:00:19. > :00:23.Welcome to Reporting Scotland. Tonight on your national news...
:00:23. > :00:28.The date for the referendum has to be the autumn of 2014 because this
:00:28. > :00:34.is the biggest decision of Scotland has made for 300 years.
:00:34. > :00:39.The UK Government still rain to -- maintains it is not the SNP's call.
:00:39. > :00:44.Only they can authorise the vote. A new report highlights the extent
:00:44. > :00:47.of child poverty in Scotland's council estates.
:00:47. > :00:53.The Scots are scientists who believe they may have found be
:00:53. > :00:59.genetic key to longevity. In sport, can Scots golfer Martin
:00:59. > :01:07.Laird play catch-up with the big boys as he works on his selection
:01:07. > :01:10.for the 2012 Ryder Cup team. We have a date. The Scottish
:01:10. > :01:12.government says it wants to hold a referendum on independence in
:01:12. > :01:15.autumn 2014. The UK government would like the question asked
:01:15. > :01:18.sooner. But it has announced plans to give Holyrood explicit legal
:01:18. > :01:21.authority to conduct the ballot, if certain conditions are met. But the
:01:21. > :01:23.First Minister has said there should be no strings attached to
:01:23. > :01:29.his referendum plans. Here is our political correspondent, Glenn
:01:29. > :01:34.Campbell. The timing and wording of a
:01:34. > :01:38.referendum has nothing to do with Margaret Thatcher but at the First
:01:38. > :01:42.Minister's official residence they suspect the current Conservative
:01:42. > :01:46.government in Westminster is trying to dictate the terms of Scottish
:01:46. > :01:50.democracy. The UK Government says Scottish ministers have no real
:01:50. > :01:54.power to hold a referendum on independence but the First Minister
:01:54. > :02:00.and his team in Edinburgh reckon they are entitled to consult the
:02:00. > :02:07.public on anything they like. Do you have the power to hold a
:02:07. > :02:14.referendum? Of course. Do you need a deal with the Westminster? It is
:02:14. > :02:23.a deal with the Scottish people. ministers are Rive to finalise
:02:23. > :02:26.their plans, at Westminster the government said any Holyrood --
:02:26. > :02:32.Holyrood -- Holyrood blueprint would be illegal.
:02:32. > :02:35.This is not about the mandate of Scotland's to government, it is
:02:35. > :02:40.about empowering the people of Scotland to participate in a legal
:02:40. > :02:44.referendum. That means that the UK Government
:02:44. > :02:48.is willing to give the Scottish Parliament the power to hold a
:02:48. > :02:52.referendum which they otherwise cannot do legally.
:02:52. > :02:56.In exchange the coalition wants a single question on independence
:02:56. > :03:00.supervised by the electoral commission with only over a teens
:03:00. > :03:09.able to take part, an offer that the First Minister does not like. -
:03:09. > :03:15.- over a 18s. They said yesterday Babel going to dictate the
:03:15. > :03:21.timescale. These strings are not acceptable. The days of Scotland
:03:21. > :03:25.having its strings pulled from Westminster our Rover. Tonight the
:03:25. > :03:31.Scottish cabinet rubber-stamped its own plans for a referendum in
:03:31. > :03:37.autumn of 20 -- 2014. It comes at the same time as Westminster seeks
:03:37. > :03:40.views on its own views. Referendum blueprints and buses - none in
:03:40. > :03:45.sight and then two come along at once.
:03:45. > :03:49.In the past few minutes Alex Salmond has -- spoken to our
:03:49. > :03:53.political editor and said that the UK Government should not interfere
:03:53. > :03:59.in the process. This has to be a referendum made in Scotland. The
:03:59. > :04:02.mandate we have is unassailable. That is the political reality.
:04:02. > :04:08.Perhaps we have done more thinking about this than the Westminster
:04:08. > :04:13.government. We know, for example, and we have just passed a
:04:13. > :04:17.consultation, that the date for the referendum must be the autumn of
:04:17. > :04:21.2014, because this is the biggest decision Scotland has made for 300
:04:22. > :04:27.years. If you are going to do things properly, allow be proper
:04:27. > :04:31.processes to take place and had -- have the debate in the way it must
:04:31. > :04:36.be had, that is how we must move forward. They must resist the
:04:36. > :04:39.temptation to try to interfere in Scottish democracy, let the good
:04:39. > :04:46.judgment of the Scottish Parliament and above all be view of the
:04:46. > :04:53.Scottish people prevail. Brian Taylor is outside the First
:04:53. > :04:59.Minister's residence in Edinburgh and Brian Porter is at Westminster.
