16/10/2011

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:00:16. > :00:26.Does it prove that money still buys access to British politics? We hear

:00:26. > :00:28.

:00:28. > :00:31.from a govern Minister, Jim Murphy and Tory backbenchers have. On the

:00:31. > :00:34.Politics Show Scotland, we'll hear from Labour's new Shadow Scottish

:00:34. > :00:38.Secretary on how the party aims to persuade voters to back them again.

:00:38. > :00:40.We'll also try and find out how many questions the people will be

:00:41. > :00:44.asked in the independence referendum. Could there be a simple

:00:44. > :00:47.Yes and No campaign? Or will there be a second question keeping the

:00:47. > :00:57.union but offering more powers - so-called devolution max? It would

:00:57. > :01:00.make eminent sense. I thought Labour would be behind that. And it

:01:00. > :01:10.is an industry which is worth billions and growing, but why does

:01:10. > :01:10.

:01:10. > :23:34.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1343 seconds

:23:34. > :23:41.the Scottish tourist industry feel I do not understand why the private

:23:41. > :23:48.office did not say. Why they did not go to somebody else and see

:23:48. > :23:54.they are worried about it. There is a feeling of a lack of joined up

:23:54. > :23:59.thinking. We do not know what was and was not there. That is why we

:23:59. > :24:07.have got the Cabinet Secretary looking into it. We must wait until

:24:07. > :24:16.after that report has been produced. The cat let Liam Fox get away with

:24:16. > :24:22.cultivating links with other regimes. The fact that it might be

:24:22. > :24:32.a passable thing does not mean that he was not doing it, some of the

:24:32. > :24:36.

:24:36. > :24:40.Realistic. Some of it is complete nonsense. You would expect him to

:24:40. > :24:50.have relationships with people... What did you make of that?

:24:50. > :24:55.

:24:55. > :25:05.Referring back... The answer is, without... All politicians at one

:25:05. > :25:07.

:25:07. > :25:17.to stop newspapers. Newspapers are very important. We cannot have it

:25:17. > :25:17.

:25:17. > :25:21.newspapers are making decisions about what actually did happen. MI

:25:21. > :25:30.policy area, in the front of the Observer, the story was completely

:25:30. > :25:34.wrong. Thank you very much indeed for being here. Later in the

:25:34. > :25:43.programme, what might Europe and our relationship with that look

:25:43. > :25:53.like once the dust settles on the eurozone crisis? First however, the

:25:53. > :26:03.

:26:03. > :26:13.Politics Show where you are. Coming up on the show today, we ask the

:26:13. > :26:21.new Shadow Secretary of what her vision of Labour is. It is quite

:26:22. > :26:30.possible for powers to gravitate Isn't it about time a recognised

:26:30. > :26:37.that tourism brings in a jobs and cash to Scotland? Should it be

:26:37. > :26:42.better supported. First at the lunchtime news.

:26:42. > :26:45.Good morning. Full-time carers in Scotland are to get cash from the

:26:45. > :26:47.Scottish government which they can Scottish government which they can

:26:47. > :26:57.use to pay for a short break. The To around 3,500 carers, both

:26:57. > :26:59.

:26:59. > :27:03.Julie Peacock reports. It is estimated that carers save the

:27:03. > :27:07.health service thousands of pounds a year. The government has

:27:07. > :27:11.announced it is giving almost �1 billion to charity groups to

:27:11. > :27:16.provide short breaks for carers. The money will be used to fund

:27:16. > :27:21.after-school clubs for young carers and social activities to prevent

:27:21. > :27:29.people becoming lonely or isolated. There are around 650,000 carers in

:27:29. > :27:31.Scotland. The money will benefit around 3500 of them.

