:00:15. > :00:19.Scotland's local authorities look set to sign up to another
:00:20. > :00:23.Today marked the deadline for councils to say if they'd accept
:00:24. > :00:24.the Scottish Government's funding deal.
:00:25. > :00:26.But many are adamant the Government's terms
:00:27. > :00:29.are unacceptable and will result in hundreds of millions of pounds
:00:30. > :00:42.Here's our Local Government Correspondent Jamie McIvor.
:00:43. > :00:48.it was a high-stakes stand-off and now it looks like the Scottish
:00:49. > :00:53.Government has one. Every council seemed set to accept the Government
:00:54. > :00:58.funding deal even though every single council that isn't run by the
:00:59. > :01:02.SNP claims the deal is simply unacceptable. The difficulty we have
:01:03. > :01:05.got is that despite increasing statutory duties, increased
:01:06. > :01:08.pressures that we have got, the Scottish Government have chosen to
:01:09. > :01:12.pass on what we think is disproportionate cuts to local
:01:13. > :01:15.government. We would obviously have prepared for cuts in our budget is
:01:16. > :01:19.because that was flagged up tears but the difficulty we have got the
:01:20. > :01:23.cuts we have seen have well outweighed what we expected. The big
:01:24. > :01:28.problem for many councils this year is that budgets are lower than they
:01:29. > :01:32.had forecast. In Stirling they are contemplating doubling the gust of
:01:33. > :01:34.music tuition for some children. At Highland staff have been asked to
:01:35. > :01:40.consider cutting their working hours or taking redundancy. Many councils
:01:41. > :01:43.across Scotland are going to agree to spend money a little later than
:01:44. > :01:48.usual this year so they can work out just what to do. This year that it
:01:49. > :01:54.was a real possibility some councils would put up the council tax but
:01:55. > :01:57.this rebellion was held. The kind of accumulation of penalties that he
:01:58. > :02:01.Deputy First Minister has introduced mean it is just too expensive to
:02:02. > :02:07.think about raising council tax by anything that would be electorally
:02:08. > :02:12.or publicly acceptable. Labour argues education could suffer but
:02:13. > :02:16.some cups simply aren't an option. Councils have to maintain the ratio
:02:17. > :02:20.of teachers to students. Primary school hours can't be cut. The
:02:21. > :02:25.Government calls the deal challenging but fair. This is a good
:02:26. > :02:30.deal and it puts funding forward freezing the council tax, delivering
:02:31. > :02:33.the liver which were social care stuff for increasing, maintaining
:02:34. > :02:38.teacher pupil numbers and for transforming social care. Those are
:02:39. > :02:42.good priorities, good policies we hope everyone will sign up to. A
:02:43. > :02:47.good deal that is worth taking. Serious damage to the service...
:02:48. > :02:52.Tough choices are never popular so would voters pay more to maintain
:02:53. > :02:55.services? I'm not sure but I would like to think so. They are really
:02:56. > :02:59.going to have to get sceptred and just cut services because many
:03:00. > :03:02.people can't afford tax especially with the bedroom tax and other taxes
:03:03. > :03:09.that have come into place. We find it a struggle. There are simple
:03:10. > :03:13.basic economies. Small bits of funds from the budget, is a bit here and
:03:14. > :03:19.there will add up to a long way and I think they could be more like the
:03:20. > :03:22.private sector, seeing significant savings in their budget. Ultimately
:03:23. > :03:25.the Government holds the trump cards with this as badly strained
:03:26. > :03:29.relations with some councils. Over the next few weeks many of them will
:03:30. > :03:31.be deciding just how to spend their money.
:03:32. > :03:34.Andy Murray and his wife Kim have announced the birth of their first
:03:35. > :03:39.During the recent Australian Open, the British number one said he'd be
:03:40. > :03:43.on the first plane home if his wife went into labour, but in the end
:03:44. > :03:45.the baby came only a day or two early, at the weekend.
:03:46. > :03:52.Aileen Clarke spent the day in Dunblane.
:03:53. > :03:59.It's a girl. The pink ribbon round Andy Murray's called postbox in
:04:00. > :04:02.Dunblane said it all today and while the locals hang up the bunting,
:04:03. > :04:07.Andy's Grande couldn't be more proud when the text arrived announcing the
:04:08. > :04:13.birth of her first great-grandchild. Though she did have the text back to
:04:14. > :04:18.check. Oh, the baby must be here. So I'm it is the text it back and said,
:04:19. > :04:24.what has happened? Sounds fantastic. But let me know. So I got a text
:04:25. > :04:32.back from Andy to say, sorry, forgot you had an old phone. But baby girl
:04:33. > :04:36.here and everyone doing well. Absolutely delighted as you can
:04:37. > :04:43.imagine. It seems a long time since we have been waiting for this, but
:04:44. > :04:46.all is well now as far as I know, don't have any details, I just know
:04:47. > :04:50.that I have got a great granddaughter so it is just lovely.