:04:59. > :05:04.-- David Porter. Dare we ask what happens now? Essentially you have
:05:05. > :05:09.two governments, the UK Government and the Scottish government, whose
:05:09. > :05:13.First Minister's residence is behind me, setting out their plans
:05:13. > :05:18.for the referendum. They differ on the question of timing and what
:05:18. > :05:27.questions should be asked. They even do from the franchise, whether
:05:27. > :05:32.it should be restricted to people above 18 or, as the SNP prefer,
:05:32. > :05:37.extended to 16-year-olds or 17- year-olds. Why now you have a
:05:37. > :05:47.political battle going on for the attention of the public. -- right
:05:47. > :05:47.
:05:47. > :05:52.now. Alex Salmond is stepping up a gear by setting out a target date
:05:52. > :05:59.for the referendum, one which is decidedly later than the UK
:05:59. > :06:03.Government would wish to see. go to David Porter at Westminster,
:06:03. > :06:10.where there was quite heated debate in the Commons over the issue. Has
:06:10. > :06:14.there been any reaction to Alex Salmond's intended date?
:06:14. > :06:20.official reaction so far. Which shows how quickly this story is
:06:20. > :06:25.developing. There was a conversation between the Scottish
:06:25. > :06:28.Secretary and Alex Salmond. Michael Moore gave no indication that he
:06:28. > :06:35.knew the news that Alex Salmond had revealed. Speaking privately to a
:06:35. > :06:40.number of people, they say that this is just an aspirational date
:06:40. > :06:44.by the SNP administration but, yet again, it shows how quickly this is
:06:44. > :06:48.developing and how the two sides appear to be playing political
:06:48. > :06:54.poker with each other. We have had a situation where Westminster has
:06:54. > :06:57.said it is quite happy to give power, to hold a referendum in
:06:57. > :07:00.Scotland, to the Scottish Parliament, but also saying that
:07:00. > :07:06.the Scottish Parliament Hastoe recognise that it does not have the
:07:06. > :07:10.legal power on its own to do that, it has to be given its power, and
:07:10. > :07:13.perhaps raising the prospect that this could end up in the courts.
:07:13. > :07:18.The Supreme Court is not too far away from me. Some people have been
:07:18. > :07:23.saying in Westminster that if the SM be -- if the SNP want to go
:07:23. > :07:29.ahead, it could be challenged in the court. You could have legal
:07:29. > :07:34.action between two sovereign Parliaments. Thank you very much to
:07:34. > :07:40.you both. You are watching Reporting Scotland
:07:40. > :07:44.from the BBC. Still to come, can these birds told us how long these
:07:44. > :07:48.humans -- Weise humans have to live?
:07:48. > :07:52.Scotland's top golfer tees off in style. The Premier League leaders
:07:52. > :07:56.admit they will be without one of their best players for the rest of
:07:56. > :08:01.the season and we meet the Scottish judo player hoping to win gold at
:08:01. > :08:04.the London Olympics. The idea of large numbers of
:08:04. > :08:07.children living below the poverty line sounds Dickensian, but it's a
:08:07. > :08:10.problem that blights many areas of Scotland in the 21st century. Today
:08:10. > :08:14.the true extent of child poverty has been revealed - and it doesn't
:08:14. > :08:16.just exist in the inner cities. And campaigners are warning that rising
:08:16. > :08:23.unemployment is making the situation worse. Aileen Clarke
:08:23. > :08:27.reports. At this age, the hardest decision
:08:27. > :08:32.can be toy car or book but for thousands of parents struggling to
:08:32. > :08:36.get by it is a different story. The UK and Scottish governments
:08:36. > :08:45.consider a child to be bought if the family income after a mortgage
:08:45. > :08:49.is less than �346 a week for two parents and two children or 200 no
:08:49. > :08:54.�56 a week for a single parent and two children. In Springburn in
:08:54. > :08:59.Glasgow, where it is estimated that more than half the children can be
:08:59. > :09:03.called Paul, these two mums are bringing up children on less than
:09:03. > :09:09.that. So sometimes they are asking for things that I can't give them
:09:09. > :09:16.and I feel bad. They do go to football and all that but it is
:09:16. > :09:19.hard to do it. I do it for my kids. We have a situation where in just
:09:19. > :09:23.about every local authority in Scotland more than one in five
:09:23. > :09:27.children is growing up in poverty. Child poverty campaigners say they
:09:27. > :09:31.are worried about the UK Government's proposed benefit cuts
:09:31. > :09:36.but there are measures which can be taken in Scotland now.
