:00:00. > :00:00.Nicola Sturgeon has reiterated that education is the "defining mission"
:00:07. > :00:11.But after more than nine years in power, what changes
:00:12. > :00:33.Hello and welcome to Scotland 2016 on the day the SNP announced
:00:34. > :00:38.The First Minister is building her reputation on improving the lot
:00:39. > :00:43.I'll ask the Education Secretary John Swinney what changes teachers
:00:44. > :00:46.and parents will see and how quickly.
:00:47. > :00:48.The Scottish Conservatives say they want to see
:00:49. > :00:51.genuine education reform - so I'll ask their leader
:00:52. > :00:54.Ruth Davidson if she's backing the government's plans.
:00:55. > :00:57.And Parliament unveils a portrait of one of its most formidable
:00:58. > :01:08.and well-known former members, Margo MacDonald.
:01:09. > :01:11.A ?500m fund to help Scottish businesses,
:01:12. > :01:14.a bill to combat child poverty, how to use new powers
:01:15. > :01:17.on tax and welfare and a new domestic abuse law.
:01:18. > :01:20.Nicola Sturgeon covered plenty of political ground as she unveiled
:01:21. > :01:25.But there was also a sharp focus on education, in particular
:01:26. > :01:27.the ambition to close the attainment gap between children from poorer
:01:28. > :01:37.and wealthier backgrounds - as John Mcmanus reports.
:01:38. > :01:43.Let me turn now to what I have already described as the defining
:01:44. > :01:48.mission of this government. Education. It wasn't the first
:01:49. > :01:53.subject she mentioned in her address to Holyrood, but there's no doubt
:01:54. > :01:57.that education has moved centrestage in Nicola Sturgeon's political
:01:58. > :02:01.drama. She announced more free childcare and ?150 million of extra
:02:02. > :02:05.funding to tackle deprivation in schools. But it was these comments
:02:06. > :02:11.on assessments that are likely to leave observers wanting more.
:02:12. > :02:15.Detail, that is. Our additional investment will be matched by
:02:16. > :02:19.reform. Implementation of the new National improvement formwork is
:02:20. > :02:23.already underway. Standardised assessments, not tests, but
:02:24. > :02:26.assessments, that inform teacher judgments, will be piloted before
:02:27. > :02:31.the end of the year and implemented across Scotland next year. That on
:02:32. > :02:35.assessments, not tests, was deliberate, because many in the
:02:36. > :02:40.educational establishment are lukewarm about the plans. One of
:02:41. > :02:44.them is this lecturer, who claims he spent a year using Freedom of
:02:45. > :02:48.information legislation to try to find out what advice the government
:02:49. > :02:53.received on the subject. He says the written advice from external sources
:02:54. > :03:00.was not much. That amounts to four e-mails from two individuals. The
:03:01. > :03:03.government haven't only received those four e-mails defends the
:03:04. > :03:07.positions by saying they had lots of meetings, and that is true, but they
:03:08. > :03:12.have also been forced to admit those meetings were not minuted. There is
:03:13. > :03:16.no written evidence of the advice the government received. Given there
:03:17. > :03:23.is such a small amount of advice we can see, it is concerning to find
:03:24. > :03:26.out that, actually, several recommendations in that very limited
:03:27. > :03:31.written advice have not been accepted. The curriculum for
:03:32. > :03:35.excellence focuses on giving pupils a rounded education. But some within
:03:36. > :03:41.the profession say that tests or assessments may have a place. It's
:03:42. > :03:45.not about narrowing down to a single test, but looking at broader
:03:46. > :03:48.achievement. What we are discussing at the moment its assessment that
:03:49. > :03:56.support teachers multiplayer -- teachers' judgment. Test scores are
:03:57. > :04:00.used to compare schools, that has proven to be the very thing that
:04:01. > :04:05.actually write and is the attainment gap rather than narrowing it.
:04:06. > :04:09.Bridging that gap is a priority, but they will have to get their heads
:04:10. > :04:13.down. Recent figures were an eye-opener. We know the most recent
:04:14. > :04:18.results from the Scottish survey of literacy and numeracy have shown a
:04:19. > :04:25.dip that is significant in numerous and literature -- literature over
:04:26. > :04:29.the last two years. She's open to the idea of testing, so long as it
:04:30. > :04:34.does not start at tables arms race between schools. She says changing
:04:35. > :04:39.attitude is key. At school, research shows that very young children in
:04:40. > :04:42.primary one to three, if they are middle class and can't do work will
:04:43. > :04:45.instantly asked the teacher. If they don't get the help, they will follow
:04:46. > :04:49.the teachings of the get the help. The child in poverty does not have
:04:50. > :04:52.that sense that the adult is there to dance attention on them. They
:04:53. > :04:57.will sit quietly with their hand up waiting for the help to be provided.