:04:51. > :04:54.On the High Street, more ribbons were appearing and even full window
:04:55. > :04:58.displays completed. Just as people here wished the couple well at the
:04:59. > :05:02.time of their wedding, today they are keen to pass on congratulations
:05:03. > :05:05.on the arrival of their baby daughter. We had some little girl
:05:06. > :05:11.things put down stairs and some boy things so it was a case of just
:05:12. > :05:13.racing out and getting a pink balloon this morning because we had
:05:14. > :05:17.everything else. The weather has been a bit damp. This has perked
:05:18. > :05:20.everybody. Part of the Australian Open final, Andy Murray was clearly
:05:21. > :05:25.desperate to get back to his wife's side in time for the birth. My wife
:05:26. > :05:34.came, you have been a legend the last two weeks, thank you so much
:05:35. > :05:38.for your support. I will be on the next flight home. And today some
:05:39. > :05:42.advice for the new parents from new mums back in Dunblane. Sleep when
:05:43. > :05:48.you can, it when you can and keep good friends. Enjoy it, maybe that
:05:49. > :05:55.would be my advice. Hopefully he will peer and see us all. I can't
:05:56. > :05:56.wait. You forget how small they are, don't you?
:05:57. > :05:59.A man who murdered his first wife in a staged car accident and tried
:06:00. > :06:02.to kill his second in a copycat crash has lost a bid
:06:03. > :06:05.to have his conviction referred back to the High Court.
:06:06. > :06:07.Malcolm Webster was jailed for a minimum of 30 years
:06:08. > :06:11.for killing Claire Morris in Aberdeenshire in 1994
:06:12. > :06:15.and attempting to kill Felicity Drumm in New Zealand
:06:16. > :06:21.The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission has confirmed Webster's
:06:22. > :06:24.application for a review has been refused.
:06:25. > :06:26.The First Minister has written to David Cameron accusing
:06:27. > :06:29.the Treasury of trying to systematically cut the Scottish
:06:30. > :06:32.budget in the negotiations over future funding of the Scottish
:06:33. > :06:36.The UK Government maintains its funding offer is fair.
:06:37. > :06:48.Here's our Political Correspondent Glenn Campbell.
:06:49. > :06:55.Oh, well done. Pancakes are not the only thing worth giving a toss about
:06:56. > :07:01.this Shrove Tuesday. The big talking point in Scottish politics is the
:07:02. > :07:06.lack of agreement between the UK and Scottish governments in their talks
:07:07. > :07:11.over Holyrood's future budget. When Holyrood takes on the extra tax and
:07:12. > :07:15.welfare powers recommended by the Smith Commission, Smith said there
:07:16. > :07:19.should be no detriment to either the Scottish Government for the UK
:07:20. > :07:24.Government. In other words, neither side should be worse off
:07:25. > :07:28.financially. Some ship forward but ministers in Edinburgh and London
:07:29. > :07:33.can't seem to agree exactly what those words mean. Over Scotch
:07:34. > :07:38.pancakes in Edinburgh the First Minister used her monthly news
:07:39. > :07:42.conference to accuse the Treasury of trying to use extra devolution to
:07:43. > :07:46.raid Scottish finances. We were promised additional powers, not
:07:47. > :07:51.additional powers in exchange for an automatic and systematic reduction
:07:52. > :07:55.in our budget. She's worried that after an nine meetings between the
:07:56. > :07:58.Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney and the Chief Secretary to
:07:59. > :08:04.the Treasury Greg hands, there is still no sign of a deal. But
:08:05. > :08:06.following talks in number ten, the Scottish Conservative leader
:08:07. > :08:10.suggested the Scottish Government might be underplaying the progress
:08:11. > :08:14.made. I think there is a deal there to be done and I think it is a deal
:08:15. > :08:17.for both the UK and Scotland. I certainly want to see the powers
:08:18. > :08:20.come to Scotland, I would be very disappointed at the SNB used the
:08:21. > :08:25.grief and started to walk away from these talks. The Scottish Government
:08:26. > :08:29.says it stands to lose around ?3 billion over ten years under current
:08:30. > :08:33.proposals. But UK Government sources say Scottish ministers have to
:08:34. > :08:38.accept the risks that come with extra tax powers. It's so hard to
:08:39. > :08:42.know just exactly what is going on because neither party, the Scottish
:08:43. > :08:44.or UK Government, had been predicted transpired but they take out. I
:08:45. > :08:48.would urge them to get round the table to make sure that they secured
:08:49. > :08:52.the deal because we need those powers in Scotland. The SNP have my
:08:53. > :08:55.support but they cannot walk away from the table. Unless there is a
:08:56. > :09:00.deal for Holyrood to discuss in the next week or so, MSPs won't have
:09:01. > :09:01.time to rubber-stamp their new powers before they break for the
:09:02. > :09:03.election campaign. Polaroid's Vale of Leven factory
