:00:00. > :00:08.MSPs have rejected an increase in Scottish income tax.
:00:09. > :00:11.Labour had called for a penny increase in tax at all levels,
:00:12. > :00:16.mainly to fund education, to be effective from April.
:00:17. > :00:20.But in a vote at Holyrood, a majority of MSPs said no to that
:00:21. > :00:24.and backed the Scottish Government's budget plans for the year ahead.
:00:25. > :00:33.This from our political editor Brian Taylor.
:00:34. > :00:42.Which two are you going to take away?
:00:43. > :00:47.Sums and choices. Katia Dugdale chooses a penny on income tax at all
:00:48. > :00:52.levels, mainly to fund education. The proposals in the budget at a
:00:53. > :00:54.strip millions of pounds out of our budget for schools. I am not
:00:55. > :01:02.prepared for the next iteration of kids to pay for Tory austerity.
:01:03. > :01:04.Meanwhile, outside Holyrood, trade union members, the other wing of the
:01:05. > :01:10.labour movement, protest against council job losses.
:01:11. > :01:15.In the middle of it all, the finance secretary. John Swinney says that
:01:16. > :01:18.Labour's plan would punish public-sector workers and
:01:19. > :01:22.pensioners, while he wants to shelter them.
:01:23. > :01:25.I want to say to the teachers and to the public service workers, the
:01:26. > :01:29.length and breadth of this country, who have had to endure pain
:01:30. > :01:34.constraints because of the austerity programme of the United Kingdom
:01:35. > :01:37.government, that I value the sacrifices they have made, and the
:01:38. > :01:44.last thing I will do is put up their taxes.
:01:45. > :01:48.A helping hand from Nicola Sturgeon. Scottish ministers plan to extend
:01:49. > :01:51.the living wage to social care workers and others. Staff at this
:01:52. > :01:56.Midlothian centre already received that higher rate of pay, but no
:01:57. > :01:59.increase to standard rating contacts, not now, not next year,
:02:00. > :02:03.but Holyrood should have greater flexibility to vary tax.
:02:04. > :02:07.I don't think an increase in the basic rate of income tax is the
:02:08. > :02:11.right thing to do. Labour's tax blunders year involves
:02:12. > :02:17.a rebate, with councils and then back ?100 to the lowest paid,
:02:18. > :02:24.including low-income pensioners. -- Labour's tax plans this year.
:02:25. > :02:27.Labour's Jackie Baillie insisted the plan had been thoroughly checked.
:02:28. > :02:32.The Liberal Democrats backed a penny on tax for education. New powers,
:02:33. > :02:37.they said, meant cuts should be blamed upon Scottish ministers.
:02:38. > :02:41.He is imposing the kind of budget that he has previously condemned.
:02:42. > :02:46.The people of Scotland will know that his refusal to act means that
:02:47. > :02:51.every single cut to public services in Scotland is a John Swinney cart.
:02:52. > :02:57.But John Swinney received decidedly ironic support in resisting tax
:02:58. > :03:02.increases from the Conservatives. It gladdens my Tory heart to hear
:03:03. > :03:06.these self-proclaimed Social Democrats and political progressives
:03:07. > :03:13.on the SNP bench is arguing so vigorously and so passionately
:03:14. > :03:18.against increases in tax. To coin a phrase, we are happy to be better
:03:19. > :03:25.together with the SNP on this issue. To the votes tonight. Are we all
:03:26. > :03:28.agreed? Not by a long shot. Labour's tax increase was rejected, John
:03:29. > :03:30.Swinney's cut was back. Finance Secretary John Swinney has
:03:31. > :03:32.repeated that the Scottish Government is working
:03:33. > :03:34.towards a February 12 deadline for a deal on the financial aspects
:03:35. > :03:37.of more powers for Holyrood. But he said Scottish ministers
:03:38. > :03:40.would "give all the time possible "to secure a deal"
:03:41. > :03:42.on the so-called fiscal framework. Earlier, it emerged
:03:43. > :03:43.that the deadline for agreement between the UK and Scottish
:03:44. > :03:47.governments could be breached. MPs this evening debated public
:03:48. > :04:00.spending in Scotland. Keen as though I am to have a warm
:04:01. > :04:04.and supportive relationship with the Scottish Government, I have never
:04:05. > :04:09.felt the Saint Valentine's Day date had much relevance to this process.
:04:10. > :04:15.I am willing to continue working towards a deal as long as that
:04:16. > :04:19.takes, and as long as we can. In fiscal agreement is vital, as
:04:20. > :04:24.Lord Smith himself said. It is fundamentally important in making
:04:25. > :04:29.Scotland's new powers work. It is the final piece in an interlocking
:04:30. > :04:29.jigsaw, and we couldn't agree more with that.
:04:30. > :04:31.The Scottish Ambulance Service has been forced to postpone plans
:04:32. > :04:32.to downgrade certain kinds of 999 calls.
