07/06/2017 Scottish First Minister's Questions

We start this afternoon with First Minister's Questions. This is my

first opportunity in the chamber since the cowardly attack in London

on Saturday night and I want to give my sympathies to those affected. To

those who lost their loved ones and all those who sustained injuries. I

would take forward my Government plans. To ask the First Minister why

she believes that private conversations shouldn't stay

private. I actually do believe that, of course, the conversation that

read Davidson is alluding to is taken from the private sphere into

the public spare, not by me but by Kezia Dugdale. -- public sphere. A

very selective account of the contact of that was put into the

public domain in the Times newspaper where it said that Kezia Dugdale

revealed that she held secret talks with the First Minister. That's what

gave me the ability to talk about that. The part in that and this

Asian that Kezia Dugdale didn't referred to in that conversation is

what I stand by 100%. Let me get to the heart of the matter. All of the

opposition parties in this chamber have tried to use the issue up and

independents referendum as a smoke screen.

LAUGHTER In the Tories' case, it's because

they don't want to talk about their toxic policies. Here, here. The rape

clause, austerity cuts, extreme Brexit and removing the rights of

pensioners so Vicky questioned tomorrow is how we stop the Tories

getting stronger hand to do more damage to Scotland. Make sure we

don't lose Theresa May's numbers. Let's make sure we have SNP is to

stand up for Scotland. Well, she's rolling back today but everybody

knows, don't have a private chat with this First Minister, because if

it suits her purposes then everybody will get to hear about it. We are

left with the question. The First Minister says that Katie Dugdale

said she would drop the opposition to the independence referendum, and

Kezia Dugdale says it's a pack of lies. Who is telling the truth?

People should be aware of having a conversation with Ruth Davidson

because judging from her Twitter account, she records it there. I

note that we hastily deleted overnight. Look, I stand by 100%

what I said last night, and in fact, if anybody reads what Labour and

Kezia Dugdale were saying in public, they will see the ring of truth.

Labour themselves were saying that all options, including an

independence referendum were under consideration. That is the reality.

For the record, there's an article on Labour's website today,

confirming that. But, of course this comes back to the heart of the

matter. All of the other parties want to avoid the real issue in the

election tomorrow. The real issue is this. The only way in Scotland to

stop the Tories tightening their grip and getting what they want in

Scotland, is to vote SNP. Labour's not strong enough to take on the

Tories any more. It's not that long ago that he ear Dugdale was advising

people to vote Tory in the election. If you want to take on the Tories

tomorrow, make sure that Scotland has a strong voice in Parliament,

standing against austerity and up the Scotland then vote SNP tomorrow.

APPLAUSE The truth is we don't need the First

Minister to tell us what we already know which is the label party isn't

able to stand up to the SNP. It's not just Kezia Dugdale, Corbyn is

even worst. The First Minister has dragged Kezia Dugdale onto her

ground, and with Corbyn how would she raked with him? My focus today

and tomorrow is to persuade as many people across Scotland as I possibly

can of this. The only way to stop Theresa May, who is on the right in

this election, getting a bigger majority, is to make sure we don't

send Tory MPs to boost her majority and strengthen her hand. We want to

send SNP members to Parliament to make sure we get our voice heard.

APPLAUSE The last 24 hours have set up the

choice people face in the polls. The S NP, it's back to another division

is -- to visit a referendum, and for Katie Dugdale, its phone friend and

see what she thinks. It people don't want a referendum, that pity's say,

First Minister, let it go. Something I can agree with Ruth Davidson

about. The campaign has set out the clear choice for people in Scotland.

If you vote Tory tomorrow, what you are voting for is MPs who will vote

for the rape clause, austerity cuts, benefit cuts, the dementia tax.

Votes to take away the winter fuel allowance, the pension triple lock.

That is what people will get if we send Tory MPs to Westminster. On the

other hand, if we send strong, SNP voices to Westminster, we get MPs

who stand against austerity, who stand up that pensioners, against

cuts that punish the poorest in our society. The only way to stop the

Tories in Scotland is to vote SNP tomorrow.

