06/01/2016 Politics Scotland

Good afternoon and a Happy New Year from all of us at Politics Scotland.

The First Minister announces the introduction of standardised

And Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reshuffles his frontbench team,

Here at Westminster: MPs return to the Commons,

as the fallout from that reshuffle continues.

The First Minister has announced details on how standardised testing

will be introduced in Scotland's primary schools.

Some critics have raised concerns that the results could be used

to draw up "league tables" for primary schools.

Our political correspondent Andrew Kerr is at the Scottish

What did she have to say? Good afternoon. The First Minister was

speaking at a conference for teachers in Glasgow a short time

ago, she just finished half an hour ago. At the centre of this is they

are trying to close the attainment gap between well off and poorer

children so the tests have been introduced to target children and

Key stages during their education. Aaron Rai one, four, seven and

secondary three. -- primary one. They will be national in 2017 and

tested in 2016. It is to gauge the effectiveness of a child's work to

inform their teacher and parent how well the tiled is doing so their

education can be specifically tailored to them. -- the child. The

Liberal Democrats have said it will mean teachers will teach to the

tests and Labour have said today there is less to this than meets the

eye and they are criticising the Scottish government for they say

cutting local authority budgets but the Scottish Conservatives have

welcomed it and said national testing is an important part of

trying to see a child's progress and effectiveness at school. That is

what we have seen, becoming national in 2017. An interesting development

in education as the First Minister attempts to target that attainment

gap. Thank you.

My guest for the day is the Herald's Political Editor,

What you think of this? As I understand, there is a budget. They

will not publish the raw data, it is going to be the data wrapped up in a

form of teacher assessment. They are going to publish how the teachers

say the children are getting on. League tables will be derived from

information based on how the teachers assess the children based

on the new standardised test. From the point of view of parents, they

will be happy because these will be boiled down into league tables and

they will give the proportion of children reaching the appropriate

levels in new Morrissey and literacy at those certain stages throughout

their early school create -- new Morrissey. They are not publishing

raw test data, it is not like five-year-olds are subjected to a

competitive examination system like hires. So in that five -- in that

sense, unions will be more content than they would have been although

it does open up the possibility of league tables which the unions in

principle are opposed to, they do not like school is being compared,

they think that dangerous and damaging. The other thing is, it

seems to fly in the face of the whole ethos of Curriculum for

Excellence. That was supposed to be the next big thing in Scottish

schools. It is interesting, during her speech, Nicola Sturgeon was at

pains to insist that would not be the case. She said there would be no

narrowing of the curriculum. That is one of the sensitive areas we have

to look at as this system is rolled out in pilots next year and across

the country. The danger is not only can the school test be created into

meaningless, the concept of the Curriculum for Excellence can also.

There is a danger of unintended consequences and distorting

Curriculum for Excellence which has taken a decade to get up and

running. And there are still questions about it so interesting to

see how that plays out. Back with you later is.

The Finance Secretary has defended a 6% funding cut

to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

John Swinney says its flood forecasting resources have been

He was responding to Labour's calls for reviews into both the cut,

and the Scottish Government's national flood strategy.

Mr Swinney was updating MSPs yesterday on the government's

response to the flooding so far, when he also announced

there would be more funding for councils.

The recent flood risk strategy set out an agenda for future flood risk

management to target investment and coordinate actions across public

bodies. It explained what causes flooding in high-risk areas and the

impact. It is used as an impact for a basis of better decision-making

and supporting action such as blood and action schemes and flood warning

schemes. I am aware the Minister has visited

the upper Deeside area and seen the conditions that have prevailed.

Would he be able to tell me what support the government can offer to

the local authority and individuals who have been seriously hit by this

flooding damage? On the two specific areas of assistance, I have

activated the Berlin scheme which establishes a threshold that local

thresholds are expected to provide to do with emergency situations of

this type and any cost beyond that is met by the government and I have

encouraged Aberdeenshire Council to submit an application for financial

support. Under the budget statement in December, and made available

support to councils because of the impact of recent storm incidents.

Intend to make a further financial allocation in which I would expect

Aberdeenshire Council to leave council taxpayers of council tax

bills, business ratepayers of their bills and to contribute to some of

the regeneration that will be clearly required to recover the

situation in Deeside. One feature of the devastation in

upper Deeside is serious damage to be a 93 trunk Rd, can the Minister

say if there is any prospect of that damage being rectified in the near

future and that costs will be covered by the Scottish government?

