:00:19. > :00:21.Good afternoon and a Happy New Year from all of us at Politics Scotland.
:00:22. > :00:26.The First Minister announces the introduction of standardised
:00:27. > :00:34.And Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reshuffles his frontbench team,
:00:35. > :00:39.Here at Westminster: MPs return to the Commons,
:00:40. > :00:44.as the fallout from that reshuffle continues.
:00:45. > :00:51.The First Minister has announced details on how standardised testing
:00:52. > :00:53.will be introduced in Scotland's primary schools.
:00:54. > :00:55.Some critics have raised concerns that the results could be used
:00:56. > :00:57.to draw up "league tables" for primary schools.
:00:58. > :00:59.Our political correspondent Andrew Kerr is at the Scottish
:01:00. > :01:12.What did she have to say? Good afternoon. The First Minister was
:01:13. > :01:17.speaking at a conference for teachers in Glasgow a short time
:01:18. > :01:21.ago, she just finished half an hour ago. At the centre of this is they
:01:22. > :01:27.are trying to close the attainment gap between well off and poorer
:01:28. > :01:31.children so the tests have been introduced to target children and
:01:32. > :01:36.Key stages during their education. Aaron Rai one, four, seven and
:01:37. > :01:45.secondary three. -- primary one. They will be national in 2017 and
:01:46. > :01:50.tested in 2016. It is to gauge the effectiveness of a child's work to
:01:51. > :01:53.inform their teacher and parent how well the tiled is doing so their
:01:54. > :01:58.education can be specifically tailored to them. -- the child. The
:01:59. > :02:02.Liberal Democrats have said it will mean teachers will teach to the
:02:03. > :02:07.tests and Labour have said today there is less to this than meets the
:02:08. > :02:11.eye and they are criticising the Scottish government for they say
:02:12. > :02:13.cutting local authority budgets but the Scottish Conservatives have
:02:14. > :02:20.welcomed it and said national testing is an important part of
:02:21. > :02:25.trying to see a child's progress and effectiveness at school. That is
:02:26. > :02:30.what we have seen, becoming national in 2017. An interesting development
:02:31. > :02:32.in education as the First Minister attempts to target that attainment
:02:33. > :02:33.gap. Thank you.
:02:34. > :02:36.My guest for the day is the Herald's Political Editor,
:02:37. > :02:53.What you think of this? As I understand, there is a budget. They
:02:54. > :02:57.will not publish the raw data, it is going to be the data wrapped up in a
:02:58. > :03:01.form of teacher assessment. They are going to publish how the teachers
:03:02. > :03:06.say the children are getting on. League tables will be derived from
:03:07. > :03:12.information based on how the teachers assess the children based
:03:13. > :03:18.on the new standardised test. From the point of view of parents, they
:03:19. > :03:22.will be happy because these will be boiled down into league tables and
:03:23. > :03:27.they will give the proportion of children reaching the appropriate
:03:28. > :03:31.levels in new Morrissey and literacy at those certain stages throughout
:03:32. > :03:40.their early school create -- new Morrissey. They are not publishing
:03:41. > :03:42.raw test data, it is not like five-year-olds are subjected to a
:03:43. > :03:48.competitive examination system like hires. So in that five -- in that
:03:49. > :03:53.sense, unions will be more content than they would have been although
:03:54. > :03:58.it does open up the possibility of league tables which the unions in
:03:59. > :04:01.principle are opposed to, they do not like school is being compared,
:04:02. > :04:07.they think that dangerous and damaging. The other thing is, it
:04:08. > :04:11.seems to fly in the face of the whole ethos of Curriculum for
:04:12. > :04:15.Excellence. That was supposed to be the next big thing in Scottish
:04:16. > :04:20.schools. It is interesting, during her speech, Nicola Sturgeon was at
:04:21. > :04:25.pains to insist that would not be the case. She said there would be no
:04:26. > :04:30.narrowing of the curriculum. That is one of the sensitive areas we have
:04:31. > :04:36.to look at as this system is rolled out in pilots next year and across
:04:37. > :04:42.the country. The danger is not only can the school test be created into
:04:43. > :04:47.meaningless, the concept of the Curriculum for Excellence can also.
:04:48. > :04:52.There is a danger of unintended consequences and distorting
:04:53. > :04:58.Curriculum for Excellence which has taken a decade to get up and
:04:59. > :05:00.running. And there are still questions about it so interesting to
:05:01. > :05:03.see how that plays out. Back with you later is.
:05:04. > :05:05.The Finance Secretary has defended a 6% funding cut
:05:06. > :05:07.to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
:05:08. > :05:09.John Swinney says its flood forecasting resources have been
:05:10. > :05:13.He was responding to Labour's calls for reviews into both the cut,
:05:14. > :05:17.and the Scottish Government's national flood strategy.
:05:18. > :05:19.Mr Swinney was updating MSPs yesterday on the government's
:05:20. > :05:21.response to the flooding so far, when he also announced
:05:22. > :05:31.there would be more funding for councils.
:05:32. > :05:37.The recent flood risk strategy set out an agenda for future flood risk
:05:38. > :05:41.management to target investment and coordinate actions across public
:05:42. > :05:47.bodies. It explained what causes flooding in high-risk areas and the
:05:48. > :05:52.impact. It is used as an impact for a basis of better decision-making
:05:53. > :05:56.and supporting action such as blood and action schemes and flood warning
:05:57. > :06:02.schemes. I am aware the Minister has visited
:06:03. > :06:06.the upper Deeside area and seen the conditions that have prevailed.
:06:07. > :06:10.Would he be able to tell me what support the government can offer to
:06:11. > :06:14.the local authority and individuals who have been seriously hit by this
:06:15. > :06:18.flooding damage? On the two specific areas of assistance, I have
:06:19. > :06:24.activated the Berlin scheme which establishes a threshold that local
:06:25. > :06:27.thresholds are expected to provide to do with emergency situations of
:06:28. > :06:31.this type and any cost beyond that is met by the government and I have
:06:32. > :06:38.encouraged Aberdeenshire Council to submit an application for financial
:06:39. > :06:45.support. Under the budget statement in December, and made available
:06:46. > :06:48.support to councils because of the impact of recent storm incidents.
:06:49. > :06:55.Intend to make a further financial allocation in which I would expect
:06:56. > :06:58.Aberdeenshire Council to leave council taxpayers of council tax
:06:59. > :07:03.bills, business ratepayers of their bills and to contribute to some of
:07:04. > :07:08.the regeneration that will be clearly required to recover the
:07:09. > :07:13.situation in Deeside. One feature of the devastation in
:07:14. > :07:19.upper Deeside is serious damage to be a 93 trunk Rd, can the Minister
:07:20. > :07:24.say if there is any prospect of that damage being rectified in the near
:07:25. > :07:29.future and that costs will be covered by the Scottish government?
