:00:00. > :00:00.too far. Thank you for joining us. That's it.
:00:00. > :00:08.Now on BBC One, it's time for the news where you are.
:00:09. > :00:12.BBC Scotland has uncovered new concerns about the running
:00:13. > :00:17.of a major Scottish Government IT project.
:00:18. > :00:19.The system, to process payments to farmers,
:00:20. > :00:21.is millions of pounds over budget and months behind schedule.
:00:22. > :00:27.Our business correspondent David Henderson reports.
:00:28. > :00:35.Every year thousands of Scottish farmers receive state subsidies for
:00:36. > :00:41.their work. One know that has mentor form filling and paperwork. But that
:00:42. > :00:44.is changing. At this office in Edinburgh computer system is being
:00:45. > :00:49.set up so that farmers can apply online. But it has been plagued with
:00:50. > :00:53.problems and there is concern about the way it is being managed. We were
:00:54. > :00:59.developing the system and it was going well, we were doing some good
:01:00. > :01:05.work. But on that particular Friday, suddenly out of nowhere, 25 people
:01:06. > :01:09.were rolled off the project. This man working on the system told us
:01:10. > :01:13.that UK contractors were replaced within days with staff from
:01:14. > :01:17.overseas. The Indian contract as were generally coming in at a less
:01:18. > :01:21.than half the rate of UK workers. I was asked if I would work the
:01:22. > :01:26.weekend at one point. I asked one of my colleagues, have you been asked
:01:27. > :01:36.to work as well? He said, no, I have been told to. Over six months the
:01:37. > :01:41.number of contractors fell by 40. The number of UK contractors was
:01:42. > :01:49.reduced by 77. But the number of Indian contract is actually rose by
:01:50. > :01:53.44. It is possible for people from outside the EU to come and work in
:01:54. > :01:58.this country, but only if there is a shortage of workers from the UK and
:01:59. > :02:02.EU in that field and if the job has been advertised widely to European
:02:03. > :02:06.workers. But it is a controversial area, and the UK Government has
:02:07. > :02:14.tried to change the law to restrict immigration. This is Dominic Day was
:02:15. > :02:16.the delivery director for this computer system. We have learned he
:02:17. > :02:23.is also the director of another computer system. We have learned he
:02:24. > :02:29.company, and documents we have seen imply the firm it supplied staff for
:02:30. > :02:41.the project, meaning they stood to gain. And a business has bloomed for
:02:42. > :02:45.that company. This contractor on the project, who has since left, says it
:02:46. > :02:51.considers them. The whole situation seems to me to be completely
:02:52. > :02:55.engineered. The Scottish Government are paying just short of ?1000 per
:02:56. > :02:59.day for some of the workers on the project and the rates offered to the
:03:00. > :03:05.contractors are significantly less than that. I can easily imagine it
:03:06. > :03:11.is ?100 per day per worker. With the workers on the project that is a lot
:03:12. > :03:18.of money going straight to Dominic. It is unclear how many workers were
:03:19. > :03:23.supplied by this company, but the Scottish Government told us, partly
:03:24. > :03:27.to avoid any conflict of interest, our governance processes do not
:03:28. > :03:32.allow any individual to make resource in decisions on their own.
:03:33. > :03:41.We were told in understatement from Dominic that there was no conflict
:03:42. > :03:44.of interest. -- in a statement. And the company in overall charge of
:03:45. > :03:50.delivering the computer system said the current profile remains a mix of
:03:51. > :03:55.both non-EU and EU, permanent and contract staff, as it has been from
:03:56. > :03:59.the start of the programme in March 20 13. Across Scotland farmers are
:04:00. > :04:03.struggling to make ends meet as the cost of this computer project has
:04:04. > :04:06.risen. Its problems have delayed EU subsidies this year. The Scottish
:04:07. > :04:10.Government said it is working tirelessly with its partners to
:04:11. > :04:14.deliver much-needed change. But other authorities are now involved.
:04:15. > :04:18.Police Scotland say they are carrying out an enquiry, and the
:04:19. > :04:25.spending watchdog Audit Scotland is looking into the soaring cost of the
:04:26. > :04:27.ID programme and how it came about. It expects to report sometime in
:04:28. > :04:30.May. -- of the IT programme. Big disruption is expected for rail
:04:31. > :04:32.passengers travelling from Glasgow's Queen Street Station
:04:33. > :04:34.from next week. The high level station is closing
:04:35. > :04:45.for five months to allow It is one of Scotland's's busiest
:04:46. > :04:49.railway stations. Around 60,000 people use Glasgow Queen Street
:04:50. > :04:54.every weekday. But from Sunday no trains will run from the high level
:04:55. > :05:00.until the 8th of August while the tunnel is upgraded. These works are
:05:01. > :05:04.absolutely necessary. It is renewing the tunnel the trains go on. Then he
:05:05. > :05:11.is prepared and upgraded, and once we have done this work it will last
:05:12. > :05:19.for a generation. Some journeys will take up to 25 minutes longer. We are
:05:20. > :05:24.turning nine platforms into two. That is difficult. We are asking
:05:25. > :05:32.people to wait to be directed by our staff onto the platform. This
:05:33. > :05:36.concourse is usually very busy, especially during the week, but from
:05:37. > :05:41.Sunday that will be different as this high level will be effectively
:05:42. > :05:45.close, meaning some challenges, perhaps, for the Monday morning
:05:46. > :05:51.commute. I am not looking forward to it, but if the end result is good it
:05:52. > :05:57.will be worth it, I guess. Lots of queues, lots of disruption. People
:05:58. > :06:01.will be fed up. And for the Monday morning commute, people are advised
:06:02. > :06:04.to arrive early while the new system is put to the test.
