Browse content similar to 01/06/2017: First Minister's Questions. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
Line | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|
Hello and very warm welcome to the Scottish Parliament, the garden | :00:20. | :00:25. | |
lobby here with exactly one week until we are going to the polls for | :00:26. | :00:31. | |
the UK general election. In about an hour the political leaders will be | :00:32. | :00:34. | |
out on the campaign trail trying to win your vote. And in about one | :00:35. | :00:39. | |
minute they will be at their weekly discourse, questions to the First | :00:40. | :00:43. | |
Minister and answers from the First Minister. That is the main subject | :00:44. | :00:47. | |
for this programme, let's cross to the chamber. Good morning, 50 years | :00:48. | :00:54. | |
ago today Sergeant Pepper was released, today we are bringing you | :00:55. | :00:57. | |
not a day in their life but 45 minutes in the life of the Scottish | :00:58. | :01:03. | |
First Minister. As far as we know no holes in the roof newly fixed and | :01:04. | :01:08. | |
will Nicola Sturgeon get by with help from her friends? There is an | :01:09. | :01:12. | |
election campaign going on and is fried as I'm concerned it is getting | :01:13. | :01:16. | |
better all the time. Right now general questions coming to a close. | :01:17. | :01:21. | |
The Health Secretary on her feet as she warms up for the main act. And | :01:22. | :01:26. | |
shortly will have the First Minister and her weekly round of questions. | :01:27. | :01:37. | |
We turn now to first Mr 's questions. To ask the first Mr Watt | :01:38. | :01:43. | |
engagements she has planned. To take forward the government 's plans for | :01:44. | :01:49. | |
Scotland. The Education Secretary said yesterday that cuts to teacher | :01:50. | :01:52. | |
training places five years there probably went too far. Will the | :01:53. | :02:00. | |
First Minister admit that when it comes to the basic task of putting | :02:01. | :02:03. | |
enough teachers in classrooms her government got it wrong. As those | :02:04. | :02:10. | |
who were in Parliament at the time in 2010-11 will recall we had a | :02:11. | :02:19. | |
significant issue of teacher I'm home. It was thought at the time we | :02:20. | :02:23. | |
had a surplus of features coming out of the system and many of them were | :02:24. | :02:27. | |
struggling to get jobs. But of course every single year since then, | :02:28. | :02:31. | |
every one of the six years since then, we have seen an increase in | :02:32. | :02:38. | |
the numbers of students going into teacher education. And this year we | :02:39. | :02:41. | |
are seeing an increase in teacher training numbers of 371. Also we are | :02:42. | :02:49. | |
having a campaign to recruit teachers, targeting particularly the | :02:50. | :03:00. | |
same subjects, -- stem subjects. And of course we saw an increase in the | :03:01. | :03:04. | |
number of teachers working in our schools in the past years. This | :03:05. | :03:08. | |
government is investing more than ?80 million to maintain the teacher | :03:09. | :03:13. | |
numbers in our schools and to maintain the pupil - teacher ratio. | :03:14. | :03:17. | |
As I have recognised previously we have got work to do but we are | :03:18. | :03:20. | |
taking the actions that are making sure we have the right numbers of | :03:21. | :03:23. | |
teachers in our schools and getting on with the important job of | :03:24. | :03:28. | |
improving standards and closing the attainment gap. Once again the First | :03:29. | :03:31. | |
Minister asking for was for promising to fix the mess our | :03:32. | :03:36. | |
government made. It is quite simple... APPLAUSE | :03:37. | :03:40. | |
The SNP government did not listen, to warnings from the chamber or from | :03:41. | :03:43. | |
student leaders who called for an end to boom and bust methods towards | :03:44. | :03:47. | |
teacher training. First they brought onto many trainees with a | :03:48. | :03:51. | |
consequence they ended up in the dole queue, then they up the numbers | :03:52. | :03:55. | |
to drastically with the consequence that we no longer have enough | :03:56. | :04:00. | |
teachers. 4000 fewer than when this government came to office. Does it | :04:01. | :04:05. | |
sound like the record of a competent government? I tell you who we do not | :04:06. | :04:12. | |
listen to, we did not listen to the Tories. This is what they had to say | :04:13. | :04:18. | |
about the issue. Ms Smith described it as the issue of demand and | :04:19. | :04:24. | |
supply. She said to the education committee, given the current | :04:25. | :04:26. | |
economic situation it might be necessary to re-examine teachers | :04:27. | :04:31. | |
conditions. That is what the Tories wanted us to do. They wanted us to | :04:32. | :04:36. | |
slash teacher pay and conditions. As I have said this is an important | :04:37. | :04:41. | |
issue. Those in Parliament at the time will remember previous first | :04:42. | :04:45. | |
ministers sessions talking about the very important issue of teacher | :04:46. | :04:50. | |
unemployment. We inherited a figure around teacher training and was | :04:51. | :04:53. | |
considered at that time to be leading to an oversupply of | :04:54. | :04:57. | |
teachers. That is why we took corrective action at that time to | :04:58. | :05:01. | |
deal with that issue. But every single one of the six years since | :05:02. | :05:05. | |
then we have made sure we have had appropriate numbers of teachers | :05:06. | :05:08. | |
coming in to teacher training. As I said in this year we are supporting | :05:09. | :05:14. | |
an additional 371, going into teacher training. We have more | :05:15. | :05:18. | |
teachers in our schools, as we saw in the most recent figures in | :05:19. | :05:22. | |
December it was the case the previous year and we are investing | :05:23. | :05:29. | |
?80 million to ensure we are maintaining the same number of | :05:30. | :05:36. | |
teachers. One of the most important things, to use the words of the | :05:37. | :05:40. | |
teacher I spoke to in East Dunbartonshire on Saturday, one of | :05:41. | :05:46. | |
the life changing things he thinks we are doing is putting more hands | :05:47. | :05:55. | |
into the -- putting more money in the Fletcher. So I again will be | :05:56. | :06:04. | |
absolutely frank with this chamber, we have challenges that we are | :06:05. | :06:09. | |
pressing on with a programme of reforms they shall we address each | :06:10. | :06:17. | |
and every one of them. Yesterday John Swinney said we did get it | :06:18. | :06:20. | |
wrong and today the focus Minister says it is anybody else's fault. The | :06:21. | :06:28. | |
line seems to be forget about ten years of failure, forget about the | :06:29. | :06:31. | |
mess they have made, forget about the children who have been failed by | :06:32. | :06:34. | |
their government. She is the person to sort this out. First she has to | :06:35. | :06:40. | |
admit the consequence of getting it wrong. She has two admit there are | :06:41. | :06:51. | |
not enough teachers for additional support needs and schools are being | :06:52. | :06:55. | |
forced to limit which subjects pupils can take because they do not | :06:56. | :06:58. | |
have enough teachers to do the job. If she is going to fix this will she | :06:59. | :07:05. | |
first admit what needs fixing? Ruth Davidson talks I think rightly about | :07:06. | :07:13. | |
the importance of work force planning, the decision she's | :07:14. | :07:15. | |
criticising from 2010 was actually based on the unanimous advice of the | :07:16. | :07:20. | |
teacher workforce planning group. A group that includes councils, | :07:21. | :07:26. | |
teaching unions and universities. But I also think Ruth Davidson wants | :07:27. | :07:30. | |
me to take responsibility. In every single year since then what we have | :07:31. | :07:36. | |
done as a government is ensure an increasing number of young people | :07:37. | :07:41. | |
going into teacher training. So we acted to deal with an issue that was | :07:42. | :07:45. | |
there at that time, and was the subject of much discussion in this | :07:46. | :07:48. | |
chamber, but then we recognise we had to increase in the years after | :07:49. | :07:53. | |