:07:30. > :07:34.-- A93. It cannot be utilised in relation to providing a route from
:07:35. > :07:39.Braemar to Aberdeen, that is unsatisfactory and we have two
:07:40. > :07:41.resolve that quickly. We are taking forward discussions with
:07:42. > :07:47.Aberdeenshire Council on how the steps are taken to ensure that this
:07:48. > :07:50.rectified. Across South Scotland and my region, many communities have
:07:51. > :07:55.been affected by the floods recently and in previous years. On November
:07:56. > :08:00.the 5th last year, my colleague Graeme Pearson as to the Minister
:08:01. > :08:04.about this area and she told the chamber, to reassure the member, it
:08:05. > :08:08.is now part and parcel of the National risk management planning
:08:09. > :08:13.process and it will be considered accordingly. This is no reassurance
:08:14. > :08:17.to my constituents and those of Graeme Pearson my colleague who
:08:18. > :08:19.found themselves yet again devastated by floods. I ask the
:08:20. > :08:24.Cabinet Secretary today, will he will again at the budget in view of
:08:25. > :08:27.the responsibilities of flooding and the cuts made by the Scottish
:08:28. > :08:33.government and will he also consider a review which Scottish Labour is
:08:34. > :08:37.calling for today and has done? My colleague has also called for flood
:08:38. > :08:41.strategy by the Scottish government working with all local authorities
:08:42. > :08:48.across my region and more widely in Scotland.
:08:49. > :08:52.I am a bit surprised by the line of argument she has just taken because
:08:53. > :08:56.I know she takes a keen and acute interest in these issues so I am a
:08:57. > :09:02.bit surprised at the line of argument she has taken today. The
:09:03. > :09:05.first thing I would say is that sleeper have no responsibility for
:09:06. > :09:10.flood protection measures, none whatsoever. They have a
:09:11. > :09:13.responsibility for the flood warning system which is fully and entirely
:09:14. > :09:21.funded by the government and which is protected, protected 100 sent by
:09:22. > :09:27.my budget settlement in December. It is facing a 6.8% reduction in its
:09:28. > :09:31.budget because I have to require public authorities across-the-board
:09:32. > :09:36.to contribute towards the financial challenge we have to make. It is up
:09:37. > :09:41.to Scottish Labour if they wish to change my budget and we have heard
:09:42. > :09:45.so much from Scottish Labour about this question that I will expect
:09:46. > :09:52.Scottish Labour to rectify that reduction in the budget that they
:09:53. > :09:54.have been going on about. Parliament in 2009 passed the flood risk
:09:55. > :09:59.management Scotland act which required us to do the groundwork
:10:00. > :10:03.which is why I am so surprised that the question. The ground work of
:10:04. > :10:07.establishing flood risk management strategies across the Scott --
:10:08. > :10:14.across the country of which we have 14. They have generated the
:10:15. > :10:19.suggestions and propositions of 42 formal flood protection schemes
:10:20. > :10:24.costing ?235 billion and I have made provision within the budget for that
:10:25. > :10:26.to be delivered as part of my commitment to the local gunman to
:10:27. > :10:30.finance settlement. So I would have thought instead of having another
:10:31. > :10:37.review, we should implement these flood risk management strategies
:10:38. > :10:43.# Government. If that was an all-out attack by the opposition, with them
:10:44. > :10:47.pussyfooting around, he just brush that away. Yes, it was not an
:10:48. > :10:52.all-out attack. There is a good reason. There is not really a lot of
:10:53. > :10:58.blame you can lay at the Scottish government's door. These are
:10:59. > :11:02.extraordinary floods. I was going to say it is an extraordinary event.
:11:03. > :11:07.The big question is, is what we are witnessing this winter the new norm?
:11:08. > :11:11.We have been told for more than a decade global warming will result in
:11:12. > :11:18.wetter and warmer winters and this has been a very wet and a very warm
:11:19. > :11:23.winter. I think it calls for a review, that is sensible in the
:11:24. > :11:26.light of that question, is this the new norm? That is the problem, even
:11:27. > :11:32.when you get several, we have had mild winters in a row. We had
:11:33. > :11:37.extremely cold winters and the problem was ice on the roads and the
:11:38. > :11:43.rest of it. It is distinguishing between climate and weather, it is
:11:44. > :11:50.difficult. I am not quite sure when we would have a run of data. You
:11:51. > :11:54.could say let's spend billions protecting these places against it.
:11:55. > :11:59.Against bigger floods. But that might be it might never happen. It
:12:00. > :12:05.is difficult. People talk about once in 200 years. That might have been
:12:06. > :12:11.correct 200 years ago, we simply not sure. In the meantime, as John
:12:12. > :12:17.Swinney says, but prevention plans are working. -- flood prevention. We
:12:18. > :12:22.are not hearing now about areas which should have been better
:12:23. > :12:29.protected and were not. It is unexpected places. Like Perth, flood
:12:30. > :12:34.protection schemes here have been put in place and they seem to have
:12:35. > :12:38.worked. Those places prone to flooding have not flooded this time.
:12:39. > :12:41.You are right to spot the attacks on the Scottish government was
:12:42. > :12:44.something rather less than attacks. All right.
:12:45. > :12:47.To the chamber at Holyrood now, where members are debating a report
:12:48. > :12:49.on age and social isolation from the Parliament's Equal Opportunities
:12:50. > :12:53.The cross-party group of MSPs says that loneliness is "as damaging
:12:54. > :12:55.to Scots' health as poverty and poor housing".
:12:56. > :12:57.It's called for the government to prioritise loneliness
:12:58. > :12:59.and isolation as a public health issue.
:13:00. > :13:00.The Committee Convenor, Labour's Margaret McCulloch,
:13:01. > :13:16.For these people, loneliness was a long-term issue that had no end in
:13:17. > :13:21.sight. They also had to content with the stigma of loneliness, they were
:13:22. > :13:25.ashamed to admit their situation and had lost the confidence to do
:13:26. > :13:32.anything about it. Many reported to health services, GPs and Accident
:13:33. > :13:37.and Emergency departments, when professionals knew the underlying
:13:38. > :13:40.problem was loneliness. There were so many important things we
:13:41. > :13:43.discovered about people's experiences at what I would really
:13:44. > :13:47.like to say before I move onto the detail and what anyone should
:13:48. > :13:53.remember about this topic is that it has terrible facts, extended
:13:54. > :13:57.loneliness. Have to stand together and say it is not all right for
:13:58. > :14:01.anyone to suffer this kind of isolation, no matter what their age.
:14:02. > :14:07.We must acknowledge the impact it has on communities and on health and
:14:08. > :14:13.social services. It was Jean Keller of West Lothian Council who
:14:14. > :14:16.explained how important it is to think about how services are
:14:17. > :14:20.provided. She said, when systems break down in such a way we
:14:21. > :14:28.disconnect from others, when my circumstances, longer, we might lose
:14:29. > :14:32.people we are close to, and we need to respond to that in a human way
:14:33. > :14:36.rather than stigmatise people and further isolate them by treating
:14:37. > :14:41.them as if something was wrong with them as individuals. All the
:14:42. > :14:44.agencies and Health and Social Care Act partnerships around the country
:14:45. > :14:49.need to be responsive to that and to consider the structures of how we
:14:50. > :14:55.deliver services. How we make contact with people and how we speak
:14:56. > :15:01.to them on an individual basis. That is very important for keeping our
:15:02. > :15:04.communities connected. And I cannot enough some of the health
:15:05. > :15:09.consequences of spending time alone without contact. We took very
:15:10. > :15:14.seriously aged Scotland's point that the need for contact is an innate
:15:15. > :15:21.human need in the same way feeling hungry or thirsty or tired or in
:15:22. > :15:31.pain is. And the health consequences for people shocking. Research has
:15:32. > :15:37.found just over 10% of over 65 is often always lonely. But that figure
:15:38. > :15:46.rising to 50% for the over 80 age group. Research has also found just
:15:47. > :15:56.over 10% of over 65s are at risk of malnourishment. I am grateful. She
:15:57. > :15:59.has mentioned stigma and how widespread this is. Does she agree
:16:00. > :16:02.this is a very widespread problem and it is quite common across
:16:03. > :16:09.Scotland and we need to take it very seriously? Yes, I totally agree with
:16:10. > :16:17.the member, it is widespread, all over Scotland and all age groups.
