:00:00. > :00:00.The secrets of the universe unravelled - with the help
:00:00. > :00:32.Gravitational waves have been detected for the first time.
:00:33. > :00:42.We hear from a Scottish scientist who helped make it happen.
:00:43. > :00:49.What we have just seen is the first observation of gravitational waves.
:00:50. > :00:52.With Cornton Vale Women's Prison set to close, what's the point
:00:53. > :00:54.in sending anyone to jail for short sentences?
:00:55. > :00:57.And MSPs get their first chance to change Scottish income tax -
:00:58. > :01:09.All day, life, the universe and everything has dominated
:01:10. > :01:16.An international collaboration of scientists has, for the first
:01:17. > :01:19.time, discovered gravitational waves.
:01:20. > :01:21.And if you don't really understand what that means,
:01:22. > :01:24.Suffice to say it's a really big deal -
:01:25. > :01:26.the culmination of decades of work for, among others,
:01:27. > :01:30.scientists based at the University of Glasgow.
:01:31. > :01:34.In a moment I'll be speaking to one of the team about the significance
:01:35. > :01:46.But first our Science Correspondent Ken McDonald, on what it all means.
:01:47. > :01:52.Einstein was right again. It has taken essentially for science to
:01:53. > :01:59.catch up or if you look at it another way 1.3 billion years. We
:02:00. > :02:06.have detected gravitational waves. We did it. We have discovered two
:02:07. > :02:09.remarkable things. For the first time gravitational waves being
:02:10. > :02:16.emitted by an object in the cosmos. We have discovered that they come
:02:17. > :02:21.from a peer of black holes. For a long time we have suspected that
:02:22. > :02:26.black holes exist but this is the first direct evidence that they
:02:27. > :02:31.exist and they can merge together and in the process give of
:02:32. > :02:35.gravitational waves. More than 1 billion years ago something
:02:36. > :02:41.cataclysmic happened. Two massive black holes spiralled and collided
:02:42. > :02:45.releasing the energy of 100 billion Chilean sons. Albert Einstein had
:02:46. > :02:49.predicted something that big would create ripples in the fabric of
:02:50. > :02:55.space and time. Gravitational waves. Getting from theory to proof has
:02:56. > :02:58.taken one century and a massive international effort. The ripples
:02:59. > :03:02.are so small they stretch and squeeze space and time by less than
:03:03. > :03:11.the width of an atom. The team split a laser beam and sent it to .5
:03:12. > :03:14.miles, at right angles. Normally they cancel each other out but when
:03:15. > :03:18.the bubble passed through planet Earth one arm of the beam was
:03:19. > :03:22.stretched and the other squeezed. That treated an interference
:03:23. > :03:27.pattern, the first detection of gravitational waves. The build two
:03:28. > :03:31.detectors. One to corroborate the other, at opposite ends of the
:03:32. > :03:34.United States. They are called advanced Ligo. Key parts of the
:03:35. > :03:41.technology were built here in Scotland. This incident the TB need
:03:42. > :03:47.is phenomenal. We are looking at changes of the million millionth the
:03:48. > :03:53.width of a human ear. That has eluded us until now. -- human here.
:03:54. > :03:59.We have turned Ligo into advanced Ligo. Glasgow University as part of
:04:00. > :04:05.a UK consortium has had a key role in that upgrade. Here in the
:04:06. > :04:10.laboratory the first working gravity wave receivers have been set up.
:04:11. > :04:15.They have been building gravitational wave detectors at
:04:16. > :04:19.Glasgow University for half a century. What you expect is that
:04:20. > :04:23.when I gravitational wave comes in and interact it will make one arm
:04:24. > :04:29.increase in length, the other armed increase in length and there will be
:04:30. > :04:34.a tiny signal. He was right and saw once again was this man.
:04:35. > :04:41.Gravitational waves provide a new way of looking at the universe. The
:04:42. > :04:44.ability to detect them has the potential to revolutionise
:04:45. > :04:51.astronomy. When you consider that these black holes actually spiralled
:04:52. > :04:55.in over 1 billion years ago and the signal has been travelling to us
:04:56. > :04:59.since then and be turned on our detectors at just the right time to
:05:00. > :05:05.detect it arriving. We will now be able to use gravitational waves to
:05:06. > :05:08.look through stars and galaxies and across the universe. It means a
:05:09. > :05:11.completely new branch of science has been born. Gravitational astronomy.
