Browse content similar to 05/06/2014. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Scottish Parliament at Holyrood. 100 days to go to the referendum and a | :00:26. | :00:31. | |
row over a magazine interview with Alistair Darling. Comparing Alistair | :00:32. | :00:45. | |
's -- Alex Salmond to the North Korean leader. We will see when it | :00:46. | :00:52. | |
-- whether any rhetoric emerges in questions to the First Minister. Let | :00:53. | :01:00. | |
us cross to the Holyrood Chamber. In households across Scotland, the | :01:01. | :01:05. | |
largest proportion was made up of vacant homes. Given the 4300 vacant | :01:06. | :01:10. | |
homes in Edinburgh, what steps is the government taking to encourage | :01:11. | :01:14. | |
those long-term empty properties back into use? | :01:15. | :01:20. | |
In 2012, we brought forward legislation to allow councils to | :01:21. | :01:24. | |
increase council tax charges on empty homes, supported the work of | :01:25. | :01:33. | |
empty homes partnerships, and a number of councils employ a | :01:34. | :01:39. | |
dedicated empty homes officer to bring properties back into use. | :01:40. | :01:47. | |
We now move to first questions -- First Minister's Questions. | :01:48. | :01:53. | |
What engagement is that he had planned for today? | :01:54. | :02:00. | |
I will be travelling to France today to attend events marking the | :02:01. | :02:05. | |
anniversary of the D-Day landings. It reminds us of the sad sacrifice | :02:06. | :02:13. | |
of those who died, and the necessity never to forget that sacrifice. | :02:14. | :02:30. | |
It is a proud opportunity to commemorate an important time in our | :02:31. | :02:32. | |
history. Last week, we found out the First | :02:33. | :02:38. | |
Minister does not know what it will cost to set up a separate Scottish | :02:39. | :02:42. | |
state, or how to pay for his promises to those in greatest need | :02:43. | :02:47. | |
of welfare. Can he reveal what he is going to tell us next week he | :02:48. | :02:51. | |
doesn't know? What I can say to Johanna Lamont, as | :02:52. | :03:00. | |
we publish the framework of an independent Scotland describing our | :03:01. | :03:05. | |
future, if she consults chapters six and ten, she will seek extensive | :03:06. | :03:08. | |
information presented on how we would go about producing a modern | :03:09. | :03:14. | |
democracy in Scotland. And the arguments why Scotland, as a modern | :03:15. | :03:20. | |
democracy will build a prosperous and more equal country. | :03:21. | :03:29. | |
Most of us looking at the White Paper found there were lots of | :03:30. | :03:33. | |
questions we weren't asking, and none of the real question is | :03:34. | :03:37. | |
addressed at all. Last week, my colleague asked a | :03:38. | :03:46. | |
simple question. What the childcare policy would cost? We were told, | :03:47. | :03:55. | |
independence is the answer, and that is exactly right. We asked for a | :03:56. | :04:00. | |
figure and we got back a statement of nonsense. Every single policy | :04:01. | :04:04. | |
unveiled to persuade Scotland to vote yes is not costed. He has a | :04:05. | :04:11. | |
plan to reduce plans for arithmetic, or he has no plans to deliver | :04:12. | :04:18. | |
anything. He cannot deliver what we have now. Still, those promises are | :04:19. | :04:26. | |
tumbling from his lips. When is the First Minister going to announce a | :04:27. | :04:30. | |
money tree to every garden in Scotland! | :04:31. | :04:38. | |
Well, can I remind you of what we have delivered for childcare. 600 | :04:39. | :04:54. | |
hours of free childcare, and living towards over the next two years, a | :04:55. | :05:04. | |
substantial advance -- and moving. So desperate by day to make the | :05:05. | :05:09. | |
point this wasn't enough, they were prepared to sacrifice primary school | :05:10. | :05:30. | |
meals. We now find that people looking at the considerable advances | :05:31. | :05:34. | |
made by this government, within our restricted budget and austerity | :05:35. | :05:40. | |
programme from Westminster, you can see a track record of substantial | :05:41. | :05:46. | |
success giving people every confidence as we look forward to | :05:47. | :05:50. | |
