:00:37. > :00:40.Welcome to the Sunday Politics. He's one of the four men who make
:00:40. > :00:44.all the big decisions in the coalition. The others you know well.
:00:44. > :00:46.David Cameron, Nick Clegg, George Osborne. Today, as the British
:00:46. > :00:49.economy struggles to escape the recession, and the eurozone stares
:00:49. > :00:58.into the abyss, we talk to the fourth man, Chief Secretary to the
:00:58. > :01:01.Treasury Danny Alexander, about the economy, tax and the coalition.
:01:01. > :01:04.David Cameron and his Argentine counterpart went head to head over
:01:04. > :01:07.the Falklands this week. Respect MP George Galloway and Defence
:01:07. > :01:17.Committee Tory MP Colonel Bob Stewart go to battle over the same
:01:17. > :01:20.
:01:20. > :01:24.issue. And on Sunday politics Scotland,
:01:24. > :01:28.the original Act of Union might be a fragile document, but tomorrow
:01:28. > :01:33.the campaign begins to keep the political union strong. The slogan
:01:33. > :01:43.is better to get and they promise the best of both worlds. We hear
:01:43. > :01:43.
:01:43. > :31:26.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1782 seconds
:31:26. > :31:31.from the backers, the tractors and The Tories were ready to share
:31:31. > :31:35.sovereignty. Look back, I might not have been in Parliament that long
:31:35. > :31:43.but the Government were ready to share sovereignty at that time, the
:31:43. > :31:51.Tory and Labour governments. Falkland Islands have cost Britain
:31:51. > :31:56.a lot of money. It has cost the lives. Why would you give it up now
:31:56. > :32:04.when it seems there would be all to be had? Because he would have to
:32:04. > :32:09.give it up in total later. Latin America, it is 100% behind us.
:32:09. > :32:16.are not. Even the Spanish have turned against Argentina.
:32:16. > :32:21.Spanish are a long way away. The Brazilians, the Argentinians, the
:32:21. > :32:25.growing power of Venezuela, these countries that are rich. We should
:32:25. > :32:28.have good relations with them. We should have good relations, share
:32:28. > :32:33.the oil and gas in the Falkland Islands and save money and not have
:32:33. > :32:43.to send an aircraft carrier and is more men. We do not have one to
:32:43. > :32:45.
:32:45. > :32:49.send. He is saying Latin America is so full of emerging economies and
:32:49. > :32:53.we have good relations with Latin America and we just don't talk to
:32:53. > :32:59.Argentina. We have got good relations with Latin America. They
:32:59. > :33:05.exist. Argentina is not all that popular in Latin America. I
:33:05. > :33:11.slightly disagree with you, George. I totally disagree. I quite like
:33:11. > :33:18.disagreeing with you. Get to the point. The South Americans are not
:33:18. > :33:27.just as George has presented. Some of them are on side on this matter.
:33:27. > :33:30.Name names. Brazil is not as bad as you say. Brazil is 100% behind the
:33:30. > :33:34.claim of Argentina. If you look at the speech of the Brazilian
:33:34. > :33:43.ambassador at the United Nations. Brazil is somebody we should be
:33:43. > :33:50.friends with. This is politics. We are not having a battle. We want
:33:50. > :33:54.Argentina to back off. That is what we require. Argentina is in real
:33:54. > :33:59.economic trouble. This is sabre- rattling, they do not have the
:33:59. > :34:03.military means. I do not think you are in trouble because you take
:34:03. > :34:11.your oil resources back from the Spanish. The Argentines are within
:34:11. > :34:20.their right to take that the oil company. Argentina, its flag is
:34:20. > :34:29.flying ever higher because of this issue. They cannot resist the call
:34:29. > :34:32.for the Liberation, as they put it, from European colonial rule.
:34:32. > :34:38.the Argentinians to take over islands when everybody wants to
:34:38. > :34:48.stay away from Argentina, that is can only ionisation. We have to end
:34:48. > :34:50.