:27:31. > :27:35.A new survey suggests almost three quarters of Scots think Holyrood

:27:35. > :27:37.should have more say over how the country is run than the Westminster

:27:37. > :27:39.government. The Scottish Social Attitudes Survey also found a

:27:39. > :27:43.higher level of satisfaction with the Scottish Government. Speaking

:27:43. > :27:49.this morning, Alex Salmond said the figures were encouraging. In the

:27:50. > :27:54.survey published today, support for the Scottish government is running

:27:54. > :28:00.at 62%, three times the support for trust in the United Kingdom

:28:00. > :28:03.Government. For the first time, TV viewers are

:28:03. > :28:06.to see footage of Sir Fred Goodwin apologising to Royal Bank of

:28:06. > :28:08.Scotland shareholders. It's in a BBC Scotland documentary tomorrow,

:28:08. > :28:11.three years after the Edinburgh- based banking group was bailed out

:28:11. > :28:15.by the British taxpayers. It ran up the biggest corporate loss in

:28:15. > :28:19.British history. RBS: Inside The Bank That Ran Out Of Money is at 9

:28:19. > :28:21.o'clock tomorrow evening. To tennis, and Andy Murray has

:28:21. > :28:24.successfully defended his Shanghai Masters title by beating Spain's

:28:24. > :28:31.David Ferrer 7-5 6-4. He has completed an Asian triple after

:28:31. > :28:34.wins in Thailand and Japan. He's now world number three.

:28:34. > :28:37.Showers in the north west of the country will be come heavier and

:28:37. > :28:40.more frequent throughout the day, although there will be some sunny

:28:40. > :28:43.spells. Elsewhere it is going to be fairly cloudy, with one or two

:28:43. > :28:45.showers. Tonight, those showers in the north west will become quite

:28:45. > :28:48.blustery with winds touching gale force in places.

:28:48. > :28:58.That's it for now. Our next news bulletin is just after quarter past

:28:58. > :28:59.

:28:59. > :29:02.six this evening. Now it's back to Raymond.

:29:02. > :29:05.Thanks, Rob. They have dubbed themselves Team

:29:05. > :29:08.Scotland. The latest Labour reshuffle has seen 13 of the

:29:08. > :29:11.party's Scottish MPs made spokesmen or women on a variety of subjects

:29:11. > :29:14.from climate change to benefits. But what will they actually stand

:29:14. > :29:16.for? The party's chief strategist Douglas Alexander has called on his

:29:16. > :29:20.colleagues to find a story which reconnects with the Scottish people.

:29:20. > :29:23.He also pointed out only one in eight Scots voted for Labour in

:29:23. > :29:33.May's Holyrood election. So they seem to be a party in search of a

:29:33. > :29:41.

:29:41. > :29:51.vision, but what vision? Christine Labour has taken significant steps

:29:51. > :29:58.

:29:58. > :30:04.this week to help of the electoral recovery north of Scotland. Our job

:30:04. > :30:09.is to be a better expression of a politics of social justice and that

:30:09. > :30:18.sense of possibility. North of the border, after giving a prang speech

:30:18. > :30:28.on where the party went franc -- a franc speech on where the party

:30:28. > :30:32.went wrong in May, a new vision was unveiled. But a former First

:30:32. > :30:36.Minister warns of critical obstacles of the Labour Party must

:30:36. > :30:43.overcome before its members are capable of working together to

:30:43. > :30:46.produce the new vision necessary for recovery. Holyrood and

:30:46. > :30:50.Westminster must have equal status and that is not happening. There

:30:50. > :30:56.are too many tensions, too many people still at Westminster who

:30:56. > :31:04.want to lecture those at Edinburgh. We have got to start singing off

:31:04. > :31:10.the same hymn sheet. The success of the SNP is that there has a small

:31:10. > :31:15.number working closely together. are not articulating clearly the

:31:15. > :31:24.core values they claim to stand for, according to one commentator.

:31:24. > :31:28.us what a more equal Scotland will look like. Talk about life chances,

:31:28. > :31:33.about the good things you have done and not done. That agenda is

:31:33. > :31:42.something Labour have never fleshed out in the 12 years of the Scottish

:31:42. > :31:47.Parliament. Some politicians have tried, but there has never been one

:31:47. > :31:55.of mantra. A of the Labour Party can overcome its internal

:31:55. > :31:59.differences, Henry McLeish says his top priority should come up with a

:31:59. > :32:05.credible alternative but to independence. We have to look at

:32:05. > :32:11.the issue of the independence referendum. Not just to oppose that

:32:11. > :32:17.and have a unionist Alliance, but to have an alternative. For me, it

:32:17. > :32:22.could be Devolution Max. But come the party deliver these

:32:22. > :32:30.alternatives and time for an independence referendum and

:32:30. > :32:38.outmanoeuvre the SNP to return to I am joined now by the newly

:32:38. > :32:44.promoted Shadow Scottish Secretary, Margaret Curran. Congratulations on

:32:44. > :32:49.your promotion. What was a job description you were given?

