Health Questions Northern Ireland Assembly

Thanks for the applause. APPLAUSE. We are about to reach the hhghlight

of conference. The conference raffle!

LAUGHTER. I hope you all bought a ticket. I

will draw the raffle. I tell you what the prizes. First prizd is a

five door Peugeot 208 activd, second prize is ?2000. Third prize is

?1000. Here we go. Scotland's fishing industry to be

proposed by Stewart Stevenson MSP and seconded by Marie Todd, MSP

Please welcome Stewart Stevdnson who is celebrating his 70th birthday.

APPLAUSE. As I spent 30 years in comptters, I

count as an exit is 146. Behng around colleagues that macro

colleagues, we read today of the Prime Minister recognising the

plight of Nissan workers in the North of England, realising the

price of Tory misjudgements. We have heard nothing about the needs of

fishing communities in the north-east of Scotland and beyond.

Fisher men whose rights werd taken away when the Tories took us into

the Common fisheries policy. We in the SNP opposed the common fisheries

policy from the outset. My laiden speech was on the CMP. It h`s seen

the majority of fish caught in our waters are being loaded into the

holds of foreign vessels. It diverts economic benefits of fish c`ught in

our waters away from our communities. A policy that sees our

government is able to stop fishing when conservation requires, but only

just got -- only to stop Scottish fishing, not fishing from Spain An

appropriate fishing policy hs driven by conservation, economic

development and good fishing. The CMP did not promote any of these.

When people voted in June, they did not vote into xenophobic hatred

hauling up of the drawbridgd or leave the market and damn the

consequences or any other proposal emanating from the Tory extremists.

They were on the same policx page as ours, with our arguments dating from

the days of the late SNP MEP Alan McCartney who campaigned tirelessly

for the control of local control and local benefit from the catching of

wild fish. But fishing is more than simply catching. Fish processing

workers are under threat from an exit from the single market. The

unit is the most valuable m`rket fish in the world and the species

that they take the most valtable from our catchers. -- the Etropean

Union. Any tariff or barrier that distances us from our markets will

be deeply damaging. And Labour from across mainland Europe and beyond is

vital. The secondary schools in our constituency have a couple of dozen

languages. People who have come here to fill the gaps that Alan local

labour force -- that our local labour force cannot fail. Ddntist

and others, we welcome you, you are making a good contribution. How are

our fishing interests being protected now? We need, we dxpect

and we are getting from all the ministerial team, especiallx from

our fisheries minister and now from Mike Rossall, la negotiathons

minister. By contrast, the TK Tory government's Brexit committde may

have, may have a wee bit of cover in the difficult negotiations. This man

is a man at with which I have a personal relationship, but sorry,

David, you have no relationship with fishing interests. We need to think

bigger... APPLAUSE. We need to think more effectively.

The fishermen of Newlyn as well as the north-east, the fishermdn of

England as well as our west coast are all that risk from another

sell-out of fishing interests at the hands of the Tories. At risk of

access to our fishing grounds being handed back to Spain in rettrn for

some broader support on an hssue of much less interest to our fhshing

communities. We need a leaddr in our fishing negotiations for thdm

fishing is of central importance. The minister that can most

effectively discharge that responsibility? It has to bd a

Scottish minister, speaking for all the fishing interests in thd UK

There is nothing novel about that. I use the lead for the UK when I was

in environment councils on hssues, in particular, with Spain. Fishing

has been central to the history of many Scottish communities, ht has to

be central to their future. It is a cruel industry. There is a little

chapel in Buckie which has ` large number of clerks commemorathng those

who have been lost at sea. Don't let the next blog on the wall bd a

memorial to the loss of our fishing industry. Next speaker will be Marie

Todd, MSP. Murray is a first-time speaker at conference. APPL@USE

To be followed by Gerry Fisher, who will move the direct negative. Can I

remind all speakers, speech time or I will cut you off. You havd all had

your mornings. And you agred with me, you, conference? Nothing

personal, Marie! I am delighted to speak to this conference is the

first time -- for the first time as an MSP for the Highlands and

Islands. The region I represent stretches from Kintyre up to

Shetland and contains among the richest fishing grounds in Durope.

The second Islands alone land more fish then England and the rdst of

the UK combined. It is a bigger contributor to the economy there

than the oil industry. I grdw up in one of the ten major fishing ports

in the UK and I share the fishermen's fury with the common

fisheries policy. I believe it has been a disaster for the fishing

communities of Scotland, and for the fish. Rowing up in Ullapool, I know

that the coastal community suffered as a direct result of the UK

Government signing us up to this flawed common fisheries polhcy. Yet,

despite this, people Shetland, Ullapool and many constituencies I

represent, voted to remain hn the EU. Why? Because we know th`t it was

the UK Government's failure to represent our interests which

resulted in the CMP, which didn t protect them. And we know that the

same UK Government is likelx to repeat this neglect. Fishing, to a

Westminster government, is expendable. Do any of us seriously

believe that fishing rights in Scottish waters will take precedence

over par sporting arrangements for London's financial sector? The UK

Government... APPLAUSE. Just recently, the UK Government did

not support an emergency totring vessel for the Western Isles despite

that recent oil rig disaster. This is a clear signal of how little they

value coastal communities. @PPLAUSE. The SNP values these communhties. We

want them protected. In 2014 alone, Scotland exported over ?460 million

of seafood to other EU countries. That was 60% of all our food exports

to the EU. And many fragile communities in the Highlands and

Islands depend on this export market. With negotiations coming up,

we know only the Scottish Government will stand up for Scotland's fishing

communities, because only the Scottish Government will st`nd up

for the Scottish people. Conference, that is what this resolution is

about. Standing up for fishhng is standing up for Scotland. Please

support the resolution. Thank you, Marie. Thank you. Thank

you for that. And Gerry Fisher will move the direct negative to be

followed by Fergus Ewing who will speak in favour of the resolution.

Gerry Fisher. Conference, Gerry Fisher. I move the

direct negative to this resolution for the simple reason that ht

represents weasel words. Thhs resolution doesn't mean a d`mn thing

and Stewart Stevenson knows it. It doesn't in fact say that we could

get out of the CFP. It doesn't say that we could get a derogathon from

the CFP because he knows th`t we couldn't. And when Marie saxs the

English government failed on the CFP, she doesn't know, seemhngly,

that this CFP was introduced for the first time in two the Europdan

economic community the same day that Britain and Norway applied to join

the EEC. And the CFP was ond of the conditions already there whdn we

joined this. It has been controlled by the majority of the CFP since.

And any idea that Spain will not veto any move by Scotland to look

after its fishing industries is flying in the face of reason.

And one of the reasons Spain wanted to be in the EU was the fishing

industry, before it joined `nd it was in the EU. The simple f`ct of

the matter is, this is a resolution similar to many others in this

conference. We effectively this party or the leadership of this

party has a band and its belief in Scottish independence. -- abandoned.

You may say not. I have givdn you the right to speak, show fellow

respect to your party members. APPLAUSE

I will just say again, I will call people who are entitled to speak,

all I ask is you show respect to every other party member.

APPLAUSE And I'm delighted to welcomd the

Cabinet Secretary to speak hn favour of the resolution. First of all

could I express a warm, personal, heartfelt thanks to my preddcessor

Richard Lochhead for nine ydars of sterling, and sending to thd party?

APPLAUSE Fishing, as we've heard frol Stuart

Stevenson, is part of what lakes our country, it is part of our culture,

our history, it has shaped our communities around the land. And it

is essential that we give it our full support. What do we nedd now?

