:00:21. > :00:28.Hello and a warm welcome to the Scottish Parliament here at
:00:28. > :00:33.Holyrood. MSPs have been debating college funding and prison visiting.
:00:33. > :00:41.The main substance of this programme is questions to the First
:00:42. > :00:50.Minister. Let's talk -- across to the chamber for that. The First
:00:50. > :00:54.Minister wrote: Dear Fred, I am watching events closely, it is of
:00:54. > :01:03.Scottish interest for RBS to be successful and I would like to
:01:03. > :01:06.offer any assistance of my office can provide. Yesterday, the First
:01:06. > :01:10.Minister admitted with the benefit of hindsight he would have done
:01:10. > :01:19.things differently. Is he prepared to apologise to the people of
:01:19. > :01:24.Scotland for his serious error in judgment? I regret writing that
:01:24. > :01:29.letter, that much is obvious but as I said last week, ideally do not
:01:29. > :01:34.think Fred Goodwin is the Labour Party's strongest suit. It was
:01:34. > :01:38.after all my predecessor who recommended him for a knighthood as
:01:38. > :01:44.we now understand. It was Gordon Brown as Prime Minister who
:01:44. > :01:49.appointed him as one of his economic advisers. Certainly, I
:01:49. > :01:53.regret writing him a letter but I did not have him as a financial
:01:53. > :01:58.adviser. I did not have six meetings with him as Chancellor as
:01:58. > :02:03.Gordon Brown did in the face of just over one year and he was not
:02:03. > :02:08.at the heart of this Government advising on economic policy.
:02:08. > :02:17.Ideally suggest that Fred Goodwin and the Fred Goodwin story is not
:02:17. > :02:20.the Labour Party's strongest suit. In a previous life I was a
:02:20. > :02:25.schoolteacher and if I asked a child to accept that he had done
:02:25. > :02:30.something wrong I did not accept the defence, it was not just me. It
:02:30. > :02:35.is not a defence to say that other people have made mistakes as well.
:02:35. > :02:40.What I have as the First Minister and he has refused to do is to
:02:40. > :02:44.apologise for his error of judgment. He should apologise and she needs
:02:44. > :02:50.to learn a lesson from it. Fred Goodwin clearly got carried away
:02:50. > :02:54.with himself, he did not ask the hard questions and he was blind to
:02:54. > :03:00.the consequences. The First Minister is in danger of doing
:03:00. > :03:07.likewise. It is not just Daegu questions the First Minister's
:03:07. > :03:12.judgment. Professor John Kay, his adviser said if Scotland were to
:03:12. > :03:18.remain in a currency union it might start people wondering what the
:03:18. > :03:27.point of independence was in the first place. Can the First Minister
:03:27. > :03:31.tell us exactly what is the point? Before we wander off the subject of
:03:31. > :03:38.Fred Goodwin can I just remind the John Lamont that there has actually
:03:38. > :03:44.now been an inquiry into the collapse of the Royal Bank of
:03:44. > :03:51.Scotland? It was published on 12th December last year and does name
:03:51. > :03:57.three politicians as being influential in the extraordinary
:03:57. > :04:06.decision to relax financial supervision. They are probably a,
:04:06. > :04:10.Gordon Brown and Ed Balls. -- Tony Blair. One gone, one going, and one
:04:10. > :04:15.still there. As far as fiscal independence is concerned I suspect
:04:15. > :04:20.it is something to do with the fact that right now this parliament
:04:20. > :04:30.controls 12.5 % of the resources of Scotland. Under the Ed Kalman
:04:30. > :04:36.proposals it will be 20%. Under independence they will control 100%.
:04:36. > :04:40.The First Minister needs to learn from his mistake, not rewrite it.
:04:40. > :04:44.The fact of the matter is that it was the First Minister who said the
:04:44. > :04:49.problem with banking regulation was that it was gold-plated and that he
:04:49. > :04:53.would lighten that regulation. On the question of the currency union
:04:53. > :04:59.it is curious that the First Minister is sticking by his plan to
:04:59. > :05:04.remain in a currency union. Last week he told us there are 67
:05:04. > :05:10.countries to have a similar arrangement yet in response to my
:05:10. > :05:15.office he refused all week to name them until 30 minutes ago. Seven
:05:15. > :05:25.days to get information we could have got in seven seconds from what
:05:25. > :05:33.
:05:33. > :05:43.appear. -- Wikipedia. JEERING. Order, order. Can we please settle
:05:43. > :05:50.