:32:49. > :32:59.priority is about the future of Scotland. Henry McLeish had a point

:32:59. > :33:01.

:33:01. > :33:07.when he said that me -- that any need unity, parity with Westminster.

:33:07. > :33:15.Our priority is the people of Scotland. Talk about the lessons.

:33:15. > :33:25.You talk about parity between MPs and MSPs. As a former MSP, there

:33:25. > :33:28.was undoubtedly tensions. It is sometimes at the nature of change.

:33:28. > :33:34.But looking forward, there is unity of purpose. We have learned a lot

:33:34. > :33:42.of lessons. Westminster has a deep understanding and commitment to

:33:42. > :33:47.Holyrood. But in the Westminster team, we have a very strong group

:33:48. > :33:53.of talented MPs, your MPs with new ideas and the new energy who want

:33:53. > :33:56.to co-ordinate and focus that in the best interest of Scotland.

:33:56. > :34:03.There will be at some point and new leader of the Labour Party in

:34:03. > :34:10.Scotland, what will be your relationship with whoever that is?

:34:10. > :34:17.I know them well, so I am sure it will be a good relationship. They

:34:17. > :34:23.will be directing policy in Scotland. Where it is a reserved

:34:23. > :34:27.issue. I can guarantee you that when you focus on the people that

:34:27. > :34:32.represent you and when you focus on Scotland, and we have a lot of

:34:32. > :34:36.thinking to do about the future of Scotland, then it we will gel.

:34:36. > :34:46.will that work on policies like higher education for the Labour

:34:46. > :34:53.

:34:53. > :35:02.Party in Westminster will have one due -- one opinion. We have been

:35:03. > :35:06.living with death of policies for many years. -- a different policies.

:35:06. > :35:10.If you are a voter, you are hearing one message across the United

:35:10. > :35:15.Kingdom, a separate message in Scotland and your perception might

:35:15. > :35:25.be that you are a divided party, you do not have a common purpose.

:35:25. > :35:32.do not think that is true. We are a variety of nations with different

:35:32. > :35:37.government. We have a devolved nations addressing their own issues.

:35:37. > :35:41.Scottish education has always been different from English education.

:35:41. > :35:46.This is just perhaps a more dramatic version of that. But the

:35:46. > :35:50.Labour Party is a big party, we are a big movement of the big

:35:50. > :35:52.challenges and we can accommodate back quite easily. Is it just the

:35:52. > :35:56.Labour Party in Scotland which seems to be struggling to tell

:35:56. > :36:05.voters a story which will attract them, or the Labour Party across

:36:05. > :36:10.the UK? There are lessons to try and understand the big challenges

:36:10. > :36:14.in the United Kingdom. The biggest challenge that Scotland faces is

:36:14. > :36:19.the economic challenge that is taking across the world. We had

:36:19. > :36:23.80,000 young people that are unemployed. That is a major change.

:36:23. > :36:29.I think that some of the thinking that Ed Miliband is doing is very

:36:29. > :36:33.interesting. We have to change in Scotland to adapt to the changes.

:36:33. > :36:38.People in Scotland to talk about changing the party, coming up with

:36:38. > :36:43.different policies, but we have no details. What has Labour stand for

:36:43. > :36:49.now? The big challenge facing Labour in the future, what Douglas

:36:49. > :36:59.was saying the other night is very interesting, it is the big economic

:36:59. > :37:03.changes that we are facing. We have to face that enormous at this

:37:03. > :37:09.location -- dislocation. Devolution is about that redistribution of

:37:09. > :37:17.power. It is about empowering people. We have not talked enough

:37:17. > :37:23.about that. So give us a policy. will not give you a list of

:37:23. > :37:31.policies. One that would do. will challenge on of employment in

:37:31. > :37:37.Scotland. When we face economic dislocation, we will make sure that

:37:37. > :37:40.we fulfil Labour's historic mission. When a Europe of the survey

:37:40. > :37:50.published today, people trust the Scottish government more than their

:37:50. > :37:52.

