:00:14. > :00:19.Tonight, on Reporting Scotland: Research suggests higher alcohol
:00:19. > :00:21.prices lower death rates. The drinks industry disputes a new
:00:21. > :00:31.Canadian study, but health campaigners say it proves minimum
:00:31. > :00:33.
:00:34. > :00:38.pricing works. The number of patients dying from alcoholic liver
:00:38. > :00:42.disease continues to remain high eight, above rates in England and
:00:42. > :00:46.Wales so targeting price restriction on these products would
:00:46. > :00:52.be beneficial. Our health correspondent assesses
:00:52. > :00:58.the research. Also: More jobs to go on high streets here.
:00:59. > :01:03.More than half of Scotland's HMV stores are closing.
:01:03. > :01:07.The cyclist involved in this is near miss it goes Dutch to learn
:01:07. > :01:12.what Scotland can be cut from Amsterdam's bike routes.
:01:12. > :01:19.And Gordon Strachan on his successful debut as manager and his
:01:19. > :01:23.There's fresh evidence suggesting higher alcohol prices are directly
:01:23. > :01:26.linked to a significant drop in the death rate for the heaviest
:01:26. > :01:28.drinkers. The research, from Canada has been pounced upon by health
:01:28. > :01:31.campaigners here as proof the Scottish government's plan for
:01:31. > :01:38.minimum pricing works. But the drinks industry says the analysis
:01:38. > :01:42.is flawed. Here's our health Correspondent, Eleanor Bradford.
:01:42. > :01:47.Evidence of the extreme end of Scotland's drinking is not hard to
:01:47. > :01:51.find, but until now it was unclear what effect minimum pricing would
:01:51. > :01:57.have won hard drinkers and alcoholics. But has researched over
:01:57. > :02:01.the pond in Canada given us more of an insight? In the state of British
:02:01. > :02:05.Columbia, the government has been setting alcohol prices for years
:02:05. > :02:11.and research suggests price rises have a dramatic effect on death
:02:11. > :02:16.rates. The link is so strong, they say, that a price rise of 10% would
:02:16. > :02:22.lead to a fall in the number of deaths linked to alcohol of 32%.
:02:22. > :02:28.Longer term illnesses like liver sclerosis and cancers would fall by
:02:28. > :02:32.10%. Plans for minimum prices for alcohol in Scotland are on hold
:02:32. > :02:40.because of a legal challenge by the Scots Whisky Association which
:02:40. > :02:45.disputes the research. It doesn't save life, minimum pricing. It is a
:02:45. > :02:50.process of taking frigates, protesting - -- projecting them
:02:50. > :02:56.forward and figuring -- fiddling with statistics and suggesting
:02:56. > :03:02.lives will be steep -- saved. It is meddling. But one specialist is in
:03:02. > :03:08.no doubt that increasing prices will reduce his workload.
:03:08. > :03:18.patience we are seeing with severe liver disease are generally taking
:03:18. > :03:18.
:03:18. > :03:21.cheap, highly alcohol products such as cider, high volume Sydow, and
:03:22. > :03:28.these patients experience significant liver problems despite
:03:28. > :03:33.their has been a clattering in the level of deaths as a whole, the
:03:33. > :03:37.number of people with alcoholic liver disease remains high.
:03:37. > :03:41.Alcohol-related deaths are already falling in Scotland ironically. If
:03:41. > :03:45.there is a link between affordability and harm the
:03:45. > :03:48.recession may have left us with more money in our pockets -- less
:03:48. > :03:51.money in our pockets and done the job already.
:03:51. > :03:54.The ban on cigarette vending machines and tobacco displays in
:03:54. > :03:58.large stores will come into force on 29th April. Smaller shops will
:03:58. > :04:01.have until next year to prepare for the change in the law.