controlling our own finances. We will be able to do even more for the | :05:51. | :05:56. | |
families of Scotland. This is a government decided it | :05:57. | :05:59. | |
wasn't in the public interest for us to know their policy on childcare, | :06:00. | :06:16. | |
what it would cost. Let us listen to some real economists. Institute for | :06:17. | :06:20. | |
Fiscal Studies said this week, I quote, Scottish Government ministers | :06:21. | :06:26. | |
have not always been as careful as official Scottish Government | :06:27. | :06:28. | |
publications when referring to figures. Nicola Sturgeon in | :06:29. | :06:33. | |
particular, they say, is bad with figures. It says that the deficit in | :06:34. | :06:41. | |
an independent Scotland would be ?1000 more for every person in | :06:42. | :06:44. | |
Scotland. But that doesn't stop the First | :06:45. | :06:49. | |
Minister. He has a referendum to win. More childcare, increased rail | :06:50. | :06:57. | |
fare, but is the next offer? What ever people want and it won't cost | :06:58. | :07:05. | |
you. Why? When the IFS says an independent Scotland couldn't afford | :07:06. | :07:09. | |
what we have now. Why does he try... When the IFS says... Order, | :07:10. | :07:19. | |
order. When an independent Scotland couldn't afford what we have now, | :07:20. | :07:23. | |
why does the First Minister tried to dupe the people of Scotland by | :07:24. | :07:29. | |
offering things he cannot deliver. Can I remind the Labour Party it was | :07:30. | :07:34. | |
Johanna Lamont who said we couldn't afford the social gains of | :07:35. | :07:40. | |
devolution, and set up a commission to examine it. I haven't heard from | :07:41. | :07:49. | |
Arthur Mack went for a considerable time, but I am fully expecting that | :07:50. | :07:58. | |
report to emerge to tell us that free tuition will be sacrifice -- | :07:59. | :08:11. | |
sacrificed. They were part of the something for nothing society. I | :08:12. | :08:18. | |
believe that people saying, seeing this track record, will recognise | :08:19. | :08:24. | |
that in this government, we have ambition for Scotland. If you match | :08:25. | :08:30. | |
and marry our natural resource to the talent of our people, we can | :08:31. | :08:36. | |
create a more prosperous society. It is about having confidence in the | :08:37. | :08:41. | |
ability of Scotland to govern its own affairs. It is a recognition | :08:42. | :08:54. | |
from the Labour Party that they couldn't run Scotland when times | :08:55. | :08:57. | |
were good, so who would trust them now? And a dawning realisation that, | :08:58. | :09:07. | |
after almost a century of the Labour Party losing elections, the reason | :09:08. | :09:11. | |
they lose it is they have no ambition for the people and the | :09:12. | :09:12. | |
country of Scotland. Order. Order. | :09:13. | :09:29. | |
A serious question about the cost of his own proposals. And we are | :09:30. | :09:37. | |
treated to his greatest hits over the last two years. It is about time | :09:38. | :09:42. | |
he was serious about the job he is supposed to be doing. If the symbol | :09:43. | :09:47. | |
for the United Kingdom is the pound sign, his symbol is crossed fingers. | :09:48. | :09:55. | |
Fingers crossed, not in hope that things might work out well. But in | :09:56. | :10:00. | |
hope that the people of Scotland will be daft enough to believe a | :10:01. | :10:08. | |
word the First Minister says. Because most people know you need to | :10:09. | :10:18. | |
know what things cost. We have childcare, not costed, no attempt to | :10:19. | :10:22. | |
find out what the figures would be. Pensions, we have an assertion they | :10:23. | :10:31. | |
will be better. Now, welfare. Big, cynical problems to those in | :10:32. | :10:37. | |
greatest need and not a clue how to pay for them. Now, I agree with the | :10:38. | :10:42. | |
First Minister when he says to the people of Scotland that they are | :10:43. | :10:46. | |
talented, ambitious and bright. But where I disagree with him... Order. | :10:47. | :10:57. | |
I do believe that the people of Scotland are talented, ambitious and | :10:58. | :11:02. | |
