15/08/2014 Scotland Decides

now, more in next hour. The government `` the governor of

the Bank of England waiting to do referendum debate this week. It is

time for Scotland decides. Hello and welcome to our look back

over the last seven days of The Bank of England reveals it has

contingency plans Would independence make a

difference to the NHS in Scotland? And how is

the referendum being handled Hello and welcome to

Scotland Decides: The Governor of the Bank of England,

Mark Carney, revealed this week that he has drawn up contingency

plans to ensure financial stability if there is a yes vote

in the referendum next month. Mr Carney would not comment

on whether an independent Scotland would or should use the pound

in a formal currency union ` saying simply that the Bank would implement

whatever the politicians decided. Whatever happens in the thought, the

Bank of England will be the continuing authority for financial

stability for some period of time. Certainly over the interim period,

and we will look to discharge our responsibilities accordingly.

Uncertainty about the currency arrangements could raise financial

stability issues. As you would expect, we will have contingency

plans for various possibilities. Scotland's First Minister Alex

Salmond welcomed Mr Carney's What he has said today is very

helpful. It shows he is seeking to ensure financial stability and that

the Bank of England domains in charge for that transitional period.

What a contract with the views of the Westminster parties. He has also

corrected, yet again, the idea that he was against a currency union. He

has said again that he will implement whatever is agreed. We

should look at what is causing the instability, what is causing any

instability is the adamant refusal of the Westminster parties to

consider a currency union, which is the preference of the majority of

the Scottish people. And Mr Darling will face Mr Salmond

in a second televised debate But the leader of the

Better Together campaign, The governor yesterday said that

what he could causing the uncertainty is the uncertainty about

the referendum results. Investors have been asking about it. I know

that the Bank of England stars have very good contingency plans and I

have been around in a financial crisis, I know that they have that.

In relation to the currency union, I could not, as someone who is

Scottish, sign up to something that I think is bad for Scotland. It is

abundantly clear to anyone who asks that, here we are, two weeks before

the first postal votes start going out, and they will start voting, and

we simply don't know what currency we will have. That matters for

people, even your paying their mortgage.

And Mr Darling will face Mr Salmond in a second televised debate

It will be live on the BBC across the UK on the evening of Monday

And we'll have a special programme before the debate here on the

Now, on the subject of debates, on Tuesday evening I hosted the latest

in a series of panel discussions in front of a studio audience.

This time we were in Inverness for the Referendum Debate.

And among the topics on the table was the relevance ` or not `

of the independence question when it comes to Scotland's health service.

Does a no vote threaten the very existence of the NHS in Scotland?

Is most certainly does. If we vote yes, if the country votes yes, then

we will have the opportunity to forge our own future. If you vote

no, that is an end to you saying, well, I did not vote for that, that

was not what I voted for. What you will have done by voting no, you

were given powers to Westminster to do exactly what they like. For

other. A month ago, we had this argument

because some of the UK's leading medical researchers said they were

worried about the impact of a yes vote on the NHS. In response, the

response from the SNP was, don't worry, the NHS is 100% devolved to

Scotland. That is the truth. We make our own decisions. The risks to the

NHS is picking that research base that goes into our medical research,

that is in universities over Scotland. It is finding cures to

some of the diseases we have to fight.

The debate prodded a big response and social media.

Now, time for our weekly look at the latest polling, which suggests

the no campaign has managed to widen its lead by two percentage points

since last week ` and is now on 57% when don't knows are excluded.The

That's according to an average of six polls taken in July

and August, calculated by the What Scotland Thinks website.

Let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news

A report said moving the UK's nuclear weapons out of an

independent Scotland would be tricky and costly but not impossible.

Researchers at the Royal United Services Institute said, in theory,

Trident missiles and submarines could be relocated from Argyll to

Boris Johnson raised eyebrows by saying

the big three UK parties had gone too far in promising more powers

The mayor of London, tipped by some as a future Tory

leader, said there was "no need" for further devolution.

Scotland's Deputy First Minister suggested independence could end

Nicola Sturgeon said UK welfare changes had pushed people

But Scottish Labour said THEY were best placed to tackle the problem,

claiming the nationalists did not have a credible or costed plan

Finally to Edinburgh, where ` although there are more than three

thousand shows at this year's Fringe `` most performers appear to have

shied away from tackling the thorny issue of independence.

Nonetheless, the referendum is still a talking

point for audience members, as BBC Scotland's arts correspondent

Scotland's festivals are truly international and there is no sense

this year that there are any more Scottish shows than normal. This

year, it seems as if Scotland is on everyone's minds.

Some shows deal directly with the subject, like this one for the

national collective. Three nights a week, they will showcase music,

poetry and political views from around the world.

If we vote no, Scotland's sense of itself will not fit easily back into

a sense of Britishness will stop we have a lot of amazing talent on, so

I'm sure people will come whether or not they have made up their minds.

The whole idea behind national collective is not just to galvanise

the people who are already voting yes, but to get other people

imagining a better Scotland. For others, it is a subject they

just could not ignore. I think people are talking about it

but a lot are worried about saying anything in case they get a bad

reaction from the audience. You have to be gutsy and go for it because it

is such a current issue. The vast majority of shows don't

touch on subjects `` the subject at all, even if performers have made

their views known. Simon Callow was one of 200 celebrities who signed a

letter last week urging voters to say no.

It can't be avoided and it shouldn't be avoided. Everyone must and can

talk about it but I hope it does not become the overwhelming reality. My

material on this festival will have almost nothing to do with it. It

would be sad if it was to overwhelm the festival, but perhaps that is

necessary. Some cannot resist a gently stirring

up the debate. This show encourages the audience to settle the regiments

with a bake off. It

you can find more analysis online. For now, that it from us. We are

back in the same time next week. James Cook there.

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