:00:24. > :00:31.The main substance of this programme, questions to the First
:00:31. > :00:37.Minister, he is back from the Ryder Cup in Chicago where there was a
:00:37. > :00:41.double success, Europe won the Cup, and secondly the Silver putter was
:00:41. > :00:44.escorted back to Scotland and it will be held at Gleneagles in two
:00:44. > :00:52.years' time, a referendum date pending for that very year. I
:00:52. > :01:02.wonder if either or both of this topics will come up in questions,
:01:02. > :01:06.
:01:06. > :01:13.I'm sure they will want to congratulate me -- join me in
:01:13. > :01:19.congratulating them in a stunning victory in the Ryder Cup. What
:01:19. > :01:23.engagements does he have plan for the rest of the day? Take forward
:01:23. > :01:27.the Government's programme. Then. The victory in the Ryder Cup was an
:01:27. > :01:32.exceptional achievement for the European team, and there for
:01:32. > :01:38.everybody in this chamber looks forward ever more to being in
:01:38. > :01:43.Gleneagles in two years' time to see their victory repeated. Can I
:01:43. > :01:50.ask how the First Minister is going to make the almost �3 billion worth
:01:50. > :01:55.of cuts to come up without anybody noticing? The government has set
:01:55. > :02:01.out its plans in the Budget, as we have done, indeed, for the last
:02:01. > :02:07.five years. Despite the enormous pressure which Johann Lamont
:02:07. > :02:10.identify us, we have managed to balance that budget, procured
:02:10. > :02:17.Scottish services, and introduce a vital social gains such as free
:02:17. > :02:25.education in Scotland. When I left for America I thought these things
:02:25. > :02:30.were agreed, largely across this chamber. I am now in a position
:02:30. > :02:34.where I left from America it was Johann Lamont appearing on the same
:02:34. > :02:42.platform as Ruth Davison, but she is a leading her party to become
:02:42. > :02:45.the Conservative Party of Scotland. -- alluding. The problem with the
:02:45. > :02:49.first minister is not that he is just surprised when he leaves for
:02:49. > :02:54.America, but that when he is in Scotland he is in denial about what
:02:54. > :03:00.is happening in the real Scotland outside this chamber. He talks
:03:00. > :03:10.about securing public services, and that we have free everything. But
:03:10. > :03:13.
:03:13. > :03:16.he has already brought in to �0.7 billion worth of cuts -- 2.7. The
:03:16. > :03:20.vulnerable and hard-working families have noticed. They have
:03:20. > :03:25.noticed. The pensioner who need help to wash, to dress, to feed
:03:25. > :03:32.themselves, suffering the indignity of just 15 minutes care visits each
:03:32. > :03:37.day. The family paying more for childcare than their mortgage. The
:03:37. > :03:41.18,000 Scots denied a place at college. One of the thousands of
:03:41. > :03:46.working-class students who have had their bursaries cut by �900 per
:03:46. > :03:52.year. Those people see his cuts and don't see his Scotland where
:03:52. > :04:00.everything is free and everything is fantastic. Who is going to pay
:04:00. > :04:05.when he delivers the next �3 billion worth of cuts?
:04:05. > :04:13.Again, she is correct to say the Scottish budget is under attack
:04:13. > :04:18.from Westminster, from the last Labour government as well. But the
:04:18. > :04:23.solution to that fact cannot be, surely, abandoning concessionary
:04:23. > :04:30.fares or free prescriptions, free personal fairs -- free personal
:04:30. > :04:33.care, introducing tuition fees, abandoning council tax. However the
:04:33. > :04:39.working families of Scotland will be benefited from adopting the
:04:39. > :04:43.policies the Tory party had adopted south of the border. I think she
:04:43. > :04:53.was deeply wrong to talk about something for nothing society. That
:04:53. > :04:57.