:34:50. > :34:54.it there. It was a spirited debate Good afternoon. Welcome to Sunday
:34:54. > :34:57.Politics Scotland. Coming up on the programme:
:34:57. > :35:00.The old Articles of Union might be showing their age, but unionists
:35:00. > :35:03.say they are still relevant. Tomorrow sees the launch of their
:35:03. > :35:07.campaign to keep Scotland in the UK. Scottish Secretary Michael Moore is
:35:07. > :35:13.here to predict how the Better Together campaign will go. And the
:35:13. > :35:16.SNP's Stewart Hosie will be giving us his assessment.
:35:16. > :35:24.We have a special investigation into the cash-for-gold business.
:35:24. > :35:27.There are calls for a new code of conduct in Scotland.
:35:27. > :35:36.And at the end of the school year, does the latest craze for American
:35:36. > :35:39.style-proms put more pressure on kids, or is it just harmless fun?
:35:39. > :35:41.In the debate over the referendum on Scottish independence, the yes
:35:41. > :35:44.campaign has already begun. Tomorrow the other campaign is
:35:44. > :35:48.launched, the one that says yes to stay in the union offering,
:35:48. > :35:54.supporters say, the best of both worlds. The slogan is Better
:35:54. > :36:00.Together. Can the campaign cast itself as more than just a no to
:36:00. > :36:06.independence? And how united is this pro-Union alliance of Labour,
:36:06. > :36:11.Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats?
:36:11. > :36:16.This is what we are talking about, the treaty of Union between
:36:16. > :36:22.Scotland and England. You can see the articles of union. The first at
:36:22. > :36:27.the bottom of the page say the two kingdoms of Scotland and England
:36:27. > :36:32.shall be united into one Kingdom by the name of Great Britain. Rarities
:36:32. > :36:38.in black and white. If we turn the pages that are over 300 years old,
:36:38. > :36:44.we have to be careful, you can see the signatories to the treaty. On
:36:44. > :36:48.the Scottish side on the left we have names such as Queensberry and
:36:48. > :36:56.the Joint Secretaries of State. On the right, we have Lord Godolphin,
:36:56. > :37:01.the Lord High Treasurer. More than 300 years later the debate on
:37:01. > :37:05.whether to maintain that Union is well under way. Tomorrow, the
:37:05. > :37:13.campaign supporting the union will be officially launched. The Future
:37:13. > :37:17.of Scotland will be challenging to make a positive case. Within the
:37:18. > :37:24.United Kingdom, Scotland enjoys benefits. We have the arenas of
:37:24. > :37:29.international inference, international affairs, and we have
:37:29. > :37:34.in domestic parliament here are good control up over our own
:37:34. > :37:39.domestic to vault issues. That seems to me the best of both worlds.
:37:40. > :37:44.How United what the pro-union campaign the? When the parties seem
:37:45. > :37:49.to agree on hardly anything else. You would be may be surprised about
:37:49. > :37:54.how United this campaign is. We put aside differences, we do not forget
:37:54. > :38:01.them, we put them aside to ensure we get the benefits of the United
:38:01. > :38:07.Kingdom put forward in the campaign. If the Scots vote no, what then? At
:38:07. > :38:11.Stirling Castle on Friday, the Welsh First Minister told us that
:38:11. > :38:15.the UK Government had to come up with an offer on further devolution
:38:15. > :38:21.sooner rather than later. It needs to be made before the referendum.
