:00:00. > :00:00.Would you pay an extra ?200 a year in council tax
:00:00. > :00:30.Moray Council is the first in Scotland to threaten to defy
:00:31. > :00:37.the Scottish Government's council tax freeze.
:00:38. > :00:46.We are aiming to increase the tax enough to protect the services, so
:00:47. > :00:48.there is a compact between us and the public.
:00:49. > :00:50.With 2,000 premature deaths a year caused by air pollution,
:00:51. > :00:56.is enough being done to get people walking and cycling?
:00:57. > :01:00.And we discussed the happiest, and probably the richest, couple in
:01:01. > :01:09.Scotland. For eight years Scotland's
:01:10. > :01:11.councils have, reluctantly, accepted a freeze by
:01:12. > :01:12.the Scottish Government on the amount of council tax
:01:13. > :01:15.they can collect from local people. But now one local authority
:01:16. > :01:17.is fighting back. Moray Council is proposing
:01:18. > :01:19.to increase the council tax For a Band D property,
:01:20. > :01:25.that would mean a rise In a moment we'll hear from two
:01:26. > :01:34.councillors on opposite sides of the argument, but first,
:01:35. > :01:42.here's Catriona Renton. It has been a popular Scottish
:01:43. > :01:47.Government policy for the past eight years. The council tax has remained
:01:48. > :01:54.frozen. But Moray Council could be the first to break ranks, saying
:01:55. > :02:00.they cannot protect services without raising it.
:02:01. > :02:04.We have two achieve somewhere north of ?11 million. All of our swimming
:02:05. > :02:10.pools, libraries, community centres grass cutting, playing fields and
:02:11. > :02:15.parks for youngsters, all of that would go and much more.
:02:16. > :02:19.Moray Council has faced tough choices in the past. Three years ago
:02:20. > :02:21.it faced protests over a plan to shut several libraries.
:02:22. > :02:25.In increasing council tax could result in a financial penalty from
:02:26. > :02:30.the Scottish Government, but the council says allowances have been
:02:31. > :02:36.made for this. If you put up the council tax, with
:02:37. > :02:41.the penalty that that attracts, and you put up the council tax and still
:02:42. > :02:48.cut services, you punish the voters twice. We are aiming for a situation
:02:49. > :02:53.where we increase the tax enough to protect the services. So there is a
:02:54. > :02:59.compact between us and the public. Moray Council needs to cut spending
:03:00. > :03:02.by almost ?12 million in 2016, 20 17.
:03:03. > :03:09.The council said an 18% rise would see the council tax for an average
:03:10. > :03:16.Band D property increase from ?1135, where it has been paid since 2017,
:03:17. > :03:26.to 1339 pounds. A Band a property would go up to
:03:27. > :03:30.?892, and a Band H from ?2270 to ?2678.
:03:31. > :03:37.It seems to me that what Moray Council are doing is making a bit of
:03:38. > :03:40.a bold declaration, that the kind of increase they are talking about is
:03:41. > :03:44.roughly the increase that we would have expected in council tax if
:03:45. > :03:47.there had been no standstill over the past few years. They have no
:03:48. > :03:51.chance of getting that kind of increase. The Scottish Government
:03:52. > :03:56.would act on it, they have the powers to try and get that struck
:03:57. > :04:00.down, but if they went for a reasonable increase of between 2%
:04:01. > :04:07.and 3%, they might have a chance. There was a mixed reaction today.
:04:08. > :04:14.I would be happy to pay more if I felt there would be fewer cuts. But
:04:15. > :04:17.as for the 18%, I'm not so sure. It is not even in line with
:04:18. > :04:20.inflation. I think we are paying enough council
:04:21. > :04:23.tax. The Scottish Government says
:04:24. > :04:27.freezing the council tax for services like these have helped
:04:28. > :04:30.families, and Moray Council is acting prematurely.
:04:31. > :04:35.I want to make sure there is a freeze in Scotland, there has been
:04:36. > :04:43.one since 2018 respective estimate. All of the independent research
:04:44. > :04:45.shows -- some research shows we have over provided for the council tax
:04:46. > :04:48.freeze. So I want to take forward our
:04:49. > :04:53.discussions to deliver a continued council tax freeze, to protect the
:04:54. > :04:58.incomes of low-income households and ensure that for citizens of Scotland
:04:59. > :05:00.one Bill but does not go up is council tax.
