:00:20. > :00:27.A good New Year, welcome to coverage of questions from Holyrood and the
:00:28. > :00:34.Scottish Parliament, questions to the First Minister. A period of one
:00:35. > :00:40.on me after the Christmas break. Let us find out what is going on.
:00:41. > :00:45.Here is Kezia Dugdale asking about the First Minister's engagements.
:00:46. > :00:51.Parts of the country are facing a renewed risk of flooding, it is
:00:52. > :00:57.appropriate to thank all of those in our emergency services, particularly
:00:58. > :01:02.the police, fire, utility companies, local authorities and individuals
:01:03. > :01:07.and businesses in local communities working so hard to respond. I and
:01:08. > :01:12.other ministers will be updated on this throughout the day and working
:01:13. > :01:16.to ensure all appropriate action is being taken. I will have engagements
:01:17. > :01:25.to take forward the Government programme for Scotland.
:01:26. > :01:28.Can I send my best wishes to all those affected by the floods and the
:01:29. > :01:32.emergency services for their tireless work.
:01:33. > :01:37.In her New Year message, the First Minister said 2016 would be the year
:01:38. > :01:43.of ambition. I couldn't agree more. It is why I set out a plan to help
:01:44. > :01:48.young people realise their ambitions and aspirations. For many young
:01:49. > :01:53.Scots, earning their home is a key ambition. For thousands of people
:01:54. > :02:02.from my generation, it is a pipe dream. Thousands are stuck in a
:02:03. > :02:04.cycle from which there is little escape, they rented to save a
:02:05. > :02:06.deposit, the rents are so high people cannot put enough money
:02:07. > :02:09.aside. They end up paying higher rent for years with no prospect of
:02:10. > :02:12.buying. Can the First Minister tell us what
:02:13. > :02:16.proportion of young people in Scotland today live in the private
:02:17. > :02:21.rented sector? There is a significant proportion of
:02:22. > :02:26.young people as across all age groups who rely on the private
:02:27. > :02:31.rented sector. That is why one of the focuses of this Government has
:02:32. > :02:37.been through a variety of measures and legislation on making sure we
:02:38. > :02:42.have a high-quality and affordable private rented sector. I know the
:02:43. > :02:47.importance of that well from my constituency where the quality is
:02:48. > :02:53.just as important as affordability. Kezia Dugdale will be aware of the
:02:54. > :02:59.plan is the Government has two introduce new measures in terms of
:03:00. > :03:04.rent controls which is vital to ensure affordability. I hope we can
:03:05. > :03:11.work together on this. In terms of the aspiration of young people for
:03:12. > :03:16.home ownership, that is one like everyone understands and wants to
:03:17. > :03:21.support. This Government since the moment we were elected has focused
:03:22. > :03:27.on, firstly, trying to help people into home ownership, we have helped
:03:28. > :03:31.20,000 people into home ownership through shared equity schemes and
:03:32. > :03:37.help to buy, three quarters are under the age of 35.
:03:38. > :03:41.Secondly and most importantly, what this Government is doing is
:03:42. > :03:46.increasing housing supply. That is why I am proud we have exceeded our
:03:47. > :03:51.target of 30,000 affordable homes, and we are looking to 50,000 new
:03:52. > :04:00.affordable homes across the next Parliament as well.
:04:01. > :04:06.I welcome the sincerity of that response but it wasn't an answer to
:04:07. > :04:13.my question. Amongst that, the First Minister failed to face up to 30 of
:04:14. > :04:21.life for people of my generation. In 1999, 13% of people aged 16-34 left
:04:22. > :04:25.in private rented accommodation. Today, it is 41%, a threefold
:04:26. > :04:30.increase. Thousands of young people in Scotland paying higher rents to
:04:31. > :04:35.private landlords rather than owning their home. It is generation rent.
:04:36. > :04:40.What the First Minister's generation took for granted is often out of
:04:41. > :04:45.reach of the people of my generation. When Nicola Sturgeon was
:04:46. > :04:50.first elected, half of those aged 16-34 owned their own home. Can the
:04:51. > :04:54.First Minister tell us what that figure is today under the SNP
:04:55. > :05:01.Government? I was trying to respond to the first
:05:02. > :05:08.question by being serious about the scale of the challenge. There are
:05:09. > :05:13.more people across all age groups who are living in the private rented
:05:14. > :05:17.sector. Some people, not everybody, I am not suggesting it is a
:05:18. > :05:22.majority, some make a positive choice to rent rather than buy. That
:05:23. > :05:25.is why we should also focus on making sure people have quality
:05:26. > :05:30.options. In terms of home ownership, the
:05:31. > :05:33.housing crisis is part of the overall financial and economic
:05:34. > :05:39.crisis. Order! This has posed a real
:05:40. > :05:43.challenges in terms of home ownership.
