29/06/2011 Reporting Scotland

Welcome to Reporting Scotland. Tonight on your national news:

�36,000 - the cost of a degree for students coming to Scottish

universities from the rest of the UK. I think it is slightly unfair

because Scotland students seem to get away with quite a lot.

Later in the programme: Getting rid of waste - a warning to

public bodies they could be overwhelmed by demand if urgent

action is not taken. Also tonight, we look at how the

island of Eigg cracked the problem of people leaving.

Her physical record of a proud military history, the military of

Scotland prepares to receive its new colours.

Students coming to Scotland from the rest of the UK face paying up

to �36,000 for their degrees. The Scottish government is planning to

allow universities to charge up to �9,000 a year for fees - that's the

same level as in England and Wales. Since degrees are generally a year

longer here, it means some students may end up paying more than if they

stayed in their home countries. Here's our education correspondent

All smiles, graduation at Edinburgh University. But the gap between

Scottish students and those from the rest of the UK has just got

wider. Slightly unfair because I think Scottish students get away

with quite a lot. We have Scottish students in our flat so it is a

source of tension at times. I guess that is the difference between

having a parliament up here and a parliament down there.

education secretary has a black hole to fill in funding because got

stoned pay. Scotland made it clear decision at the election that we

would not charge students fees. Regrettably we have to charge fees

for students from elsewhere and I am allowing universities to set the

level themselves because they want to make sure they're competing

effectively. The breakdown across borders. England, over �3,000.

About to go up to �9,000. Scotland, no fees for Scots, but �1,800 for

those from the rest of the UK, soon to rise to �9,000. For Scottish

universities, it is welcome news. The Scottish government is doing

exactly the right thing. We have been saying urgent action is needed

to make sure Scotland doesn't become... We are still able to

welcome people from across the UK, but that we protect the number of

places available for Scottish students. But from student leaders,

a different response. It is something of a double standard,

with real increases possibly up to a level of �36,000 for students

coming from the rest of the UK. We are particularly worried about the

introduction of a market for students coming from the rest of

the UK. That will price some students out of coming to Scotland.

Many will be seeking assurances that getting a Scottish degree will

not deter applications from talented youngsters from less well-

off homes south of the border. There is also a risk of increasing

resentment that Scots continued to pay no charges while others face

higher charges whichever way they Nat Fraser's lawyer's has told

judges he could not get a fair trial because of remarks made by

Alex Salmond. He is to be retried for the murder of his wife Eileen

after the UK Supreme Court in London has said his original

conviction should be overturned, but his legal team says comments

made by Mr Salmond made it look like he was guilty. BBC Scotland

has been able to report this matter until now because of reporting

restrictions. Tonight a spokesman said Mr Salmond had made no, what's

the weather on the merits of Nat Fraser's case. -- whatsoever.

Public bodies in Scotland need to work together and eliminate waste,

according to a report for the Scottish government. Otherwise, it

says, rising demand will "overwhelm" the system. The

Christie Commission says the focus should be on earlier prevention of

problems to avoid huge costs further down the line. Our

political editor Brian Taylor has This is the report.

Anyone seeking a basic blueprint for public services will be

disappointed. Today's report has little to say on structures and

nothing to say on job numbers. Those weren't part of its remit.

Instead, they ask HOW services might be delivered more effectively.

They want public bodies to end overlap. So they want to transfer

the Jobcentre Plus network to Holyrood control. They'd make

public funding dependent on public funding dependent on

integrating services. And their big idea? A new emphasis on early

prevention. That means early help for people so that big problems

don't develop later, landing the At play, youngsters being helped by

the Glasgow regeneration agency. They are all deadly serious about

the problems faced in finding jobs. I have been looking online for a

lot of different jobs. So far I have filled out a lot of

applications, but nobody has got back to me yet. I did a painting

and decorating course and I have tried to get a job. Today's report

says money spent giving youngsters a decent start saves much more

later in social care and prison. Unfortunately a few of the clients

we deal with have already been on the wrong side of the law. There

should be some kind of structure for them to come to us directly

from school and that would make a difference. Integrated services can

help keep old folk out of hospital, the most costly option. But can we

afford the start-up costs? We can't afford not to. We need to do it

because if we don't, the demand in public services, with the

increasing number of elderly, and not addressing problems we know

exist in young people, we will overwhelm public services. It has

to be done. But will it be done? There's widespread, if tentative,

backing for today's report, but there's exasperation too that

Scotland is still engaged in analysis rather than action. It is

essential that these cuts are looked at seriously and immediately.