:05:50. > :05:58.down. But can we please clear this up and can he give me three
:05:58. > :06:03.countries that are an example? I remind her of the comments of the
:06:03. > :06:09.Prime Minister who was in charge as Chancellor in November 2005, he
:06:10. > :06:14.argued in a speech to the CBI on 20th November 2005, he was not
:06:14. > :06:18.proposing just a light touch regulation but a limited touch.
:06:18. > :06:25.Gordon Brown then went on, and we should not just enforce the concept
:06:25. > :06:30.of regulation but also decide whether to regulate at all. He was
:06:30. > :06:38.not just proposing light touch of regulation but he was proposing no
:06:38. > :06:42.regulation! Ideally do think the Labour Party should not have to
:06:42. > :06:47.rely on the Scottish Government to provide ammunition. If she wants to
:06:47. > :06:57.ask me the question, as me the question. In terms of monetary
:06:57. > :07:03.
:07:03. > :07:09.union. JEERING. 11 out of the top 20 countries, including Switzerland,
:07:09. > :07:15.are currently in monetary union. That sounds to me like a pretty
:07:15. > :07:20.common feature across the planet and across prosperous country its.
:07:20. > :07:24.You seem to complain that we have made the suggestion there should be
:07:24. > :07:30.a monetary union between Scotland and England after independence. We
:07:30. > :07:33.are pointing out that such arrangements are not uncommon in
:07:33. > :07:38.the modern world but these countries are still independent
:07:38. > :07:43.countries. It does strike me that if it is good enough for all these
:07:43. > :07:48.other countries around the world including 11 in the top 20 most
:07:48. > :07:54.prosperous, it might not be a bad thing for Scotland. It also helps
:07:54. > :07:58.explain why last week, given the huge protection it would offer to
:07:58. > :08:04.the balance of payments, it might be rather a good thing for England
:08:04. > :08:09.as well. I am just trying to be helpful and co-operative. Before
:08:09. > :08:19.you start, there is far too much shouting at each other across the
:08:19. > :08:23.
:08:23. > :08:30.chamber. Please settle down. the fact of the matter is, whatever
:08:30. > :08:34.that was, it was not an answer. It did not clarify anything. The
:08:34. > :08:41.reality is that one third of those countries that are identified among
:08:41. > :08:48.the 67 have absolutely no influence whatsoever. It appears that it is
:08:48. > :08:51.independence at any cost that is what he is pursuing. His case for
:08:51. > :08:56.independence is starting to look like the RBS deal that broke the
:08:56. > :09:05.bank. He cannot provide the detail and when you look at it closely it
:09:05. > :09:11.falls apart. A currency union like Togo, San Marino, or might any
:09:11. > :09:17.share? In 2003 we were getting the euro, yesterday we were selling
:09:17. > :09:21.that we are somehow three from the Bank of England. Is it not the case
:09:21. > :09:25.that the First Minister is simply unable to make an economic case for
:09:25. > :09:35.independence and isn't he in danger of becoming the Fred Goodwin of
:09:35. > :09:38.
:09:38. > :09:42.Scottish politics? Order! Order! First Minister. You do not seem to
:09:42. > :09:49.appreciate the point I made about the living of these countries being
:09:49. > :09:54.the most prosperous. Nor have you taken on deep point I made last
:09:54. > :09:59.week that Gordon Brown gave away the right to interest rates in 2007
:09:59. > :10:03.when he declared the Bank of England independent. I think the
:10:03. > :10:08.Labour Party have to catch up with the policies they pursued in
:10:08. > :10:12.Government. A number of countries were name that you think her quite
:10:12. > :10:22.amusing in monetary union. Let's look at some of the countries that
:10:22. > :10:28.
:10:29. > :10:37.are not, Congo, Iran and North Korea. What exactly is the point? A
:10:37. > :10:42.reasonable proposition to argue apart from it being a not uncommon,
:10:42. > :10:47.of the other nine who are not in the top 20, I believe Japan have
:10:47. > :10:54.been in a monetary union at some point in recent history. What is
:10:54. > :10:59.the purpose and point of the independence? To control your
:10:59. > :11:05.resources and to control the wealth of the country. It is a fact if we
:11:05. > :11:09.look at the last five years of Scotland's income and revenue we
:11:09. > :11:19.would be �7.5 billion better off if we controlled our own revenue and
:11:19. > :11:20.
:11:20. > :11:27.resources. That seems to me another powerful argument for independence.
