:00:18. > :00:25.A very warm welcome the Scottish parliament here at Holyrood for
:00:26. > :00:29.questions to the First Minister. I wouldn't be surprised if she faces
:00:30. > :00:35.questions from Labour on the issue of tax credits, the thing the First
:00:36. > :00:39.Minister might make the comments on the situation regarding flights from
:00:40. > :00:42.Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt. Women are crossed the chamber and my
:00:43. > :00:46.colleague, Glen Campbell. Living towards the minute changes of the
:00:47. > :00:52.week. First Minister 's Question Time. Ministers take questions on a
:00:53. > :00:55.range of subjects I head the smack head of the question-and-answer
:00:56. > :00:59.session with Nicholas Turgeon and Wells Labour has been pursuing the
:01:00. > :01:04.issue of tax credits in recent days, this is the region which the UK
:01:05. > :01:08.Government published the clauses, the amendments to the Scotland Bill
:01:09. > :01:11.that will shape new powers for Holyrood and that might be something
:01:12. > :01:16.the Conservatives want to pick up on. He was Kezia Dugdale. To ask the
:01:17. > :01:20.First Minister propagation is she has planned for the rest of the
:01:21. > :01:23.day? This morning I convened a meeting of the Scottish
:01:24. > :01:27.Government's resilience committee to discuss the ongoing suspension of
:01:28. > :01:30.flights to and from Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt. My visuals are in close
:01:31. > :01:35.contact with UK Government officials and continue to be so. We understand
:01:36. > :01:42.around 20,000 British nationals are Sharm El Sheikh and we estimate that
:01:43. > :01:44.this stage that at least several hundred are Scots. Transport Skull
:01:45. > :01:48.and in cars -- are in touch with Thomson holidays to find out what
:01:49. > :01:52.advice is being come back -- provided. We will continue to liaise
:01:53. > :01:57.closely to ensure all prepared support is in place. Later today I
:01:58. > :02:04.will engage in mistake for the Government programme for Scotland.
:02:05. > :02:08.Across the UK Labour will fight the Tory Government's attempt to cut tax
:02:09. > :02:12.credits. We want George Osborne does not admit to scrap his panel
:02:13. > :02:17.together. If he doesn't, this Parliament must act to protect
:02:18. > :02:20.working families. Despite days of protesting it was not possible,
:02:21. > :02:23.yesterday the SNP Government finally admitted we will have the power to
:02:24. > :02:28.restore money lost through tax credits. The social Justice
:02:29. > :02:34.Secretary said measures would be outlined after the Autumn Statement.
:02:35. > :02:37.Unlike the ?250 million plan to abolish air passenger duty, we have
:02:38. > :02:43.no detail on how much the SNP are willing to spend to help working
:02:44. > :02:47.families. For weeks to get the First Minister said restoring tax credits
:02:48. > :02:53.was unaffordable. Can the freshman is to confirm: Does she agree with
:02:54. > :02:57.her finance secretary that spending hundreds of millions of pounds to
:02:58. > :03:05.make airline tickets cheaper is affordable but restoring tax credits
:03:06. > :03:10.isn't? First Minister. Let me set out the position of the Scottish
:03:11. > :03:13.Government. Firstly, over these next three weeks, we intend to keep up
:03:14. > :03:22.the pressure on George Osborne to drop his plans for tax credit cuts.