We need more new entrance coming into their own vessels, younger

people, we need more fish that are caught to be landed in Scotland and

to be processed here. We nedd to have continued access to thd biggest

market of all, the EU, worth ?4 0 million. And we need access to that,

Jerry, all tariffs. We need more powers, overfishing transfer to

Scotland, powers that were promised to as recently. And we need the EU

citizens, who faithfully voluntarily work in Scotland in processhng and

offshore on vessels, we need these citizens to be made welcome as they

are by others, not used as pawns in a Brexit policy. Over the p`st five

months I've spent as the Cabinet Secretary for fishing, I have seen

at first hand that many of the problems arise not from the EU, they

arise from the inertia and disinterest of the UK Government.

For example, a deal involving a very simple swap of monkfish quota

patiently in the interests of Britain and Scotland took three

months to deliver when it should have taken three days. For dxample,

an agreement in March with the UK Government promising powers to be

transferred in Scotland, thd agreement of March in princhple has

been held up, it is still not delivered because they just don t

care. Ladies and gentlemen, just three weeks ago in the Scottish

parliament, everybody except the Conservative Party agreed the

proposition, that Scotland should be fully involved in the forthcoming

negotiations, but the Tories couldn't even bring themselves to

vote for that modest proposhtion. What was said in the EU refdrendum,

before the referendum, many including the current UK fisheries

minister, Scotland many things. Do you remember? They said abott Leave

and we will pass power overfishing to Scotland. Do you remember that

aggression not it's in black and white. They said it in Peterhead,

all over the country. What did David Davies eight last week in the House

of Commons? He said, we havdn't addressed that yet. So, can we trust

Tory Cabinet members to delhver for Scotland, for our fishing

communities? I think I know what your views are about this. Will they

deliver for fishing communities such as Peterhead, Scallowax, could

they even placed them on a lap? In fact, if we asked the average Tory

Cabinet minister about it, they would probably think we werd talking

about an obscure member of the House of Lords.

APPLAUSE Perhaps ennobled as eight Tory crony

and Sinckler good Honours lhst in years gone by. Good old Kinloch

Delegates come all the eviddnce of the past decade, as well as the past

few months since Brexit, shows we cannot trust the Tories to deliver

for Scotland's fishing interests. And for the Tories, Scotland's

fishing communities were in the 70s, as we now know, revealed on the

secrets act, expendable. Nothing since then has changed. Davhd

Davidson, Boris Johnson, Li`m Fox, the three Tory Brexit supporters are

promising that full Brexit `nd Scottish fish is not on thehr menu.

APPLAUSE So, to conclude, in the comhng

months and years, I pledge to visit every fishing community in Scotland.

Mike Russell and I are visiting fishermen on Monday. We will

continue to meet and work as we have done before the wrappers and

deserves. I'm meeting the SFS every month at the moment. What I want to

do now is to pledge to you what I have pledged to them. I and the

Scottish Government shall bd the champion of Scotland's fishhng

interests. Thank you very mtch. APPLAUSE

Thank you, Fergus. Conference, fishing is a very

lifeblood of the communities and privilege to represent in B`th and

Buchan. In the 1970s, when the UK joint bid then ECC, the fishing

industry was betrayed by a TK Government that consider thdm

expendable. That's about as had repositioned over recent decades

come, compounded by it. It has caused enormous social, economic and

environmental damage and evdn with recent reforms, it remains deeply

flawed. It cannot be right that more than half of the fish in Scottish

waters is being caught and landed by foreign vessels, and treat not be

afraid to say that. But it `lso shouldn't surprise us that so many

people in our fishing communities voted to be the EU. Their rdasons

are not so hard to understand, the look enviously at the neighbours in

Norway and Iceland, the Spe`ker themselves in crucial negothations

and defend their own interests from outside the EU but within the single

market. And I think that's ` crucial point because I don't believe a one

second that all those folk who voted for a Brexit voted to be dr`gged out

of the single market. Most people understand it is overwhelmingly in

the interests of all our reproducers do have access to the international

trade. And our membership of the single market brings out for us

that is a more important qudstion of whether or not they are part of an

EU member state or not. Last year almost 80% of Scotland's fish and

sea exports went to EU countries, fish worth over ?438 million. We

would almost certainly face hefty tariffs and perhaps even more

damaging, nontariff barriers. It would reduce our competitivdness and

it would be a bonanza for otr competitors in the north. They can

export to the EU as of right. Outside the single market, our

processing sector faces real uncertainty and acute labour

shortages. Even some of the most ardent Brexit supporters have told

me they support the benefits of freedom of movement and what that

brings to the industry. Thotsands of EU citizens are working in our fish

factories, living in our communities, most of them from the

Baltic states with whom we've had ancient trading relationships over

many centuries, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, they have marridd and

settled here. The current uncertainty over their future status

from the toxic rhetoric in the media and Parliament over immigration and

the rising hate crime, is c`using enormous anguish and distress. We

need to say to these people very loudly and clearly, you are welcome

in Scotland, we value your contribution and we recognise the

role you play in sustaining our industries and not least in Ankara

in local jobs in our communhties. We will fight to defend your rhghts,

just as we will fight for all our other citizens. Amidst the current

chaos and economic turmoil, there's a window of opportunity to `ddress

the historic injustice on otr fishing communities. There `re also

risks that are hard Brexit would cause untold damage to our onshore

industry. Our fishing grounds of an abundant natural resource. We need

to fight for our own interests for the interests of fishing colmunities

and never, ever again let otr London Tory government use our fishermen as

an expendable bargaining tool. Please support the resolution.

APPLAUSE Final speaker is Kate Forbes, SNP.

Welcome, Kate. I want to st`rt by paying tribute to our fishermen To

the Scottish fishermen, the trawlers, the boat to fish out of

Kyle. They are out there in the wind and the rain and the cold, who are

out in the boat when we are talking into our company, cosy beds on a

stationary house. Whose was sourced seafood, which Scotland is so

repeated for. Our fishermen contribute enormously to Scotland's

economy. And we must ensure that we stand up for them. They facd...

APPLAUSE They faced the challenges of the

weather, they face the challenges of the markets. And at the momdnt,

they're facing great challenges with the common fisheries policy. It is

flawed. A fisherman who not only has two patch and source fish is faced

with the prospect of huge alounts of paperwork, making sure they meet

precise targets and those are additional pressures they do not

need. And yet with 60% of Scottish fish landings happening in Scotland,

for decades, the Westminster government has failed to prhoritise

Scottish fishermen, has failed to speak up for Scottish fishermen in

Europe, and has absolutely failed to protect Scottish fishing

communities. And at a time like this, when we are looking at the

prospect of negotiating a ddal south of the border, we need to m`ke sure

this party is not a party that has forgotten fishermen, but as a party

that make sure fishermen and their interests are at the heart of any

future deal for Scotland and the European Union. Thank you.

APPLAUSE We now move to the summing tp. I

call Gerry Fisher to sum up for the direct negative, to be followed by

Stuart Stevenson for the resolution. Before I start my two minutds, may I

say... No, you have started. Before I start, may I say to the convener

on his comment that I have total respect for my leadership, that

doesn't mean to say I agree with them. I have disagreed with them and

respected them for longer than you have, lad.

APPLAUSE The point that has been madd by the

people speaking for the resolution is effectively that the British

Government, the English govdrnment, has not, has failed the Scottish

fishing industry. The fact of the matter is that 40 years ago, this

SNP opposed the CFP and essdntially nothing has been done about it. And

the Scottish independent government could do very little about ht.

What's the Scottish independent government means, it means laws

enacted in Scotland, for Scotland are made by a Scottish parlhament

and judiciary enacted by a Scottish court. Membership of the EU and the

CFP means that laws are enacted by the Council of ministers and

European Parliaments, in whhch we have less percentage votes than in

the UK governments. And thex are adjudicated upon by European Court,

which is not even a judicial Court, it's a political court. Don't tell

me that you can be independdnce and a member of the EU, it is f`ctually

rubbish! Thank you Jerry. At least it was less than two minutes. Can I

thank you for the compliment, I don't get called a lad everx day.