:04:01. > :04:06.Implementation was delayed because of legal action. The aim is to
:04:06. > :04:10.prevent young people from taking up Scottish councils have begun the
:04:10. > :04:12.process of setting their budgets for the coming year. But tonight
:04:12. > :04:16.the union that represents many council workers is warning that,
:04:16. > :04:19.although thousands of jobs have already gone, the worst of the cuts
:04:19. > :04:28.in local services is still to come. Our local government correspondent,
:04:28. > :04:34.Jamie McIvor, is with us. Jamie. Thank you. There is no doubt for
:04:34. > :04:38.the need for austerity in councils and that means hard choices. Since
:04:38. > :04:44.the financial crisis in 2008, there has been a big drop in the number
:04:44. > :04:47.of council workers - some 35,000 staff have gone. No one is
:04:47. > :04:53.pretending they have not been plenty of controversial decisions
:04:53. > :04:57.to cut spending, even with their hearts choices, many choices are
:04:57. > :05:02.producing budgets which talk about investing in local priorities and
:05:02. > :05:08.say they are trying to protect the public from the worst cuts. How do
:05:08. > :05:15.you square that circle? Fixing the roads in West End Barton
:05:15. > :05:21.share and helping to fix them is a new recruit. I know how hard it is
:05:21. > :05:25.to get a job. I was employed -- unemployed for eight months so I am
:05:25. > :05:35.grateful for the opportunity. is more money to help people like
:05:35. > :05:36.
:05:36. > :05:44.him get money -- jobs in this year's local budgets. France for --
:05:44. > :05:50.grants is being doubled in some areas. It is not an easy thing to
:05:50. > :05:54.do. We have had to look at every single service, at any waste or
:05:54. > :06:02.duplication. Savings agreed this year are not always too painful
:06:02. > :06:05.even if some disagree. Closing to under-used bowling greens and cut
:06:05. > :06:11.into in a tea chest grants. This art class for toddlers is run by
:06:11. > :06:19.the council and mums are well aware there have been cuts but have a fat
:06:19. > :06:24.bum personally? When you have a nappies and things to deal with...
:06:24. > :06:30.I haven't felt anything at the moment. Unions argue some cuts
:06:30. > :06:38.across Scotland may have gone under the public's radar -- Stealth cuts,
:06:38. > :06:43.if you life -- like. Or jobs simply not being done. It takes longer to
:06:43. > :06:52.get an appointment to see a money adviser or a social it -- social
:06:52. > :06:56.worker and these all build up. Tonight's news from largest council
:06:56. > :07:01.in Scotland. These protesters outside the budget meeting were
:07:01. > :07:10.fighting plans to close a pool. There is also talk of investment in
:07:10. > :07:14.primary school, extra support for carers and a blitz on pot balls. --
:07:14. > :07:20.pot holes. Some might argue they are genuine efficiency savings or
:07:20. > :07:23.with the council tax frozen, services are becoming better value.
:07:23. > :07:26.But come more of the really tough choices be put off for much longer?
:07:26. > :07:30.The administrators at HMV have announced that they're closing 11
:07:30. > :07:33.of the company's stores in Scotland. Our reporter Rob Flett is outside
:07:33. > :07:42.one of them in Princes Street in Edinburgh. It's not the only one to
:07:42. > :07:46.That's right. This flagship store here in Princes Street is just one
:07:46. > :07:49.of five HMV branches in Edinburgh which will shut within the next few
:07:49. > :07:53.weeks. That will leave the capital without a single HMV branch - the
:07:53. > :07:55.nearest will be in Livingston. In Glasgow, three are closing, but the
:07:55. > :08:04.company's administrators are keeping the Buchanan Street branch
:08:05. > :08:10.open. There's also bad news for Kirkcaldy, Falkirk and Dumfries.
:08:10. > :08:14.The Lloyds say a total of 10 stores will remain open. However, it seems
:08:14. > :08:24.three Fopp stores in Edinburgh, which are also owned by HMV, are
:08:24. > :08:28.
:08:28. > :08:34.How many staff does this effect? Around 900 staff around the UK. We
:08:34. > :08:40.understand in Scotland that means around 170 jobs are under threat.