:05:12. > :05:14.Joining me now is Professor Kenneth Strain from the Institute
:05:15. > :05:16.for Gravitational Research at Glasgow University who designed
:05:17. > :05:23.some of the equipment used to detect the gravitational waves.
:05:24. > :05:31.Quite a day for you. It has been the most exciting day of my wife. We
:05:32. > :05:41.take 30 years for a result like this.
:05:42. > :05:46.# And exciting day of my life. We upgraded the initial detectors to
:05:47. > :05:51.advanced Ligo. The improvement that was particularly significant for the
:05:52. > :05:58.event that we have seen came mainly through changing the way we hold
:05:59. > :06:03.these matters. This fourth column at L shaped instrument where we send
:06:04. > :06:10.light beams up and down these for colour matter long arms. We have two
:06:11. > :06:15.suspend that is never too influences from the ground like a bar striving
:06:16. > :06:19.by or anything like that. One of the big contributions we made was to
:06:20. > :06:27.change the way those mothers are held, from being held on steel
:06:28. > :06:35.wires, two very fine glass fibres developed in Glasgow. -- change the
:06:36. > :06:45.way those matters are held. It has taken 15 years for this. The fibres
:06:46. > :06:51.are 0.5 mil meter diameter. Each one can carry a 70 telegram person.
:06:52. > :08:47.Considering they are made of glass that is amazing.
:08:48. > :08:49.Considering they are made of glass science or might it actually make
:08:50. > :08:54.some difference to our everyday lives? There are some technological
:08:55. > :09:03.spin offs with all big science projects. We make lasers that are
:09:04. > :09:09.millions of times more stable than any reason is that you can buy off
:09:10. > :09:18.the shelf. Chemists have been using the techniques we have developed to
:09:19. > :09:23.analyse chemicals for several years. The UK has a good optical industry,
:09:24. > :09:26.making optical components for manufactured goods. We have been
:09:27. > :09:32.working with some of those companies to extend the range of products that
:09:33. > :09:35.they can make. What about Glasgow and Scotlandpos-macro? Will you
:09:36. > :09:42.continue to have a rule? We are going to be operating and
:09:43. > :09:48.commissioning Ligo. This was the first time it was such on. Although
:09:49. > :09:53.it is more sensitive than the previous step it still has a factor
:09:54. > :09:58.of a feud to go before it reaches design sensitivity. We think we will
:09:59. > :10:02.get there at 2018. We will be running for a six-month period later
:10:03. > :10:09.this year and then there will be more upgrading and then running for
:10:10. > :10:12.longer periods to do more science. And Glasgow scientists are involved
:10:13. > :10:15.in the entire process, of the steps along the way. Mind blowing. Thank
:10:16. > :10:29.you for coming in and congratulations.
:10:30. > :10:34.Scotland has the second highest female prison population in Europe.
:10:35. > :10:39.This was described as unacceptable. The Government's confirmed
:10:40. > :10:41.that the closure of Scotland's women's prison, Cornton Vale,
:10:42. > :10:43.will begin this summer. A new and smaller national women's
:10:44. > :10:45.prison will be built nearby And five regional units
:10:46. > :10:53.will be created to house up It is hoped this will transform the
:10:54. > :10:59.way Scotland deals with women in custody.
:11:00. > :11:06.This centre in Glasgow supports women who have been in or are at
:11:07. > :11:13.risk of ending up there. It confronts issues such as addiction
:11:14. > :11:16.and mental health. It is the sort of service the Justice Secretary says
:11:17. > :11:21.we need more of to keep female offenders also to their families and
:11:22. > :11:26.reduce their chances of reoffending. Some people may think we are a soft
:11:27. > :11:30.option. But the women tell us that is not the case. They say it is
:11:31. > :11:34.easier to go into prison. They get their heads down, get on with the
:11:35. > :11:38.time and they leave again. That is why they are going back to a
:11:39. > :11:42.revolving door. In here we get people to look at their behaviour.