:16:18. > :16:20.But food train does not think this is a coincidence that the same
:16:21. > :16:27.number of older people are affected by money Trisha and loneliness and
:16:28. > :16:31.the experience -- in experience, they are interlinked they can be
:16:32. > :16:36.successfully tackled together. We also heard from the Institute for
:16:37. > :16:41.innovation and research that people who lonely are more likely to have
:16:42. > :16:45.health issues such as high blood pressure, poor sleep and depression.
:16:46. > :16:54.For older people, that our programming is between loneliness
:16:55. > :16:57.and poor health including dementia -- there are connections. And they
:16:58. > :17:02.are twice as likely to die prematurely. There are poor choices
:17:03. > :17:07.as inactivity, smoking, alcohol use and poor diet. The Health and Social
:17:08. > :17:12.Care Act Alliance also said those who experienced loneliness are more
:17:13. > :17:17.like you to visit a GP, have high use of medication and a higher
:17:18. > :17:23.incidents of balls, undergo early entry into presidential and nursery
:17:24. > :17:28.care and use Accident and Emergency services -- falls. I have mentioned
:17:29. > :17:31.the commitment to tackling loneliness and this is so important
:17:32. > :17:36.because rather than hearing everybody ignored the issue or did
:17:37. > :17:41.not believe it was important, we heard about many initiatives. But we
:17:42. > :17:48.felt even more could be done because of the projects and services and
:17:49. > :17:49.because they told us many people were not reached for a variety of
:17:50. > :17:52.reasons. Well, as the Scottish Parliament
:17:53. > :17:55.springs back into life at the start of this election year,
:17:56. > :17:59.we're joined by a trio of MSPs. The Conservatives' Liz Smith -
:18:00. > :18:11.from the SNP, Stewart Maxwell, Let's talk about this testing in
:18:12. > :18:15.schools. Nicola Sturgeon has just announced it. If we are not going to
:18:16. > :18:22.publish the result of the test, what is the point of having it? The
:18:23. > :18:27.National government framework is to assist teachers and to make sure
:18:28. > :18:30.they can judge the performance of pupils and help that judgment so
:18:31. > :18:43.they can target their efforts to improve attainment. The purpose of
:18:44. > :18:46.this is not to publish raw data why not? We are not interested in crude
:18:47. > :18:49.league tables. One argument you had, that Nicola Sturgeon had. The tests,
:18:50. > :18:57.is while local authorities do tests at the moment, they do not conform
:18:58. > :19:01.across the country. That is right. If you do not publish the data, how
:19:02. > :19:05.do you get around that problem and how do you know they are now
:19:06. > :19:09.conforming? The data will be available to teachers and
:19:10. > :19:17.headteachers in schools, local authorities and the Scottish
:19:18. > :19:21.government. Parents? Of course. It will be available to parents? No,
:19:22. > :19:25.the judgment of teachers. The raw data will be available to teachers
:19:26. > :19:30.and bureaucrats but not to parents? What will be given to parents and
:19:31. > :19:32.everybody else, published nationally, is the information
:19:33. > :19:37.required to make those judgments and that will be the assessment of
:19:38. > :19:41.teachers, the professional judgment, informed by the standardised
:19:42. > :19:46.assessments across the country. That will improve the system, not create
:19:47. > :19:52.a nasty little crude league table competition. This is about helping
:19:53. > :19:55.pupils and making sure we approve attainment as well as closing the
:19:56. > :19:59.attainment gap and that is what the National Improvement Framework will
:20:00. > :20:04.do. So the raw data will be available to teachers and
:20:05. > :20:08.bureaucrats, but will not be available to parents? Parents will
:20:09. > :20:15.be able to talk to teachers in the normal way. Will the raw data be
:20:16. > :20:21.given... If I say, how is my child is doing? The teacher will respond
:20:22. > :20:24.to that question using the data from the work done including the
:20:25. > :20:29.standardised assessments. And the judgment of the teacher. You said
:20:30. > :20:35.the raw data from the tests. That is not being tested. Will it be
:20:36. > :20:39.available to parrots? It is not publish, that is what I have said.
:20:40. > :20:42.It will be used as part of the standardised assessment teachers
:20:43. > :20:48.will take and they will use that to perform the most important job. They
:20:49. > :20:52.opt -- they are the professionals and they must base judgment on a
:20:53. > :20:57.wider range of measures. They will use that information to inform
:20:58. > :21:00.parents of how their child is doing in school and I think that is the
:21:01. > :21:03.best way to do it, not use one measure but all the measures and
:21:04. > :21:09.professional judgment of teachers. The Conservatives were broadly in
:21:10. > :21:14.favour of these tests. Do you agree with the idea you're a crack and
:21:15. > :21:21.teachers should have access to the parents of the tutoring -- children
:21:22. > :21:26.should not? -- bureaucrats. No, I do not, it is important information is
:21:27. > :21:30.available to teachers, parents and the wider public. Not in Raul league
:21:31. > :21:36.tables. He is correct when he says this is about professional teaching.
:21:37. > :21:41.One reason testing is part of the crucial issue about is to ensure we
:21:42. > :21:45.have consistency across the board and the only way to measure that is
:21:46. > :21:49.if some better information is available. I would argue strongly
:21:50. > :21:53.this is about better quality testing and not more testing. It is
:21:54. > :21:58.essential that information is to hand. But if the published
:21:59. > :22:06.information is a teacher's assessment, somehow by some unknown
:22:07. > :22:10.process, that does not give a way of judging whether schools for example
:22:11. > :22:14.with the same intake perform better or worse because it always has this
:22:15. > :22:19.subject a bit of the teacher's assessment. I do not think that is
:22:20. > :22:23.what is intended and what teachers want, they want to be absolutely
:22:24. > :22:30.clear they have the professional standards and the information which
:22:31. > :22:33.we have been told in this Parliament is not produced in a consistent
:22:34. > :22:38.manner, that is what has to happen and the most important league table
:22:39. > :22:43.and result is what happens in any school every year. That is what a
:22:44. > :22:47.parent wants to know and that information should be available. One
:22:48. > :22:53.thing that is clear is however you judge it, it runs completely against
:22:54. > :22:55.the ethos of Curriculum for Excellence which is supposedly the
:22:56. > :23:03.great evening in Scottish egg education. I do not think so. --
:23:04. > :23:07.great thing in Scottish education. It is exactly the Curriculum for
:23:08. > :23:11.Excellence level assessment which is already available. The problem is
:23:12. > :23:16.that Nicola Sturgeon and her ministers have suggested they were
:23:17. > :23:22.doing something different which they are not. These tests referred to in
:23:23. > :23:26.the framework already happening in every school in Scotland and the
:23:27. > :23:30.only difference is they will be replaced by tests produced in
:23:31. > :23:35.Scotland instead of being bought in from elsewhere. There is no new
:23:36. > :23:41.data, it is the assessment level for Curriculum for Excellence. The
:23:42. > :23:44.problem is the First Minister has raised an expectation in some
:23:45. > :23:47.quarters including perhaps the Scottish Conservatives that they
:23:48. > :23:53.were doing something which the truth is they never were. So you say
:23:54. > :23:59.nothing really changes? No, I do not think it does. Instead of every
:24:00. > :24:02.local authority deciding where they will buy diagnostic testing for
:24:03. > :24:08.teachers to use, they will all use the same tests. That is the key
:24:09. > :24:13.change. Even that has now this appeared into next year at the very
:24:14. > :24:16.least. The working group is looking at it. Your question about what
:24:17. > :24:24.information is available to parents, I do not agree no doubt yet. Perhaps
:24:25. > :24:27.Stuart Maxwell can tell us. The information available to parents and
:24:28. > :24:32.everybody will be provided through the Curriculum for Excellence. You
:24:33. > :24:36.will be informed, as I was when my daughter was going through school,
:24:37. > :24:39.how she is performing in each area of her work. She will be checked
:24:40. > :24:45.against those assessments and they will determine if she is performing
:24:46. > :24:49.at, above or below the level expected and what work is being done
:24:50. > :24:55.to help her. That is helping parents be informed. That will go on and it
:24:56. > :24:57.will be added to by having the standardised assessment across the
:24:58. > :25:01.country in all areas to take is roughly at the same time and
:25:02. > :25:05.throughout the year. That is important rather than having a mixed
:25:06. > :25:08.situation with different tests at different times and in different
:25:09. > :25:16.years. This is a much schmo standardised system. -- much more. I
:25:17. > :25:23.am sure your daughter is exceptionally talented, but let's
:25:24. > :25:27.say young Johnny, somebody else's child, does badly in reading and
:25:28. > :25:32.writing in the test but the teacher thinks they have a lot of potential.