:03:23. > :03:28.Unlike Labour, who initially abstained in the House of Commons on
:03:29. > :03:33.this issue. The SNP have consistently opposed these cuts. I
:03:34. > :03:37.think it is all too typical of Scottish Labour, just when the
:03:38. > :03:42.pressure is building across the UK on George Osborne, the ease up on
:03:43. > :03:54.the Tories and attack the SNP instead. Presiding Officer, it seems
:03:55. > :03:58.that old habits and old friendships really do die hard. We will keep up
:03:59. > :04:05.the pressure on the Tories to drop these cuts altogether. If they don't
:04:06. > :04:10.completely reversed these cuts, then what we will do as a responsible
:04:11. > :04:13.Government is bring forward credible, deliverable, and
:04:14. > :04:24.affordable plans to protect low income households full stop just as
:04:25. > :04:29.we did in the bedroom tax. Order. Labour say they forced the Scottish
:04:30. > :04:33.Government into those changes. Firstly on the bedroom tax. Labour
:04:34. > :04:39.brought forward a plan that would have been illegal and unworkable. It
:04:40. > :04:44.was this Government that brought forward one that worked. I think
:04:45. > :04:50.that, frankly, is a far better plan and it is for fear for people who
:04:51. > :04:54.are affected by these cuts down the back of a fag packet closers from a
:04:55. > :05:05.party that knows it has little chance of ever being in a position
:05:06. > :05:07.to implement them. Kezia Dugdale. The First Minister forgets that it
:05:08. > :05:15.was a Labour Government that introduced tax credits. And we will
:05:16. > :05:20.do everything we can to protect them, including using the powers of
:05:21. > :05:23.this Parliament. No matter what George Osborne does at the Autumn
:05:24. > :05:26.Statement, Scottish Labour is committed to restoring the money
:05:27. > :05:33.lost through tax credits for working families. Because we have made a
:05:34. > :05:37.choice. We know it is affordable, were costed it at its most expensive
:05:38. > :05:44.and we know that any concessions from the Chancellor will only reduce
:05:45. > :05:50.that cost. We think it is more important than a multi-million pound
:05:51. > :06:09.plan to just the cost of airline tickets. There are... Order. Order.
:06:10. > :06:13.Order! There are 6000 families in the First Minister's constituency
:06:14. > :06:17.who rely on tax credits and David -- and they deserve more than a vague
:06:18. > :06:21.assurance that the Government will act. Canvas Mr of the those 6000
:06:22. > :06:27.families and the thousands more across the country, will the
:06:28. > :06:30.composers ensure that when the new powers are available, every single
:06:31. > :06:39.family will receive the same entitlement from the Government as
:06:40. > :06:42.they do now? Yes or no? Let me repeat what I said in my first
:06:43. > :06:49.answer. We will continue to oppose these cuts at source. Unlike Labour,
:06:50. > :06:55.who, when it's akin to in the House of Commons, abstained on the issue
:06:56. > :07:00.of tax credit cuts. We will oppose the cuts, but if the cuts go ahead,
:07:01. > :07:05.we will bring forward a credible, workable, deliverable, affordable
:07:06. > :07:09.plan to protect low income households. Can I say to Kezia
:07:10. > :07:13.Dugdale, the detail of this, the families out there who are affected
:07:14. > :07:19.it really matters, one of the details that matters most is how
:07:20. > :07:24.this policy would be paid for. Kezia Dugdale has mentioned here passenger
:07:25. > :07:28.duty as the source of the funding or a source of the funding for this.
:07:29. > :07:33.Let's put to one side for the purposes of the day the fact that
:07:34. > :07:37.the money would not actually be available when she was required to
:07:38. > :07:45.pay for the tax credits policy, let's put that one side and instead
:07:46. > :07:50.consider this: B-day before Kezia Dugdale announced the policy on tax
:07:51. > :07:54.credits come here is what she had to say about a passenger duty. In an
:07:55. > :07:58.interview in the Holyrood Magazine, the day before she announced her
:07:59. > :08:05.position on tax credits, she said Labour will scrap the air passenger
:08:06. > :08:13.duty measure and we will spend that money on education. So in the
:08:14. > :08:20.space, presenting officer, of 24 hours, Labour managed to spend the
:08:21. > :08:26.same sum of money twice over. Can I say in all seriousness to Kezia
:08:27. > :08:32.Dugdale, that is basic incompetence. And the people of Scotland, frankly,
:08:33. > :08:39.deserve better. We have known for some time that the public things
:08:40. > :08:47.Labour is unelectable. I think what we have found out this week is that
:08:48. > :08:56.Labour things Labour is unelectable. Less Karen Hardy, more moral and
:08:57. > :09:01.Hardy. Mr Padilla, please keep this brief and First Minister trying to
:09:02. > :09:04.keep the next bit brief as well. All of that from a party that has had
:09:05. > :09:12.three different positions on tax credits in the last 24 hours.