:05:01. > :05:06.At least four other councils that also exploring the idea of
:05:07. > :05:10.increasing council tax. Today I met the president of the umbrella group
:05:11. > :05:14.that represents many of Scotland's councils.
:05:15. > :05:18.Every local authority is facing the same pressures. Nobody wanted to
:05:19. > :05:22.increase council tax, but unless we can convince the Scottish Government
:05:23. > :05:26.to give more money, Moray Council will not be on their own.
:05:27. > :05:28.So will some local authorities break rank, and will we end up paying more
:05:29. > :05:30.for our local services? Joining me from Inverness is
:05:31. > :05:32.Allan Wright, Conservative Convenor of Moray Council, and from Aberdeen,
:05:33. > :05:50.SNP councillor Gary Coull. Councillor right, are you serious
:05:51. > :05:55.about an 18% hike, or is this simply a bold declaration?
:05:56. > :05:59.No, we are serious about it. We had a long, long meeting of the
:06:00. > :06:09.administration on Friday of last week, and the conclusion that we
:06:10. > :06:13.came to was that the 11 and a bit million pounds we have to save in
:06:14. > :06:20.the coming financial year is of such magnitude that we just cannot
:06:21. > :06:25.countenance looking to recoup that from cuts in services.
:06:26. > :06:30.So you might actually go the to wall on this?
:06:31. > :06:36.Yes. We are as one within the Administration, which comprises two
:06:37. > :06:42.Conservative councillors and ten that are independent. So getting us
:06:43. > :06:47.all together on this, it was I think last Friday quite surprising,
:06:48. > :07:00.because we spoke almost straightaway with one voice that the chance of
:07:01. > :07:03.cutting services to release ?11.5 million was not tenable.
:07:04. > :07:07.Doesn't he have a point that the squeeze is so bad that they've got
:07:08. > :07:12.to do something? Don't you think there might be some
:07:13. > :07:15.local support for this? Undoubtedly the Scottish public
:07:16. > :07:22.sector is facing challenging times, we are seeing from the Tory is
:07:23. > :07:26.territory agenda from Westminster, swingeing cuts across the public
:07:27. > :07:32.sector is in Scotland. And I think this is a premature announcement
:07:33. > :07:34.from Moray Council's independent and Conservative administration. It is
:07:35. > :07:37.really a knee jerk reaction given that the Scottish Government are
:07:38. > :07:47.still in discussions with consular over the settlement.
:07:48. > :07:50.-- COSLA. It is a reaction to the budget presented to your council on
:07:51. > :07:53.Christmas Eve. But the council tax freeze over the
:07:54. > :07:58.last eight years has been fully funded, and as John Swinney
:07:59. > :08:02.outlined, in some cases some research has shown it has been
:08:03. > :08:07.overfunded. There is a discussion still going on
:08:08. > :08:12.with the Scottish Government and COSLA, councils can input to that,
:08:13. > :08:14.and I do think this is a premature announcement from the
:08:15. > :08:19.administration. It is one that will be worrying people in Murray tonight
:08:20. > :08:26.when they find out that the consul tax bills could be increasing by
:08:27. > :08:31.18%. -- ten won. A premature knee jerk
:08:32. > :08:38.reaction? Know, and this business about the
:08:39. > :08:44.freeze being fully funded. It is not, because we have had the same
:08:45. > :08:49.grant of ?1.1 million in Moray for the past nine years old we are into
:08:50. > :08:55.the ninth year now, and there has been no compound and because of
:08:56. > :09:00.that, we are ?2 million per year worse off than we would have been if
:09:01. > :09:06.there had been a 3% increase in council tax over that period.
:09:07. > :09:12.It is an SNP Government that has left them in this position.
:09:13. > :09:20.It is an SNP Government that has left us in this position, yes.
:09:21. > :09:24.Sorry, that was a question for counsellor Coull.