:08:40. > :08:43.The company says that all the stores closing are loss-making and
:08:44. > :08:50.this increases the chance of survival for the rest of the group
:08:50. > :08:54.in the longer term. But this is the last big retailer on the High
:08:54. > :08:58.Street and it is clear its presence will be missed. Looking at social
:08:58. > :09:02.media sites this evening, it has provoked a lot of comment from many
:09:02. > :09:07.people who seem to value these stores even if they haven't shopped
:09:07. > :09:13.in them for a while. The big question being asked here tonight
:09:13. > :09:17.is with all Stade -- five stores closing down over the next few
:09:18. > :09:21.weeks, could one not stay open to turn a profit? You're watching
:09:21. > :09:24.Reporting Scotland from the BBC. Still to come: A Lanarkshire man
:09:24. > :09:30.whose son died in mysterious circumstances on the Costa del Sol
:09:30. > :09:40.says he feels betrayed by Spain's And why doctors and nurses are
:09:40. > :09:42.
:09:42. > :09:47.treating robots for a range of Gordon Strachan's take on his first
:09:47. > :09:57.match as Scotland manager. And we will hear about the ambitions of
:09:57. > :10:00.
:10:00. > :10:05.Scotland has won a contest to take a leading role in Europe's search
:10:05. > :10:11.for new medicines. Academics at Dundee University working with a
:10:11. > :10:16.reset centre in Lanarkshire has won a bit to run a facility where
:10:16. > :10:20.companies can test potential new cures.
:10:20. > :10:28.Finding the next big thing in medicine? For these receptors it
:10:28. > :10:32.takes a lot of trial and error. Big pharmaceutical firms are going back
:10:32. > :10:38.on their efforts and that is why this plant closed two years ago.
:10:38. > :10:48.But with the equipment staying, it has been reopened and will win new
:10:48. > :10:55.
:10:55. > :10:59.research work. It is a deep-frozen Chemical Library. What we will have
:10:59. > :11:04.is a 500,000 collection which will be stored in places such as these.
:11:04. > :11:11.We will store the compound in leg temperature and an inert atmosphere
:11:11. > :11:16.so they will say -- stay stable. The successful bid was being
:11:16. > :11:21.discussed today. It is a boost to a sector providing 17,000 quality
:11:21. > :11:26.jobs in Scotland. It brings together a huge cluster of
:11:26. > :11:31.companies, academia and pharmaceuticals so that Scotland
:11:31. > :11:37.will become the centre of a Europe- wide consortium in drug discovery.
:11:37. > :11:42.40 jobs are being created with over �20 million of backing from the
:11:42. > :11:48.European and Scottish governments. There is such a demand for this.
:11:49. > :11:53.This process in itself, we believe, will be a magnet for attracting
:11:53. > :11:56.further companies and investment. This is an industry going through
:11:56. > :12:01.big changes globally. It is looking for new ways to discover new
:12:01. > :12:04.medicines. There are jobs with this project and more are expected as
:12:05. > :12:11.Scotland's skills prove they can compete with the best
:12:11. > :12:15.internationally. A man whose son died in mysterious
:12:15. > :12:21.circumstances while on holiday in the Costa del Sol for says he feels
:12:21. > :12:29.this break -- betrayed by their Spanish justice system. He is
:12:29. > :12:34.disgusted that an investigation into the case has been stopped.
:12:34. > :12:39.Harry Lindsay's son Chris died 16 months ago whilst on holiday in
:12:39. > :12:44.Spain. Police promised a full investigation but Mr Lindsey says a
:12:44. > :12:49.judge has decided there is not enough evidence. A I feel betrayed
:12:49. > :12:55.by the Spanish justice system. is devastating for myself and my
:12:55. > :13:01.family. There is a lot of worry on your shoulders when we thought
:13:01. > :13:05.everything was fine. Chris went missing on a night out. He was
:13:05. > :13:09.found collapsed on the street the next morning. His wallet and
:13:09. > :13:14.passport were missing. There was heavy bruising around his middle
:13:14. > :13:21.and the nurse who treated him is convinced he had been attacked.
:13:21. > :13:28.had signs of violence. He had breezes on the abdomen. It looked
:13:28. > :13:32.like he was hit. When Harry Lindsay went is the Spanish police last
:13:32. > :13:37.September he was told they would investigate but that has come to
:13:37. > :13:43.nothing. Today, he asked the Scottish justice secretary for help.