:04:58. > :05:01.Obviously, the middle-class child gets the help more quickly and get
:05:02. > :05:05.some better. I have said I want to be judged in our success in
:05:06. > :05:09.narrowing and ultimately closing the attainment gap. We must not tolerate
:05:10. > :05:12.a situation where some children from deprived areas do less well at
:05:13. > :05:16.school than those from affluent areas. There is a lot riding on this
:05:17. > :05:23.for Nicola Sturgeon. She will have to work with the education
:05:24. > :05:25.establishment. It is a old ambition. There are vulnerabilities because
:05:26. > :05:31.she is not necessarily in control of the process. She cannot just tick a
:05:32. > :05:35.box and make it happen. She will be dependent, very much, on partnership
:05:36. > :05:40.working, with communities, families, schools, with the teaching
:05:41. > :05:45.profession. That will be in order to close the attainment gap. It is a
:05:46. > :05:50.old ambition, a genuine one, but very difficult to achieve. Not
:05:51. > :05:53.impossible, though. But if standards do not rise, parents will make their
:05:54. > :05:54.own assessment of the First Minister's efforts.
:05:55. > :05:57.So what practical changes will teachers and pupils
:05:58. > :06:05.I've been asking the Education Secretary, John Swinney.
:06:06. > :06:12.The government has set out that, over the next ten years, we are
:06:13. > :06:15.working to close the attainment gap in Scottish education and to make
:06:16. > :06:18.significant progress during the course of this five-year term that
:06:19. > :06:23.is in front of us. You're working towards it over the next ten years.
:06:24. > :06:27.You say this is the defining mission of her government, that is a long
:06:28. > :06:31.time frame. I don't think you will sort these issues overnight. We have
:06:32. > :06:34.to accept there is a challenge to close the attainment gap, but the
:06:35. > :06:37.government has put in place the necessary lift leadership and
:06:38. > :06:42.direction to focus the whole of the education system and our wider
:06:43. > :06:47.public policy system on that objective, because it is absolutely
:06:48. > :06:49.essential that we ensure every individual is able to fulfil their
:06:50. > :06:55.potential as they move through the education system. That's direction,
:06:56. > :06:59.that leadership, that the Scottish movement has offered, to focus on
:07:00. > :07:02.the question of attainment, I think, is now very well embedded in the
:07:03. > :07:06.education system in Scotland and we continue to work to achieve those
:07:07. > :07:10.objectives. Nicola Sturgeon talks about giving more power to school,
:07:11. > :07:13.she is offering funds directly from central government. By the day 's
:07:14. > :07:19.number for the role that local commonplace in our schools? No, I
:07:20. > :07:22.have made it expressly cleared that local authorities will continue to
:07:23. > :07:27.exercise democratic control over Scottish education at a local level.
:07:28. > :07:30.That has been a long-standing part of Scottish education policy and the
:07:31. > :07:34.Scottish Government has absolutely no intention of taking that power
:07:35. > :07:40.away from local government. Not when cash from the council tax changes.
:07:41. > :07:44.We intend to make sure that more decisions are able to be taken in
:07:45. > :07:47.schools to reflect the circumstances that pertain for the individual
:07:48. > :07:51.groups of children and young people in different parts of the country.
:07:52. > :07:55.We want the teaching profession to be able to exercise the leadership
:07:56. > :07:58.and the direction in which we know the teaching profession is capable
:07:59. > :08:02.of doing at local level to make sure that the quality of education and
:08:03. > :08:06.the needs of young people I met in a very direct way in every single
:08:07. > :08:10.school in the country. Explain how you gauge the cash going directly to
:08:11. > :08:14.the head teachers as being well spent. There has to be
:08:15. > :08:19.accountability over all public expenditure that is undertaken. If
:08:20. > :08:21.we have a cohort of teaching professionals who are leading
:08:22. > :08:26.education in every single classroom in our country, if we trust these
:08:27. > :08:29.teachers to undertake the education of our young people, then we must
:08:30. > :08:33.surely be able to trust them to take the right decisions about the way in
:08:34. > :08:36.which resources are used as local level to maximum effect in the
:08:37. > :08:41.classroom. That is the central objective of the reforms that I will
:08:42. > :08:45.set up further detail about in a consultation exercise next week. To
:08:46. > :08:49.establish exactly how we can ensure that the teaching profession has
:08:50. > :08:52.that level of responsibility to take the decisions that are appropriate
:08:53. > :08:55.to meet the needs of young people in everything but what of the country.