:06:05. > :06:06.Delegates will gather in Glasgow tomorrow for the Scottish Labour
:06:07. > :06:07.conference, the latest in the political season.
:06:08. > :06:09.But Jeremy Corbyn won't be among them.
:06:10. > :06:11.Earlier, I asked our political editor Brian Taylor
:06:12. > :06:15.if it was unusual for the UK leader not to attend.
:06:16. > :06:22.I don't remember the occasion, but Labour tell me in 1991 the UK Labour
:06:23. > :06:29.leader was not there. Kezia Dugdale told me that that is because things
:06:30. > :06:33.changed. This is a conference about Scottish policy for Scottish
:06:34. > :06:39.elections and she is the Scottish reader. I said, the decision
:06:40. > :06:47.regarding Jeromy Corbyn being there was her call? Absolutely. There was
:06:48. > :06:53.no doubt Jeromy Corbyn's made in supporting that. We are a team and
:06:54. > :06:58.that is how it is going to be. It is possible he will be in his allotment
:06:59. > :06:59.this weekend, I am not sure. It is a signal you are sending that you are
:07:00. > :07:05.in charge? Yes, and it is not signal you are sending that you are
:07:06. > :07:11.unusual. I have been seeing this for the last six months. I am in charge.
:07:12. > :07:16.So she is in charge. She also wants to be First Minister. In an
:07:17. > :07:20.interview she said her party would come second, and all she meant by
:07:21. > :07:23.that she says now is that they would keep the Tories at bay. She was
:07:24. > :07:28.adamant when talking to me that she wants at the top job. I expect the
:07:29. > :07:33.Labour Party to do well in this election. I want to be First
:07:34. > :07:38.Minister. I want Nicola Sturgeon's desk and chair, the possibility of
:07:39. > :07:42.the power that she has at her fingertips. What will ECM urging as
:07:43. > :07:46.the main theme of the conference? The same as the main theme of the
:07:47. > :07:54.Scottish elections, tax and product tax. The Government was to rein back
:07:55. > :08:01.on those cuts for the upper earners. Kezia Dugdale was to talk about what
:08:02. > :08:05.that means. Using money coming from the UK for investment in the health
:08:06. > :08:07.service. Contrast that with what she said the position of the SNP which
:08:08. > :08:10.are naturally the SNP dispute. Let's get the weekend weather
:08:11. > :08:21.outlook now from Christopher. Good evening. A cloudy, grey day for
:08:22. > :08:25.many, all courtesy of high pressure. Been around for a week or more now,
:08:26. > :08:29.and staying with us into the weekend. There was some sunshine
:08:30. > :08:34.today for the lucky few. A lovely sunset on the west Coast from one of
:08:35. > :08:40.our Weather Watchers. Tonight cloudy skies for most. High pressure with
:08:41. > :08:45.us tomorrow. A few spots of rain or drizzle around the Northern Isles.
:08:46. > :08:49.Affecting Easterling coasts of England, down towards the Isle of
:08:50. > :08:52.Wight as well. A cloudy start for many in Scotland as well, but some
:08:53. > :08:56.early brightness through the central highlands. Through the course of the
:08:57. > :09:01.day, hopefully that cloud thinning and breaking through the central
:09:02. > :09:05.belt and the south as well. Just a touch more cheerful. Across the UK
:09:06. > :09:09.as a whole, a cloudy day for England and wheels and Northern Ireland.
:09:10. > :09:17.Where the cloud breaks, some bright Where the cloud breaks, some bright
:09:18. > :09:23.-- brightness. In the far north-east, some rain and drizzle,
:09:24. > :09:27.slowly working side words. Sunday a slight shift in wind direction.
:09:28. > :09:33.Coming in from the north west means a slight change in fortunes. Down
:09:34. > :09:37.towards the Lothians, some sunshine coming for you in the north-west,
:09:38. > :09:42.thicker cloud and outbreaks of rain. If you do get the sunshine, double
:09:43. > :09:47.digits. To next week, that area of high pressure slowly away. Some
:09:48. > :09:54.weather fronts bridging in across the four north, producing some spots
:09:55. > :09:56.of rain. But still fairly cloudy. That is the forecast for now.
:09:57. > :10:02.From everyone on the late team here in Glasgow and around