01/03/2012 Politics Scotland


01/03/2012

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A very warm welcome to the Scottish Parliament here at Holyrood, where

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two parties have their minds on other things - Labour and the

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Liberal Democrats have their conferences this weekend, which

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they have decided to hold on the same weekend. Right now it is

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questions to the First Minister. That is the big focus at this

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moment. Let's cross to the chamber and to my colleague.

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Thank you. Let's listen in. Thank you very

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much. Presiding Officer will be shocked by the relations from the

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Leveson Inquiry about payoffs, hacking and the relationship

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between police and politicians. It would be naive for us to see these

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as London practises which stop at the border. What lessons have been

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learnt from the Leveson Inquiry? Did he speak about this with the

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editor of News International, Rupert Murdoch? Well, there was a

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statement released yesterday on the meeting I had with the chairman of

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News Corporation, Rupert Murdoch yesterday. In terms of meetings

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with Rupert Murdoch, to have an open statement saying what was

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discussed is probably a pleasant change from past practise in the

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Labour Party. Can I say, take a serious point,

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because in terms of the Scottish input into leve leve -- Leveson,

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strat Clwyd will appear at the Leveson Inquiry later this month.

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It talks about the liaison. I support the police action which has

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been taken, just as I support the Leveson Inquiry itself. It is

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important that say wes must must assume Scottish aspects. In terms

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of the malpractice across the pross, reported by the -- press, reported

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by the Information Commissioner in 2006 while a range of newspaper s

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and, I am glad to say there were few Scottish examples and regional

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press examples from England. We have to be vigilant. It is right

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and proper that the police are pursuing this, and appearing at the

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inquiry. It is important to say that the evidence we have so far

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means that co-operation is the way we should go at the present moment.

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We stand ready and willing to act, because I think the criminal law

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must be upheld north and south of the border.

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Fine words have to be tested against the action that we take,

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First Minister. We know the police are not the only people who leaked

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stories to Rupert Murdoch. The Sun and the Sun on Sunday revealed the

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date of the referendum. Saturday, October 1st, 014, citing

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a -- 20 14 citing a Government source. It is leaked before this

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Parliament was told and before the people of Scotland have their say.

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Has the First Minister, who of course wrote a column in the

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paper's first edition thought who might possibly have been the source

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of such a leak? What steps has the First Minister to determine the

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source of that leak? Of course we never encounter a

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situation where a Labour politician had a column in the Sun newspaper!

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To take the serious point, can I direct Johann Lamont to my remarks

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on the radio on Sunday morning? I will wrote them "it is a possible

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date of course, because we said it being the autumn of 2014. We are

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considering a Saturday as opposed to a Thursday to increase turnout.

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We are only a month into a three- month consultation. I think the

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last check we have 2,700 responses. So we are heading to 10,000

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responds. Once analysed then we will announce what the date will be.

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Not until after the consultation." That is what I said last Sunday.

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That still pertains today. I am sure in the First Minister's

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world that sound very believable. For just a few weeks ago, I read

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out the First Minister's cringe- worthy letter to Fred Goodwin. We

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are reminded how far the First Minister was prepared to go to

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accommodate Donald Trump. That did not go well, although First

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Minister, he still likes you.Ly not embar raise him by -- I will not

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embarrass him by reading this out. It seems he has finally learnt that

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theatre TVs and golf DVDs will not get a reply, but a good exclusive

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will. The editor of the Sun, despite what the First Minister

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says, the editor says is that the 18th October, 2014, he is so sure,

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he told Twitter "See what odds you can get on it. We are right." Is

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the First Minister saying that the editor of the Sun is wrong?

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The First Minister is saying that Johann Lamont is wrong.

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The position is as I have read out a few seconds ago. Can I say to

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Johann Lamont, I don't know if citing Donald Trump is the thing to

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do. He believes he was given an assurance by my predecessor that he

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would be blocking planning permission for the test wind farm

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off Aberdeen. I have no way to know whether such an assurance was given,

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but if it was given it shouldn't have been given, because First

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Ministers cannot determine the wind farm applications of Scotland. I

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think there is a serious issue in terms of the renewable investment

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in Scotland. The front page of the Press and Journal today, stressing

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thousands of jobs created because of a drive towards renewables. I

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hope as we progress that argument, against who ever might be

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criticising it, then will have to support of Johann Lamont and her

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colleagues, even if we cannot count on the support of Lord McConnel. In

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terms of relationships with newspapers I am trying to be

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extremely restrained about this so far, but I have to now read out the

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attendance at News International's summer party. News International

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summer party in London, guests included David and Samantha Cameron,

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they drank champagne and ate oysters. Labour leader, Ed Miliband.