:04:57. > :05:04.is exactly the language of the Tory Another point of puzzlement is yes,
:05:04. > :05:06.the cuts have been imposed on Scotland are severe, but they were
:05:06. > :05:10.set out in the Comprehensive Spending Review. There is no
:05:10. > :05:14.difference in terms of these things than when we fought the election
:05:14. > :05:18.last year, and for the local elections this year. Except, of
:05:18. > :05:24.course, when we fought the election last year and the local elections
:05:24. > :05:30.this year, the Labour Party were in favour of the free prescriptions,
:05:30. > :05:36.concession refers, personal care, free education, the council tax
:05:36. > :05:41.freeze, they were trying to outbid the SNP on these vital parts of
:05:41. > :05:45.social progress. The question she must answer is how all of us and
:05:45. > :05:49.has she had this conversion to sweeping away not just be gained
:05:49. > :05:58.introduced by this government, but the gains of having a parliament
:05:58. > :06:03.for Scotland. I don't think he listened to what I
:06:03. > :06:10.said about what is happening to people across the country. The
:06:10. > :06:13.question we should be asking, he says nothing changes, the question
:06:13. > :06:21.should be asking is who is paying the price for the benefits we are
:06:21. > :06:27.all getting horribly from his spending choices? One lesson we
:06:27. > :06:32.have learnt, it is impossible to outbid the SNP in recklessness, and
:06:32. > :06:39.what we will do instead is demand serious government making the hard
:06:39. > :06:42.decisions that so that these people are not paying that price. No
:06:42. > :06:48.wonder the First Minister thinks he need to -- needs to spend �1
:06:48. > :06:52.million on spin-doctors to try to spin his way out of this one. It
:06:52. > :06:57.tells you all you need to know about the First Minister, care
:06:57. > :07:05.workers losing their jobs, getting their wages cut, but more SNP
:07:05. > :07:09.spinners hired. These cuts have to be brought in by 2016, already John
:07:09. > :07:14.Swinney has delayed half the cuts he knows he has to make. Are we
:07:14. > :07:19.going to know more before the referendum in 2014 where there is
:07:19. > :07:24.�3 billion worth of cuts going to be made? Or is this government
:07:24. > :07:34.going to continue to try to calm the people of Scotland and treat us
:07:34. > :07:42.
:07:42. > :07:45.all as falls? -- con. -- treat us all as false. -- fools. The means-
:07:45. > :07:51.testing was set out in a document almost 20 years ago. What it said
:07:51. > :07:56.was there is ample evidence that systems where benefits paid are
:07:56. > :08:02.more popular and more efficient than those which reserve benefits
:08:02. > :08:07.solely for the poor. There was page 249 of the Commission on Social
:08:07. > :08:11.Justice set up by the late John Smith, when Johann Lamont was chair
:08:11. > :08:18.of the Scottish Labour Party. I don't understand why Labour had
:08:18. > :08:22.moved away from that a fundamental principle. I hear the cries from
:08:22. > :08:27.the Labour benches, no, they haven't. If they haven't moved away
:08:27. > :08:36.from that principle why is she making speeches attacking these
:08:36. > :08:39.great gains on free education, free health, for the people of Scotland?
:08:39. > :08:43.The reintroduction of means testing would not be popular but it also
:08:43. > :08:47.would not be efficient. I agree with that. That is one of the
:08:47. > :08:51.argument put forward, to hold society together we have to make
:08:51. > :08:55.short certain things are so important bike free education in
:08:55. > :08:59.Scotland, the people who are lucky enough to be in a position to make
:08:59. > :09:04.a contribution through their taxation can see the benefits
:09:04. > :09:09.socially as well. That is how the whole -- you hold society together.
:09:09. > :09:13.The introduction of sweeping means- testing it was desirable areas of
:09:13. > :09:20.society will introduce in efficiency and social division.
:09:20. > :09:24.Apart -- a point the party recognises, and now is deserting
:09:24. > :09:28.totally on to the Tory ground, not just of Ruth Davidson, but of Peter
:09:28. > :09:38.Lilley he first introduced the phrase, as something for nothing
:09:38. > :09:38.