:09:13. > :09:16.Because of the last few days have topped anything it's that this
:09:17. > :09:19.Government needs to be held to account. Yesterday the Prime
:09:20. > :09:23.Minister told working families they just have to wait and see what
:09:24. > :09:28.happens next. Today in this chamber the First Minister says exactly the
:09:29. > :09:32.same thing. I have listened carefully to look a certain and Alex
:09:33. > :09:40.Dale last night, have said they will enjoy the income of those in receipt
:09:41. > :09:41.of tax credits will not fall. But that sounds like the Tory argument
:09:42. > :09:46.that higher wages will automatically meet up -- make up the difference. I
:09:47. > :09:49.be First Minister, under the Scottish dogma's proposal, will
:09:50. > :09:53.every single family receive the same entitlement from the Government as
:09:54. > :09:58.they do now? -- Scottish Government's proposal. I'm not sure
:09:59. > :10:00.what it is that is difficult to understand that I don't accept these
:10:01. > :10:05.cuts will take place because there is pressure building on George
:10:06. > :10:09.Osborne to reverse them. I think right now that is where we should be
:10:10. > :10:17.united in making sure the pressure stays on the Tories. And if George
:10:18. > :10:22.Osborne does the wrong thing, then we will come forward with credible
:10:23. > :10:26.proposals to protect low income families, and people around this
:10:27. > :10:32.country who are worried about their tax credits deserve more than
:10:33. > :10:37.slogans. They deserve detail from a Government that they know can
:10:38. > :10:42.deliver. I referred earlier to Kezia Dugdale's interview in the Holyrood
:10:43. > :10:45.Magazine. There was something else there that was eliminating for so
:10:46. > :10:49.she was narrating a conversation with a Welsh minister and asked him,
:10:50. > :10:51.where are you finding the money from for your big commitment and he said
:10:52. > :10:58.they would worry about that later and Kezia said, I was quite
:10:59. > :11:01.impressed by the boldness of that. Citing officer, most people would be
:11:02. > :11:07.utterly up old by the incompetence of that. I will leave Labour in the
:11:08. > :11:12.Lala land they increasingly inhabit and get on with the job with
:11:13. > :11:21.governing this country in the interests of the people we serve.
:11:22. > :11:26.Briefly, Mr Dale. The truth is that this is the week the SNP's
:11:27. > :11:32.constitutional gains come unstuck because after years of responding to
:11:33. > :11:36.every problem with complaints about the constitution, Alex Neil finally
:11:37. > :11:42.gave the game away. This was the week the SNP had to admit that the
:11:43. > :11:45.new powers heading our way can transform Scotland and the week the
:11:46. > :11:50.SNP had to confront the fact that difficult choices will have to be
:11:51. > :11:54.made. We'll be First Minister now give up the politics of grievance?
:11:55. > :11:58.Will she looked to the future of what is possible, move on from the
:11:59. > :12:07.past and get on with delivering a fairer Scotland? There is one place
:12:08. > :12:11.only in the UK where Labour can be judged on their actions, not their
:12:12. > :12:17.words. In Wales, that I referred to a moment ago, Labour don't even
:12:18. > :12:21.mitigate the bedroom tax. That is the reality of Labour in Government.
:12:22. > :12:26.I will continue to concentrate first on forcing the Tories to abandon
:12:27. > :12:29.these cuts. You know the reason they want to do likewise? It is because
:12:30. > :12:35.in the words of their Shadow Chancellor last weekend, and I
:12:36. > :12:40.quote, the SNP is the real enemy. There is the nub of this matter.