:11:27. > :11:30.A When will the First Minister next meet the Prime Minister? I am
:11:30. > :11:35.seeking early meetings with the Prime Minister as I have been for
:11:35. > :11:38.the last six months or so. I am hopeful there will be an early
:11:38. > :11:45.meeting with the Prime Minister's so we can take forward a few
:11:45. > :11:48.matters on our Mitchell agenda. Presumably the Mitchell again there
:11:48. > :11:56.is the referendum and since the consultation was launched in this
:11:56. > :12:04.chamber members on Government benches has been using the removal
:12:04. > :12:10.of nuclear arms and powered submarines from Faslane as a reason
:12:10. > :12:15.for Scotland to become a separate State from the rest of the UK. The
:12:15. > :12:22.Faslane naval base is the largest single-site employer in Scotland
:12:22. > :12:27.West 6,500 people working on the Clyde. There are 18,000 uniformed
:12:27. > :12:34.and defence personnel based across 30 of Scotland's local authority
:12:34. > :12:40.areas. That does not include the 4,500 workers in the size and the
:12:40. > :12:44.Clyde working on aircraft carriers for the other defence contractors
:12:44. > :12:47.right across Scotland engaged in work for the UK military. We know
:12:47. > :12:57.the First Minister wants to decimate the workforce in Faslane
:12:57. > :12:58.
:12:58. > :13:04.but how many defence workers does he actually planned to keep?
:13:04. > :13:09.estimate of cost over the next generation would be �100 billion.
:13:09. > :13:12.That is for Faslane. I do not believe Ruth Davidson would argue
:13:12. > :13:22.there could be more sensible investment and far more jobs
:13:22. > :13:27.created than investing in a new generation of Trident submarines.
:13:27. > :13:31.We would maintain the military establishment including a naval
:13:31. > :13:36.base at Faslane which is not just the home for the Trident fleet but
:13:37. > :13:42.for minesweepers and other submarines as well. I am interested
:13:42. > :13:47.in the proposition that there could be no orders for Scottish yards
:13:47. > :13:54.post independence. Did I quote Ruth Davidson from Jane's Defence
:13:54. > :14:00.Industry recently, 4th October 2011. Vital for a military procurement.
:14:00. > :14:07.The UK MoD is reaching its final round of procurement for tanker
:14:07. > :14:15.requirements. There are just three contenders left, the who, ship
:14:15. > :14:25.owning in South Korea, one company in Italy and another heavy industry
:14:25. > :14:25.
:14:25. > :14:31.in South Korea remain in contention. Really, will be published from
:14:31. > :14:35.South Korea or Italy but not from Scottish yards? The Clyde yards are
:14:35. > :14:41.there because of the excellence of the workforce and the efficiency of
:14:41. > :14:46.the product again that. It would be interesting if the Conservative
:14:46. > :14:49.Party, given its lowly position in Scottish politics, realise that
:14:50. > :14:59.talking down Scottish politics in this manner is not the way to
:15:00. > :15:07.
:15:07. > :15:12.obtain boards from Scottish people. No answer them. Let's look at the
:15:12. > :15:18.response from experts. The former commander of the Black Watch, he
:15:18. > :15:26.said that the first minister had absolutely no grasp of how the
:15:26. > :15:36.Armed Forces worked. The former secretary general of NATO said that
:15:36. > :15:37.
:15:37. > :15:43.the first ministers' plans have noticed -- no coherence. What about
:15:43. > :15:52.combat support? Medics and communicators? Nothing said about
:15:52. > :15:57.how this gap is to be felled. A former commanding officer of the
:15:57. > :16:03.SAS said that he had respect for some of his staff, the when it
:16:03. > :16:08.comes to defence, I don't think they have an idea. I do find Mr
:16:08. > :16:12.Salmond a very weak in this area, I have watched him, I had been with
:16:13. > :16:17.him, he really doesn't understand it, he doesn't get it. There are so
:16:17. > :16:25.many unanswered questions on the plans for defence. I'm going to ask
:16:25. > :16:35.just one. Becomes my young Scottish soldier, he wrote to me and he said,
:16:35. > :16:36.
:16:36. > :16:41.I do miss Davidson -- Dear Miss Davidson, I would have for the
:16:41. > :16:46.member had more respect, I am currently serving the British Army,
:16:46. > :16:52.and have done so over the last two years, I am deployed in Afghanistan,
:16:52. > :17:01.I love my job, and I'm proud to serve this country. I'm sure you
:17:02. > :17:08.are aware of the phrase back of a fag packet, this would reflect how
:17:08. > :17:13.Mr Salmond has put together his defence policy. Those serving be
:17:13. > :17:23.forced to make a choice between a uniform, and tragically lost
:17:23. > :17:25.
:17:25. > :17:29.friends, and the country of their birth. Well, does the? -- does he?