-- A93. It cannot be utilised in relation to providing a route from

Braemar to Aberdeen, that is unsatisfactory and we have two

resolve that quickly. We are taking forward discussions with

Aberdeenshire Council on how the steps are taken to ensure that this

rectified. Across South Scotland and my region, many communities have

been affected by the floods recently and in previous years. On November

the 5th last year, my colleague Graeme Pearson as to the Minister

about this area and she told the chamber, to reassure the member, it

is now part and parcel of the National risk management planning

process and it will be considered accordingly. This is no reassurance

to my constituents and those of Graeme Pearson my colleague who

found themselves yet again devastated by floods. I ask the

Cabinet Secretary today, will he will again at the budget in view of

the responsibilities of flooding and the cuts made by the Scottish

government and will he also consider a review which Scottish Labour is

calling for today and has done? My colleague has also called for flood

strategy by the Scottish government working with all local authorities

across my region and more widely in Scotland.

I am a bit surprised by the line of argument she has just taken because

I know she takes a keen and acute interest in these issues so I am a

bit surprised at the line of argument she has taken today. The

first thing I would say is that sleeper have no responsibility for

flood protection measures, none whatsoever. They have a

responsibility for the flood warning system which is fully and entirely

funded by the government and which is protected, protected 100 sent by

my budget settlement in December. It is facing a 6.8% reduction in its

budget because I have to require public authorities across-the-board

to contribute towards the financial challenge we have to make. It is up

to Scottish Labour if they wish to change my budget and we have heard

so much from Scottish Labour about this question that I will expect

Scottish Labour to rectify that reduction in the budget that they

have been going on about. Parliament in 2009 passed the flood risk

management Scotland act which required us to do the groundwork

which is why I am so surprised that the question. The ground work of

establishing flood risk management strategies across the Scott --

across the country of which we have 14. They have generated the

suggestions and propositions of 42 formal flood protection schemes

costing ?235 billion and I have made provision within the budget for that

to be delivered as part of my commitment to the local gunman to

finance settlement. So I would have thought instead of having another

review, we should implement these flood risk management strategies

# Government. If that was an all-out attack by the opposition, with them

pussyfooting around, he just brush that away. Yes, it was not an

all-out attack. There is a good reason. There is not really a lot of

blame you can lay at the Scottish government's door. These are

extraordinary floods. I was going to say it is an extraordinary event.

The big question is, is what we are witnessing this winter the new norm?

We have been told for more than a decade global warming will result in

wetter and warmer winters and this has been a very wet and a very warm

winter. I think it calls for a review, that is sensible in the

light of that question, is this the new norm? That is the problem, even

when you get several, we have had mild winters in a row. We had

extremely cold winters and the problem was ice on the roads and the

rest of it. It is distinguishing between climate and weather, it is

difficult. I am not quite sure when we would have a run of data. You

could say let's spend billions protecting these places against it.

Against bigger floods. But that might be it might never happen. It

is difficult. People talk about once in 200 years. That might have been

correct 200 years ago, we simply not sure. In the meantime, as John

Swinney says, but prevention plans are working. -- flood prevention. We

are not hearing now about areas which should have been better

protected and were not. It is unexpected places. Like Perth, flood

protection schemes here have been put in place and they seem to have

worked. Those places prone to flooding have not flooded this time.

You are right to spot the attacks on the Scottish government was

something rather less than attacks. All right.

To the chamber at Holyrood now, where members are debating a report

on age and social isolation from the Parliament's Equal Opportunities

The cross-party group of MSPs says that loneliness is "as damaging

to Scots' health as poverty and poor housing".

It's called for the government to prioritise loneliness

and isolation as a public health issue.

The Committee Convenor, Labour's Margaret McCulloch,

For these people, loneliness was a long-term issue that had no end in

sight. They also had to content with the stigma of loneliness, they were

ashamed to admit their situation and had lost the confidence to do

anything about it. Many reported to health services, GPs and Accident

and Emergency departments, when professionals knew the underlying

problem was loneliness. There were so many important things we

discovered about people's experiences at what I would really

like to say before I move onto the detail and what anyone should

remember about this topic is that it has terrible facts, extended

loneliness. Have to stand together and say it is not all right for

anyone to suffer this kind of isolation, no matter what their age.

We must acknowledge the impact it has on communities and on health and

social services. It was Jean Keller of West Lothian Council who

explained how important it is to think about how services are

provided. She said, when systems break down in such a way we

disconnect from others, when my circumstances, longer, we might lose

people we are close to, and we need to respond to that in a human way

rather than stigmatise people and further isolate them by treating

them as if something was wrong with them as individuals. All the

agencies and Health and Social Care Act partnerships around the country

need to be responsive to that and to consider the structures of how we

deliver services. How we make contact with people and how we speak

to them on an individual basis. That is very important for keeping our

communities connected. And I cannot enough some of the health

consequences of spending time alone without contact. We took very

seriously aged Scotland's point that the need for contact is an innate

human need in the same way feeling hungry or thirsty or tired or in

pain is. And the health consequences for people shocking. Research has

found just over 10% of over 65 is often always lonely. But that figure

rising to 50% for the over 80 age group. Research has also found just

over 10% of over 65s are at risk of malnourishment. I am grateful. She

has mentioned stigma and how widespread this is. Does she agree

this is a very widespread problem and it is quite common across

Scotland and we need to take it very seriously? Yes, I totally agree with

the member, it is widespread, all over Scotland and all age groups.