:09:38. > :09:42.society. The first minister loves strong men
:09:42. > :09:49.to cut down the reality. The reality is there is a much more
:09:49. > :09:53.serious debate going on. He says we should have a debate, and he
:09:53. > :09:57.insults every family across the country who are worrying now about
:09:57. > :10:02.their children in school, the young people in college and older people
:10:02. > :10:07.worrying about their care. This man talked about debate and he forces
:10:07. > :10:16.his education minister to come here and recount a position he had five
:10:16. > :10:21.years ago. We want to have a debate and test the evidence of where the
:10:21. > :10:26.balance that he knows should be there should lie. I think I
:10:27. > :10:32.understand why the first minister thinks everything is free. On
:10:32. > :10:39.�130,000 pay dear, it spent almost �2,000 per week on hospitality,
:10:39. > :10:45.gets the taxpayer to spend �1,300 per year for a TV package to watch
:10:45. > :10:55.the films and sports events he then gets them to pay for him to attend.
:10:55. > :11:01.The first minister does not live in the real world. He lives in a world
:11:01. > :11:05.where it is fine to spend �400,000 to rent out a gentleman's club in
:11:05. > :11:12.Palma, but doesn't worry about the care worker who has had their wages
:11:12. > :11:17.cut by �4,000 per year. He is not an economist, he is a fantasist. No
:11:17. > :11:27.wonder, from Hampden Park to the Ryder Cup, George Square to the
:11:27. > :11:29.
:11:29. > :11:39.Edinburgh tattoo, he gets booed wherever he goes. So much for
:11:39. > :11:40.
:11:40. > :11:44.equality debate. -- so much for a quality debate! Can I make three
:11:44. > :11:50.points? The argument we put forward wasn't just put forward in an
:11:50. > :11:56.election manifesto, we set out our programme for government. I set out
:11:56. > :12:01.the argument of a social wage and it was done last year with 26th May,
:12:01. > :12:05.2011, free university education, their attacks on ill health, and a
:12:05. > :12:10.council tax bill that will not saw, that is a concept of the social
:12:10. > :12:14.wage. For the sacrifices that all of us make and should be making for
:12:14. > :12:19.the form of a society geared to our values. We do things differently
:12:19. > :12:27.here, not because we can, but because we want to and we should be
:12:27. > :12:33.proud of that. Ian Gray was leader of the Labour Party, his response
:12:33. > :12:38.was, I agreed Scotland's path see the distant to that of the
:12:38. > :12:43.coalition at Westminster. There is a fairer, better way and we will
:12:43. > :12:48.hold our first minister to hour -- to his promises on the social wage,
:12:48. > :12:52.free personal care, concessionary travel, free prescriptions, and
:12:52. > :12:58.free education. In the space of the years the Labour Party has been
:12:58. > :13:04.transformed into demanding that the SNP hold to these policies on the
:13:04. > :13:13.social wage to be hand-in-glove with the Tory party attacking these
:13:13. > :13:16.gains. It is not just the reaction of the
:13:16. > :13:22.SNP took Johann Lamont we should be worried about, let's talk about
:13:22. > :13:29.reaction to speeches, for example. The phrase, something for nothing,
:13:29. > :13:34.is badly chosen, George Anderson, what are we doing, do we learn
:13:34. > :13:38.nothing for New Labour, not since. David Wells, they be used to
:13:38. > :13:42.endorse policies by free prescription, free prescription and
:13:42. > :13:52.the council taxes. As the Labour Party becomes the new Tory Party of
:13:52. > :13:55.
:13:55. > :14:00.Scotland, support which has already diminished, and it will vanish.
:14:00. > :14:05.Ruth Davidson. To ask the first minister when he
:14:05. > :14:10.will next make -- meet the Secretary of State for Scotland.
:14:10. > :14:14.Last year Glasgow university principal warned the funding gap
:14:14. > :14:18.for the first Minister's policies would cause long-term damage to
:14:19. > :14:25.Scottish universities. Not only did he refuse to listen, but he quite
:14:25. > :14:28.publicly slapped him down. And now we start to see the full effects of
:14:28. > :14:31.the Scottish Government's higher education policy, with all but one
:14:31. > :14:37.of Scotland's top universities slipping down the world rankings,
:14:38. > :14:43.and one tumbling out of the top 200 altogether. Universe the principles
:14:43. > :14:48.like him were right all along -- University. Will he admits his
:14:48. > :14:53.policies are creating a deepening crisis in Scottish education?