:37:52. > :37:56.UK government. That is as a result of what the SNP has done. When you

:37:56. > :38:02.look at that survey, over many years, when devolution could first

:38:02. > :38:12.given, people welcome that very strongly. I think the service part

:38:12. > :38:12.

:38:12. > :38:21.of a bigger story. There are possibly two questions want

:38:21. > :38:26.independence. -- on independence. We have got a lot of deep thinking

:38:26. > :38:30.to do and I want to be part of that regeneration of the party.

:38:30. > :38:36.Developing policies for the future. We need to make sure that we don't

:38:36. > :38:45.just get into a straitjacket. The questions in Scotland are too big

:38:45. > :38:48.for that. My team in the UK will be contributing to that bigger debate

:38:48. > :38:58.is that we need to have about the big challenges Scotland face rather

:38:58. > :39:00.

:39:00. > :39:05.than talking about this -- about the powers of the Scottish

:39:05. > :39:11.government. We need to talk about demographic change, economic change.

:39:11. > :39:15.That is a conversation we need to have her. Thank you very much

:39:15. > :39:18.indeed for your time. The Scottish National Party will

:39:18. > :39:20.gather in Inverness later this week to celebrate their election victory,

:39:20. > :39:24.but also to discuss how they can win the upcoming independence

:39:24. > :39:27.referendum. But how many questions will voters be asked to answer? A

:39:27. > :39:30.simple yes or no to independence, or a second option which would keep

:39:30. > :39:40.the union but back greater powers for Holyrood - so-called Devolution

:39:40. > :39:41.

:39:41. > :39:46.Remember this question on the last time Scotland was asked to vote in

:39:46. > :39:50.rare referendum on palace was back in 1997. People were asked if they

:39:50. > :39:59.wanted a Scottish Parliament. As the results came in, it was clear

:39:59. > :40:08.that the answer was an overwhelming "yes". The votes cast for "yes",

:40:08. > :40:13.18,790. It represents 80%. there was also a second question.

:40:13. > :40:23.The votes cast I agree that a Scottish Parliament should have

:40:23. > :40:24.

:40:24. > :40:30.tax-varying powers, up 16,112. Representing 68.7 % of the ballot

:40:30. > :40:35.box. Now the people are to be asked again about Scotland's

:40:35. > :40:39.constitutional future, and again, they could be two questions. This

:40:39. > :40:44.is what the last minority SNP Government proposed. First, a

:40:44. > :40:48.greater powers ballot. The Scottish Parliament would, with certain

:40:48. > :40:52.exceptions, be responsible for all laws, taxes and duties in Scotland.

:40:52. > :40:56.The exceptions, which would continue to be the responsibility

:40:56. > :40:59.of the United Kingdom Parliament, our defence and foreign affairs,

:40:59. > :41:09.financial regulation, monetary policy and the currency. Do you

:41:09. > :41:21.

:41:21. > :41:24.agree? The second question would But since these proposals were

:41:24. > :41:28.published, there has been an election and Alex Salmond has a new

:41:28. > :41:34.majority Government. He is yet to rule on how many questions he

:41:34. > :41:38.currently prefers. If there is a third option, more powers, then the

:41:38. > :41:41.likelihood is that that would win, or at least that Scotland would

:41:41. > :41:45.vote for either independence or more powers, and so the SNP could

:41:45. > :41:49.come away with at least gaining something from the referendum. It

:41:49. > :41:55.is an insurance policy for the SNP. But that insures policy raises the

:41:55. > :42:01.prospect of some conflict campaigning. The SNP are during the

:42:01. > :42:08."yes" "yes", others are doing "no" "no", and others St "yes" to more

:42:08. > :42:13.powers and "no" to independence. But he would those others be?