:38:21. > :38:26.It is not good enough to say there would be discussions after. The
:38:26. > :38:30.people of Scotland need to see what alternatives there might be on the
:38:30. > :38:34.table before the referendum takes place. Labour's deputy leader in
:38:34. > :38:38.Scotland said that is a question for after the referendum. We are
:38:39. > :38:45.open to that debate but it is a separate argument. We ask is
:38:45. > :38:51.Scottish people to make the biggest decision in 300 years. It is
:38:51. > :38:56.devolution again separation. opinion polls seem to be on the
:38:56. > :39:02.pro-union side. The campaign knows it has a long way to go to persuade
:39:02. > :39:10.Scottish people not tear up the Union. The Scottish Secretary joins
:39:11. > :39:16.us from the Edinburgh studio. How do you launch this? Do you imagine
:39:16. > :39:20.you can set a positive vision, given that there are such disparate
:39:20. > :39:25.views of what the constitutional settlement should be, even within
:39:25. > :39:30.the individual parties taking part? The central issue we are being
:39:30. > :39:35.asked to resolve is the future of Scotland's place in the UK. We are
:39:35. > :39:39.fundamentally stronger together and would be weaker apart. Your
:39:39. > :39:43.commentators in the last piece made some of the arguments about
:39:43. > :39:48.opportunities we have as we are part of a bigger United Kingdom
:39:48. > :39:53.economy. The strength of being part of that to avoid some of the risks
:39:53. > :40:00.we see for smaller countries elsewhere in Europe. We have a huge
:40:00. > :40:06.amount of clout for Scotland being part of the UK's internationally.
:40:06. > :40:12.Whether it is NATO, the United Nations, that is important, also is
:40:12. > :40:17.important, we have devolution already to the Scottish Parliament
:40:17. > :40:21.and in the past few weeks we have delivered the latest date of that
:40:21. > :40:25.with new tax and borrowing powers. I think there is a positive case
:40:25. > :40:33.for Scotland to be part of the UK and I look forward to a strong
:40:33. > :40:37.debate about it. Opinion polls show us that the majority in Scotland
:40:37. > :40:40.would like a second question that addresses the powers that may be
:40:40. > :40:46.appropriate within a devolved settlement still within the United
:40:46. > :40:51.Kingdom. You are denying them back. As a federalist, that is a
:40:51. > :40:58.ludicrous position to take. The Liberal Democrats could have owned
:40:58. > :41:04.D Lomax. You could have moved into ground that is positive. --
:41:04. > :41:09.devolution max. The poll does not share a demand for a second
:41:09. > :41:16.question, it shows an appetite for a wider debate. The debate is under
:41:16. > :41:20.way. As a Liberal Democrat I am committed for home rule for
:41:20. > :41:24.Scotland and a loosening of ties within the United Kingdom while
:41:24. > :41:29.preserving the United Kingdom. In Scotland, we can have that debate
:41:29. > :41:34.and has a party we are under way with that. Looking at tax, welfare
:41:34. > :41:38.and other issues. Others need to be part of that. It is not for me to
:41:38. > :41:43.tell Scotland what they should think, it is for everybody, the
:41:43. > :41:47.voluntary sector and others, to be part of the debate. In order to
:41:47. > :41:52.have the debate and reach an assessment of what they think is an
:41:52. > :41:57.appropriate way forward, people need the facts. At what point will
:41:57. > :42:04.they know what extra powers for example the Liberal Democrats are
:42:04. > :42:11.proposing? Is it in time for the general election? At what point
:42:11. > :42:19.does clarity coming to the debate? Can I make an important distinction.
:42:19. > :42:25.We have yes N P who have campaigned to have a vote on Scotland's place
:42:25. > :42:29.in the UK -- SNP. They have won a majority and we as a UK government
:42:29. > :42:35.do not agree with their view for Scotland but we want to work with
:42:35. > :42:39.the Scottish government to deliver a vote on that issue, which SNP
:42:39. > :42:43.activists have campaigned for. Let's have the referendum.
:42:43. > :42:47.Independence is separate to devolution. We do not need to muddy
:42:47. > :42:53.the waters by having two questions on the same ballot paper. We
:42:53. > :42:57.continue to have the debate and we as a party was set out our ideas
:42:57. > :43:03.for the future of devolution in the months ahead. A are you concerned
:43:03. > :43:08.that if it is a no to independence in 2014, the political leverage is
:43:08. > :43:15.does have painted when you go into subsequent talks with Westminster -
:43:15. > :43:21.- is dissipated. There is no political leverage left at
:43:21. > :43:25.Westminster for the argument. fundamentally disagree. We look at
:43:25. > :43:28.these stages of devolution we have had. We created the Scottish
:43:28. > :43:32.Parliament in the Nineties because we had a huge debate over many
:43:32. > :43:38.years among the parties and crucially involving people who are
:43:38. > :43:45.not politicians, the voluntary sector, business, and we'd got
:43:45. > :43:50.consensus. The political parties delivered the Parliament after 1997.
