:00:21. > :00:23.A warm welcome to the Scottish Parliament at the Holyrood. Today,
:00:23. > :00:32.youth unemployment has been discussed with an announcement from
:00:32. > :00:41.Alex Salmond who has appointed a particular Minister for that remit.
:00:41. > :00:49.There have been exchanges between Labour and we now turn to the
:00:49. > :00:53.opening questions. Iain Gray.
:00:53. > :00:55.Once he puts his card into allow him to be heard. To ask the First
:00:55. > :00:59.Minister what engagements he has planned for the rest of the day.
:00:59. > :01:06.It gives me great pleasure to officially reopened the National
:01:06. > :01:10.Portrait Gallery here in Edinburgh. One thinks of the great works of
:01:11. > :01:20.all of the museum's, the new National Museum in Edinburgh, the
:01:21. > :01:21.
:01:21. > :01:31.should all welcome what will be another fantastic job in our
:01:31. > :01:32.
:01:32. > :01:39.cultural crown. -- jewel. I hope some of his colleagues and some of
:01:39. > :01:42.mine will realise it is December and a fine day to shave their
:01:42. > :01:50.November of the starters, they are to be congratulated for their fund
:01:50. > :01:56.raising, but enough is enough! I want today to reiterate support
:01:56. > :02:00.for public sector workers and for the 300,000 Scots who took a stand
:02:00. > :02:06.yesterday. I know the First Minister opposed their action but
:02:06. > :02:12.he tries to claim not to support the pension changes either. Can he
:02:12. > :02:20.explain then by his Scottish public pensions agency made proposals even
:02:20. > :02:30.more punitive than the Tories? It Iain Gray have been that the
:02:30. > :02:31.
:02:31. > :02:40.debate yesterday... -- If... He would have heard that. Being
:02:40. > :02:46.refuted. Of course, given that in great is using lines from Tory
:02:46. > :02:52.researchers. That was not the point of that document. The issue we
:02:52. > :03:00.challenged the UK government on, which exercised more than any other
:03:00. > :03:05.factor, the people yesterday supporting the strike, is that the
:03:05. > :03:13.levy which is claimed to be to support pension plans, does not in
:03:13. > :03:19.fact support the pension plans, it is a smash and grab raid. That is a
:03:19. > :03:24.point we have been hammering away at, at the UK government for some
:03:24. > :03:30.time. I feel great surprise that Iain Gray does not acknowledge this.
:03:30. > :03:37.After all, it was Richard Baker on the 21 September, who said in
:03:37. > :03:42.response to John Swinney outlining that particular policy, I quote, we
:03:42. > :03:52.agree with the Cabinet Secretary's analysis of the UK government
:03:52. > :03:53.
:03:53. > :03:57.pension policy. Why isn't in grey still maintaining that position?
:03:57. > :04:03.The week a pose the UK pension changes, we still do. The question
:04:03. > :04:10.is if the SNP do, why are they implementing them as asked by the
:04:10. > :04:13.UK? As for what was making the strikers angry yesterday? I am not
:04:13. > :04:21.sure how the First Minister noticed that because he wasn't anywhere
:04:21. > :04:26.near those strikers. I will tell him. I will tell him what was
:04:26. > :04:30.making them angry. What was making the nurses, teachers, council
:04:30. > :04:36.workers angry, they were being asked to give more when they are
:04:36. > :04:41.already in the middle of a pay cut because of the pay freeze for the
:04:41. > :04:46.last two years. That anger was exacerbated by a having heard on
:04:46. > :04:54.Tuesday George Osborne telling them that it would be cut, Pepe, again
:04:54. > :05:00.next year and the year after. Public sector pay is mostly
:05:00. > :05:05.devolved. Can the First Minister confirm that he plans to pass on
:05:05. > :05:11.George Osborne's 1% pay cap? must surely remember his remarks
:05:11. > :05:14.during the election campaign when he said there would have to be wage
:05:14. > :05:21.restraint for the next three years. That is what he said during the
:05:21. > :05:26.election campaign. So, during the election campaign, Iain Gray put
:05:26. > :05:35.Ford that position. In September, in answer to exactly the point that
:05:35. > :05:41.John Swinney made, that we would lose �500 million if we did not
:05:41. > :05:44.implement the policy of the UK, that is when his spokesman said he
:05:45. > :05:50.appreciates and supports the government position as far as the
:05:50. > :05:54.UK pension changes were concerned. If Iain Gray thinks we can find
:05:54. > :05:58.�500 million in response to the blackmail letter from Danny
:05:58. > :06:04.Alexander, then he better start telling this Chamber where exactly
:06:04. > :06:07.it is going to come from. Furthermore, at what stage between
:06:08. > :06:11.September when Labour supported the position we have to adopt following
:06:11. > :06:16.that blackmail letter, did Iain Gray suddenly changed his mind?