:42:13. > :42:16.majority of people, I think many people who vote for the SNP, would

:42:16. > :42:20.vote for increased devolution but not outright independence. Many

:42:20. > :42:28.people voting for the Labour Party and probably the other parties, too,

:42:28. > :42:32.would feel some of it. So I think that no, Yes campaign may not win.

:42:32. > :42:37.But people would have to know exactly what they were voting for.

:42:37. > :42:41.The last Holyrood referendum had cross-party support. That would not

:42:41. > :42:46.happen this time. On the constitution, Scotland's politics

:42:46. > :42:49.remains deeply divided. I am joined now by Ian Davidson, chair of the

:42:49. > :42:56.Scottish Affairs Committee at Westminster, who has just announced

:42:56. > :43:00.two inquiries into he independence referendum. Also the SNP's Derek

:43:00. > :43:05.Mackay, Cook represents the backbenchers at Holyrood. Alex

:43:05. > :43:07.Salmond hinted earlier in the week he would have a second question,

:43:07. > :43:11.one on for fiscal autonomy or Devolution Max, one of the other

:43:11. > :43:15.names for it. That will happen, Bridget? I think the Government

:43:15. > :43:19.remains open-minded on the questions that will be put to

:43:19. > :43:23.Scotland. That will be outlined over the coming period but if there

:43:23. > :43:29.are multiple questions, what will be clear is that we have a very

:43:29. > :43:34.positive case for both more powers for the Scottish Government or

:43:34. > :43:36.independence. But we will be aiming to win the independence. It is only

:43:36. > :43:40.fair that people know there will be a question on independence, so it

:43:40. > :43:43.is only fair that you said as much time as possible for people to know

:43:43. > :43:47.there will be a second question, in case there are those areas

:43:47. > :43:52.campaigns. How much time will you give people before you announce

:43:52. > :43:56.what there will be for a second question, and if there will be one?

:43:56. > :44:00.The First Minister said there would be the referendum in the second

:44:00. > :44:08.part of the parliamentary term. The Scottish people have given us a

:44:08. > :44:13.mandate for that. There will be a - - plenty of time. There will be a

:44:13. > :44:16.proper process to ensure that Scotland's voice is probably ahead

:44:16. > :44:19.and that the polls that we have seen today show that both

:44:19. > :44:24.independence is very popular and people think that power is rightly

:44:24. > :44:28.held in Holyrood, the most relevant parliament in dealing with a

:44:28. > :44:34.Scotland's day-to-day concerns. Davidson, you have watched these

:44:34. > :44:41.two inquiries, or your committee has. By, or when this is an issue

:44:41. > :44:44.that will be dealt with at Holyrood? -- why? It is much better

:44:44. > :44:48.we have separation achieved amicably and that will have to be

:44:48. > :44:54.done with the UK and Scotland and all of us, whichever the retake,

:44:54. > :44:59.will want the process to have been as amicable and settled as possible.

:44:59. > :45:03.That is why. There are two points we want to pursue which we do not

:45:03. > :45:10.believe are being pursued adequate. How a separation referendum is

:45:10. > :45:13.actually going to be run. It is clear that at the moment legal

:45:13. > :45:17.representation for constitutional matters lies with Westminster. That

:45:17. > :45:21.was decided by the Scottish people when they voted in the referendum.

:45:21. > :45:25.Wait. That was is guided by the Scottish people when they voted in

:45:25. > :45:29.the referendum. -- that was decided. But things have moved on and it is

:45:29. > :45:31.clear we are going to have a referendum of some sort. For the

:45:31. > :45:35.second thing we will pursue is that if we are going to have separation,

:45:35. > :45:39.people have got to know what they are averaging about. Michael Moore

:45:40. > :45:43.produced a list of half a dozen items he Bix need to be clarified.

:45:43. > :45:48.We are asking people in Scotland what additional issues they need to

:45:48. > :45:54.have clarified. For example... Let's just take that first point.