:13:43. > :13:48.We will do what we can to speak to British authorities who have direct
:13:48. > :13:55.links with Spanish authorities but there are formal channels we can
:13:55. > :13:59.investigate as everyone wants to see justice done. The family fear
:13:59. > :14:09.that unless there is a high-level intervention, any chance of
:14:09. > :14:21.
:14:21. > :14:24.bringing someone to justice will be The Minister of an Aberdeen church
:14:24. > :14:27.and its members have become the latest to leave the Church of
:14:27. > :14:30.Scotland in protest at the Kirk allowing the appointment of gay
:14:30. > :14:33.ministers. The church is Gilcomston South in the centre of the city,
:14:33. > :14:35.and its minister Dominic Smart. He says he'll be preaching before a
:14:35. > :14:37.new congregation next month. The Church of Scotland say talks have
:14:37. > :14:40.been cordial but they're saddened at what's happened.
:14:40. > :14:43.Let's get some more stories from around the country. Human remains
:14:43. > :14:46.found at Loch Lomond have been identified as those of a missing
:14:46. > :14:49.teenager who died with her father in a boating accident in 2005.
:14:49. > :14:51.Holly Buchanan, who was 13, and her 45-year-old father Angus, died
:14:51. > :14:54.after being thrown from their rigid inflatable boat.
:14:54. > :14:56.The remains found on the loch's Inchmoan Island in November have
:14:56. > :14:59.since been confirmed as Holly's. There are plans to ensure that
:15:00. > :15:02.Edinburgh residents who are over 60 will travel free on the city's
:15:02. > :15:08.trams. The council is looking at ways of extending the concessionary
:15:08. > :15:11.bus travel scheme to the tram network when it is up and running.
:15:11. > :15:14.The rail operator Scotrail has had more than 2,000 applications from
:15:14. > :15:21.people wanting to be train drivers on the new Borders Railway. That's
:15:21. > :15:27.despite just 18 trainee posts being advertised. The �300 million line
:15:27. > :15:30.linking Edinburgh Waverley with the borders is due to open in 2015.
:15:30. > :15:33.Scientists in Aberdeen are working on a new type of MRI scan which
:15:33. > :15:43.could detect diseases earlier and in more detail. They're being given
:15:43. > :15:44.
:15:44. > :15:50.a grant of almost a million pounds to develop the project.
:15:50. > :15:54.We are particularly interested in using the scanner to detect
:15:54. > :15:59.neurological diseases such as Parkinson's and dementia which
:15:59. > :16:04.could allow it drug companies to develop new treatments. This is not
:16:04. > :16:06.really possible at the moment. second Gaelic school is to open in
:16:06. > :16:08.Glasgow to meet increasing demand for bilingual education. Work on
:16:08. > :16:12.the �800,000 building in Pollokshields will begin in
:16:12. > :16:16.September. And there are more stories from
:16:16. > :16:23.your area and all the latest news, 24 hours a day on BBC Scotland's
:16:23. > :16:26.Cycling campaigners say the Scottish Government must increase
:16:26. > :16:31.investment in new bike routes if it's to meet its goal of ensuring
:16:31. > :16:34.one in ten journeys are made by bicycle. Meanwhile, the transport
:16:34. > :16:38.minister is to visit Amsterdam to see how they've achieved record
:16:38. > :16:48.cycling levels. Our transport correspondent, David Miller got
:16:48. > :16:50.
:16:50. > :16:55.there first. The school run, Amsterdam style.
:16:55. > :17:02.The bicycle is more popular than the car because of the vast network
:17:02. > :17:12.of cycle paths. It is a long way from the streets of Glasgow where
:17:12. > :17:13.
:17:13. > :17:19.this man records his daily commute. The Scottish government wants 10%
:17:19. > :17:27.of all journeys to be made by bicycle. The figure here already
:17:27. > :17:31.stands at 60%. What lessons can we learn? This man has come to
:17:31. > :17:38.benevolence to see the facilities here for himself. This bridge cost
:17:38. > :17:42.more than �6 million. He is clearly impressed by the Dutch approach.