:14:53. > :14:55.There is general acknowledgement including by all university
:14:55. > :14:59.principals has gone and the universities of Scotland are the
:14:59. > :15:04.best funded in these islands by far, at the present moment. The attack
:15:04. > :15:11.of the Labour Party has been we are over funding university education
:15:11. > :15:14.in Scotland. As Ruth Davidson should know, in comparison with the
:15:14. > :15:19.25,000 reduction in university students from England going to
:15:19. > :15:23.English universities, this year in Scotland we have a record number of
:15:23. > :15:26.Scottish students going to Scottish universities, a record number of
:15:26. > :15:31.English students going to Scottish universities, and a record number
:15:31. > :15:35.of overseas students going to Scottish universities. I would be
:15:36. > :15:41.wary of quoting the report she cited, it describes the situation
:15:41. > :15:45.in England as a perfect storm of underfunding. How much better it
:15:45. > :15:48.would be if every single universe to be visible in Midland would
:15:48. > :15:52.gladly change places with the university principal in Scotland
:15:52. > :16:02.who are properly funded and can look forward with confidence to an
:16:02. > :16:10.
:16:10. > :16:15.Perhaps the first minister has spent too much time in America, to
:16:15. > :16:20.pay any attention to our schools. But we take the First Minister on a
:16:20. > :16:24.journey through Scotland's education system. One child in
:16:24. > :16:27.every five leaves primary school unable to read and write properly.
:16:27. > :16:33.Our teachers are confused about what they're supposed to do in the
:16:34. > :16:38.classroom because, as a professor pointed out, there is no clear
:16:38. > :16:42.leadership or focus in the implementation of curriculums.
:16:42. > :16:47.70,000 people are now denied a place at further education college
:16:47. > :16:52.after tens of millions of pounds worth of cuts to their budget. And
:16:52. > :16:59.shamefully, Scotland's poorest and most disadvantaged students have
:16:59. > :17:06.seen bursaries cut by 34 %. So, from primary to postgraduate, this
:17:06. > :17:09.is a catalogue of failure. Will the first minister now do what his
:17:09. > :17:16.Education Secretary did yesterday and stand in this chamber and admit
:17:16. > :17:21.that he was wrong? But the at some stage, the Conservative Party will
:17:21. > :17:26.have to get over this contradiction between constantly calling for
:17:26. > :17:30.additional expenditure on things that they want to spend it on,
:17:30. > :17:34.while their government at Westminster is siphoning the
:17:34. > :17:37.Scottish budget. The comparison of course is how we managed to
:17:37. > :17:43.maintain public services in comparison with what is happening
:17:43. > :17:51.in England and indeed Wales at the present bummed. The position of
:17:51. > :17:55.colleges in Scotland... We are maintaining the student numbers and
:17:55. > :18:00.full-time equivalents as evidence to the Education Committee
:18:00. > :18:04.demonstrated this week. I really do think the attack on curriculum for
:18:04. > :18:08.excellence should stop because it is being greeted with huge
:18:09. > :18:12.enthusiasm by both the teachers and parents of Scotland and is a
:18:12. > :18:18.fundamental, well needed reform in Scottish education. I've been
:18:18. > :18:22.looking at some of it quotes coming in, in terms of the position of
:18:22. > :18:27.Scotland's universities and I was delighted to see just a few seconds
:18:27. > :18:29.ago, a quote from Robin Parker talking about the huge investment
:18:29. > :18:34.the Scottish government is making in our universities over this
:18:34. > :18:39.Parliament, from this new academic year. In fact, in Europe, Scotland
:18:39. > :18:43.is one of only a few countries that are investing in higher education.
:18:43. > :18:53.Fortunately for people south of the border, one of the country is that
:18:53. > :19:00.
