30/03/2017 Reporting Scotland

The First Minister has signed a letter requesting the powers

for another referendum on Scottish independence.

Nicola Sturgeon argues Scotland deserves the right to choose

what path to follow in the wake of the Brexit vote.

The UK Government has already said it will block a referendum,

until after the Brexit process has been completed.

Here's our Scotland editor, Sarah Smith.

Nicola Sturgeon is signing the letter that she will send to Downing

Street. There's been a picture released tonight by the Scottish

government when you can see Nicola Sturgeon with her shoes kicked off,

her legs tucked up working on the letter. It's a much more informal

image than we saw of Theresa May in Downing Street where she was

starting -- signing the Article 50 letter. The contrast? That's no

accidents, believe me. Whilst she might look casual, the contents of

the letter couldn't be more serious. In it, she repeats she has a clear

mandate for an independence referendum, not just because of what

was in the manifesto last but because she's got the backing of the

Scottish Parliament. She repeats she thinks the boat should be held in

18-24 months' time because she says the shape of the Brexit deal will be

clear that and Scottish voters could make a decision. She knows what the

answer is going to be. Downing Street have been very clear. They

say now is not the time to talk about another independence

referendum and they don't even want to enter discussions about this

until the UK has left the EU and to enter discussions about this

they are suggesting maybe for even several years after that.

Earlier the First Minister accused the Westminster government

of planning a "power grab", with its plans to move thousands

of pieces of European Union law onto the UK statute book,

UK ministers say the changes will include significant new powers

Our political correspondent Nick Eardley reports

on what the bill might mean for Scotland.

A quieter Westminster today, parliament moving on from

Focus switching to how Brexit woodwork.

Deconstructing the media village is swift, but dismantling the rule

Today, part of the plan was published.

A bill converting European law into domestic legislation.

Now is the time to come together in ensuring the UK as a whole

is prepared for challenges and opportunities presented

Under the bill, thousands of laws would be created,

Scottish ministers get power to amend the bold legislation,

the UK Government says a number of powers will come to Holyrood

from Brussels, but some may go to Westminster.

Ministers say that it is necessary to protect stability.

My preference is more devolution rather than less.

There will also be a review of provision in schools.

But some organisations say it lacks ambition, and funds.

Here's our health correspondent, Lisa Summers.

Overall, what did you make of the strategy?

I thought there were a couple of things missing.

First, there was no mention of black and minority ethnic people in terms

This woman began to experience mental health

Half of all mental health problems begin in childhood.

It was a long wait for NHS counselling, so found

I had a lot of anxiety, which I think I've always had.

I cannot remember not having it, I still have it.

What I now know is depression, but at the time didn't know that.

The government says it wants parity between mental and physical health.

But the mental health Minister acknowledges that only one in three

people who would benefit from treatment is actually

There has also been a great deal of criticism about missed

For children and young people getting access

We want to create a Scotland where stigma related to mental

The strategy was presented to Parliament this afternoon.

The mental health Minister said that she would implement 40 actions,

including employing 800 specially trained staff, a review

of counselling services in schools, and a clinical framework

This is the sort of thing the government is investing in.

Earlier today, the Minister visited a weekly drop-in centre, a hub

Prevention and early intervention are the priorities.

You see for the first time over ?1 billion being spent

There is already 150 million in place, and the First Minister

recently announced an extra ?35 million.

What we have committed to today is making sure that spending

on mental health will increase above what is spent

Opposition parties and charities are concerned the strategy lacks

Psychiatrists say that they are pleased with the vision to equate

mental and physical health but are concerned about funding.

23% of the work done in health services surrounds mental health,

yet just under 8% of the budget goes to mental health services.

With 300 million, that brings us up to about 8%.

So, we are still looking at a significant gap

between the size of the problem and the size of the

This woman has her own worries about how far the strategy will go,

but she says early intervention is key.

It has been a lot easier for me to know understanding when I'm

I genuinely think if I did not get that help at the age of 16,

Lisa Summers, reporting Scotland, Edinburgh.

A dr who misled other medics about Pauline Cafferkey,

a nurse who developed the Ebola virus, has been suspended

Dr Hannah Ryan took Ms Cafferkey's temperature at Heathrow airport,

as they returned from West Africa, where they'd been volunteering.

Although the Scottish nurse was running a high temperature,

a warning sign of the virus, Dr Ryan, pictured here

agreed to a lower value being recorded.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal said she'd been guilty

The way victims of sexual assault are treated by the NHS

and the police after making a complaint, has been

strongly criticised by an independent watchdog.

The Inspector of Constabulary says services offered to some victims

are "unacceptable," and lag behind the rest of the UK.

Our home affairs correspondent, Reevel Alderson reports.

This clinic in Glasgow is regarded as a model for the treatment

They receive professional care here while forensic medical

examiners gather evidence to put before a court.

But it's the only one of its kind in Scotland and is not always

The Inspector of Constabulary says this gives a two tier system whilst

elsewhere in Scotland the service offered is described

There should be one examination able to address any immediate clinical

needs and retrieve any forensic evidence but more importantly that

care pathway and actually intervene to meet the wider counselling

and follow-up care that an individual might need.

The report says the priority in medical forensic examinations

should be to address the immediate medical needs of patients

The gathering of evidence for future criminal proceedings should be

But the report also says most forensic medical examinations

in Scotland take place in police stations which it says rarely

have discreet access and are much more difficult

It goes on to say that Scotland is lagging behind the rest

of the UK in dealing with sexual assault victims.

In England there are 43 sexual assault referral centres.

In Wales four where victims are treated what evidence is retrieved.

But in Scotland only one, the report says the government

This former senior detective wrote a report four years ago making

Victims need to have faith in the process from end to end

and if that includes a medical examination it should be done

sensitively and a appropriately and with specialist,

highly trained and skilled professionals.

The Scottish Government says it is committed to improving

services to meet the needs of victims, it has announced

an expert group to do that with new standards being published

Now, before we go, it's time to find out what the weather's going to be

like for tonight and the end of the week.

Good evening. Fairly wet conditions tonight, here's the latest rainfall,

slowly starting to turn heavy. Pretty much tonight, it's cloudy,

turning wet, but it will be mild with temperatures 8-10. Tomorrow

morning, it is wet, but the heaviest and most persistent of the rain in

the West. East of here, the Borders into the Lothians, cloudy, with a

spot of drizzle. Similar into parts of eastern five, Angus,

Aberdeenshire, perhaps even some morning sunshine. Although it is a

dry start for the Northern Isles, there it is, marching northwards, so

if you start the day dry, expect a few spots of rain through the

morning as that wet weather journeys north. Across the UK, we have most

of the wet weather tomorrow. South of the border, a case of some

showers. Temperatures into the mid, maybe high teens. Some sunshine and

showers in Northern Ireland. For the weekend, we welcome in April, and we

welcome the April showers. This Saturday, the showers are

everywhere. As we head through to Sunday, a ridge of high pressure

builds which means the second half of the weekend, Sunday, will be

better weather-wise because it is drier, brighter, with spells of

sunshine. It is fresher, with winds from the south-west. Then a sneaky

look at next week because we have weather fronts Monday and Tuesday

threatening some wet weather. High pressure in the Atlantic muscles its

way in from mid week onwards settling things down, meaning it

will be largely dry and bright, likely to last with us for a few

days. That is the forecast for now. There are regular updates

from 6:25am during Breakfast. But, from everyone on the late team

here in Glasgow and around Explore the speed of life with

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