:04:33. > :04:35.Ambulance chiefs had planned to change the urgency of 12 kinds
:04:36. > :04:38.of call-outs, which would have meant crews had to respond within 19
:04:39. > :04:42.They include seven symptoms involving chest pains
:04:43. > :04:47.However, Scotland's Chief Medical Officer has expressed concern,
:04:48. > :05:02.Different categories of patients need a different type of response.
:05:03. > :05:06.These codes are quite old, 30 years old, and in fact, our treatments and
:05:07. > :05:10.our response times have, of course, improved over those years. So
:05:11. > :05:13.perhaps now the time has come to actually look in more detail at
:05:14. > :05:15.these codes, because we want to sustain the best outcome with our
:05:16. > :05:16.current treatment. A fourth person has died
:05:17. > :05:18.following a crash on the M9 37-year-old Sajjad Ahmad
:05:19. > :05:22.was the driver of a Mercedes which was involved in
:05:23. > :05:24.the collision in West Lothian. His wife Saadia was pronounced dead
:05:25. > :05:27.at the scene and their 9-year-old The driver of the other vehicle -
:05:28. > :05:31.42-year-old Mark Hansen - Two boys, aged ten and 14,
:05:32. > :05:36.remain in a serious condition. Seven members of the executive
:05:37. > :05:39.committee of Scotland's biggest mosque have resigned
:05:40. > :05:43.after they and their families were allegedly subjected to threats
:05:44. > :05:45.and abuse by opponents In a joint statement,
:05:46. > :05:49.they said that their efforts to improve the representation
:05:50. > :05:53.of women and financial transparency at the mosque had been
:05:54. > :05:56.opposed by traditionalists. No-one from the mosque has been
:05:57. > :05:59.available for comment. Police Scotland have confirmed
:06:00. > :06:03.they are investigating the matter. Scotland's third biggest bank,
:06:04. > :06:05.the Clydesdale Bank, has become independent
:06:06. > :06:08.again for the first time It's being sold off by its owners,
:06:09. > :06:12.the National Australia Bank. Here's our business
:06:13. > :06:26.correspondent David Henderson. It has had a place in Scotland's
:06:27. > :06:29.High Street since the 1830s, and now the Clydesdale has a new
:06:30. > :06:32.High Street since the 1830s, and now life. For years, its owners,
:06:33. > :06:36.National Australia Bank, have wanted to sell it off, so they have taken
:06:37. > :06:39.on billions of pounds of Clydesdale's debts, leaving the
:06:40. > :06:43.Scottish bank largely free from the burdens of the past.
:06:44. > :06:47.We had independence, and what that really means is that we will be able
:06:48. > :06:50.to make investments in our customers, based on what our
:06:51. > :06:54.customers need, as opposed to having a third party forming a view, so we
:06:55. > :06:58.listen to our customers, we decide what they want, and we deliver.
:06:59. > :07:02.Having independence to do that is a hugely important part of our
:07:03. > :07:05.strategy going forward. By the time the Clydesdale bank Bill
:07:06. > :07:10.these huge headquarters here in Glasgow, it was already helping to
:07:11. > :07:15.fund the rapid growth of the Empire's second city. The bank
:07:16. > :07:20.financed Glasgow's pioneering water supply and broke down barriers by
:07:21. > :07:25.offering lending to women. These days, Clydesdale bank is a big
:07:26. > :07:30.player, with 121 branches in Scotland, and his partner, the
:07:31. > :07:32.Yorkshire bank, is 154 in England. Between them, they will serve almost
:07:33. > :07:36.3 million UK customers. So they Between them, they will serve almost
:07:37. > :07:38.the biggest of the Between them, they will serve almost
:07:39. > :07:41.Challenger banks, ready to take on giants like RBS.
:07:42. > :07:46.Historically, banks have benefited giants like RBS.
:07:47. > :07:50.from inertia. People are just not wanted to change their current
:07:51. > :07:54.accounts. Because we will be able to look around and see better deals,
:07:55. > :07:59.and the internet which facilitates that, it means that that is probably
:08:00. > :08:00.a good environment for the consumers.
:08:01. > :08:04.We all have a place that means something to us. And with that in
:08:05. > :08:08.mind, Clydesdale is eager to boost its mortgage lending. Come petition
:08:09. > :08:09.from customers -- for customers may be hotting up.
:08:10. > :08:12.Two women have been charged in connection with an assault
:08:13. > :08:15.The women, aged 57 and 61, were arrested following
:08:16. > :08:21.allegations of an assault at the Chapel Level
:08:22. > :08:34.Gordon Graham died in the blaze in the town's High Street
:08:35. > :08:39.The 42-year-old man is due to appear at Peterhead Sheriff Court tomorrow.
:08:40. > :08:41.An unfinished documentary about the Highlands begun
:08:42. > :08:44.in the 1950s is to be completed and and given a premiere.
:08:45. > :08:48.It was made by a group of film-makers who ran out of money,
:08:49. > :08:51.but 60 years on, it will at last be shown on the big screen.
:08:52. > :09:03.Our arts correspondent Pauline McLean reports.
:09:04. > :09:09.Lost Treasure examines the changing face of the Highlands in the 1950s.