:19:00. > :19:05.there is not as the country of Today, we learned that the former
:19:05. > :19:11.NHS Lothian chief executive has been given a �100,000 golden
:19:11. > :19:15.goodbye on top of a very generous package awarded when he left office
:19:15. > :19:20.following for waiting times and scandals in Lothian. What action
:19:20. > :19:24.will the first minister take to end the blatant milking of public money
:19:24. > :19:33.by highly paid officials to leave office following a scandal or
:19:33. > :19:37.retire and are then be engaged? re-engaged. Professor Barber
:19:37. > :19:42.perceived his benefits in line with contractual entitlements which a
:19:42. > :19:46.standard for NHS employees. A member should consider what would
:19:46. > :19:49.have happened to the Scottish government if we decided to break
:19:49. > :19:52.that contract and the member should also consider that these contracts
:19:52. > :20:00.were entered into when the Labour Party were in government in
:20:00. > :20:05.Scotland. I would like to ask the first minister what issues will be
:20:05. > :20:10.discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet? We will discuss issues
:20:10. > :20:13.on -- of importance to the people of Scotland. Last week, I was
:20:13. > :20:18.pleased that the Deputy First Minister committed to do more for
:20:18. > :20:22.vulnerable young children. She talked positively, I have to say,
:20:22. > :20:26.about building a consensus. I was therefore disappointed to see the
:20:26. > :20:30.very next day a statement from the government that said we had a -- we
:20:30. > :20:34.would not even be piloting an extension free Earley learning for
:20:34. > :20:38.deprived 2 euros. I need him to clear this matter up. It is
:20:38. > :20:43.important because the Noble Laureate professor has worked out
:20:43. > :20:49.that the highest rate of return in education is investment before the
:20:49. > :20:52.age of three. He is one of many experts who support this. Will the
:20:53. > :20:58.first minister clear this matter up and committed today to follow the
:20:58. > :21:02.UK government and extend in the education to 40 % of two year-olds,
:21:02. > :21:09.the ones who need it most, rather than sticking to the 1% that he has
:21:09. > :21:16.got in his current plans. The plan to move three and four year-olds to
:21:16. > :21:20.600 hours of Alias education and child care is Superior not just to
:21:20. > :21:27.the 412 hours which we inherited but to no plans and England which
:21:27. > :21:32.are for less than that. -- Early Education. I watched the exchange
:21:32. > :21:35.between two people last week and a repeat the words that we are
:21:35. > :21:40.willing to consider all plans for the future. But he should carefully
:21:40. > :21:44.look at exciting developments in terms of family centres in Scotland.
:21:44. > :21:49.The mention that has been made of them, the fact that we have,
:21:50. > :21:53.thankfully in the Budget, decided to direct money into in the years
:21:53. > :21:58.and intervention as a part of policy and see a number of ways in
:21:58. > :22:05.which we can affect our shared aims, even against the dramatic budget
:22:05. > :22:08.pressure introduced by his government at Westminster. The I
:22:08. > :22:11.accept that the work that has been done with a three and four-year-
:22:11. > :22:15.olds is good progress and the other work that he has talked about his
:22:15. > :22:20.good progress as well but the best Investment is that made before the
:22:20. > :22:26.age of three. I know he has given on some of this but �1 invested
:22:26. > :22:29.then, before the age of three, says �11 later. How want to join in the
:22:29. > :22:35.consensus. There is a parliamentary motion calling for more provision
:22:35. > :22:40.for two year-olds, signed by members of all five parties in of
:22:40. > :22:45.the chamber, including members from his own party which I welcome. I
:22:45. > :22:50.want to work together but we need more commitment than this. The 30
:22:50. > :22:54.year-old misses out now, they miss out for ever. If he is not going to
:22:54. > :22:59.commit to 40 % of two-year-olds, like the UK government, could he at
:22:59. > :23:04.least agree to work, open up the budget, look for a radical change
:23:04. > :23:07.so we can do more for those young children? Perhaps at some stage we
:23:07. > :23:12.would get the acknowledgement that what we are proposing for three and
:23:12. > :23:18.four year-olds is substantially above what the UK government is
:23:18. > :23:21.proposing. Also, the understanding that there are a variety of ways
:23:21. > :23:29.through the family centres I've mentioned, where we can bring about
:23:29. > :23:33.the desirable aims. As the Member should know, we have set up in this
:23:33. > :23:36.government, and early years commission which has a substantial
:23:36. > :23:40.number of experts in this field, as well as people in this chamber, on