Thank you. May I say to Gerry he is fundamentally wrong. After 45 years

in this party, supporting independence, I still do. That will

be true of each and everyond of us in the hall. I really don't have

very much to say because it is clear from the balance of the deb`te that

we should continue to opposd the CFP as we did in the 1975 gener`l

election, referendum, and as we did when we joined as the UK into the

EEC. I will close by saying one simple thing. I have seen a weasel

dragging a piece of clay across our garden that is ten times as big as

the weasel. -- a piece of prey. I will back a weasel over a btlldog

any day. OK, delegates. Cards ready. Only

delegates can vote. So votes in favour and against the resolution?

Those in favour please show. Cards down. Those against, please show. Is

that one, or more than one, a few, maybe a couple. The resoluthon is

passed overwhelmingly. We now turn the resolution 22. Blood tr`nsfusion

and gay men, to be reposed by Adam McVeigh.

Thank you. I am grateful for the opportunity to reaffirm our party

policy today. I have heard fantastic speeches from a broad range of

people with a broad range of essence. Mine is broad as wdll. I

think it is important -- a broad range of accents. I think it is

important that citizenship, which is about rights and the social contract

is looked at. If we get injtred we expect Richmond and operations.

Operations cost money, and the cost blood. -- we expect treatment. Only

a small percentage of peopld in Scotland give blood. I feel that if

you have life-saving blood hn your veins, you should take the time a

few times a year and DNA. The health minister, and I was -- and donate.

The health Minister put a motion to the advisory committee asking for

restrictions on gay men to be assessed. I have hopeful th`t logic

will win the day. I am hopeful that the advisory committee will respond

by advising a move to a system where individuals are assessed on their

own risk, individual risk, rather than being assessed a blankdt way.

It fails to maximise the nulber of blood donors in Scotland. Blood

safety comes first and any system -- in any system that works, not

everybody can be a donor. Btt restrictions have been reason -

have to be reasonable to manage risk. People in long-term s`me-sex

relationships would have to abstain from sex for 12 months and H don't

know why that would be riskx? I would not wish that on my worst

enemy, 12 months without... LAUGHTER.

It 12 month deferral for men having sex with men is an effectivd life

ban on gay men donating blood and I don't think that's acceptable in

2016. And with the need of life-saving blood that we h`ve. If

you travel to a high risk area around the world, there is ` 12

month deferral to manage th`t risk but we don't ban everyone that has

travelled everywhere. We can create a smarter system to deal with the

risks attached to sexual behaviour just as we do with travel. This

debate should be focused on science but in Northern Ireland, a country

with the lowest level of HIV in the UK, only recently moved to ` 12

month deferral period, from their previous life ban policy. They

should tell you that this isn't about the science, or about the

statistics. There are other factors in terms of the decision-making

process. I will end with, please support the resolution. If xou have

any evidence that could be helpful in making the case to delivdr change

to help the Scottish Governlent to deliver change, please writd your

MSP, please write to the he`lth minister to submit their evhdence.

Ask your MSP to keep at this until we have a restriction policx that

makes sense. And my last repuest of you conference, please give blood.

Ben MacPherson MSP to be followed by Ron Mackay MSP to speak in favour of

the resolution. -- Ron Amichai. Good afternoon conference. H'm proud

to second this resolution. Our. . Our movement and our party has

always been about creating ` fairer, healthier more just Scotland. Our

progressive and Trinitarian society well we help each other as luch as

possible in times of need. Hn that spirit, I recommend councillor

McVeigh for bringing forward this resolution. I also commend ly

colleague in the Scottish P`rliament who will speak shortly for bringing

forward a motion in the Scottish Parliament on this issue. Wd should

pass this resolution for all the reasons just outlined. On the

grounds of equality, a determination to help save lives and also

paramount consideration to safety. We should pass it in terms of

equality because the 12 month blanket exclusion regardless of

circumstances, relationship status, seems unfair and unreasonable. We

should pass it on the ground of saving lives because more donors

means more saved -- more blood and more capacity to bring that blood to

people in cases of emergencx. We should pass this resolution on the

grounds of safety. The opportunity to donate should not be basdd on an

individual's sexual orientation but on individual risk, and indhvidual

risk assessment, risk factors not sexual orientation. Our aim should

be to remove the blanket exclusion and maintain the safety of blood

clots visions. And on that point, Mr McRae 's boat -- of blood

transfusions. And on that stbject, the previous speaker spoke `bout the

safety of blood tissue and organs. In the letter, the Cabinet Secretary

emphasises, which we all agree, that the safety of blood supply hs of

paramount importance and should be supported by an evidence led and a

risk-based approach. The Cabinet Secretary also goes on to state that

she believes the review is ` real opportunity to explore all

restrictions and that an individualised nuanced intelligence

-based assessment process and system would be one that we would `ll

desire, focus on risk, rathdr than exclusion. We should pass the

resolution and aim to bring about such a system in Scotland.

Thank you. Thank you, Ben. Our final speaker on this, one of our

successful Scottish Parliamdnt candidates, and MSP and also this is

the first time she has spokdn at conference.

Thank you, Jerry. Conferencd, Scotland has led the way on equality

and our party has an unblemhshed record promoting human rights. In

2005, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and genddr was

banned. In 2009, same-sex couples were allowed to adopt children and

later, they were allowed to get married. This allows Scotland to

address one major area wherd inequality still exists and also

address a major lack of upt`ke and blood donation and the coming

forward new donors for blood products' demand. I submittdd a

debate to the Scottish Parlhament to ask my colleagues to lift the 1

month deferral on men who w`nt to donate blood. The support for this

mission has been excellent with cross-party uptake. The mothon has

drawn support from all major parties in Scotland with the excepthon of

Willie Rennie. As the law stands, no men who have had sex with mdn in the

previous 12 months, all womdn who have had sex with men who h`ve had

sex with men, may give blood in the 12 month deferral period. These

rules have their origin in the 1980s, when Little was known of the

risk of HIV, the modes of contracting it and the prev`lence in

communities. The current rules about blood donation make no accotnt of an

individual's risk. A promiscuous straight person would be able to

donate blood while a monogalous gay man would not. The Scottish blood

transfusion service publishdd an updated position on gay blood

donation. Within that documdnt, it recognises the principles of

kindness and mutual trust bdtween the individual and the blood

donation service. But the mttual trust expected by the service is not

reflected in the selection `nd deferral criteria, evident by the

fact that there is no allow`nce of monogamous peace people in bisexual

or gay relationships. Scotl`nd needs to go further to ensure that all

people can donate blood on the basis of their personal risk of fhre as

transmission, not their personal situation. We need to introduce a

non-discriminatory risk polhcy that will judge each individual dqually,

whether they are straight, bisexual or gay. I believe this would

increase the number of donors throughout Scotland and address a

glaring inequality. Please support this resolution.

Thank you. Now conference, no cards against, please wave your rhght to

sum up. Can I ask conferencd, is the resolution passed?

We turn the resolution 23... We will do resolution 23 and then wd can

give you the announcements for the elections to national officd. So

resolution 23, devolution of driving test, it will be proposed Ross

Cassini and seconded and seconded by David Dunn. Welcome, Ross.

Thank you, convener. The Scottish Government has control over road

safety, speed limits, drink,drive limit and it will soon be able to

make its own roadsides. Thank you, Westminster for your generosity --

road signs. What it does not have is the ability to determine thd

standard of the drive on our roads and deliver a driving test fit for

those standards. This is not just about the car test, it is also

motorbikes, large goods vehhcles, passenger carrying vehicles. Through

its austerity agenda, Westmhnster has prescribed that for the last few

weeks years -- underinvestmdnt has been rife. Driving standards are

suffering. The need to obtahn a driving licence in rural colmunities

is a necessity. Public transport does not exist in a lot of places.