that. That is why for every one of the last six years we have increased | :07:54. | :07:55. | |
the numbers going into teacher training and we are taking a range | :07:56. | :07:59. | |
of other actions as well. From the National improvement framework to | :08:00. | :08:02. | |
the attainment challenge to the attainment fund and the pupil equity | :08:03. | :08:08. | |
fund getting resources into the hands of teachers. The increased | :08:09. | :08:11. | |
number of teachers this year in our schools compared to the previous | :08:12. | :08:15. | |
year. So I take responsible at it for everything this government does, | :08:16. | :08:22. | |
but I am also absolutely determined to get on with the job of improving | :08:23. | :08:27. | |
standards in our schools. The last point I would make is this one: I | :08:28. | :08:31. | |
take absolute responsibility for everything this government does, but | :08:32. | :08:36. | |
what we need to make sure over the next seven days is that we do not | :08:37. | :08:39. | |
end up with another Westminster government that is taking action and | :08:40. | :08:51. | |
making cuts that are likely to push an additional 1 million children | :08:52. | :08:55. | |
across the UK into poverty. Because it is not going to help anybody | :08:56. | :09:00. | |
raise standards in our school if we have got a Westminster government | :09:01. | :09:06. | |
pushing children into conditions of poverty. I take responsibility but | :09:07. | :09:13. | |
it is everybody else's fault. Earlier this week we set out our | :09:14. | :09:19. | |
interim report into the curriculum for excellence and one of the | :09:20. | :09:24. | |
recommendations was to ensure the proper teaching of core skills after | :09:25. | :09:31. | |
we have seen standards drop under the scum on. I noticed John Mason | :09:32. | :09:34. | |
has an education question in a few months' time. This is the same John | :09:35. | :09:39. | |
Mason who said on Thursday this week we have moved on from spelling and | :09:40. | :09:44. | |
timetables, that if someone has only basic literacy they should | :09:45. | :09:46. | |
concentrate on what they are good at, that you do not need spelling to | :09:47. | :09:50. | |
be a surgeon, you don't need grammar in IT and an engineer does not need | :09:51. | :09:54. | |
high levels of English. And there was too much emphasis on "The | :09:55. | :10:01. | |
academic" in the past. Is this the view of the government? If it is in | :10:02. | :10:08. | |
explains why standards are so poor. I had a look at the publications of | :10:09. | :10:11. | |
Tories published earlier this week and much of it is worth this | :10:12. | :10:14. | |
government is already doing in our schools. They should maybe pay more | :10:15. | :10:21. | |
attention. Getting back to the serious point standards of literacy. | :10:22. | :10:26. | |
It is because the highest standards of literacy are so vital for every | :10:27. | :10:32. | |
single young person across our country that we are taking the | :10:33. | :10:37. | |
action we are taking. It is why we now have new curriculum for | :10:38. | :10:40. | |
excellence benchmarks in place. It is why we have the attainment fund | :10:41. | :10:44. | |
directing resources to headteachers to allow them to take the action | :10:45. | :10:48. | |
they think is necessary to improve standards. It is why we have put in | :10:49. | :10:53. | |
place arrangements to make sure that in future we will have comments of | :10:54. | :11:00. | |
data telling us how our schools are performing in these basic skills of | :11:01. | :11:05. | |
literacy and numeracy. It is why we have got initiatives like the | :11:06. | :11:08. | |
Reading challenge, encouraging young people to read for pleasure. | :11:09. | :11:13. | |
Standards of literacy are vitally important as a foundation for | :11:14. | :11:16. | |
everything else our young people do which is why we will get on with the | :11:17. | :11:19. | |
job of building on the progress we have made in our education system. | :11:20. | :11:24. | |
Building on the hard work done by teachers and pupils across this | :11:25. | :11:27. | |
country. And it is why I'm the Conservatives in Westminster... We | :11:28. | :11:32. | |
will increase the budget is going to our schools while they continue to | :11:33. | :11:43. | |
cut them. APPLAUSE To ask of us must do what | :11:44. | :11:46. | |
engagements she has planned for the rest of the week. Engagement to take | :11:47. | :11:53. | |
forward plan for Scotland. The SNP treatment time guarantee gives a | :11:54. | :11:58. | |
legal guarantee of 12 weeks for treatment such as knee replacements | :11:59. | :12:02. | |
and eye surgery. Can the First Minister tells Hamlet people waited | :12:03. | :12:07. | |
longer than 12 weeks in last year? We have a situation like many health | :12:08. | :12:10. | |
services of increasing demand and we're seeing more people waiting | :12:11. | :12:13. | |
longer that we would want them to wait including for the treatment | :12:14. | :12:18. | |
time guarantee of 12 weeks. Over 1.3 million inpatients and daycare | :12:19. | :12:25. | |
patients have benefited from that 12 week target since it was first | :12:26. | :12:31. | |
introduced, with 94.6 of all patients being treated within 12 | :12:32. | :12:34. | |
weeks. What we saw in the figures this week is a result of the ?10 | :12:35. | :12:39. | |
million investment made by the Health Secretary last November. We | :12:40. | :12:42. | |
have seen a 20% reduction in outpatients waiting for treatment. | :12:43. | :12:48. | |
And of course the Health Secretary announced ?50 million of additional | :12:49. | :12:50. | |
investment on Tuesday this week to make sure we can see there is | :12:51. | :12:54. | |
continued improvements in inpatient waiting times as well. There was not | :12:55. | :13:01. | |
an answer in any of that. Let me give the First Minister the answer. | :13:02. | :13:06. | |
In the last year alone more than 38,000 patients waited longer than | :13:07. | :13:11. | |
12 weeks. We have just heard the first was to tell the chamber that | :13:12. | :13:13. | |
people across Scotland have benefited from the legal guarantee | :13:14. | :13:17. | |
that Labour can reveal today that patients actually had a better | :13:18. | :13:21. | |
chance of being treated within 12 weeks before the SNP introduce the | :13:22. | :13:27. | |
legal guarantee. That should shame the First Minister. Because behind | :13:28. | :13:30. | |
these numbers are people and real lives. It is pensioners, it is | :13:31. | :13:37. | |
children and parents waiting for months for operations. This is not | :13:38. | :13:41. | |
the only problem facing the NHS. This week alone we have seen A | :13:42. | :13:47. | |
targets missed again. Cancer diagnostic waiting times missed | :13:48. | :13:54. | |
again. Staff sources we are told that the reason that Mac staff | :13:55. | :14:00. | |
shortages. There is growing evidence of the SMP's ten year mismanagement | :14:01. | :14:06. | |
of the NHS. When will the first ministers start fixing the mess she | :14:07. | :14:13. | |
has made of our NHS? -- SNP. I acknowledge the challenges facing | :14:14. | :14:16. | |
our NHS, same challenges facing health services across the world. | :14:17. | :14:20. | |
Increasing demand because of the changing demographics. But I also | :14:21. | :14:28. | |
have to say that in so many ways looking at so many indicators the | :14:29. | :14:33. | |
performance of the NHS in Scotland far outstrips the performance of the | :14:34. | :14:39. | |
NHS elsewhere in the UK and in particular on almost every indicator | :14:40. | :14:46. | |
you can look at the performance of NHS Scotland outstrips the | :14:47. | :14:48. | |
performance of the NHS in Labour run Wales. And you take accident and | :14:49. | :15:01. | |
emergency, for 25 consecutive months A departments in Scotland have | :15:02. | :15:05. | |
been the best performing anywhere in the UK. But no recognition from | :15:06. | :15:11. | |
anybody in the opposition not the hard work of art A staff to | :15:12. | :15:15. | |
deliver that performance. We have also seen... JEERING AND BOOING | :15:16. | :15:25. | |
We have also seen under the SNP staffing in the NHS staffing | :15:26. | :15:35. | |
increase by 12,000. We have seen the budget increased by ?3 billion and | :15:36. | :15:38. | |