bright. Where I disagree with him is the key polity his plans rely on. | :11:03. | :11:07. | |
His belief that the people of Scotland are gullible and will | :11:08. | :11:15. | |
believe anything he says. Let us have agreement that the | :11:16. | :11:21. | |
people of Scotland are talented, ambitious and bright. This site | :11:22. | :11:26. | |
believes these people are capable of making a success of running our own | :11:27. | :11:35. | |
country. -- this side. I do not think she should have | :11:36. | :11:39. | |
described our proposals for welfare in the way she has done. For | :11:40. | :11:43. | |
example, the recommendation to increase the carers allowance up to | :11:44. | :11:56. | |
?72 40, in Scotland, I think that is a substantial investment in our | :11:57. | :12:01. | |
future. The costing of that policy is very important. It is ?32.9 | :12:02. | :12:09. | |
million a year. I believe we should afford that. Incidentally, a | :12:10. | :12:18. | |
research fellow at the IFS was a Member of the expert working group | :12:19. | :12:20. | |
on welfare which produced that policy. That commitment and | :12:21. | :12:26. | |
recommendation is a declaration of faith in the work done by carers in | :12:27. | :12:29. | |
Scotland, which people in this Chamber should support and aspire | :12:30. | :12:37. | |
to. It will cost ?32 million but it is ?32 million well spent to help | :12:38. | :12:44. | |
those people. I would have a care about the | :12:45. | :12:50. | |
company Johanna Lamont is keeping. We know Danny Alexander exaggerated | :12:51. | :12:58. | |
the setup cost of an independent Scotland of -- by a factor of 12 | :12:59. | :13:05. | |
times. They have been running from that reality ever since. | :13:06. | :13:09. | |
I have been looking at what Danny Alexander has been saying about his | :13:10. | :13:14. | |
allies and that plans. He, earlier this year, said, Labour's new | :13:15. | :13:23. | |
borrowing bombshell will pile another ?166 billion of extra | :13:24. | :13:26. | |
borrowing on to the debt mountain left by the catastrophic | :13:27. | :13:31. | |
mismanagement of the UK economy. Presumably she does not believe that | :13:32. | :13:37. | |
Danny Alexander is correct in his assessment of Labour's borrowing | :13:38. | :13:40. | |
bombshell, so why should he believe he is correct in his assessment of | :13:41. | :13:47. | |
the cost of an independent Scotland. We don't believe it, the Scottish | :13:48. | :13:58. | |
people do not believe it. To ask the First Minister whether he | :13:59. | :14:03. | |
will meet the Prime Minister? No plans in the near future. | :14:04. | :14:08. | |
We know the impartial and independent Institute for Fiscal | :14:09. | :14:13. | |
Studies has concluded... It is when it suits the part Sascha Burchert | :14:14. | :14:19. | |
the First Minister. Has concluded that Scotland would have a black | :14:20. | :14:23. | |
hole in its finances in the first year of independence. | :14:24. | :14:27. | |
These are similar findings to work which has been done by other | :14:28. | :14:32. | |
impartial bodies such as the Centre for Public Health see for the | :14:33. | :14:38. | |
regions. It is part of a trend. On the one hand, expert groups with | :14:39. | :14:42. | |
sober analysis of the facts, on the other hand, the SNP with Gloucester. | :14:43. | :14:52. | |
So, I am asking, in all seriousness, why does the First Minister think | :14:53. | :14:57. | |
that these people are wrong, but only he is right? | :14:58. | :15:03. | |
I have a range of quotations of independent experts who make the | :15:04. | :15:08. | |
point that Scotland is not just a sustainable country but a highly | :15:09. | :15:14. | |
prosperous country, more than the UK in terms of the potential we have. | :15:15. | :15:28. | |
That Scotland would qualify for the highest economic assessment even | :15:29. | :15:34. | |
without North Sea oil and gas. A characteristic common to the | :15:35. | :15:38. | |
assessment with Davidson quotes is they are based on the OBR figures. | :15:39. | :15:43. | |
If you base something on the same figures, you come up with the same | :15:44. | :15:47. | |
conclusion. The track record of the OBR is such | :15:48. | :15:52. | |