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Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls. Shelter from weather in a giant Oranry in

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Kensington. I have to say that -- orangery in Kensington. Given the

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enthusiasm for drinking champagne and eating oysters, all you get in

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Bute house is a cup of tea and the Tunnock's waiver. Some people might

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think there is more than a trend of double-standards emanate from the

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people's party. I think the First Minister's

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restraint is admirable. In the middle of all that I don't think we

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got an answer. Simply asserting that I am wrong does not dispute

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the fact that the editor of the Sun says that he is right, and that the

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First Minister is trying to make people believe that the exclusive

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in the Sun had nothing to do with him and his defence was "it wasn't

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me, and it was not just me." It will not do. They say you can tell

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a lot about a man by the company he keeps. What does it say about the

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First Minister's judgment if he is prepared.... If he is prepared to

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compromise the referendum for Sir Rupert. Compromise our planning

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system for the Turump and compromise the economic future for

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Fred the Shred. I think, First Minister, we all know that Sir

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Rupert ran with Sunday's story on the First Minister's note. After

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five years of asking, will he confirm what dates he intends to

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hold the referendum. Just name the date.

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I think I will stick to the position of having the consultation

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with the Scottish people. I should update Johann Lamont, there are now

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more than 3,000 responses to that consultation. Then we will consider

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the consultation and responses. Well, we have not had one from the

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Labour Party yet. Although I understand they have summited to

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the Tory liberal coalition's consultation. No great support

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there. The Labour-Tory alliance continues

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right through Westminster in this chamber, even into Sterling council

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in the last week. -- Stirling council in the last

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week. We will announce the date. It will be determined by this

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Parliament, in the best interests of the Scottish people. I have to

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say to Johann Lamont, the remark about the company we choose, it

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seems an extraordinary rich one from a Labour Party that pursued a

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15-year culture of News International and then only then,

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and only then decided that there was dreadful things going on after

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the Sun stopped supporting the Labour Party in politics. Hardly a

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position of high principal. The serious issue for all of us is to

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back the police inquiry, back the Leveson Inquiry. I think it comes

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best from a party, that according to the past Prime Minister knew

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about these activities from 2007. That is what he said in his Commons

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speech last year, who consumed the champagne and the oysters, once

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there is a police inquiry, a Leveson Inquiry and quite rightly

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News International have said they will put these past practises

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behind them. So, the Labour Party prepared to support corrupt

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newspapers when they knew of malpractice is in no position to

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criticise anyone in this chamber or across politics.

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Thank you. To ask the First Minister when he will next meet the

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Secretary of State for Scotland? plans to meet the Secretary of

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State in the near future. Thank you. As the debate on Scotland's

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constitutional future goes on, we have a duty in this chamber as

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parliamentarians and as a Government to examine not only the

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shape of a future Scotland, but also to address the serious

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problems facing our country right now.

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The First Minister and I disagree on many things.

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There is one serious area of policy where acceptance in this chamber, I

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think, is universal, the recognition that drugs destroy

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lives and communities. The Scottish Conservatives are proud of their

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part in creating a new drugs strategy. I recognise the

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commitment of my predecessor on this issue. Can the First Minister

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tell me what evidence there is that programmes his Government has

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directed of rehabilitation and recovery are a14506ing results on

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the ground? -- are achieving results on the ground?

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acknowledge that it would be very foolish indeed for any politician

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to claim success in the battle against drug abuse. It should be

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said that the illicit drug use last year among 16-59 is falling. That

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is quite clear from the statistics. 2006, 2. 6%. 9.8% in 2009-10. There

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is also encouraging information from other aspects of drugs abuse

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reported. Nonetheless, although drug use among young people in

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Scotland is falling according to statistics, it is still an enormous

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problem that requires the joint effort and the combination of all

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members of this Parliament across the parties to address it. I have

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no doubt about that whatsoever. That is why I welcome the manner

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and the input of her predecessor on this matter and I welcome the input

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of people across the parties who are able to contribute, along with

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the Government to do what we can as politician.

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I thank the First Minister for his answer. I welcome that response and

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the encouraging signs we are seeing. I am sure the First Minister would

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agree the picture he paints is not complete. The NHS figures released

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show the number of babies born to drug abusing mothers has nearly

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doubled over the past four years. As a nation, Scotland is spending

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�28 million a year on methadone treatment alone. In prison, which

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is a closed society, we would expect to see a degree of control,

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the number of prisoners taking methadone on a daily basis has

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reached a record high, with no attempt to reduce intake in the

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majority of cases N the last Parliament, this chamber agreed a

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focus on rehabilitation and recovery was the appropriate

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strategy to pursue. That was the job of Parliament, to implement the

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strategy is the job of Government. Can I ask the First Minister, when