:12:41. > :12:47.Labour is not motivated by concern for ordinary people. It has not been
:12:48. > :12:52.for a long time. Labour is motivated by its tribal hatred of the SNP. I
:12:53. > :12:57.think the enemy of working people in Scotland are the Tories, it is a
:12:58. > :13:10.shame that Labour seem to have forgotten that. Question two, Ruth
:13:11. > :13:14.Davidson. Thank you foot up tell us, the First Minister, when she
:13:15. > :13:15.will next meet the Secretary of State for Southern. No planned in
:13:16. > :13:59.the near future. Earlier this experts are wrong? I hope Ruth
:14:00. > :14:04.Davidson, even if she does not agree with my policy, would accept that I
:14:05. > :14:06.have made their clear how serious I am about improving education in
:14:07. > :15:48.Scotland and closing the attainment gap. I
:15:49. > :15:51.Scotland and closing the attainment from these figures we know that the
:15:52. > :15:58.gap between the richest and poorest students is actually getting wider.
:15:59. > :16:02.In fact, in four local authorities, not a single pupil from the least
:16:03. > :16:11.affluent homes attained three a grades. The wealthier people is
:16:12. > :16:15.seven times more likely to get three a grades. We will publish these
:16:16. > :16:20.figures this afternoon. The First Minister session wants to be judged
:16:21. > :16:23.on her record. In education, her record is one of failure and the
:16:24. > :16:28.experts say that her plans will not fix it. How bad do things have to
:16:29. > :16:34.get before we see the action we need? As Ruth Davidson knows, we are
:16:35. > :16:39.taking action and we will continue to take action. I have never stood
:16:40. > :16:44.here and said there is not more work to do, that is why we have taken the
:16:45. > :16:49.action around the attainment challenge. What we are seeing in
:16:50. > :16:55.many respects is evidence of the attainment gap is narrowing. In
:16:56. > :17:01.2007, 20 3% of pupils from the 20% most deprived areas of at least one
:17:02. > :17:04.higher, that figure is now 40%. Looking at qualifications at level
:17:05. > :17:12.five, the gap between the 10% most deprived and least deprived has
:17:13. > :17:17.fallen from 42.5% to 26%. These are figures that show some progress, but
:17:18. > :17:21.it is not enough for me and I would not have -- expected to be enough
:17:22. > :17:26.for anyone. That is why we're putting so much emphasis the
:17:27. > :17:30.attainment work. Ruth Davison can cite higher results, I can cite
:17:31. > :17:35.higher results. One of the problems we have is that we can cite that
:17:36. > :17:39.evidence from earlier on in a child's school progress. At the time
:17:40. > :17:43.it gets to the higher, if you haven't dealt with the attainment
:17:44. > :17:46.gap perhaps it is too late to do so. That is why the national
:17:47. > :17:52.improvement framework so important, so we can start dealing with this in
:17:53. > :17:57.early years, three primary school, so we see the improvements later on
:17:58. > :18:00.in school careers. That is the emphasis we are putting on this work
:18:01. > :18:05.and I hope that with Davison would welcome it. The First Minister will
:18:06. > :18:10.be aware of the announcement by Stuttgart -based mallet engineering
:18:11. > :18:18.in command that over a jobs are to be lost by January next year. The
:18:19. > :18:23.company plans to move this production to other plants in Europe
:18:24. > :18:26.despite the renowned quality of the bearings are just buy the con
:18:27. > :18:30.Marnoch staff over many years and the solid performance of the company
:18:31. > :18:33.worldwide. With the First Minister see what intervention might be
:18:34. > :18:37.possible with the company in order to try to save these jobs and help
:18:38. > :18:45.prevent yet another jobs body blow to the town? Can I welcome his
:18:46. > :18:49.question? I share his concern at the amount of the possible redundancies
:18:50. > :18:54.and commanded. I'm sure this be a very worrying time for all affected
:18:55. > :18:57.employees. Scottish enterprise has offered support to the company and
:18:58. > :19:00.will meet management next week to discuss it. I can confirm that
:19:01. > :19:05.another team will meet with the company next week to discuss at
:19:06. > :19:15.tailored programme of support for any employees facing redundancy. We
:19:16. > :19:20.will take any action that we can. What issues will be discussed at the
:19:21. > :19:23.next meeting of the Cabinet? Matter of importance to people of Scotland.