that we should have confidence at looking at the oil industry in | :15:53. | :15:56. | |
Scotland at present, our estimates in terms of revenues in 2017 are | :15:57. | :16:02. | |
more reasonable than those of the OBR, since we don't assume a | :16:03. | :16:06. | |
collapse in oil prices to less than $100 a barrel, that assumptions on | :16:07. | :16:18. | |
climate energy are correct. We follow the industry estimates in | :16:19. | :16:21. | |
terms of the increased investment, which will result in a substantial | :16:22. | :16:25. | |
increase in production. estimates, that is a reasonable | :16:26. | :16:44. | |
estimates to put forward, as opposed to figures which rely on the | :16:45. | :16:47. | |
Department of energy and climate change, but disregard the forecast | :16:48. | :16:53. | |
when it comes to price, that is why we put forward a reasonable | :16:54. | :16:59. | |
perspective, on which -- but the policies we follow will be the | :17:00. | :17:03. | |
policies that will grow the economy, and above all, bring about | :17:04. | :17:12. | |
a more equal and just society. I am delighted that the First Minister | :17:13. | :17:17. | |
brought up oil and the quote of reasonable estimates, because it is | :17:18. | :17:21. | |
not just independent experts to take issue with the First Minister, but | :17:22. | :17:27. | |
his own advisers. The professor who wrote the fiscal commission report, | :17:28. | :17:32. | |
who is a key member of the First Minister's Council of economic | :17:33. | :17:35. | |
advisers, described by the First Minister as the most intellectual | :17:36. | :17:42. | |
firepower ever to have tackled Scottish economic underperformance, | :17:43. | :17:46. | |
so we know the First Minister thinks he is a big deal, and he reveals | :17:47. | :17:50. | |
just yesterday that the First Minister's will figure is wrong. The | :17:51. | :17:56. | |
professor wrote that it would be reasonable to expect revenues to | :17:57. | :18:03. | |
rise to 5 billion before -- between 2016 and 2020, so let's remind | :18:04. | :18:07. | |
ourselves, that after months of stalling, the Scottish government | :18:08. | :18:11. | |
claimed that figure would be ?7 billion a year. It is a total farce. | :18:12. | :18:23. | |
The First Minister has widely overestimated beyond the expectation | :18:24. | :18:30. | |
of any rigorous analysis in order to try and plug the gaping holes in | :18:31. | :18:36. | |
this white paper. Your old man says you are ?2 billion out. Is he wrong | :18:37. | :18:43. | |
as well? The Conservative Party have been predicting the demise of the | :18:44. | :18:47. | |
North Sea oil industry since the 1980s. The professor is voting yes | :18:48. | :18:54. | |
in the referendum because he believes in a Scottish economy that | :18:55. | :18:58. | |
will be better managed from Scotland. It was pointed out in the | :18:59. | :19:04. | |
papers last week, based on the price assumption I'd have spelled out, and | :19:05. | :19:11. | |
the investment, they are a great deal more robust than the estimates | :19:12. | :19:17. | |
of the OBR. I have got some independent experts. The chair of | :19:18. | :19:31. | |
petroleum, someone who knows something about it. An annual | :19:32. | :19:41. | |
production of ?600 million. At least 40 years of production was | :19:42. | :19:44. | |
significant to find resources which might be added. The professor is | :19:45. | :19:52. | |
aware of the production estimates that we are making, which indicates | :19:53. | :19:57. | |
the caution of the Scottish Government's forecast and how we | :19:58. | :20:01. | |
look forward to seeing the result of that in terms of the economy of | :20:02. | :20:09. | |
Scotland. Order. First Minister, can you sit down? Can we please hear the | :20:10. | :20:16. | |
First Minister? Everybody needs to be heard in this chamber. First | :20:17. | :20:25. | |
Minister. In the Aberdeen chambers, 700 firms in the industry. More of | :20:26. | :20:31. | |
these companies believe that independence will benefit the | :20:32. | :20:34. | |
industry than those who believe it will not benefit the industry. Isn't | :20:35. | :20:41. | |
that why the industry and the people believe that having these huge | :20:42. | :20:44. | |
