:00:07. > :00:10.Staff on the Caledonian Sleeper service linking Scotland and London
:00:11. > :00:13.will go on strike for two nights next week in a dispute about claims
:00:14. > :00:29.As you can imagine, the festive period is a very busy and lucrative
:00:30. > :00:35.time for operators of the cross-border sleeper services that
:00:36. > :00:38.link London Euston with Glasgow Garden Edinburgh, Aberdeen. Any
:00:39. > :00:43.disruption will cause a major headache for passengers and
:00:44. > :00:45.operators. But now we hear that passengers who already have
:00:46. > :00:51.reservations for juicy and Wednesday of next week have been told services
:00:52. > :00:56.cancelled and they will get a full refund. -- reservations for Tuesday.
:00:57. > :01:00.It goes back to concerns by trade unions about the effects on the
:01:01. > :01:06.trains, and despite lots of discussions with the operators,
:01:07. > :01:10.these have not been rectified. The company says it has tried to improve
:01:11. > :01:14.the service centre to the route in March this year and says it is
:01:15. > :01:19.disappointed with the fact that the union has now called a strike. The
:01:20. > :01:23.fact remains tonight that as of next week, Monday will be the final
:01:24. > :01:25.sleeper service before Christmas, and they will not resume until the
:01:26. > :01:30.following Sunday, December 27. Scotland's main teaching union says
:01:31. > :01:33.it's optimistic there will be a deal on the return of national
:01:34. > :01:35.testing in schools. The head of the EIS says it
:01:36. > :01:38.and the Government are close to resolving their
:01:39. > :01:39.differences over the plans. Here's our Education
:01:40. > :01:52.Correspondent Jamie McIvor. It has been the biggest shake-up in
:01:53. > :01:56.Scottish schools for decades, and it still is not over. The government
:01:57. > :02:00.wants to build on curriculum for excellence. You assessments about of
:02:01. > :02:06.the plan, even though the suggestion has been controversial. Now a major
:02:07. > :02:10.report from international experts is adding to the debate. It has
:02:11. > :02:13.sometimes been difficult to get the sense of the impact of the
:02:14. > :02:16.curriculum for excellence across Scotland, so the government
:02:17. > :02:22.commissioned the most detailed study so far. When the First Minister
:02:23. > :02:29.visits a school that is likely to be good news. Today is a significant
:02:30. > :02:35.day. The report praises many of the changes. We were very impressed with
:02:36. > :02:38.so much that is going on here. We think the pieces are there. It is
:02:39. > :02:43.then a question of having the will and the energy. But the report also
:02:44. > :02:51.points to possible improvements. Performance in maths sleeping. -- is
:02:52. > :02:54.slipping. And could be new assessments to measure performance.
:02:55. > :03:02.The government is working on one, the same tests in every school,
:03:03. > :03:06.three times and every school. We want assessment to drive
:03:07. > :03:09.improvement, to inform teacher judgment and first and foremost to
:03:10. > :03:19.be about improving the experience of education for young people at all
:03:20. > :03:25.levels of the system the information to know that the system is
:03:26. > :03:29.improving. The biggest union seems optimistic of an agreement with the
:03:30. > :03:33.government. We have had a very constructive dialogue with the
:03:34. > :03:36.Scottish Government. We're confident we have a situation where we can all
:03:37. > :03:39.move forward with confidence. We have had real concerns over some of
:03:40. > :03:43.the unintended consequences such as teaching to the test or narrowing
:03:44. > :03:48.the curriculum, and hopefully these will not appear in the final
:03:49. > :03:54.version. More details of a government's plans are expected in
:03:55. > :03:56.January. The authors of this report says Scottish education has the
:03:57. > :04:04.potential to be a world leader. Getting there will not be easy.
:04:05. > :04:08.In Labour MSP has been thrown out of the Holyrood chamber following an
:04:09. > :04:10.angry protest over a bill to restrict union rights.
:04:11. > :04:13.James Kelly was ejected after objecting to a ruling
:04:14. > :04:14.that the issue was reserved to Westminster.
:04:15. > :04:18.Here's our political editor Brian Taylor.
:04:19. > :04:24.The presiding officer has ruled that Holyrood cannot block the union bill
:04:25. > :04:29.or prevented from applying to Scotland goes industrial relations
:04:30. > :04:34.are controlled by Westminster for the whole of the UK. Labour MSPs
:04:35. > :04:38.were spoiling for a fight, and after a preamble James Kelly confronted
:04:39. > :04:47.the chair. Do not think the ruling was correct in terms of executive...