:09:25. > :09:28.The Scottish Government has got to deal with what they get from the
:09:29. > :09:32.Tory Government in Westminster. We have seen from George Osborne's
:09:33. > :09:38.statement but they just want to cut wholesale. And you know, as I said
:09:39. > :09:42.earlier, the Scottish public sector is facing challenging times. I had
:09:43. > :09:47.hoped that the SNP group in the council would have been able to work
:09:48. > :09:50.with the administration on this. We met yesterday with the
:09:51. > :09:54.administration to discuss the budget, but there was absolutely no
:09:55. > :09:59.indication that there was even a contemplation of a rise in council
:10:00. > :10:02.tax, never mind a huge 18% rise. That really indicates to me that
:10:03. > :10:07.this Administration don't want to work across party boundaries, within
:10:08. > :10:17.the Council, to achieve a decent budget for the people of Moray. This
:10:18. > :10:20.18% rise will hit families and households really hard in ten won
:10:21. > :10:24.when we are seeing that the high cost of living already -- we are
:10:25. > :10:28.seeing a high cost of living already, we are seeing wages
:10:29. > :10:34.stagnated throughout Scotland and indeed some folk are taking wage
:10:35. > :10:39.cuts to get ahead in life at the moment. I am surprised, you know,
:10:40. > :10:43.that it is a Tory councillor that is here defending and promoting this
:10:44. > :10:49.rise. Well, indeed, we saw Ruth Davidson
:10:50. > :10:51.tonight on a party political broadcast pledging that the
:10:52. > :10:54.Conservatives will protect family finances.
:10:55. > :11:00.They will protect finally -- family finances. We are talking here,
:11:01. > :11:03.remember, about ?17 per month. But how will this protect family
:11:04. > :11:08.finances? That doesn't protect family
:11:09. > :11:12.finances, but it should be seen in context, and if those families want
:11:13. > :11:17.to have the services that they currently enjoy it in Moray,
:11:18. > :11:23.including all the leisure facilities and the community facilities that
:11:24. > :11:29.they have, then they have to wake up to the fact that these services, to
:11:30. > :11:33.be protected, and that is part of the deal but we are offering, we are
:11:34. > :11:38.offering to take ?5 million out of reserves, and ask for the same
:11:39. > :11:44.amount of money from the people of Moray.
:11:45. > :11:46.Well, there we have got to leave it for this evening.
:11:47. > :11:49.Thank you both very much for coming in.
:11:50. > :11:51.An environmental law group warns it could take action
:11:52. > :11:54.against the Scottish Government if it fails to tackle illegal levels
:11:55. > :11:55.of air pollution in the country's biggest cities.
:11:56. > :11:58.ClientEarth has already won a landmark ruling against the UK
:11:59. > :12:01.The Scottish Government says there have already been significant
:12:02. > :12:03.reductions in air pollutants, and further decreases are predicted.
:12:04. > :12:15.Our transport correspondent David Miller has more.
:12:16. > :12:23.Air pollution affects all of us, it is blamed for around 2000 premature
:12:24. > :12:27.deaths in Scotland each year. We are talking about a complex mix of gases
:12:28. > :12:33.and particles. Nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide
:12:34. > :12:39.are just some of the gases which make up that mix. Then there are
:12:40. > :12:41.tiny particles produced by diesel engines.
:12:42. > :12:48.So is the Government at Westminster and at Hollywood doing enough to
:12:49. > :12:50.protect us? Campaigners say no.
:12:51. > :12:54.We are concerned that the new plans don't achieve compliance in places
:12:55. > :12:58.like Lasko as soon as possible, so we're going to take the Government
:12:59. > :13:01.back to court and forced them to take further action.
:13:02. > :13:04.-- Glasgow. In the meantime Scottish ministers
:13:05. > :13:08.are leaving themselves for rubble to a legal attack because they are
:13:09. > :13:11.doing -- not doing everything they can to ensure everyone is breathing
:13:12. > :13:32.safe levels. can to ensure everyone is breathing
:13:33. > :13:37.scrutiny than ever before. Today's news from ClientEarth means that is
:13:38. > :13:39.unlikely to change here at home any time soon.
:13:40. > :13:41.Joining me now to discuss whether Scotland is doing enough
:13:42. > :13:44.to tackle levels of air pollution and get people out of their cars
:13:45. > :13:47.is motoring journalist Alan Douglas and from our Edinburgh studio
:13:48. > :13:49.the Director of Friends of the Earth Scotland,
:13:50. > :15:51.Richard Dixon. transport or to walk or cycle, that
:15:52. > :15:56.has made a big difference to the infrastructure. It makes another
:15:57. > :16:02.cyclists to get off the road because they can get on a safe cycle lane.
