09/01/2017 Reporting Scotland

It's emerged the Scottish serviceman Corrie McKeague,

who hasn't been seen since September, is to become a father.

I had the support of everyone around me, my family and friends, which was

great, but it is still not the most pleasant thing to go through on your

own. Especially when the person you love is missing.

Also on the programme, the Scottish Conservative leader

says she wants the UK to have access to the EU single

Her opponents accuse her of selling out.

There's been an increase this year in the number

of people caught drink-driving over the festive period,

and most of those would have failed the old, higher limit, too.

Calls for increased support to help people retrain,

as more of us work longer and change career direction.

And Scotland's top badminton player is calling for the decision

to remove the sport's Olympic funding to be reversed.

The Scottish Conservative leader has insisted both

she and the Prime Minister are intent on securing

the best Brexit deal for the whole of the UK

But Ruth Davidson's SNP opponents challenged her to back

plans to keep Scotland inside the European single market.

This from our political editor Brian Taylor.

Like all politicians, the Prime Minister prefers to sound decisive.

She has colleagues that want to quit the single market entirely, but has

business leaders that want to maintain links so appears to

indicate no to single market membership but yes to access. But

how much access? This morning Gary Robinson suggested that she had

shifted ground to Ruth Davidson. A couple of days later you said what I

want to see for Scotland is access to the single market, why the

change? I don't think there's a huge difference here. There's a weird

conception the single market is a binary choice, and it's not, there

are gradations. As somebody who not only recognises the result didn't go

the way I want, but who is arguing passionately to stay in it, I want

the largest amount of access to the single market. Temptations all

around as Nicola Sturgeon carries on the day job, visiting a day centre.

But she's not tempted yet to name the date for a second is

independence referendum, although she hasn't said it will be this

year, which rivals says a statement of blindingly obvious. Some say the

Tories are letting Scotland down. But is deeply disappointing that

instead of representing the interests of people that work in

Scotland, Ruth Davidson has committed to try to prevent the Tory

party into splitting into a civil war. What's that? You want precise

details about the future? Mind if I get back to you about that one?

The girlfriend of the missing RAF serviceman Corrie McKeague has

revealed she's pregnant with his child.

21-year-old April Oliver discovered she was having a baby in October,

weeks after Corrie disappeared after a night out in the Suffolk

She said she'd always hoped he would return but has now decided

She's always wanted to be a mother, but looking at the scan of her and

Corrie's unborn child, she wishes circumstances could be difficult.

The personal trainer first met him on an online dating site last summer

and only discovered she was pregnant fortnight after the RAF gunner went

missing. Being a mother is something I always wanted to be, right from

when I was younger, but it is just... It is just a horrible time,

isn't it really? Corrie's mother and April's parents have known about the

pregnancy since the outset and they are supporting her. It's something I

hoped he would be here to help me make the decision but he isn't so

it's a decision I've had to make alone. Not the most pleasant thing

to go through on your own, especially when the person you love

is not present. Corrie was last caught on CCTV in the early hours of

Saturday the 24th of September in the centre of Bury St Edmunds. The

23-year-old had been enjoying a night out with friends before he

left this nightclub alone in the early hours. After entering an area

behind some shops, he disappeared. As this home video shows, Corrie

McKeague is an extrovert and happy As this home video shows, Corrie

to perform for family and friends. His family say he would talk to

anyone. Every week, his mother flies to Scotland to coordinate the search

for her son. It is difficult to balance the excitement of a new baby

to what we are trying to focus on now and that is finding Corrie so it

is just one day at a time. We will get through this but just now I have

got to, for my own sanity, just try to concentrate on trying to find

Corrie and doing everything I can to find him. Preparations are already

in place for the birth of their baby. April now hopes to

in place for the birth of their personal privacy for her and her

baby's health. Both families are now determined that efforts are focused

on finding Corrie, this unborn baby's father.

Scotland's tougher drink-drive limits are still failing to deter

motorists from drinking too much and getting behind the wheel.

This festive period there was a 38% rise in the number of drivers

who failed a breath test, and it seems the majority would have

failed the test under the old, higher limit.

Our home affairs correspondent Reevel Alderson has been taking

This was the third festive season with the new,

lower Scottish limits for drinking and driving, introduced

And there's concern that the message that you really shouldn't drive

if you've drunk any alcohol isn't fully getting through.

The drink-drive limit is 50 milligrams of alcohol in 100

Until two years ago, it was 80 milligrams of alcohol.

The new limit's probably less than a pint of ordinary-strength

beer or a glass or ordinary-strength wine.

