:00:20. > :00:23.A very warm welcome to the Scottish Parliament here at Holyrood, where
:00:23. > :00:26.two parties have their minds on other things - Labour and the
:00:27. > :00:33.Liberal Democrats have their conferences this weekend, which
:00:33. > :00:35.they have decided to hold on the same weekend. Right now it is
:00:35. > :00:39.questions to the First Minister. That is the big focus at this
:00:39. > :00:48.moment. Let's cross to the chamber and to my colleague.
:00:48. > :00:55.Thank you. Let's listen in. Thank you very
:00:55. > :01:01.much. Presiding Officer will be shocked by the relations from the
:01:01. > :01:05.Leveson Inquiry about payoffs, hacking and the relationship
:01:05. > :01:10.between police and politicians. It would be naive for us to see these
:01:10. > :01:15.as London practises which stop at the border. What lessons have been
:01:15. > :01:19.learnt from the Leveson Inquiry? Did he speak about this with the
:01:19. > :01:24.editor of News International, Rupert Murdoch? Well, there was a
:01:24. > :01:27.statement released yesterday on the meeting I had with the chairman of
:01:27. > :01:32.News Corporation, Rupert Murdoch yesterday. In terms of meetings
:01:32. > :01:36.with Rupert Murdoch, to have an open statement saying what was
:01:36. > :01:41.discussed is probably a pleasant change from past practise in the
:01:41. > :01:50.Labour Party. Can I say, take a serious point,
:01:50. > :01:56.because in terms of the Scottish input into leve leve -- Leveson,
:01:56. > :02:00.strat Clwyd will appear at the Leveson Inquiry later this month.
:02:00. > :02:10.It talks about the liaison. I support the police action which has
:02:10. > :02:10.
:02:10. > :02:15.been taken, just as I support the Leveson Inquiry itself. It is
:02:15. > :02:22.important that say wes must must assume Scottish aspects. In terms
:02:22. > :02:31.of the malpractice across the pross, reported by the -- press, reported
:02:31. > :02:36.by the Information Commissioner in 2006 while a range of newspaper s
:02:36. > :02:40.and, I am glad to say there were few Scottish examples and regional
:02:40. > :02:46.press examples from England. We have to be vigilant. It is right
:02:46. > :02:49.and proper that the police are pursuing this, and appearing at the
:02:49. > :02:53.inquiry. It is important to say that the evidence we have so far
:02:53. > :02:58.means that co-operation is the way we should go at the present moment.
:02:58. > :03:05.We stand ready and willing to act, because I think the criminal law
:03:05. > :03:10.must be upheld north and south of the border.
:03:10. > :03:14.Fine words have to be tested against the action that we take,
:03:14. > :03:19.First Minister. We know the police are not the only people who leaked
:03:19. > :03:29.stories to Rupert Murdoch. The Sun and the Sun on Sunday revealed the
:03:29. > :03:30.
:03:30. > :03:37.date of the referendum. Saturday, October 1st, 014, citing
:03:37. > :03:41.a -- 20 14 citing a Government source. It is leaked before this
:03:41. > :03:45.Parliament was told and before the people of Scotland have their say.
:03:45. > :03:49.Has the First Minister, who of course wrote a column in the
:03:49. > :03:57.paper's first edition thought who might possibly have been the source
:03:57. > :04:07.of such a leak? What steps has the First Minister to determine the
:04:07. > :04:08.
:04:08. > :04:14.source of that leak? Of course we never encounter a
:04:14. > :04:20.situation where a Labour politician had a column in the Sun newspaper!
:04:20. > :04:24.To take the serious point, can I direct Johann Lamont to my remarks
:04:24. > :04:30.on the radio on Sunday morning? I will wrote them "it is a possible
:04:30. > :04:34.date of course, because we said it being the autumn of 2014. We are
:04:34. > :04:39.considering a Saturday as opposed to a Thursday to increase turnout.
:04:39. > :04:49.We are only a month into a three- month consultation. I think the
:04:49. > :04:53.last check we have 2,700 responses. So we are heading to 10,000
:04:53. > :04:58.responds. Once analysed then we will announce what the date will be.
:04:58. > :05:06.Not until after the consultation." That is what I said last Sunday.
:05:06. > :05:16.That still pertains today. I am sure in the First Minister's
:05:16. > :05:19.