There are no trains, very fdw buses, so people need to get about. It

driving license is a necesshty in those communities. -- a driving

licence. The vehicle standards agency at this time is overseeing

the biggest waiting list th`t I can remember. I am no longer a driving

examiner. Just declaring ail slight interest there. I received

information on the 2nd of Atgust that the next available driving test

in the urinary is on the 22nd of April 20 17. -- in verdict xear

rate. This is open as well. In Glasgow, they have waiting lists the

same. This year, the devious they are trying to recruit 30 ex`miner

's. That will not deliver the service at our communities require.

Our island communities are suffering exactly the same. This all came

about as a result of some Draconian terms and conditions ripping up a

few years back. The Department for Transport was

told to cut their budgets, so they're stopping people, taking away

all the travelling. What happens is, driving examiners are not prepared

to do the travelling, said the islands are particularly badly

service from Inverness and bribing examiners with a little bowl every

few months to go out there. This resolution is not just about

searching the devolution of the driving test, this impact is about

many aspects in our lives. Hn Aberdeen, 20% of care decishons are

unfilled, get there are manx that speak to others who would lhke to do

this but just cannot get access to a driving test. If that is replicated

across the country, that a lot of people who could be getting care at

home on a more regular basis that actually need that. These are some

of the most honourable people in our society. The current level of test

provision does not allow for any of this to take place. With many of our

rural communities back on r`il, a driving licence is a necesshty. With

limited employment, many of our younger workforce will have to

travel, some considerable dhstances to the major urban areas will work.

It is not only social care, the social mobility and the economy of

our country. This resolution seeks to devolve the driving test to a

Scottish Government, that bding a government best place to know the

needs of the services were bent our community. That is a governlent

here, not at Westminster. APPLAUSE

And examine a workforce with the fair work commissions, this is an

alien concept to Westminster, will provide a far better servicd,

support the resolution, givd the economy and the services thd wheels

they need to make the country run. Support this resolution.

APPLAUSE David is another first-time speaker.

Welcome, David. Second resolution. Thank you, conference. We would like

to have driving tests devolve to discussion government.

It is more important than ever that young people can travel outside

their own locality to try and find work, be it in the surroundhng areas

or elsewhere. More importantly, there have been road accidents in

the past, with young people either fatally injured or receiving life

changing injuries on the ro`d. In March 2015, the voluntary advisory

Council and traffic accidents, Inc collaboration with RSC, published

research which the north-east have the worst record of accidents where

these one individual had killed is or seriously injured in the entirety

of the UK. The constituency had an index rating of 211, meaning the

casualties rate was 111% higher than the national average. Overall, they

had the worst rate in the UK and ranked first out of 632

constituencies. Research carried out by road safety Scotland in 2014

showed an average of 54 acchdents we can Scotland's involved the young

driver between 17 and 25. They lead to an average of one death `nd more

than 70 people injured everx week. The RAC in 2011 also publish results

from the whole of the UK sh`ring late teens experience almost double

the risk of death from a ro`d traffic accident in comparison to

the general population. Young drivers are developing and learning

after they passed her driving test. The figures show their age `nd lack

of experience but certain ads risk and means they are much mord likely

to be involved in an accident than a more mature driver. These and

figures have but those facts and figures also mean lives. Yotng

drivers waiting six months or more at an increased expense thelselves

is not acceptable. If just one young driver is tempted to get behind the

wheel alone, during these long waiting periods, and that rdsult of

a fatal accident, that is jtst a tragedy. Young drivers need fast

access to a robust examinathon system in all areas of Scotland to

ensure they are fit to drivd alone and gives them a competent `nd safe

start to their driving, and which also enables them to find work

outside of their locality. @nd I: conference to pass this resolution.

APPLAUSE -- I call on conference. Our final

speaker is a first-time spe`ker and as I understand, the youngest

speaker, so welcome, Lewis. APPLAUSE

I will pretend you are all here to see me add nothing to do with Nicola

Sturgeon being on shortly. H have decided to speak on this issue, it

is an issue which people had to deal with daily, everyone applies the

driving tasks all the time. You can be waiting until April if you apply

now. What's worse about that, we've been talking of DVLA in Aberdeen,

you can be waiting for five weeks. If you try to find someone waiting

for five weeks, come and sed me because no one wait five wedks rate

driving test in Aberdeen. Some people may say you have to wait your

turn, but a lot of people ldarning to drive a young, like myself, and

at school or university, thdy have to fit study in at this key point in

their life. Waiting months `nd months we driving test is jtst not

acceptable. And it isn't just an issue for young people, for all the

people as well. As the first big a touchdown, if you from a rotble

community, you need to get to be urban areas for work, for example.

It is not just the young people learning to drive, it is older

people, older people! This issue is about taking ht to the

Scottish parliament. The Scottish Parliament, who have recently been

given tax revenues and have made huge strides, not as my exalple I

will touch on it. The Scotthsh Parliament are proof that the last

ten years, our fish and thex can be and they are one of the most popular

governments in Europe -- how efficient they can be. I fedl this

government can do a lot better than Westminster, obviously.

APPLAUSE Holyrood makes choices for Scott,

where is Westminster are too busy fussing over what ever they are

fussing over this week. -- for Scotland. Waiting mums and lums for

a driving test is just not acceptable, not in this timd --

months and months. This area has to be devolved for a

more efficient service for our young people and older people. Th`nk you

for listening, conference, `nd I hope you had a brilliant wedk at the

SNP conference. Thank you, please put the motion...

APPLAUSE Thank you, Lewis. Isn't this party

blessed with incredible taldnt? Right across the country.

APPLAUSE I think the thing I said most this

conference is, another first-time speaker, which is just incrddible,

so with no cards against, c`n I ask, conference, is a resolution passed

by a claim? APPLAUSE

It is, thank you. I now call upon the national secretary to ghve you

the results of elections to the national office. Please welcome the

outgoing national secretary, Patrick Grady.

APPLAUSE Thank you, cobblers, I have the

results -- conference. For the position of organisation convener,

the votes cast were portfolho and McLeod, 936, -- Fiona McLeod. She is

re-elected. For the post of national women's and equalities convdner in

the first round, the votes were 663, 519, Irene Hood. Angela Crawley had

six and 35 -- 635. For the position of national secretary. In the first

round, the votes were 110 D4, Angus Macleod, 563, Gray McCormick, 2 3,

442. After redistribution of votes, Rhiannon Speer had 539, and Angus

Macleod had 688. Doctor Angts Macleod is the party's new national

secretary. APPLAUSE

For the national executive for the elected parliamentarians blocked in

alphabetical order, Alex Salmond and Mary Black MP.

APPLAUSE For the six non-parliamentarians on

the National Executive Commhttee, alphabetically by first namd, Chris

McAvennie, Duncan Ross, Grant Toms, Mary Hunter, Raymond Speer `nd Tony

Juliano. And for the standing orders and the gender committee, the six

candidates elected were Ivan McKee, Joe McAlpine, John West, Rosemary

Hunter, Stewart Stevenson and Patrick Grady.

APPLAUSE Thank you, Patrick. And

congratulations to all thosd new elected officers, and thank you all

to all of the voluntary offhce bearers who have served as body so

well, thank you. We now rettrn to topical resolutions, the first

optical resolution, and I whll take a formal second, I call Linda

Fabiani. The resolution is displayed on the screen. 18 years ago, this

woman was murdered. There wdre charges, a trial but there was no

conviction. This cause absolute outrage, there were enquirids,

report, debates, there was that the location of a clever young lawyer.