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are we going to start to see much We achieved a consensus around the

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road to recovery. The difficult problems and challenges that we

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overcome must not undermine the success there has been. For the

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first time we put methadone in the broader context of care treatment

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and recovery. The statistics back that up. In terms of cost of

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methadone, that has remained stable since 2006/7. The increase in cost

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in 2010/11 is because for the first time this Government can report

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accurately on the supervision fees paid to pharmacists. Given that we

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introduced that because one of the issues that came up was the need

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and requirement to have a better understanding of statistics. Given

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that we introduce that to get a real handle on what is happening,

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it is not helpful to 0.2 that which is clearly the result of the action

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retake and somehow despite that it is in any sense a failure of the

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road to recovery. In my view that is one of these excesses of the

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road to recovery. We must have an honest assessment of the scale of

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the problem and for the first time in Scotland we have got those

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statistics. I think that should be welcomed across the chamber. Can I

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ask the First Minister F, in light of the findings of the oil and gas

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UK Cowden done 12 activities survey, he intends to have discussions with

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the Chancellor about the detrimental impact the UK oil

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taxation economy is having on Aberdeen. -- effect it is having on

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Aberdeen. As the latest survey makes clear, there is a directive

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to be sudden and and announce changes in the UK Government's

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taxation policy which would be an unprecedented change in activity in

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oil and gas was marred with a fault which company after company

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directly attributed to the policies of the UK coalition Government.

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Knowing that and seeing that evidence I do hope that the points

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and policies that we have been charging along with industry over

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the last year in terms of building in incentives for exploration, for

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marginal fields, for extraction of additional oil from discovered

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fields will have a future. I think any reasonable person can see that

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the taxation policies of the UK Government in regards to the oil

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and gas industry have not been good for the industry or four jobs in

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Scotland. -- or four jobs in Scotland. In terms of youth

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unemployment, does the First Minister agree that offering

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voluntary severance to key frontline staff is not a good idea?

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I have heard many criticisms of the policies of skills and Development

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Scotland. They are placing more people in training schemes and have

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a magnificent success in Modern apprenticeships, they place

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successfully 25,000 modern apprenticeships this year. That is

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60% lower than the position we inherited in 2007. We should judge

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skills development Scotland on the efficiency with which they deliver

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their services to the young people of Scotland. That is the key to

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disgusting -- discussing their success. Last year and this year we

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want commentary on the excellent work of delivering be magnificent

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total of 25,000 modern apprenticeships. Young people with

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a job, training and hope in Scotland. I am sure the First

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Minister will be aware of the situation at Dunfermline Athletic

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today where the players have warmly been paid 60% of their wages due to

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the situation at Rangers. Is he prepared to make representations to

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administrators on behalf of an Furman and other clubs on what

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steps the Scottish Government can take to assist clubs in this

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situation? The answer is yes. Many of us realise that the position

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developing at Rangers will have ramifications the rowed Scottish

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football. Dunfermline Athletic is one of the early instances of this.

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I will be delighted to meet them to offer any help we can. --

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ramifications for about Scottish football. I am sure the member

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understands that people who get into difficulties will meet as to

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help their position. All the clubs in Scottish football are vital and

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valuable and we should be trying to assist and help them all. Can I ask

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the First Minister what steps have been taken to deal with the

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Schmallenberg virus if it spreads to Scotland? I would like to thank

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the Member for what is a hugely important issue. I know people in

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his constituency will pay particular attention to s as will

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the whole of rural Scotland. There have been no cases of the bias in

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Scotland so far. We remain vigilant and as soon as the Scottish

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Government became aware of the emerging disease we alerted key

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stakeholders in January. The Scottish Agricultural College wrote

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to veteran medians to alert them to the symptoms of the disease and

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encourage reporting of suspicious cases. As he will be aware and

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Institute is testing samples from 27th January. Thank you for that

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response and acknowledging the importance of early reporting of

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the symptoms of the spiders. Last November it was agreed to form a

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strategic management board. Another recommendation was that there

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should be a phased reduction in the number of disease surveillance

:23:27.:23:32.

centres across the country. Will the First Minister ensure that more

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steps are taken to reduce and -- no steps are taken to reduce the

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number of disease surveillance services without proper

:23:43.:23:53.
:23:53.:23:55.

consultation? Given the importance of early detection, diagnosis and

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such over these kind of diseases? Absolutely. He can be certain that

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we will ensure adequate surveillance is in place for future

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needs. I should have added, because it is an opportunity to do so, that

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farmers and veterinarians have been asked to voluntarily report suspect

:24:25.:24:33.

cases and testing is provided free of charge. That is working well. In

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the early stages of the lambing season three cases have been

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reported -- suspected cases, but they have proven to be negative.