:45:54. > :45:57.Which is that it would be an advisory referendum. Westminster

:45:57. > :46:02.are hardly going to turn around, having had a referendum in Scotland,

:46:02. > :46:06.and say, tell you what, we do not care what you think. Why should a

:46:06. > :46:16.referendum simply be advisory? Why don't we take the view that it will

:46:16. > :46:17.

:46:17. > :46:24.be binding, but Westminster accepts it is a binding referendum? One at

:46:24. > :46:28.a time. It is important that if we are moving to separation we do it

:46:28. > :46:31.amicably. I would have thought that having both Westminster and the

:46:31. > :46:40.Scottish Government clear that it will be a fair referendum with a

:46:40. > :46:44.fair question, then that is the best way forward. Do you think that

:46:44. > :46:51.they are trying to park their tanks on your lawn? All the parties in

:46:51. > :46:54.Westminster are all over the place. Scott learned -- the Scottish

:46:54. > :46:58.National Party has a mandate to hold this referendum. The Scottish

:46:58. > :47:08.Affairs Committee, it is absolutely irrelevant, it is a sideshow, it is

:47:08. > :47:12.not a committee made up of Scottish MPs. As we approach... As we

:47:12. > :47:16.approach the referendum, there has to be a prospectus that will

:47:16. > :47:20.outline what independence and the other choices would mean. It is the

:47:20. > :47:25.status quo. But in terms of Mr Davidson's chairmanship of the

:47:25. > :47:31.committee, I do not think he has too much credibility on harmonious

:47:31. > :47:37.discussion. Mr Davidson has referred to the SNP as neo-fascists.

:47:37. > :47:41.Unacceptable language on what should be a very good debate on the

:47:41. > :47:47.future of the country. When the country decided to do this it was

:47:47. > :47:52.unanimous. There was not a single vote against. Representatives of

:47:52. > :47:58.all political parties in Scotland were in agreement. What exactly is

:47:58. > :48:03.the relevant Sardar you are going to ask questions in this inquiry,

:48:03. > :48:07.Ian Davidson. You have taught about the six points, or what other boys

:48:07. > :48:11.would you like clarified? The whole point of a qualification is that we

:48:11. > :48:16.are asking the people of Scotland to tell us what they want clarified.

:48:16. > :48:21.As a constituency MP I want to see what is going to happen to the

:48:21. > :48:26.shipyards clarified. Well, we can't cover everything, so... We cannot

:48:26. > :48:29.even get the language in a constructive tone. It is not

:48:29. > :48:34.separation, it is independence, it is perfectly normal around the

:48:34. > :48:42.world, so why the pejorative language? The Poles do suggest that

:48:42. > :48:45.independence is more popular than the alternatives. -- Poles. It

:48:45. > :48:50.appears it is Mr Davidson who's out of step with the people of Scotland

:48:50. > :48:53.and his own voters. Derek Mackay it seems to be making quite a good

:48:53. > :48:57.point, that Labour are not only losing the argument in Scotland but

:48:57. > :49:01.in the UK? That is why we need a referendum on the question of

:49:01. > :49:05.separation and we accept that. There will now be a referendum on

:49:05. > :49:09.separation and what we are saying is that firstly, it has got to be

:49:10. > :49:17.run properly. Most fans, a snowdrift questions... This is

:49:17. > :49:23.ridiculous. There will be up an independent body -- are there will

:49:23. > :49:29.be an independent body... It will be a referendum of the highest

:49:29. > :49:35.standards. Quite a heated debate. When we can use Midge Ure language

:49:35. > :49:41.and described... -- Midge Ure language. Labour leadership, are

:49:41. > :49:44.you going to stand for any post? Yes, I will be standing as deputy

:49:44. > :49:48.leader. We had a meeting this morning and it was agreed that I

:49:48. > :49:52.would go forward. Thank you for your time this morning. When you

:49:52. > :50:00.think of big money-makers in the Scottish economy, what comes to

:50:00. > :50:04.mind? Foyle, whisky, tourism? Figures showed that more people are

:50:04. > :50:09.choosing to holiday here. The tourism industry generates �4

:50:09. > :50:12.billion a year and employs tens of thousands of people. But despite

:50:12. > :50:22.its economic importance, many you working the industry do not feel

:50:22. > :50:30.