:09:36. > :09:40.Delivering on promises to in -- increased school grants, increasing
:09:40. > :09:45.nursery places for children and giving more information so that
:09:45. > :09:50.families get the benefits they are entitled to. This is far from just
:09:51. > :10:00.an inner-city problem. The latest research estimates that any part of
:10:01. > :10:01.
:10:01. > :10:05.Fife 40 % of children are in poverty. -- in a part of Fife.
:10:05. > :10:12.messages for the wee boy, it is quite hard. The UK Government says
:10:12. > :10:15.it is trying to tackle the problems but it has not paid any money to it.
:10:15. > :10:19.There is a determination to address poverty in Scotland among young
:10:19. > :10:23.children. Campaigners believe the Child
:10:23. > :10:30.poverty situation in Scotland is going to get worse and they want
:10:30. > :10:37.action from the UK, Scottish and local governments now.
:10:37. > :10:41.23 people were taken to hospital following a chemical spill at a
:10:41. > :10:44.factory in West Lothian. The workers are thought to be working
:10:44. > :10:50.for a distribution company called Palletways.
:10:50. > :10:57.There is growing concern for 700 jobs at an engineering firm in
:10:57. > :11:04.Lanarkshire. Union officials say they believe WJ Harte is close to
:11:04. > :11:07.administration. It works mainly for be housing industry. The house --
:11:07. > :11:10.the union UCATT has expressed concern about the future of the
:11:11. > :11:13.firm. Hundreds of women working for
:11:13. > :11:22.Edinburgh City Council have won a multi-million-pound equal pay
:11:22. > :11:28.dispute. They made their first claims in 2005 when an employment
:11:28. > :11:32.tribunal ruled in their favour in 2008. The company agreed to settle.
:11:32. > :11:38.They had previously set aside �20 million for the payout.
:11:38. > :11:42.Can how long we live be written in our genes? Scientists at Glasgow
:11:42. > :11:46.University say they have found a genetic indicator of that. They say
:11:46. > :11:55.that lengths of DNA called telomeres indicate whether it
:11:55. > :12:01.creature is a cheat -- likely to live to a ripe old age.
:12:01. > :12:09.From no you and me to zebra finches, everything made up of cells contain
:12:09. > :12:13.chromosomes. -- from you. Telomeres are complex chemical structures. It
:12:14. > :12:17.helps to think of them like this. If your chromosomes are like a
:12:17. > :12:25.shoelace, the telomeres are like the bits on the end of the shoelace
:12:25. > :12:29.that stop everything unravelling. They get shorter every time a cell
:12:29. > :12:35.divides. Once they get to a critically short length, everything
:12:35. > :12:40.goes a bit haywire for the cell and it does not function properly any
:12:40. > :12:45.more. If telomeres determine how long a cell operates, could longer
:12:45. > :12:51.telomeres indicate a longer life? That is where the zebra finches
:12:51. > :12:54.came through -- came in. We measured the average length of
:12:54. > :12:59.the telomeres and followed the individuals for the rest of their
:12:59. > :13:06.natural lives. At various points of we measured be telomere length.
:13:06. > :13:14.Every individual we knew its lifespan so we looked to see when
:13:14. > :13:21.the telomere length best indicates lifespan.
:13:21. > :13:27.Could our telomeres Tel us how lot -- how long we are likely to live?
:13:27. > :13:31.Well, zebra finches do not smoke, drink or drive too fast.