There was a real problem during the election campaign in May when

nobody talked about what cuts they would bring in. That was hit in the

Sound Stuff. We have to undertake this programme right now. -- head

in the sand stuff. Now it's over to ministers. With the Christie Report

delivered, the Scottish government has set up a working group to

implement change. And it held its first meeting today.

Around 30,000 public sector workers in Scotland are expected to go on

strike tomorrow over planned changes to their pensions. They're

angry at proposals which they say would mean working longer and

paying more. Travellers have been warned that they may face some

delays at airports as immigration and customs officers walk out. Our

reporter Gavin Walker is at Edinburgh airport. What impact will

the walkout have? The strike itself hasn't started, but the good news

for passengers hoping to travel out of Scotland internationally

tomorrow is that the two main international airport, Edinburgh

and Glasgow, say they are already under way in their efforts to

offset the impact. Customs and immigration agency staff have been

replaced by temporary staff and it is hoped that while there may be a

delay in processing people arriving and therefore people going out,

British airports Authority, which operates Edinburgh and Glasgow

airports, say they expect minor disruption and no cancellations.

Who else will be on strike tomorrow and what kind of effect might we

expect from that? There are 30,000 members of the Public and

Commercial Services Union in Scotland that work in a whole range

of things, airports, courts, ports, government buildings, visitor

attractions and so on. Tomorrow morning there will be pickets at

many of these from Edinburgh Castle to the Scottish Parliament. The

government there has mixed its messages about whether it is in

favour or not. Generally it says it understands and sympathises, as

does the Labour Party in Scotland, but the Scottish Labour Party today

said that while it understands and respects the right to do so, it

expects its own members to cross the picket line to be in parliament

tomorrow. Thank you. You're watching Reporting Scotland

from the BBC. Still to come before 7pm:

The Inverclyde by-election enters the last few hours of campaigning

by the competing parties. And picture this - marking the 80th

birthday of one of the country's In sport, we'll be live at

Wimbledon where Andy Murray is playing for a place in the last

four of the men's singles. We'll have the very latest from his match

against Feliciano Lopez on Centre We've already reported this week on

the struggle to keep people on our small isles, but in sharp contrast

to its neighbouring islands, population levels on Eigg are on

the up. Ownership is a key factor and since life on the island was

transformed by a community buy-out, Eigg is welcoming a steady influx

of young folk. Jackie O'Brien Since it was bought by the

community 14 years ago, Eigg's self-sufficiency has become a

tourist attraction in itself. Scores of visitors come and go each

day, but more people are also choosing to live here as life on

the island becomes more viable. Cycle hire and crofting were not

part of Sussex graduate Jamie's original life plan. But they are

now after falling in love with an islander and her homeland. It suits

me so well, I absolutely love it. The way of life -- way of life,

slower than mainland time. Eigg powers itself and its green

electricity scheme is seen as a main source of the community's new

vibrancy. I was burning a barrel of diesel a month, which cost me �150,

along with the handling, and that was for five hours electricity

today. Now I have 24 hours electricity a day and it is �30 a

month. Since the community buy-out there has been a 25% increase in

the population here, with around 20 of the 90 residents on Eigg under

the age of 30. Housing is a big issue. If they are going to invest

in a place and stay a long time, they need security. That is

something we have started addressing, we have been releasing

house plots which have been taken up by several young folk who have

bought houses here. What most of these young inhabitants will leave

for further education, another generation of children is returning

home to Eigg. Joanne was born here and has been lured back by the New

Age range of residents. -- Joe. is like a catalyst of more and more

young people being here. You make a connection with a few people and

then, yeah, it is a domino effect and more and more people will come

back. They will realise it is OK to live in the middle of nowhere!

the day trippers leave, they will pass neighbour will -- neighbouring

islands struggling to stem the depopulation, but for now Eigg's

young folk are staying put. Voters in Inverclyde head to the

polls tomorrow to elect a successor to the Labour MP David Cairns, who

died in May. The four main parties - Labour, the SNP, the Lib Dems and

Tories - are each contesting the seat, and UKIP has also fielded a

candidate. Our political correspondent Raymond Buchanan

reports on the final hours of campaigning.