:11:43. > :11:48.It is like putting a big mirror in front of them. We ask them to look
:11:49. > :11:52.at what they have been doing and try to get them to look at the future to
:11:53. > :11:56.see if they can make better choices and improve the quality of their
:11:57. > :12:01.life. This person is trying to make that change. She spent plenty of
:12:02. > :12:06.time in Cornton Vale but says it did not provide the shock to the system
:12:07. > :12:13.she needed. When you lead a life of drugs and booze it is scarier ying
:12:14. > :12:18.homeless than being in jail. That is a fight for survival out on the
:12:19. > :12:26.street. In the jail you get three meals per day and a roof over your
:12:27. > :12:31.head. I would say that being on the street is more difficult than being
:12:32. > :12:36.in a jail. The women say prison does nothing to solve their underlying
:12:37. > :12:41.problems. The problem is that I had when I first went in I knew when I
:12:42. > :12:45.watch out the door I was going to drink again. That did not change
:12:46. > :12:57.anything. But in here has changed a lot of things for me. When I get out
:12:58. > :13:02.I will not touch drink again. They teach us about how to be
:13:03. > :13:05.responsible. The women here question whether the justice system cheats
:13:06. > :13:14.men and women equally. I find that female offending is maybe less
:13:15. > :13:22.severe claims, prostitution, shoplifting, fraud. It is all to
:13:23. > :13:31.fund their addiction or that of their partner. Where you may find a
:13:32. > :13:36.male counterpart would be bailed or get a deferred sentence a female
:13:37. > :13:39.would find themselves within the prison system. The Government agrees
:13:40. > :13:44.to many women who commit low-level offences go to jail but how close
:13:45. > :13:47.are we to replicating the work done here across the country. #
:13:48. > :13:49.Joining me now from our London studio is Juliet Lyon,
:13:50. > :14:06.Are women treated more harshly? Women have different characteristic,
:14:07. > :14:09.in terms of they are more likely to have mental health needs or have
:14:10. > :14:14.addictions that men who end up in prison. They are more likely to have
:14:15. > :14:20.committed more minor offences, as the person you spoke to said, it is
:14:21. > :14:23.more likely to be shoplifting or handling stolen goods, prostitution,
:14:24. > :14:29.those kind of crimes, and consequently it is very difficult to
:14:30. > :14:35.measure about whether they are more harshly treated or leniently, the
:14:36. > :14:42.research shows they are treated more differently. How significant do you
:14:43. > :14:48.think this move is to close down the prison. The big single thing was the
:14:49. > :14:53.cancellation of the Inverclyde contract, which was when the Justice
:14:54. > :14:57.Secretary arrived and decided that the big new prison that was to be
:14:58. > :15:01.built, which would have soaked up all the budget for anything to do
:15:02. > :15:07.with women's justice, that wasn't necessary, even though it would have
:15:08. > :15:11.been architecturely beautiful, it was going to be a terrible waste of
:15:12. > :15:15.taxpayers' money. Did you think that was a bold move? That decision to
:15:16. > :15:21.cancel that contract was immense, I think. Now closing Cornton Vale with
:15:22. > :15:25.the reputation it has had, despite it has had some good stuff and
:15:26. > :15:29.governors over time, but in the end you don't need a prison that big,
:15:30. > :15:34.and that is what has been decided. It will shrink to 80 women, and
:15:35. > :15:39.really, if you are looking at who goes into the prison system, in
:15:40. > :15:42.Scotland, and indeed, in England and Wales, too, you find about
:15:43. > :15:48.three-quarters of the women are only serving six months or less. But they
:15:49. > :15:53.do tend to be petty persistent offender, so coming back and back.
:15:54. > :15:56.That is is what has to stop. Why, if it is such a radical move, do you
:15:57. > :16:01.think it has taken politicians so long to come round to this way of
:16:02. > :16:10.thinking? I think there is a good question. There was a review
:16:11. > :16:15.conducted a few years back when it was clear this needed to happen.