But food train does not think this is a coincidence that the same

number of older people are affected by money Trisha and loneliness and

the experience -- in experience, they are interlinked they can be

successfully tackled together. We also heard from the Institute for

innovation and research that people who lonely are more likely to have

health issues such as high blood pressure, poor sleep and depression.

For older people, that our programming is between loneliness

and poor health including dementia -- there are connections. And they

are twice as likely to die prematurely. There are poor choices

as inactivity, smoking, alcohol use and poor diet. The Health and Social

Care Act Alliance also said those who experienced loneliness are more

like you to visit a GP, have high use of medication and a higher

incidents of balls, undergo early entry into presidential and nursery

care and use Accident and Emergency services -- falls. I have mentioned

the commitment to tackling loneliness and this is so important

because rather than hearing everybody ignored the issue or did

not believe it was important, we heard about many initiatives. But we

felt even more could be done because of the projects and services and

because they told us many people were not reached for a variety of

reasons. Well, as the Scottish Parliament

springs back into life at the start of this election year,

we're joined by a trio of MSPs. The Conservatives' Liz Smith -

from the SNP, Stewart Maxwell, Let's talk about this testing in

schools. Nicola Sturgeon has just announced it. If we are not going to

publish the result of the test, what is the point of having it? The

National government framework is to assist teachers and to make sure

they can judge the performance of pupils and help that judgment so

they can target their efforts to improve attainment. The purpose of

this is not to publish raw data why not? We are not interested in crude

league tables. One argument you had, that Nicola Sturgeon had. The tests,

is while local authorities do tests at the moment, they do not conform

across the country. That is right. If you do not publish the data, how

do you get around that problem and how do you know they are now

conforming? The data will be available to teachers and

headteachers in schools, local authorities and the Scottish

government. Parents? Of course. It will be available to parents? No,

the judgment of teachers. The raw data will be available to teachers

and bureaucrats but not to parents? What will be given to parents and

everybody else, published nationally, is the information

required to make those judgments and that will be the assessment of

teachers, the professional judgment, informed by the standardised

assessments across the country. That will improve the system, not create

a nasty little crude league table competition. This is about helping

pupils and making sure we approve attainment as well as closing the

attainment gap and that is what the National Improvement Framework will

do. So the raw data will be available to teachers and

bureaucrats, but will not be available to parents? Parents will

be able to talk to teachers in the normal way. Will the raw data be

given... If I say, how is my child is doing? The teacher will respond

to that question using the data from the work done including the

standardised assessments. And the judgment of the teacher. You said

the raw data from the tests. That is not being tested. Will it be

available to parrots? It is not publish, that is what I have said.

It will be used as part of the standardised assessment teachers

will take and they will use that to perform the most important job. They

opt -- they are the professionals and they must base judgment on a

wider range of measures. They will use that information to inform

parents of how their child is doing in school and I think that is the

best way to do it, not use one measure but all the measures and

professional judgment of teachers. The Conservatives were broadly in

favour of these tests. Do you agree with the idea you're a crack and

teachers should have access to the parents of the tutoring -- children

should not? -- bureaucrats. No, I do not, it is important information is

available to teachers, parents and the wider public. Not in Raul league

tables. He is correct when he says this is about professional teaching.