:09:10. > :09:18.The most ambitious project to date for the film-makers' collective,
:09:19. > :09:22.based in Glasgow. Justin shot, giant sheep farm. But their film was never
:09:23. > :09:26.finished, the project abandoned, when the group ran out of money, and
:09:27. > :09:32.forgotten, until film festival director Matt Lloyd contacted
:09:33. > :09:35.Scotland's Moving Image Archive. Not only did they have about 40 minutes
:09:36. > :09:39.of footage just sat there, silent footage, that as far as we know,
:09:40. > :09:47.having been used at all in any form, they also have the original script,
:09:48. > :09:52.so I was just really keen to bring this film, this footage, to the
:09:53. > :09:56.light of day. The script meant they could not only
:09:57. > :09:59.edit the film, but create a new soundtrack.
:10:00. > :10:05.You can guess what the mood they were after is, and although that
:10:06. > :10:09.mood might involve using different music now, it does give you a
:10:10. > :10:14.pointer towards the sort of tone that they would like to have had
:10:15. > :10:18.over that particular part of the script. It's like a sort of phantom
:10:19. > :10:21.director that is not in the room with you, but is in the script to
:10:22. > :10:26.help you along and guide you. And while the original film-makers
:10:27. > :10:30.may not be around to see the premiere, with a live score, it is
:10:31. > :10:35.out some of their families will. Maybe there aren't, children or
:10:36. > :10:39.grandchildren might hear about this, and they might come out of work. And
:10:40. > :10:43.maybe there is more fudge that was shot. As far as we know, this is all
:10:44. > :10:48.the footage we have, but there may be more real than someone's garage
:10:49. > :10:50.somewhere. And maybe there is a sequel to this
:10:51. > :10:53.aptly named Lost Treasure. Aberdeen beat Celtic 2-1
:10:54. > :10:55.at Pittodrie tonight to move to within three points
:10:56. > :10:58.of the Glasgow side at the top A goal from Johnny Hayes in the 30th
:10:59. > :11:03.minute cancelled out Celtic's earlier domination and the home side
:11:04. > :11:07.hit another from a corner shortly after when Simon Church knocked
:11:08. > :11:11.in a header from Kenny McLean. Celtic's Leigh Griffith hit
:11:12. > :11:22.a consolation goal for the visitors. N with the weather forecast, and it
:11:23. > :11:31.is over to Gillian. A chilly one today, but at least we
:11:32. > :11:34.had some sunshine around at last, which is more than we will see for
:11:35. > :11:38.the rest of the week. It will turn more miles, but a return to cloudy
:11:39. > :11:41.and damp conditions as well. This is the picture tonight. A weather front
:11:42. > :11:45.sits just to the west of us, pushing rain across the country, which will
:11:46. > :11:49.turn quite wintry as it meets with the cold air. The North Wales,
:11:50. > :11:53.northern England, Central and southern Scotland, snow mainly
:11:54. > :11:55.confined to the hills, but from Persian Northwoods, we will see some
:11:56. > :12:01.wet snow, and some accumulations of a higher-level roads. -- hairshirt
:12:02. > :12:06.Northwoods. Temperatures recover to six or seven Celsius on the West
:12:07. > :12:09.Coast. That is because this rain is linked to a warm front. As it pushes
:12:10. > :12:13.across the country tomorrow, it will to do is milder air, but a lot of
:12:14. > :12:16.cloud and some outbreaks of brain with it. This is the picture of you
:12:17. > :12:20.are heading out around eight o'clock. The rain mainly affects
:12:21. > :12:24.western Scotland at this stage. But the north-east, you are still in the
:12:25. > :12:29.colder air, and similarly for the East Highlands and the Northern
:12:30. > :12:31.Isles. Where there are still showers, that will have a wintry
:12:32. > :12:36.flavour. Through the day, we continue to bringing areas of rain
:12:37. > :12:39.from the West, nothing too heavy, much of it light and patchy, but
:12:40. > :12:44.generally lending a great, and feel of the day. If you write are
:12:45. > :12:46.glimmers perhaps for Southern counties of England, and
:12:47. > :12:50.temperatures here up to 13 Celsius, but the very best of the sunshine
:12:51. > :12:55.will be over Shetland, although you will still be in that cold air, but
:12:56. > :12:58.you will see the best of the sunshine. Temperatures, 3-4, by
:12:59. > :13:03.contrast to 10-11 in that milder air. Through tomorrow evening, that
:13:04. > :13:07.warm front moves up to the Northern Isles, bringing the rain here.
:13:08. > :13:11.Elsewhere, we are and what we call one sector air, so it is cloudy and
:13:12. > :13:16.damp, with bits and pieces of rain, but still relatively mild into
:13:17. > :13:21.Friday. Friday itself, another weather front head our way, with
:13:22. > :13:24.heavy rain, particularly the south west Scotland. An early warning for
:13:25. > :13:25.the Met office that we could see localised flooding, and it turns
:13:26. > :13:27.windy again as well.