:13:31. > :13:35.They had a very nice life. They were protected from predators, they
:13:35. > :13:43.had access to food and water, they were not subjected to disease, they
:13:43. > :13:47.were living a very nice life. Glasgow's 99 zebra finches are no
:13:47. > :13:54.longer with us. To find out how long they lived, the researchers
:13:54. > :14:04.had to wait until they died. The last one get them waited almost
:14:04. > :14:15.
:14:16. > :14:24.An oil tanker driver has died in a crash in Perth and Kinross. Three
:14:24. > :14:28.men have been jailed after being caught with 242 kilos of cannabis
:14:29. > :14:34.resin in North Lanarkshire. The deadline for contractors interested
:14:34. > :14:39.in taking over Royal Navy search and rescue helicopter duties
:14:39. > :14:47.expires today. A 20-year-old student has been jailed for 18
:14:47. > :14:55.months. He was convicted of causing at two car crash near Huntly. It
:14:55. > :15:00.killed his friend. There will be a redesign of Oban harbour and a new
:15:00. > :15:06.road layout. And plans for an newt telephone mast in Galashiels have
:15:06. > :15:10.been approved despite local opposition. The telephone company
:15:10. > :15:17.see it is essential but local residents say it will be a
:15:17. > :15:23.ridiculous monstrosity. This convenience store chain in Fife and
:15:23. > :15:28.Kinross is being sold to the co- operative group. Al legal challenge
:15:28. > :15:33.is being launched against proposals for a new village in the Cairngorm
:15:33. > :15:38.national park. There are objections to 1,500 new homes being built near
:15:38. > :15:45.Aviemore. And the World stone skimming championships has been
:15:45. > :15:52.named as one of the most unmissable experiences in Europe this year.
:15:52. > :15:54.There is more on those and other stories on BBC Scotland website.
:15:54. > :15:57.The government is being urged to improve access to information about
:15:57. > :15:59.public services. Scotland's outgoing Information Commissioner
:15:59. > :16:04.says legislation introduced eight years ago must now be extended to
:16:04. > :16:11.ensure greater transparency. Our Home Affairs Correspondent, Reevel
:16:11. > :16:14.Alderson is here with the details. For the past eight years, Freedom
:16:14. > :16:23.of Information has meant you've been able to find out how public
:16:23. > :16:25.bodies spending our tax money have performed. The number of patients
:16:25. > :16:28.who died under the care of individual surgeons has been
:16:28. > :16:30.published. So has information about planning applications like Donald
:16:30. > :16:39.Trump's golf course in Aberdeenshire; and what expenses
:16:39. > :16:41.MSPs claimed, for serving us. But new bodies such as Glasgow Housing
:16:41. > :16:44.Association, one of Europe's largest social landlords, are
:16:44. > :16:48.exempt. Private prisons don't need to publish staffing levels and
:16:48. > :16:51.operating costs. And how privately- built council schools are operated
:16:51. > :17:01.is also a closed book. Scotland's Information Commissioner says
:17:01. > :17:03.
:17:03. > :17:11.people deserve more. This is one ordinary member of the public who
:17:11. > :17:18.has successfully used freedom of information. His daughter had an
:17:18. > :17:25.eye condition that was not picked up by the school nurses. The
:17:25. > :17:30.information he got revealed that the local health board were not
:17:30. > :17:40.checking for the condition. They had not received formal training,
:17:40. > :17:41.
:17:41. > :17:49.if they had had formal training it had not been updated. Now screening
:17:49. > :17:52.for this condition takes place routinely for all young children.
:17:53. > :17:58.Scotland's information commissioner is stepping down after eight years.
:17:58. > :18:05.Kevin Dunion told MSPs Freedom of Information has been very
:18:05. > :18:11.successful and now the law must be extended. We are now in the process
:18:11. > :18:18.of abusing the rights in some instances, especially with local a
:18:18. > :18:26.authority trusts which are constructed in such a way, often as
:18:26. > :18:30.charities, so as to be outside the scope of this. The Scottish
:18:30. > :18:39.Government says it is committed to adjusting the freedom of
:18:39. > :18:41.information regime and is consulting on a proposed Bill to
:18:41. > :18:47.amend the existing legislation, although changes won't be made
:18:47. > :18:52.until the current economic situation has improved. A woman
:18:52. > :18:57.found guilty of neglecting more than 20 horses on her farm has been
:18:57. > :19:01.banned for keeping horses for life. An animal charity described it as
:19:01. > :19:07.the worst example of a horse cruelty for more than two decades.