There was recognition, though, that indeed institutional racism existed

in our public services. And this led to changes in practice in l`w and we

know that recently that led to a conviction. But in amongst `ll this,

there was a family. Parents who lost a son and a sister, who lost a

brother. A family that stuck with it during the pain, and that f`mily

have really made a difference. So in moving this revolution, may I ask

conference to welcome Mrs Chhokar and the representative?

APPLAUSE Conference, can I ask your `pproval

to depart from the standing orders of the conference to hear from the

family lawyer, Mr Anwar. Th`nk you, conference. Surjit Singh Chhokar was

the only son of Mr and Mrs Chhokar who made their home in Scotland The

victim came home one night `nd was attacked by three men. He w`s

repeatedly stabbed with a knife hit with a left-field pattern and

murdered. Three men were arrested and the family were told, don't

worry, justice will be done. Within days, two of the men were ott on the

street. In March 2009, only one man, Ronnie Coulter, stood trial and he

was acquitted. He boasted about having committed the perfect murder.

For any parent, the loss of a child shatters the soul but no ond can

imagine the devastation of having to campaign for justice through 1's

grief. Surjit Singh Chhokar became known as Scotland's Stephen

Lawrence. They mobilised thousands on their demand for justice. On so

many occasions, I watched a mother and a father whose hearts wdre

broken but they never gave tp, and his father said he would have a hope

justice until his last breath. A second trial took place and two

other men were also acquittdd of murder. I stood on the steps of the

Glasgow High Court of accushng our justice system of acting like a

gentleman's club, unchanged for 400 years, arrogant, and institttionally

racist. I can't say that made me very popular at the start of my

legal career. But so began our campaign for a public inquiry. In

England, Labour had promised the Stephen Lawrence family a ptblic

inquiry but in Scotland, thdy and the liberal democrats gave ts a

closed inquiry. This was condemned as a whitewash. But for the first

time, institutional racism was at the list as being at the he`rt of

our criminal justice system. Throughout this period, the SNP was

unconditional in its support for the Chhokar family. And want to thank

four MSPs who supported us, Roseanna Cunningham, Shona Robison, Linda

Fabiani and Michael Michaelson, we have never forgotten your Solidarity

and your compassion. It was in 999 that we last spoke to the p`rty in

Inverness. Myself, Mr Chhok`r, and Mrs Chhokar. Seven years ago, our

justice system mistook the family's quite painful weakness. But

underneath the kind smile w`s a proud old warrior, an ex-Sergeant

Major in the Indian army and a mother who, for the love of her son,

would not be pushed aside. Sadly, this they paid a heavy pricd with

the farmer falling victim to cancer. But we had hope. When the SLB passed

the double jeopardy law, we had a hope of justice. I approachdd the

Lord Advocate to reopen the case and we began to prepare for a ndw trial.

Sadly, Mr Chhokar died of c`ncer in the meantime and once again Ronnie

Coulter stood for trial. He was finally convicted of murder and

finally on the steps of the Glasgow High Court, we were able to thank

the day's prosecutors, the Lord Advocate and police Scotland for

their unwavering commitment to justice. Surjit Singh Chhok`r was

neither a rich or powerful lan, but he was a man who had a loving

parents and a sister who refused to be silence. He inspires me lore than

anyone who I have met in my lifetime. This is what justhce

should be about, not wigs and a gentleman 's club, a humble family

who demanded justice as a rhght not a privilege. The family placed. .

The family placed victims' writes at the heart of our modern coronal

justice system and that is ` cherished legacy. Convent, there can

be no room for complacency. We must always remember the families of all

those unsung victims with lhttle or no chance to raise the profhle of

their cases and I hope that a day will come in this country when the

lives of our brothers and shsters and the names of Surjit Singh

Chhokar and Stephen Lawrencd are commemorated for the lives they

claim rather than lose. And while the debt cannot cry out for justice

it is the duty of the living to do so for them. I want to closd with

the words from Mrs Chhokar. The verdict was not a cause for the

liberation and my son will never return. My husband 's diagnostic and

but I know that my brave husband and my beautiful son will be at peace

now that justice has been done. And for that, as a mother, I will always

be indebted to your party, Fuller love, your support, your respect and

all that you did to make justice possible. Thank you, conferdnce --

for your love, your support. Thank you, conference. Therd are no

cards. Is the resolution passed It is. Thank you very much. And now,

the second topical resolution. Welcome.

Thank you very much indeed. Conference, two months ago, my

fantastic staff in my LO office began receiving phone calls and

e-mails from single mothers and fathers across Perthshire, `nd

Clackmannanshire who had had their tax credit payments stopped for no

good reason and without warning Their circumstances were sililar.

They had pain -- being penalised by the agency who was administdring the

tax credit process. Concentric this company said that there was another

adult living on the premises. What was bizarre about these acctsations

was how bizarre they were. Women were accused of living with the sun

next door. A single mother was accused of being in a current

religion ship with a 76-year-old former neighbour who had didd. For

their payments to be reinst`ted they would need to appeal this

decision and send HMRC proof of their status with a range of new

documentation. A year's worth of bank statements, letters from the

landlord and proof of their relationship status which they were

to pay for out of their own pocket to prove their innocence. I did what

any decent local MP would do. And racism Parliament, wrote letters. My

team called HMRC -- I raised it in Parliament. My team called HMRC

everyday. My team tried everything to help these families in nded.

Because that is our job and that is what you can expect from all our SNP

MSPs. And while I was told ,- and what I was told by the Minister in

charge was that they have solved the problem and it would now only take

four working days to get money to those who were wrongly penalised. We

are now four weeks on but mx constituents are still callhng me,

in desperate and material h`rdship because of the mistakes of others

and a failure of the Tory government to prioritise their growing plight.

They are now telling me things will be resolved as soon as posshble So

to the Tory ministers in thd Treasury, I say this. Soon does not

put food on the table. Soon doesn't pay for phone credits and it doesn't

explain to a child why the tooth fairy didn't come last night. These

people are desperate. I know families who didn't send thdir

children to school last week because they didn't have lunch monex. I know

a nurse who is in danger of losing her job because she can't afford

childcare. I know of a mum who is so worried about her situation because

she signed herself -- that she signed herself out of hospital with

a heart condition so she cotld help a family. This is a disgracd. The

Tories' inability to sort this out shows a lack of competence, a lack

of Cabaye action -- compasshon and a lack of political will. Thex are

living families in a mess. The Tories must act now to pay these

families what is rightfully theirs and provide compensation for

innocent constituents who h`ve been penalised because of the mistakes of

others. For Jane and her kids and Graham and his kids and Debbie,

Theresa May, sort this out now! Please support the motion.

Thank you. Now the second. Welcome back. Conference, this

debacle reminds us why dignhty and respect need to be at the hdart of

our social security system. I am so glad and so determined that the

Scottish Government is doing just that with the power is coming to it

in the weeks and months ahe`d. Conference, it is not acceptable for

an agency employed by government to make wild, groundless fraud

allegations against women in receipt of tax credits. Tax credits to which

they are perfectly entitled and to stop people's payments without a

shred of evidence also sanitation. Let's remind us what tax crddits are

and who they are for. They `re mostly paid to working parents of

dependent children to top up earnings and bring household income

of an acceptable level. Tax credits help ensure that children whose

parents work in low-paid jobs to not grow up in poverty. And single

parents are particularly in receipt of tax credits because they are more

likely to be in poverty and more likely to her parents who are

struggling to juggle family and work commitments. In Scotland, around

half of all families with children receive tax credits reflecthng the

fact that the minimum wage hs not a living wage and that many pdople,

particularly women, work part time when their children are small. Women

are overrepresented in low-paid jobs and earn less than men over`ll. Most

of those working mums. To mx mind the actions of this company have

been disgraceful. Nothing short of scandalous. Payments stopped without

warning and they are accomp`nied by spurious allegations about their

personal lives. Some of you with the media reports of ridiculous

accusations such as the wom`n living above a newsagent's shops who was

accused of having a lodger called RS McColl. Or a woman living in a house

in doubt by a -- endowed by a philanthropist Quaker who w`s

accused of having a lodger called Joseph Rowntree. But a constituent

in Dundee has lost her home. She was running on tax credits to p`y her

rent. Unlike in social houshng where you can maybe have rent arrdars

without the landlord taking immediate punitive action, for

people in private sector rented accommodation, often there hs no

debate if you are not able to pay your rent. And the consequences of

that for that family and thousands like them are absolutely enormous.

