:00:00. > 3:59:59the BBC News at Six, so it's goodbye from me, and on BBC One
:00:00. > :00:00.the BBC News at Six, so it's goodbye way. That is all from the BBC News
:00:00. > :00:09.Tonight on Reporting Scotland... A fundamental change to the way
:00:10. > :00:13.emergency calls are dealt with. Big cuts to the number of police and
:00:14. > :00:17.fire control rooms - unions warn it could put lives at risk.
:00:18. > :00:20.SNP anger as a former Scottish Secretary suggests independence may
:00:21. > :00:25.dishonour those who fought and died for their country.
:00:26. > :00:29.A major cash boost for Scotland's cricketers as they qualify for the
:00:30. > :00:35.2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. And Scotland's snow sports
:00:36. > :00:44.centres are hoping for a bumper year.
:00:45. > :00:48.There has been so much snowfall in recent weeks that I am actually
:00:49. > :00:59.standing on several metres of snow. Just pick a route and ski down it.
:01:00. > :01:05.Good evening. Control rooms handling 999 calls to police and fire
:01:06. > :01:10.services are to be cut across Scotland. Despite protests, fire and
:01:11. > :01:13.police chiefs say it will allow them to respond to calls more
:01:14. > :01:18.effectively. The fire service currently has eight control rooms.
:01:19. > :01:22.It will go down to three. The police, with 11 control rooms, will
:01:23. > :01:31.see that reduced to five. Here is our home affairs correspondent,
:01:32. > :01:38.Reevel Alderson. In an emergency, dial 999.
:01:39. > :01:43.Emergency calls to the fire and police services have always been
:01:44. > :01:51.handed locally. The recent amalgamation of forces has offered
:01:52. > :01:56.the opportunity for efficiencies. But senior officers say they are
:01:57. > :02:02.confident public safety will not be affected. I would not put forward
:02:03. > :02:06.any proposals that could compromise the safety of people in Scotland.
:02:07. > :02:12.The challenge of course is making sure that as we move to this new
:02:13. > :02:17.model of three, rather than eight, we do the change properly. This fire
:02:18. > :02:23.station in Dundee will house the most northerly control room in
:02:24. > :02:29.Scotland. Unions say it is a devastating blow. The north is left
:02:30. > :02:37.exposed with no cover, which is a great fear that we have in the
:02:38. > :02:41.decision that has been made. In the past hour the Scottish Police
:02:42. > :02:45.Authority has accepted the proposals to cut control centres, which they
:02:46. > :02:50.say will help the new single force be fully integrated across the
:02:51. > :02:56.country. We need to move forward in a strategic direction so the police
:02:57. > :03:01.service of Scotland is a strategic force in name and action. The new
:03:02. > :03:06.101 number means that fewer calls come in but both services insist
:03:07. > :03:15.that local knowledge remains, with the men and people on the ground.
:03:16. > :03:22.Explain for us where the control rooms are. The fire service has
:03:23. > :03:27.eight control rooms fill in visit -- Inverness down to Dumfries. In the
:03:28. > :03:31.future it will operate with just three, Johnston in Renfrewshire,
:03:32. > :03:37.which already handles half of Scotland's calls, Edinburgh and
:03:38. > :03:43.Dundee. The police are closing six control rooms. They will leave Govan
:03:44. > :03:49.and Motherwell in the West, Bilston Glen in the east and done the
:03:50. > :03:55.covering the North. Inverness will be a police data handling area and a
:03:56. > :03:59.control room for special events. In areas like Aberdeen or the
:04:00. > :04:03.south-west, neither of these will have any police or fire control
:04:04. > :04:06.facilities and my colleague Willie Johnston has been looking at what
:04:07. > :04:12.the situation is likely to be in Dumfries.