:16:03. > :16:06.So, the balance in wrong when only ?40 million is being spent on
:16:07. > :16:09.walking and cyclists. I think it is too much of a balance towards the
:16:10. > :16:15.cyclist. What's the point of spending more money on cyclists when
:16:16. > :16:21.they don't use what is there. There is another major dangerous road, the
:16:22. > :16:25.A9, with a very good cycle path on it. I've driven up there many times
:16:26. > :16:30.and I can think there's probably been a handful of cyclists I've seen
:16:31. > :16:36.on that cycleway, so what is the point of spending more on cyclists
:16:37. > :16:41.when they're not using it? There is the health issue, the nation's
:16:42. > :16:45.health would benefit if we spend more on this. Why isn't there will
:16:46. > :16:51.on the government to do more about it? Politicians are scared of the
:16:52. > :16:57.car lobby and Alan doesn't help because he stokes it up. There is
:16:58. > :17:00.actually a great mood out there to be more positive about public
:17:01. > :17:05.transport, about cycling and walking. And my experience of
:17:06. > :17:10.cycling in Edinburgh is that cycle paths are very well used, very
:17:11. > :17:14.popular, and there is a consultation for a proper segregated route, like
:17:15. > :17:21.the kind of thing on the continent through the centre of Edinburgh. I
:17:22. > :17:25.think people will are frightened of the cycling lobby who become much
:17:26. > :17:29.more militant. If you say anything against cycling, you're seen as
:17:30. > :17:32.being an opponent of the environment, which is nonsense
:17:33. > :17:36.because we all care about the environment. The car is essential,
:17:37. > :17:40.and we all have to live together on the roads and work together. The
:17:41. > :17:43.cyclist and no more important that the motorists and the motorists are
:17:44. > :17:49.no more important than the cyclist is. Do you think militant cyclists
:17:50. > :18:00.have a disproportionate interest? Every lobby can tell Parliament what
:18:01. > :18:04.they want. Cyclists can turn up and say what they want. They start from
:18:05. > :18:09.a disadvantaged position where they are disadvantaged on the road, where
:18:10. > :18:13.they don't have segregated, safe cycle ways. The same for walking. It
:18:14. > :18:18.is a third class way of getting about, in terms of government
:18:19. > :18:24.investment, so, they need to be high profile in getting their message
:18:25. > :18:29.across. The roads lobby has had 60-70 years of success in getting
:18:30. > :18:32.roads built. We are going to have to leave it there although I'm sure we
:18:33. > :18:33.could talk about it all might. Thank you very much.
:18:34. > :18:36.There hasn't been much good news for Scotland's economy this week,
:18:37. > :18:38.with hundreds more job losses announced in the North Sea.
:18:39. > :18:41.But new figures show that Scotland's economy did grow slightly
:18:42. > :18:43.between July and September last year.
:18:44. > :18:47.Output increased, barely, by just 0.1%, which is slightly less
:18:48. > :18:50.than the growth rate across the UK as a whole.
:18:51. > :18:53.Earlier, I spoke to Merryn Somerset Webb,
:18:54. > :18:56.editor in chief of financial magazine MoneyWeek,
:18:57. > :19:04.and asked her whether this small increase is a case for optimism?
:19:05. > :19:11.The fact there is a small increase in growth at all in Scotland at the
:19:12. > :19:17.moment is something of a miracle when you think of the headwinds the
:19:18. > :19:20.economy has. Firstly, the oil price collapsing. It is definitely
:19:21. > :19:26.collapsing. You have a strong pound as well which affect all export, and
:19:27. > :19:29.you have a Scotland that is much more dependent on the public sector
:19:30. > :19:34.for its GDP than other parts of the UK. In a time of austerity, you're
:19:35. > :19:39.going to see low growth there. If you look at the numbers, you can see
:19:40. > :19:46.the contributors on the negative side have been manufacturing, some
:19:47. > :19:51.of the exports, and the pub this -- public sector. So this is quite good
:19:52. > :19:57.news. We've just heard tonight the price of oil has dropped below $30 a
:19:58. > :20:01.barrel. That is going to hurt the economy even more, surely. The
:20:02. > :20:06.Scottish economy is at the mercy of the oil price at the moment and that
:20:07. > :20:09.the global economy, of what is happening in China and emerging
:20:10. > :20:20.markets. These are things over which we have no control, and, oil, as
:20:21. > :20:25.much as people say it is a bonus, it is a huge part of the economy, and
:20:26. > :20:30.when that industry suffers, so does the economy. And how about where the
:20:31. > :20:34.economy has done well in the last quarter, the construction boom, do
:20:35. > :20:40.you think it can be sustained? Conceivably, although it comes down
:20:41. > :20:44.to infrastructure spend, so it comes down to government priorities. Then
:20:45. > :20:48.we've seen accommodation, retail and food grow, which is encouraging.