One reason testing is part of the crucial issue about is to ensure we

have consistency across the board and the only way to measure that is

if some better information is available. I would argue strongly

this is about better quality testing and not more testing. It is

essential that information is to hand. But if the published

information is a teacher's assessment, somehow by some unknown

process, that does not give a way of judging whether schools for example

with the same intake perform better or worse because it always has this

subject a bit of the teacher's assessment. I do not think that is

what is intended and what teachers want, they want to be absolutely

clear they have the professional standards and the information which

we have been told in this Parliament is not produced in a consistent

manner, that is what has to happen and the most important league table

and result is what happens in any school every year. That is what a

parent wants to know and that information should be available. One

thing that is clear is however you judge it, it runs completely against

the ethos of Curriculum for Excellence which is supposedly the

great evening in Scottish egg education. I do not think so. --

great thing in Scottish education. It is exactly the Curriculum for

Excellence level assessment which is already available. The problem is

that Nicola Sturgeon and her ministers have suggested they were

doing something different which they are not. These tests referred to in

the framework already happening in every school in Scotland and the

only difference is they will be replaced by tests produced in

Scotland instead of being bought in from elsewhere. There is no new

data, it is the assessment level for Curriculum for Excellence. The

problem is the First Minister has raised an expectation in some

quarters including perhaps the Scottish Conservatives that they

were doing something which the truth is they never were. So you say

nothing really changes? No, I do not think it does. Instead of every

local authority deciding where they will buy diagnostic testing for

teachers to use, they will all use the same tests. That is the key

change. Even that has now this appeared into next year at the very

least. The working group is looking at it. Your question about what

information is available to parents, I do not agree no doubt yet. Perhaps

Stuart Maxwell can tell us. The information available to parents and

everybody will be provided through the Curriculum for Excellence. You

will be informed, as I was when my daughter was going through school,

how she is performing in each area of her work. She will be checked

against those assessments and they will determine if she is performing

at, above or below the level expected and what work is being done

to help her. That is helping parents be informed. That will go on and it

will be added to by having the standardised assessment across the

country in all areas to take is roughly at the same time and

throughout the year. That is important rather than having a mixed

situation with different tests at different times and in different

years. This is a much schmo standardised system. -- much more. I

am sure your daughter is exceptionally talented, but let's

say young Johnny, somebody else's child, does badly in reading and

writing in the test but the teacher thinks they have a lot of potential.

What does the parents get told? They are doing really well in some

subjective sense that I think of, or they have done really badly in the

tests? What is the parents told? The parent will begin in the information

through the Curriculum for Excellence framework divided all

parents. They will not be told young Johnny is doing badly in the tests?

They will be told how that individual is doing, if they are

performing at the expected level, above or below it. And the

surrounding context within the classroom of how they are doing. It

is important you have a fully rounded picture of the child and how

they are doing at various stages throughout their school career

rather than the situation which is slightly uneven at the moment, where

some local authorities do it and some do different things and at

different times of the year. Having a national and local picture allows

us to raise attainment and close the attainment gap which we all support

and want to see happen. A lot of parents watching will say, I am big

enough and ugly enough, can you not to tell me how my child did in these

tests? Tell me about a teacher assessment by all means which might

brighten my day but I want the hard information. Why can I not know

that? All teachers will want to give that information to parents. Parents

certainly have a right to know. Let's not forget why this is

happening, it is because Scotland has not read performing as well as

it should have in basic literacy and numerous, especially in the top

years of primary school. We have had declining standards which is not

acceptable to anybody. We have to finish. The idea of transparency and

information made available publicly was pioneered by Tony Blair in

England. Why after three Labour governments can we still not do it

in Scotland? The First Minister has said she is trying to avoid

high-stakes testing which Scottish Labour he got rid of ten years ago.

I am not sure that is entirely true. I agree with Liz, parents are in

title to the information about their own child. I think perhaps it would

be the case in spite of what Stuart says, that will happen. The truth

is, if we want to close the attainment that, no framework will

ever do that. Adequate resources directly targeted will do that. We

have a government cutting school and education budgets and while that

happens, no matter how many frameworks we have got, we will not

close that attainment gap and no matter how much information we have,

it will simply tell us that gap is still present. Thank you very much.

We have to leave it. Back to the chamber now

for more of that debate on the Equal Opportunities

Committee's report on age The Committee has studied

the problem of loneliness and says it should be prioritised

as a public health issue. Housing and Welfare Minister

Margaret Burgess is responding A strong emphasis on technology.

Sorry about that, it it is Marco Biaggi. Changing working patterns,

social patterns, forms of interaction to change, as they

always have over time. What we must do is adapt. We are together and

that is good news, on the need to bring about greater community, it is

a very helpful place to start. From the Parliament and MSPs to the

passion shown by the people that contributed to the committee's

report, to the evidence, to the public services, the communities and

the goodwill of ordinary and extraordinary people trying to make

a difference. There is already that collective sense of willingness,

commitment and social obligation to tackle this issue. Leaders,

organisations, communities and individuals want to work together to

capitalise on what we already do that is good and also to learn from

that and to share it more widely. I want to begin by outlining our

strategic approach to the recommendations.

We will endeavor to build this trend of work into all of our broader

programme centre marks already in place, the purpose, objectives,

national outcomes, overarching approach to public service reform,

because we recognise the issues that have been raised here. This will

also include the important roles of community printing partnerships in

the health and social care partnerships that Margaret McCulloch

highlighted. This is where you can really create and delete back in

integrated approach, as with all the other partnerships are set up to

tackle, that no one service can tackle on their own. And they have

developed considerably in their efficacy over the years that they

have been in place. We recognise to under the principles of the need to

alter the balance of public services away from crisis interventions and

into more preventative approaches and that is an article of faith

around this Parliament now. I am glad again for that agreement.

Tackling isolation before it leads to further harm is a perfect example

of one of those forms of preventative action. We have around

Scotland and ever clearer view of what works in public service design

and delivery and the challenges ahead. Within all of our work, we

will drive things forward through the Scottish approach. Working in

partnership, rather than experts detached from lived experience

dictating from on high. This approach itself sees the value in

the relationships and the networks in the input of people, because

these are the people who make up the communities. Health and the film and

via an attachment with others to society, having the life of purpose.