:25:33. > :25:39.What does the parents get told? They are doing really well in some
:25:40. > :25:43.subjective sense that I think of, or they have done really badly in the
:25:44. > :25:47.tests? What is the parents told? The parent will begin in the information
:25:48. > :25:52.through the Curriculum for Excellence framework divided all
:25:53. > :25:56.parents. They will not be told young Johnny is doing badly in the tests?
:25:57. > :26:00.They will be told how that individual is doing, if they are
:26:01. > :26:05.performing at the expected level, above or below it. And the
:26:06. > :26:09.surrounding context within the classroom of how they are doing. It
:26:10. > :26:13.is important you have a fully rounded picture of the child and how
:26:14. > :26:15.they are doing at various stages throughout their school career
:26:16. > :26:21.rather than the situation which is slightly uneven at the moment, where
:26:22. > :26:24.some local authorities do it and some do different things and at
:26:25. > :26:30.different times of the year. Having a national and local picture allows
:26:31. > :26:34.us to raise attainment and close the attainment gap which we all support
:26:35. > :26:39.and want to see happen. A lot of parents watching will say, I am big
:26:40. > :26:43.enough and ugly enough, can you not to tell me how my child did in these
:26:44. > :26:47.tests? Tell me about a teacher assessment by all means which might
:26:48. > :26:52.brighten my day but I want the hard information. Why can I not know
:26:53. > :26:57.that? All teachers will want to give that information to parents. Parents
:26:58. > :27:00.certainly have a right to know. Let's not forget why this is
:27:01. > :27:05.happening, it is because Scotland has not read performing as well as
:27:06. > :27:11.it should have in basic literacy and numerous, especially in the top
:27:12. > :27:16.years of primary school. We have had declining standards which is not
:27:17. > :27:24.acceptable to anybody. We have to finish. The idea of transparency and
:27:25. > :27:28.information made available publicly was pioneered by Tony Blair in
:27:29. > :27:34.England. Why after three Labour governments can we still not do it
:27:35. > :27:38.in Scotland? The First Minister has said she is trying to avoid
:27:39. > :27:44.high-stakes testing which Scottish Labour he got rid of ten years ago.
:27:45. > :27:50.I am not sure that is entirely true. I agree with Liz, parents are in
:27:51. > :27:54.title to the information about their own child. I think perhaps it would
:27:55. > :27:59.be the case in spite of what Stuart says, that will happen. The truth
:28:00. > :28:04.is, if we want to close the attainment that, no framework will
:28:05. > :28:09.ever do that. Adequate resources directly targeted will do that. We
:28:10. > :28:13.have a government cutting school and education budgets and while that
:28:14. > :28:17.happens, no matter how many frameworks we have got, we will not
:28:18. > :28:21.close that attainment gap and no matter how much information we have,
:28:22. > :28:24.it will simply tell us that gap is still present. Thank you very much.
:28:25. > :28:27.We have to leave it. Back to the chamber now
:28:28. > :28:29.for more of that debate on the Equal Opportunities
:28:30. > :28:31.Committee's report on age The Committee has studied
:28:32. > :28:35.the problem of loneliness and says it should be prioritised
:28:36. > :28:37.as a public health issue. Housing and Welfare Minister
:28:38. > :28:48.Margaret Burgess is responding A strong emphasis on technology.
:28:49. > :28:54.Sorry about that, it it is Marco Biaggi. Changing working patterns,
:28:55. > :29:01.social patterns, forms of interaction to change, as they
:29:02. > :29:06.always have over time. What we must do is adapt. We are together and
:29:07. > :29:11.that is good news, on the need to bring about greater community, it is
:29:12. > :29:16.a very helpful place to start. From the Parliament and MSPs to the
:29:17. > :29:20.passion shown by the people that contributed to the committee's
:29:21. > :29:25.report, to the evidence, to the public services, the communities and
:29:26. > :29:29.the goodwill of ordinary and extraordinary people trying to make
:29:30. > :29:32.a difference. There is already that collective sense of willingness,
:29:33. > :29:38.commitment and social obligation to tackle this issue. Leaders,
:29:39. > :29:42.organisations, communities and individuals want to work together to
:29:43. > :29:48.capitalise on what we already do that is good and also to learn from
:29:49. > :29:51.that and to share it more widely. I want to begin by outlining our
:29:52. > :29:57.strategic approach to the recommendations.
:29:58. > :30:04.We will endeavor to build this trend of work into all of our broader
:30:05. > :30:08.programme centre marks already in place, the purpose, objectives,
:30:09. > :30:11.national outcomes, overarching approach to public service reform,
:30:12. > :30:16.because we recognise the issues that have been raised here. This will
:30:17. > :30:19.also include the important roles of community printing partnerships in
:30:20. > :30:22.the health and social care partnerships that Margaret McCulloch
:30:23. > :30:29.highlighted. This is where you can really create and delete back in
:30:30. > :30:33.integrated approach, as with all the other partnerships are set up to
:30:34. > :30:39.tackle, that no one service can tackle on their own. And they have
:30:40. > :30:44.developed considerably in their efficacy over the years that they
:30:45. > :30:47.have been in place. We recognise to under the principles of the need to
:30:48. > :30:51.alter the balance of public services away from crisis interventions and
:30:52. > :30:55.into more preventative approaches and that is an article of faith
:30:56. > :31:01.around this Parliament now. I am glad again for that agreement.