plans to increase it further over this Parliament going way beyond | :15:39. | :15:44. | |
what any other party in this chamber pledged to do last year and goes way | :15:45. | :15:49. | |
beyond what any other parties are pledging to do this year. We have | :15:50. | :15:54. | |
more doctors, nurses and health professionals per head of population | :15:55. | :15:58. | |
than any other part of the UK so I will acknowledge readily the | :15:59. | :16:02. | |
pressures are NHS staff work under and thank them for what they do but | :16:03. | :16:07. | |
I think occasionally just once in awhile the opposition parties should | :16:08. | :16:10. | |
also recognise the good work that is being done in our NHS and the it is | :16:11. | :16:15. | |
doing so much better than any other parts of the UK. | :16:16. | :16:20. | |
Kezia Dugdale. That answer was so revealing because when he First | :16:21. | :16:28. | |
Minister's faced with her own ten year dismal record all she has in | :16:29. | :16:33. | |
attack is a kick at the Labour Party and a attempt to suggest we talked | :16:34. | :16:37. | |
down the staff. We know the First Minister doesn't like it when people | :16:38. | :16:40. | |
speak the truth about her record on the NHS. Just ask the nurse who had | :16:41. | :16:44. | |
the courage to expose what life is like under the SNP. Because here's | :16:45. | :16:50. | |
the reality. Standards in our hospitals are down, NHS staff are | :16:51. | :16:55. | |
overworked, and underpaid, and tens of thousands of people are waiting | :16:56. | :16:59. | |
longer for treatment. Isn't that what happens when the SNP spends | :17:00. | :17:02. | |
more time running a campaign for a referendum than it does... Running | :17:03. | :17:14. | |
our NHS? ASBOs we should have a competition about who is the first | :17:15. | :17:18. | |
one to get the referendum word in because most weeks it isn't me that | :17:19. | :17:22. | |
mentions it. Look, if that's... BOOING | :17:23. | :17:31. | |
If that is Labour's... Attack... Then how does Labour explain that an | :17:32. | :17:36. | |
almost every indicator you can point to the NHS in Scotland under an SNP | :17:37. | :17:41. | |
government is doing significantly better than the NHS in Wales, under | :17:42. | :17:45. | |
a Labour government question mark what is Labour's excuse? Let me just | :17:46. | :17:50. | |
point to the action we have taken on the NHS. Staffing up by 12,000, | :17:51. | :17:57. | |
qualified nurses and midwives up by 7%. Doctors up by 30%. Consultants | :17:58. | :18:04. | |
up by 45%. Investing more money than any other party would have done, and | :18:05. | :18:09. | |
make sure we are delivering for basement across the country because | :18:10. | :18:13. | |
we will continue whether it is an education or on health, we will | :18:14. | :18:17. | |
continue to focus on delivering for people across this country, and | :18:18. | :18:20. | |
leave the opposition to their constitutional obsessions. We have a | :18:21. | :18:30. | |
number of constituency questions. Alistair Johnson. Bats Alison | :18:31. | :18:38. | |
Johnstone. I am sure the Westminster and all ministers will offer the | :18:39. | :18:45. | |
sincere sympathy to the cyclist and their family who lost his life on | :18:46. | :18:52. | |
Princes Street yesterday. Can I ask what action is being taken to | :18:53. | :18:56. | |
enquire into the devastating -- accident? Many groups of individuals | :18:57. | :19:03. | |
have been calling for safe action for cyclists and pedestrians for | :19:04. | :19:06. | |
Edinburgh and across Scotland to ensure that no other family has two | :19:07. | :19:11. | |
bear such an appalling loss. Firstly can I convey my heartfelt sympathies | :19:12. | :19:17. | |
to the family and friends of the cyclist who so tragically lost their | :19:18. | :19:20. | |
life in Edinburgh yesterday. It is a tragic incident and an incident that | :19:21. | :19:29. | |
is sad almost beyond words will stop obviously as the members will | :19:30. | :19:32. | |
understand I will not go into any detail about the particular incident | :19:33. | :19:35. | |
because there are and will continue to be investigations into the | :19:36. | :19:39. | |
Scottish Government assisting in any way possible. As the member is aware | :19:40. | :19:44. | |
we have taken a number of actions including increased investment over | :19:45. | :19:47. | |
the years to encourage more people to cycle and to make cycling as safe | :19:48. | :19:51. | |
as possible for people but indirect answer to the question, yes, the | :19:52. | :19:56. | |
minister would be willing to meet with cycling groups not just in | :19:57. | :19:59. | |
Edinburgh but across the country to look at what further action we can | :20:00. | :20:02. | |
take to make sure cycling which is an activity we want to encourage is | :20:03. | :20:12. | |
as safe as possible. For everybody. Thank you. Kyle done applied for a | :20:13. | :20:22. | |
HMG at Glasgow College warehouse he been studying for a national | :20:23. | :20:26. | |
convention in media and communications. Kyle has cerebral | :20:27. | :20:29. | |
palsy which means he cannot write in shorthand. The SQA have told him | :20:30. | :20:33. | |
that this means he cannot progress to an HMD because this would mean he | :20:34. | :20:39. | |
can't complete the shorthand component of the course. Essentially | :20:40. | :20:41. | |
penalising him because of his divisibility. Does the business | :20:42. | :20:48. | |
agree this is unacceptable and will she look into it? I am very happy to | :20:49. | :20:54. | |
look into this. Busy I don't know Kyle but from the short question he | :20:55. | :20:57. | |
sounds like a remarkable young man who should be supported as much as | :20:58. | :21:00. | |
possible to achieve the dream teahouse. I don't know the short | :21:01. | :21:05. | |
billy microseconds answer so it would be wrong to say more about it | :21:06. | :21:08. | |
does now but of course I will have the matter looked into and will | :21:09. | :21:11. | |
return to remember in writing what I have the opportunity. Jackie | :21:12. | :21:17. | |
Baillie. The First Minister will be aware of the concerns of the Vale of | :21:18. | :21:25. | |
Leven Hospital. There is a review of emergency points such as the medical | :21:26. | :21:29. | |
assessment unit. Can I ask her to join with me welding Hospital watch | :21:30. | :21:36. | |
today. There was an unusual position, no one from the government | :21:37. | :21:42. | |
could meet with them today but will she agree with a future meeting with | :21:43. | :21:46. | |
them to discuss the importance of the hospital to my local community? | :21:47. | :21:53. | |
I am happy to welcome Hospital watch to the chamber and congratulate them | :21:54. | :21:59. | |
in their innovative way of submitting a position which we would | :22:00. | :22:03. | |
be delighted to receive. In terms of the will Vale of Leven, we seek and | :22:04. | :22:17. | |
recently have sought assurances from Greater Glasgow and Strathclyde | :22:18. | :22:20. | |
health board, to ensure the provision across the whole of the | :22:21. | :22:24. | |
Clyde area but particularly at this hospital and that remains a | :22:25. | :22:27. | |
priority. It is the responsibility of any health boards to make sure | :22:28. | :22:31. | |
that services are provided safely, and Greater Glasgow and Clyde is no | :22:32. | :22:35. | |
exception to that in respect to the Vale of Leven. We should also | :22:36. | :22:39. | |
remember and it is something I am proud of that it was this government | :22:40. | :22:43. | |
that ended a decade of damaging uncertainty by delivering the vision | :22:44. | :22:48. | |
for the Vale. We saw from a previous Labour administration was the | :22:49. | :22:51. | |
closure of the accident and emergency department back in 2002, | :22:52. | :22:56. | |
and in the years that followed that we saw a decline in patient and day | :22:57. | :23:00. | |
case activity at the Vale of Leven Hospital. This government took | :23:01. | :23:06. | |
office in 2007 and in 2009 we published the vision for the Vale | :23:07. | :23:09. | |
document and I can tell the chamber today and this is quite an important | :23:10. | :23:13. | |
sadistic and I hope she will welcome it as a campaigner for the Vale of | :23:14. | :23:16. | |