But that attachment also informs what we do and should inform good

policymaking. The findings of the equal opportunity committee report

will be submitted in the fairer Scotland discussions in the action

plan. People with direct lived experience of various forms of

exclusion are helping this Government shape the way we deal

with social justice. This will be true for this literal form of

exclusion, adjust as it is for financial exclusion or any other.

The people who have lived of the challenges that we want to solve are

the ones who are best placed to tell us the answers.

Going through some of the main recommendations, there are several

that jump out. One key one clearly is the national social isolation

strategy integrated within all policy. Didn't change is needed for

mean services to respond isolation have to be embedded in the approach

in planning to a wide range of services, we completely agree, that

includes health, education, housing, transport and so on. We want our

social justice action plan to have that same broad region I believe

that our forthcoming action plan can to fill that role through social

connectedness. More on that announcement today on

standardised testing in primary school.

Our education correspondent Jamie McIvor was listening

We're just back from these speech, Nicola Sturgeon talking to a major

international conference on education in Glasgow. She used her

to officially launch the Government's national improvement

framework. It is claimed one of its top priorities in office right now

is to close the attainment gap, checkout between how well youngsters

from relatively rich and poor backgrounds do at school. But the

key thing that was new today was the detail on the standardised

assessments. Just to go over some of the detail we know already and what

is new, youngsters would sit the tests, the assessments, four times

in the course of their time at school, primary one, primary for an

primary seven, and then in third year of secondary school. No one has

ever pretended that these assessments by themselves were going

to close the attainment gap or drive performances in schools. It was

always the question of whether or not it would lead to better data

being available to policymakers and the lake on what schemes are working

and what we're not. With a view to that, the crucial issue is always

going to be what data was going to be publicly available. The unions

had feared a risk of raw test data being published. Leading to lead the

tables and in turn leading to the risk of teaching to the test, as

they put it, undermining the freedom that has come through curriculum for

excellence. What is been said today is that it is not going to be the

raw test data which goes online, which is easily publicly available.

Instead, the figures online will show the number of pupils at a

particular school, a particular council area, and indeed nationally,

who are performing at the expected level in numeracy and literacy. That

goes a long way to dealing with the concerns of the EIS was given a

qualified welcome to this, because with the data that is now going to

be available publicly, there are teacher judgment involved in that,

so that deals a lot with the concern of going back to teaching to the

test. So the stuff you mentioned about we will know in each cool

water potion of children are at a certain level of attainment -- what

proportion, is that on the testator? No, that is a crucial thing. The

test will feed into that, but it is a wider assessment by teachers. The

unions are going along with this? Presumably because it sounds like a

fudge compared to what was originally proposed. Certainly it

was the case that the main concern that the EIS union had was over the

rest of the data being missed used if the wrong data was made publicly

available. He always said they were sympathetic to the Government's

aims, but always skeptical about whether standardised assessments

were actually going to help or not. There can very much argued that the

jury is out on whether or not the assessments are going to do any

good. But is that major concerns that has been dealt with, it is fair

to say the risk of a major confrontation between unions and

Government over this is certainly receding. I'm sure there will be

plenty of debate to be had about the format and detail of the

assessments. Thank you for that. The Herald's Political Editor

Magnus Gardham is my guest today. Not for the first time I am

confused. Listening to Jamie and watching politicians that we talk to

earlier, if someone said to me, what exactly is going to change with the

new systems that was not there with the old system, I haven't got the

faintest idea. Everyone seems to be reasonably satisfied with this. As a

set of the star, this seems to be actually quite a sensible approach

that the unions and cross party support will get behind, from the

parents point of view, as Jamie said and I said earlier, schools will

publish the percentage of pupils reaching the appropriate level in

literacy in numeracy. Jimmy seemed to be suggesting that that would not

be based on the raw data either. It will be based partly on the test

results, but also, I presume, what teachers learn about kids before

mins from other work that they do in the classroom.

The one way I can see a new thing they could do with this is if the

bureaucrats are going to look at the raw data, which they well, even if

the information is not published, that would enable them to take to

schools which have very similar intakes, one if which is doing well

on the raw data, one of which is doing badly, and go in and sort out

the about school. It would give the bureaucrats that. Yes, and at the

very start of this, that was the impetus, the complaint was that

there wasn't uniform information around the country that would allow

that to happen. Or with any kind of confidence. It would be interesting

to see whether the raw data... Now that the test are taking place more

uniformly, it's going to be interesting to see whether the raw

data is FOIA available, because if it is it would be possible to

construct lee tables which are based on the tests rather than on the

teacher's assessment. -- league table. For people who are not

familiar with this, you're the education correspondent at the

Herald, you put in that Freedom Of Information request for this, have

the raw data from the test, and it would have to comply. It would be

interesting to see if anybody undertakes that exercise. Is this

the first, with elections coming up this is going to dominate, is this

the first data? The test was backed no, is a kicking off an election

campaign? No I don't think his kick it off, although Nicola Sturgeon in

the big new year debate was teeing up the election with pains to put

education front and centre. That is as she put it. But certainly, since

Sunday, we have had lots of articles, set piece speeches, that

debate at Holyrood yesterday which has set the election ball rolling,

17 weeks ago I calculated earlier this week. Well-done! Still

numerate. I'm not sure I could decline basic Latin verbs anymore!