:08:56. > :08:59.They have had that responsibility until now. We have seen problems
:09:00. > :09:04.with the attainment gap. What is the accountability year in terms of the
:09:05. > :09:07.money being spent? There must be accountability around all public
:09:08. > :09:11.expenditure and these are issues upon which we will consult and the
:09:12. > :09:14.detail about the cause of the government review that I will set
:09:15. > :09:19.out next week. The purpose of these reforms is to make sure the teaching
:09:20. > :09:21.profession is properly and fully empowered to take decisions that are
:09:22. > :09:26.appropriate for young people in every single part of the country and
:09:27. > :09:29.to make sure that young people are supported in fulfilling their
:09:30. > :09:33.potential. That is the key way that we can close the attainment gap, by
:09:34. > :09:35.making sure that the needs of young people are addressed and we provide
:09:36. > :09:40.the support and the educational intervention that will most
:09:41. > :09:46.adequately meet their requirements. What is the difference between an
:09:47. > :09:52.assessment and a test? The approach we intend to take is the approach of
:09:53. > :09:57.standardised assessments, which will essentially be information that is
:09:58. > :10:00.gathered through young people participating in these assessments,
:10:01. > :10:06.and that will be used to inform teacher judgments so that we can get
:10:07. > :10:10.an appropriate assessment at various stages in the educational journey of
:10:11. > :10:15.young people. Sounds suspiciously like they are sitting tests. What
:10:16. > :10:19.they are doing is participating in assessments that will inform teacher
:10:20. > :10:21.judgment. There will be asked questions and had to give answers
:10:22. > :10:27.and that those answers will be assessed. That is a test, isn't it?
:10:28. > :10:32.What it is is an assessment that will be part of the judgment that is
:10:33. > :10:34.made by teachers about the progress that young people are making through
:10:35. > :10:39.the education system. The key purpose of that assessment is to
:10:40. > :10:44.identify where we need to undertake additional intervention to ensure
:10:45. > :10:47.that we can close the attainment gap we young people within Scotland. We
:10:48. > :10:52.will only be able to close the attainment gap if we have good,
:10:53. > :10:55.thorough and comprehensive and comparative information about the
:10:56. > :10:58.performance of young people and how we can intervene to address their
:10:59. > :11:02.particular needs and their challenges. That is the purpose of
:11:03. > :11:06.standardised assessment. It is to make sure we can undertake a
:11:07. > :11:09.comparative process across the young people in the schools in Scotland to
:11:10. > :11:14.inform the judgment of teachers and to make sure we can most effectively
:11:15. > :11:17.fulfil the potential of young people in our education system. We heard
:11:18. > :11:22.from an education writer and campaigner who says he spent eight
:11:23. > :11:25.year is admitting Freedom of information requests which
:11:26. > :11:28.ultimately show you base your decisions on standardised testing,
:11:29. > :11:32.although you are calling that assessment, on a couple of e-mails
:11:33. > :11:35.from two educational experts and a series of meetings when no minis
:11:36. > :11:41.were taken. That doesn't seem like a very rigorous process. It was a huge
:11:42. > :11:44.body of international educational debate and opinion about the role of
:11:45. > :11:49.standardised assessment within education. That body of opinion is
:11:50. > :11:53.information that we have looked to undertake and views from a range of
:11:54. > :11:59.different people as part of the process to ensure that we arrive at
:12:00. > :12:01.a situation that enables us to make informed judgments... To enable
:12:02. > :12:05.teachers to arrived at informed judgments about the forms of young
:12:06. > :12:09.people within the education system. We want particular to be able to
:12:10. > :12:11.intervene and to act to deliver the best outcomes for the latest young
:12:12. > :12:19.people as part of the education system. Standardised assessment
:12:20. > :12:23.is... Sue Ellis is an expert at submitted e-mails here. She told a
:12:24. > :12:26.website to match that there should be more sources supplying evidence
:12:27. > :12:30.to Scottish Government consultation processes. Given this is such a big
:12:31. > :12:35.decision, it doesn't sound as though you cast your net very wide. It is
:12:36. > :12:40.interesting observation. I spend two days last week with the
:12:41. > :12:43.International Council of education advisers, who are advising the
:12:44. > :12:47.Scottish Government on education policy. These were two very, very
:12:48. > :12:51.rich and intense days of discussion and dialogue with some of the
:12:52. > :12:56.leading international experts in Scottish education. We are a very
:12:57. > :13:01.lucky country to have access to such a body of information and advice at
:13:02. > :13:04.our disposal. I also, in the short time I have been Education
:13:05. > :13:07.Secretary, I am listening very directly to the teaching profession.