:06:16. > :06:25.Perhaps he will also tell us when he decided not to cross picket
:06:25. > :06:33.lines since he has done it twice in 18 months in this Parliament.
:06:33. > :06:39.There was a lot of ways to avoid saying yes. Yes, he is going to
:06:39. > :06:45.pass on the 1% pay cap. Because I had a John Swinney on the radio
:06:45. > :06:50.doing everything to try to avoid saying a simple yes. That is the
:06:50. > :06:57.answer. The Tories cut public sector pay and the SNP implement
:06:57. > :07:02.the cut. The Tories cut pensions, and the SNP implement the cut. The
:07:02. > :07:08.Tories cut public sector jobs, and the SNP implement the cut deeper
:07:08. > :07:16.and faster. And the Tories cut capital expenditure and the SNP
:07:16. > :07:22.implement that cut only deeper and faster. So... What is the
:07:22. > :07:27.difference between the Tories and the SNP?
:07:27. > :07:31.Iain Gray now says he supports the strikers but Ed Miliband opposes
:07:31. > :07:35.the strikers. Iain Gray refuses to go into work in the Scottish
:07:35. > :07:39.Parliament but Ed Miliband goes into work at Westminster. I know
:07:39. > :07:42.Iain Gray is on the way out as Labour leader in Scotland but I do
:07:42. > :07:48.think there should be a little bit of co-ordination between himself
:07:48. > :07:54.and his colleagues in Westminster. The way to stop this Parliament and
:07:54. > :08:00.this government being hamstrung by the policies of the UK is to give
:08:00. > :08:05.us the financial independence that we require in order to do that.
:08:05. > :08:11.Iain Gray has been foolish enough to repeat the mistakes of Richard
:08:11. > :08:21.Baker as well as not supporting him in pension policy. Can I explain
:08:21. > :08:22.
:08:22. > :08:28.the reality of funding affecting us. Part of the formula, it is the same
:08:28. > :08:33.policy that was going to be pursued by Alistair Darling. But with an
:08:33. > :08:39.ever rising trend of capital expenditure, thanks to the eight
:08:39. > :08:46.day pulsate of devoting millions of pounds to capital and the programme
:08:46. > :08:52.which will add �2.5 billion. For the sake and for the folks who will
:08:52. > :08:58.get his point settled, I will have these figures on the record. And I
:08:58. > :09:02.challenge them if they can agree to come back every week and it's here
:09:02. > :09:09.-- and hear the same story. You cannot hide when Alistair Darling
:09:09. > :09:15.was going to implement the cuts faster and deeper.
:09:15. > :09:22.We know that the First Minister would like more financial powers.
:09:22. > :09:32.He'd like powers over corporation tax. Why? Because he wants to cut
:09:32. > :09:33.
:09:33. > :09:38.taxes for banks and big business. Even further than the Tories. I
:09:38. > :09:45.hear the meandering bluster, but I see the cuts to pensions, to jobs,
:09:45. > :09:51.and to pay. Isn't it true that we know a man's heart by his actions?
:09:51. > :09:57.On pensions, public sector jobs, and pay cuts, 300,000 Scots today
:09:57. > :10:02.stand yesterday, and yes, we took a stand with them. When is Alex
:10:02. > :10:09.Salmond going to stand up for what he says, and stopped just doing
:10:09. > :10:13.Tory bidding every time? Whether one start? It was his
:10:13. > :10:19.predecessor Wendy Alexander for supported corporation tax being
:10:20. > :10:26.devolved to this Parliament, if it was devolved to Northern Ireland.