:04:13. > :04:18.The area covered I the Dumfries divisional control room has nearly
:04:19. > :04:24.150,000 people and a landmass of 6500 square kilometres. 34 civilian
:04:25. > :04:36.operators handle about the -- 3000 nonemergency calls every week and
:04:37. > :04:42.209 99s. It will be a loss of a lot of local knowledge which will delay
:04:43. > :04:48.response times to an emergency. There is anger that Dumfries is
:04:49. > :04:53.earmarked to close in three weeks. The consultation was dismissed as
:04:54. > :04:59.meaningless. Talk of potential redeployment was dismissed as
:05:00. > :05:04.impractical. A Facebook campaign in control -- support of the control
:05:05. > :05:08.room has attracted massive support. I think there is a great deal of
:05:09. > :05:14.anger in the local community, first of -- the way that the decision has
:05:15. > :05:19.been handled and also the decision itself. There has been no
:05:20. > :05:25.consultation with the local authority on which is supposed to be
:05:26. > :05:30.a partner of Police Scotland. Tonight, no sign of a rip -- a
:05:31. > :05:43.reprieve, known for the control room in dumb Freese. -- nor for.
:05:44. > :05:48.The police control room is scheduled to close in April. The whole process
:05:49. > :05:52.will take a couple of years. It requires new technology to be
:05:53. > :05:59.brought in and in the fire service's case in Dundee, a new
:06:00. > :06:04.control. The Scottish Parliament Justice committee has sent out a
:06:05. > :06:09.note, saying, if you do not think the fire service or police service
:06:10. > :06:14.is working, let us know. It will be interesting to see how people react
:06:15. > :06:16.to these latest cuts. Thank you very much.
:06:17. > :06:19.A former Scottish Secretary has suggested that Scottish independence
:06:20. > :06:23.may dishonour those who fought and died for their country. Ian Lang's
:06:24. > :06:25.comments came in a House of Lords debate. Our political correspondent
:06:26. > :06:33.joins us now from Westminster. Tim Reid, what has the reaction been?
:06:34. > :06:38.This was the first major debate on Scotland's future in the House of
:06:39. > :06:41.Lords. Politicians are engaged in appealing to hearts and heads and
:06:42. > :06:48.some of the language has been strong, some of the views as well.
:06:49. > :06:58.It was a Who's Who of former political heavyweights, handful of
:06:59. > :07:05.previous Scottish Secretary 's -- secretaries.
:07:06. > :07:14.Both countries are woven into the fabric of the UK. Must they both now
:07:15. > :07:17.disavow that shared history? Would that not dishonour the sacrifices
:07:18. > :07:23.made in common cause of those who died for the UK?
:07:24. > :07:29.Those remarks led to angry exchanges, Alex Salmond raising the
:07:30. > :07:33.subject himself. I hope Ruth Davidson will take the
:07:34. > :07:38.opportunity to do so since those -- this associate herself to the
:07:39. > :07:42.remarks, circulated by the Conservative Party, arguing a vote
:07:43. > :07:50.for independent would somehow dishonour the sacrifice. I suggest
:07:51. > :07:54.we all take a step back. Ruth Davidson chose not to answer further
:07:55. > :08:01.questions but her office issued a statement saying Lord Lang spoke for
:08:02. > :08:07.himself. Back at Westminster, his remarks were being defended by one
:08:08. > :08:10.of his successors. It is a sign of the contempt with which those of us
:08:11. > :08:19.who believe in the United Kingdom as a family that such attacks are made
:08:20. > :08:27.on Lord Lang. There are no SNP members in the Lords so this was a
:08:28. > :08:34.one-sided debate. There were fears about the economy and defence. This
:08:35. > :08:42.maiden speech seemed to capture the mood of this unelected house. I and
:08:43. > :08:46.my fellow unionists in Scotland need the support of our fellow lords in
:08:47. > :08:59.England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is time to stand
:09:00. > :09:03.together. At Holyrood -- meanwhile, at Holyrood, Labour leader Johann
:09:04. > :09:05.Lamont has owned up to a "slip of the tongue", after describing the
:09:06. > :09:08.powers available to Scotland under independence as "wee things".
:09:09. > :09:11.She was responding to the First Minister, who said independence
:09:12. > :09:13.would allow Scotland to control taxation and welfare, scrap nuclear
:09:14. > :09:15.weapons and avoid what he called "illegal wars".
:09:16. > :09:20.This is ludicrous. This is a ludicrous defence by a man who used
:09:21. > :09:28.to cry Freedom and now gives us a list of things that we can do, which
:09:29. > :09:31.we could do... Order! Our political editor, Brian Taylor,
:09:32. > :09:36.joins me now from Holyrood. Brian, it is not often a politician "owns
:09:37. > :09:51.up". No, Labour's response to this is basically, what's, -- the
:09:52. > :09:55.Scottish Government backed this up with this leaflet being handed
:09:56. > :09:59.round. They complained this was effectively party for the gander
:10:00. > :10:14.being put out by the Scottish Government. -- party propaganda. I
:10:15. > :10:22.think on balance both sides think the referendum is fairly big.