:13:08. > :13:12.I have established a teachers panel. A panel of experts involved in our
:13:13. > :13:16.classroom, some of our finest teachers in the country,
:13:17. > :13:19.contributing to the discussion of policy in Scotland. That is before
:13:20. > :13:23.it gets to the assessment and qualifications group which brings
:13:24. > :13:25.together a whole range of different stakeholder and professional opinion
:13:26. > :13:29.within the professional associations to advise me on the right steps to
:13:30. > :13:35.take in Scottish education. I don't think there is any shortage of
:13:36. > :13:39.advisory sources that the government looks to to inform public policy and
:13:40. > :13:42.make sure our policy meets the needs of people in Scotland. We are
:13:43. > :13:44.grateful for your time this evening, thank you.
:13:45. > :13:46.In their manifesto this year the Tories talked
:13:47. > :13:48.about giving schools, teachers and parents more freedom
:13:49. > :13:51.so that every school has the chance to become a unique and great local
:13:52. > :13:53.school - in or out of local authority control.
:13:54. > :13:55.So is their Leader Ruth Davidson wholeheartedly supporting
:13:56. > :14:13.We have had closing the attainment gap as a top rarity for some time
:14:14. > :14:18.now but there were concerns about what was available today. In order
:14:19. > :14:25.to show that -- make sure that the gap is narrowing we need to be able
:14:26. > :14:29.to measure that. We would like to see national tests reintroduced.
:14:30. > :14:34.When the Scottish Government says in classrooms it will be assessments,
:14:35. > :14:38.not tests, you would like to call them tests and make them tests. They
:14:39. > :14:42.haven't ever clarified the difference. They started off by
:14:43. > :14:48.calling it the reintroduction of testing and that is different to the
:14:49. > :14:51.tests I was just speaking about, that is international tests where we
:14:52. > :14:55.measure Scottish pupils against pupils in other countries, but
:14:56. > :15:00.internally we want to be able to measure, because we think it is
:15:01. > :15:06.wrong that parents can wait until a child is 14th before they have any
:15:07. > :15:12.idea of how a child is doing in school against their peers. -- is
:15:13. > :15:17.14. My colleague asked today exactly what the difference between testing
:15:18. > :15:21.and assessments was and there was no answer. Your last manifesto talked
:15:22. > :15:26.about targets particularly for reading and numbers. What would be
:15:27. > :15:32.your assessment of what would happen if children didn't meet those
:15:33. > :15:36.targets? Would schools be taken out of local authority control? We have
:15:37. > :15:40.to be able to measure if schools and pupils in those schools are doing
:15:41. > :15:46.well enough to stop then you have to be able to give extra support where
:15:47. > :15:51.it is needed. There is a bigger issue here, we heard today about
:15:52. > :15:56.reforms of schools. We have been well in front of the curve in saying
:15:57. > :16:00.we need to empower local teachers and school leaders. What we didn't
:16:01. > :16:05.hear from today's programme for government was what form that reform
:16:06. > :16:09.would take, whether it would be further centralisation, taking
:16:10. > :16:14.control from councils to some supranational body, or whether that
:16:15. > :16:19.is about empowering the people who know their pupils best, the teachers
:16:20. > :16:23.and school leaders. You talk about schools becoming great, and I'm sure
:16:24. > :16:28.every politician has that aspiration, but you talk about him
:16:29. > :16:33.in or out of local authority control. The Scottish Government has
:16:34. > :16:37.given ?100,000 directly to schools, actually ?200 million directly to
:16:38. > :16:43.schools, to close the attainment gap. Would you give more money to
:16:44. > :16:48.schools? We supported that at the last election and we haven't been
:16:49. > :16:54.ideological about this. It is not about whether it is in a local
:16:55. > :17:00.authority or a mixture. I have talked on this programme before
:17:01. > :17:06.about the teachers in mill guy who want to be able to run St Joseph's
:17:07. > :17:10.out of local authority control. That case is still sitting on the First
:17:11. > :17:15.Minister's desk. I think those people deserve an answer because in
:17:16. > :17:18.many ways it is a test case of how ideological the Scottish Government
:17:19. > :17:24.is going to be about schooling rather than focusing on what works.