:16:16. > :16:19.Maybe people felt there would be criticism, yes, I think most people
:16:20. > :16:24.understand that what you want from a justice system is fewer victims,
:16:25. > :16:30.less crime, you have a very good model already in the drop in youth
:16:31. > :16:33.crime. A 70% drop in Scotland in the number of under 18 years going into
:16:34. > :16:36.custody. That has been a big success, there is no reason at all
:16:37. > :16:41.why that shouldn't work for women. I think, you know, the difference for
:16:42. > :16:46.me is when I go into women's prison, I find women being treated like
:16:47. > :16:50.girls but also behaving like girl, no responsibilities, not having to
:16:51. > :16:56.pay bills, not having to worry about thing, when you talk to women at
:16:57. > :16:59.centre 218 or at the Willow Centre you find something different. You
:17:00. > :17:02.find women who are taking responsibility for their lives, for
:17:03. > :17:05.their children, trying to break addictions, trying to get out of
:17:06. > :17:09.debt, trying to find somewhere safe to live and keep it. All the things
:17:10. > :17:13.that will make a really big difference. What about men?
:17:14. > :17:19.Shouldn't the same principles an fly them? Men serving short sentences?
:17:20. > :17:21.Again, you know it is a good question, the Justice Secretary has
:17:22. > :17:26.been clear about this, he thinks this kind of system could apply to
:17:27. > :17:30.men and I think it could. Round about 60% of men, again are serving
:17:31. > :17:35.short sentence, six months or less, they could well make use of this
:17:36. > :17:41.kind of system. It just would make a lot more sense. Prison is a very
:17:42. > :17:42.expensive thing. It should be reserved for the most violent
:17:43. > :17:45.offenders. Thank you.
:17:46. > :17:50.For the first time they voted to set a Scottish rate of income tax.
:17:51. > :17:57.Earlier, in First Minister's Questions, the topic raised
:17:58. > :17:59.temperatures so high that the Presiding Officer sent MSPs
:18:00. > :18:03.The First Minister was repeatedly heckled, as Labour and the Lib Dems
:18:04. > :18:06.called on the SNP to support an extra penny on income tax
:18:07. > :18:22.Today this Parliament will have to set the Scottish rate of income tax
:18:23. > :18:28.for the first time. The First Minister will have the chance to use
:18:29. > :18:38.these powers to stop these cuts. Will she finally take it?
:18:39. > :18:43.Manufacture There is... Presiding officer, we know how desperate
:18:44. > :18:49.Labour are, by the volume of the insults they like to sling. Across
:18:50. > :18:55.the chamber. Labour's policy is written on the back of a fag packet.
:18:56. > :19:00.The lack of detail frankly is embarrassing, but then it is a
:19:01. > :19:05.policy put forward by a party that knows it is a one million miles away
:19:06. > :19:12.from being a credible opposition, let alone a credible alternative
:19:13. > :19:16.Government. So it is very clear from the Resolution Foundation, from
:19:17. > :19:19.spice, from the House of Commons library, from Professor David Bell
:19:20. > :19:23.that Labour's proposals are fair and they are workable. That is why
:19:24. > :19:28.council leader after council leader has backed it. That is why union
:19:29. > :19:33.leader after union leader said it is fair. She mentioned David Bell, here
:19:34. > :19:39.is what they said about Labour's rebate. This part of the proposal
:19:40. > :19:44.would require a comprehensive data sharing arrangement between HMRC and
:19:45. > :19:46.local authorities in Scotland. It would impose an administrative
:19:47. > :19:50.burden on local authorities, there are questions as to whether such an
:19:51. > :19:56.arrangement would be possible under the Scotland act. Labour is
:19:57. > :20:01.perpetrating a con trick on the lowest paid workers in our society.
:20:02. > :20:06.Right now SNP run Aberdeenshire Council are in their budget meeting.
:20:07. > :20:11.?3 million worth of cuts to education are on the table. But it
:20:12. > :20:16.is not too late for the First Minister to call a halt. Will she
:20:17. > :20:21.pick up the phone, or does she want her council to make those cut? This
:20:22. > :20:28.afternoon this Parliament votes on the income tax resolution. One penny
:20:29. > :20:32.gives ?475 million for education, for Scotland's children. It is the
:20:33. > :20:38.power to stop the cuts. So she has the power. Why won't she use it? It
:20:39. > :20:42.is no surprise to me that the leader of a party that spent five years in
:20:43. > :20:45.coalition with the Conservatives doesn't care about people on low
:20:46. > :20:47.wages. Joining me now to discuss that some
:20:48. > :20:51.of of the day's other news are are the of the day's other news
:20:52. > :20:58.are journalist Katie Grant Fiery stuff there in the chamber
:20:59. > :21:03.today. I mean the question, yet again, was whether to raise the
:21:04. > :21:06.rates of income tax. It was a Czech chance to change things, do you
:21:07. > :21:11.think it was a missed opportunity. Possibly but for me the most
:21:12. > :21:14.interesting aspect seems to be how the idea of raising tax by a penny
:21:15. > :21:18.can be painted as if it is not progressive. I think that shows the
:21:19. > :21:23.current climb we are living in, the rules of the game have changed. Also
:21:24. > :21:28.is the fact I mean, I watched a clip of this. I have stopped watching it.