:23:40. > :23:43.it to make recommendations so we can see how to bring about that
:23:44. > :23:48.improvement that we all want to see. I would say, one of the first
:23:48. > :23:52.things to do is to allocate the intervention in the Budget which
:23:52. > :23:57.this Government has done for early intervention for preventative
:23:57. > :24:02.spending. It has been enormously difficult, given the budget
:24:02. > :24:07.pressures upon us right now, to do that. That has been done by Mr
:24:07. > :24:11.Swinney, which gives us the basis to half a debate with action on how
:24:11. > :24:16.we can affect improvements in the early years. I'm rather interested
:24:16. > :24:21.however, in one aspect. I agreed that the early years of profound
:24:21. > :24:26.significance in terms of the future development of our children and our
:24:26. > :24:30.society. Hence the move to intervention in the Budget. But if
:24:30. > :24:34.we are going to debate this in terms of saying that everything
:24:34. > :24:39.that is taking place south of the border must automatically be
:24:39. > :24:44.matched in Scotland, then it does tend to overlook the whole variety
:24:44. > :24:48.of benefits and incentives, and the platform event -- education and
:24:48. > :24:55.health which has been provided in Scotland which is now being denied
:24:55. > :25:02.to people in England. To ask the first minister what the benefits
:25:02. > :25:06.will be of Scotland staging the Ryder Cup in 2014? The Ryder Cup...
:25:06. > :25:10.Order for stop a Ryder cuppers were the biggest sporting events in the
:25:10. > :25:17.world. As the next host nation, the Scottish economy is expected to
:25:17. > :25:20.benefit by up to �100 million. In addition to the 45,000 spectators
:25:20. > :25:25.expected to attend each day at Gleneagles, the television coverage
:25:25. > :25:29.is expected to reach more than 500 million homes worldwide. That will
:25:29. > :25:34.provide a unique opportunity to promote Scotland on a world stage
:25:34. > :25:38.and to reinforce Scotland's place as the home of golf. I thank the
:25:38. > :25:43.First Minister. As a local MSP, and certainly looking forward to the
:25:43. > :25:47.tournament coming to Gleneagles and the economic benefits. What steps
:25:47. > :25:51.will the Government take to ensure that young Scots are given the
:25:51. > :25:57.opportunity to participate in golf and even to compete in a future
:25:57. > :26:01.Ryder Cup themselves? It is a hugely substantial point. The key
:26:01. > :26:06.component of the Ryder Cup has nation agreement means that
:26:06. > :26:10.Scottish government is committed to funding and his initiative to
:26:10. > :26:16.deliver a post event legacy beyond 2014. I'm very supportive of that
:26:16. > :26:20.initiative. I think it is fantastic. Since its inception, over two and
:26:20. > :26:25.60,000 children have been introduced to golf at school. --
:26:25. > :26:30.260,000. We are the home of golf. Its initiatives such as this which
:26:30. > :26:34.will make sure that Scotland is the future of golf as well. Good to
:26:34. > :26:38.last the first minister whether police officers will have to
:26:38. > :26:42.perform more administrative duties to cover proposed reductions in a
:26:43. > :26:51.police staff. We expect the Scottish police a solitary and the
:26:51. > :26:56.police service of Scotland... We have given a commitment to no
:26:57. > :27:01.compulsory redundancies among police support staff. The former
:27:01. > :27:04.police service which was supported by the Labour Party it was --
:27:04. > :27:09.offered the unique opportunity to improve services. The new service
:27:09. > :27:14.will work more effectively and bring for 10 at national police
:27:14. > :27:17.organisations into one organisation. That commitment is very interesting,
:27:17. > :27:22.given the revelations last week. The First Minister has repeatedly
:27:22. > :27:27.told the Scottish people fat 1000 extra police officers are on their
:27:27. > :27:30.streets today. He has denied a report that police officers are
:27:30. > :27:36.sitting in police stations across got and today, phoning back office
:27:36. > :27:39.duties. But a leaked document from the Justice secretaries police
:27:39. > :27:45.reform sub-group reveals a plan to release hundreds of police staff
:27:45. > :27:51.that will be, delivered through police officers performing basic
:27:51. > :27:55.administrative duties themselves. Can I ask the First Minister if he
:27:55. > :28:00.thinks it is good economics to have police officers will earn one third
:28:00. > :28:06.more than police staff doing their jobs? Will he now admit that he has
:28:06. > :28:13.not put 1000 extra police officers on our streets but has given
:28:13. > :28:19.Scotland 1000 backroom at Bobby's? A -- bobbies. Total nonsense. The
:28:20. > :28:24.position outlined to the committee earlier this year is quite clear.