:17:25. > :17:31.Today you called for tax cuts for business, you complained about
:17:32. > :17:36.personal tax being higher than the rest of the UK. There is a ?15
:17:37. > :17:44.million deficit for Scotland, so this is not the right time for it,
:17:45. > :17:49.is it? We need to grow the economy, and you don't increase productivity
:17:50. > :17:54.or the number of businesses set up if it is harder to do business in
:17:55. > :17:58.Scotland than elsewhere in the UK. There are also some things the
:17:59. > :18:02.Scottish Government have put in in terms of the economy weaken support,
:18:03. > :18:08.money for research and development, things like the manufacturing
:18:09. > :18:11.Institute. When you say that one in eight businesses have to pay over
:18:12. > :18:16.the odds to do business north of the border than south of it, that
:18:17. > :18:21.hampers growth, it tells people that we are not open for business and it
:18:22. > :18:25.doesn't encourage the local business sectors. You saw a letter written by
:18:26. > :18:29.13 business organisations across Scotland yesterday telling the
:18:30. > :18:32.Scottish Government to drop this large business supplement.
:18:33. > :18:36.Interestingly you today made the point that there may be trouble
:18:37. > :18:43.ahead with the economy pros to Brexit, as Theresa May has said, but
:18:44. > :18:48.you also said we don't see a lot of scope for SNP conservative
:18:49. > :18:57.consensus. -- the economy after Brexit. We said there were things we
:18:58. > :19:02.could support, like... You don't see much scope for consensus in the
:19:03. > :19:10.economic path forward. The biggest economic lever they could pull in
:19:11. > :19:16.the Scottish Government is to take demand for a second independence
:19:17. > :19:18.referendum off the table. It is a subject you love returning to
:19:19. > :19:21.because you made it one of the central planks of the recent
:19:22. > :19:27.election, the first thing you mentioned in your manifesto in the
:19:28. > :19:34.last election. I would be delighted to never talk about this again
:19:35. > :19:42.because the SNP would respect the referendum we had, the country voted
:19:43. > :19:47.for the union by a massive margin. To continue to talk about that is
:19:48. > :19:53.hampering Scottish business and the economy and we know that because
:19:54. > :19:56.companies are telling us. Giving that you supported the Remain
:19:57. > :20:06.campaign in EU referendum, were you was appointed by the lack of detail
:20:07. > :20:09.that David Davis had yesterday. I recognise there will be difficulties
:20:10. > :20:16.ahead because of the Brexit result, you are right that I wanted us to
:20:17. > :20:21.remain, but it is right to not show your hand before you have to in
:20:22. > :20:29.negotiations. In Chequers last week the decision was made around the
:20:30. > :20:32.Cabinet table that the UK Government wouldn't be putting the negotiating
:20:33. > :20:36.position in the public realm before negotiating. You will be part of the
:20:37. > :20:43.negotiating team so can you tell us what kind of post Brexit deal,
:20:44. > :20:46.immigration package, would the good for Scotland? All through the summer
:20:47. > :20:51.I have met with representatives from the fishing industry, financial
:20:52. > :20:55.services and energy industries, and they are all looking to make sure
:20:56. > :21:02.that any problems on the horizon can be addressed, like passport thing in
:21:03. > :21:07.financial services and opportunities for the future. There are number of
:21:08. > :21:12.representatives keen to get a much better deal out of Europe then on
:21:13. > :21:17.the way in. That is what many people across Scotland want to see, trying
:21:18. > :21:19.to find the best way to protect what we value and increase the
:21:20. > :21:20.opportunities of that which we have been denied through Europe in the
:21:21. > :21:26.past. Thank you for joining us. She "left a legacy of ideas
:21:27. > :21:28.which have inspired a generation". The words of Jim Sillars
:21:29. > :21:31.as he unveiled a portrait of his late wife Margo MacDonald
:21:32. > :21:34.at Holyrood today. Her 40-year contribution to politics
:21:35. > :21:37.saw her serve as an MP, MSP Now her likeness -
:21:38. > :21:41.painted by Scottish artist Gerard M Burns
:21:42. > :21:55.- graces Holyrood. I was married to Margo for 33 years.