We will speak to you again in the moment.

And now to the first PMQs of 2016, where the issue of floods

Jeremy Corbyn attacked the Government for cancelling

a flood scheme in Leeds and turning down applications to improve

protection in York and Cumbria, which have been deluged

But the Prime Minister defended his record on flood

defences, saying his party had spent more on them than the previous

Government, and taunted the opposition leader

Mr Speaker, of course the rainfall was excessive, of course the liver

for rivers were high, but the Prime Minister has still not answer the

question on the lead's flood detection scheme. I given him an

opportunity to do so in the moment. In 2014, Cumbria County Council

applied for funding for new schemes in Keswick and Kendall, both were

turned down. Both areas flooded again in the last he weeks. Does the

Prime Minister believed that turning down those schemes was also a

mistake? We are spending more on flood

defence games and are stacking up a whole series of schemes that will

spend more on. But let me make this point to him, if he's going to spend

ten billions of pounds on re-nationalizing our railways, where

is he going to find the money for flood defenses? The idea that this

individual would be faster in responding to floods when it takes

in three days to carry out a reshuffle is frankly laughable. Mr

Speaker, since I walked into the chamber this morning, his Shadow

Foreign Minister resigned, his shadow defence minister resign, he

could not run anything. The health services default, but junior doctors

in Scotland are not funny to strike week. Why does the Prime Minister

think the Scottish Government has good relationships with junior

doctors in his Government doesn't? And now for the Scottish play. He

raises an important question. We have taken a different approach to

the Government in Scotland. We have increased spending on the NHS by

more than the Government in Scotland, which I think is the right

approach. But we are determined to do with this issue of having a

genuine seven date NHS, everybody knows, doctors know it, Patience

Noah, the management at the NHS knows it, the BMA Nozick, that there

is a problem with the NHS at the weekend and one of the way to

correct that is to make sure that we have new contracts with junior

doctors to make sure that they are not to work longer hours, in fact,

many will work much less hours under our plans, not to reduce doctors'

pay, no one who works legal hours will see a cut in their pay, indeed,

75% of doctors will see a pay rise, so we think this is a good deal for

a good advance of the NHS and I am sure in Scotland they will be

looking at as well. Thank you, the Scottish Government has been

investing record levels of funny in the NHS in Scotland and also works

very hard to have the best possible relations with the doctors and

nurses and all of the NHS staff. Will the English Health Secretary

speak to his Scottish colic to learn how to resolve the situation in

England and stave off strike action which no one wants to see, least of

all junior doctors? -- Scottish colleagues. Or always be good

relations and discussions between the Health Secretary in the United

Kingdom in the United Kingdom Government and the default one. When

we make a decision to increase funding in the NHS as we have done

?19 billion more in this Parliament, that has consequences for Wales and

Scotland and Northern Ireland under the Barnett formula and I find it

very depressing that the Welsh have decided under Labour to spend less

than we are planning to spend in Scotland has done the same thing. In

light of last month's para climate agreement, in which call countries

agree to increase our ambition and keep global warming well below 2

degrees, just the Prime Minister agreed with must now urgently hit

the reduction target low 1990 levels at the very least, a position which

he argued for I like to say at the European Council? What we were...

Let me join her in once again recognising that Paris was a big

step forward, a very big step forward, because previous agreements

did not have action by China or America. Now you have all the big

hunters as part of the deal. We did argue that the EEG should go

further, we achieved I think a very aggressive package for the EU, but

that was the best we could do in the circumstances.

I am guessing David Porter's New Year's resolution is to keep himself

and his colleagues out of the rain. Is it going to plan so far? So far

so good. The New Year's resolution is to get some more umbrellas. But

we are not pointed needles today. He says hopefully! Joining me is three

MPs. -- we will not need those today.

We've had one resignation on Eric today from a member of the shadow

ministry team, I could take it that you want to remain as the shadow

Scottish secretary and you fully support your leader? Of course I do.