:05:19. > :05:25.world that sound very believable. For just a few weeks ago, I read
:05:25. > :05:30.out the First Minister's cringe- worthy letter to Fred Goodwin. We
:05:30. > :05:35.are reminded how far the First Minister was prepared to go to
:05:35. > :05:43.accommodate Donald Trump. That did not go well, although First
:05:43. > :05:50.Minister, he still likes you.Ly not embar raise him by -- I will not
:05:50. > :05:55.embarrass him by reading this out. It seems he has finally learnt that
:05:55. > :05:59.theatre TVs and golf DVDs will not get a reply, but a good exclusive
:05:59. > :06:05.will. The editor of the Sun, despite what the First Minister
:06:05. > :06:11.says, the editor says is that the 18th October, 2014, he is so sure,
:06:11. > :06:19.he told Twitter "See what odds you can get on it. We are right." Is
:06:19. > :06:27.the First Minister saying that the editor of the Sun is wrong?
:06:27. > :06:32.The First Minister is saying that Johann Lamont is wrong.
:06:32. > :06:42.The position is as I have read out a few seconds ago. Can I say to
:06:42. > :06:52.Johann Lamont, I don't know if citing Donald Trump is the thing to
:06:52. > :06:53.
:06:53. > :06:59.do. He believes he was given an assurance by my predecessor that he
:06:59. > :07:03.would be blocking planning permission for the test wind farm
:07:03. > :07:08.off Aberdeen. I have no way to know whether such an assurance was given,
:07:08. > :07:11.but if it was given it shouldn't have been given, because First
:07:11. > :07:16.Ministers cannot determine the wind farm applications of Scotland. I
:07:16. > :07:21.think there is a serious issue in terms of the renewable investment
:07:21. > :07:25.in Scotland. The front page of the Press and Journal today, stressing
:07:25. > :07:28.thousands of jobs created because of a drive towards renewables. I
:07:28. > :07:32.hope as we progress that argument, against who ever might be
:07:32. > :07:38.criticising it, then will have to support of Johann Lamont and her
:07:38. > :07:41.colleagues, even if we cannot count on the support of Lord McConnel. In
:07:41. > :07:51.terms of relationships with newspapers I am trying to be
:07:51. > :07:56.extremely restrained about this so far, but I have to now read out the
:07:56. > :08:03.attendance at News International's summer party. News International
:08:03. > :08:11.summer party in London, guests included David and Samantha Cameron,
:08:11. > :08:19.they drank champagne and ate oysters. Labour leader, Ed Miliband.
:08:19. > :08:28.Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls. Shelter from weather in a giant Oranry in
:08:28. > :08:33.Kensington. I have to say that -- orangery in Kensington. Given the
:08:33. > :08:43.enthusiasm for drinking champagne and eating oysters, all you get in
:08:43. > :08:45.
:08:45. > :08:49.Bute house is a cup of tea and the Tunnock's waiver. Some people might
:08:49. > :08:59.think there is more than a trend of double-standards emanate from the
:08:59. > :09:02.
:09:02. > :09:07.people's party. I think the First Minister's
:09:07. > :09:10.restraint is admirable. In the middle of all that I don't think we
:09:10. > :09:17.got an answer. Simply asserting that I am wrong does not dispute
:09:17. > :09:23.the fact that the editor of the Sun says that he is right, and that the
:09:23. > :09:28.First Minister is trying to make people believe that the exclusive
:09:28. > :09:32.in the Sun had nothing to do with him and his defence was "it wasn't
:09:32. > :09:38.me, and it was not just me." It will not do. They say you can tell
:09:38. > :09:48.a lot about a man by the company he keeps. What does it say about the
:09:48. > :09:48.
:09:48. > :09:52.First Minister's judgment if he is prepared.... If he is prepared to
:09:52. > :09:59.compromise the referendum for Sir Rupert. Compromise our planning
:09:59. > :10:07.system for the Turump and compromise the economic future for
:10:07. > :10:11.Fred the Shred. I think, First Minister, we all know that Sir
:10:11. > :10:17.Rupert ran with Sunday's story on the First Minister's note. After
:10:18. > :10:22.five years of asking, will he confirm what dates he intends to
:10:22. > :10:26.hold the referendum. Just name the date.