:21:56. > :22:02.You would expect that I loved and adored her but also I as one
:22:03. > :22:06.politician to another admired her. Margo had a wonderful mind that
:22:07. > :22:12.encompassed an incredible intellect and from that intellect flowed ideas
:22:13. > :22:17.that have inspired more than a generation and I still get people
:22:18. > :22:21.coming up to me telling me that they remember a speech or statement she
:22:22. > :22:26.made that made the light bulb come on in their heads. Her view was that
:22:27. > :22:31.somebody who disagreed with her in a democracy was not an enemy but an
:22:32. > :22:34.opponent and there is a world of difference between the two and how
:22:35. > :22:41.you treat people. I would sometimes hope that today's
:22:42. > :22:50.generation of political activists would take a lesson from Margo,
:22:51. > :22:55.because the abuse that is now widespread in the social media is
:22:56. > :23:00.actually damaging to democracy. She was a star of the independence
:23:01. > :23:05.movement and also I believe that the work that she did in relation to the
:23:06. > :23:09.protection of prostitutes in our society, not a very easy one to take
:23:10. > :23:15.on but she took it on, and the other one of course is the question still
:23:16. > :23:21.unresolved of assisted dying. I don't want to burden any doctor,
:23:22. > :23:25.any friend or family member. I am so pleased this is here because
:23:26. > :23:33.this is where Margo used to sit and gossip will stop -- and gossip. I
:23:34. > :23:40.would phone and say, your tea is ready. She would say, I will be home
:23:41. > :23:44.in ten minutes. It never happened. When we saw the painting at home for
:23:45. > :23:49.the first time ten months ago it was a shock because there was Margo with
:23:50. > :23:52.us in that particular moment. I am so pleased that it is now
:23:53. > :23:58.permanently hung in this parliament that she graced with star quality.
:23:59. > :24:00.Jim Sillars talking about his late wife Margo MacDonald.
:24:01. > :24:02.Joining me now to discuss today's news we have health journalist
:24:03. > :24:05.Pennie Taylor and the former SNP advisor Andy Collier.
:24:06. > :24:09.Good evening. Let's run through some of the measures we haven't talked
:24:10. > :24:15.about within the legislative programme today. The first thing the
:24:16. > :24:19.first Minister mentioned was a passenger duty and her long-standing
:24:20. > :24:25.commitment to cut that. Labour say that is a tax cut for the rich. Is
:24:26. > :24:29.that true nowadays, is it only the rich who travel by air? A lot of
:24:30. > :24:33.people would be relishing the thought that it would cost less to
:24:34. > :24:38.go on holiday from Scotland and I suppose the plan would be that
:24:39. > :24:44.business would come our way but Patrick Harvie of the Green party
:24:45. > :24:48.said how does this square with climate change legislation and
:24:49. > :24:55.cutting emissions's only this morning we had research that seemed
:24:56. > :24:59.to link air pollution with rising rates of dementia. There are serious
:25:00. > :25:02.environmental issues that you have to square with whatever benefits
:25:03. > :25:08.there are two cutting air passenger Judy. You could argue it is a
:25:09. > :25:12.populist measures because politicians like to be popular. Of
:25:13. > :25:16.course. Personally I think it is a good measure, it will make a big
:25:17. > :25:21.difference to business, it is a reduced cost. People like Michael
:25:22. > :25:28.O'Leary from Ryanair might be not the most popular, but as a
:25:29. > :25:34.businessman he thinks it would stimulate air travel. There are
:25:35. > :25:41.climate implications, I accept that. It is not as if Glasgow airport is
:25:42. > :25:44.Heathrow or Gatwick. We were told initially it was to help stimulate
:25:45. > :25:49.the economy but these airports are growing pretty well without this
:25:50. > :25:53.cut. They are, but aside from the issue of growth there is the issue
:25:54. > :25:59.of how many particularly international destinations that we
:26:00. > :26:09.serve from Glasgow and Edinburgh. If you lick at a country of Kim Barrett
:26:10. > :26:17.pulled -- can parable size, Dublin has more than twice what our main
:26:18. > :26:22.airports have. -- can parable size. This measure will help to grow the