I fully support the leader. The most disappointing thing from whatever

side of the fence you sit on or whatever ideas you have or whatever

opinions you have on this particular issue of the reshuffle, we've got

away from talking about the real issues in Scotland. We had a great

speech of the start of the hear from Kezia Dugdale on Tuesday that is

going to give people a real start if they want to buy their first home

and we are not talking about those policies. I think the Scottish

public one is to get on with it, to get on with the public offering that

we promised in the election, and get on with the shuffling. But it has

not been the cleanest or most efficient of reshuffles. When Jeremy

was first elected of the Labour Party said he wanted a broad church

in his Cabinet, he has delivered that, he will have to deliver those,

we are going through a policy process of the model where German

wants to look at the policies, defence review is going on, there

was always good to be different opinions in the bottom line here is

that we just need to get on with the day jobs, work with the people that

we has any around the Shadow Cabinet with this, and delivery for the

people of Scotland. And holding this dreadful Tory government to the

account. Which is our job. Presumably there is a part of you

that is enjoying watching what is going on, but you will know from

past reshuffles from whatever party, they never go to plan. Happy new

year to you and all your viewers. I am delighted that the best Scottish

Labour MP has retained the position of shadow Scottish secretary of

state, I think he is the only Scottish Labour MP. The Scottish

Conservatives and the Conservative Party of United Kingdom is the only

party now that can stand up for the people of Scotland and ensure that

Scottish interests are met within the United Kingdom. What we see

David with is the farce, which is fast becoming Jeremy Corbyn's

reshuffle, is the Labour Party is completely broken and it is sad to

see Her Majesty's loyal opposition in the survey. Would pick up on that

point. Without the crowing and political points caring, which all

politicians are going to do. If an opposition party here at Westminster

has problems with a reshuffle, is that good for the wider democracy?

There is an issue here because you should have a good opposition, that

is why the SNP are providing the only proper opposition to the

Tories. Alberto is saying that the Government represents the people of

Scotland and the people of Scotland beg to differ. They have the worst

result since 1865 in Scotland. But there is a series issue here. The

SNP is doing the job of holding the Government to attack the Lee mac

account. We have a shovel from the Labour Party, but they need to get

their act together and join us in opposing this dreadful Tory

government. This coming year, there is a huge number of issues, we know

Scotland is good to be very important, we know that Europe is

going to be very important. What do you make of the Prime Minister's

stating yesterday where he's going to allow his own Cabinet ministers

to vote and campaign to stay in and others if they want to the campaign

to get out? It is extraordinary, is at the? I would rather that we talk

about that. We have a Prime Minister who cannot decide personally whether

he wants to leave Europe or saying. He's not really sure what he's

asking for, his own backbenchers saying he's not asking for very

much, so will deliver very little. It is key that the UK stay in the

European Union. We will be fighting that corner incredibly hard to make

sure that the case on the positive case for staying within the European

Union is put, put the give your Shadow Cabinet a free vote, it was

only a few weeks ago you were criticising Jeremy Corbyn for giving

his Shadow Cabinet if free vote in the guards to this area debate. So

the Prime Minister is now giving his Shadow Cabinet if revote, but we all

know why we are having a referendum on the UN the first place, because

his party has demanded that Annie's trying to fix his party and on the

divisions of Europe instead of putting the positive case. --

European Union. That is sometimes what premises have to deal with.

This is a Prime Minister saying to his Shadow Cabinet, you can have a

free on your without telling what the terms of that vote will be,

whether he will come back with the deal from the European Union, we

don't know whether he will do that yet, he has not been ambitious about

the deal he looking for. You do this by building allies, making sure that

you are positive about the European Union and making sure that

everything that it does is in the UK's best interest. That is what we

want and will fight for. And a perfect world, David Cameron

would've said to his Cabinet, this is the deal I forgot, you vote with

it or you reside, I am certain of the characters. David Cameron has

been very clear on the issue of where he stands in the EU. It's been

very clear. He said that he will campaign to stay in the EE you, if

you get the renegotiations that is aching. -- the EU. What we have term

number and the viewers I am sure one sure memories this. If it wasn't for

the British Conservative Party being elected for the whole of the United

Kingdom, there would have been a referendum in the first place. We're

the only party, the SNP didn't want one, Labour Party didn't want one,

but I am I Conservative MP colleagues have voted to give you

and all viewers the choice on whether the United Kingdom,

Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England stays within the EU. I

just want to nip the SNP's point in the bus, they talk about Scotland

perhaps voting differently from England, I don't think it well in

the referendum. But I don't recall when the Scottish referendum the

people of Shetland are the people from Inverness Shire been given a

veto to pull out of any independence, had the SNP won that

particular event. I think we need to address that with the SNP Tom White

is making this demand that they didn't give the people of Scotland.