quantities of oil and gas in the economy, that it is an advantage for | :20:45. | :20:52. | |
Scotland like it is for any other oil producing country, as opposed to | :20:53. | :21:04. | |
the Tory Party has -- as opposed to what the Tory Party has produced? | :21:05. | :21:10. | |
There have been calls for the suspension of implants which treats | :21:11. | :21:18. | |
pelvic prolapse. Will the First Minister instruct the Secretary of | :21:19. | :21:21. | |
health to issue new guidance that would have the effect of suspending | :21:22. | :21:26. | |
the use of this product until an inquiry is held into the safety of | :21:27. | :21:35. | |
it? The matters are under serious consideration. We tend to move in | :21:36. | :21:38. | |
conjunction with the other health departments, but for the Health | :21:39. | :21:41. | |
Secretary is more than prepared to do is directly meet with the women | :21:42. | :21:46. | |
concerned and explained the consideration that is being given to | :21:47. | :21:55. | |
what is a serious issue. What recent discussions regarding the use of | :21:56. | :22:03. | |
stop and search... We have been discussing a range of issues, | :22:04. | :22:06. | |
including stop and search. The most recent meeting was on the 15th of | :22:07. | :22:12. | |
May. Stop and search is an important tool in the prevention of crime. It | :22:13. | :22:20. | |
makes a conjured Bhushan to the reduction of the shrub or a | :22:21. | :22:25. | |
contribution to the reduction of -- it makes the contribution to the | :22:26. | :22:33. | |
reduction of violent crimes and of course we welcome the scrutiny and | :22:34. | :22:39. | |
the review of stop and search. Police Scotland have established a | :22:40. | :22:44. | |
new units to ensure the consistency of the approach of this report and | :22:45. | :22:48. | |
tactic to tackle violent crime and anti-social behaviour. The First | :22:49. | :22:53. | |
Minister has been saying that the policy cuts crime. The police | :22:54. | :22:56. | |
authority says there is no robust evidence that it does so. Reports | :22:57. | :23:02. | |
show hundreds of children aged not even under six have been searched | :23:03. | :23:06. | |
here in Scotland. Is it not time for the First Minister to change the | :23:07. | :23:11. | |
law? Can he tell me how a child of six can give informed consent to a | :23:12. | :23:17. | |
police search? You say there is no arguments to support this policy. | :23:18. | :23:25. | |
I'd disagree. More importantly, some of her former colleagues in this | :23:26. | :23:29. | |
chamber disagree fundamentally. Robert Brown, the Liberal Democrat | :23:30. | :23:32. | |
justice spokesperson, in the last Parliament, said that the single | :23:33. | :23:39. | |
thing that deters people from criminal behaviour is the likelihood | :23:40. | :23:44. | |
of being caught. The stop and search tactics have been very effective. | :23:45. | :23:50. | |
That strikes me as a secure -- significant voice of someone who | :23:51. | :23:57. | |
understands the importance of stop and search. The carrying and use of | :23:58. | :24:01. | |
weapons, the this has been a major success for the police services of | :24:02. | :24:06. | |
Scotland. It is right and proper that we review policy and that the | :24:07. | :24:09. | |
Scottish police authority does that, but not to believe that one of the | :24:10. | :24:14. | |
aspects of the carrying of weapons by young people was their fear that | :24:15. | :24:19. | |
other people were carrying weapons is to neglect the overwhelming | :24:20. | :24:24. | |
burden of evidence, the one supported by her former colleague in | :24:25. | :24:27. | |
the best of the journey of people who argue for this policy. Above | :24:28. | :24:32. | |
all, in terms of the impact of stop and search in the carrying of | :24:33. | :24:39. | |
weapons, perhaps she should listen to some of the families of victims | :24:40. | :24:45. | |
of violent crime. Lisa McLean, sister of Barry McLean, killed in a | :24:46. | :24:50. | |
knife attack in May of 2011, the police get a lot of stick for the | :24:51. | :24:53. | |
number of searches they are carrying out, but I am very supportive, if | :24:54. | :24:58. | |