:17:42. > :17:48.You see small children out cycling on the roads often by themselves
:17:48. > :17:52.and it would never happen in Edinburgh or Glasgow. They have
:17:52. > :17:57.what to see how they can design it to feel safe and it feels safe for
:17:57. > :18:05.everybody. It takes a that of money to get there but cities like this
:18:05. > :18:12.show that it is possible. It all comes at a cost but Dutch cycle
:18:12. > :18:18.campaigners say that investment actually saves cash. It saves a lot
:18:18. > :18:23.of money for public transport which is much more expensive for the City
:18:24. > :18:29.than cycling. The Scottish government says it is working to
:18:29. > :18:35.improve cycling facilities but says it has to meet competing demands.
:18:35. > :18:40.We are doing a lot in a constrained financial situation. Cycling should
:18:40. > :18:47.be part of that but we also have to keep an eye on the massively
:18:47. > :18:51.increased demand for trains will stop if Scotland is to go Dutch it
:18:51. > :18:59.will require political will and investment. Cycling campaigners say
:18:59. > :19:03.they are prepared to argue for the both. To sport now and a successful
:19:03. > :19:05.night's work for the new boy David. Gordon Strachan says his debut as
:19:05. > :19:08.Scotland manager was "emotional, exciting and nervy." But it was
:19:08. > :19:13.also a winning start as his side beat Estonia 1-0 in a friendly
:19:13. > :19:16.match at Aberdeen's Pittodrie stadium. And Strachan says he has
:19:16. > :19:19.plenty of food for thought ahead of next month's World cup qualifier
:19:19. > :19:29.against Wales at Hampden - what will be his first competitive game
:19:29. > :19:34.
:19:34. > :19:44.in charge. Emotional, exciting, nervous at
:19:44. > :19:44.
:19:44. > :19:53.times but I really enjoyed it. There were things that I liked and
:19:53. > :20:03.really liked. Things that you think that might need work. It is great
:20:03. > :20:11.to get a victory. Everyone feels that way. If they get into a
:20:11. > :20:19.settled routine they will go from strength to strength. There are
:20:19. > :20:29.lots of people who perhaps three weeks ago you could not see them
:20:29. > :20:32.playing in the Wales game but now you do it. So the new Scotland boss
:20:32. > :20:35.is off to a winning start, meanwhile another Scots managerial
:20:35. > :20:38.big hitter has told us that he would like the job one day but not
:20:38. > :20:41.for a while. It's the Everton manager Davie Moyes. In an
:20:41. > :20:44.exclusive interview he also says he'd like Celtic and Rangers to
:20:44. > :20:53.play in the English premier League where he currently plies his trade.
:20:53. > :20:59.He's been speaking to Kheredine Idessane. Goodison Park - the
:20:59. > :21:03.domain since 2002 of one of Scotland's best exports. He is the
:21:03. > :21:09.third longest serving manager in the English Premier League after
:21:09. > :21:16.Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger. This is where he regularly holds
:21:16. > :21:21.court. Everton's training academy. After more than a decade in
:21:21. > :21:30.England's top division does he have any thoughts of returning north of
:21:30. > :21:39.the border? Some the I would like to be the manager. If I could be
:21:39. > :21:44.fortunate enough to be asked, I would be more than happy. I think
:21:44. > :21:49.they would be a great addition down here. It would be great for
:21:49. > :21:53.football and for Scotland itself and possibly those two teams all
:21:53. > :22:03.the other teams might not. If it happened I think both sides would
:22:03. > :22:05.
:22:05. > :22:15.become much more interesting to a lot of people. They deserve a lot
:22:15. > :22:15.