:31:02. > :31:04.Tackling isolation before it leads to further harm is a perfect example
:31:05. > :31:10.of one of those forms of preventative action. We have around
:31:11. > :31:14.Scotland and ever clearer view of what works in public service design
:31:15. > :31:19.and delivery and the challenges ahead. Within all of our work, we
:31:20. > :31:23.will drive things forward through the Scottish approach. Working in
:31:24. > :31:26.partnership, rather than experts detached from lived experience
:31:27. > :31:31.dictating from on high. This approach itself sees the value in
:31:32. > :31:38.the relationships and the networks in the input of people, because
:31:39. > :31:42.these are the people who make up the communities. Health and the film and
:31:43. > :31:48.via an attachment with others to society, having the life of purpose.
:31:49. > :31:52.But that attachment also informs what we do and should inform good
:31:53. > :31:59.policymaking. The findings of the equal opportunity committee report
:32:00. > :32:03.will be submitted in the fairer Scotland discussions in the action
:32:04. > :32:06.plan. People with direct lived experience of various forms of
:32:07. > :32:11.exclusion are helping this Government shape the way we deal
:32:12. > :32:15.with social justice. This will be true for this literal form of
:32:16. > :32:19.exclusion, adjust as it is for financial exclusion or any other.
:32:20. > :32:22.The people who have lived of the challenges that we want to solve are
:32:23. > :32:28.the ones who are best placed to tell us the answers.
:32:29. > :32:34.Going through some of the main recommendations, there are several
:32:35. > :32:36.that jump out. One key one clearly is the national social isolation
:32:37. > :32:43.strategy integrated within all policy. Didn't change is needed for
:32:44. > :32:47.mean services to respond isolation have to be embedded in the approach
:32:48. > :32:51.in planning to a wide range of services, we completely agree, that
:32:52. > :32:56.includes health, education, housing, transport and so on. We want our
:32:57. > :33:02.social justice action plan to have that same broad region I believe
:33:03. > :33:07.that our forthcoming action plan can to fill that role through social
:33:08. > :33:11.connectedness. More on that announcement today on
:33:12. > :33:13.standardised testing in primary school.
:33:14. > :33:15.Our education correspondent Jamie McIvor was listening
:33:16. > :33:25.We're just back from these speech, Nicola Sturgeon talking to a major
:33:26. > :33:30.international conference on education in Glasgow. She used her
:33:31. > :33:33.to officially launch the Government's national improvement
:33:34. > :33:38.framework. It is claimed one of its top priorities in office right now
:33:39. > :33:42.is to close the attainment gap, checkout between how well youngsters
:33:43. > :33:46.from relatively rich and poor backgrounds do at school. But the
:33:47. > :33:49.key thing that was new today was the detail on the standardised
:33:50. > :33:54.assessments. Just to go over some of the detail we know already and what
:33:55. > :33:59.is new, youngsters would sit the tests, the assessments, four times
:34:00. > :34:03.in the course of their time at school, primary one, primary for an
:34:04. > :34:06.primary seven, and then in third year of secondary school. No one has
:34:07. > :34:11.ever pretended that these assessments by themselves were going
:34:12. > :34:14.to close the attainment gap or drive performances in schools. It was
:34:15. > :34:18.always the question of whether or not it would lead to better data
:34:19. > :34:22.being available to policymakers and the lake on what schemes are working
:34:23. > :34:27.and what we're not. With a view to that, the crucial issue is always
:34:28. > :34:32.going to be what data was going to be publicly available. The unions
:34:33. > :34:35.had feared a risk of raw test data being published. Leading to lead the
:34:36. > :34:39.tables and in turn leading to the risk of teaching to the test, as
:34:40. > :34:43.they put it, undermining the freedom that has come through curriculum for
:34:44. > :34:48.excellence. What is been said today is that it is not going to be the
:34:49. > :34:53.raw test data which goes online, which is easily publicly available.
:34:54. > :34:56.Instead, the figures online will show the number of pupils at a
:34:57. > :35:02.particular school, a particular council area, and indeed nationally,
:35:03. > :35:05.who are performing at the expected level in numeracy and literacy. That
:35:06. > :35:10.goes a long way to dealing with the concerns of the EIS was given a
:35:11. > :35:14.qualified welcome to this, because with the data that is now going to
:35:15. > :35:18.be available publicly, there are teacher judgment involved in that,
:35:19. > :35:22.so that deals a lot with the concern of going back to teaching to the
:35:23. > :35:27.test. So the stuff you mentioned about we will know in each cool
:35:28. > :35:34.water potion of children are at a certain level of attainment -- what
:35:35. > :35:40.proportion, is that on the testator? No, that is a crucial thing. The
:35:41. > :35:45.test will feed into that, but it is a wider assessment by teachers. The
:35:46. > :35:49.unions are going along with this? Presumably because it sounds like a
:35:50. > :35:53.fudge compared to what was originally proposed. Certainly it
:35:54. > :35:58.was the case that the main concern that the EIS union had was over the
:35:59. > :36:02.rest of the data being missed used if the wrong data was made publicly
:36:03. > :36:06.available. He always said they were sympathetic to the Government's
:36:07. > :36:09.aims, but always skeptical about whether standardised assessments
:36:10. > :36:13.were actually going to help or not. There can very much argued that the
:36:14. > :36:17.jury is out on whether or not the assessments are going to do any
:36:18. > :36:21.good. But is that major concerns that has been dealt with, it is fair
:36:22. > :36:24.to say the risk of a major confrontation between unions and
:36:25. > :36:28.Government over this is certainly receding. I'm sure there will be
:36:29. > :36:29.plenty of debate to be had about the format and detail of the
:36:30. > :36:31.assessments. Thank you for that. The Herald's Political Editor
:36:32. > :36:40.Magnus Gardham is my guest today. Not for the first time I am
:36:41. > :36:43.confused. Listening to Jamie and watching politicians that we talk to
:36:44. > :36:47.earlier, if someone said to me, what exactly is going to change with the
:36:48. > :36:51.new systems that was not there with the old system, I haven't got the
:36:52. > :36:55.faintest idea. Everyone seems to be reasonably satisfied with this. As a
:36:56. > :37:02.set of the star, this seems to be actually quite a sensible approach
:37:03. > :37:10.that the unions and cross party support will get behind, from the
:37:11. > :37:15.parents point of view, as Jamie said and I said earlier, schools will
:37:16. > :37:20.publish the percentage of pupils reaching the appropriate level in
:37:21. > :37:23.literacy in numeracy. Jimmy seemed to be suggesting that that would not
:37:24. > :37:33.be based on the raw data either. It will be based partly on the test
:37:34. > :37:36.results, but also, I presume, what teachers learn about kids before
:37:37. > :37:41.mins from other work that they do in the classroom.