:43:50. > :43:54.Just recently we have delivered the Scotland Act with more financial
:43:54. > :44:02.powers, based on parties coming together, agreeing a proposition
:44:02. > :44:12.and delivering it. I believe that is sensible. There is a threat,
:44:12. > :44:12.
:44:12. > :44:16.when you remove that why would they give anything? We have had a lively
:44:16. > :44:21.debate about independence or devolution. All the other parties
:44:21. > :44:26.apart from the SNP have been happy to be part of the debate about more
:44:26. > :44:29.powers for Scotland. We are saying they have raised the issue of
:44:29. > :44:35.independence and won majority in the Scottish Parliament, let's
:44:36. > :44:43.resolve the issue. We will set out our stall and we want to see what
:44:43. > :44:47.other folk think and then we will deliver it. Let me ask you about a
:44:47. > :44:52.quote from the Liberal Democrat leader today. He said Scotland
:44:52. > :44:55.would be thrown into legal limbo without a straight referendum
:44:55. > :45:00.choice on independence or the status quo. He said it would end up
:45:00. > :45:04.in the courts. He said he does not want the future of the country to
:45:04. > :45:08.be decided by the courts rather than voters at the ballot box. The
:45:08. > :45:12.answer to that is simple, this is not a legal question, this is a
:45:12. > :45:15.political question. You can give them the legal coverage, they can
:45:15. > :45:22.have any number of questions, in not allowing that you have made a
:45:22. > :45:27.political choice, not a legal choice. I reject that. We need to
:45:27. > :45:31.have a clear question about what Scotland's future is. Is it staying
:45:31. > :45:36.as part of the UK or becoming a separate country, will it be
:45:36. > :45:42.independent in the world? That is a central and simple proposition. I
:45:42. > :45:46.passionately want Scotland to stay part of the UK. We can sort out the
:45:46. > :45:49.legality of the Scottish Parliament's ability to hold a
:45:49. > :45:54.referendum by working with the Scottish government. We are well
:45:54. > :45:58.under way with that. The separate issue is that if you put two
:45:58. > :46:03.questions on the paper and get a majority in favour of independence,
:46:03. > :46:05.and a bigger majority in favour of more powers, we will have a
:46:05. > :46:12.democratic out raged that the bigger result has been ignored
:46:12. > :46:15.because the SNP says that will make as independent. I can see arguments
:46:15. > :46:19.about that and people going to court to interpret the outcome. He
:46:19. > :46:23.is right to say that would be a farce. It is a simple and
:46:24. > :46:33.straightforward proposition to resolve that. Then we can work
:46:34. > :46:34.
:46:34. > :46:37.through the remaining issues. Joining me now is a Stewart Hosie
:46:37. > :46:43.from our Dundee studio. What did you make of that final point? Why
:46:43. > :46:47.have you got to with the talks in terms of the legalities?
:46:47. > :46:51.Scottish Government will have a mandate to hold this referendum and
:46:51. > :46:55.if the UK Government wanted to clarify any legal concerns they
:46:55. > :46:59.have, they could make a section 30 transfer. That is in their hands
:46:59. > :47:05.and we hope they do that. We have no doubt that holding a referendum
:47:05. > :47:09.in Scotland will be legal. If we look at the direction of travel
:47:09. > :47:13.that the SNP seem to be on, you keep modifying what the concept of
:47:13. > :47:18.independent means, you will keep the monarchy, you say you may stay
:47:18. > :47:22.in NATO. Are you confident you are taking the party with you on this?