:10:26. > :10:32.I think I will stick to the position of having the consultation
:10:32. > :10:36.with the Scottish people. I should update Johann Lamont, there are now
:10:36. > :10:40.more than 3,000 responses to that consultation. Then we will consider
:10:40. > :10:46.the consultation and responses. Well, we have not had one from the
:10:46. > :10:49.Labour Party yet. Although I understand they have summited to
:10:49. > :10:54.the Tory liberal coalition's consultation. No great support
:10:54. > :11:01.there. The Labour-Tory alliance continues
:11:01. > :11:05.right through Westminster in this chamber, even into Sterling council
:11:05. > :11:10.in the last week. -- Stirling council in the last
:11:10. > :11:14.week. We will announce the date. It will be determined by this
:11:14. > :11:18.Parliament, in the best interests of the Scottish people. I have to
:11:18. > :11:25.say to Johann Lamont, the remark about the company we choose, it
:11:25. > :11:28.seems an extraordinary rich one from a Labour Party that pursued a
:11:28. > :11:33.15-year culture of News International and then only then,
:11:33. > :11:37.and only then decided that there was dreadful things going on after
:11:37. > :11:41.the Sun stopped supporting the Labour Party in politics. Hardly a
:11:41. > :11:47.position of high principal. The serious issue for all of us is to
:11:47. > :11:51.back the police inquiry, back the Leveson Inquiry. I think it comes
:11:51. > :11:55.best from a party, that according to the past Prime Minister knew
:11:55. > :12:05.about these activities from 2007. That is what he said in his Commons
:12:05. > :12:07.
:12:07. > :12:13.speech last year, who consumed the champagne and the oysters, once
:12:13. > :12:16.there is a police inquiry, a Leveson Inquiry and quite rightly
:12:16. > :12:26.News International have said they will put these past practises
:12:26. > :12:31.behind them. So, the Labour Party prepared to support corrupt
:12:31. > :12:36.newspapers when they knew of malpractice is in no position to
:12:36. > :12:41.criticise anyone in this chamber or across politics.
:12:41. > :12:45.Thank you. To ask the First Minister when he will next meet the
:12:45. > :12:51.Secretary of State for Scotland? plans to meet the Secretary of
:12:51. > :12:54.State in the near future. Thank you. As the debate on Scotland's
:12:54. > :12:57.constitutional future goes on, we have a duty in this chamber as
:12:57. > :13:01.parliamentarians and as a Government to examine not only the
:13:01. > :13:04.shape of a future Scotland, but also to address the serious
:13:04. > :13:08.problems facing our country right now.
:13:08. > :13:13.The First Minister and I disagree on many things.
:13:13. > :13:19.There is one serious area of policy where acceptance in this chamber, I
:13:19. > :13:24.think, is universal, the recognition that drugs destroy
:13:24. > :13:28.lives and communities. The Scottish Conservatives are proud of their
:13:28. > :13:31.part in creating a new drugs strategy. I recognise the
:13:31. > :13:36.commitment of my predecessor on this issue. Can the First Minister
:13:36. > :13:39.tell me what evidence there is that programmes his Government has
:13:39. > :13:43.directed of rehabilitation and recovery are a14506ing results on
:13:43. > :13:48.the ground? -- are achieving results on the ground?
:13:48. > :13:54.acknowledge that it would be very foolish indeed for any politician
:13:54. > :14:01.to claim success in the battle against drug abuse. It should be
:14:01. > :14:11.said that the illicit drug use last year among 16-59 is falling. That
:14:11. > :14:12.
:14:12. > :14:20.is quite clear from the statistics. 2006, 2. 6%. 9.8% in 2009-10. There
:14:20. > :14:24.is also encouraging information from other aspects of drugs abuse
:14:24. > :14:27.reported. Nonetheless, although drug use among young people in
:14:27. > :14:31.Scotland is falling according to statistics, it is still an enormous
:14:31. > :14:34.problem that requires the joint effort and the combination of all
:14:34. > :14:39.members of this Parliament across the parties to address it. I have
:14:39. > :14:45.no doubt about that whatsoever. That is why I welcome the manner
:14:45. > :14:49.and the input of her predecessor on this matter and I welcome the input
:14:49. > :14:55.of people across the parties who are able to contribute, along with
:14:55. > :14:59.the Government to do what we can as politician.