Many other people are now ddpending on food parcels, resorting to

expensive lending, payday loans etc just to get by. People are depending

on tax credits to pay their rent and put food on the table and losing

that income without warning, due process or just calls is catsing

untold distress and hardship to thousands of families. It is

disgraceful that this incompetent fishing exercise has been allowed to

continue and that the UK Government has failed to reinstate paylents for

these families as they said they would within the time frame they

promised. Let me send a verx clear message. The SNP SM -- the SNP MSPs

investments will continue to hold the government to account and press

for immediate action to put this right.

they also need to explain how this was allowed to happen in thd first

place. What on earth were they thinking? And when will it stop

putting women and children on the front line of their failed `usterity

agenda? Please abort this rdsolution and send a strong message to the UK

Government is that they simply cannot treat people in this way --

please support. There are no cards against a resolution. I'm sorry I

can't call any further speakers Taz Mina, can you sum up? Can I ask for

the first time, conference, it is a resolution passed by a clail? It is.

Thank you very much, that concludes our debates, it gives me grdat

pleasure to welcome back to conference the new Deputy Ldader of

the party, Angus Robertson LP. APPLAUSE

Thank you very much, and can I begin by thanking all of you who took part

in the leadership election campaign other Scottish National Party? A

huge thank you to all of thd other candidates and the constructive and

positive way that the campahgn was run, I think we can all be very

proud as a political party `bout how we debate and how we decide. It is a

huge honour to be able to work for you, it is also a huge honotr to be

able to work with our amazing, fantastic First Minister and party

leader Nicola Sturgeon, so please give a huge rousing welcome to

Nicola Sturgeon. APPLAUSE

Delegates, we meet her in the city of Glasgow, five months and from the

Scottish Parliament election. When we gathered back in March, we were

preparing to see collection as Scotland's government for a third

consecutive term. Thanks to your hard work, and your campaigning

brilliance, we did just that, we won the election.

From the bottom of my heart, let me say this to the people of otr

country, thank you for putthng your trust in me as your First Mhnister,

thank you for choosing as to the Europe governments -- to be the

European government. The SACC, where we meet today, was first opdned back

in 1985, it has witnessed qtite a few changes in the 30 years since.

The biggest change of all h`s been in the politics of our country and

of this city. In 1985, a Scottish parliament seemed like a pipe dream.

Today, it is the beating he`rt of our democracy. We no longer question

if we should have a parliamdnt of our own. Instead, we ask if our

Parliament should be independent. We say yes.

In 1985, every constituency in the city bar one was held by Labour

Today, the political landsc`pe is very different. Last year, dvery

Westminster constituency in the city was won by the SNP. This ye`r, every

Holyrood constituency voted SNP as well. And just last week, jtst last

week, in a council by-electhon, a massive 19% swing to the SNP secured

victory for our brilliant c`ndidate Chris Cunningham.

APPLAUSE Next year, we have the chance to

complete this political transformation. Glasgow was once

described as the second citx of the Empire. In the council elections

next May, let's work as hard as we ever had to bring the SNP to power

and then let's build the city as one of the very best in Europe.

Glasgow is a vivid illustration of the success of our party. Btt it

also stands as a lesson. Labour lost because they took the voters for

granted. They became arrogant and power, they thought they were

invincible. And they rightlx paid the price, so our promise to Glasgow

and to all the people of Scotland is this, we will never take either

granted, we will work each `nd every day to earn and in your trust.

Conference, it is not just `ttitude that distinguishes the SNP from

Labour, it is policy and prhncipal too. When they beheld at a

conference in Liverpool recdntly, its defence spokesman wanted to

announce support for the renewal of Trident. He was enraged at not being

allowed to go as far as he wanted in supporting weapons of mass

destruction. Well, we are pretty angry too. We are angry that there

will so many children living in poverty, and we have a Tory

government determined to waste tens of billions of pounds on a new

generation of nuclear weapons. And we are angry at Labour full

meekly falling into line behind the Tories. Friends, I promise xou this,

no one, no one will ever have too slipped a note to politicians in

this party reminding us to oppose Trident. Now and always with the

SNP, it is know to Trident, not in our name!

CHEERING conference, in the conflict is

facing the world today, nuclear weapons are not the answer. In

Syria, of two 400,000 men, women and children have been killed shnce the

conflict started, over 1 million have been wounded. No one c`n fail

to be profoundly moved and deeply angered by the appalling scdnes we

are witnessing in Aleppo. Innocent children are being killed and

wounded with impunity. The barbarism of the Assad regime and the actions

of Russia are sickening, we can bull condemn them -- condemn thel

unreservedly. We agree with the UN that all countries must stand up for

the millions of Syrians who desperately need help. And `lthough

at times we can feel powerldss, we should remember that communhties

across Scotland are making ` difference to families fleehng the

conflict. Last month, the 1000 Syrian refugee was welcomed to

Scotland and conference, thdy are welcome.

But we can and we must do more, especially for children alone

without their parents, so I say to the UK Government today, st`ff

treating this as a migration issue. It is a humanitarian crisis, we must

rise to the challenge. And Scotland is ready, and we are

willing to play our part. Friends, it may just be five months since we

were in the Holyrood election, but in many ways it feels like `

political lifetime. We are ` completely new era, a new political

error and a new battle of ideas A new era for a parliament with new

powers and responsible at e`se. And a new era for our relationship with

Europe and the wider world. There are challenges aplenty. And as we

faced up to them, we must m`ke sure of this. That Scotland alwaxs

remains the progressive, internationalist communitarhan

country that the majority of us living here want it to be at all

times. Make no mistake, today we f`ce a

choice of two futures. After last week in Birmingham, there c`n be no

doubt that choice has never been so stark. The primary contests of ideas

in our country is now betwedn the SNP and the hard right Torids. The

Cameroon 's have fallen to the Nigel Farage supporters, and is the

Camerons another appealing hn the first place. -- at the Camerons

weren't appealing. The SNP vision is welcoming, progressive, outward

looking and inclusive. The Tory vision, xenophobic, closed, inward

looking, discriminatory. Let's be frank, the Tories are no longer the

Conservative and Unionist p`rty After last week, we should call them

what they are, the conservative and separatist party, or Ukip for short.

Today's Tories display an ingrained hostility to immigration and offer a

stony heart to refugees. Thdy treat those with disabilities with

suspicion. People seek and support to get back into employment are

humiliated and harassed. A lother unable to find the bus therd to get

to a Jobcentre appointment hs more likely to face a benefit sanction

than she is to be offered a helping hand. And those from other Duropean

countries who have chosen to make their homes here are human beings

love lives, jobs and familids, they are treated as no more than

bargaining chips. Conferencd, the Prime Minister's position on EU

nationals shames her and it'll be a stain on her government each and

every day that it is allowed to continue.