:37:42. > :37:44.The one way I can see a new thing they could do with this is if the
:37:45. > :37:48.bureaucrats are going to look at the raw data, which they well, even if
:37:49. > :37:54.the information is not published, that would enable them to take to
:37:55. > :37:58.schools which have very similar intakes, one if which is doing well
:37:59. > :38:01.on the raw data, one of which is doing badly, and go in and sort out
:38:02. > :38:08.the about school. It would give the bureaucrats that. Yes, and at the
:38:09. > :38:12.very start of this, that was the impetus, the complaint was that
:38:13. > :38:16.there wasn't uniform information around the country that would allow
:38:17. > :38:21.that to happen. Or with any kind of confidence. It would be interesting
:38:22. > :38:24.to see whether the raw data... Now that the test are taking place more
:38:25. > :38:30.uniformly, it's going to be interesting to see whether the raw
:38:31. > :38:35.data is FOIA available, because if it is it would be possible to
:38:36. > :38:39.construct lee tables which are based on the tests rather than on the
:38:40. > :38:44.teacher's assessment. -- league table. For people who are not
:38:45. > :38:48.familiar with this, you're the education correspondent at the
:38:49. > :38:53.Herald, you put in that Freedom Of Information request for this, have
:38:54. > :38:56.the raw data from the test, and it would have to comply. It would be
:38:57. > :39:02.interesting to see if anybody undertakes that exercise. Is this
:39:03. > :39:10.the first, with elections coming up this is going to dominate, is this
:39:11. > :39:15.the first data? The test was backed no, is a kicking off an election
:39:16. > :39:19.campaign? No I don't think his kick it off, although Nicola Sturgeon in
:39:20. > :39:27.the big new year debate was teeing up the election with pains to put
:39:28. > :39:33.education front and centre. That is as she put it. But certainly, since
:39:34. > :39:37.Sunday, we have had lots of articles, set piece speeches, that
:39:38. > :39:42.debate at Holyrood yesterday which has set the election ball rolling,
:39:43. > :39:51.17 weeks ago I calculated earlier this week. Well-done! Still
:39:52. > :39:55.numerate. I'm not sure I could decline basic Latin verbs anymore!
:39:56. > :39:55.We will speak to you again in the moment.
:39:56. > :39:58.And now to the first PMQs of 2016, where the issue of floods
:39:59. > :40:01.Jeremy Corbyn attacked the Government for cancelling
:40:02. > :40:04.a flood scheme in Leeds and turning down applications to improve
:40:05. > :40:06.protection in York and Cumbria, which have been deluged
:40:07. > :40:09.But the Prime Minister defended his record on flood
:40:10. > :40:12.defences, saying his party had spent more on them than the previous
:40:13. > :40:13.Government, and taunted the opposition leader
:40:14. > :40:26.Mr Speaker, of course the rainfall was excessive, of course the liver
:40:27. > :40:30.for rivers were high, but the Prime Minister has still not answer the
:40:31. > :40:35.question on the lead's flood detection scheme. I given him an
:40:36. > :40:39.opportunity to do so in the moment. In 2014, Cumbria County Council
:40:40. > :40:42.applied for funding for new schemes in Keswick and Kendall, both were
:40:43. > :40:47.turned down. Both areas flooded again in the last he weeks. Does the
:40:48. > :40:51.Prime Minister believed that turning down those schemes was also a
:40:52. > :40:55.mistake? We are spending more on flood
:40:56. > :40:59.defence games and are stacking up a whole series of schemes that will
:41:00. > :41:04.spend more on. But let me make this point to him, if he's going to spend
:41:05. > :41:07.ten billions of pounds on re-nationalizing our railways, where
:41:08. > :41:13.is he going to find the money for flood defenses? The idea that this
:41:14. > :41:18.individual would be faster in responding to floods when it takes
:41:19. > :41:23.in three days to carry out a reshuffle is frankly laughable. Mr
:41:24. > :41:30.Speaker, since I walked into the chamber this morning, his Shadow
:41:31. > :41:34.Foreign Minister resigned, his shadow defence minister resign, he
:41:35. > :41:37.could not run anything. The health services default, but junior doctors
:41:38. > :41:43.in Scotland are not funny to strike week. Why does the Prime Minister
:41:44. > :41:47.think the Scottish Government has good relationships with junior
:41:48. > :41:52.doctors in his Government doesn't? And now for the Scottish play. He
:41:53. > :41:55.raises an important question. We have taken a different approach to
:41:56. > :41:59.the Government in Scotland. We have increased spending on the NHS by
:42:00. > :42:02.more than the Government in Scotland, which I think is the right
:42:03. > :42:07.approach. But we are determined to do with this issue of having a
:42:08. > :42:11.genuine seven date NHS, everybody knows, doctors know it, Patience
:42:12. > :42:15.Noah, the management at the NHS knows it, the BMA Nozick, that there
:42:16. > :42:20.is a problem with the NHS at the weekend and one of the way to
:42:21. > :42:23.correct that is to make sure that we have new contracts with junior
:42:24. > :42:29.doctors to make sure that they are not to work longer hours, in fact,
:42:30. > :42:33.many will work much less hours under our plans, not to reduce doctors'
:42:34. > :42:39.pay, no one who works legal hours will see a cut in their pay, indeed,
:42:40. > :42:43.75% of doctors will see a pay rise, so we think this is a good deal for
:42:44. > :42:48.a good advance of the NHS and I am sure in Scotland they will be
:42:49. > :42:51.looking at as well. Thank you, the Scottish Government has been
:42:52. > :42:55.investing record levels of funny in the NHS in Scotland and also works
:42:56. > :43:00.very hard to have the best possible relations with the doctors and
:43:01. > :43:03.nurses and all of the NHS staff. Will the English Health Secretary
:43:04. > :43:08.speak to his Scottish colic to learn how to resolve the situation in
:43:09. > :43:12.England and stave off strike action which no one wants to see, least of
:43:13. > :43:17.all junior doctors? -- Scottish colleagues. Or always be good
:43:18. > :43:23.relations and discussions between the Health Secretary in the United
:43:24. > :43:26.Kingdom in the United Kingdom Government and the default one. When
:43:27. > :43:32.we make a decision to increase funding in the NHS as we have done
:43:33. > :43:36.?19 billion more in this Parliament, that has consequences for Wales and
:43:37. > :43:42.Scotland and Northern Ireland under the Barnett formula and I find it
:43:43. > :43:45.very depressing that the Welsh have decided under Labour to spend less
:43:46. > :43:49.than we are planning to spend in Scotland has done the same thing. In
:43:50. > :43:54.light of last month's para climate agreement, in which call countries
:43:55. > :43:57.agree to increase our ambition and keep global warming well below 2
:43:58. > :44:07.degrees, just the Prime Minister agreed with must now urgently hit
:44:08. > :44:11.the reduction target low 1990 levels at the very least, a position which
:44:12. > :44:16.he argued for I like to say at the European Council? What we were...
:44:17. > :44:18.Let me join her in once again recognising that Paris was a big
:44:19. > :44:26.step forward, a very big step forward, because previous agreements
:44:27. > :44:29.did not have action by China or America. Now you have all the big
:44:30. > :44:33.hunters as part of the deal. We did argue that the EEG should go
:44:34. > :44:36.further, we achieved I think a very aggressive package for the EU, but
:44:37. > :44:41.that was the best we could do in the circumstances.
:44:42. > :44:50.I am guessing David Porter's New Year's resolution is to keep himself
:44:51. > :44:55.and his colleagues out of the rain. Is it going to plan so far? So far
:44:56. > :44:59.so good. The New Year's resolution is to get some more umbrellas. But
:45:00. > :45:10.we are not pointed needles today. He says hopefully! Joining me is three
:45:11. > :45:15.MPs. -- we will not need those today.
:45:16. > :45:21.We've had one resignation on Eric today from a member of the shadow
:45:22. > :45:25.ministry team, I could take it that you want to remain as the shadow
:45:26. > :45:30.Scottish secretary and you fully support your leader? Of course I do.