:10:26. > :10:30.It McIntosh told us this week that he intends to cut and end the small
:10:30. > :10:33.business owners. Not only is there no synchronisation between Labour
:10:34. > :10:37.at Westminster and Labour in Scotland, there is no
:10:37. > :10:43.synchronisation what so ever between Labour's past leader,
:10:43. > :10:48.Labour's present leader and one of the ones where we will have to wait
:10:48. > :10:55.a few weeks before you can adopt that particular position. Our
:10:55. > :11:00.relationship with a staff, it is appreciated because uniquely we
:11:00. > :11:04.have a no compulsory redundancy policy in the public sector. And we
:11:04. > :11:11.have implemented the living wage across the public sector. If Iain
:11:11. > :11:15.Gray wants us to get out from under, out from under Tory policies, then
:11:15. > :11:19.give this Parliament the financial and economic powers that we require
:11:19. > :11:29.in order to do that. That is what people voted for in May, that is
:11:29. > :11:32.what they're going to vote for again!
:11:32. > :11:39.To ask the First Minister when he will next meet the Secretary of
:11:39. > :11:42.State for Scotland. No plans in the near future.
:11:42. > :11:46.The First Minister likes to claim credit when he thinks something is
:11:46. > :11:50.better in Scotland than elsewhere in the UK but when he stepped up to
:11:50. > :11:56.the mark when Scotland is falling behind? The families of young
:11:56. > :12:01.children in England receive 20% more free child care for three-4
:12:01. > :12:07.Urals than in Scotland. They get 15 hours a week, we get 12. This week,
:12:07. > :12:11.the Chancellor extended free privileged -- extended free
:12:11. > :12:15.provision to younger children. Evidence shows early years are
:12:15. > :12:21.crucial in a child's development. I believe young families deserve
:12:21. > :12:27.support, particularly in these tough times. This is the devolved
:12:27. > :12:31.issue. In a minute... I know you are keen! I want Scots families to
:12:31. > :12:38.get a better deal and will he pledged to at least match what is
:12:38. > :12:43.happening in England? The reason I was so anxious, during
:12:43. > :12:47.the debate this morning, a number of her colleagues complimented the
:12:47. > :12:50.Scottish Government and approach to early intervention. As we roll out
:12:50. > :12:56.the early intervention fund she will find our support for young
:12:56. > :13:03.families doesn't just match what is being done south of the border but
:13:03. > :13:07.has a substantial enhancement. Great, I will claim that as a
:13:07. > :13:13.partial victory. Now I want to know when and how it will be implemented
:13:13. > :13:20.and I event -- I invite him to take this forward to help Scotland's
:13:20. > :13:26.families. It is time we turned words into action. Well the First
:13:26. > :13:34.Minister meet with me before Christmas on this issue?
:13:34. > :13:38.Is that the whole team? It is approaching Christmas so let us be
:13:38. > :13:47.gracious, yes, I shall meet the leader of the party and whichever
:13:47. > :13:52.Members of her new Miss teens she wants to bring.
:13:52. > :13:56.The First Minister will be aware of the closure today of the trunk road
:13:56. > :14:04.in both directions in my constituency following another
:14:04. > :14:08.landslide. Given this is that he wrote in and out of large parts of
:14:08. > :14:11.Argyll, can hear surely the Scottish Government will do all in
:14:11. > :14:16.its power to ensure the road is reopened as soon as possible, and
:14:16. > :14:24.action will be taken to prevent further landslides which are
:14:24. > :14:30.potentially devastating for the With permission, presiding officer,
:14:30. > :14:35.but I say a little about the extent of the difficulties of the A83. It
:14:35. > :14:40.was closed at 7 am, at a site approximately half-a-mile from the
:14:40. > :14:45.previous significant landslip location. Approx 80 tons of
:14:45. > :14:54.material is on the road. Engineers are on site, but they can be no
:14:54. > :14:58.clearance operation until the water assessment of any further slip can
:14:59. > :15:02.be carried through. Details have been communicated to the relevant
:15:02. > :15:08.ferry companies of alternative routes. There is an internet and
:15:08. > :15:14.radio side being regularly updated. We cannot as yet confer when the
:15:14. > :15:19.road will reopen. We suspect it may be closed up to 24 hours. But I can
:15:19. > :15:25.assure the chamber and other interested MSPs that we will be
:15:25. > :15:35.informed as things develop. First Minister will be aware of the
:15:35. > :15:36.