:14:59. > :15:03.I thank the First Minister for his answer. I welcome that response and
:15:03. > :15:07.the encouraging signs we are seeing. I am sure the First Minister would
:15:07. > :15:11.agree the picture he paints is not complete. The NHS figures released
:15:11. > :15:16.show the number of babies born to drug abusing mothers has nearly
:15:16. > :15:19.doubled over the past four years. As a nation, Scotland is spending
:15:19. > :15:23.�28 million a year on methadone treatment alone. In prison, which
:15:23. > :15:28.is a closed society, we would expect to see a degree of control,
:15:28. > :15:32.the number of prisoners taking methadone on a daily basis has
:15:32. > :15:37.reached a record high, with no attempt to reduce intake in the
:15:38. > :15:40.majority of cases N the last Parliament, this chamber agreed a
:15:40. > :15:44.focus on rehabilitation and recovery was the appropriate
:15:44. > :15:48.strategy to pursue. That was the job of Parliament, to implement the
:15:48. > :15:58.strategy is the job of Government. Can I ask the First Minister, when
:15:58. > :16:02.
:16:02. > :16:09.are we going to start to see much We achieved a consensus around the
:16:09. > :16:14.road to recovery. The difficult problems and challenges that we
:16:14. > :16:19.overcome must not undermine the success there has been. For the
:16:19. > :16:26.first time we put methadone in the broader context of care treatment
:16:26. > :16:32.and recovery. The statistics back that up. In terms of cost of
:16:32. > :16:40.methadone, that has remained stable since 2006/7. The increase in cost
:16:40. > :16:46.in 2010/11 is because for the first time this Government can report
:16:46. > :16:51.accurately on the supervision fees paid to pharmacists. Given that we
:16:51. > :16:56.introduced that because one of the issues that came up was the need
:16:56. > :17:00.and requirement to have a better understanding of statistics. Given
:17:00. > :17:07.that we introduce that to get a real handle on what is happening,
:17:07. > :17:11.it is not helpful to 0.2 that which is clearly the result of the action
:17:11. > :17:16.retake and somehow despite that it is in any sense a failure of the
:17:16. > :17:20.road to recovery. In my view that is one of these excesses of the
:17:20. > :17:24.road to recovery. We must have an honest assessment of the scale of
:17:24. > :17:32.the problem and for the first time in Scotland we have got those
:17:33. > :17:37.statistics. I think that should be welcomed across the chamber. Can I
:17:37. > :17:42.ask the First Minister F, in light of the findings of the oil and gas
:17:42. > :17:47.UK Cowden done 12 activities survey, he intends to have discussions with
:17:47. > :17:56.the Chancellor about the detrimental impact the UK oil
:17:56. > :18:06.taxation economy is having on Aberdeen. -- effect it is having on
:18:06. > :18:10.
:18:10. > :18:15.Aberdeen. As the latest survey makes clear, there is a directive
:18:15. > :18:20.to be sudden and and announce changes in the UK Government's
:18:20. > :18:25.taxation policy which would be an unprecedented change in activity in
:18:25. > :18:31.oil and gas was marred with a fault which company after company
:18:31. > :18:34.directly attributed to the policies of the UK coalition Government.
:18:34. > :18:37.Knowing that and seeing that evidence I do hope that the points
:18:37. > :18:42.and policies that we have been charging along with industry over
:18:42. > :18:48.the last year in terms of building in incentives for exploration, for
:18:48. > :18:55.marginal fields, for extraction of additional oil from discovered
:18:55. > :19:00.fields will have a future. I think any reasonable person can see that
:19:00. > :19:06.the taxation policies of the UK Government in regards to the oil
:19:06. > :19:16.and gas industry have not been good for the industry or four jobs in
:19:16. > :19:16.
:19:16. > :19:20.Scotland. -- or four jobs in Scotland. In terms of youth
:19:20. > :19:30.unemployment, does the First Minister agree that offering
:19:30. > :19:38.
:19:38. > :19:44.voluntary severance to key frontline staff is not a good idea?
:19:44. > :19:49.I have heard many criticisms of the policies of skills and Development
:19:49. > :19:55.Scotland. They are placing more people in training schemes and have
:19:55. > :19:59.a magnificent success in Modern apprenticeships, they place
:19:59. > :20:05.successfully 25,000 modern apprenticeships this year. That is
:20:05. > :20:09.60% lower than the position we inherited in 2007. We should judge
:20:09. > :20:15.skills development Scotland on the efficiency with which they deliver
:20:15. > :20:25.their services to the young people of Scotland. That is the key to
:20:25. > :20:27.