:04:48. > :04:56.B and your point of order is? I am coming to. If you let me speak I
:04:57. > :05:01.will make my point of order. If you please let me make my point of order
:05:02. > :05:09.I will get on with it. I want to know what the point of order is. If
:05:10. > :05:15.you give interrupting me... About Mr Kelly, please sit down. I will not
:05:16. > :05:21.sit down, I want to make a point of order. Queue was reminded to respect
:05:22. > :05:31.the chair. I ask you to desist and apologise, Mr Kelly. Finally... Can
:05:32. > :05:39.you please exclude Mr Kelly from the chamber. He refuses to apologise,
:05:40. > :05:41.and Labour backs his stand. Conservatives back the bill, SNP
:05:42. > :05:44.ministers say they will fight on to thwart it.
:05:45. > :05:47.The Forth Road Bridge has been in the headlines for a fortnight now
:05:48. > :05:49.but today we got an update on its successor.
:05:50. > :05:52.The Queensferry Crossing is due to relieve much of the traffic
:05:53. > :05:55.from the old bridge when it opens in around a year's time.
:05:56. > :06:08.Another day of work on the broken bridge continues. On the scaffolding
:06:09. > :06:14.men work around the clock to fix the fault. Just metres away another
:06:15. > :06:21.workforce have a job to do. The new Forth crossing stretches out across
:06:22. > :06:25.the water. Heading up in the left as the coastline becomes distant there
:06:26. > :06:30.is a real sense from the workforce of a new phase in this construction.
:06:31. > :06:35.Now we see the decks coming together, being a local person it
:06:36. > :06:41.means a lot to me. I will be will to use it, or my grandchildren to
:06:42. > :06:44.death. From 200 metres up you cannot help but marvel at the scale of this
:06:45. > :06:50.project as it comes together inch by inch and piece by piece. As you look
:06:51. > :06:55.down on its ageing sister, depleted of traffic, any hint of any delay in
:06:56. > :07:00.the completion of this project would mean troubled waters on the Firth of
:07:01. > :07:05.Forth. Still the Government remains confident. There is pressure and the
:07:06. > :07:11.Government understands that. We have had pressure to finish projects
:07:12. > :07:16.on-time and on budget we have met that. We have met the pressure in
:07:17. > :07:21.the past, and it is our intention to meet our obligations this time. Bad
:07:22. > :07:27.weather has hampered progress in the autumn, but engineers say they are
:07:28. > :07:32.back on track. 36 of 120 two deck segments are moved into place. Next
:07:33. > :07:37.major phase of work will start in Fife in the New Year. The resilience
:07:38. > :07:40.of bridge ready to be launched out in January, and at that point that
:07:41. > :07:43.will narrow the gap between the north end of the bridge and the fan
:07:44. > :07:48.we are building out from the north Tower, so that will start to look as
:07:49. > :07:52.of the bridges coming together. Towering above its little sister,
:07:53. > :07:55.the Queensferry Crossing is most expensive infrastructure project in
:07:56. > :07:57.Scotland, and the government will want to make sure its delivery does
:07:58. > :08:00.not cost its credibility. It's over to Christopher now
:08:01. > :08:13.with the weather forecast The weather this week is all about
:08:14. > :08:17.how unseasonably mild it is. This war may wash across the UK, chasing
:08:18. > :08:25.away the cold air. We will see temperatures into the teens. Should
:08:26. > :08:33.be closer to seven or eight Celsius, so we are way up on where we should
:08:34. > :08:40.be. Some clear skies here, but in Markey night with some rain around.
:08:41. > :08:48.--. It will be a murky night. Breezy on the coast, temperatures ten or 11
:08:49. > :08:49.Celsius in the morning. Inland the winter light, a little breeze around
:08:50. > :08:53.the coast. Some patchy winter light, a little breeze around
:08:54. > :08:55.rain and the hill fog is extensive and of note especially if you're
:08:56. > :08:59.travelling over and of note especially if you're
:09:00. > :09:04.ground. Towards the west coast, some patchy outbreaks of rain, as there
:09:05. > :09:08.will be for me Sheridan. Through Wednesday morning the wet weather is
:09:09. > :09:11.holding on in the West but elsewhere we are starting to see something
:09:12. > :09:19.more cheerful, especially if you're to the north of any high ground.
:09:20. > :09:24.Across the UK it is cloudy and grey, but temperatures perhaps into the
:09:25. > :09:30.mid-teens in London. 11 or 12 for us. Into Wednesday evening patchy
:09:31. > :09:38.outbreaks of light rain and extensive murky whether.
:09:39. > :09:41.outbreaks of light rain and heavy rain, but again it
:09:42. > :09:43.outbreaks of light rain and mild. The rain across western parts,
:09:44. > :09:48.stretching across Wales and south-west. Temperatures in the
:09:49. > :09:53.teens, and we could see 15 as well. Our next update is during Breakfast
:09:54. > :10:00.at 6:25 tomorrow morning.