:15:36. > :15:41.situation in Glasgow, and I want Ruscombe what is his view of the
:15:42. > :15:48.armed companies, and front line services. This is a matter for the
:15:48. > :15:50.Glasgow's civic council. Perhaps I could arrange a meeting between the
:15:50. > :15:55.constituency member and the relevant Minister to see how we can
:15:55. > :16:04.take us forward, which is, it has to be said, a local government
:16:04. > :16:10.matter. Unite the union are both speaking with one voice about the
:16:10. > :16:17.provocative and intimidating actions of rogue employers in the
:16:17. > :16:20.sector, led by Balfour Beatty. Will the First Minister take an interest
:16:20. > :16:24.in this so that we can avoid a crisis this winter and the already
:16:24. > :16:31.struggling construction industry. If the member wants to come forward
:16:31. > :16:35.with information, perhaps I can arrange a meeting to win him and Mr
:16:35. > :16:41.Swinney and any representative he wants to bring along to see if we
:16:41. > :16:46.can facilitate a settlement of the pensions. To ask the First Minister
:16:46. > :16:51.what will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet. Issues of
:16:51. > :16:55.importance to the people of Scotland. Last month, asked the
:16:55. > :16:58.First Minister when he will make up his mind and college funding. Last
:16:58. > :17:04.week, the National Union of students launched a campaign called
:17:04. > :17:09.our fight, our future. They hope to protect college student support,
:17:09. > :17:15.protect teaching quality and stop cuts to college places. Yet we have
:17:15. > :17:21.seen Angus College fear 400 places could be lost, and another 9,000
:17:21. > :17:26.across the country. The First Minister's Government is proposing
:17:26. > :17:31.a �40 million cut to colleges, but has almost �67 million in extra
:17:31. > :17:36.money available and are allocated. It is a simple equation. Will the
:17:36. > :17:40.First Minister today join those who want to protect Scotland's colleges,
:17:40. > :17:49.join the dots in his own government and tell us he will use part of the
:17:49. > :17:53.�67 million to help colleges and their students? Can I say, Willie
:17:53. > :17:57.Rennie says that these things are simple calculations. Can I point
:17:57. > :18:00.out that the statements up to and including Tuesday have had some
:18:00. > :18:06.positive consequences for the Scottish budget. They have also had
:18:06. > :18:12.negative consequences, which the UK Government have been unwilling to
:18:12. > :18:15.specify. The assumption of 1% on public sector pay it from the
:18:15. > :18:23.Autumn Statement has serious consequence Scholes in terms of the
:18:23. > :18:28.Scottish budget. -- serious consequences. It is in essential
:18:28. > :18:31.that Mr Swinney, as Finance Secretary, looks at the overall
:18:31. > :18:34.balance before he comes to his conclusions and makes his
:18:34. > :18:38.announcement to Parliament. Anything else would be strange. I
:18:38. > :18:43.know that Willie Rennie wanted in his question to will come at
:18:43. > :18:48.substantial amounts over and above consequences of �6 million per year,
:18:48. > :18:52.which is made today to help young people in Scotland. I welcomed that
:18:52. > :18:55.announcement this morning, but you made that announcement this morning.
:18:55. > :19:00.Why can you not make the announcement of the colleges as
:19:00. > :19:04.well? It is unacceptable to treat colleges in this way. He spent a
:19:04. > :19:10.ten-minute speech on youth unemployment, but there was not one
:19:10. > :19:15.single word about extra funds for the colleges. He spent six minutes,
:19:15. > :19:20.six minutes, arguing about statistics. Surely the only two
:19:20. > :19:25.statistics that matter is that he has got �67 million he wasn't
:19:25. > :19:30.expecting when he published his plans, and he was planning to cut
:19:30. > :19:36.colleges by 40 million. He doesn't have to do it anymore. Why can't he
:19:37. > :19:42.saved the day in simply make up his mind? Why the delay? In terms of
:19:42. > :19:47.college funding, we will look at college funding and we will look at
:19:47. > :19:53.both revenue and capital funding. For example, in the year 2002-2003
:19:53. > :20:03.when Iain Gray was College Minister, the cat was �21 million in total.