On the European referendum, there was a serious issue here, David

Cameron cannot even convince his own Cabinet colleagues that he's going

to get a good deal. He's giving them a Freeville before he has

renegotiated, so they are hopelessly divided around the Cabinet table,

almost as hopelessly divided as the Labour Party. That is a sad state of

affairs when we are giving to the series has this to the benefit of

jobs, cooperating with European partners as well, it is up pity that

Alberta cannot put himself to tackle those issues. We could have a

referendum on the EE you mac issue as soon as June, for the antigen. --

EU. Are you worried that would suck the life out of the Scottish

campaign? There are important elections at the start of the make

in the United Kingdom, we want to see a good debate on the future of

Europe. We had a good debate, both sides did, on the Scottish

referendum, so we want full time to debate this front of them or

something through. Should he go soon as he gets a deal in February or

should he try and leave it till later in the year? You asked the

question about the Scottish elections, let's be clear. Ruth

Davidson are the only party in the May Scottish parliamentary elections

that are talking about Scotland's best interest being served by being

in the United Kingdom. Frankly, in respect of EE you mac, that one

country that the SNP do not want, the British people will decide as

one whether we stay in the EU or out and that is a separate question from

the main Scottish parliamentary elections. Final question, are you

worried that if you referendum is in June, it would overshadow what will

happen in Holyrood? -- the EU. It does not look like it will be spoken

of it it it is in June, I would prefer later on in the year or the

later part of 2070, we want that proper debate about the SNP's

dreadful record and Government, put eight positive platform to the

Scottish people, we don't any of that should overshadow, we want

Scotland to stand on its own for these parliamentary elections, the

first with the new powers coming to Scottish Parliament. The thing that

is the thing we should focus on. If it is at the indigent, we will have

to do without. I would rather do with it later in the year. We will

have to the leave it there. Thank you for joining us. Gordon, a new

here, discussions of topics we have discussed in the past. So far, not a

drop of rain in sight. We will return to some of the issues

in a moment. The former Scottish First Minister

Alex Salmond is to host a phone-in To promote the programme,

the broadcaster has released a video showing Mr Salmond reading offensive

tweets about himself. His show will go out live at 4pm

every Wednesday starting next week. Who would pay ?51,000 for a portrait

of Alex Salmond? I can think of only one person. It was 51,000 500. And

I've got lots of relatives. I actually like plain chocolate

bounty myself. Time for some final thoughts

from Magnus Gardham. I think of fibre Jeremy Corbyn, and

really up against and wanted some resounding support, I don't think

there would be phoning Ian Murray at the top of my list. No, the

reshuffle, you have to say, bears all the hallmarks of an utter

shambles. If you actually look at the change to the Shadow Cabinet,

they are pretty minor. Maria Eagle has left defence, replaced by Emily

Thornberry, Maria Eagle has replaced Michael Joubert at the culture. So

in terms of Jeremy Corbyn's top team, it is really quite small. It

gets them out of a potential Trident problem. Yes, that is the main

advantage from his point of view. He is clearly not sought what is it we

have to start calling the problem of Hilary Benn, it is not clear whether

Hilary Benn is muzzled as John McDonnell... We should tell people

who have not folders, John said this morning I'm he's only keeping his

job because he is greeted not to agree to not disagree with Jeremy

Corbyn on later issues. And then Hilary Benn and merged and said I am

going to do exactly what I was doing before. That is not clear and

behind-the-scenes, if you look at how Michael Joubert has reacted, it

tells a story about bitter infighting, almost a civil war now

within the parliamentary Labour Party. As we have just seen there,

the Labour's opponents are having an absolute field day. It is very hard

to argue with their criticisms. That Labour is hopelessly divided and

really struggling to put itself in the position to oppose the Tories

effectively. You could hear the frustration in his voice there. I

guess the subtext is this is he's biggie, look, we have an election

coming up in a few months. What is going on? This is not what we want

Labour to be talking about. It was interesting yesterday seeing Kezia

Dugdale make a speech and unveiling Labour's first election pledge about

support for first-time buyers. There was a real display their of unity.

All MSPs from all sections of the Scottish Labour party were there,

they were all very much in agreement and Scottish Labour is starting to

look like a model of unity and single-minded purpose compared to

their colleagues at Westminster. What about the Tories appear? They

have bigger ambitions, they would love it to be later, when they? It

is a big ambition if you are to come second. -- they would love to be

Labour, wouldn't they? Ruth Davidson's speech yesterday in

Holyrood was interesting because she deserved most of her anger for

Labour, who she said over the past nine years have been absolutely

hopeless opposition at Holyrood and voters, give us the chance to

replace them. I think limiting your ambition to a certain extent you

could say, but nevertheless, that is what is in her sights. We will have

to leave it there. That's all we have time

for this afternoon. But if you haven't had your fill

of politics yet, highlights from Scottish Questions

at Westminster are coming up next. I'll be back with Sunday Politics

this weekend at 11. On form, on target

and eager for silverware... MUSIC: Get Your Fight On

by The Prodigy ..it's a battle to savour next

Saturday as Hearts face Aberdeen