:21:29. > :21:33.It can't stand them applauding themselves, you know, it is so, it,
:21:34. > :21:37.it shows a lack of awareness, I mean fair enough there is a lot of people
:21:38. > :21:40.who buy into the political party for whatever reason. I am not one of
:21:41. > :21:47.them. I am not emotionally attached to these people. I just see record
:21:48. > :21:53.levels of inequality. I see prisons full of kids with drug problems, the
:21:54. > :21:58.highest paid people in this country are sitting applauding bad jokes,
:21:59. > :22:04.and obtuse observation, it is a joke, a farce. The behaviour was
:22:05. > :22:08.rowdy today, rowedier than usual. I agree with Loki about the applause.
:22:09. > :22:14.I is ridiculous, they applaud everything. It is grossly overdone.
:22:15. > :22:18.I think today there were two uncomfortable truths for the SNP.
:22:19. > :22:22.One is that we can see now they are very happy to blame, for the cuts to
:22:23. > :22:26.go ahead provided they can blame other people. So they blame
:22:27. > :22:30.Westminster or the councils and they are responsible for the council tax
:22:31. > :22:33.freeze. The other thing is it will remain in Scotland, Scotland will
:22:34. > :22:39.remain one of the best places, probably in the world to be middle
:22:40. > :22:42.class, because not raising taxes benefits the middle classes more
:22:43. > :22:47.than anything else. John Swinney when on and on about the poor. More
:22:48. > :22:53.taxes raised from the rich which he didn't bother to mention. So too two
:22:54. > :22:57.uncomfortable truths. The SNP can see that their economic, you know
:22:58. > :23:01.all their talk about equality doesn't really translate into much
:23:02. > :23:06.action. So, lock yessy, do you think the SNP are under pressure here? The
:23:07. > :23:11.First Minister is maintaining the position that, to raise income tax
:23:12. > :23:18.by a penny would hurt people on incomes over ?11,000? I think that,
:23:19. > :23:21.they are a wee bit vulnerable but something you need to understand
:23:22. > :23:26.about the SNP, the message they have, they are a core principle so
:23:27. > :23:31.when people look into politics, they see it in the SNP, they have this
:23:32. > :23:37.one thing they won't budge on. So the other stuff is negotiable. The
:23:38. > :23:43.kind of movement that is formed round that very can chews principle
:23:44. > :23:46.is Saivet with social media, it is very informed, it, so for the SNP
:23:47. > :23:54.having to do anything, a response was already formulated on the
:23:55. > :23:57.ground, which, you had wings over Scotland, ginger Doug and they shred
:23:58. > :24:01.opposition at the gates. Labour need to come up with a message that
:24:02. > :24:06.inspires people enough, that that sort of action happens round them,
:24:07. > :24:10.because just now they have, the old guard politicians out, it is not
:24:11. > :24:17.very inspiring. I think Dugdale is competent. It's a hard time to be an
:24:18. > :24:22.opposition leader but somebody from Labour needs to apologise for the
:24:23. > :24:27.last ten, 15 years before they make any ground in Scottish politics. As
:24:28. > :24:32.Kezia Dugdale pointed out, the penny on income tax could be progressive,
:24:33. > :24:36.do you think she has managed to sell this idea of a ?100 cash back to
:24:37. > :24:42.those on lower incomes? No Not really. The penny thing I think was
:24:43. > :24:46.a misnomer, it harks back to the SNP campaign very unsuck ful campaign
:24:47. > :24:50.for a penny for Scotland. It is not going to work for them it won't work
:24:51. > :24:54.for the Labour Party. The Labour Party are in slight disarray, there
:24:55. > :24:59.seems to be, they have to come up with some kind of policy and that
:25:00. > :25:03.perhaps they thought was a good one. It is not imaginative. She does
:25:04. > :25:09.having anything to carry it off. I doubt it will play very well for
:25:10. > :25:11.them. Another twist in the fiscal framework negotiations, don't let
:25:12. > :25:15.your eyes glaze over, this is important. Scottish ministers say
:25:16. > :25:19.that current Treasury proposals would cost Scotland ?3 billion, if
:25:20. > :25:25.as expected Scotland's population grows more slowly than England. So
:25:26. > :25:29.now the Treasury is offering ?4.5 billion of compensation, so, is that
:25:30. > :25:32.an admission then that the Treasury's original proposal was
:25:33. > :25:36.unfa irto Scotland? No doubt. Who would expect the British Treasury to
:25:37. > :25:46.do anything other than play hard ball? One good thing we have got if
:25:47. > :25:49.we are worried about a plateau, poverty is an aphrodisiac, hopefully
:25:50. > :25:55.everything will get back on it like bunnies. I love the idea that
:25:56. > :25:58.somehow Westminster was responsible now from the Scottish population.