they can stop just one person from carrying a knife than it has been | :24:59. | :25:03. | |
worth it. My brother's death changed my life irreversibly. At some point | :25:04. | :25:06. | |
in this argument, perhaps Alice might face up to the fact that the | :25:07. | :25:11. | |
victims of crime, the people who celebrate the fact that nice | :25:12. | :25:14. | |
carrying in Scotland has been reduced, the fact that young people | :25:15. | :25:18. | |
do not have the same fear that other people are carrying weapons, is a | :25:19. | :25:21. | |
substantial advance for justice in this country. Margaret Mitchell. | :25:22. | :25:28. | |
There are estimates that the whole process takes approximately 250,000 | :25:29. | :25:36. | |
police hours per year. As the First Minister think this is a | :25:37. | :25:40. | |
proportionate use of police time? Well, I see that the Conservative | :25:41. | :25:48. | |
Party is ever moving their aspect on this, but I think the police | :25:49. | :25:52. | |
services using proportionate methods in terms of putting forward the stop | :25:53. | :25:55. | |
and search policy. I think the numbers should consider that the | :25:56. | :26:01. | |
statistics rather speak for themselves. Violent crime, down by | :26:02. | :26:07. | |
almost a half since 2007, crimes of handling offensive weapons, down by | :26:08. | :26:13. | |
60% since 2007. When we had this debate in the 2011 elections, or was | :26:14. | :26:18. | |
a whole variety of suggestions put forward to arrive at the sort of | :26:19. | :26:23. | |
position that he police service have meant it to arrive at. Some people | :26:24. | :26:29. | |
suggested mandatory gel sentences. -- jail sentences. That caused some | :26:30. | :26:34. | |
confusion in the Conservative Party, which may have resulted in the | :26:35. | :26:37. | |
jailing of people who were carrying garden implements. Order. I've are | :26:38. | :26:45. | |
for the Labour Party to be famous interview during the election | :26:46. | :26:55. | |
campaign. -- I remind the Labour Party of the famous interview during | :26:56. | :27:03. | |
the election campaign of Richard Baker. How will the First Minister | :27:04. | :27:09. | |
respond about Expert Working Group on Welfare? The government has | :27:10. | :27:14. | |
considered carefully the recommendations made by the Expert | :27:15. | :27:17. | |
Working Group on Welfare. These recommendations include abortion, | :27:18. | :27:25. | |
ending a cap on benefits, ending the current work capabilities assessment | :27:26. | :27:31. | |
and establishing a convention and Social Security. We have already | :27:32. | :27:36. | |
taken action on abolishing the bedroom tax. This is a conference of | :27:37. | :27:42. | |
report and it indicates that with independent Scotland can chew to | :27:43. | :27:45. | |
take its own path on Social Security, rejecting the Westminster | :27:46. | :27:52. | |
system and take substantial strides to building a more equal society | :27:53. | :27:57. | |
which values all of our citizens. As we have heard, I wonder if the first | :27:58. | :28:12. | |
investor agrees that the fact that this measure had to be recommended | :28:13. | :28:16. | |
is a damning indictment of the treatment of a sector of society | :28:17. | :28:21. | |
that we all owe so much to, a successive Westminster government, | :28:22. | :28:24. | |
and shouldn't be Tories and Lib Dems be ashamed that rather than | :28:25. | :28:30. | |
inheriting a welfare system, an independent UK will have to create | :28:31. | :28:43. | |
one? -- independent Scotland. This strikes me as a standout of one of | :28:44. | :28:48. | |
the immediate and welcome recommendations of this report. I | :28:49. | :28:55. | |
cannot see how, and we had a recent discussion on inequity in the | :28:56. | :28:58. | |
bedroom tax, and a whole series of demands for this government to | :28:59. | :29:02. | |
provide compensation against a Westminster measure, and we cannot | :29:03. | :29:07. | |
have the same majority support for a clear inequity towards Scotland's | :29:08. | :29:10. | |
carers. It is spelled out in the report that the value country should | :29:11. | :29:16. | |