leaving hospital, since we published the vision for the Vale, inpatient | :23:17. | :23:21. | |
and day case activity has increased by almost one third at the Vale of | :23:22. | :23:28. | |
leaving hospital. So we ended that decade of decline of the Vale of | :23:29. | :23:32. | |
leaving, and this government is determined to make sure that the | :23:33. | :23:35. | |
Vale of Lieven continues to have a positive future delivering for | :23:36. | :23:42. | |
patients it serves. Question number three. Willie Rennie. Do at the | :23:43. | :23:45. | |
First Minister what excuse will be discussed at the next Cabinet | :23:46. | :23:50. | |
meeting. Matters of importance to the people of Scotland. This week I | :23:51. | :23:55. | |
met campaigners in Wick, facing because it is of the downgrading of | :23:56. | :24:00. | |
the Caithness maternity hospital and maternity unit. Young mothers told | :24:01. | :24:06. | |
me about the harrowing 100 mile journey to Inverness to give birth. | :24:07. | :24:11. | |
That part of the country feels let down by the loss of important | :24:12. | :24:16. | |
lifeline services like this. The First Minister is under pressure on | :24:17. | :24:19. | |
this issue and will she finally intervene and reverse this decision | :24:20. | :24:28. | |
was to mark First Minister. This is an important issue and it is one I | :24:29. | :24:34. | |
hopefully want to avoid party politics around. I mean this is | :24:35. | :24:38. | |
because as Willie Rennie will be aware decisions have been taken here | :24:39. | :24:45. | |
on the basis of advice given on the basis of patient safety and it is | :24:46. | :24:48. | |
really important that no politician should or could run in the face of | :24:49. | :24:53. | |
advice that is based on patient safety issues. The NHS Highland are | :24:54. | :24:57. | |
currently undertaking a review of the clinical service model at | :24:58. | :25:04. | |
Caithness General, but in terms of midwife services, I absolutely | :25:05. | :25:08. | |
understand the feelings of mothers or expecting mothers faced with long | :25:09. | :25:12. | |
journeys but what is absolutely the case is that we cannot have service | :25:13. | :25:18. | |
provided at any hospital if the advice is that that may not be safe | :25:19. | :25:22. | |
and it was following the death of an infant at the maternity unit in | :25:23. | :25:26. | |
September 2015 that the board took the decision to change the operating | :25:27. | :25:30. | |
status of the maternity units. It is a midwife led service so I | :25:31. | :25:36. | |
understand these feelings, we will continue to work closely with the | :25:37. | :25:38. | |
health board and make sure they have the right services in pleasant to | :25:39. | :25:42. | |
support women in the interim who may be affected by the different model | :25:43. | :25:47. | |
that is there but that all times and that all steps, we take patient | :25:48. | :25:51. | |
safety as the paramount consideration. I take exception to | :25:52. | :25:56. | |
what she has just said. I am raising this issue because it is an | :25:57. | :25:59. | |
important issue and she should accept that I have a right to ask | :26:00. | :26:07. | |
that question. That Minister talks about safety. What about the rest of | :26:08. | :26:17. | |
the mothers on the narrow Alpha nine road customer a population of 30,000 | :26:18. | :26:22. | |
deserves better than a 100 mile trip to get to hospital. People across | :26:23. | :26:25. | |
the country are being let down, too. When Nicola Sturgeon announced the | :26:26. | :26:30. | |
legally binding and treatment time guarantee she said this that there | :26:31. | :26:35. | |
will be a straightforward system of redress on the rare occasions when | :26:36. | :26:40. | |
things go wrong. Was rare at first, that is true, only five patients | :26:41. | :26:43. | |
waited longer than 12 weeks. It isn't rare any more. 13,005 patients | :26:44. | :26:52. | |
are waiting, now. Why is it that she can come up with a triple lock fund, | :26:53. | :26:58. | |
for independence, but is not a triple lock for patients? This | :26:59. | :27:02. | |
waiting time guarantee is not worth the paper it is written on and | :27:03. | :27:09. | |
13,000 people know it. Cannabis and firstly to the issue of Caithness | :27:10. | :27:13. | |
maternity services because just for the record to be absolutely clear I | :27:14. | :27:17. | |
did not suggest that Winnie Rennie did not have the right to ask this | :27:18. | :27:22. | |
question. I simply expressed the hope that we would be able to | :27:23. | :27:25. | |
discuss this issue with that party politics intervening. Because the | :27:26. | :27:32. | |
decision to change the status of Caithness maternity unit was made by | :27:33. | :27:36. | |
NHS Highland on the grounds of safety. It was informed by a review | :27:37. | :27:39. | |
they commissioned after the tragic death of a child in September 15 and | :27:40. | :27:45. | |
the Chief Medical Officer supported the findings of that review. The | :27:46. | :27:49. | |
decision was never referred to ministers because it was made on the | :27:50. | :27:52. | |
grounds of safety. Scottish ministers have never intervened in | :27:53. | :27:58. | |
this case so I understand the concerns that mothers and families | :27:59. | :28:03. | |
have here but I think more mothers and families would undoubtedly be | :28:04. | :28:07. | |
concerned if we were standing by and allowing a service to be delivered | :28:08. | :28:09. | |
that was putting the lives of children at risk. We will continue | :28:10. | :28:13. | |
to work with NHS Highland to make sure that we can deliver safe | :28:14. | :28:17. | |
services for them, supporting them, that model of care has to be at any | :28:18. | :28:24. | |
given time. I would happily meet with any concerns about this in | :28:25. | :28:27. | |
Caithness at this time in order to discuss this further. In relation to | :28:28. | :28:34. | |
the waiting time guarantee yes we have more patience coming forward | :28:35. | :28:38. | |
for treatment because of the rising demand for health services across | :28:39. | :28:42. | |
the word but as we know we are investing record sums to deal with | :28:43. | :28:45. | |
that. The Health Secretary this week in edition leads targeted | :28:46. | :28:49. | |
investments to make sure as we have already seen with outpatients a | :28:50. | :28:53. | |
reduction in number of waiting, and we can see those same improvements | :28:54. | :28:56. | |
around inpatients and they case treatment. We have got on with the | :28:57. | :29:02. | |
work with 80 sure that happens and lastly, I would not come unless he | :29:03. | :29:05. | |
had raised it, choose to go into the issue of because edition for issues | :29:06. | :29:10. | |
such as this, but Willie Rennie's position in this election just | :29:11. | :29:16. | |
beggars belief. On the one hand, and... And before I get | :29:17. | :29:25. | |
criticised... Willie Rennie raised it, as he is entitled to do, he has | :29:26. | :29:32. | |
gone around criticising the SNP for wanting to give people in | :29:33. | :29:39. | |
Scotland... For wanting to give people in Scotland a choice over | :29:40. | :29:42. | |
their own future at the end of the Brexit future. But on the other hand | :29:43. | :29:45. | |
he has gone round the length and breadth of the country arguing for a | :29:46. | :29:51. | |
second referendum on EU membership. At least Willie Rennie could be | :29:52. | :29:54. | |
consistent for once. It doesn't happen often, I know, but in future | :29:55. | :29:58. | |
he could perhaps try a bit of consistency in this chamber. | :29:59. | :30:05. | |
APPLAUSE If you supplement is. George Adam. | :30:06. | :30:12. | |
Thank you First Minister. What progress has been made in | :30:13. | :30:14. | |
introducing Scottish so security benefits? The Cabinet secretary made | :30:15. | :30:21. | |
a statement earlier this week on the next sets we will take to deliver | :30:22. | :30:29. | |
the Social Security benefits. None. That new system will be an increase | :30:30. | :30:33. | |
to the carers allowance, the new better start grounds, and you'll | :30:34. | :30:36. | |
expend assistance, so we will see over the next couple of years those | :30:37. | :30:39. | |