:17:29. > :17:33.A people would have a choice. the last count there are 23
:17:33. > :17:42.nationalities serving in the British Armed Forces. The issue of
:17:42. > :17:52.choice is a valuable one. Soldiers will be made compulsory redundant.
:17:52. > :17:56.
:17:56. > :18:04.-- compulsory for redundant. That is no choice at all. Nor,
:18:04. > :18:14.incidentally, I met with the colonel when I was marching against
:18:14. > :18:15.
:18:15. > :18:25.the shutdown of Scottish regiments. Not only did George Robertson say
:18:25. > :18:31.that the evolution would kill the SNP dead. She should have a glance
:18:31. > :18:35.at the opinion polls, showing a 49% support for the SNP, and will
:18:35. > :18:43.percent For the Conservative Party. A reduction even on the previous
:18:43. > :18:51.levels. I think George Robertson, he described the Strategic Defence
:18:51. > :19:01.Review as near the strategic or a defence review. -- in the best
:19:01. > :19:01.
:19:01. > :19:08.strategic. A former adviser to the Conservative Party wrote, only two
:19:08. > :19:13.days ago, the Prime Minister has laid his party open to the charge
:19:13. > :19:19.of arrogance, and left isolated those Tories who seek to defend him.
:19:19. > :19:24.The Prime Minister has consigned Ruth Davidson's leadership to
:19:24. > :19:34.ignominy and failure. I never thought I would find myself in
:19:34. > :19:34.
:19:34. > :19:39.agreement! Perhaps he's on to something at last. The first
:19:39. > :19:43.minister will be aware that of the last few weeks, the chairman and
:19:43. > :19:46.three members of the Board of a college had resigned following
:19:46. > :19:52.allegations of bullying, victimisation and financial
:19:52. > :19:58.mishandling. What action can be taken to launch an external
:19:58. > :20:02.investigation? The Scottish government takes allegations of
:20:02. > :20:09.this kind are very seriously. It is important that the facts are
:20:09. > :20:13.scrutinised. To this end the Cabinet Secretary has asked the
:20:13. > :20:19.funding council to take appropriate steps on the issue, taking into
:20:19. > :20:29.account all the evidence, and seeking assurances that management
:20:29. > :20:32.
:20:32. > :20:40.practices had been followed. First Minister, I had been formed that
:20:40. > :20:45.supplying steel from a poor would have boosted employment in my
:20:45. > :20:49.constituency. Can he explain why transport Scotland seven-over
:20:50. > :20:59.Scottish firms were involved, and can he meets with the company to
:21:00. > :21:01.
:21:01. > :21:10.this -- to discuss this issue? would be glad to. There have been
:21:10. > :21:20.18 sub-contracts awarded today. That represents 76% of the total
:21:20. > :21:23.
:21:23. > :21:28.number of sub contracts awarded. I would have a match and that these
:21:28. > :21:32.contract would be good news for Scottish companies. I know that the
:21:32. > :21:36.member would all wish to give any sort of misleading impression of
:21:36. > :21:43.the willing this of the contracts to be awarded to Scottish companies
:21:43. > :21:48.where possible. I think these figures illustrate that. I'm happy
:21:48. > :21:55.to arrange ministerial meetings. There is a strong willingness on
:21:55. > :22:03.the part of the various members of the consortium, towards Scottish
:22:03. > :22:09.contracts were it is possible to do To ask the first minister what
:22:09. > :22:13.impact the increasing applications from Scottish students to Scottish
:22:13. > :22:18.universities will have on the education sector? I am delighted
:22:18. > :22:23.that there has been an increase in applications from Scottish students.
:22:23. > :22:32.We have protected funding to universities, and ensuring that
:22:32. > :22:38.Scotland continues to offer first class higher-education.
:22:38. > :22:41.I thank the first Minister for that response. Does he agree that the
:22:41. > :22:45.English students applying to English universities down by 9.9%,
:22:45. > :22:55.and the number of Scots applying down by 60%, these figures are
:22:55. > :22:57.
:22:57. > :23:02.demonstrating the destructive nature of the fee-paying regime?
:23:02. > :23:09.These figures fully vindicated the Scottish Government's approach, in
:23:09. > :23:17.terms of abolishing fees for Scottish students. It shows that
:23:17. > :23:22.the concerns offered by the Labour Party were totally unfounded her. I
:23:22. > :23:27.think they should have taken the advice from the Education Secretary.
:23:27. > :23:31.Looking at the typical position facing universities and students,
:23:31. > :23:41.the overwhelming opinion would be that our universities are better
:23:41. > :23:41.