The you are watching a little piece of history being made. This ferry

service ends today. It is a sign of changing times, but other things

are becoming familiar. Alex Salmond has now been the constituency five

times, he says the party are getting a good reception from

locals, ever confident he is betting on winning another seat

from Labour. I think this is earthquake proportions if we win

this seat. This is one of the very few seats we did not win from the

Labour Party in last month's elections, albeit by only 500 votes.

The political impact of SNP victory here would be sued. Labour have

sought to reinforce their vote by bringing in Lord Prescott. I came

here on the Queen Elizabeth. former Deputy Prime Minister was

once a ship's steward. Today he was in Ferguson's shipyard hoping to

sink Alex Salmond's hopes. He did not win the last by-election we had

here. He went prancing around saying we're going to win. He is

doing it again, he is a street fighter, but the people give the

answer. Do they want the national government to be Labour or Tory?

The last time this seed was concerted -- contested the Tories

came fourth, but they hope they because on jobs and staying in the

UK will lead to a different outcome. That is a positive message we have

been delivering and I think people like getting a bit weary of a

constant bicker between the SNP and Labour. That is negative and

distracting. The Lib Dems have had a low-key campaign, little wonder.

They were humiliated a month ago. am confident we will do well and we

will get up a good vote from the people we have spoken to over the

last three weeks. Does well mean win? I would be very, very pleased

if we won. What Inverclyde tells us politically we will find out after

polls closed tomorrow, but there has already been a clear message

from people here and that is they expect their politicians to start

delivering and in communities like this, that means creating jobs and

quickly. And here is a full list of all of

those standing in the Inverclyde by-election. You can also see the

result live in a specially extended edition of Newsnight Scotland

Some of the other stories. Services on the Glasgow subway were

disrupted after a man was killed at Gubden station. The incident

happened just after 9am. British Transport Police are not treating

it as suspicious. Services are now back to normal.

A schoolboy and a man have played guilty to killing Nattalie Muir

during a gang attack in West Lothian. The 15-year-old and George

Stewart admitted culpable homicide. Emma Merrilees has already admitted

stabbing a Nattalie Muir to death. They will be sentenced later.

Representatives of the six big power companies have said they want

to work with the Scottish government to eradicate fuel

poverty in Scotland. Companies have been giving evidence to the Economy

Committee. Scottish Power announced steep rises in the cost of gas and

electricity, which they claim is the result of a hike in wholesale

prices. This weekend, thousands of serving

and former soldiers will gather in Edinburgh for a unique event. The

Queen will present the Royal Regiment of Scotland with newcomers.

Regimental flags carried on parade in special at -- on special

occasions. Two sets of tassels at the front.

In every stitch, hundreds of years of proud and passionate military

history. Even today, every detail means so much to every soldier on

parade. The regimental colours are the rallying point for each

battalion. They encapsulate the history of the regiment in terms of

what has been achieved down the centuries by those who came before

us. They may just look like rags on poles, but to soldiers who served

behind them, they are a rallying point. They are treated with due

deference. We take them whenever we are the poet. -- deployed. To there

is only one in Vinci Regiment in Scotland now. The colours have

encapsulated colours from them all. We carry more than 2500 years of

accumulated history, tradition and reputation, and I am sure that we

have got a good embodiment of that extraordinary history. You cannot

rehearse this kind of thing too much. The Queen will present the

regiment with their newcomers here at Holyrood Park on Saturday. One

battalion will be missing, they are serving in Afghanistan, but this

will be raised huge day for the Army in Scotland. For the first

time ever, soldiers from six battalions will be on parade. That

is unlikely to happen for many years.

Big news at Wimbledon. Yes, our timing is perfect. It is

better to be lucky than good! Andy Murray has been playing for a place

in the quarter-finals, sorry, the semi-finals. He was playing

Feliciano Lopez. It is a fine evening here in

Wimbledon. Another fine performance from Andy Murray on Centre Court.

He is celebrating an excellent victory over Feliciano Lopez in

straight sets, a really impressive performance, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. He did

not put a foot wrong at all. When you think of what was at stake, a

very good performance indeed. No wonder he is milking the applause

on Centre Court, because we already had a surprise, Roger Federer went

out of the tournament, having been two sets up. Rafael Nadal is still

plagued, he is winning. Andy Murray has done superbly well to get

through in straight sets. The way things look, with Rafael Nadal

leading, it will be Andy Murray against Rafael Nadal, and in the

other semi-final, Novak Djokovic against Joe will Fritz longer.