:20:03. > :20:07.
:20:07. > :20:13.In 2.003rd team's 2014, -- in 2013- 2014, the figure will be �138
:20:13. > :20:17.million, a factor of almost seven. If the member had been listening
:20:17. > :20:21.carefully to the statement this morning, he would have learned and
:20:21. > :20:28.understood that the discussions are taking place with the local
:20:28. > :20:31.Government -- local government and colleges, so it is not acceptable
:20:31. > :20:36.to say that the announcement this morning was irrelevant to colleges,
:20:36. > :20:42.it was simply relevant to young people. And finally, in terms of
:20:42. > :20:49.the UK Government, it is time to challenge some of the things we
:20:49. > :20:54.have heard. The published budget outlines what is happening to the
:20:55. > :20:59.college section south of the border. The UK Government is reducing
:20:59. > :21:08.investment in further-education by �1 billion from �4 billion to �3
:21:08. > :21:13.billion. That is much higher than any prospective tightening of the
:21:13. > :21:17.college budget in Scotland. It is happening south of the border. The
:21:17. > :21:21.importance of it is that until we achieve financial independence, our
:21:21. > :21:28.budget in Scotland is unfortunately dependent on decisions that are
:21:28. > :21:33.made elsewhere. That is why I think that any Liberal Democrat of
:21:33. > :21:36.Conservative coming to this chamber with corporate a Tears For
:21:36. > :21:44.Investment, they will be either laughed at by public sector workers
:21:44. > :21:47.or given the same treatment as Danny Alexander yesterday. To ask
:21:47. > :21:52.the First Minister what the Scottish government's responses to
:21:52. > :21:57.the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Autumn Statement. The Office for
:21:57. > :22:03.Budget Responsibility has confirmed that the Government's plan a south
:22:03. > :22:10.of the border is not working. In light of the worsening economic
:22:10. > :22:16.outlook, the Chancellor even set out a goal plan. The measures
:22:16. > :22:23.announced fall short of the action required. The OBR itself states
:22:23. > :22:27.that it will have limited impact on the economy. Three-quarters of the
:22:27. > :22:36.funding will not be received until after 2013, despite the obvious
:22:36. > :22:40.need for urgent action. Lack of action by the UK Government would
:22:40. > :22:44.give us the levers to grow the economy and protect our frontline
:22:45. > :22:47.services. Following George Osborne's admitting defeat on his
:22:47. > :22:52.own economic plan, and the miserable legacy of the Labour
:22:52. > :22:55.Party who created this economic crisis, does the First Minister
:22:55. > :22:59.agree it is high time this Parliament has given the necessary
:22:59. > :23:09.financial powers so that Scotland doesn't have to be burdened by a
:23:09. > :23:12.
:23:12. > :23:16.union dividend of economic doom and gloom? Yes, I do! But in that
:23:16. > :23:20.illustration of the impact of the Autumn Statement, previously before
:23:20. > :23:28.the Autumn Statement the cumulative reduction in capital spend over the
:23:28. > :23:33.spending review period as a direct result of the capital spend south
:23:33. > :23:40.of the border was �3.7 billion. After the spending review, that
:23:40. > :23:45.comes from �3.7 billion reduction to �3 billion reduction. So I just
:23:45. > :23:48.want, when the Tory liberal members make these points, but remember a
:23:48. > :23:51.�3 billion reduction in direct capital investment in Scotland
:23:52. > :24:00.across the spending review is not something I there to cheer or to be
:24:00. > :24:04.satisfied about. The First Minister will be aware of the �100 million
:24:04. > :24:12.allocation for super-fast broadband in our cities, while many people in
:24:12. > :24:15.rural areas have no broad band at all. Will he make provision
:24:15. > :24:23.available to make sure that the Highlands and Islands and more
:24:23. > :24:29.rural areas get broadband? support the nature of that question.