:45:31. > :45:34.I fully support the leader. The most disappointing thing from whatever
:45:35. > :45:37.side of the fence you sit on or whatever ideas you have or whatever
:45:38. > :45:40.opinions you have on this particular issue of the reshuffle, we've got
:45:41. > :45:44.away from talking about the real issues in Scotland. We had a great
:45:45. > :45:47.speech of the start of the hear from Kezia Dugdale on Tuesday that is
:45:48. > :45:50.going to give people a real start if they want to buy their first home
:45:51. > :45:57.and we are not talking about those policies. I think the Scottish
:45:58. > :46:00.public one is to get on with it, to get on with the public offering that
:46:01. > :46:04.we promised in the election, and get on with the shuffling. But it has
:46:05. > :46:09.not been the cleanest or most efficient of reshuffles. When Jeremy
:46:10. > :46:13.was first elected of the Labour Party said he wanted a broad church
:46:14. > :46:18.in his Cabinet, he has delivered that, he will have to deliver those,
:46:19. > :46:20.we are going through a policy process of the model where German
:46:21. > :46:23.wants to look at the policies, defence review is going on, there
:46:24. > :46:26.was always good to be different opinions in the bottom line here is
:46:27. > :46:30.that we just need to get on with the day jobs, work with the people that
:46:31. > :46:35.we has any around the Shadow Cabinet with this, and delivery for the
:46:36. > :46:41.people of Scotland. And holding this dreadful Tory government to the
:46:42. > :46:44.account. Which is our job. Presumably there is a part of you
:46:45. > :46:47.that is enjoying watching what is going on, but you will know from
:46:48. > :46:53.past reshuffles from whatever party, they never go to plan. Happy new
:46:54. > :46:59.year to you and all your viewers. I am delighted that the best Scottish
:47:00. > :47:02.Labour MP has retained the position of shadow Scottish secretary of
:47:03. > :47:07.state, I think he is the only Scottish Labour MP. The Scottish
:47:08. > :47:10.Conservatives and the Conservative Party of United Kingdom is the only
:47:11. > :47:15.party now that can stand up for the people of Scotland and ensure that
:47:16. > :47:21.Scottish interests are met within the United Kingdom. What we see
:47:22. > :47:25.David with is the farce, which is fast becoming Jeremy Corbyn's
:47:26. > :47:29.reshuffle, is the Labour Party is completely broken and it is sad to
:47:30. > :47:33.see Her Majesty's loyal opposition in the survey. Would pick up on that
:47:34. > :47:37.point. Without the crowing and political points caring, which all
:47:38. > :47:44.politicians are going to do. If an opposition party here at Westminster
:47:45. > :47:49.has problems with a reshuffle, is that good for the wider democracy?
:47:50. > :47:53.There is an issue here because you should have a good opposition, that
:47:54. > :47:57.is why the SNP are providing the only proper opposition to the
:47:58. > :48:01.Tories. Alberto is saying that the Government represents the people of
:48:02. > :48:09.Scotland and the people of Scotland beg to differ. They have the worst
:48:10. > :48:12.result since 1865 in Scotland. But there is a series issue here. The
:48:13. > :48:16.SNP is doing the job of holding the Government to attack the Lee mac
:48:17. > :48:19.account. We have a shovel from the Labour Party, but they need to get
:48:20. > :48:23.their act together and join us in opposing this dreadful Tory
:48:24. > :48:27.government. This coming year, there is a huge number of issues, we know
:48:28. > :48:32.Scotland is good to be very important, we know that Europe is
:48:33. > :48:34.going to be very important. What do you make of the Prime Minister's
:48:35. > :48:39.stating yesterday where he's going to allow his own Cabinet ministers
:48:40. > :48:45.to vote and campaign to stay in and others if they want to the campaign
:48:46. > :48:49.to get out? It is extraordinary, is at the? I would rather that we talk
:48:50. > :48:53.about that. We have a Prime Minister who cannot decide personally whether
:48:54. > :48:57.he wants to leave Europe or saying. He's not really sure what he's
:48:58. > :49:01.asking for, his own backbenchers saying he's not asking for very
:49:02. > :49:04.much, so will deliver very little. It is key that the UK stay in the
:49:05. > :49:08.European Union. We will be fighting that corner incredibly hard to make
:49:09. > :49:12.sure that the case on the positive case for staying within the European
:49:13. > :49:16.Union is put, put the give your Shadow Cabinet a free vote, it was
:49:17. > :49:19.only a few weeks ago you were criticising Jeremy Corbyn for giving
:49:20. > :49:23.his Shadow Cabinet if free vote in the guards to this area debate. So
:49:24. > :49:26.the Prime Minister is now giving his Shadow Cabinet if revote, but we all
:49:27. > :49:30.know why we are having a referendum on the UN the first place, because
:49:31. > :49:36.his party has demanded that Annie's trying to fix his party and on the
:49:37. > :49:41.divisions of Europe instead of putting the positive case. --
:49:42. > :49:46.European Union. That is sometimes what premises have to deal with.
:49:47. > :49:48.This is a Prime Minister saying to his Shadow Cabinet, you can have a
:49:49. > :49:52.free on your without telling what the terms of that vote will be,
:49:53. > :49:55.whether he will come back with the deal from the European Union, we
:49:56. > :49:59.don't know whether he will do that yet, he has not been ambitious about
:50:00. > :50:03.the deal he looking for. You do this by building allies, making sure that
:50:04. > :50:05.you are positive about the European Union and making sure that
:50:06. > :50:10.everything that it does is in the UK's best interest. That is what we
:50:11. > :50:12.want and will fight for. And a perfect world, David Cameron
:50:13. > :50:16.would've said to his Cabinet, this is the deal I forgot, you vote with
:50:17. > :50:21.it or you reside, I am certain of the characters. David Cameron has
:50:22. > :50:24.been very clear on the issue of where he stands in the EU. It's been
:50:25. > :50:30.very clear. He said that he will campaign to stay in the EE you, if
:50:31. > :50:37.you get the renegotiations that is aching. -- the EU. What we have term
:50:38. > :50:40.number and the viewers I am sure one sure memories this. If it wasn't for
:50:41. > :50:43.the British Conservative Party being elected for the whole of the United
:50:44. > :50:47.Kingdom, there would have been a referendum in the first place. We're
:50:48. > :50:51.the only party, the SNP didn't want one, Labour Party didn't want one,
:50:52. > :50:54.but I am I Conservative MP colleagues have voted to give you
:50:55. > :50:59.and all viewers the choice on whether the United Kingdom,
:51:00. > :51:04.Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England stays within the EU. I
:51:05. > :51:07.just want to nip the SNP's point in the bus, they talk about Scotland
:51:08. > :51:12.perhaps voting differently from England, I don't think it well in
:51:13. > :51:15.the referendum. But I don't recall when the Scottish referendum the
:51:16. > :51:19.people of Shetland are the people from Inverness Shire been given a
:51:20. > :51:23.veto to pull out of any independence, had the SNP won that
:51:24. > :51:27.particular event. I think we need to address that with the SNP Tom White
:51:28. > :51:31.is making this demand that they didn't give the people of Scotland.