:47:22. > :47:26.Yes, absolutely. We are talking about us having the best of both
:47:26. > :47:33.worlds. A normal independent Scotland and a union with our
:47:33. > :47:37.neighbours, using those things would makes sense to use it. The
:47:37. > :47:41.head of state, the Stirling currency, it makes sense for
:47:41. > :47:46.everybody but we take all the other political decisions which matter
:47:46. > :47:49.and that really chimes with the social attitudes and with the
:47:49. > :47:52.recent opinion poll which shows the majority of people wanted the
:47:52. > :47:57.Scottish Parliament to take the majority of decisions over most
:47:58. > :48:03.things. Let me clarify something here. You make these assertions and
:48:03. > :48:07.say that we will keep Stirling, that we will get rid of Trident and
:48:07. > :48:12.that you may firmly believe that that is a strong possibility. The
:48:12. > :48:18.fact of the matter is that you cannot guarantee that. These are
:48:18. > :48:23.negotiating positions. In a sense, no government ever or party can
:48:23. > :48:27.hold a future government to lock them down, of course that is right.
:48:27. > :48:34.When you come to the referendum and 2014, the Scottish people on the
:48:34. > :48:44.basis of a public prospectus -- published prospectus will determine
:48:44. > :48:49.the situation of this could -- the Scottish state. I am giving you my
:48:49. > :48:53.position. Every look at the second question and yet again in opinion
:48:53. > :48:56.polls, this has come up again, the majority of people would like the
:48:56. > :49:01.option of a second question, more devolved powers within the Union.
:49:01. > :49:07.Given the direction of travel and how some of the stand-alone SNP
:49:07. > :49:11.policies have been diluted in the past which we have spoken about, if
:49:11. > :49:16.you do put a second question on this referendum ballot paper, the
:49:16. > :49:20.SNP will lose, that is what the opinion polls are telling us.
:49:20. > :49:24.will be an independent question and we are campaigning to win that. We
:49:24. > :49:27.and many others outside the SNP what Scotland to be a normal,
:49:27. > :49:30.independent country and I am confident we will win that
:49:31. > :49:37.referendum and what we have said is it is right and proper to recognise
:49:37. > :49:41.a body of opinion which wants to go further with devolution than we
:49:41. > :49:43.currently have but not as far as independence and if that can
:49:43. > :49:50.coalesce around a detailed prospectus, then we are open to
:49:50. > :49:54.having VAT on the ballot paper. I think that shows a huge weakness in
:49:55. > :49:59.the no campaign as your interview with Michael Moore said. They need
:49:59. > :50:04.to determine what that is in advance of the opinion poll and we
:50:04. > :50:09.can test that against independence and the status quo. We have been
:50:09. > :50:13.open to this for some time, I am at a loss as to understand what the no
:50:13. > :50:18.campaign political parties who say they want further devolution are
:50:18. > :50:21.unable to agree on what that means. Also a body of opinion within the
:50:21. > :50:25.SNP who says it you put a second question on the referendum ballot
:50:25. > :50:29.he will have squandered the party's best chances in generations of
:50:29. > :50:33.getting a clear majority for independence. Are you willing to
:50:33. > :50:39.risk that? I don't think it is a risk and I don't agree with that
:50:39. > :50:43.assessment at all. I think the case for independence is unanswerable.
:50:43. > :50:47.An incredibly strong case that Scotland can stand on its own two
:50:47. > :50:51.feet, work with its neighbours, have the clout within the
:50:51. > :50:55.international community. And we are having a seat on the United Nations
:50:55. > :50:59.which we currently do not have. I think the case for independence
:50:59. > :51:03.trumps the case for further devolution that there are those who
:51:03. > :51:08.believe that there should be further devolution. Thank you for
:51:09. > :51:13.that. More specifics now on the poll
:51:14. > :51:18.which we mentioned earlier and this MORI poll commissioned by the
:51:18. > :51:21.Future of Scotland Campaign, 1,000 people were asked to name the
:51:21. > :51:28.issues and more than one if they wanted of most concern to them. The
:51:28. > :51:34.economy was named as a key concern for 51%, followed by unemployment
:51:34. > :51:40.which mattered most for 21%. Education was most important for
:51:40. > :51:42.21% and public spending cuts by 20%. Scottish independence was a key
:51:42. > :51:48.concern for 16%. The Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations
:51:48. > :51:56.has a leading role in this Future of Scotland Campaign, and it's
:51:56. > :51:59.chief executive Martin Sime is here now. The shows the people of
:51:59. > :52:05.Scotland represented in this poll are quite a way ahead of the
:52:05. > :52:09.politicians in terms of understand it the issues and wanted to see an
:52:09. > :52:14.open discussion and debate about all the options for Scotland's
:52:14. > :52:19.governance rather than turning this into yes/ no Punch and Judy
:52:19. > :52:23.campaign. What do you think should be asked in the 2014 referendum?