:24:29. > :24:32.In many ways, the allocation of broadband was disappointing. We
:24:33. > :24:38.have prioritised the requirement under need for super-fast broadband
:24:38. > :24:42.across the country, hence the �140 million investment. I would be
:24:42. > :24:52.delighted if the member wants to speak to that Cabinet Secretary for
:24:52. > :24:56.
:24:56. > :24:59.in structure -- for infrastructure about the importance of this.
:24:59. > :25:03.First Minister was slightly ungracious in relation to the
:25:03. > :25:07.Autumn Statement that was made, and when the reverse that and welcome
:25:07. > :25:13.the announcement in relation to fuel duty? Well he welcome the
:25:13. > :25:21.announcement in relation to credit easing, the Youth Contract and the
:25:21. > :25:23.additional capital spend that we will get in Scotland? I wish he had
:25:23. > :25:27.listened to my answer earlier before he made that point. He is
:25:27. > :25:33.asking me to welcome the fact that reduction in capital spending has
:25:33. > :25:38.been reduced from �3.7 billion reduction to a �3 billion reduction.
:25:38. > :25:42.I know that in the Scrooge-like world of the inner recesses of the
:25:42. > :25:47.Conservative Party, only a reduction of �3 billion is
:25:47. > :25:50.something to be redressed and welcomed. I think in the reality of
:25:51. > :25:54.the homes of Scotland, they would like to see a Scottish economy
:25:54. > :25:57.which is actually increasing investment at this time to bring
:25:57. > :26:02.people back into employment. That is the sort of thing we will
:26:02. > :26:07.welcome, and following through the objections of his question, will he
:26:07. > :26:11.join his previously and unfortunately defeated leadership
:26:11. > :26:14.candidate in calling for additional powers to this Parliament so that
:26:14. > :26:24.when he asks the question, I can say what we are doing for Scotland
:26:24. > :26:26.as opposed to what the Tories are doing to Scotland. To ask the First
:26:26. > :26:36.Minister what action the Scottish government is taking to tackle
:26:36. > :26:40.human trafficking? The human trafficking, the Government is
:26:40. > :26:46.making further progress in terms of deterring criminals from engaging
:26:46. > :26:52.in it. And the Scottish government has taken important steps in recent
:26:52. > :26:56.years in human trafficking. We provide additional funding of �4
:26:56. > :27:00.million over a two-year period, 2009-2011 to the Scottish crime and
:27:00. > :27:05.drugs Enforcement Agency to boost capacity to tackle organised crime,
:27:05. > :27:13.and within that we will provide Gok and's first dedicated resourced to
:27:13. > :27:21.support and improve human trafficking investigation. --
:27:21. > :27:26.Scotland's first dedicated resource. There is urgency around making sure
:27:26. > :27:33.that a human trafficking is corrected before the 2014
:27:33. > :27:38.Commonwealth Games. Lack of intelligence, the lack of
:27:38. > :27:41.prosecution expertise, as well as services for victims. Does the
:27:41. > :27:45.First Minister takes the view that there is a case review to
:27:45. > :27:47.legislation, and will he commit to ask the Cabinet Secretary for
:27:48. > :27:53.Parliamentary business to bring forward any debates so the parties
:27:53. > :27:57.across the chamber can discuss this very important issue in detail?
:27:57. > :28:03.will speak to the business manager to allow that to happen. But can I
:28:03. > :28:07.just quote the words of Baroness Kennedy herself in a letter to the
:28:07. > :28:10.Justice Secretary. In conducting his inquiry, I have learned not
:28:10. > :28:14.only how seriously you won the First Minister take the horrifying
:28:14. > :28:17.pictures of human trafficking, but in particular your personal
:28:18. > :28:24.determination to eradicate it in Scotland. I would also like to
:28:24. > :28:30.stress might appreciation for the help that has been given to me in
:28:30. > :28:34.my team in discussing this inquiry. We close there, Alex summer
:28:34. > :28:43.discussing human trafficking. Earlier, the focus primarily was on