Rangers are preparing an offer of �1 million for Lee Wallace. Last

week Rangers had a bid at �300,000 turned down. Rangers have been in

fresh contact with Hearts. Wallace is in the final year of his

contract. Breaking news. Dundee United have

rejected a bid by Rangers for David Goodwillie.

We have more transfer news. Aberdeen have signed Chris Clark

for the second time. He left for the English club Plymouth three

years ago, but he is back, and he is modelling the new home strip. He

had offers from other clubs but he is thrilled to return to Aberdeen,

where his career began. When I sat down and considered

everything, I am from this area, I have always supported Aberdeen, I

had a fantastic time before, it all adds up. I am really looking

forward to what is ahead. The moment we have all been waiting

for, what is the First Minister about to reveal? Place your bets. I

will keep you waiting for a few more seconds. It is the new

Scottish Open golf trophy. Some of the world's best golfers, including

Lee Westwood and Luke Donald, will compete for it next week. The

course is also new. The event is being held at Castle Stuart for the

first time. He I have not been there yet, but

everybody says it is magnificent. A wonderful setting up. We are being

rewarded, because advance ticket sales are excellent, much higher

than expected. We have got a good field. It is an exciting new

development. One of our best-known and most

prolific artists has been celebrated in the exhibition to

mark the 80th birthday. Six decades of work by Elizabeth Blackadder

will go on show from Saturday at the National Galleries of Scotland.

Despite several awards, 18 Hurd and an appointment with the Queen, she

remains modest about her achievements.

We have been compiling a report about her, but we do not have it

just yet. Is it there? I fear it is not. But Christopher is getting

himself ready for the weather. He has warned us that we are not to

get too excited, but there is good Today, a fairly cloudy day across

many parts of the country, and showers around. A dappled seen. As

we go up to what this evening, the cloud will thin and break. The

showers will ease. From 7pm, we can see what is going on more precisely.

Late sunshine for many of us. The showers melt away, leaving a dry

night for most of us. One or two Tomorrow, a day of sunshine and

showers. Towards lunchtime and the afternoon, the temperatures rise,

triggering more showers. By mid- afternoon, across the south-west,

parts of Dumfries and Galloway, Strathclyde, some sunshine. A lot

of the showers are concentrated along the east coast. Some of them

will be heavy. The rest of the afternoon tomorrow and into the

evening, the showers melt away. Late sunshine for some of us. This

is the good news, high pressure is back. This will bring a settled and

bright conditions for Friday. The high pressure has squeezed out the

showers, and there will be sunshine on the cards. It will feel quite

pleasant indeed. Towards the weekend, for Saturday, more of the

same. Good spells of sunshine. It will feel quite pleasant. The

Sunday, the same again. Can you believe it?! A pleasant weekend on

the cards. Tomorrow, sunshine and We can now bring you the report on

the exhibition to mark the 80th A rare moment in the limelight for

an artist two prefers to let her pictures do the talking. Today she

returned to the galleries where her career began in the 1950s, from

personal portraits to landscapes and drawings. Much of the

exhibition has not been seen in public for decades. It is amazing.

Some of them I have not seen for a very long time. Gathering of this

diverse work has been a huge challenge. Work has been snapped up

and tracking it down has not been easy. Some of the paintings have

not been exhibited for 20, 30, 40 years. One painting in particular

that I was looking for, it was in a house, I did not know it was there,

I went to see another painting that I knew the owner had, and I saw one

of the paintings that I had not been able to find. Her eye for

detail, especially in her flowers, is famous, but fame has so far

eluded her. Maybe it is because she is a woman, maybe it is because she

is Scottish, maybe it is because of the apparently easy charm of a lot

of her work, plants, flowers, cats, interiors. But it would be a

mistake to write off her work as purely decorative or purely about

pleasure, because she has tackled some of the key issues of modern

art. She has won a string of awards, a royal appointment included. She

was the first woman in that job. The first woman to be elected to

the Royal Academy and the Royal Scottish Academy. But I do not

think about that. No. I am just thinking of the next painting.

now, in her 80th year, painting remains her passion, and something

she does every day. Just before 7pm, a summary of the

top stories. Students coming to Scotland from

the rest of the UK face paint up to �6,000 for their degrees. -- paying

up to �6,000. Travellers have been warned to

expect delays at UK ports and airports tomorrow as thousands of

immigration and customs officers prepare to join the public sector

strike. Some staff are already on strike this evening. Already around