:52:23. > :52:26.What more should be discussed. The Future of Scotland Campaign were
:52:26. > :52:32.taking the temperature of the public to see their views on a
:52:32. > :52:36.range of subjects. I think for example, a large majority of the
:52:36. > :52:40.people who responded wanted to see welfare powers transferred to the
:52:40. > :52:47.Scottish Parliament. I think that is an interesting and important
:52:47. > :52:51.agenda. We should be debating that now. Those of the real issues that
:52:51. > :52:56.people are concerned about rather than the campaigns that a week will
:52:56. > :53:00.see. It strikes me that spending lot of money on staff and public
:53:00. > :53:10.relations to argue yes/ no is not actually the kind of debate that
:53:10. > :53:18.people want. The politicians ought Do you think there should be a
:53:18. > :53:21.second question? What we are interested in at this stage is
:53:21. > :53:25.keeping all the options on the table and opening out the debate so
:53:25. > :53:30.that real people get a chance to contribute. How does that work in
:53:30. > :53:34.practice? What are the mechanisms? There's lot of initiatives going on
:53:34. > :53:38.to encourage people, not from the politicians interestingly. They
:53:38. > :53:44.will appear in the endless political shows doing this phoney
:53:44. > :53:49.war and we all know what happens when that happens. The casualty of
:53:49. > :53:53.that approach, we know that. Rather than turn this into a binary issue,
:53:53. > :53:58.we should discuss the issues that affect people and reflect the
:53:58. > :54:01.aspirations they have and in their lives and the kind of Parliament
:54:01. > :54:06.they would like to see and powers they would like to see if. We have
:54:06. > :54:11.to leave it there, thank you. With high gold prices and tough
:54:11. > :54:13.economic times, more people are cashing in on their jewellery. But
:54:13. > :54:18.a BBC Scotland investigation has found some people are getting a
:54:18. > :54:22.very raw deal. Scottish consumer groups are calling for a code of
:54:22. > :54:25.conduct like the oneself of the border. Good Morning Scotland's
:54:25. > :54:32.business presenter Waseem Zakir has been looking into the booming cash-
:54:32. > :54:38.for-gold industry. Gold, a safe haven during turbulent
:54:38. > :54:43.times and the commodity. It is in demand as never before. Its price
:54:43. > :54:47.has soared recently. More and more people are cashing in on their old
:54:47. > :54:51.gold. The number of poor because has doubled in the past few years
:54:51. > :54:58.and gold buying outlets have mushroomed. But there are real
:54:59. > :55:04.horror stories about and -- unscrupulous buyers. We are worried
:55:04. > :55:08.that people are offered evaluation and than they are offered much less.
:55:08. > :55:13.People accepting a much lower valuation or paying to get their
:55:13. > :55:16.gold back. To have managed to get hold of some gold for myself and
:55:16. > :55:21.there was to do some mystery shopping to see what sort of prices
:55:21. > :55:26.I will get. But first, I want to see how much it is actually worth.
:55:26. > :55:34.My little 18 carat charm ways to put 69 grams and according to
:55:34. > :55:44.today's prices, it is worth �59.60. When nine earrings way 3.76 grams
:55:44. > :55:46.
:55:46. > :55:51.# She's a gold digger. And son it I sampled a dozen gold buyers around
:55:52. > :55:56.Glasgow and the prices I got ranged from 50 to �90.