625 motorists failed a breath test - that's an increase of 38.3% over

the previous festive period, although 15% more breath

Worryingly, only 57 of the drivers who failed were under the old limit,

meaning a whopping 90.9% would have failed before the new

Police tested more motorists over the festive period than in recent

years, campaigners say that the only way to deter drivers who

deliberately chose to take to the wheel after drinking what they know

is too much. The focuses on making sure the majority of people get the

message, and majority do. Unfortunately the people breaking

the limit now I fear don't take any notice of campaigns, or limit. They

need to be caught by the police to stop them. And there is apparent

need to be caught by the police to support in this Edinburgh pub for

the tougher limits and tougher enforcement. I believe there should

be zero tolerance on drink-driving. I don't think you should get in your

car after drinking. You are out of control when you've had a drink so

the answer should be quite simple, you shouldn't allow a limit, you

should just... If you drive, you don't drink and that's it. Police

say although drink-driving has had a high profile during the festive

period, it will continue to be high profile during the festive

focus for the force. When not going to stop targeting drink-drivers

simply because the festive period is over. There will still be a focus on

it throughout the year because there is a hard-core element of motorists

disregarding the safety of other people and we will continue to

pursue those individuals. My message is still the same, regardless of

pursue those individuals. My message whether it is Christmas or summer,

don't do it. The figures also showed an increase in the people caught the

morning after drinking, which police said was reckless. Campaigners south

of the border have been calling for a reduction in the drink-driving

limit there and have expressed concern to that with so many

Scottish drivers being over the old limit, it may dissuade legislators

from bringing England and Wales into line with Scotland.

from bringing England and Wales into Rank you. -- thank you.

The driver of a lorry which crashed into a house killing a woman had

blacked out with what a court heard described as an "explosive

55-year-old Catherine Bonner died and her partner, Jim McColl,

was badly hurt in the crash in Fairlie in 2013.

A Fatal Accident Inquiry heard from a doctor who said

driver George Marshall had an underlying medical condition.

A charge of death by dangerous driving was dropped by the Crown

after it had looked into his medical background.

The way skills are taught in Scotland needs to be urgently

overhauled to cope with rapid changes in the economy.

That's according to a leading think tank, which is warning more needs

done to help people train for a longer working life,

Here's our business correspondent David Henderson.

They are here to retrain and keep pace with changes at work. This

class is popular with mature students who want to take on new

skills for a career in nursery education. You learn to deal with

people differently, your communication changes as you develop

different working relationships with your mentors and lecturer and other

classmates. I think it is vital that we keep learning and not give up at

the age of 37, you know, decide to change your life for the better.

Soon the owners classmates will take this training to where they work.

For some, their first full-time job. For others, just a fresh start. Most

of the students here are under 25 but the average age is on the rise

as more people look to renew their skills after years at work. The

college principal told me those skills are focused on the jobs that

awaits students. Employers help shape and design the courses in the

programmes, in some cases helping deliver those programmes with us and

our lecturing staff. They provide real live work experience and

projects for the students studying in college so they are tapping into

talent that exists in the College at the same time as preparing the

future workforce they will need. Technology is becoming ever present

in the workplace, like this robot, which was taught to sort clothes,

and the gathering pace of change in so many lines of work means skills

and the gathering pace of change in training may have to adapt. In

Scotland there is an issue with people moving from low skilled and

medium skills into more highly people moving from low skilled and

skilled positions and we've also found there is an issue around

skills mismatch in Scotland, where the skills are not meeting the needs

of employers. We feel the skills system needs to reform and become

more flexible to meet these needs and to be able to be fit for the

future. One the things we have done to respond to that particular

challenge of helping people progress in their careers is extra funding to

the tune of ?10 million. So working patterns are being redrawn and very

few can expect a job for life. Instead, change is the order for the

day. That presents challenges but opportunities too.

A new forecast on the oil and gas industry says future tax

income will be wiped out by rebates for decommissioning.

Analysts Wood Mackenzie say dismantling and abandoning North Sea

assets will cost the public purse ?24 billion.

That's 50% more than the Treasury's own forecasts.

Our energy correspondent Kevin Keane joins us now.

If you look at the most up-to-date sets of figures of what the oil and

gas industry contributes to the Treasury, it reveals that the net

taxation paid at the moment is less than zero, partly because it's not

really making any significant profits with the downturn is going

on, partly because it's been receiving rebates because of

exploration out wearing the North Sea. What this latest analysis has

revealed and suggests is the total amount of tax that will be paid back

to companies because of decommissioning is significantly

higher than previously forecast. The Treasury's own figure of that is ?16

higher than previously forecast. The billion, this latest analysis

suggests it will be ?24 billion and it says that figure is more than the

amount it can expect to receive from oil and gas in taxation in the

future. This is a fluctuating figure because decommissioning is an

industry in its infancy and Wood Mackenzie says it recognises that.