:10:23. > :10:27.A man has admitted possessing almost half a million indecent images of
:10:28. > :10:33.children on some at the worst levels depravity. The man was arrested in
:10:34. > :10:39.front of colleagues at the Maritime Museum in Irving after police raided
:10:40. > :10:43.his home. Heroin with an estimated street
:10:44. > :10:48.value of ?1 million has been seized at a house in the East End of
:10:49. > :10:54.Glasgow. Police also found firearms, ammunition and a quantity
:10:55. > :10:56.of tablets. 33-year-old man has been.
:10:57. > :11:06.Funding has been approved to transform Oban into a hub for
:11:07. > :11:10.tourism and renewables. Lothian buses carried more than 150
:11:11. > :11:15.million characters last year, the highest number for 25 years. Buses
:11:16. > :11:19.in the capital will be integrated with the capital's tram service due
:11:20. > :11:24.to start in May. Cycling Scotland is welcoming the
:11:25. > :11:27.decision to lift the ban on this bike advert. The advertising
:11:28. > :11:31.Standards Authority had banned the advert because some of the cyclists
:11:32. > :11:37.were not wearing a helmet. The Army is to help police and
:11:38. > :11:42.private contractors provide security for this summer's Commonwealth
:11:43. > :11:45.Games. Meanwhile, MSPs have debated the event's "legacy", as it is
:11:46. > :11:48.known, with a focus on how to get more people to take part in sport.
:11:49. > :11:52.Our Commonwealth Games reporter, Lisa Summers, reports.
:11:53. > :11:59.This table tennis is 25 years old but it has just become part of the
:12:00. > :12:02.community's press hub, part of the Commonwealth Games Legacy
:12:03. > :12:08.programme, where clubs get together to share resources. The best thing
:12:09. > :12:15.has been getting on the table, hitting the ball. Another hub is
:12:16. > :12:20.based here at this school, where people get the chance to be sports
:12:21. > :12:28.leaders. It is rewarding because the same people progress, they don't
:12:29. > :12:34.stay at the same level. The Olympics was criticised for not achieving its
:12:35. > :12:40.goal of getting us more active but really, is watching sport on TV the
:12:41. > :12:46.thing to get us off the sofa? Can Glasgow succeed where others have
:12:47. > :12:51.failed? There is no evidence to suggest that watching major events
:12:52. > :12:56.on TV leads particularly adults to go out and participate. It may lead
:12:57. > :12:59.children to get excited and ask their parents to let them
:13:00. > :13:04.participate. MSPs debated the Commonwealth Games in Parliament
:13:05. > :13:10.today but the hardest challenge will to be to get us to participate. It
:13:11. > :13:16.is a challenge but we have been doing this through this -- grass
:13:17. > :13:21.roots, so sports Scotland are helping clubs so that young people
:13:22. > :13:25.who want to try a sport have the opportunity to do this. We have been
:13:26. > :13:30.tackling PE in schools some more young people can be active more
:13:31. > :13:33.often. The Games will be the capitalist -- maybe the capitalist
:13:34. > :13:40.to get people interested in sport but whether it can help us change
:13:41. > :13:43.our life style is another matter. Here's David now with all the
:13:44. > :13:46.sporting news. Scottish cricket is in for an injection of cash because
:13:47. > :13:50.the national team's qualified for next year's World Cup in Australia
:13:51. > :13:52.and New Zealand. They came through a tough qualifying campaign,
:13:53. > :13:58.confirming their place with a thrilling win over Kenya. Here's
:13:59. > :14:03.Brian McLauchlin. As we approach the end of January,
:14:04. > :14:07.the football transfer window is about to close and Robbie's Six
:14:08. > :14:14.Nations is about to get under way, but today Scotland's cricket team
:14:15. > :14:16.Paula fied for the World Cup. A dramatic game with Scotland
:14:17. > :14:21.confirming their place in next year's finals with just three balls
:14:22. > :14:26.remaining. Good to give something back to Cricket Scotland. The lads
:14:27. > :14:34.have worked so hard. They just saw us through. And the chief executive
:14:35. > :14:41.says qualification for the finals was crucial in more ways than one.