:55:56. > :56:01.This man's shop give me one of the better prices, �48 when it was
:56:01. > :56:05.valued at nearly 60. He agreed to explain what accounts for this
:56:05. > :56:09.difference. We stand to make a margin but it is to cover costs and
:56:09. > :56:14.we have to make a bit of profit, yes. But I think we are paying much
:56:14. > :56:21.more than most and our training scheme has to be paid for, our
:56:21. > :56:24.staff training, it is all time. The systems we set up in place and the
:56:24. > :56:29.advice we give to customers, we have to be rewarded and am afraid
:56:29. > :56:32.this is part of the way of doing it. It is all well and good taking your
:56:32. > :56:36.gold to a shop where you can't walk out if you're not happy with the
:56:36. > :56:41.price but what about the company's way you have to send your cold off?
:56:41. > :56:47.The poorest prices are received were from online and postal cash
:56:47. > :56:50.companies. One of them offered me a staggering �17 for my gold so just
:56:50. > :56:58.what regulation is there to prevent people getting ripped off? As far
:56:58. > :57:02.as am aware, there aren't. People can pick a price on the day or pick
:57:02. > :57:06.a price depending on that customer which is very unfair. There should
:57:06. > :57:09.be a published price on the day and the customers will understand they
:57:09. > :57:13.have got a margin and that is why you why in business but there
:57:13. > :57:17.should be a publish price so the guidelines are more clear to the
:57:17. > :57:21.customers. In England and Wales, a code of conduct was launched last
:57:21. > :57:25.week to try to self regulates the industry. It is something consumer
:57:25. > :57:29.bodies would like to see adopted in Scotland. We would welcome any
:57:29. > :57:34.regulation that makes sure that customers are protected in any
:57:34. > :57:43.dealings they are having for the cash-for-gold industry. The
:57:43. > :57:48.Scottish consumers may be worse off than English counterparts. But a
:57:48. > :57:53.voluntary code may not work. We are aware that what we need to do is
:57:53. > :57:57.give the voluntary code some time to be tested. That will see if it
:57:57. > :58:01.makes that improvement. There will be concerns that because it is a
:58:01. > :58:05.voluntary code, people who at the West End of practice are unlikely
:58:05. > :58:07.to abide by it and then we would have to look at whether or not the
:58:07. > :58:13.Government would introduced legislation to protect the public
:58:13. > :58:17.more carefully. As the bill winds of the global economy and
:58:17. > :58:23.increasing prosperity in India and China drive up demand for gold, one
:58:24. > :58:27.thing is for sure - the scrap gold buying business is here to stay for
:58:27. > :58:34.a while you it. And you can hear the documentary
:58:34. > :58:39.about selling old gold on BBC Radio Scotland this afternoon at 4:30
:58:39. > :58:45.four and also more on the BBC Scotland news website. Time for the
:58:45. > :58:48.news with Gillian Smart. Good afternoon. 143 will back of
:58:48. > :58:52.Scotland and NatWest bank branches have opened on a Sunday for the
:58:52. > :58:59.first time -- well because, after a computer glitch. The technical
:58:59. > :59:04.fault which has now been fixed let many people unable to use their
:59:04. > :59:07.accounts. A backlog was cleared. Well Bank of Scotland said updating
:59:08. > :59:14.customer accounts had taken longer than expected -- a Royal Bank of
:59:14. > :59:18.Scotland. But the services may not resume properly until tomorrow.
:59:18. > :59:21.Scottish shoppers may have to pay 5p for plastic bags and a so-called
:59:21. > :59:25.bag tax which could raise �5 million for charity. The Scottish
:59:25. > :59:28.Government is starting a three- month consultation on a range of
:59:28. > :59:31.proposals looking to cut waste and protect the environment. Proceeds
:59:31. > :59:39.of the bag tax would go to good causes after retailers have covered
:59:39. > :59:44.their costs. We are finally seeing things settle
:59:44. > :59:51.down after the wet and windy weather. Lot of Wendy weather but
:59:51. > :59:55.also more cloud over northern areas we outbreaks of rain but that will
:59:55. > :00:02.become more patchy through the day. Decent bulls of sunshine through
:00:02. > :00:06.central and southern Scotland. We could see sharp showers to what
:00:06. > :00:16.five and the east corner but it will feel pleasant in the sunshine.