benefits starting to be delivered through that new system. Of course | :30:40. | :30:44. | |
we are seven days away from an election where the future of Social | :30:45. | :30:48. | |
Security is a key issue. I am proud to be standing on a platform of | :30:49. | :30:53. | |
ending cuts to support for disabled and low income people. I think it is | :30:54. | :30:57. | |
not surprising that the Tory party wants to press ahead with billions | :30:58. | :31:00. | |
of pounds of more cuts that are driving people into poverty and | :31:01. | :31:05. | |
widening the quality gap. I think it is more surprising that Labour is | :31:06. | :31:08. | |
only pledged to reverse a quarter of those further cuts to come to Social | :31:09. | :31:12. | |
Security so we will continue to get on and deliver the new system but we | :31:13. | :31:15. | |
will also continue to stand up across the UK for a Social Security | :31:16. | :31:19. | |
system that has dignity at its heart. | :31:20. | :31:27. | |
Thank you. First Minister, yet the shocking report yesterday showed | :31:28. | :31:36. | |
just how high the role of silences that surrounds some of our thwarting | :31:37. | :31:42. | |
estate, what assurances can find First Minister give that there will | :31:43. | :31:47. | |
be a licensing scheme for driven grouse shoots. And why can the role | :31:48. | :31:55. | |
not be extended to wildlife crimes? I share the concerns about the | :31:56. | :32:00. | |
report on the fate of raptors which does paint a disturbing picture of | :32:01. | :32:04. | |
the illegal killing of our iconic golden eagles. It shows around one | :32:05. | :32:14. | |
third of tax golden eagles disappeared in suspicious | :32:15. | :32:16. | |
circumstances. We have announced a copper hence a set of measures that | :32:17. | :32:20. | |
seek to build on the action taken in recent years. The proposals | :32:21. | :32:23. | |
yesterday send out a very strong message that we have. I hope the | :32:24. | :32:36. | |
measures announced by the Cabinet Secretary yesterday will be welcomed | :32:37. | :32:39. | |
by the member and I know she will be happy to meet with them to discuss | :32:40. | :32:51. | |
this further. John Mason. Tap-in order. Order. Thank you, to ask the | :32:52. | :33:00. | |
First Minister what recent discussions the Scottish Government | :33:01. | :33:03. | |
has had with local authority directors of education concerning | :33:04. | :33:06. | |
the quality of newly qualified teachers. We are determined to | :33:07. | :33:12. | |
ensure that all newly qualified teachers enter the profession | :33:13. | :33:17. | |
feeling confident in the skills and knowledge. We meet with the broader | :33:18. | :33:27. | |
range of issues and we will be discussing next steps with | :33:28. | :33:29. | |
universities, the General teaching Council for Scotland and local | :33:30. | :33:33. | |
authorities. As we approach the end of the 2017 exam season I also want | :33:34. | :33:38. | |
to take this opportunity to thank all our teachers who have been | :33:39. | :33:41. | |
involved, it is important for teachers to know their commitment is | :33:42. | :33:45. | |
valid and Nick Roach vision is vital to young people success at school | :33:46. | :33:52. | |
and in future. I wonder if the First Minister agrees with comments by | :33:53. | :33:58. | |
Maureen McKenna who is president of the Association of directors of | :33:59. | :34:01. | |
education in Scotland when she said I have been very impressed by the | :34:02. | :34:06. | |
quality of newly qualified teachers coming to teach in Glasgow and our | :34:07. | :34:12. | |
headteachers also report very positively about the quality of | :34:13. | :34:16. | |
newly qualified teachers. And also made the point that teacher training | :34:17. | :34:20. | |
college or university is just the first step in and training on the | :34:21. | :34:26. | |
job as hugely important. I think the comments are very important and | :34:27. | :34:30. | |
legitimate comments. It is testament to our teachers and of course | :34:31. | :34:40. | |
testament to pupils at right now we have got got record passes and we | :34:41. | :34:46. | |
have record number of people going into education and training and most | :34:47. | :34:49. | |
significantly we are starting to see the attainment gap, the kind of | :34:50. | :34:52. | |
attainment gap seen in many countries beginning to close. Of | :34:53. | :34:56. | |
course that does not mean we have not got much more to do. Our own | :34:57. | :35:01. | |
report which I referred to in my first answer found inconsistencies | :35:02. | :35:06. | |
between courses and that is a cause of concern that none of that changes | :35:07. | :35:12. | |
the fact that Scotland has excellent teacher who deserve our support. Can | :35:13. | :35:17. | |
I asked directly whether you believe in the context of teacher training | :35:18. | :35:21. | |
there should be much more greater emphasis on literacy and numeracy or | :35:22. | :35:25. | |
whether you agree with Mr Mason when he says that "Learning timetables | :35:26. | :35:29. | |
and spelling were stronger in that we have moved on". The guidance that | :35:30. | :35:37. | |
was issued at primacy on literacy and numeracy. As I said in earlier | :35:38. | :35:41. | |
answers high standards of literacy and new Morrissey are essential to | :35:42. | :35:46. | |
providing the foundation for learning of judge in other subjects. | :35:47. | :35:49. | |
The report I refer to that was published last week did show a | :35:50. | :35:55. | |
variation in terms of what student teachers say about learning around | :35:56. | :36:00. | |
literacy and that is something we want to address that standards of | :36:01. | :36:05. | |
literacy are vitally important that is why I say we have got new | :36:06. | :36:11. | |
benchmarks putting new focus is on literacy and why we have got | :36:12. | :36:14. | |
initiatives like the Reading challenge trying to use the pleasure | :36:15. | :36:18. | |
of reading to help improve literacy among young people as well. We'll | :36:19. | :36:21. | |
continue to get on with these things and as we decide will have the | :36:22. | :36:24. | |
support of people across the chamber. Glasgow University report | :36:25. | :36:31. | |
notes that Tory benefit sanctions have caused more harm to the poor | :36:32. | :36:37. | |
than electrolysis since the workers. Many hundreds of those sanctions | :36:38. | :36:40. | |
include single parents who are unable to attend interviews due to | :36:41. | :36:44. | |
child care or not having enough money for the bus. Last night the | :36:45. | :36:48. | |
Prime Minister failed to attend... Miss McAlpine. Sorry, First | :36:49. | :37:03. | |
Minister. The question has to be supplementary to the question on the | :37:04. | :37:06. | |
order paper. We move on to question number five. Thank you residing | :37:07. | :37:15. | |
officer. To ask what the Scottish Government is doing to provide | :37:16. | :37:20. | |
support for people with dementia. Of course this is dementia awareness | :37:21. | :37:26. | |
week and I'm pleased to say this government has maintained a priority | :37:27. | :37:31. | |
focus on dementia since 2007. We have prioritised national sport. | :37:32. | :37:35. | |
Education and training, improved their standards forever with a | :37:36. | :37:39. | |
diagnosis of dementia regardless of where they live, their age or the | :37:40. | :37:42. | |
severity of their illness and we have ensured the provision of | :37:43. | :37:46. | |
high-quality person centred post diagnostic support. We will publish | :37:47. | :37:49. | |
a new dementia strategy in the coming weeks which will set out in | :37:50. | :37:52. | |
further detail the work that we and our partners will undertake to | :37:53. | :37:58. | |
support people dementia and their families and carers. I thank your | :37:59. | :38:04. | |
for the answer but as usual to hear that answer you would think | :38:05. | :38:09. | |
everything was fine. So let me tell her what the real world looks like. | :38:10. | :38:15. | |
In the north-east... I will tell you what the real world looks like. | :38:16. | :38:25. | |
Order. I will tell you what the real world looks like. In the north-east | :38:26. | :38:30. | |
number of people diagnosed with dementia has increased by more than | :38:31. | :38:37. | |