:51:32. > :51:36.On the European referendum, there was a serious issue here, David
:51:37. > :51:39.Cameron cannot even convince his own Cabinet colleagues that he's going
:51:40. > :51:43.to get a good deal. He's giving them a Freeville before he has
:51:44. > :51:46.renegotiated, so they are hopelessly divided around the Cabinet table,
:51:47. > :51:51.almost as hopelessly divided as the Labour Party. That is a sad state of
:51:52. > :51:56.affairs when we are giving to the series has this to the benefit of
:51:57. > :52:01.jobs, cooperating with European partners as well, it is up pity that
:52:02. > :52:08.Alberta cannot put himself to tackle those issues. We could have a
:52:09. > :52:17.referendum on the EE you mac issue as soon as June, for the antigen. --
:52:18. > :52:20.EU. Are you worried that would suck the life out of the Scottish
:52:21. > :52:24.campaign? There are important elections at the start of the make
:52:25. > :52:31.in the United Kingdom, we want to see a good debate on the future of
:52:32. > :52:35.Europe. We had a good debate, both sides did, on the Scottish
:52:36. > :52:39.referendum, so we want full time to debate this front of them or
:52:40. > :52:42.something through. Should he go soon as he gets a deal in February or
:52:43. > :52:46.should he try and leave it till later in the year? You asked the
:52:47. > :52:52.question about the Scottish elections, let's be clear. Ruth
:52:53. > :52:55.Davidson are the only party in the May Scottish parliamentary elections
:52:56. > :52:59.that are talking about Scotland's best interest being served by being
:53:00. > :53:03.in the United Kingdom. Frankly, in respect of EE you mac, that one
:53:04. > :53:08.country that the SNP do not want, the British people will decide as
:53:09. > :53:12.one whether we stay in the EU or out and that is a separate question from
:53:13. > :53:17.the main Scottish parliamentary elections. Final question, are you
:53:18. > :53:24.worried that if you referendum is in June, it would overshadow what will
:53:25. > :53:28.happen in Holyrood? -- the EU. It does not look like it will be spoken
:53:29. > :53:31.of it it it is in June, I would prefer later on in the year or the
:53:32. > :53:37.later part of 2070, we want that proper debate about the SNP's
:53:38. > :53:42.dreadful record and Government, put eight positive platform to the
:53:43. > :53:46.Scottish people, we don't any of that should overshadow, we want
:53:47. > :53:48.Scotland to stand on its own for these parliamentary elections, the
:53:49. > :53:52.first with the new powers coming to Scottish Parliament. The thing that
:53:53. > :53:55.is the thing we should focus on. If it is at the indigent, we will have
:53:56. > :54:00.to do without. I would rather do with it later in the year. We will
:54:01. > :54:06.have to the leave it there. Thank you for joining us. Gordon, a new
:54:07. > :54:08.here, discussions of topics we have discussed in the past. So far, not a
:54:09. > :54:12.drop of rain in sight. We will return to some of the issues
:54:13. > :54:16.in a moment. The former Scottish First Minister
:54:17. > :54:18.Alex Salmond is to host a phone-in To promote the programme,
:54:19. > :54:22.the broadcaster has released a video showing Mr Salmond reading offensive
:54:23. > :54:24.tweets about himself. His show will go out live at 4pm
:54:25. > :54:35.every Wednesday starting next week. Who would pay ?51,000 for a portrait
:54:36. > :54:40.of Alex Salmond? I can think of only one person. It was 51,000 500. And
:54:41. > :55:03.I've got lots of relatives. I actually like plain chocolate
:55:04. > :55:15.bounty myself. Time for some final thoughts
:55:16. > :55:24.from Magnus Gardham. I think of fibre Jeremy Corbyn, and
:55:25. > :55:27.really up against and wanted some resounding support, I don't think
:55:28. > :55:32.there would be phoning Ian Murray at the top of my list. No, the
:55:33. > :55:37.reshuffle, you have to say, bears all the hallmarks of an utter
:55:38. > :55:41.shambles. If you actually look at the change to the Shadow Cabinet,
:55:42. > :55:47.they are pretty minor. Maria Eagle has left defence, replaced by Emily
:55:48. > :55:54.Thornberry, Maria Eagle has replaced Michael Joubert at the culture. So
:55:55. > :56:00.in terms of Jeremy Corbyn's top team, it is really quite small. It
:56:01. > :56:06.gets them out of a potential Trident problem. Yes, that is the main
:56:07. > :56:11.advantage from his point of view. He is clearly not sought what is it we
:56:12. > :56:15.have to start calling the problem of Hilary Benn, it is not clear whether
:56:16. > :56:20.Hilary Benn is muzzled as John McDonnell... We should tell people
:56:21. > :56:25.who have not folders, John said this morning I'm he's only keeping his
:56:26. > :56:28.job because he is greeted not to agree to not disagree with Jeremy
:56:29. > :56:32.Corbyn on later issues. And then Hilary Benn and merged and said I am
:56:33. > :56:38.going to do exactly what I was doing before. That is not clear and
:56:39. > :56:45.behind-the-scenes, if you look at how Michael Joubert has reacted, it
:56:46. > :56:48.tells a story about bitter infighting, almost a civil war now
:56:49. > :56:55.within the parliamentary Labour Party. As we have just seen there,
:56:56. > :57:03.the Labour's opponents are having an absolute field day. It is very hard
:57:04. > :57:10.to argue with their criticisms. That Labour is hopelessly divided and
:57:11. > :57:14.really struggling to put itself in the position to oppose the Tories
:57:15. > :57:19.effectively. You could hear the frustration in his voice there. I
:57:20. > :57:22.guess the subtext is this is he's biggie, look, we have an election
:57:23. > :57:28.coming up in a few months. What is going on? This is not what we want
:57:29. > :57:35.Labour to be talking about. It was interesting yesterday seeing Kezia
:57:36. > :57:39.Dugdale make a speech and unveiling Labour's first election pledge about
:57:40. > :57:49.support for first-time buyers. There was a real display their of unity.
:57:50. > :57:51.All MSPs from all sections of the Scottish Labour party were there,
:57:52. > :57:58.they were all very much in agreement and Scottish Labour is starting to
:57:59. > :58:03.look like a model of unity and single-minded purpose compared to
:58:04. > :58:07.their colleagues at Westminster. What about the Tories appear? They
:58:08. > :58:13.have bigger ambitions, they would love it to be later, when they? It
:58:14. > :58:19.is a big ambition if you are to come second. -- they would love to be
:58:20. > :58:23.Labour, wouldn't they? Ruth Davidson's speech yesterday in
:58:24. > :58:27.Holyrood was interesting because she deserved most of her anger for
:58:28. > :58:33.Labour, who she said over the past nine years have been absolutely
:58:34. > :58:38.hopeless opposition at Holyrood and voters, give us the chance to
:58:39. > :58:44.replace them. I think limiting your ambition to a certain extent you
:58:45. > :58:45.could say, but nevertheless, that is what is in her sights. We will have
:58:46. > :58:46.to leave it there. That's all we have time
:58:47. > :58:48.for this afternoon. But if you haven't had your fill
:58:49. > :58:51.of politics yet, highlights from Scottish Questions
:58:52. > :58:53.at Westminster are coming up next. I'll be back with Sunday Politics
:58:54. > :58:56.this weekend at 11. On form, on target
:58:57. > :59:17.and eager for silverware... MUSIC: Get Your Fight On
:59:18. > :59:22.by The Prodigy ..it's a battle to savour next
:59:23. > :59:26.Saturday as Hearts face Aberdeen