we make to society in Scotland, and I'd hope that any government of an | :29:17. | :29:24. | |
independent Scotland brings forward the carrier's allowance proposals | :29:25. | :29:28. | |
which are required for us to control social security to bring them | :29:29. | :29:32. | |
forward, then they will meet with a resounding majority in this chamber, | :29:33. | :29:39. | |
but a resounding chamber -- majority among the Scottish people. When will | :29:40. | :29:48. | |
the Vale of Leven inquiry be published? It is a member -- matter | :29:49. | :29:54. | |
for the chair. It is an independent public inquiry and has been | :29:55. | :29:58. | |
examining all of the issues in a tragic and serious case. The inquiry | :29:59. | :30:02. | |
is taking longer than anyone would have wanted to know which will be | :30:03. | :30:06. | |
frustrating to many, not least the families who are affected. The | :30:07. | :30:10. | |
responses to the warning letters issued by the inquiry are being | :30:11. | :30:14. | |
considered, and amendments to the report will be made. In keeping with | :30:15. | :30:20. | |
an ax from 2005, the Scottish Government will be advised when the | :30:21. | :30:25. | |
process is concluded. The Health Secretary will provide that. He will | :30:26. | :30:37. | |
he aware that the first death from C. Difficile at hospital macro was | :30:38. | :30:50. | |
in 2007. -- Vale of Leven in 2007. Here we are with no sign of | :30:51. | :30:54. | |
publication, spiraling costs of almost ?10 billion the -- ?10 | :30:55. | :31:01. | |
million. Whilst we want to retain public inquiries, perhaps it is time | :31:02. | :31:05. | |
to review how they can operate more effectively, not least so that the | :31:06. | :31:13. | |
families can get answers. There is a very fair point about the length of | :31:14. | :31:17. | |
time, the number of public inquiries set up under the inquiries act, | :31:18. | :31:23. | |
which is eight UK act in terms of the legislation, but she will | :31:24. | :31:27. | |
understand the principle behind that act makes the inquiry chair | :31:28. | :31:32. | |
responsible for the timing and timescale of the inquiry, and she | :31:33. | :31:36. | |
will also understand that in inquiries like Vale of Leven or the | :31:37. | :31:40. | |
inquiry into blood products where people have been casualties were | :31:41. | :31:43. | |
suffered fatalities and deaths of family members, there can be many | :31:44. | :31:49. | |
issues which require a huge amount of scrutiny. Jackie Baillie will | :31:50. | :31:53. | |
know and accept that the fact that the and wiry in terms of looking at | :31:54. | :32:00. | |
these serious issues has not invented serious action in the | :32:01. | :32:02. | |
Scottish health service to reduced hospital acquired infection. The | :32:03. | :32:11. | |
recommendations will be hugely important to the family members | :32:12. | :32:15. | |
concerned. I actually agree that we have to find a mechanism beyond the | :32:16. | :32:17. | |
2005 inquiries act. To ask the First Minister whether | :32:18. | :32:44. | |
the Scottish Government plans to order a public inquiry into the | :32:45. | :32:49. | |
handling of the Emperor trams project. -- Edinburgh Trams. I am | :32:50. | :32:55. | |
sure everyone will be delighted to see that the trams are fully | :32:56. | :32:58. | |
operational and carrying passengers. We cannot lose sight of | :32:59. | :33:02. | |
the considerable public concern over conduct of the project, the | :33:03. | :33:05. | |
disruption caused to households and businesses in the city of Enron, and | :33:06. | :33:10. | |
we therefore recommend a judge led public image -- the city of | :33:11. | :33:15. | |
Edinburgh, and I've therefore prevent a judge led public inquiry | :33:16. | :33:25. | |
into the project. It is important that there are lessons to be learned | :33:26. | :33:30. | |
on the conduct of the Edinburgh trams project, and I'd think the | :33:31. | :33:35. | |
course of action being proposed will be of substantial assistance in | :33:36. | :33:39. | |
doing that. Can I'd take this opportunity to welcome the decision | :33:40. | :33:45. | |
and announcement. All of us opposed -- who opposed the project have been | :33:46. | :33:51. | |