:14:42. > :14:47.We get increased money from the ICC which will be significant. It gives
:14:48. > :14:51.us a chance to plan longer term to build player contracts and put in
:14:52. > :14:56.place good support networks and give not only the current players at the
:14:57. > :15:01.next crop of international players as good a preparation as we can to
:15:02. > :15:06.play at the highest level. So a World Cup to look forward to and a
:15:07. > :15:11.good reason to burst into song. And sent them home words... St Johnstone
:15:12. > :15:16.are preparing for one of their biggest ever matches. If they beat
:15:17. > :15:19.Aberdeen on Saturday, they'll be in the League Cup final. As if that's
:15:20. > :15:22.not enough to cope with, our reporter Rhona Mcleod has been
:15:23. > :15:25.putting them under even more pressure.
:15:26. > :15:30.With such a huge match in the club's history just two days away,
:15:31. > :15:33.the fans are getting nervous and excited, so they have been tweeting
:15:34. > :15:38.the questions they want to asked directly to manager Tony Wright, so
:15:39. > :15:44.let's hope he is in the mood to talk. Can you ask if new signings
:15:45. > :15:54.James Dunn and Chris I will know are likely to start? They will be in
:15:55. > :16:00.that squad of 16. The contract situations of hassle bank and the
:16:01. > :16:05.Manaus, he would like them to stay. They are at least two players I want
:16:06. > :16:12.to stay. Would you bring it a new keeper or stick with Stevie Banks?
:16:13. > :16:21.Know we are happy to go with Steven and Mark Hurst. Any new bids for
:16:22. > :16:27.Stevie me? Know, and that is fine. I want them here for next season. That
:16:28. > :16:34.was painless enough, wasn't it? Let's see if we can find one of the
:16:35. > :16:37.hottest properties because a fan has a question for him. He wants to know
:16:38. > :16:44.which shampoo and conditioner users? I do keep it washed and
:16:45. > :16:53.conditions but I can't talk brand names. A magician never reveals his
:16:54. > :16:57.tracks. His hair is lovely and glossy though, isn't it? Time for me
:16:58. > :17:01.to reveal some more stories from across Scottish sport. Scotland
:17:02. > :17:05.rugby captain Kelly Brown isn't saying the Scots can win this
:17:06. > :17:10.year's Six Nations tournament but he thinks they can do that than last
:17:11. > :17:15.year. We finished third last year, which was our highest finish in a
:17:16. > :17:20.number of years, but we need to keep working hard and improving. If
:17:21. > :17:26.eating Saint Mirren last night isn't enough to cheer hearts up, they
:17:27. > :17:33.signed a striker, Paul McCallum, on loan. Saint Mirren manager signed
:17:34. > :17:38.Josh Magennis on loan until the summer.
:17:39. > :17:42.Scottish Badminton Championships start tomorrow in Perth.
:17:43. > :17:49.Commonwealth Games prospects Robert Blair and Kirsty banking our ones to
:17:50. > :17:54.keep an eye on. Andy Murray is in America repairing for the Davis cup
:17:55. > :18:00.match with the USA and not planning a summer wedding despite reports on
:18:01. > :18:05.social media. Maybe in the next couple of years
:18:06. > :18:09.but one thing I hope people would know about me by now is that I
:18:10. > :18:16.wouldn't be announcing whether I am engaged over Twitter or on TV. And
:18:17. > :18:22.there are more sports stories 24 hours a day on the Scotland website.
:18:23. > :18:27.And that is tonight's sport, or is it?