:20:49. > :20:51.What do you think the Scottish government can do to boost growth
:20:52. > :20:56.further? I don't think there's much they can do in the short term. We
:20:57. > :21:02.are caught in a global economy, an open economy, so there's not much
:21:03. > :21:06.you can do to change any of that. Over the longer term, all the
:21:07. > :21:13.Scottish government can really do is be obviously open for business, and
:21:14. > :21:18.we've had a lot of political turmoil which will continue for a while
:21:19. > :21:23.longer with talk of referendums and income tax rates. This sort of thing
:21:24. > :21:27.is very unsettling for people who might invest in an economy like
:21:28. > :21:32.Scotland's, so it is going to take a while to settle down but the more
:21:33. > :21:36.obviously inviting and business friendly the government can be, the
:21:37. > :21:37.better. Thank you for coming in this evening.
:21:38. > :21:39.Now to discuss that and some of today's other stories,
:21:40. > :21:41.I'm joined by a couple of Scottish political editors.
:21:42. > :21:47.And from the Times, Lindsay McIntosh.
:21:48. > :21:54.Good evening to both of you. Let's stick with the economy for the
:21:55. > :22:00.moment. Alex Salmond got a hard time earlier today over the plummeting
:22:01. > :22:06.price of oil on his radio for phone in show. He was pretty bullish. The
:22:07. > :22:10.price of oil will come back, everyone knows that. I remember back
:22:11. > :22:15.in the 80s when it was in single figures. If you years later, it was
:22:16. > :22:21.over $100. What do you think of that answer? Sounds like a politician
:22:22. > :22:27.talking. I'm not here under false pretences! Do you share Alex
:22:28. > :22:32.Salmond's optimism about the price of oil? He said he was a politician,
:22:33. > :22:39.but he said it more like an economist. He was talking about the
:22:40. > :22:43.very long-term cycles we see in the oil market. Undoubtedly, it'll
:22:44. > :22:46.rebound, but that'll be several years away, which is of precious
:22:47. > :22:52.comfort for people losing their jobs right now. It was a strange tack for
:22:53. > :22:57.him to take, which shows how acutely sensitive years and the SNP are
:22:58. > :23:00.about the price of oil, given they gave it such prominent string the
:23:01. > :23:08.referendum campaign. Do you think he was rattled? I think so. You can
:23:09. > :23:12.compare his approach and response to that colour with Nicola Sturgeon who
:23:13. > :23:21.gave the press conference, asked if she was afraid there was a crisis,
:23:22. > :23:25.she said of course this was a crisis and we will do what we can in that
:23:26. > :23:31.situation. We've seen today the price of oil falling below $30 a
:23:32. > :23:36.barrel, the first time in 12 years. There is obviously a lot of bad news
:23:37. > :23:42.ahead for the Scottish economy. I hope not but it looks that way.
:23:43. > :23:49.Obviously, there are people immediately employed, the money they
:23:50. > :23:58.put into the market. Economists say it will stay low for the time being.
:23:59. > :24:03.And there isn't oversupply of oil, plus demand is dropping in China.
:24:04. > :24:07.This is making it awkward for our economy. As for Alex Salmond's first
:24:08. > :24:13.outing as a radio show host what you make of him? He said he was going to
:24:14. > :24:16.shoot from the hip, and he did that with some questions but with others
:24:17. > :24:22.he was more circumspect and he wasn't willing to stick his neck
:24:23. > :24:26.out, like on the next referendum. Yes, and I think he shot himself in
:24:27. > :24:33.the foot. Let's move onto some more personal news in the physical world.