:05:44. > :05:47.We have seen in recent times increases in the numbers of
:05:48. > :05:52.first-time buyers, a 4% increase over the last quarter, and a higher
:05:53. > :05:57.increase over the past year. We see that going in the right direction.
:05:58. > :06:01.This Government has made a very deliberate choice to focus on what
:06:02. > :06:07.we consider to be the things that really matter in housing. Firstly,
:06:08. > :06:12.making sure we have got the right number of houses being provided
:06:13. > :06:16.which is why 30,000 target this Parliament has been important, the
:06:17. > :06:21.50,000 target for next Parliament is so important. I haven't heard Labour
:06:22. > :06:24.make any commitment to housing supply in the next Parliament.
:06:25. > :06:30.Secondly, we are focusing on whatever tenure of housing people
:06:31. > :06:36.have, they have access to high-quality houses, that is what my
:06:37. > :06:41.Government remains focused on. Iain Gray is sitting next to Kezia
:06:42. > :06:44.Dugdale, he said in an admirable moment of honesty for the Labour
:06:45. > :06:51.Party the problem for the last Labour Administration was they
:06:52. > :06:59.forgot to build the houses to make it possible to make the legislation
:07:00. > :07:05.to be implemented. We moved from consensus to
:07:06. > :07:16.mudslinging in Bonn question, First Minister. Once again... There was no
:07:17. > :07:22.answer to the question that I asked. I will give the First Minister the
:07:23. > :07:28.answer. In 1999, 40 8% of Scots under 35 owned their own home. That
:07:29. > :07:33.stands at 28% today. Is this the scale of the Government action over
:07:34. > :07:37.for just over one quarter of young Scots to have the security from
:07:38. > :07:43.owning their own home? Today, it takes a young couple on an
:07:44. > :07:46.average wage ten years to save enough for a typical deposit for
:07:47. > :07:50.their first home. Labour would help young people get
:07:51. > :07:55.their first deposit by adding to their savings, we would encourage
:07:56. > :07:58.people to put money away if they can and, in return, help them get on
:07:59. > :08:03.that property ladder. We know the First Minister cannot
:08:04. > :08:06.bring herself to back that plan. We know her proposals do not meet the
:08:07. > :08:12.scale of the challenge. What will she do to help people in
:08:13. > :08:17.Scotland by their first home? I have outlined a number of things
:08:18. > :08:19.and we'll come back to the plans of this Government.
:08:20. > :08:22.Kezia Dugdale is right to mention the fact there has been a challenge
:08:23. > :08:29.in getting people into home ownership. A recession, a financial
:08:30. > :08:34.crisis is contributing to a housing crisis. That is why those numbers
:08:35. > :08:39.are as they are. But what she chooses to ignore is
:08:40. > :08:44.the fact, in the last quarter, we have seen an increase in first-time
:08:45. > :08:50.buyers. An increase in first-time buyers of 16% over the last year.
:08:51. > :08:54.That is what I want to focus on, helping more people into home
:08:55. > :09:07.ownership which is why we have an open market shared equity scheme
:09:08. > :09:11.which gives people up to 40% of the cost of buying a house and helps
:09:12. > :09:15.them in that way. We will continue to focus on these schemes to help
:09:16. > :09:22.people with the aspiration to own their own home. We will also, and
:09:23. > :09:30.this I notice is something Kezia Dugdale has chosen to dodge around
:09:31. > :09:35.in her discussions. Housing supply is at the root of many of the issues
:09:36. > :09:43.we are talking about, I quoted Iain Gray. Let me give her another view
:09:44. > :09:45.of someone more topical in the Labour Party, the Shadow Chancellor
:09:46. > :09:50.John McDonnell, I do not know whether Kezia Dugdale is one who
:09:51. > :09:57.supports him but believe that to one side. He said, Labour inherited a
:09:58. > :10:01.housing crisis from the Tories which we exacerbated by not building
:10:02. > :10:06.houses. That is the issue. That is why in
:10:07. > :10:11.this Parliament we have already exceeded our target of 30,000 new
:10:12. > :10:15.affordable homes, why we are determined if we are elected in May
:10:16. > :10:21.to build 50,000 new affordable homes. Labour have made no
:10:22. > :10:26.commitment to supply. Maybe that is because we know in this election
:10:27. > :10:30.Labour is not aspiring to be the garment, they are filed the -- they
:10:31. > :10:38.are fighting to hold on to second place.