44% in the last decade. However in 2014-15 in NHS Grampian only 23% | :38:38. | :38:41. | |
people diagnosed were referred for post diagnostic support. What will | :38:42. | :38:47. | |
the Scottish Government do to ensure that people in royal areas are able | :38:48. | :38:54. | |
to access the support they require? You know, here as in so many other | :38:55. | :38:58. | |
areas of course, unlike other countries has more work to do. We | :38:59. | :39:01. | |
are seeing more and more people diagnosed with dementia as the | :39:02. | :39:06. | |
operation lives longer. One of the things Scotland is recognised for | :39:07. | :39:09. | |
internationally is our high rates of diagnosis of dementia. Any expert | :39:10. | :39:15. | |
you speak to converse is true of any condition of course but particularly | :39:16. | :39:18. | |
for dementia because of the nature of support that is required, early | :39:19. | :39:23. | |
diagnosis is essential. We are leading the world in terms of | :39:24. | :39:27. | |
getting people diagnosed early. We have more work to do in terms of the | :39:28. | :39:32. | |
provision of post-IPO to support but we are again way ahead of most other | :39:33. | :39:35. | |
countries when it comes to putting in place post diagnostic services. | :39:36. | :39:41. | |
Later this month we will publish our new dementia strategy that will | :39:42. | :39:46. | |
build on these commitments and build on what we aim to achieve in the | :39:47. | :39:51. | |
years ahead. But one thing will not be doing is imposing a dementia tax | :39:52. | :39:59. | |
on all people. I am proud that in Scotland for over 65 so we have free | :40:00. | :40:03. | |
personal and nursing care. For older people that are eligible for nursing | :40:04. | :40:08. | |
care contribution of nearly ?13,000 a year if you have to fund your own | :40:09. | :40:13. | |
care from the state. That does not take away the burden on personal | :40:14. | :40:16. | |
resources but it significantly reduces it. We will also not be | :40:17. | :40:23. | |
ensuring that certain body in their Villa has their own has part of | :40:24. | :40:26. | |
their financial assessment, something that Tories are planning | :40:27. | :40:32. | |
to do in England. On this as in so many other areas we have work to do | :40:33. | :40:36. | |
but I am proud that when it comes to a progressive approach to dementia | :40:37. | :40:40. | |
and for paying for social care Scotland is so much further ahead | :40:41. | :40:44. | |
than anywhere else in the UK and next week we have to make sure we do | :40:45. | :40:47. | |
not allow Tories to drag us backwards. I think I know the answer | :40:48. | :41:00. | |
that does the First Minister agree with me that the dementia tax which | :41:01. | :41:05. | |
is essentially a plot to allow the financial services industry to asset | :41:06. | :41:10. | |
strip dementia sufferers has to be one of the most inhumane manifesto | :41:11. | :41:24. | |
pledges Evora -- ever devised? I think from a sedentary position with | :41:25. | :41:27. | |
Davidson is trying to defend just as Ms Davidson defends the rate clause | :41:28. | :41:34. | |
and other inhumane Tory policies. But not only is the dementia tax in | :41:35. | :41:39. | |
principle wrong, what is completely beyond belief is that we have a | :41:40. | :41:44. | |
Prime Minister who has put forward that policy is now cannot answer | :41:45. | :41:48. | |
even the most basic questions about it. There was firstly to be no cap | :41:49. | :41:53. | |
on the cost of care and then there is to be a cap but nobody in the | :41:54. | :41:56. | |
Tories can tell anybody where the level that is going to be set. Just | :41:57. | :42:01. | |
as they cannot tell anybody what the means test for the winter fuel | :42:02. | :42:04. | |
allowance is going to be, who is going to lose it and he was going to | :42:05. | :42:08. | |
retain it. With Davidson said you do not have to worry about that in | :42:09. | :42:11. | |
Scotland but they will not tell us how much money they will devolve to | :42:12. | :42:15. | |
go with the power. Are they going to devolve the budget now for the | :42:16. | :42:17. | |
winter fuel allowance or do as they did with employment support and take | :42:18. | :42:23. | |
money off before they do? The Tory manifesto published a couple of | :42:24. | :42:28. | |
weeks ago was nothing short of an assault on pension benefits. The | :42:29. | :42:32. | |
triple lock for pensions to go, the winter fuel allowance to go and | :42:33. | :42:35. | |
dementia tax. I think it is very clear for pensioners across Scotland | :42:36. | :42:39. | |
if you want to make sure Theresa May does not have the power to take away | :42:40. | :42:43. | |
your benefits and protections make sure you have got strong MPs | :42:44. | :42:54. | |
standing up for you. APPLAUSE Question number six. Rulli to ask | :42:55. | :43:00. | |
the First Minister what the Scottish Government is doing to help people | :43:01. | :43:04. | |
with arthritis who are struggling to work. In December last year we | :43:05. | :43:10. | |
launched fairer Scotland for disabled people which includes a | :43:11. | :43:14. | |
plan for increased funding for the active and independent living | :43:15. | :43:21. | |
programme, to help ensure that people can find the support they | :43:22. | :43:26. | |
need to stay in work. From April we are using devolve powers to provide | :43:27. | :43:30. | |
Scottish employment services specifically for people with | :43:31. | :43:32. | |
long-term health conditions to help them find work and stay in work. We | :43:33. | :43:37. | |
have also committed to exploring new ways of integrating health | :43:38. | :43:40. | |
disability and employment supporters, to ensure people can | :43:41. | :43:43. | |
find their way quickly to the tailored and person centred support | :43:44. | :43:50. | |
they need. Thank you. Would the First Minister agree that there is a | :43:51. | :43:56. | |
need to recognise the scale and impact of musculoskeletal conditions | :43:57. | :43:59. | |
like arthritis in Scotland. It is the biggest cause of disability and | :44:00. | :44:04. | |
pain across the country. The course into arthritis research UK it | :44:05. | :44:07. | |
accounts for half of all work-related illness. And in | :44:08. | :44:13. | |
Scotland 800,000 people live with osteoarthritis, the most common | :44:14. | :44:16. | |
form. Anyone who has it will tell you it is a very painful condition. | :44:17. | :44:23. | |
There is some evidence to suggest that the use of cannabis for many | :44:24. | :44:27. | |
sufferers can alleviate the pain. Have called for the use of it under | :44:28. | :44:31. | |
strict medical conditions, for example countries such as Germany, | :44:32. | :44:35. | |
Canada and 24 states in the US do this already. Earlier this year the | :44:36. | :44:41. | |
medicines and health care products and regulatory agency said that | :44:42. | :44:46. | |
cannabinoids is safe and companies can now apply for a licence. I was | :44:47. | :44:50. | |
genuinely pleased to know that the SNP conference overwhelmingly backed | :44:51. | :44:55. | |
it last year. With the First Minister consider taking steps to | :44:56. | :44:58. | |
license cannabis for medical purposes, or would the First | :44:59. | :45:02. | |
Minister at least commit to looking at the basis for this? Thank you for | :45:03. | :45:12. | |
raising the issue, more generally I agree in terms of arthritis and | :45:13. | :45:15. | |
other musculoskeletal conditions that for many people it would be | :45:16. | :45:18. | |
conditions like that that make it very difficult for them to sustain | :45:19. | :45:22. | |
employment which is why the work I spoke about my first answer is so | :45:23. | :45:25. | |
important to help people either get or stay in employment. It is also | :45:26. | :45:30. | |
one of the reasons why you think the assault on benefits for disabled | :45:31. | :45:34. | |
people and other people are so wrong because often they penalise people | :45:35. | :45:37. | |
who want to work but find it difficult to do so. One of the year | :45:38. | :45:42. | |
the benefit changes I hope we see reversed in the next couple of years | :45:43. | :45:46. | |
is the cup to employment support allowance for disabled people. On | :45:47. | :45:50. | |