:25:59. > :26:02.There is is a serious point. The Scottish Government is saying we
:26:03. > :26:09.don't have control of immigration, so if our population doesn't grow as
:26:10. > :26:16.quickly, how should, how we we take the hit for that I mean, basically I
:26:17. > :26:20.think the figures are, that Scotland shouldn't be disadvantaged, and the
:26:21. > :26:23.4.5 whatever billion pounds is supposed to help deal with that. One
:26:24. > :26:27.of the interesting things about Scotland, it is no, we concentrate
:26:28. > :26:31.on the money but one of the interesting things about Scotland is
:26:32. > :26:35.that is it has been a place where people go away, and then possibly
:26:36. > :26:39.run, so we need to look at Scotland, how we live here, if we had 10
:26:40. > :26:43.million people here Scotland would be a different sort of place. I
:26:44. > :26:47.think that we, you know, we should stop looking at the money and start
:26:48. > :26:51.looking at how we live in Scotland, that we have gone away, we have come
:26:52. > :26:55.back with broader outlooks, also I think one of the troubles with
:26:56. > :27:01.Scotland is that we really suffer through the alpoppy syndrome. Let us
:27:02. > :27:05.move on finally to Cornton Vale, the closure, we heard Juliette from the
:27:06. > :27:08.Prison Reform Trust saying it was a radical move by the Scottish
:27:09. > :27:13.Government, do you think it is? Yes, I mean, because it's the kind of
:27:14. > :27:19.thing that is risky, in terms of public opinion but people who work
:27:20. > :27:23.in that sector, they know what work, Cornton Vale, I believe costs 12
:27:24. > :27:27.million a year for a couple hundred inmates and 80% of the women in
:27:28. > :27:32.there have been in there before. What else do you need to know to say
:27:33. > :27:38.that system isn't working. When people go in for short-term, the
:27:39. > :27:42.system is, the current system is in a reactive posture, so it is not in
:27:43. > :27:47.a preventative posture. People are flung in the jail and when they are
:27:48. > :27:50.supposed to be reintegrated into society, very often the support they
:27:51. > :27:55.receive in the prison and how that is integrated is far more advanced
:27:56. > :28:00.than is what is waiting for them in terms of public service when they
:28:01. > :28:03.come. This increases the risk of reoffending, this places more strain
:28:04. > :28:07.on the families and the community in approximate imthe I to the offender
:28:08. > :28:10.so it becomes difficult. Having them closer to their family, able to take
:28:11. > :28:15.advantage of the assets of themselves and their families round
:28:16. > :28:21.them makes it more efficient, as well as common-sense I believe. Do
:28:22. > :28:27.you this this should apply to female prisoners or Monday It should be
:28:28. > :28:30.equally to men, if part of the prison process is supposed to be
:28:31. > :28:33.rehabilitation, then what is the point of banging people up for 23
:28:34. > :28:37.hours a day and letting them out and expecting their lives to be any
:28:38. > :28:42.different? But as well as buildings, there needs to be a huge investment
:28:43. > :28:43.in people, in services. OK, thanks very much for both you coming in
:28:44. > :28:46.tonight. We leave you tonight with a glimpse
:28:47. > :28:54.of a remarkable new interactive documentary - "'Hieronymus Bosch,
:28:55. > :28:56.The Garden of Delights".