:24:34. > :24:37.David Mundell announced he is gay. In a statement he said, how can it
:24:38. > :24:42.be both so easy and hard to say a few short words? It was a pretty
:24:43. > :24:47.moving statement. He'd obviously been reflecting on this over the New
:24:48. > :24:53.Year. What did you think of his announcement? It was a personal,
:24:54. > :24:57.eloquent statement that he had made. And I think he clearly felt it was
:24:58. > :25:04.something that he personally needed to do, he needed to say that, and
:25:05. > :25:08.the words he used was something like, I'm open with this personally
:25:09. > :25:13.and in my private life and I want to be open with it publicly. He
:25:14. > :25:16.referred to a man of his age, the conflicted feelings that may be
:25:17. > :25:20.other men in his position might feel. Do you think it might be
:25:21. > :25:25.helpful to them that he's done this? I don't think anybody looks at him
:25:26. > :25:31.as a role model, he's pretty obscure. The general thing is
:25:32. > :25:38.interesting. His attitude comes from when he entered politics went to
:25:39. > :25:43.being gay, that was an impediment. That is possibly why it has taken
:25:44. > :25:46.him so long to do this. It seems increasingly anachronistic,
:25:47. > :25:53.increasingly rare politicians have to do that. We are seeing a new
:25:54. > :25:58.breed of politicians who are gay from day one and it isn't an issue.
:25:59. > :26:04.I hope it becomes more and more like that. Ruth Davidson tweeted she was
:26:05. > :26:08.proud of her friend. It is quite a different Conservative Party we knew
:26:09. > :26:14.30 years ago. I think that's true. Being led by David Cameron, who, I
:26:15. > :26:18.think, can be described as socially liberal, the comments today from
:26:19. > :26:23.Number Ten were very supportive of David Mundell. And, for goodness
:26:24. > :26:27.sake, so it should be because it is the 21st century. All the reaction
:26:28. > :26:30.has been positive. Might there be some in the Conservative Party who
:26:31. > :26:36.feel uncomfortable with this sort of thing? Undoubtedly, most parties or
:26:37. > :26:40.coalitions of people, there is a broad spectrum of views inside it
:26:41. > :26:46.but there's no place in any party for people to open the air
:26:47. > :26:49.homophobic views. Finally, the story talked about today, the Scottish
:26:50. > :26:54.couple scooping ?33 million, making them the biggest wins of the
:26:55. > :27:00.national lottery. The couple gave a press conference earlier today. We
:27:01. > :27:05.just kept looking at each other. And I am going... No, it can't be. I
:27:06. > :27:11.remember what Carroll said to me. It sounds weird. She said, what have we
:27:12. > :27:16.done? They said they went public because you can't hide 33 million,
:27:17. > :27:20.least of all in a small town. Did you think they might regret going
:27:21. > :27:24.public like that? I think you have to take them at their word that they
:27:25. > :27:28.felt that was anything they wanted to do and they wanted to do it. They
:27:29. > :27:34.came across with you well in the first conference. They are clearly
:27:35. > :27:37.pretty down to earth, they want to give money to victims of flooding
:27:38. > :27:43.and buy some new shoes, so good luck to them. The last couple to win big
:27:44. > :27:47.in the lottery in 2011 gave ?3 million to the SNP. Do you think
:27:48. > :28:00.Scottish Labour might be hoping for a little phone call? I can only
:28:01. > :28:06.imagine what Kezia Dugdale heard that Mr MacDonald had ?133 million
:28:07. > :28:10.because there is an MEP of that name. They don't want to give any
:28:11. > :28:16.money to political parties. It is an enormous amount of money, did you
:28:17. > :28:22.buy a ticket? I didn't. I didn't. What would you do with 33 million?
:28:23. > :28:28.Waste it somewhere in the sun. How about you? A house in the sun would
:28:29. > :28:35.be pretty high up on the agenda. Once they've had a bit of time to
:28:36. > :28:38.think about it, would they, with something more elaborate than new
:28:39. > :28:43.shoes? Definitely the charities they wanted to donate to is where they
:28:44. > :28:45.are heading, which is great. Thanks both for coming in this evening.
:28:46. > :28:47.That's it for tonight. Thanks for watching.
:28:48. > :28:54.I'm back same time tomorrow night. Until then, bye bye.