:20:28. > :20:37.disgusting -- discussing their success. Last year and this year we
:20:37. > :20:40.want commentary on the excellent work of delivering be magnificent
:20:40. > :20:46.total of 25,000 modern apprenticeships. Young people with
:20:46. > :20:51.a job, training and hope in Scotland. I am sure the First
:20:51. > :20:56.Minister will be aware of the situation at Dunfermline Athletic
:20:56. > :21:03.today where the players have warmly been paid 60% of their wages due to
:21:03. > :21:08.the situation at Rangers. Is he prepared to make representations to
:21:08. > :21:11.administrators on behalf of an Furman and other clubs on what
:21:12. > :21:18.steps the Scottish Government can take to assist clubs in this
:21:18. > :21:22.situation? The answer is yes. Many of us realise that the position
:21:22. > :21:28.developing at Rangers will have ramifications the rowed Scottish
:21:28. > :21:38.football. Dunfermline Athletic is one of the early instances of this.
:21:38. > :21:39.
:21:39. > :21:47.I will be delighted to meet them to offer any help we can. --
:21:47. > :21:53.ramifications for about Scottish football. I am sure the member
:21:54. > :21:58.understands that people who get into difficulties will meet as to
:21:58. > :22:06.help their position. All the clubs in Scottish football are vital and
:22:06. > :22:09.valuable and we should be trying to assist and help them all. Can I ask
:22:09. > :22:16.the First Minister what steps have been taken to deal with the
:22:16. > :22:21.Schmallenberg virus if it spreads to Scotland? I would like to thank
:22:21. > :22:24.the Member for what is a hugely important issue. I know people in
:22:24. > :22:30.his constituency will pay particular attention to s as will
:22:30. > :22:36.the whole of rural Scotland. There have been no cases of the bias in
:22:36. > :22:41.Scotland so far. We remain vigilant and as soon as the Scottish
:22:41. > :22:45.Government became aware of the emerging disease we alerted key
:22:46. > :22:51.stakeholders in January. The Scottish Agricultural College wrote
:22:51. > :22:57.to veteran medians to alert them to the symptoms of the disease and
:22:57. > :23:06.encourage reporting of suspicious cases. As he will be aware and
:23:06. > :23:10.Institute is testing samples from 27th January. Thank you for that
:23:10. > :23:16.response and acknowledging the importance of early reporting of
:23:16. > :23:22.the symptoms of the spiders. Last November it was agreed to form a
:23:22. > :23:27.strategic management board. Another recommendation was that there
:23:27. > :23:32.should be a phased reduction in the number of disease surveillance
:23:32. > :23:39.centres across the country. Will the First Minister ensure that more
:23:39. > :23:43.steps are taken to reduce and -- no steps are taken to reduce the
:23:43. > :23:53.number of disease surveillance services without proper
:23:53. > :23:55.
:23:55. > :24:02.consultation? Given the importance of early detection, diagnosis and
:24:02. > :24:07.such over these kind of diseases? Absolutely. He can be certain that
:24:07. > :24:16.we will ensure adequate surveillance is in place for future
:24:16. > :24:25.needs. I should have added, because it is an opportunity to do so, that
:24:25. > :24:33.farmers and veterinarians have been asked to voluntarily report suspect
:24:33. > :24:37.cases and testing is provided free of charge. That is working well. In
:24:37. > :24:44.the early stages of the lambing season three cases have been
:24:44. > :24:47.reported -- suspected cases, but they have proven to be negative.