:19:07. > :19:14.Why were those animals so badly treated and neglected? They were
:19:14. > :19:18.not, I was feeding them silage. Leaving court and still in denial
:19:18. > :19:23.but this woman was responsible for neglecting more than 20 horses on
:19:23. > :19:29.her farm. She had been breeding them for years but as her own
:19:29. > :19:36.health failed, the horses began to suffer. They were taken away by
:19:36. > :19:40.animal welfare inspectors in 2009 foot visited following a tip-off.
:19:40. > :19:47.defend these horses and then be turned around and get this to me.
:19:47. > :19:54.If I had realised I would not have given them the horses. Of the 23
:19:54. > :19:59.horses, two had to be put down. Several carcasses were discovered
:19:59. > :20:04.in a barn. She admitted to not disposing of the carcasses but
:20:04. > :20:10.would not admit to neglect. Finding the dead horses was not a pleasant
:20:10. > :20:17.sight, there were between 12 and 15 horses. We are satisfied that after
:20:18. > :20:27.all this time the horses we did take in are now being reformed.
:20:28. > :20:28.
:20:28. > :20:35.claims she did nothing wrong, her lawyer told the court that she was
:20:35. > :20:45.letting them live in freedom and even compare them to Dartmoor
:20:45. > :20:48.
:20:48. > :20:51.ponies but it was a suggestion the court dismissed. Scottish golfer
:20:51. > :20:54.Martin Laird's push to make the 2012 European Ryder Cup team has
:20:54. > :20:57.started - four months later than most of his rivals. While others
:20:57. > :21:00.like Luke Donald and Lee Westwood have been racking up qualifying
:21:00. > :21:02.points since September, the US based Scot has only just rejoined
:21:02. > :21:10.the European tour. But a barnstorming finish to his first
:21:10. > :21:14.event has improved his prospects. His golfing year started in Hawaii,
:21:14. > :21:18.4,000 miles from Chicago where the Ryder Cup will be contested in the
:21:18. > :21:28.autumn. Between now and then he will Chris cross the Atlantic
:21:28. > :21:31.
:21:31. > :21:38.trying to win enough points to qualify. This was just one of eight
:21:38. > :21:43.birdies in the final round of the PGA champion of Champions event. A
:21:43. > :21:49.couple of bogies at the 8th and 10th holes resulted in him dropping
:21:49. > :21:59.down dead leader hold -- leaderboard. But the 28-year-old
:21:59. > :22:00.
:22:00. > :22:10.Scot then went on its peak. -- on Asprey. He finished runner up and
:22:10. > :22:10.
:22:10. > :22:13.pocketed �400,000. -- a spree. The Celtic manager Neil Lennon says he
:22:13. > :22:16.isn't shopping around for a replacement for Beram Kayal. The
:22:16. > :22:20.Israel international will miss the rest of the season because of the
:22:20. > :22:23.ankle injury he suffered in last month's match against Rangers. He
:22:23. > :22:25.had surgery last night to repair cartilage and ligament damage.
:22:26. > :22:29.Lennon reckons Celtic have enough strength in the midfield department
:22:29. > :22:33.to cope with his absence. The Kilmarnock manager Kenny Shiels
:22:33. > :22:37.says signing Derek Riordan may be some way off at the moment but the
:22:37. > :22:41.former Hibs and Celtic striker would be a good fit for the club.
:22:41. > :22:44.Riordan is training with Kilmarnock and played in a bounce game today.
:22:45. > :22:54.While there is also interest from a Turkish team, Riordan would be
:22:55. > :22:55.
:22:55. > :23:01.given a special role if he signed for the Rugby Park club. Without a
:23:01. > :23:05.doubt he would have the freedom to play and go on and express himself.