the issue of cannabis, I have long been of the view that there is a | :45:51. | :45:54. | |
case for medicinal use of cannabis. I am not in favour of the | :45:55. | :45:57. | |
decriminalisation or legalisation of cannabis generally. use of cannabis | :45:58. | :46:01. | |
but carefully used for certainly conditions I think there is a case | :46:02. | :46:06. | |
to be made. There are two macro issues all related issues, the use | :46:07. | :46:10. | |
of cannabis itself and obviously the licensing and classification of | :46:11. | :46:14. | |
drugs is a matter reserved to the UK Government and also the separate | :46:15. | :46:19. | |
issue related which is what I think she raises of drugs that are derived | :46:20. | :46:25. | |
from cannabis. Now as with all drugs in terms of their approval or not or | :46:26. | :46:31. | |
use in Scotland that is a decision for the independent Scottish | :46:32. | :46:34. | |
medicines Consortium. I will happily browse -- ask the Health Secretary | :46:35. | :46:41. | |
to write to the Minister on related issues with drugs but I am | :46:42. | :46:50. | |
sympathetic, in terms of medicines we have a recognised process in | :46:51. | :46:54. | |
place for Scotland and of course it is open to any manufacturer of drugs | :46:55. | :46:57. | |
to ask for approval for that process. That includes a First | :46:58. | :47:03. | |
Minister's Questions. There we have it, the ends of questions to the | :47:04. | :47:06. | |
First Minister. There will be another section next week, and as he | :47:07. | :47:11. | |
said that the shifting -- they are shifting the First Minister's | :47:12. | :47:14. | |
Questions to Wednesday next week just before the election. We will | :47:15. | :47:18. | |
come to the election later but here are my two colleagues chewing over | :47:19. | :47:21. | |
what happened there. There was a pattern there, wasn't there, what | :47:22. | :47:24. | |
are you doing, why are you bothering about a referendum question what are | :47:25. | :47:28. | |
you doing, why you bothering about the referendum? Health, education... | :47:29. | :47:34. | |
Ruth Davidson's attack convertible, she is really going for education. | :47:35. | :47:38. | |
It is peanuts every single week there has been an edited question, | :47:39. | :47:42. | |
and it will be quite easy for Nicola Sturgeon du Quebec, obviously read | :47:43. | :47:44. | |
is going to ask about education again. She came with quotes from the | :47:45. | :47:50. | |
Conservatives from 2010! Are busy this was a valid example from this | :47:51. | :47:56. | |
week, with John Swinney having said that we got the numbers wrong in | :47:57. | :47:59. | |
terms of keeping the supply of new teachers coming through. But then at | :48:00. | :48:03. | |
the same anger as Nicola Sturgeon said the maid was an independent | :48:04. | :48:09. | |
recommendation of how many had to be bright so there wasn't an | :48:10. | :48:12. | |
oversupply, just the right number of students compare to the number of | :48:13. | :48:16. | |
people leaving. We are getting this again and again, the response is | :48:17. | :48:20. | |
always it is better than elsewhere, but she's very careful not to | :48:21. | :48:27. | |
sound... As if she is complacent in any the education in Scotland. It is | :48:28. | :48:31. | |
the gift that keeps on giving for the Tories, tunnelling else this | :48:32. | :48:34. | |
week. She gives a very spirited defence, saying oh, yeah, this is | :48:35. | :48:38. | |
what was recommended at the time but the problem is as wise babies and | :48:39. | :48:43. | |
quickly pointed out John has admitted but Billy Mac that they | :48:44. | :48:46. | |
used too much and her argument saying I take responsibility but you | :48:47. | :48:50. | |
know luck at Westminster, it did look like she wasn't taking this on | :48:51. | :48:53. | |
civility. He was saying they have cut it too much now, with hand side, | :48:54. | :48:57. | |
with the evidence at the time it appeared there was an oversupply. | :48:58. | :49:01. | |
The problem for her is that she now has the year record. And it isn't | :49:02. | :49:06. | |
great. The Tories are going to keep coming back to it week after week | :49:07. | :49:09. | |
and it is cutting through and actually the BBC TV debate we had | :49:10. | :49:13. | |
this week showed it was cutting through and members of the audience | :49:14. | :49:16. | |
asked what they like and although they are devolved issues, people | :49:17. | :49:18. | |
were raising things like education and health in that debate with her, | :49:19. | :49:24. | |
and it does reading to issues of Nicola Sturgeon's confidence. Bat | :49:25. | :49:31. | |
competence. We mention dedication and health. Education from Ruth | :49:32. | :49:37. | |
Davidson, and Kezia Dugdale with waiting times. Waiting times are a | :49:38. | :49:40. | |
challenge for everyone and Nicola Sturgeon said similar things, well, | :49:41. | :49:45. | |
it is worth... She contrasted it with Wales, didn't she. Contrasted | :49:46. | :49:49. | |
with the Labour government. The devolved assembly having health was | :49:50. | :49:54. | |
one be there and it is obviously Labour and there's the diptychs that | :49:55. | :49:59. | |
I get their statistics are worse than in Scotland. Busy there is a | :50:00. | :50:03. | |
target of 12 weeks and it hasn't been met. The mantra, Simon, is the | :50:04. | :50:08. | |
business of get on with the day job. It was almost in parallel, Ruth | :50:09. | :50:12. | |
Davidson, put aside the referendum and get on with the day job stop and | :50:13. | :50:16. | |
Kezia Dugdale, actually used the phrase gets on with your day job. | :50:17. | :50:21. | |
Nicola Sturgeon used this. I think the phrase is coming from both | :50:22. | :50:24. | |
opposition parties and focus groups will stop do you mean it works in | :50:25. | :50:29. | |
other words? This election next week up a, the main issue is going to be | :50:30. | :50:35. | |
independence referendum, are you for and against, and people in focus | :50:36. | :50:39. | |
groups telling the Tories, telling Labour, that they once Nicola | :50:40. | :50:42. | |
Sturgeon to get on with the day job am aware that the education or | :50:43. | :50:45. | |
health. You said yourself, they are devolved matters, this pilot is not | :50:46. | :50:51. | |
that this parliament cannot control that is it legitimate for opposition | :50:52. | :50:56. | |
party to go on these issues? I think it is, it doesn't play into Nicola | :50:57. | :51:00. | |
Sturgeon's competence, and at the end of the day she has called and if | :51:01. | :51:04. | |
and -- independence referendum recently and for her to argue that | :51:05. | :51:08. | |
it is the other parties obsessing, it just wasn't all that this is how | :51:09. | :51:11. | |
the election has broken down, and they would rather she focused on | :51:12. | :51:14. | |
education and health when the services are in trouble. It is | :51:15. | :51:19. | |
unfair, isn't it, when you could elect 59 MPs of one party and they | :51:20. | :51:23. | |
would have no influence will stop I saw the SNP on this... It is about | :51:24. | :51:28. | |
her record. The SNP that I saw the other day, they were putting out | :51:29. | :51:33. | |
tweets about their stewardship of the NHS, said the NHS could still be | :51:34. | :51:40. | |
on the doorstep. Can we see all the four leaders in there, a photocall | :51:41. | :51:46. | |
in support of the married QE Organisation, looking chipper and | :51:47. | :51:48. | |
cheery there, but earlier giving each other a kicking. Willie Rennie | :51:49. | :51:52. | |
I can see to their having a bit of a go on the subject, taking objection | :51:53. | :51:58. | |
to the suggestion it was a political matter. I will gently point out he | :51:59. | :52:04. | |
had been canvassing in that constituency recently. He raised a | :52:05. | :52:07. | |
serious point, about maternity services in the northern highlands. | :52:08. | :52:13. | |
It was about a woman from Caithness having to travel 100 miles. If there | :52:14. | :52:20. | |
are problems, yes. It is now a midwife led units rather than a | :52:21. | :52:25. | |
doctor led unit in Caithness. The First Minister stressed that this is | :52:26. | :52:28. | |
a matter for clinical judgment rather than ministerial | :52:29. | :52:32. | |