That's not to say though that this is an industry that is not worth

anything to the Treasury and to the economy in the future because

decommissioning will bring with it many, many jobs. Thank you.

You're watching BBC Reporting Scotland.

The girlfriend of missing Scottish serviceman Corrie McKeague has

revealed she is pregnant with his child.

And still to come, we visit one of our most remote destinations

Towards the end of last year, we heard that Glasgow was to be

the first location in the UK for so-called fix rooms.

These are places where drug addicts could inject or smoke hard drugs

like cocaine and heroin under medical supervision,

Our reporter Divia Talwar spent a day inside a fix-room in Copenhagen.

A warning that her film shows scenes of illegal drug-taking.

It is 8am and inside users have already turned up. My name is

Elliot, and I'm 25, almost 26 years old. Tell me what you are about to

inject. It is good cocaine, a lot of heroin and diazepam to make the

heroine stronger. Elliott is originally from Sweden, he's

homeless and will beg, borrow and steal to buy hard drugs. He injects

so often that it is difficult to find a vein. I will find one. There

will... Ah! How are you feeling? Alert, euphoric and relaxed. This

place opened three years ago, funded by the city with public money.

There's always a nurse here to supervise the users. When they come,

the only thing they have to bring themselves is the drugs they will

the only thing they have to bring consume. Everything else we give to

the only thing they have to bring them is for free. This is just an

example, we give the needles, and of course the main thing is to save

lives and to prevent diseases from spreading. I think we prevent a lot.

Elliott is one of about 500 users who will come here today. This feels

like a second home. And it is a safe place to take things in. When I take

something that is really strong, I turned to the nurse sitting by the

computer and I tell them, I'm going to take this strong dose, so they

know what to expect if anything goes south. The fixing room will stay

open through the night. Some people would say that having a facility

like this is encouraging people to use drugs. It doesn't encourage

people. It's a very hard life to be a drug addict in this environment.

It is a very busy life. People are working to get drugs 24 hours a day.

It gives people a place where they can be safe. But it is clearly not a

It gives people a place where they treatment facility to get addicts

off drugs and many people, like the users I've met here today, will come

in and out of the fix room and go back to their difficult and

sometimes dangerous lifestyles. You can find details

of organisations offering information and support with

addiction at bbc.co.uk/actionline. Or you can call for free at any

time to hear recorded The centralisation of the control

room of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service as is being blamed for a

series of call-out errors. Emergencies from across

the Highlands and the north-east are now handled by operators

in Dundee, but critics claim a lack of local knowledge has led

to a range of mistakes in sending Fire brigade control centres in both

Aberdeen and Inverness were closed down at the end of last year with

the new North operations hub in Dundee part of a ?10 million

reorganisation and investment in call handling. The closures were

always controversial and in recent weeks it is alleged that emergency

fire crews have been sent out when there were other crews close at

hand. One crew was called out from leg to attend an incident on the

Isle of Skye -- from Lairg. Five other crews were nearer. Another

station was asked to go to an address in Dundee and that defies

station was asked to go to an belief that a life-threatening

situation and a life safety service, these things are happening.

Councillors in the Highlands have always been against the

centralisation and now calling for the closure of the local call centre

to be reversed. Politicians are demanding answers to the current

claims. We need to sure that fire engines go to the right place right

across the Highlands and Islands and that has not happened recently so

Parliament should look into it and find out what went wrong and make

sure the Fire Service operate as it should do. Scottish Fire and rescue

declined to be interviewed about the allegations but in a statement they

said they had reviewed what were unsubstantiated claims and was set

aside that in all cases the correct results have been sent to the

incident involved. The added that in any area local knowledge came not

just from control room staff but also from highly experienced local

crews. Official figures on Scotland's

tourism industry in 2016 Analysts will be watching closely

for indications of what, if any, impact the Brexit vote halfway

through the season might have had. Willie Johnston went to one

of the country's most remote destinations to find out how tourist

businesses there fared last year. You cannot go any further south

than the Mull of Galloway. It comprises a lighthouse and news

on the bird reserve, holiday cottages and a cafe. The land here

was bought by the community three cottages and a cafe. The land here

years ago and is committed as a visitor experience. We are down 8%

occupancy rate in the Cottagers compared to 2015 and also with the

visitor numbers to the experience, which is the exhibition and the

tower, we are down by 3000 people. We have also noticed that the

visitors are spending less money than in 2015.