:19:24. > :19:28.This with the Education Secretary had an online question-and-answer
:19:29. > :19:34.session and not one person agreed with Angela Constance about the
:19:35. > :19:37.national standardised testing. The international experts at the OECD
:19:38. > :19:42.warned that the risk of national testing was narrowing the curriculum
:19:43. > :19:46.and teaching to the test. One of the issues is league tables. The First
:19:47. > :19:50.Minister told me she was against league tables but she has told
:19:51. > :19:54.journalists that you will not stop putting primary schools in the
:19:55. > :19:57.league tables. If she doesn't want them, why is she going ahead and
:19:58. > :20:04.taking all the steps to allow them to happen less Chamakh it may have
:20:05. > :20:10.escaped his notice, I don't control the newspapers. Perhaps if they did
:20:11. > :20:13.things would be very different. There is something for me quite
:20:14. > :20:18.reassuring here. On the one hand I have got the Davison telling me I am
:20:19. > :20:22.not going far enough in terms of school reform and on the other hand
:20:23. > :20:27.I have Willie Rennie telling me I'm going far too far. That tells me we
:20:28. > :20:31.are probably in the right place in terms of reforming our schools and
:20:32. > :20:35.how we measure the performance of schools and the attainment gap. I
:20:36. > :20:39.stand by what they said. I have no interest in crude league table that
:20:40. > :20:44.offer no meaning to parents, nor to have any interest in the system
:20:45. > :20:49.would encouraging -- encourage teaching the test. It is incumbent
:20:50. > :20:53.on me to make sure that children's progress is being assessed in a way
:20:54. > :20:56.that better informs the judgments teachers make about their
:20:57. > :21:01.performance, and also that allows all of us to a meaningful and
:21:02. > :21:05.evidence debate in this chamber and across Scotland about whether we are
:21:06. > :21:09.or are not making progress in closing the attainment gap. I think
:21:10. > :21:15.that is the right thing to do. We will continue to discuss the details
:21:16. > :21:23.of plans. I am determined that we do make real progress on this and I
:21:24. > :21:26.will push forward with that for that reason. So, league tables are coming
:21:27. > :21:30.and she is not convinced -- has not convinced one single person that she
:21:31. > :21:35.is going to stop them. The OECD say of equal importance is consensus
:21:36. > :21:43.building and various stakeholders involved. But Professor Brian Boyd,
:21:44. > :21:48.who was a member of the curriculum review group said it was a
:21:49. > :21:53.retrograde step. Head priest -- Headteacher George Gill trust said
:21:54. > :21:58.it was a definite step backwards. -- Gilchrist. The parent teacher
:21:59. > :22:02.Council concluded testing does not raise attainment. Why is the
:22:03. > :22:10.government's approach to consensus-building just to tell all
:22:11. > :22:17.of these people they are all wrong? It is not. We are not introducing
:22:18. > :22:20.high-stakes testing. We are introducing assessment, assessment
:22:21. > :22:23.that is carried out in most local authorities anyway, in a
:22:24. > :22:28.standardised way. It is an assessment that will help inform the
:22:29. > :22:30.judgment of teachers on the performance of children. We will
:22:31. > :22:37.continue to work with teachers and with others to finalise how we will
:22:38. > :22:40.make use of that information, how we will publish that information in a
:22:41. > :22:45.way that does not lead to crude league tables. That is the way we
:22:46. > :22:51.will continue to get on with this. Twice he has mentioned the OECD.