:22:15. > :22:22.of credit for getting through. Celtic will have a chance. It is
:22:22. > :22:27.sad where it has gotten to and where Rangers have ended up. I hope
:22:27. > :22:35.they recover because the agree football club and the attic part of
:22:35. > :22:45.Scottish football. Tomorrow, the accent will be on rugby ahead of
:22:45. > :22:47.the second match. They're life-like robotic patients
:22:48. > :22:50.and they're being used by Scots doctors and nurses to practise
:22:50. > :22:53.their clinical skills. The robots suffer from a range of problems
:22:53. > :22:55.including asthma, heart attacks and severe infections, and staff at
:22:55. > :23:05.Forth Valley Royal hospital can film themselves treating the robots
:23:05. > :23:09.
:23:09. > :23:15.to see how they do. John has been in a car crash and is
:23:15. > :23:20.struggling to breed. These doctors are trying to figure out what to do.
:23:20. > :23:27.-- believe. These dummies are different being controlled by
:23:27. > :23:30.computer reacting to treatment second by second. We are taught
:23:30. > :23:36.from books what to do in certain situations but that is different
:23:36. > :23:41.when you have equipment in hand. There is the added stress so this
:23:41. > :23:47.is a great way to run through real- life scenarios. There are other
:23:47. > :23:57.robots as well. This man has a heart beat and can escape his
:23:57. > :24:02.symptoms. Over here is a woman and even a baby. It is not the only new
:24:02. > :24:08.technology here. In service corridors, robots are on patrol
:24:08. > :24:13.picking up and delivering tea and coffee. They have revolutionised
:24:13. > :24:20.the hospital pharmacy cutting out human errors and allowing staff to
:24:20. > :24:24.concentrate on the patients. One of the first thing we are achieving in
:24:24. > :24:34.investing in robotics as that the routine tasks can be done much more
:24:34. > :24:36.
:24:36. > :24:46.safely and reliably and can free people up. Back in the virtual A
:24:46. > :24:46.
:24:46. > :24:50.and D, his lungs have collapsed but may have saved his life.
:24:50. > :24:59.To the weather now and Christopher To the weather now and Christopher
:24:59. > :25:04.Sometimes the weather is a bit of a waiting game and we have been
:25:04. > :25:11.waiting for the rain today. There is still a yellow warning for are
:25:11. > :25:17.ACE in force. The rain is slowly moving eastwards. In behind the
:25:17. > :25:24.sleet and snow, the ground will be wet with temperatures dropping.
:25:24. > :25:31.Temperatures between around zero and two Celsius. The rain will
:25:31. > :25:39.still be up along the east coast but moving away. The good amount of
:25:39. > :25:46.sunshine through the after noon tomorrow. Farther west, there will
:25:46. > :25:51.be some light outbreaks of rain. Orkney and Shetland will be
:25:51. > :25:58.generally dry and bright and in the evening, rain and cloud will work
:25:58. > :26:04.its way towards the West. On Saturday, the rain is still down
:26:04. > :26:11.the west side of the country. Generally dry and cloudy and
:26:11. > :26:15.temperatures close to average. Sunday has some question marks with
:26:15. > :26:20.some early warnings for snow. It is not straight forward because of
:26:20. > :26:27.this weather front moving in from the Atlantic which is likely to
:26:27. > :26:32.fall as snow. Perhaps as much as 10 centimetres of snow. The computer
:26:32. > :26:39.models are not in agreement with some saying it will be rain and
:26:39. > :26:45.others snow. On top that uncertainty, the computer models
:26:45. > :26:50.are not entirely sure what will happen. It could be further west or
:26:50. > :26:53.says so it could even be dry. We will know more tomorrow once the
:26:53. > :26:57.will know more tomorrow once the computers have a think about things.
:26:57. > :27:05.Or it could be a heat wave! Now, a reminder of tonight's main
:27:05. > :27:12.news in brief. Research suggests high alcohol prices and lower death
:27:12. > :27:16.rates. Health campaigners say it justifies plans for minimum pricing.
:27:16. > :27:21.Scottish councils are setting their budgets for the coming year with
:27:21. > :27:25.warnings that the worse cuts are still to come.
:27:25. > :27:29.The ex-wife of Chris Huhne has told a court she had no choice but to
:27:29. > :27:32.take his speeding points. And that's Reporting Scotland. I'll