shown to be right daily. Now that the trams are rolling, if there is | :33:52. | :33:55. | |
to be anything from the public in the, management or potential cost | :33:56. | :33:59. | |
estimates for projects like this, we need to know for sure that these | :34:00. | :34:08. | |
mistakes will never be repeated. I welcome that remark. The decision we | :34:09. | :34:14. | |
have made is to have a non-statutory inquiry. We have done that for two | :34:15. | :34:21. | |
reasons. One, what we have just been discussing in terms of timescale, | :34:22. | :34:25. | |
and secondly, the Transport Minister has been assured of full | :34:26. | :34:28. | |
documentation and cooperation of all aspects of the long process of the | :34:29. | :34:36. | |
budget. -- the project. That gives us the opportunity to have a judge | :34:37. | :34:41. | |
led inquiry, which will give us a proper examination and a public | :34:42. | :34:45. | |
account of what has happened to the project. One thing I would say in | :34:46. | :34:48. | |
terms of the importance of doing this, because it is particularly | :34:49. | :34:52. | |
important if projects like this are being considered in the future that | :34:53. | :34:56. | |
lessons are learned, but it is simply not the case at other major | :34:57. | :35:00. | |
public projects in Scotland are running overtime and over budget. | :35:01. | :35:05. | |
The fourth replacement crossing, the biggest infrastructure project in | :35:06. | :35:10. | |
Scotland for a generation, is being built on time and under budget, a | :35:11. | :35:15. | |
total of ?145 million of savings have been made from the project | :35:16. | :35:21. | |
since construction started in 2011, and that would be the case for the | :35:22. | :35:28. | |
completion of the bypass. Huge numbers, public investments in | :35:29. | :35:31. | |
Scotland, which have been completed on time and in many cases under | :35:32. | :35:35. | |
budget, so it is important to see how the and Brad trams object went | :35:36. | :35:41. | |
astray. -- the Edinburgh trams project with astray. We are now | :35:42. | :35:49. | |
moving to member's business. And there we have it. We have come to | :35:50. | :35:54. | |
the conclusion, a rather substantial conclusion, that announcement of a | :35:55. | :35:57. | |
judge led inquiry into the Edinburgh trams, and it will be non-statutory | :35:58. | :36:03. | |
to avoid the problem that was being discussed previously in answer to | :36:04. | :36:07. | |
Jackie Baillie, that if there are statutory inquiries under the 2005 | :36:08. | :36:12. | |
acts, they can stretch and stretch, perhaps beyond the tolerance of the | :36:13. | :36:18. | |
public. Some sense of announcement at First Minister's questions, and | :36:19. | :36:27. | |
at one point, the officer had to call for silence. Now it is time to | :36:28. | :36:29. | |
hand you over. in Birmingham, but where are the | :36:30. | :36:38. | |
moderate Muslims who actually need to lead in a different direction? | :36:39. | :36:45. | |
There is excellent work going on in a number of places, and I can give | :36:46. | :36:49. | |
you examples, particularly in London, of programmes which bring | :36:50. | :36:52. | |
youngsters together from all communities and take them through | :36:53. | :36:55. | |
these issues in a very, very explicit way. And it produces | :36:56. | :37:01. | |
remarkable results - remarkable results. A lot more money needs to | :37:02. | :37:05. | |
go into that kind of thing. We would just like to welcome viewers from | :37:06. | :37:10. | |
Scotland, who have been watching First Minister's Questions in | :37:11. | :37:14. | |
Holyrood. Here, we are discussing the Government's anti-extremism | :37:15. | :37:22. | |
agenda. Is it not surprising that things were allowed to get as far as | :37:23. | :37:26. | |
they got in these schools in Birmingham? No, I agree, it is | :37:27. | :37:31. | |
worrying. One does have to recognise, this is not just central | :37:32. | :37:34. | |
government, a lot of this is local government. It is not always easy to | :37:35. | :37:41. | |
get in from central government into the operation. Where the scores are | :37:42. | :37:42. |