:50:30. > :50:35.How to turn spectators into buyers, at this year's Scottish ski and

:50:35. > :50:41.outdoor show, will be a challenge but it is one the industry is

:50:41. > :50:48.taking on. New figures reveal between January and June 2011,

:50:48. > :50:52.domestic visits or staycations, to Scotland, rose by 6%. But there has

:50:52. > :50:57.been an a % decrease in overseas visits. That is compared to an

:50:57. > :51:02.increase of 7% across the UK. international visitors have not

:51:02. > :51:06.come in the amounts we wanted but they are a small part of our

:51:06. > :51:11.overall tourism market. And if the marketing expenditure is limited,

:51:11. > :51:15.you focus market expenditure on the bulk of your tourists, who come

:51:15. > :51:22.from domestic locations. So the big focus for us has got to beat

:51:22. > :51:29.England, the rest of Scotland. That is where we have the possibility to

:51:29. > :51:35.make money in a recession. This pub in Perthshire uses a website to

:51:35. > :51:40.promote itself but despite staycations, business is slow.

:51:40. > :51:45.has been a difficult year. We have not had much business at all from

:51:45. > :51:50.Visit Scotland. We put a lot into letting people know we are here. We

:51:50. > :51:54.try our hardest to work with other businesses in the tourism trade.

:51:54. > :51:59.One business they work with his Big Tree Campervans. The tourism

:51:59. > :52:03.industry generates �4 billion a year and the mobile phone business

:52:03. > :52:09.is part of that. The owner here believes his sector should receive

:52:09. > :52:14.more support to help increase turnover. My biggest fear is we

:52:14. > :52:17.forget some of the emerging markets, camper vans, motor homes,

:52:17. > :52:20.watersports and active leisure areas, and do not focus on them

:52:20. > :52:24.enough and really understand what makes those areas tick and do

:52:24. > :52:28.things with those to bring visitors into the country. In the winter

:52:28. > :52:33.months, Scottish cities can target the conference market and weekend

:52:33. > :52:42.breaks but rural areas struggle. If the tourism industry is to thrive,

:52:42. > :52:45.it needs to ensure that people who make staycations return. We have

:52:45. > :52:49.seen the beaches, which is great but some of the attractions have

:52:49. > :52:54.been closed. I would have loved to have had a bit more of the local

:52:54. > :52:59.fish. You can see that there is a lot of fish being farmed here and

:52:59. > :53:04.there but you cannot buy it. Scottish ski results will be hoping

:53:04. > :53:09.for a long, cold and snowy winter to draw in the crowds. The growth

:53:09. > :53:14.of the staycation is having an impact across the world. It is

:53:14. > :53:19.challenging but we definitely have a local market that was helping as

:53:19. > :53:25.well. Due to the general downturn, it is obvious that the tourism

:53:25. > :53:31.sector is what is suffering. They made more funds available for us to

:53:31. > :53:36.fight. With the 2012 Olympics approaching, Scotland must compete

:53:36. > :53:40.with London for its share of the market. The spotlight will be on

:53:40. > :53:45.the UK but London specifically, but it is on the rest of the UK. There

:53:45. > :53:52.is a lot of displacement that will take place within the UK, I eat

:53:52. > :53:59.people who would like to go to London but can't because the rooms

:53:59. > :54:06.are full. -- I mean people... the World Wide economy still wobbly,

:54:06. > :54:08.the challenge Scotland faces is to hold on to these staycation as and

:54:08. > :54:12.keep the international tourism on board.

:54:12. > :54:16.We have a couple of leading businessmen in the tourism industry,

:54:16. > :54:20.Robin Worsnop, chief executive of Rabbies Small Group Tours, and also

:54:20. > :54:26.the head of Edinburgh's Tourism Action Group, and the managing

:54:26. > :54:31.director of Crieff Hydro, Stephen Leckie, who is also the chair of

:54:31. > :54:35.the Scottish Tourism Forum. Stephen Leckie, give us an idea of how well

:54:35. > :54:40.Scotland has done in the last season. It seems the UK market is

:54:40. > :54:43.propping up the industry. The most recent statistics tell us that

:54:43. > :54:49.Scotland has performed very well this year and what am hearing is

:54:49. > :54:55.that in central Scotland, that is so. Up north and in rural areas it

:54:55. > :54:58.is a bit more tricky. In Crieff Hydro we are having a good year and

:54:58. > :55:03.that is after a significant investment in the last two years.