:09:04. > :09:07.is to close with loss of 107 jobs. The company's Italian parent firm,
:09:08. > :09:11.Safilo, says it's planning A consultation with staff
:09:12. > :09:17.is underway and the site looks set The plant - which opened in 1965 -
:09:18. > :09:23.once employed 5000 people. A man's appeared in court
:09:24. > :09:25.charged with shooting a man near St Helen's Primary School
:09:26. > :09:28.in Bishopbriggs on the outskirts 55-year-old William Burns,
:09:29. > :09:32.from Paisley is charged with the attempted murder of Ross
:09:33. > :09:34.Sherlock. Prosecutors claim he acted
:09:35. > :09:37.with another and that the incident was aggravated by serious
:09:38. > :09:41.and organised crime. Mr Burns made no plea or declaration
:09:42. > :09:44.at Glasgow Sheriff Court Rugby and Scotland captain
:09:45. > :09:50.Greig Laidlaw says there's been a frank assessment of the players
:09:51. > :09:54.performance after defeat to England He says they've faced up
:09:55. > :09:59.to their mistakes and are ready for Saturday's massive
:10:00. > :10:12.game against Wales. 72 hours on and disappointment still
:10:13. > :10:18.lingers in the Scotland camp. The captain says review into defeat to
:10:19. > :10:22.England has been brutal. Yeah, absolutely, we are men enough to
:10:23. > :10:27.take things on the chin and the boys have reacted well. That's all you
:10:28. > :10:32.can ask. Ultimately it comes down to what we produce this Saturday, this
:10:33. > :10:38.is massive for us. If 50-9 loss has generated a number of headlines with
:10:39. > :10:44.some headlines-consequences. He has a message with the media. I can see
:10:45. > :10:48.already you guys are writing us off which we'll just keep in-house. We
:10:49. > :10:51.are one game into German. We will not panic, we will stick together as
:10:52. > :10:57.players and coaches and we believe we will be fine. And in the frank
:10:58. > :11:00.talk came tributes to one of modern rugby's gritters. Ireland was like
:11:01. > :11:06.Paul O'Connell, forced into retirement because of injury. He
:11:07. > :11:10.knows everyone by name. He is a class act that he is bloody annoying
:11:11. > :11:14.to play against! That is the template Scotland will be trying to
:11:15. > :11:15.follow in Cardiff this weekend to get their six Nations championship
:11:16. > :11:16.back on track. Well, it's over to Gillian Smart now
:11:17. > :11:28.with the weather outlook for tonight A lot of dry weather to come over
:11:29. > :11:31.the next few days. Chilly tonight. Bands of showers in play. One
:11:32. > :11:35.working its way across the Highlands and with it and another across
:11:36. > :11:39.southern Scotland. Snow for higher ground. Was this a dry by morning.
:11:40. > :11:45.In the breeze to keep temperatures from falling too far. A frost in
:11:46. > :11:48.sheltered rural spots taking us into tomorrow. It's a start but they dry
:11:49. > :11:52.and cloud one for most of us. Still scattered showers for the aisles,
:11:53. > :11:56.Highlands and Northeast. They risk of ice on untreated services is used
:11:57. > :12:01.today and a similar story for Northern Ireland, northern England,
:12:02. > :12:05.much of Wales and western England a dry, bright and crisp start today.
:12:06. > :12:08.Scattering of showers of East Anglia and the south-east and some heavy,
:12:09. > :12:11.blustery showers for Devon and Cornwall. They will keep coming
:12:12. > :12:15.through the course of the day but for most of us the emphasis on a lot
:12:16. > :12:20.of dry, bright weather, good smells of sunshine, a few showers faltering
:12:21. > :12:23.in to Galloway and Ravel. The Western Isles as well as the
:12:24. > :12:25.north-west Highlands. With the North Highlands and the Northern Isles,
:12:26. > :12:31.showers quite frequent in the afternoon. The Shetland, maybe deal
:12:32. > :12:36.force winds. Quite bitter here by the end of the day. Generally quite
:12:37. > :12:41.breezy around the coasts tomorrow. Feeling to. Tomorrow evening wet
:12:42. > :12:45.weather works South, cold Eric digging in behind it so we will see
:12:46. > :12:49.those showers turning wintry. Even to low levels for a time. A ridge of
:12:50. > :12:53.high pressure is building in from the West keeping us settled for
:12:54. > :12:57.thirsty so again the emphasis on a lot of dry and wet weather. Good
:12:58. > :13:01.spells of sunshine. A scattering of showers, dotted around the coasts.
:13:02. > :13:08.Rete for the Northern Isles and the East Coast, lighter winds elsewhere.
:13:09. > :13:11.Still on the chilly side. Five or six Celsius. Friday, high pressure
:13:12. > :13:16.to the north, those to the south, we are pulling in an easterly airflow.
:13:17. > :13:20.Feeling quite chilly. Scattered showers for the north and east. A
:13:21. > :13:22.lot of dry and wet weather to western Scotland, best of the
:13:23. > :13:24.sunshine in the north-west. That's the forecast.
:13:25. > :13:27.Our next update is during Breakfast at 6:25am tomorrow morning.
:13:28. > :13:31.But from everyone on the late team here in Glasgow and around