:18:28. > :18:30.Not exactly, because we are staying with sport. Scotland's ski slopes
:18:31. > :18:34.have seen heavy snowfall in recent days, and are hoping it could be the
:18:35. > :18:37.start of a bumper season. All five outdoor resorts are reporting good
:18:38. > :18:46.cover. Let's cross to Glencoe and our reporter Craig Anderson. There
:18:47. > :18:49.he is. Hello, Craig. Here at Glencoe it has been a good
:18:50. > :18:53.day and that is not just because they have a massive amount of snow
:18:54. > :19:00.and there have even been sunny spells. There have also been good
:19:01. > :19:03.custom here, something like 700 people who have taken to the slopes
:19:04. > :19:08.and that is good for the midweek, all of them benefiting from some of
:19:09. > :19:13.the best snow sport conditions anywhere. Everywhere you look there
:19:14. > :19:17.is the white stuff, while other parts of the country have been
:19:18. > :19:22.dredged by almost incessant rain in recent weeks, appear it has fallen
:19:23. > :19:28.as snow and more than they have seen here for 20 years. Since
:19:29. > :19:33.mid-December it has snowed and snowed, six weeks constant snow. A
:19:34. > :19:42.little rain but nothing too bad and it has built up snow levels. We now
:19:43. > :19:46.have top levels on the bottom runs. There has been so much snowfall here
:19:47. > :19:50.that I am now standing on several metres of snow. The mountainside
:19:51. > :19:56.behind me is usually where rock but now regardless of the dedicated ski
:19:57. > :20:02.runs, you can just pick a root and ski down at. Eat your heart out,
:20:03. > :20:08.Saatchi. What do you think of the conditions and the amount of snow
:20:09. > :20:14.that is here? It is fabulous. Every now and then there is a rock, but
:20:15. > :20:18.tonnes of snow. When you are skiing in Scotland you can't complain with
:20:19. > :20:23.a day like this. Granted the high winds that helped build the gullies
:20:24. > :20:31.with snow have also been closing down operations and places in the
:20:32. > :20:35.East have not had the same snowfall, but all Scotland's ski areas now
:20:36. > :20:39.have good clover and are hoping this is a good omen for the busiest part
:20:40. > :20:44.of their season. The real litmus test, the one that helps to ski
:20:45. > :20:49.areas fill the coffers, is the school half term holidays in about a
:20:50. > :20:54.fortnight from now, so they will hope this go -- the snow stays and
:20:55. > :21:02.they don't get high winds. This weekend, here is the forecast.
:21:03. > :21:08.Pretty chilly here today and it was cold across the sun -- across the
:21:09. > :21:12.country. Tonight stays largely dry although it will be cold. Still a
:21:13. > :21:19.number of showers across parts of Grampian, potentially some isolated
:21:20. > :21:24.sleet flurries. Elsewhere cloudy and dry but clearer skies in the North
:21:25. > :21:29.West so a patchy frost. Temperatures in towns and cities close to
:21:30. > :21:34.freezing, and in the countryside or skies are clear it will be below
:21:35. > :21:36.freezing. Tomorrow we have an area of low pressure from the Atlantic
:21:37. > :21:42.and that means wet and windy conditions for all. Because of that
:21:43. > :21:47.the rear is a risk of snow and the Met Office has issued a yellow
:21:48. > :21:52.warning. After a dry start, that rain band works its way in from the
:21:53. > :21:58.West Coast and that will be heavy and persistent rain accompanying it,
:21:59. > :22:04.pretty song -- strong southerly winds and as the rain comes in it
:22:05. > :22:09.turns to snow on high grounds so some road routes like the A9 and
:22:10. > :22:15.A74 could be affected. Temperatures will feel the cold and wet and
:22:16. > :22:22.windy, but because of their action of the wind, places like Laszlo and
:22:23. > :22:28.Edinburgh have a lot of shelter so not too much rain or snow. It will
:22:29. > :22:32.be windy across the board and those shelter effects in place, with the
:22:33. > :22:39.rain tracking eastwards through the day. This evening the rain continues
:22:40. > :22:44.to work its way is that some heavy snowfall on high road like the A9
:22:45. > :22:49.and windy as well, a separate morning in force for Shetland on
:22:50. > :22:54.Friday with gusts up to 70 mph. At the weekend it is still windy but it
:22:55. > :22:59.should be dry, still a number of heavy showers in the south-west and
:23:00. > :23:03.they could be wintry on high ground. Sunday is a little better, less rain
:23:04. > :23:09.and showers but still a little breezy. So from a rather cold Len
:23:10. > :23:20.Coe, it is back to your lovely warm studio. A quick reminder of
:23:21. > :23:24.tonight's main news. Control rooms monitoring police and Fire Services
:23:25. > :23:28.are to be cut across Scotland. I'll be back with the headlines at 8pm,
:23:29. > :23:30.and the late bulletin just after the 10pm news. Until then, from everyone
:23:31. > :23:31.on the team, have