:55:03. > :55:08.Robin, things like fuel prices must have an impact on people travelling

:55:08. > :55:12.up, for example, from the south of England. Yes, it is definitely

:55:12. > :55:16.having an effect in the roar parts of the country. The central belt is

:55:16. > :55:19.doing well. I was surprised by the international figures that came out

:55:20. > :55:24.for the six months of the year because our experience has been

:55:24. > :55:29.completely the opposite of that and people I have been speaking to have

:55:29. > :55:34.been doing particularly well in this area. And we did not have the

:55:34. > :55:38.ash cloud disaster of April hitting us in 2011. We didn't have the

:55:38. > :55:42.sunshine either. I was very surprised to see these figures.

:55:42. > :55:45.What have you learned from these international tourists who come

:55:45. > :55:55.over here. What do they tell you about why they are choosing

:55:55. > :55:59.Scotland? I believe we have been a national competitive competitor

:55:59. > :56:06.since the Stirling devalued against the euro. Scotland has iconic

:56:06. > :56:11.assets. The Edinburgh festivals, the Highlands, the scenery. And the

:56:11. > :56:17.friendliness of the people here is a superb thing that visitors want

:56:17. > :56:20.to enjoy. Stephen Leckie, there seems to be some sense that lots of

:56:20. > :56:27.folk who work in the tourism industry think they do not get the

:56:28. > :56:34.attention they deserve. Is that your Gazette didn't -- perception?

:56:34. > :56:38.A joint this industry 30 years ago and even then there was this chap

:56:38. > :56:44.but tourism is one of the key drivers for economic growth in

:56:44. > :56:48.Scotland. Tourism has devolved and that is good news. We have a very

:56:48. > :56:51.able Visit Scotland marketing Scotland and that makes Scotland

:56:51. > :56:54.the envy of the rest of the world for having a large publicly-funded

:56:54. > :56:59.marketing body and then it is for the Private Business, people like

:56:59. > :57:04.me and Robin, to work that out and persuade people to come to Scotland.

:57:04. > :57:08.Her attitudes then changed to Visit Scotland, because for a long time

:57:08. > :57:14.the debate was that people who worked in the tourism sector did

:57:14. > :57:18.not feel it delivered for them? Has that changed? Perhaps there are

:57:18. > :57:27.some really high expectations of what Visit Scotland can achieve for

:57:27. > :57:32.the industry. In some terms it is measured at �4 billion. Other

:57:32. > :57:37.measurements are �11.5 billion. It cannot be expected to deliver

:57:37. > :57:41.everything for the industry itself. I believe that those who are doing

:57:41. > :57:46.well have invested heavily in their customer experience and in their

:57:46. > :57:50.product, and they are getting the word of mouth or what is commonly

:57:50. > :57:55.referred to as the world of mouth, driving their business forward

:57:55. > :57:59.today. Stephen Leckie, how do you hold on to these staycations,

:57:59. > :58:07.because the minute the economy goes up, people will think, I tell you

:58:07. > :58:10.what, I would rather go and see the sunshine? In Crieff Hydro, it is

:58:10. > :58:14.not just about giving customers the bed space and food but many other

:58:14. > :58:18.things in our result, persuading them that Crieff Hydro is the Eric

:58:18. > :58:23.Joyce in Scotland to keep coming back to. So is that focusing on

:58:23. > :58:27.service? It is about high quality, value for money, Investment back

:58:27. > :58:34.into the product and the staff, having Chris Tapp, happy staff, who

:58:34. > :58:37.want to look after our customers. - - having the good staff. A lot of

:58:37. > :58:42.people have complaints about service. They do, but I think that

:58:42. > :58:46.is often people with in Scotland who have a very high expectation.

:58:46. > :58:50.When you look at surveys for people who visit the country, they show