:26:23. > :26:33.traffic without the real pain of having to go to an airport like
:26:34. > :26:42.Heathrow or Manchester. It is the only tax cut in the package. The big
:26:43. > :26:45.elephant in the room is exit. These measures are being brought forward
:26:46. > :26:53.but we don't know how Brexit will ink up the economy. When there is an
:26:54. > :27:04.announcement that there will be support of that size, ?5 billion to
:27:05. > :27:12.attract funding, that caused to me a real intake of death because it
:27:13. > :27:29.indicated there is a real problem coming our way, compare it to the
:27:30. > :27:33.amount given to health care. It is the big unknown, how Brexit will
:27:34. > :27:39.affect us. Politicians in London say we have bounced back from the post
:27:40. > :27:44.referendum gloom. We don't know what will happen, there is very little
:27:45. > :27:52.implication of what will happen but very little has happened yet in
:27:53. > :27:56.terms of withdrawal. I think the ?500 million towards business will
:27:57. > :28:01.help enormously, it is medium-sized dozens is which particularly need
:28:02. > :28:06.access to finance them but there is other good stuff, the education
:28:07. > :28:12.programme is very ambitious, the domestic violence stuff is good. It
:28:13. > :28:16.is a well rounded Rob Gramm and the Scottish Government has produced a
:28:17. > :28:24.90 page booklet which goes into great detail. -- well rounded
:28:25. > :28:28.programme. Is it deliver a? The SNP is a minority so they will have to
:28:29. > :28:38.look across the chamber at Holyrood to get this through. -- can it be
:28:39. > :28:46.delivered? Can the nursery sector cope with the new deflation? There
:28:47. > :28:52.has been a welcome announcements about the living wage being
:28:53. > :28:56.introduced and somebody has to pay for this. A lot of nurseries are
:28:57. > :29:02.private nurseries, care homes will be affected by this as well, people
:29:03. > :29:08.providing care at home. How are they going to be expected to meet those
:29:09. > :29:13.costs? I think there will be a lot of discussion further down the line.
:29:14. > :29:19.Wonderful announcements like for instance 100% coverage of superfast
:29:20. > :29:25.broadband. That will be seriously welcomed by those people who live
:29:26. > :29:31.out with the central belt. -- outside the central belt. Other
:29:32. > :29:38.questions about the availability of funds? I have no doubt the whole
:29:39. > :29:41.question will be very carefully costed and they will be additional
:29:42. > :29:45.money in inflation terms I imagine from London. The figures will have
:29:46. > :29:50.been worked out but I think it will be a chance to meet these
:29:51. > :29:54.objectives. Money will come in from the council tax going up next April
:29:55. > :29:59.that has been dedicated to deprived schools, which seems sensible, but
:30:00. > :30:03.there will have to be a lot of calculating going on to see if they
:30:04. > :30:07.can make these numbers stack up. And some of it will fall on private
:30:08. > :30:11.companies who are providing these services. I haven't heard any
:30:12. > :30:17.pledges about meeting there extra costs will stop there is going to be
:30:18. > :30:22.a lot of debate as this gets unpicked and we see what really
:30:23. > :30:26.happens out in the real world. A lot of work to be done in terms of
:30:27. > :30:34.ringing others on in the chamber. It will be tricky, some will be fine
:30:35. > :30:39.but they don't have a majority any more, two seats short, so a lot of
:30:40. > :30:45.talking will have to go on. We will watch with interest, a lot to be
:30:46. > :30:48.delivered over the coming weeks and months and years. Thank you both
:30:49. > :30:49.very much for coming in to join us tonight.
:30:50. > :30:52.I'm back again tomorrow night, usual time.
:30:53. > :31:06.In an unforgiving time, Scotland had its heroes.
:31:07. > :31:12.Then, as our sense of Scottishness flourished,
:31:13. > :31:15.our football saw unprecedented decline.
:31:16. > :31:17.Scotland over-estimate how good they are.
:31:18. > :31:24.They are a limited group. They're an honest, solid, limited group.
:31:25. > :31:28.We've now got to look forward to the dreams. We can do it.