:00:16. > :00:20.
:00:20. > :00:24.-- to what five. Our next bulletin Think back to your last year at
:00:24. > :00:27.school and perhaps you had an end of term disco or a ceilidh? Well
:00:27. > :00:30.nowadays it's more likely to marked by an American-style prom -
:00:31. > :00:33.complete with limousines, fancy clothes and tiaras. And it's not
:00:33. > :00:39.just secondary schools who are glamming it up, primary schools are
:00:39. > :00:45.doing it too. So as prom season is upon us our reporter Hayley Jarvis
:00:45. > :00:51.asks if it's all just a bit of harmless fun?
:00:51. > :01:00.Nicole is preparing for her big night, the high-school prom. I have
:01:00. > :01:04.done my hair and make-up by has a new dress and shoes. Looking good
:01:04. > :01:09.does not come cheap. The willingness to splash out on prom
:01:09. > :01:15.night is proving to be big business. We first opened three years ago.
:01:15. > :01:22.got one or two. Last year, there was an increase. This year, we had
:01:22. > :01:32.about five in today and more at the weekend, it seems to be coming more
:01:32. > :01:33.
:01:33. > :01:38.popular. Are you looking forward to it? It should be good. A glamorous
:01:38. > :01:42.look for a glitzy occasion. No disco in the school hall for these
:01:42. > :01:48.pupils, they have hired a hotel where they will have a three-course
:01:48. > :01:56.meal before dancing the night away. A high-school people look forward
:01:56. > :02:06.to it. It is the highlight of the year. A Until recently, the Prom
:02:06. > :02:09.
:02:09. > :02:13.was an American event. It is as over-the-top as pupils would wanted
:02:13. > :02:18.to be. We would find out if anybody was not coming because of the cost
:02:18. > :02:26.and the school would help out in that case, without people knowing
:02:26. > :02:30.about it. It is nice to see the picture, because then you can
:02:30. > :02:36.visualise the kind of evening they had. Julie is researching the
:02:36. > :02:42.impact of the growing number of Proms in Scotland and found 92% of
:02:42. > :02:46.secondary schools had one last year. The inspectorate are into the pram
:02:46. > :02:52.because they think it gives leadership skills to the children
:02:52. > :03:00.and motivates them -- prom. In itself, I think it is a good thing.
:03:00. > :03:04.The ritual of moving from one state to another state, the biggest
:03:04. > :03:14.downside would be, I suppose, is where there is an excess in terms
:03:14. > :03:21.of consumption. It appears that those attending are getting younger,
:03:22. > :03:31.like these primary seven pupils. are using ceilidh music, but we are
:03:32. > :03:34.
:03:34. > :03:39.dressing up. Lucky prom. It gives you a good feeling. -- like a prom.
:03:39. > :03:43.The fact that the children refer to it as a prom, it is the
:03:43. > :03:49.Americanisation of the dance and gradually that has become more of
:03:49. > :03:53.an important thing for the children and families. For the school, it is
:03:53. > :03:58.something we monitor carefully. If the balance was tipped, we would
:03:58. > :04:05.have to address it. What is wrong with primary school pupils getting
:04:05. > :04:15.some of the glamour of the prom? you do that at primary school, by
:04:15. > :04:16.
:04:16. > :04:26.secondary school, Euro-X -- your expectations are increasing. Maybe
:04:26. > :04:28.
:04:28. > :04:32.this then is increasing. This pupil and his friends wanted a limousine
:04:32. > :04:35.for their high school prom, it was the only one left. If they become
:04:35. > :04:45.increasingly lavish, how will pupils travel in a few years?
:04:45. > :04:46.
:04:46. > :04:52.Perhaps a helicopter. One school has turned down a request for that.
:04:52. > :04:54.Just before we go, BBC Scotland is looking for audience members for