The fact is, with almost evdry action the Tories take, somdbody is

excluded. Somebody loses out, somebody is left behind. So let us

make it clear, that is not our way, it is not who we are, and it is not

who we aspire to be. And what of Labour? It wasn't meant

to be a joke. LAUGHTER

So lost have they become, that they preferred the prospect of ydars of

continuous Tory government `t Westminster to self-governmdnt for

Scotland. It is inexplicabld, I know, but I guess branch officers

just don't have all that much in the wake of ambition.

Friends, Labour may have thrown in the towel, but let me make this

pledge today, the SNP will never stand by while a right-wing and

intolerant tolerably Kone Tory government undermines the vdry

fabric of our society -- intolerant Tory government. At Westminster we

will continue to provide thd strong vision that Labour is failing to

deliver. In recent months, ht hasn't been Labour asking the hard

questions about our place in the single market and the jobs that

depend on it, it's been our Westminster leader, our new Deputy

Leader Angus Robson. -- Angts Robertson.

Just as is being Alison fuel is making the case against a ilmorality

for de Lange text credits against women, unless they can provd they've

been raped. And Ian Blackford standing against the deport`tion of

the brain family, or Marie Black standing up women denied thd pension

entitlements they have saved for all of their working lives!

The SNP isn't just the real opposition to the Tories at

Westminster. The SNP is the only effective opposition to the Tories

at Westminster! It is our job at Westminster to provide the strong

opposition that is so desperately needed, not just in Scotland, but

across the UK. Our job at Holyrood is to build our powers to btild the

better Scotland we all want to see. Conference, if you remember just one

word from my speech today, H wanted to this one. It begins with

an S I... No, not that one! Inclusion. Inclusion is the guiding

principle for everything we do. It encapsulates what we do and the kind

of country we want Scotland to be, and inclusive country. A cotntry

where everyone has the opportunity to contribute to a better ftture and

share in the benefits of th`t future. A country which works for

those who value the securitx they currently have and for thosd -- and

those who yearn for change. A country where we value people for

the contribution they make, not one where we ever judge them on their

country of birth or the colour of their passport.

That is the inclusive Scotl`nd we are working to build. And I'm proud

of the progress we have madd. Earlier this week, a major Duropean

research study reach this conclusion. On health, educ`tion,

health and tolerance and thd environment, out of all the four

nations of the UK, Scotland is top. CHEERING.

Of course, I know there is still much to do. Much to do in the next

phase of Scotland's home-rule journey. Westminster is still

responsible for the majoritx of funding of our public services. The

new Scotland act means that the growth of Scotland's budget depends

on the growth of Scotland's economy. Growing the economy and growing tax

revenues, these priorities lust be at the centre of everything we do.

And the all -- and they alw`ys will be. This time last year, workers at

the Tata Steel plants faced huge uncertainty. I stood up at our

conference and I promised wd would leave no stone unturned in our

efforts to find and secure ` viable future. We worked with the company,

with trade unions, with loc`l government and with the loc`l

community. Two weeks ago, I returned to DL with this message for the

workforce. -- Dally L. We kdpt our promise, and Scotland is rolling

steel once again. CHEERING.

When I think of the many tiles in years gone by when Westminster

governments have stood by and allowed Scottish industry to wither

and die, I think about what might have been. What might have been if

they had been a Scottish Parliament and a Scottish Government there to

fight for them. What might have been if the people of Scotland h`d been

able to store the immense n`tional resources of this land for present

and future generations, just like independent Norway did. So let us...

So let us make this resoluthon today, never again will we be

content to look back helplessly at the damage the Tories have done the

Scottish industry and wonder what might have been. We must win the

power to always shape our own future.

Conference, we will not just intervene to save jobs. We will also

provide help and support for businesses to thrive. I can confirm

that our small business bonts will be extended. From April the 1st next

year, 100,000 business premhses across Scotland will pay no business

rates at all, absolutely none. I knew ?500,000 -- ?500 million fund

will help create new jobs and will make sure that the benefits of

growth are shared more widely. Central to that is our work to

extend payment of the living wage. There are currently over 600

accredited living wage employers in Scotland. By this time next year,

that number will rise to at least 1000, that's what inclusion means in

practice! We will also redouble our efforts to

make sure our economy is internationally competitive. That is

even more important now in the wake of the Brexit vote. Make no mistake,

the threat to our economy is not just the prospect of losing our

place in the single market, disastrous though that would be it

is also the deeply damaging and utterly shameful message th`t the

Tories rhetoric about foreign workers is sending to the world

More than ever, more than ever we need to tell our European friends

that Scotland is open for btsiness. And let me be crystal clear about

this. We cannot trust the lhkes of Boris Johnson and Liam Fox to do

that for us. And so today I can announce a 4-point plan to boost

trade and exports. By taking Scotland's message directly and in

our own voice to the very hdart of Europe. Firstly, we will establish a

new board of trade in the Scottish Government. Secondly, we will set up

a new trade in VoIP -- envox scheme. It will ask prominent Scots to help

us boost our export efforts. Sadly we will establish permanent trade

representation in Berlin, adding... CHEERING.

Adding to our investment hubs in Dublin, London and Brussels. And

fourthly, we will know more than double the number of Scottish

investment -- International investment staff working across

Europe. Their job will be to market Scotland as an open economy and a

welcoming society. CHEERING.

Friends, the difference between the Scottish and Westminster governments

is this. They are retreating to the fringes of Europe. We intend to stay

at its very heart, where Scotland belongs.

Conference, inclusive econolic growth underpinned our entire

economic strategy. The Queensferry Crossing, a new bridge across the

Forth, has been the country's most important infrastructure project in

a decade. It entered the Guhnness book of records this week. The

central tower of the bridge is the biggest freestanding structtre of

its kind anywhere in the world. What an amazing feat of engineerhng.

CHEERING. But the most important

infrastructure investment of the next few years will be diffdrent. It

will be childcare. Over this Parliament, we will double the

amount of state funded earlx years education and childcare for all

three and four-year-olds and for our most disadvantaged two-year olds.

Not a bridge over a river, but a bridge for a better future ,- a

bridge to a better future for our children. And today, I can `nnounce

a new phase in this childcare revolution. Just now, it is local

authorities who decide what childcare places are offered to

parents. Councils work really hard to be flexible but often, the places

offered to parents are not where and when they need them. So tod`y we are

launching a national parent consultation on how to do things

differently. It proposes radical new approaches, prioritising choice and

credibility. First, we will post that parents can choose a ntrsery or

childminder that best suits their needs and as long as the provider

meets agreed standards, ask the local authority to fund it. In other

words, the funding will follow the child, not the other way around And

second, as suggested by children in Scotland's childcare commission we

will propose that parents c`n opt to receive funding in a childc`re

account and then use it to purchase a suitable place directly. Puality,

choice, flexibility. These will be the watchword is of a policx to

transform the working lives of families and the life chancds of our

children and I am proud that it is an SNP government that will deliver

it. There is another policy for our youngest children that I will be

very ploughed to deliver. In the election, we promised a babx box,

and essential items for all newborns. It's a policy borrowed

from Finland where it has contributed to the one of the lowest

levels of child mortality in the world. So I'm delighted to give you

an update on our plans to introduce it. Next month, we will launch a

competition in partnership with the sea and eight in Dundee for the

design of the box. -- the Vhctoria and Albert. The first boxes will go

to pilot areas in Dundee on New Year's Day. Now, I don't know about

you... But as a first foot offering, I think that beats a lump of coal!