intervention. She said I can't override the independent | :52:33. | :52:34. | |
recommendation that it wasn't safe, when busy there was the point that | :52:35. | :52:38. | |
it was actually as a result of a death of a child stop as the leaders | :52:39. | :52:43. | |
had backed up the stairs after that combined photocall, I see the Health | :52:44. | :52:47. | |
Secretary there, be married cheery event of course. Hang on, chums, we | :52:48. | :52:52. | |
will catch up a little bit more of the general election now because | :52:53. | :52:55. | |
that BBC debate last night, seven parties taking part. Here's a | :52:56. | :53:03. | |
flavour of it with Angus Robertson. Dementia tax, and ends to the Winter | :53:04. | :53:07. | |
fuel payment, and cuts to the pension, I think those people | :53:08. | :53:14. | |
deserve to know by how much. Why is Britain the second biggest arms | :53:15. | :53:18. | |
dealer in the world? Why are we selling to 22 of the 30 countries on | :53:19. | :53:24. | |
the government was like own human rights watch list? APPLAUSE | :53:25. | :53:33. | |
We need to do the -- we need to reduce immigration by having an | :53:34. | :53:39. | |
Australian style points system. Ukip has just claimed that people voted | :53:40. | :53:43. | |
to leave the European Union and in so doing they are still voting for | :53:44. | :53:48. | |
curbing immigration. I don't think we can read that into the result. I | :53:49. | :53:53. | |
just had to take on some of Jeremy Corbyn's fantasy economic. He has | :53:54. | :53:57. | |
this money tree wish list in his manifesto. It is easy to think about | :53:58. | :54:01. | |
how you spend money but it is harder to raise it and his proposals don't | :54:02. | :54:08. | |
add up, it's as though he think it's a game, game of Monopoly, perhaps, | :54:09. | :54:13. | |
where you ask the money for the Electric, the railways come at and | :54:14. | :54:18. | |
the gasworks. It isn't like that. Leadership is about understanding | :54:19. | :54:22. | |
the people you represent. It is about being prepared to learn. It is | :54:23. | :54:26. | |
about not being so high and mighty you can't take advice. It is also | :54:27. | :54:31. | |
about bringing people with you. It is also about insuring your | :54:32. | :54:36. | |
responsibility to protect the safety and security of everybody in this | :54:37. | :54:39. | |
country and to lead a government that cares for everybody in the | :54:40. | :54:43. | |
country. The Prime Minister isn't here tonight. She can't be bothered. | :54:44. | :54:48. | |
So why should you? In fact, they offer is on BBC Two next. Why not | :54:49. | :54:56. | |
make yourself a brew. You are not worth Theresa May's time, don't give | :54:57. | :55:00. | |
her yours will stop don't make yourself a brew. Fascinating | :55:01. | :55:04. | |
analysis deal to come from my chums here. Let's go with the point | :55:05. | :55:10. | |
mentioned there, the missing Prime Minister. What do you make of it | :55:11. | :55:14. | |
pretty much she said she doesn't need to do this. It's Jeremy | :55:15. | :55:17. | |
Corbyn's turned to lose and all that sort of thing. What do you make of | :55:18. | :55:21. | |
it? There was no clear winner last night but I think there was a clear | :55:22. | :55:25. | |
blue zone which was Theresa May which was because she has run this | :55:26. | :55:27. | |
campaign initially starting up strong and stable leadership,... It | :55:28. | :55:34. | |
was almost presidential as well, her versus Corbin. But she wasn't there | :55:35. | :55:37. | |
to take questions or provide answers so it looks appalling and on what | :55:38. | :55:43. | |
the campaign has come off as, coming off the rails, it sort of emphasised | :55:44. | :55:46. | |
the fact that maybe she is out of touch, slightly arrogant. She is | :55:47. | :55:52. | |
clutching at straws, saying perhaps Corbin could make more of but | :55:53. | :55:55. | |
actually Caroline Lucas and Tim Farron especially we saw there who | :55:56. | :56:00. | |
were saying what he should have been saying that why isn't she here? Why | :56:01. | :56:05. | |
isn't she debating us? It was a bad night for her personally and for the | :56:06. | :56:09. | |
Tories. Jenny, what you make of it were to mark nobody won the May that | :56:10. | :56:15. | |
a fair assessment? I think it was difficult because obviously there | :56:16. | :56:18. | |
was a lot of people there and it wasn't a head to head between two | :56:19. | :56:21. | |
leaders where you could say one person came out strong, strongly, | :56:22. | :56:26. | |
you know, there were good contributions from everybody, as | :56:27. | :56:30. | |
Simon has just said. Obviously that manoeuvre yesterday by Jeremy Corbyn | :56:31. | :56:33. | |
or his team... He decided he was going. Coming after all. To reason | :56:34. | :56:40. | |
that may in such a lose lose situation saying oh, after get | :56:41. | :56:46. | |
mine,... She looked weak by not going on but there is no way to come | :56:47. | :56:50. | |
out of it well and there was no way that Amber Rudd could stand in fully | :56:51. | :56:55. | |
because she is not Theresa May, and that final word is that she isn't | :56:56. | :56:59. | |
Theresa May. Polls all over the place, it would seem. One poll | :57:00. | :57:03. | |
suggested the gap has narrowed to four point other is suggesting ten, | :57:04. | :57:07. | |
and all suggesting a Conservative-led. What you expect | :57:08. | :57:11. | |
for the final week. I think it will get a bit intense. The start of a | :57:12. | :57:18. | |
domain, the Tories tried running the 2015 campaign again, the coalition | :57:19. | :57:22. | |
of chaos idea, a week later leader propped up by Nicola Sturgeon and | :57:23. | :57:25. | |
that didn't get any traction because in England especially because the | :57:26. | :57:29. | |
polls suggested 20 points ahead for Theresa May but now could be Tories | :57:30. | :57:33. | |
will probably really focus on this message and that will start having | :57:34. | :57:36. | |
some traction, focus minds in England and also I think the idea of | :57:37. | :57:42. | |
Brexit as well, do you want may or Corbin, I think that will focus | :57:43. | :57:46. | |
minds, and I think probably the Tories will end up with a decent | :57:47. | :57:49. | |
majority, despite having run a totally atrocious campaign. Do you | :57:50. | :57:54. | |
reckon, Jenny, that the Conservatives will go on this who do | :57:55. | :57:58. | |
you want to be negotiating Brexit? Of course, the Scottish independence | :57:59. | :58:02. | |
is a big issue and also Brexit, the whole of the GB and the UK will be | :58:03. | :58:06. | |
affected. That is that at this point at the moment, taking things away | :58:07. | :58:10. | |
from other policies. That was busy their aim from the outset, the | :58:11. | :58:13. | |
entire election running on Brexit, they have kind of us that with the | :58:14. | :58:16. | |
manifesto mistake many in the so-called dementia tax. Just taking | :58:17. | :58:20. | |
it back, and you could see earlier in the week Theresa May was trying | :58:21. | :58:25. | |
to appeal to the working class work it vote -- you did vote, we heard we | :58:26. | :58:31. | |
understand your reasons for wanting this. Thank you both very much for | :58:32. | :58:37. | |
joining us. A discussion there a general election but of course | :58:38. | :58:40. | |
coverage, too, of the First Minister's Questions. As I said | :58:41. | :58:43. | |
earlier we are on again next week but questions on Wednesday because | :58:44. | :58:46. | |
they have brought it forward a day to allow the politicians do all be | :58:47. | :58:50. | |
out campaigning on the Thursday. Henri, from Holyrood, all the best. | :58:51. | :59:13. | |
It was an industry bursting at the seams. | :59:14. | :59:17. | |
We exported thread to the whole world. | :59:18. | :59:19. | |
So why did fortunes unravel for Paisley? | :59:20. | :59:23. | |
Something had to be closed. Devastating. | :59:24. | :59:26. | |
cities and traditions in The Art Of Japanese Life. | :59:27. | :59:35. | |
In Japan, art and life are intrinsically connected. | :59:36. | :59:40. | |
Understanding the principles behind the art | :59:41. | :59:43. | |
unlocks the mysteries of Japanese culture. | :59:44. | :59:47. |