | |
charities are struggling at the moment. Is at least some of that | :14:49. | :14:54. | |
work, can it be considered as the icing of the cake, the sort of | :14:54. | :14:59. | |
service that we can afford in good times, or is it all essential? | :15:00. | :15:04. | |
depends who you are and the issues that motivate you. The great thing | :15:04. | :15:07. | |
about today's voluntary sector is it is done so many different things | :15:08. | :15:11. | |
in different ways. It is motivated by people who want to make a | :15:11. | :15:15. | |
difference to the society, there chimp -- their community, and to | :15:15. | :15:22. | |
individuals so there are people doing fantastic work. Some of it | :15:22. | :15:26. | |
receives support from the state and some of it receives support from | :15:26. | :15:29. | |
the public. We need as much support as we can get right now because | :15:29. | :15:32. | |
more people are turning to charities for help. Across the | :15:32. | :15:36. | |
sector, how hard is it getting? is getting really hard. Just this | :15:36. | :15:41. | |
year we have got to 60% increase in people seeking funding advice from | :15:41. | :15:45. | |
us, but there is very little new money around. It is getting very | :15:46. | :15:51. | |
competitive. Charities are struggling because there are more | :15:51. | :15:55. | |
people needing help from charities, more unemployment and homelessness, | :15:55. | :15:59. | |
more debt, our society is in trouble here because the economy is | :15:59. | :16:04. |