APPLAUSE Kezia Dugdale. Can I offer the

thought of this register the families of those lost in the attack

in London. For the last 24 hours, if it shows us anything, it shows us

the First Minister will see anything to deflect away from the SNP's

appalling record in office. People across the country once the First

Minister to focus on her day job, so why are places for nurses and

midwives at an all-time high? I would like to say that I know what

we said in that conversation and so does she. And I'm standing here in

the chamber of the Scottish Parliament by -- and I'm certain of

what was said. And you know what? This not being wrong with Kezia

Dugdale changing her mind since then, but what is wrong is for her

to, having hold that view is, to say that those still holding that view

is unthinkable. To me, that is not legitimate. On the issue... Order!

There are 12,000 more people working in the health service, more nurses,

most doctors, more allied health professionals than ever before.

We've got more per head of population than any other part of

the UK, and that is a cause this Government is investing in our

health service and doing so too much extent than Labour would be, if they

were in office. So there are enough nurses in the health service, that's

the latest bit from the First Minister. You can't use language

not tell the truth about. Miss not tell the truth about. Miss

Dugdale, the point here is to be respectful and courteous to other

members and not to impugn that character in that way. But do not

defile her character in the chamber. Reciting Officer, it was of course

this First Minister who slashed pay for student nurses and midwives when

she was Health Secretary. That's why there's a shortage in Scotland. Of

course, there is severe consequences for the care patients receive. 500

operations were cancelled this week. 500 people who didn't get the

treatment because the SNP policies are all wrong. Does she admit not

spending enough time on her day job? In January of this year, we

announced up 4.7% increase to preregistration nursing and

midwifery programmes. That's an extra 151 places. That it successive

rise, which equates to 3360 entry places. Under this Government,

there's been an average of 1000 more nurses in training, each year, than

impaired previous administration. That's the record of this Government

when it comes to nurse training. In terms of cancelled operations,

there's always a small number of operations cancelled and that can be

bought a variety of different reasons, but the overwhelming vast

majority of operations in our health service are ahead as scheduled and

that's because of the fantastic efforts of doctors, nurses and those

working across our NHS services. Yet more fake news from the First

Minister. Missed A E targets. Thousands of patients trapped in

hospitals when they are fit to go home. That should shame the First

Minister. Except that we know that nothing really does. Tomorrow, we

can kick the Tories out of office and get you a Labour Government. A

Government who will work night and day investing in our schools and

hospitals, delivering a real living wage of ?10 per hour, ?3 billion

more for public services. Isn't it the case that the only way to get a

Labour Government tomorrow is to vote Labour? Here we have another

flip-flop from Kezia Dugdale. It's not that long ago she was telling

all of us that Jeremy Corbyn was completely unelectable. Now she's

blowing with the wind all over again. Do you know, the problem for

Labour is this. They spend all of their time in this campaign

attacking the SNP and letting the Tories completely off the hook.

Kezia Dugdale even did suggest a couple of weeks ago that there were

parts of Scotland where people should actually vote Tory. That is

what she said. The reality is, a vote for Labour tomorrow, a vote for

the party that was beaten into third place last year, risks letting a

Tory MP in the back door. The only party in Scotland that has the

strength to take on the Tories is the SNP, if you want MPs elected

that actually agree with Jeremy Corbyn on more issues than cheesy

Dugdale does then by the SNP tomorrow. -- thank easier Dugdale.