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What steps is the Scottish Government taking to improve

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childcare provision? We announced a significant investment in Ehrler

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learning and childcare which includes 4.5 million for looked

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after two-year-olds and a further 4.5 million for a community based

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solutions for childcare. That is drawn down from the wider 270

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million early years change fund. thank the First Minister for that

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answer. I know he is fully aware of just how important it is to the

:25:19.:25:24.

economy that parents are able to access good quality childcare. It

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enables parents to go to work and is of huge importance in efforts to

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ensure gender equality in the workforce. Recognising that child

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care in Scotland is partly controlled by funding mechanisms

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determined by Westminster, does he therefore believe one of the most

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damaging thing as the UK Government could have done was to reduce the

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childcare element of the working tax credit from 80% of costs to 70%,

:25:52.:25:58.

families rely on it for more than �500 per year. If he believes this

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kind of cut is the coalition's priority, we did not be far better

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for everyone if this responsibility for benefits policy were in the

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hands of this parliament and Government? It strikes me as a very

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substantial and well argued point. I was genuinely surprised to hear

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from the Labour benches. It was a Tory policy they would not have

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supported if they had come to this Parliament. It has had a

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substantial impact on people and working families in Scotland. I am

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very concerned and interested in the costs of childcare and the care

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which were reported this Monday. I had a look at the figures and it is

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absolutely certain and true that in terms of out-of-school and

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childminder clubs, the costs in Scotland are above the English

:26:57.:27:02.

average. It should be said that nursery provision for up to year-

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olds and under and over two year- olds is actually below the English

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average. We should be aware of that. We should also be aware that there

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is a wide divergence in the cost of childcare in a variety of areas and

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its availability in various parts of Scotland. I was particularly

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pleased to see the comments from Malcolm Chisholm ms p after it be

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inspiring early years taskforce meeting, he gave particular thanks

:27:35.:27:43.

to Harry Burns and others that there was uniting across cross

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party lines. Money makes a very important point and perhaps we

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should inspire -- aspire to the situation in the Scandinavian

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countries which are by far the highest standards of child care

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provision. Norway, Denmark and Finland almost certainly control of

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their own tax and benefits policies and are a small independent

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European nations. Can I ask the First Minister whether the

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timetable for the reform for the children's hearing system has

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changed? It has not changed, September is still the target. It

:28:29.:28:33.

was agreed yesterday that that target remains achievable. We will

:28:33.:28:37.

always listen to people on the ground to share an interest in the

:28:37.:28:41.

working of the current system and the successful delivery of the

:28:41.:28:49.

reforms which is the vital thing. The National convenor of children's

:28:49.:28:55.

hearings was removed from her role in 20th September 11. Support team

:28:55.:29:03.

should have been a place by 20th January 12. This weekend it was

:29:03.:29:08.

reported that the board to suspended the national convenor are

:29:08.:29:13.

now drawing up contingency plans to re timetable the process. If there

:29:13.:29:17.

is a problem the Children's Minister should account to

:29:17.:29:21.

Parliament for it. If there is not a problem then when will the

:29:22.:29:25.

national convenor be allowed to return to her post to get on with

:29:25.:29:31.

her job of supporting some of these most vulnerable people in our

:29:31.:29:36.

society. The volunteers are left worrying about the mess that has

:29:36.:29:46.
:29:46.:29:46.

been allowed to develop. I think you should understand that I cannot,

:29:46.:29:52.

neither can the children's minister, come in on a live debate such as

:29:52.:29:58.

this. That is the fundamental basis of what you can or cannot do in a

:29:58.:30:02.

parliamentary system. To be helpful to Remember I will try to provide a

:30:02.:30:06.

bit more detail. There are 10 projects within the overall

:30:07.:30:12.

delivery programme. Nine of them are on track. The 10th project

:30:12.:30:16.

relates to the establishment of the area support teams which must be

:30:16.:30:20.

made by local authorities and does in some aspect required the

:30:20.:30:27.

national convenor to be in post. As I stressed, I cannot discuss the

:30:27.:30:31.

suspension of the national convener, it is alive employment issue and it

:30:31.:30:37.

lies in the province of children's hearings Scotland. We have Cichon

:30:37.:30:46.

did a senior official to work with the organisation and there are

:30:46.:30:51.

things which have to be agreed with Deacon bearer. -- we have so

:30:51.:31:00.

conduct. Can I further assure him that the children's Minister will

:31:00.:31:05.

keep the chamber informed. I think it is important to stress, given

:31:05.:31:09.

the excellence of the participation in the children's hearing system

:31:09.:31:13.

over the years, that all members will be pleased to know that the

:31:13.:31:19.

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