:22:52. > :22:54.Soon we will get their latest report on the performance of Scottish
:22:55. > :22:57.education and I look forward to receiving that. Hopefully that will
:22:58. > :23:04.be a useful contribution to our work. This is an area that one I
:23:05. > :23:08.have set as a priority and they will continue to treat it in that way. To
:23:09. > :23:13.ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is
:23:14. > :23:19.and how the UK but government's latest amendments to the Scotland
:23:20. > :23:26.Bill could impact the governance of Scotland? A bill that was said... It
:23:27. > :23:30.was interesting it was going to need so many amendments. The amendments
:23:31. > :23:34.improve the bill in some key areas, particularly the late amendment that
:23:35. > :23:40.was launched yesterday by the UK Government. It still Pharoah --
:23:41. > :23:45.falls far short in other areas. Whether the bill delivers on
:23:46. > :23:51.promises made will be for the people to decide. SNP MPs will propose
:23:52. > :23:59.further amendments next week, including one to give real power
:24:00. > :24:06.over tax credits. Our priority is to agree a fiscal framework so we can
:24:07. > :24:13.get on the -- get on with using these powers. The Scotland Bill does
:24:14. > :24:18.not get anywhere near fulfilling the proposals. Does the First Minister
:24:19. > :24:24.share the view of third sector organisations that the proposed
:24:25. > :24:28.devolution of the work programme whilst Westminster retains powers of
:24:29. > :24:32.sanctions are incoherent and the logical, like so many other
:24:33. > :24:37.proposals contained in this bill? Yes, I do. Benefit conditionality
:24:38. > :24:41.and employability go hand-in-hand. They should've been fully devolved
:24:42. > :24:45.to the Scottish parliament. He is right to point out that many
:24:46. > :24:48.stakeholders call for that. I think it is symptomatic of the approach
:24:49. > :24:53.that the UK Government has taken. The employment provisions in the
:24:54. > :24:57.bill to falls short of the Smith recommendations. There is no
:24:58. > :25:01.justification for insisting we wait 12 months before stepping in to help
:25:02. > :25:05.somebody who is unemployed. The Social Security provisions in the
:25:06. > :25:09.bill are still notwithstanding welcome improvements, are still full
:25:10. > :25:14.of qualifications and constraints, including most importantly those on
:25:15. > :25:17.benefit sanctions. The sanctions regime has been shown to push people
:25:18. > :25:22.into crisis and it is one of the main drivers of food banks, which is
:25:23. > :25:25.why we have been clear that there is an urgent need for an independent
:25:26. > :25:31.review of the whole sanctions system. Given the shambles we saw in
:25:32. > :25:41.this Parliament in yesterday's welfare debate, in reference to the
:25:42. > :25:48.Scotland Bill, it was said that the amendments tabled today should give
:25:49. > :25:53.the Scottish Government this power. Does the First Minister agree her
:25:54. > :26:04.government needs to move on, stop caterwauling at Westminster and
:26:05. > :26:11.start telling us how her government will actually use these extensive
:26:12. > :26:22.new powers? Ten out of ten for sheer brass neck! Let me remind the
:26:23. > :26:26.chamber and more importantly let me remind the whole of Scotland sat in
:26:27. > :26:31.the House of Lords a couple of weeks ago and voted for tax credit cuts
:26:32. > :26:36.that will penalise low-income families. Let me say, it will be a
:26:37. > :26:39.long time before I am prepared to take any lectures in this chamber
:26:40. > :26:51.from her on this issue of tax credits. The Astor First Minister
:26:52. > :26:54.whether the Scottish Government will provide assistance to families who
:26:55. > :27:00.use tax credits as a result of the UK Government's proposals. As I said
:27:01. > :27:04.earlier, we intend to keep up pressure on the Chancellor to drop
:27:05. > :27:09.his plans to cut tax credits. If he doesn't do so we will bring forward
:27:10. > :27:12.credible and deliverable plans to assist low-income families. This is