:23:05. > :23:10.We would not expecting to do any defending but play him where he
:23:10. > :23:14.could exploit any weaknesses. Scottish judo star Euan Burton says
:23:14. > :23:17.he's hoping to bring a gold medal back from London 2012 in what will
:23:17. > :23:21.be his final Olympic Games. He's tasted medal success at world
:23:21. > :23:23.championships, but never at the Olympics. And as our correspondent
:23:23. > :23:33.Kheredine Idessane has been finding out, the national judo academy just
:23:33. > :23:46.
:23:46. > :23:52.outside Edinburgh has other medal In the rough and tumble of world
:23:52. > :23:56.judo, one man has survived plenty of ups and downs. He will be 33 by
:23:56. > :24:03.the time of the London Olympics and he is very clear it is his last
:24:03. > :24:08.shot at glory. I am not going to London just for the T-shirt. I am
:24:08. > :24:14.going for the medal. It is not about getting to the Games for me
:24:14. > :24:19.but about getting into a position from where I feel I can get at the
:24:19. > :24:25.medals. The question is, what colour of metal? All the training
:24:25. > :24:28.is towards a gold medal. No one is aiming for silver or bronze or a
:24:29. > :24:36.good performance, you go to the Olympic Games to become Olympic
:24:36. > :24:41.champion. Another veteran of the sport to is also based here is this
:24:41. > :24:45.woman. Do you think you could be Olympic champion? Yes I do.
:24:45. > :24:52.Everything I have worked towards and everything I have to do I think
:24:52. > :25:00.I could be Olympic champion. It is bringing it together on D-Day that
:25:00. > :25:06.makes the most of your chance. are two of the most professional
:25:06. > :25:16.athletes I have never looked after. It will lobby because of lack of
:25:16. > :25:17.
:25:17. > :25:23.talent, it's be sure -- experience or exposure -- it will not be
:25:23. > :25:33.because of lack of these things if they do not get a medal. That is
:25:33. > :25:38.
:25:38. > :25:48.what you will get if we have any more of those wins! -- wince. --
:25:48. > :25:49.
:25:49. > :25:53.winds. What about that weather? This rain will come into the West
:25:53. > :25:59.and will become fragmented by the time it reaches the central belt.
:25:59. > :26:04.There will be a lot of cloud in the central belt. Further north there
:26:04. > :26:08.will be clear spells with the chance of a light frost. Tomorrow
:26:08. > :26:14.an area of low pressure is coming our way by lunchtime which will
:26:14. > :26:17.bring rain and some stronger winds. There will be some sunshine to
:26:17. > :26:24.start particularly in the north and east before the rain moves in from
:26:24. > :26:34.the West. There will be gale-force winds in the far north. It will be
:26:34. > :26:34.
:26:34. > :26:42.a cloudy afternoon, drizzly and damp. Across the north-east there
:26:42. > :26:46.will be some brightness but across the north-west wet and windy. The
:26:46. > :26:56.rest of the afternoon and into evening that rain will continue to
:26:56. > :27:02.expend further south and east across the country. -- extend. That
:27:02. > :27:07.rain and wind will move away as we go into Thursday but week open
:27:07. > :27:17.floodgates to the north-west. Much colder beer floor will come towards
:27:17. > :27:18.
:27:18. > :27:25.us on Thursday. Some wintry showers across the north-west. Still, lots
:27:25. > :27:33.of sunshine around. Temperatures will continue to fall on Friday.
:27:33. > :27:40.Tonight will be cloudy foremost but colder in the north and south. --
:27:40. > :27:43.cloudy for most. Now let's recap tonight's main stories. The
:27:43. > :27:48.Government gives the green light for 200 mph trains on a specially
:27:48. > :27:51.built railway. Eventually it will reach Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow.
:27:51. > :28:01.But it could take another 14 years before the first passengers get on
:28:01. > :28:01.
:28:01. > :28:04.board. The Labour leader Ed Miliband says the party needs to
:28:04. > :28:07.make a break with the Tony Blair/Gordon Brown era. In a
:28:07. > :28:10.keynote speech, seen by many as an answer to critics inside and
:28:10. > :28:12.outside the party, Mr Miliband said Labour would deliver fairness even
:28:12. > :28:15.in tough economic times when there's less money to spend. That's