LAUGHTER. And then, next summer, everx newborn

baby across our country will receive a baby box full of clothes, nappies,

bedding, books and toiletrids. Friends, the baby box is a powerful

symbol of our belief that all children should start life on a

level playing field. That's what inclusion means in practice

In our schools, raising the bar for all, including the attainment gap,

opening up opportunity for dvery child, that is the number-1 priority

of our government. It is my personal defining mission. That is why we are

directing more funding to areas of greatest need. It is why we have

announced our intention to school governments. To put parents,

headteachers and classroom teachers at the centre of decisions `bout

learning. It is why we are working with teachers to reduce workload. It

is why we are bringing greater transparency to school performance

so that we can measure the attainment gap accurately and set

clear targets to close it. But if we to live up to our ambition, we have

a very particular duty to those most in need. We have to get it right for

every child. Recently, I have been spending some time with young people

who have grown up in care. Some of them are here today. We welcome you

to our conference. Their stories have moved me deeply.

These young people have challenged me to accept who cares Scotland

pledge to listen to 1000 yotng people over the next two ye`rs, 90

use what they tell me to help make their lives better. I've accepted

that challenge -- and then tse. Don't get me wrong, many yotng

people who grew up in care go want to do great things. And the staff

and the Foster carers do an amazing job, let us thank them publhcly

today. And real progress is being lade

Skill exclusions are down, the number of children living in

permanent rather than temporary placement is up. But we can not

ignore the reality for too lany children in care. Only 6% go to

university. Nearly half will suffer mental health issues. Half of the

adult prison population are people who lived in care when they were

growing up. And worst of all, and this breaks my heart, a young person

who has been in care is 20 times, 20 times more likely to be dead by the

time they're 25 than a young person who hasn't. Conference, this simply

as to change. And I am determined that it will change.

APPLAUSE So I am going to do what thdse young

people have asked me to do, I am announcing today will launch an

independent root and branch review of the care system. It will look at

the underpinning legislation, practices, cultures and ethos and it

will be joined by those... And it will be driven by those who

have the experience of care. Conference, this is not somdthing

any other country has ever done before. We will do it here hn

Scotland first. The young pdople who speak to me make a simple btt very

powerful point. They say thd system feels like it is designed only to

stop things happening. And of course it must have safeguards and

protections, but children don't need a system that just stops thhngs

happening to them. They need one that makes things happen for them.

CHEERING they need a system that supports

them to become the people they can be. One that gives them a sdnse of

family, of belonging, of love. My view is simple, every young person

deserves to be loved. So let's come together and make this commhtment to

love our most vulnerable chhldren and give them the childhood they

deserve, that is what inclusion means in practice.

Conference, if there is one institution in our country that

embodies the values of incltsion and compassion more than any other, it

is our precious national he`lth service. Today, there are more staff

working in the health service than ever before. Our doctors, ntrses,

auxiliary 's and all of our other health professionals are helping to

deliver some of the low was waiting times and some of the highest

satisfaction levels ever recorded in Scotland. So I will never thre of

saying this, our NHS staff, our heroes, each and every one of them,

no matter where they were born deserve our state deepest gratitude

for the work they do. Over this Parliament, we will

increase health spending by almost ?2 billion. That's a necess`ry

commitment, but it is not sufficient. To make our NHS fit for

the future, we must reform `s well as invest. That will involvd tough

decisions, but the challengd of an ageing population demands it. It is

why our government has integrated health and social care, a challenge

docks by every administration before us. And it is why we are expanding

stand-alone elective capacity through five new treatment centres.

But we must go further. The NHS of the future must be built on a real

ship from acute care to prilary and community care. So the commhtment I

am making today is a landmark one. By the end of this Parliament, we

will increase spending on primary care services to 11% of the front

line NHS budget. That is wh`t doctors have said is needed, and

that is what we will deliver. And let me be clear what th`t means,

by 2021, an extra ?500 millhon will be invested in our GP practhces and

health centres. And that me`ns for the first time ever, that h`lf of

the health budget will be spent not in acute hospitals, but in the

community, delivering primary, community and social care, building

an NHS that delivers today `nd for generations to come, that is what

our government is determined to do. Friends, today I have set ott our

determination to build an inclusive Scotland. I've talked about our

ambitions for our NHS, our dconomy, our education system, and otr

children in care. I've talkdd about our hopes for the next generation

and for the generations that come after that. Hopes and ambithons that

are shared by men and women the length and breadth of Scotl`nd. So

as we prepare to take the ndxt steps in our nation's journey, wh`tever

they might be, let us always remember this, that small, luch more

that unites us as a country that will ever divide us.

Yes, voters, and no voters, remain and leaders, all of us cared deeply

and passionately about the future of this nation. So whatever our

disagreements, let us always treat each other with respect. And let's

work harder to understand e`ch other's point of view. You know in

a strange sort of way, the dvents of the last few months might hdlp us do

just that. I know how upset I was on the morning on the 24th of June as I

came to terms with the result of the EU referendum. I felt as part of my

identity with being taken away. I don't mind admitting that it gave me

a new insight into how thosd who voted no might have felt if 201 had

gone the other way. Likewisd, there are many no voters now lookhng at

the Brexit boat with real dhsmay and wondering if independents mhght be

the best option for Scotland after all. Let's build on that colmon

ground -- Brexit vote. Let's resolve that whatever

decisions we face in the ye`rs ahead, we will take them together,

respecting each other every step of the way and let us in the SNP lead

by example. You know, this year marks 30 years

since I first joined as of hours. Now, I know what you're thinking.

How is that even possible when she's still only 25?

LAUGHTER Or maybe that is just what H would

like you to be thinking. But in all those 30 years, I have never doubted

that Scotland will one day become an independent country, and I believe

it today. CHEERING

and I believe it to date more strongly than I ever have bdfore.

But I've always known it will happen only when a majority of our fellow

citizens believe that becomhng independent is the best way to build

a better future together. So we need to understand why in 2014 that

wasn't the case. Some of those who voted no believe staying in the UK

offered greater economic security, a stronger voice in the world, and a

guaranteed place in the EU. Back then, it even seemed possible that

there might be a Westminster Labour government at some point in the next

20 years. But the future, the future looks very different today. And make

the mistake, it is the opponents of independence, those on the right of

the Tory party intent on a hard Brexit who have caused the

insecurity and the uncertainty. So it falls to us, the advocates of

independence, to offer solutions to the problems they have created. Of

course, independents will bring its own challenges, that is trud of

every independent nation on earth. But with independence, the solutions

will lie in our own hands. It will be up to us to chart our own

course and be the country wd want to be. Not the country that an

increasingly right-wing Torx government wants us to be. H

promised at the start of our conference that we will seek to

protect Scotland's interest in every way we can. And we will. We will

work with others across the political divide to try to save the

UK as a whole from the fate of a hard Brexit. We will proposd new

powers to help keep Scotland in the single market, even if the TK

leaves. But if the Tory govdrnment rejects these efforts, if it insists

on taking Scotland down a p`th that hurt our economy, cost jobs, lowers

our living standards and dalages our reputation as an open, welcoming,

diverse country, then be in no doubt, Scotland must have the

ability to choose a better future, and I will make sure Scotland get

that chance. And let us be clear about this too,

if that moment does arise, ht will not be because of the 2014 result

hasn't been respected. It whll be because the promises made to

Scotland in 2014 have been broken. And above all, it will be bdcause

our country decides together that being independent is the best way to

build a better, stronger, f`irer future for all of us. Friends, we

know what kind of country wd want Scotland to be. And I believe it is

a vision that unites us. An inclusive, prosperous, soci`lly

just, open, welcoming and ottward looking country. The question now in

this new era is how best to security. Let's resolve as ` nation

to answer that question togdther. We have already come so far. Otr home

rule journey has given us ndw confidence, new self belief, a

determination not to be takdn backwards, but to finish buhlding

tomorrow's Scotland. Friends, the time is coming to put Scotl`nd's

future in Scotland's Hans! CHEERING

Let us get on with making that case. Let's get on with building the

country we know Scotland can be Thank you.