:28:24. > :28:28.In my understanding, and I'm quoting Kevin Smith, police
:28:28. > :28:32.officers will not be put in such roles. I'm confident that cops will
:28:32. > :28:38.not fill a backroom post. That would be not -- not be good
:28:38. > :28:42.operational use and making someone redundant would be challengeable.
:28:42. > :28:52.That the position as set out by Kevin Smith in front of this
:28:52. > :28:55.Parliament. I do think that she is not on safe ground challenging the
:28:55. > :29:04.commitment to 1000 extra police officers. After all, it did feature
:29:04. > :29:08.as a question in the draw one up Lamont speech only last week. --
:29:08. > :29:12.Miss Lamont's speech. After the Scottish Police Federation tweeted
:29:12. > :29:17.that it would be a tragedy if Scots politicians became out of touch as
:29:18. > :29:21.they are in England and Wales, they were reassured by one of the Labour
:29:21. > :29:28.party's spin-doctors that this was not the Labour policy and about 20
:29:28. > :29:31.minutes later, they were able to say that Lamont's commitment and
:29:31. > :29:37.questioning of the 1000 extra police of us has had lasted a mere
:29:37. > :29:42.30 minutes. If the challenging of our commitment to a 1000 police
:29:42. > :29:45.officers last a near 30 minutes, how long will Labour's attempt to
:29:45. > :29:53.remove for education and free health for the police -- people of
:29:53. > :29:58.Scotland? Does the first minister agree with me that Labour's cuts
:29:58. > :30:02.Commission, where everything is on the table, could lead to a massive
:30:02. > :30:10.decrease in bobbies on the beat and of other police staff. And that
:30:10. > :30:15.this could see our crime levels rise again? I think there should be
:30:15. > :30:21.some acknowledgement that the commitment to deliver 1000 extra
:30:21. > :30:27.police officers was met. Despite the pessimism of the Labour Party,
:30:28. > :30:33.who said it would take 13 years to fulfil that commitment. I believe
:30:33. > :30:37.with the new Chief Constable of Scotland, it has been at the feet -
:30:37. > :30:41.- that initiative which bears a large part of the responsibility
:30:41. > :30:47.for reducing the recorded crime in Scotland to a 37 year low. Given
:30:47. > :30:52.that we have got benefit to society, what kind of party is it that
:30:52. > :31:02.actually challenges the effective use of 1000 police officers when it
:31:02. > :31:02.
:31:02. > :31:06.has reduced crime to a 30 seven- year low? -- 37. But of a Scottish
:31:06. > :31:14.government will fulfil its commitment to deliver free
:31:14. > :31:17.prescriptions. Yes! The I thank the First Minister for that response.
:31:17. > :31:20.The first minister will have noted that his counterpart in Wales, said
:31:20. > :31:23.earlier this week, we believe it is important that we have an NHS which
:31:23. > :31:28.is free of the point of delivery. We are not going to change the
:31:28. > :31:31.policy on free prescriptions. Given that and I run Bevan resigned from
:31:31. > :31:34.government over the introduction of the Skipton charges, does the first
:31:34. > :31:38.minister agree that freed restrictions are an integral part
:31:38. > :31:46.of the National Health Service and Labour in Scotland, by suggesting
:31:46. > :31:53.their reintroduction, have lost their principles? It is the case
:31:53. > :31:57.that only one day before, I think it was, that Lamont reinforced her
:31:57. > :32:03.cuts Commission speech to the Labour Party conference, Carwyn
:32:03. > :32:08.Jones extolled the benefits free health for the people of Wales. The
:32:08. > :32:12.point that the Labour Party must answer is twofold. If free
:32:12. > :32:15.prescriptions and free health is a good policy for the Labour Party to
:32:15. > :32:20.pursue in Wales, then why it isn't it a good policy for the Scottish
:32:20. > :32:25.National Party could do this you for the people of Scotland?