-- Keizia. When the Cabinet next meet? Thursday. I want to convey how

the tragic events in London have affected us all. I'm sure the First

Minister will join me in condemning the US president on an opportunistic

attack on the London mayor when Londoners were still coming to terms

with what had happened. APPLAUSE

However, the democratic process doesn't stop, and in this closing

stages there is more at stake than who said what a year ago. There are

critical choices facing our society. The Green party has long argued for

investment in the new, sustainable industries that will provide

sustenance in a post-oil economy. Rather than tax cuts in subsidies

for the fossil fuel industries. The First Minister says a primary aim is

to maximise her extraction of fossil fuels. Even one of the newspapers

endorsing the SNP says their industrial base has become too

heavily reliant on oil and so far nothing has been done to replace

that. How can the First Minister defends continued subsidies and tax

Can I share his views on President Trump, I think we should deprecate

his comments. At a time when the male's city had just been victim of

a horrific terrorist attack, the least I think he should have been

able to expect was complete support and loyalty from a country that is a

long-standing ally of this country. On his question, I don't think these

two things are either or. I don't think the importance of oil and gas

sector to our economy is such that we do have an obligation to support

it the spot yesterday morning to -- about the importance of that sector,

and what the Government is doing to help it recover and have that bright

future. But we were also talking about the skills that have to be

developed in oil and gas, and having then transferred into other areas of

our energy sector, renewable energy in particular. But this Government

have got a very good record when it comes to renewable energy, and when

it comes to meeting climate change targets. We have some of the most

ambitious targets and the world, met them years ahead of schedule, we are

already generating more than 50% of our electricity use from renewable

energy, so we continue to invest in renewable energy to make sure that

we make that transition to a low or no carbon economy, and that is a key

priority of this Government. There is certainly an urgent need to

support people to transition into new industries as well as to

maximise the opportunities from decommissioning, but there is

absolutely a contradiction between maximising extraction, and those

climate change commitments that the First Minister speaks of. The First

Minister has already condemned Donald Trump's decision to withdraw

the US from the Paris agreement, but if that agreement is ever to be more

than just a piece of paper, it is vital but it requires greater action

from all countries. It is undeniable that the world has far more coil --

all, well, guess that we can afford to burn. On the First Minister's

former climate change Minister agreed, accepting that at least a

proportion of what is still in the North Sea must be left there. Is no

clear that only green voices are challenging the policy that unites

the SNP with all three political parties which have played a role in

the UK Government, that policy of maximum oil and gas extraction? Is

undeniable that that commitment, that policy is incompatible with any

meaningful commitment to the Paris agreement? How much of the North

Sea's fossil fuel does the First Minister believe must be left on

burned, if we are to make a fair contribution to the Paris goal of

limiting climate change to 1.5 degrees? I think on some of this,

not on all of it, but on some of it Patrick Harvie and I might have to

agree to disagree. I don't believe there is an incompatibility, I think

the importance of the sector to our economy and the skills that are

important in renewable energy are such that we should continue to

support that sector, there are many jobs of course dependent on activity

in the North Sea, and as a result of advances in technology, many of

which are being developed here in Scotland, there are new and

innovative ways of using hydrocarbons that are emerging,

offering that continued opportunity, so we are seeing new technologies

hydrogen sourced -- new technologies like carbon capture and storage, so

I think it is right that Scotland continues to seek to be a world

leader in all of these different areas of our energy sector. And I

come back to the central point here in terms of the Paris climate

agreement, and I bitterly regret the decision of President Trump to take

America out of that, we are meeting our climate change targets, we are

meeting the targets we said in terms of renewable energy, and we are

going further and setting even more ambitious targets we are also

leading the world when it comes to discharging our obligations to the

planet. To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the

next meeting of the Cabinet. Matters of importance to the people of

Scotland. In a macro can I share the sentiments of others on the London

attacks, my thoughts are with families and friends of victims of

those attacks. Yesterday the NHS report on mental health services for

young people was appalling. I thought I'd got the First Minister

on board for taking strong action to sort that, I have asked her time and

again about this. I have heard warm words before as well. But the latest

figures show that more young people are waiting for treatment, and they

are waiting for longer. Why are things worse this year than last

year? I don't think that is the case, I know we've got an election

tomorrow, but I still hope that after this election we can have some

consensus around the issue of mental health. If we take the stats

published yesterday around child and adolescent mental health services,

we saw some improvement in terms of waiting times. We also saw that ten

of the 14 health boards across Scotland are meeting the 18 week

standard, which is up from only seven in the last quarter. Yes,

there were a number of young people waiting over a year for treatment,

which is unacceptable, that was 74 people, 1.7%, but again that down

from 2.4% in the final quarter of 2016. So we have, like many other

countries do, but challenges to address in terms of meeting the

increased demand for mental health. But because of the investment we are

making and because of the mental health strategy we are pursuing, we