:27:13. > :27:16.in line with the approach we have taken to mitigate welfare cuts, an
:27:17. > :27:25.approach that is backed this year alone by more than ?100 million of
:27:26. > :27:29.investment. This is not about her, it is not about the SNP, it is not
:27:30. > :27:35.even about the shambles that we witnessed yesterday. It is about the
:27:36. > :27:42.250,000 families that are set to lose ?1300 a year due to the Tory
:27:43. > :27:47.cuts to tax credits. Protecting income is not the same as restoring
:27:48. > :27:53.tax credits in full. Her careful language tells me that she knows
:27:54. > :27:57.this. Let's cut through all the words, I only required a 1 syllable
:27:58. > :28:02.Ansa. Will the First Minister help working families and restore every
:28:03. > :28:14.penny lost through tax credit cuts, yes or no? Jackie Baillie is right,
:28:15. > :28:17.about one thing. This is about the families across Scotland who stand
:28:18. > :28:24.to lose tax credits. That is why they deserve better than
:28:25. > :28:26.gameplaying. They deserve from their government real detailed credible
:28:27. > :28:30.deliverable affordable plans and that is what they will get. It
:28:31. > :28:36.really is a bit rich for Jackie Baillie to stand in this chamber,
:28:37. > :28:40.almost as rich as Annabel Goldie, to stand on this chamber and talk about
:28:41. > :28:45.cuts to the incomes of families won just two years ago she pressed her
:28:46. > :28:46.button and voted to spend hundred and ?67 billion renewing Trident on
:28:47. > :29:05.the Clyde. What level the Scottish rate of
:29:06. > :29:11.income tax will be set? We will announce that in the budget, in a
:29:12. > :29:14.radical new departure. At the weekend, the Scottish Labour Party
:29:15. > :29:19.of charge -- of Jeremy Corbyn announced its plans to raise taxes
:29:20. > :29:22.on the Scottish people. The Scottish Conservatives will vigorously oppose
:29:23. > :29:26.any moves to tax families or businesses in Scotland more highly
:29:27. > :29:30.than the rest of the United Kingdom. So where does the First
:29:31. > :29:40.Minister stand on this issue? Will she join with us and today relied
:29:41. > :29:46.higher taxes on families and businesses in Scotland, yes or no?
:29:47. > :29:52.You should advise your colleague Alec Johnson when you are
:29:53. > :29:56.encouraging me to join the queue is not to set leering at me and that
:29:57. > :30:05.strange way he has just done. It is extremely off-putting. Presiding
:30:06. > :30:11.officer, if I can recover my composure for just the second, we
:30:12. > :30:16.will announce our tax plans in the budget is most governments tend to
:30:17. > :30:20.do, but I have to say, tax really is the last thing the Tories should be
:30:21. > :30:23.talking about right now. The tax credit cuts that we have been
:30:24. > :30:29.talking about today would effectively raise the tax rate for
:30:30. > :30:36.some low-paid workers to 90%. Right now it is the Tories that are at the
:30:37. > :30:40.party of high tax on low income households. Perhaps Murdo Fraser
:30:41. > :30:45.would be better advised, rather than is believed he did yesterday
:30:46. > :30:48.endorsed George Osborne's plans, joined his leader in asking George
:30:49. > :30:58.Osborne to reverse these cuts, like we do. I think that Mr Johnson is
:30:59. > :31:04.not in the habit of leering in this chamber. That is First Minister is
:31:05. > :31:08.Question Time. What an intriguing ending the first
:31:09. > :31:12.ministers questions! Substantive discussions on various points on the
:31:13. > :31:16.issue of tax credits and exactly what the Scottish Government might
:31:17. > :31:21.do. They seemed a bit discomforted yesterday during the debate. They
:31:22. > :31:23.seemed decidedly clearer from the First Minister today, the argument
:31:24. > :31:29.being that they would try to fight George Osborne's plans. They
:31:30. > :31:33.couldn't prevent those plans taken place, the Conservatives saying that
:31:34. > :31:42.the plans were required, then they would put forward a proposal
:31:43. > :31:44.thereafter. Time for me to say goodbye and hand you over.