:32:25. > :32:29.Secondly, the question of electoral desirability. It is only a few
:32:29. > :32:33.months since the Labour Party extolled their commitment to free
:32:33. > :32:38.health in Scotland. They also extolled their commitment to free
:32:38. > :32:43.education. Here it is in the manifesto. No price tag and
:32:43. > :32:51.education. The way the Labour Party is going, they are going to make
:32:51. > :32:58.Nick Clegg look like a model of consistency! However, this policy
:32:58. > :33:01.has consequences. Some 15,000 cancer sufferers in England have
:33:01. > :33:06.now benefited from life extending drugs, not available to cancer
:33:06. > :33:09.sufferers in Scotland. The First Minister road to pharmaceutical
:33:09. > :33:13.development companies, inviting them to come and establish new
:33:13. > :33:16.facilities in Scotland but they are asking, why would become a -- come
:33:16. > :33:20.to develop medicines in Scotland which cannot be prescribed in
:33:20. > :33:23.Scotland? Why would we work with conditions in Scotland his
:33:23. > :33:27.experience of modern medicines is following behind that of conditions
:33:27. > :33:31.in England? The objections he raised to the drug found in England
:33:31. > :33:35.13 months ago have now been overcome. Is it not time to offer
:33:35. > :33:42.cancer sufferers in Scotland the same hope, the same opportunity for
:33:42. > :33:47.their future as in England? before I read out the complaints in
:33:47. > :33:50.terms of the special funding arrangements in England, in deed of
:33:50. > :33:54.complaints from Conservative Members of Parliament, but can I
:33:54. > :33:57.say to the Member, this question about why should pharmaceutical
:33:57. > :34:02.companies can do Scotland? Is he not aware that in Chicago last
:34:02. > :34:06.Thursday, a person announced and now offer a significant investment
:34:06. > :34:11.in pharmaceuticals and life sciences in Scotland, becoming the
:34:12. > :34:16.third major investment in that industry in this year alone. This
:34:16. > :34:19.questioning that Scotland are somehow not seen as the location
:34:19. > :34:24.force pharmaceutical development and life sciences is belied by the
:34:24. > :34:34.facts. The Conservative Party should really catch up with the
:34:34. > :34:35.
:34:35. > :34:39.announcements that are being made. Does the first minister recognise
:34:39. > :34:44.that there are consequences to his policy choices? Does he recognise
:34:44. > :34:51.that nursing levels are at their lowest levels since 2005? Work --
:34:51. > :34:55.nurses are working to fix the waiting list scandal, as told by
:34:55. > :35:02.the Edinburgh Evening News. Isn't this the reality of the SNP's
:35:02. > :35:05.choices in government? The reality of the SNP choices in government is
:35:05. > :35:09.we have protected the revenue budget of the National Health
:35:09. > :35:13.Service in real terms. One of the commitments the Labour Party
:35:13. > :35:17.wouldn't make. Jackie Baillie says I'm happy to talk about the SNP
:35:17. > :35:22.policy free prescriptions. That's correct. There was a time when
:35:22. > :35:25.Jackie Baillie was pleased to talk about the Labour Party's policy.
:35:25. > :35:32.That has all changed now. Election commitments which they made last
:35:32. > :35:35.year at this year have to be dumped. They've been in a headlong flight
:35:35. > :35:38.to join the Conservative Party, to follow the rod of means tested
:35:38. > :35:42.benefits. They've betrayed the tradition of the Labour Party over
:35:42. > :35:46.generations. And why Jackie Baillie thinks that a new Conservative
:35:46. > :35:51.Party of Scotland will do any better than the old Conservative
:35:51. > :35:55.Party of Scotland will be a mystery for the Scottish people. Let us
:35:55. > :36:01.talk about the policy free prescriptions in the knowledge it
:36:01. > :36:11.is supported by the overwhelming majority of Scotland. That ends
:36:11. > :36:18.First Minister's Questions. Mr Sam and ending... It was a
:36:18. > :36:21.pragmatic debate about spending. A there was a fair old degree of