are seeing progress and we are determined to continue to make that

progress. There will never be a consensus in this parliament as long

as this Government continues to fail on mental health. The fat, year on

year, fewer young people treated yet this year than last year. -- the

facts. Waiting times are up, fat ass by health boards are missing the

Tigers. In fact, -- for adults, the performance for psychological

therapies is worse than it ever has been before. This is why ordinary

people are now prepared to stand up, and we had seen it throughout the

campaign, prepare to stand up and tell the First Minister when she is

getting in form and our Government is failing. I have been asking about

mental health pretty much every week for three years. The First Minister

will have -- say she has this brand-new strategy, but it was

delayed for 15 months. So will she guarantee that things will be better

than this next year? Can she guarantee that? We are seeing

improvements, and we intend to continue to see improvements. We see

more investment, more people working. The overall workforce has

improved by a 65% over the last couple of years, we have seen

nursing posts increase, significant increased investment in mental

health generally and particularly in child and adolescent mental health

services. In terms of the stats Willie Rennie asked me about

earlier, 83.6% were seen in 80 weeks, that is an increase in the

previous quarter. 3621 scene within 18 weeks, 712 waiting longer. So we

are seeing improvements in these areas, but I recognise we have more

to do which is why we are investing more, and why we are following the

mental health strategy. And we will continue to do so. So that we can

continue to see more progress this month and over the next year. --

over the next months. Couple of supplementary is. To ask the First

Minister how Howard Government has protected Scotland's budget in the

face of Tory cuts. -- have her Government. -- to ask how Howard

Government. Of course, the other parties don't want to hear about

this because we hear a lot, rightly, from other parties about public

services. But what people like Willie Rennie don't tell us is that

why his party was in Government with the Tories for 12 -- five yes, the

budget of this Parliament was cut by ?2 billion. That is what Willie

Rennie and his colleagues did to the budget of this Parliament. But we

have continued to protect what matters in Scotland. That is why we

have increased the health budget by ?3 billion, and will increase it

further over the life of this Parliament. So we will continue to

do whatever we can to protect the budget of this Parliament and

protect our vital public services. First Minister, you will recall that

on 19th may strike action by further education lecturers in the college

sector was suspended to allow negotiations to continue. This came

after invitations of phase one of the agreements. It may be the end of

August however before it reaches their bank accounts. They are angry

and feel betrayed, and threats of further strike action are emerging.

This is not what was agreed a matter of weeks ago, when John Swinney

intervened personally and asked for the strike to be called off. Does

the First Minister agree that further education lecturers

suspended the strike in good faith and should be paid exactly what was

agreed without further delay, and when I raise this with First

Minister in April she said employers should go the extra mile. With the

First Minister say whether she believes they have gone the

distance, and while the talks are failing despite the Scottish

Government's appointment of the facilitator. I was very pleased

firstly that an agreement was struck which allowed strike action to be

called off, which -- because strike action was in the body's interests.

-- nobody's interests. That agreement was not easy to reach, and

of course the Government did intervene in the way that Monica

Lennon has outlined. That agreement that was reached, and I do respect

now that agreement to be implemented, so that we can make

sure that is no further risk of strikes that would be damaging to

our colleges. Webmaster to as the First Minister what progress the

Government is making to get more than people into modern

apprenticeships. -- to ask. We saw statistics this week showing that we

have exceeded our modern apprenticeship target of 26,004 16,

2017, implies I think recognising the value they bring to our

workforce. The latest modern apprenticeship figures show we are

on track to meet our target by 2020, and we are committed to enhancing

the publisher programme to respond to the needs of an -- pliers. --

employers. I agree with the First Minister when she talks about the

impact of Tory austerity of communities up and down Scotland.

But when is this Government is going to start defending this community

is? This year we see ?170 million of cuts to local public services. Our

public services cannot continue, will she defend them moving forward?

Won we have had this debate in the chamber so many times. There is an

additional ?400 million of investment for local services this

year, compared to last year, that includes things like extra money for

social care and of course the ?120 billion that is going direct to

headteachers to help us close the attainment gap. In addition, it is

this Government that is spending more than ?100 billion every year

mitigating the impact of Tory cuts like bedroom tax. So this Government

is continuing to do everything we can to support local services but

also mitigate the impact of damaging Tory cuts. It is the damage that

Tory cuts are doing that makes it all the more astounding that so many

Labour councillors seem so keen to do deals with the Tories to get them

into administration in different councils. Can as the First Minister

what the estimate is for the number of additional children who will be

living in poverty by 2021, as a result of Tory tax and welfare

policies? I don't think child poverty's funny. The Tories are

laughing at this question, this answer comes not from my officials,

but the Institute for Fiscal Studies. By 2021, they estimate that

an additional 1 million children across the UK will be living in

poverty. That will take the total number to more than 5 million, a

cousin to the entire population of Scotland. That is why we need strong

voices standing against Tory cuts and the Tory assault on the poorest

in our society.