:23:41. > :23:45.funded that -- than any other in these islands. Some people in the
:23:45. > :23:47.sector were campaigning not to be under the influence of this
:23:47. > :23:57.Parliament, I doubt she would get any person in that sector he would
:23:57. > :24:00.
:24:00. > :24:08.want to the -- he would want to be in any other structure. The decline
:24:08. > :24:12.in supply this half of that in England. That says to me that the
:24:12. > :24:19.Education Secretary have got the balance right in maintaining the
:24:19. > :24:26.standard of education in Scotland, and excellence, in a broad cross
:24:26. > :24:29.section, and entitling free education to the people of Scotland.
:24:30. > :24:32.The �75 million pay here that the Scottish Cup and is spending to
:24:32. > :24:42.provide a free tuition to foreign students could be spent on scholars
:24:42. > :24:42.
:24:43. > :24:48.colleges. Will the first minister give me a guarantee that this.?
:24:48. > :24:53.the nose, the Education Secretary is working to ensure that they
:24:53. > :24:57.charge can be applied to students from the European Union. I think
:24:57. > :25:04.the member should reflect that one of the biggest rises in terms of
:25:04. > :25:07.the number of students, in this sector, has been international
:25:08. > :25:14.students outside the European Union. That is no indication of the
:25:14. > :25:21.excellence of quality that Scottish universities offer. In terms of the
:25:21. > :25:26.college sector, can I point out the extraordinary increase in capital
:25:26. > :25:33.investment. Dundee College, Inverness College, the amazing
:25:33. > :25:43.capital investments we have spent there. That is many times
:25:43. > :25:49.Investment under the label and Liberal coalition. -- the Labour.
:25:49. > :25:59.The investment has gone in, that is good news for the sector. There is
:25:59. > :26:04.
:26:04. > :26:09.no complaint now. Some I would like to -- I would like to last the
:26:09. > :26:17.first minister what changes are going to be made in youth
:26:17. > :26:23.employment? We want to support all opportunities for that. I welcome
:26:23. > :26:29.these actions of course. It was the Labour Party who voted against the
:26:29. > :26:38.commitment to provide 25,000 Modern apprenticeships in this Parliament.
:26:38. > :26:44.Can the first minister of an update on these apprenticeships? I notice
:26:44. > :26:51.some surprise on the Labour benches, many people on the Labour benches
:26:51. > :26:58.are new, and given that they have fallen in the polls, then maybe a
:26:58. > :27:08.further turn round to come -- then maybe a further turn around to come
:27:08. > :27:13.in future. They have voted against a budget which proposed 25,000
:27:13. > :27:20.apprenticeships, 60% more than their Labour Party -- than the
:27:20. > :27:26.Labour Party gave when they were in office. Even that mighty total, all
:27:26. > :27:31.of whom are entitled to a job in Scotland, one of the crucial things
:27:31. > :27:39.about these apprenticeships, they will be achieved in this financial
:27:39. > :27:45.year. That is something we shall be supporting and celebrating. I was
:27:45. > :27:50.very pleased to attend the National economic Forum yesterday, all
:27:50. > :27:57.parties are committed to tackling youth unemployment. When will the
:27:57. > :28:03.first minister except that his plans to cut college budgets will
:28:03. > :28:13.make it harder the young people in this country? I welcome the all-
:28:13. > :28:19.
:28:19. > :28:25.party environment. -- in their mind. That is really important. We have
:28:25. > :28:29.questions in terms of the importance of support for students,
:28:29. > :28:35.an acknowledgement of the income guarantee. Can I gently point out
:28:35. > :28:42.to be member that in terms of support for students, it is the
:28:42. > :28:46.Spanish at the higher -- it is substantially higher than the ban
:28:46. > :28:55.we inherited when he took office in 2007. Not just that, the
:28:55. > :28:58.maintenance allowance, which is absolutely critical for many people,
:28:58. > :29:08.has been maintained, even though it has been abolished south of the
:29:08. > :29:14.
:29:14. > :29:23.border. Will the Scottish government considered to abolish
:29:23. > :29:29.prison visiting committees. As I outlined there would be a further
:29:29. > :29:36.public consultation to analyse those proposals. This move will
:29:36. > :29:39.ensure that we have a service fit for this century. It would help if
:29:39. > :29:46.he withdrew the letter that he submitted saying he would abolish
:29:46. > :29:52.them. We will recognise the need for independent advocates. Most
:29:52. > :29:56.prisoners should have a right to wait, but will the Government stop
:29:57. > :30:02.using it as a cover for the abolition of the committees. That
:30:02. > :30:06.would bring in a totally different rural. In the current police sacked,
:30:06. > :30:11.the Governor has recognised the need to strengthen the independent