Uneconomic study showed in 2009 ?25 million was spent by the anglers

in the area and I think that figure would have dropped a lot recently as

the fish stocks drop. You go to the pub in the evening, it is normally

full anglers telling tales of the fish they have caught but these

numbers have dropped. You can see that is not the same number of

people in the Tehran sites. Overall I would say we are about 10% down --

caravan sites. Anglers used to provide almost all the trade for the

pub and caravan park. We have seen a decline but luckily we have been

able to increase the couples and families and general toasts but

overall it is a reduction unfortunately -- general tourists.

But other attractions save the day 16 was OK, even though there seem to

be fewer people around overall -- say that 2016. We had a 2% increase

and that is often reflected in the amount of events which we are now

running for all the family. Four businesses, four views but a general

impression that tourism footfall in 2016 was down on the previous year.

Nobody I spoke to thought Brexit was eight factor. More things like the

weather, transport infrastructure, tougher drink-drive law and sheer

remoteness. Tourism remains fundamental here but what is the

outlook? Against the many attractions and accessibility of

Scottish cities, the fear is it may become harder and harder for them to

compete. Scotland's top badminton player says

she's worried about encouraging children to take up the sport

if proposed cuts go ahead. Kirsty Gilmour, who won Commonwealth

silver in Glasgow two years ago, is hoping a decision to remove

badminton's Olympic Back on court, on the comeback

trail. It is tough when you have had knee surgery. Tougher still when

your sport loses its elite funding despite winning an Olympic medal. I

specifically remember being in Rio, seeing the boys get that men's

doubles medal and I can't tell you, it gives me goose bumps. Everybody

was like, yes, we burn it, a medal, this is amazing. Best we have done

it. And then a funding cut. I don't think any other sport has

overachieved on their target set and then had funding withdrawn

completely. Badminton's Olympic funding has been on the slide for a

completely. Badminton's Olympic while. In 2012 it was ?7.4 million

but by this year that had dropped to ?5.7 million and there is no funding

at all for the next games in 2020 which would leave Scottish badminton

with a shortfall of ?40,000 a year and also mean that Scottish players

training at the British base in England would be sent home. We have

and hope and Patrick MacHugh who are in Milton Keynes and they will be

sent home -- Adam Hope. It is very sad. It is a drastic participation

sport for all ages -- fantastic. And we have the World Championships in

Glasgow in August. There is a lot to look forward to and this is a major

setback. The poster girl for Scottish badminton is deeply

troubled by the message that cuts sent out to kids. If I do in school

talks, I can't go to kid and be like, it badminton is your dream, no

matter what, if you reach a certain level you will be funded. I can't

preach that message because the future is more uncertain. UK sport

told BBC Scotland... British badminton will appeal and

hope to have the decision reversed by March so that athlete like Kirsty

Gilmour will not have to worry about by March so that athlete like Kirsty

finance as they test themselves against the best in the world.

Today has been a mixture of brighter moments but heavy showers as well

and it was quite a fine end to the day in Aberdeen but looking ahead to

this evening, we will continue to see those showers merging into

longer spells of rain, especially in the West with some brisk winds,

maybe even gales in the north-east corner. Those showers are mainly in

the West with some clearer moment in the east allowing a touch of frost.

Towns and cities holding up to about three or four Celsius overnight.

Fairly cloudy to start the day three or four Celsius overnight.

tomorrow with outbreaks of rain, mainly in the north and west again

and the cloud will thin and break-up with brightest bulb in the east. In

the afternoon there will be some blustery showers. Quite a cloudy

afternoon in store as well, some breaks with some bright moment in

the central belt and further east and we still holding onto fairly

mild air with temperatures around nine or 10 Celsius in the afternoon.

Tomorrow evening we will start to see that change with a weather

system moving from bringing outbreaks of rain but behind it on

when states you can see very tight isobars and it'll turn Windy -- on

Wednesday. And cold air coming in from the north and north-west.

Showers will be increasingly wintry looking at two Wednesday night and

Thursday. Several warnings out from the Met office, yellow warnings for

the strength of the wind, dusting and up to 55 mph, maybe severe gales

in the far north. And blizzard like conditions on a higher road routes

with snow in the mix, especially on Thursday daytime. This is Wednesday

and you can see those wintry showers even in the morning but by the

afternoon more so, especially in the north and even at lower levels at

times. Some brighter moment in between but bitterly cold with

temperatures only five or 6 degrees. By Thursday, even colder with the

snow showers pretty much anywhere across the country.

The Mart - a place to expect the unexpected...

You've got to get the figures stacking up at the end of the day.