:24:47. > :24:52.What steps is the Scottish Government taking to improve
:24:52. > :24:57.childcare provision? We announced a significant investment in Ehrler
:24:57. > :25:03.learning and childcare which includes 4.5 million for looked
:25:03. > :25:07.after two-year-olds and a further 4.5 million for a community based
:25:07. > :25:14.solutions for childcare. That is drawn down from the wider 270
:25:14. > :25:19.million early years change fund. thank the First Minister for that
:25:19. > :25:24.answer. I know he is fully aware of just how important it is to the
:25:24. > :25:29.economy that parents are able to access good quality childcare. It
:25:30. > :25:34.enables parents to go to work and is of huge importance in efforts to
:25:34. > :25:38.ensure gender equality in the workforce. Recognising that child
:25:38. > :25:43.care in Scotland is partly controlled by funding mechanisms
:25:43. > :25:46.determined by Westminster, does he therefore believe one of the most
:25:46. > :25:52.damaging thing as the UK Government could have done was to reduce the
:25:52. > :25:58.childcare element of the working tax credit from 80% of costs to 70%,
:25:58. > :26:03.families rely on it for more than �500 per year. If he believes this
:26:03. > :26:07.kind of cut is the coalition's priority, we did not be far better
:26:08. > :26:14.for everyone if this responsibility for benefits policy were in the
:26:14. > :26:23.hands of this parliament and Government? It strikes me as a very
:26:23. > :26:27.substantial and well argued point. I was genuinely surprised to hear
:26:27. > :26:32.from the Labour benches. It was a Tory policy they would not have
:26:32. > :26:36.supported if they had come to this Parliament. It has had a
:26:36. > :26:43.substantial impact on people and working families in Scotland. I am
:26:43. > :26:49.very concerned and interested in the costs of childcare and the care
:26:49. > :26:52.which were reported this Monday. I had a look at the figures and it is
:26:52. > :26:56.absolutely certain and true that in terms of out-of-school and
:26:57. > :27:02.childminder clubs, the costs in Scotland are above the English
:27:02. > :27:05.average. It should be said that nursery provision for up to year-
:27:05. > :27:13.olds and under and over two year- olds is actually below the English
:27:13. > :27:19.average. We should be aware of that. We should also be aware that there
:27:19. > :27:25.is a wide divergence in the cost of childcare in a variety of areas and
:27:25. > :27:31.its availability in various parts of Scotland. I was particularly
:27:31. > :27:35.pleased to see the comments from Malcolm Chisholm ms p after it be
:27:35. > :27:43.inspiring early years taskforce meeting, he gave particular thanks
:27:43. > :27:48.to Harry Burns and others that there was uniting across cross
:27:48. > :27:54.party lines. Money makes a very important point and perhaps we
:27:54. > :28:01.should inspire -- aspire to the situation in the Scandinavian
:28:01. > :28:06.countries which are by far the highest standards of child care
:28:07. > :28:13.provision. Norway, Denmark and Finland almost certainly control of
:28:13. > :28:19.their own tax and benefits policies and are a small independent
:28:19. > :28:22.European nations. Can I ask the First Minister whether the
:28:22. > :28:29.timetable for the reform for the children's hearing system has
:28:29. > :28:33.changed? It has not changed, September is still the target. It
:28:33. > :28:37.was agreed yesterday that that target remains achievable. We will
:28:37. > :28:41.always listen to people on the ground to share an interest in the
:28:41. > :28:49.working of the current system and the successful delivery of the
:28:49. > :28:55.reforms which is the vital thing. The National convenor of children's
:28:55. > :29:03.hearings was removed from her role in 20th September 11. Support team
:29:03. > :29:08.should have been a place by 20th January 12. This weekend it was
:29:08. > :29:13.reported that the board to suspended the national convenor are
:29:13. > :29:17.now drawing up contingency plans to re timetable the process. If there
:29:17. > :29:21.is a problem the Children's Minister should account to
:29:22. > :29:25.Parliament for it. If there is not a problem then when will the
:29:25. > :29:31.national convenor be allowed to return to her post to get on with
:29:31. > :29:36.her job of supporting some of these most vulnerable people in our
:29:36. > :29:46.society. The volunteers are left worrying about the mess that has
:29:46. > :29:46.
:29:46. > :29:52.been allowed to develop. I think you should understand that I cannot,
:29:52. > :29:58.neither can the children's minister, come in on a live debate such as
:29:58. > :30:02.this. That is the fundamental basis of what you can or cannot do in a
:30:02. > :30:06.parliamentary system. To be helpful to Remember I will try to provide a
:30:07. > :30:12.bit more detail. There are 10 projects within the overall
:30:12. > :30:16.delivery programme. Nine of them are on track. The 10th project
:30:16. > :30:20.relates to the establishment of the area support teams which must be
:30:20. > :30:27.made by local authorities and does in some aspect required the
:30:27. > :30:31.national convenor to be in post. As I stressed, I cannot discuss the
:30:31. > :30:37.suspension of the national convener, it is alive employment issue and it
:30:37. > :30:46.lies in the province of children's hearings Scotland. We have Cichon
:30:46. > :30:51.did a senior official to work with the organisation and there are
:30:51. > :31:00.things which have to be agreed with Deacon bearer. -- we have so
:31:00. > :31:05.conduct. Can I further assure him that the children's Minister will
:31:05. > :31:09.keep the chamber informed. I think it is important to stress, given
:31:09. > :31:13.the excellence of the participation in the children's hearing system
:31:13. > :31:19.over the years, that all members will be pleased to know that the