:10:39. > :10:42.Kezia Dugdale. In all of that, the First Minister cannot escape the
:10:43. > :10:49.reality home ownership is at its lowest level since 1999. Because
:10:50. > :10:55.young people in Scotland are getting a raw deal from this SNP Government,
:10:56. > :10:59.bearing the brunt of an austerity agenda this First Minister seems
:11:00. > :11:05.content to manage rather than change. Young Scots are less likely
:11:06. > :11:10.to own their own home. They are more likely to be stuck in private rented
:11:11. > :11:15.accommodation. Their hard earned cash boost in the profits of private
:11:16. > :11:18.landlords rather than investing in their own future.
:11:19. > :11:23.We want to spend money helping young people by their first home. Nicola
:11:24. > :11:31.Sturgeon would rather spend money giving Ellice a tax cut.
:11:32. > :11:36.Isn't it the case -- giving airlines. Is it the case the First
:11:37. > :11:38.Minister is on the side of the big airlines while Scottish Labour is on
:11:39. > :11:47.the side of young families tried to get on in life?
:11:48. > :11:57.Not the first, not even a second but the third use of APD money... Let me
:11:58. > :12:03.remind Kezia Dugdale yet again of her own words from the 30th of
:12:04. > :12:09.October last year. We would scrap the APD measure which we would then
:12:10. > :12:15.spend that money on education. So, it was education, it became tax
:12:16. > :12:19.credits, now housing. Not the behaviour of a credible opposition,
:12:20. > :12:23.let alone a credible alternative Government. Let us get back to the
:12:24. > :12:28.important issue for people out there across the country, of housing. I
:12:29. > :12:36.talked about our support for shared equity and help to buy. Let me
:12:37. > :12:39.remind her of something else we have helped people particularly
:12:40. > :12:47.first-time buyers, removing stamp duty, on all property transactions
:12:48. > :12:51.under ?145,000. Helping people buy starter homes. We will continue to
:12:52. > :12:55.help first-time buyers but do it in a sensible way, not in a way which
:12:56. > :13:02.won't give first-time buyers any help until they have saved for three
:13:03. > :13:10.years, and help push up costs pile -- house prices. We will continue to
:13:11. > :13:15.see private accommodation sees a rise in the quality and
:13:16. > :13:19.affordability. We will focus on building more houses because it is
:13:20. > :13:25.through that that we get the cost of houses down and get more people to
:13:26. > :13:30.buy them. That is why we are so successful in this Parliament and
:13:31. > :13:32.will be even more so in the next one.
:13:33. > :13:38.Question number two, Ruth Davidson. To ask the First Minister when she
:13:39. > :13:43.will next meet the Prime Minister? No current plans. May I associate
:13:44. > :13:47.myself with the comments regarding emergency and local authority
:13:48. > :13:50.workers. The flooding across Britain these past weeks have been
:13:51. > :13:54.devastating for thousands of families. We know it is continuing
:13:55. > :13:57.to affect people across Scotland. We need to know how they will be
:13:58. > :14:14.supported. On December 29, the UK garment
:14:15. > :14:15.announced an extra ?50 million intermediate support for homes and
:14:16. > :14:18.businesses affected. ?5 million was handed to the
:14:19. > :14:20.Scottish Government and it is up to them how that money is spent. As
:14:21. > :14:22.Alex Fergusson said on Tuesday, he is still receiving phone calls from
:14:23. > :14:25.people in Newton Stewart wondering why people in Cumbria are already
:14:26. > :14:28.receiving support while they are not. Other Members will be receiving
:14:29. > :14:32.similar calls. Ministers have had this new money
:14:33. > :14:38.for nearly a fortnight, why are they dragging their feet?
:14:39. > :14:43.Ruth Davidson raises an important issue. But she is unfair in her
:14:44. > :14:47.characterisation. She will recall as all Members across the Chamber will
:14:48. > :14:52.recall that the Deputy First Minister when he announced the
:14:53. > :14:56.budget just before we broke for the Christmas recess, announced an
:14:57. > :15:01.allocation of ?4 million to those local authority areas most affected
:15:02. > :15:06.by the flooding caused by storm Desmond in early December, to help
:15:07. > :15:11.those local authorities support flood hit local households and
:15:12. > :15:17.businesses. That money is there to provide flat rate grants of ?1500 to
:15:18. > :15:21.individuals, businesses or groups directly affected by flooding.
:15:22. > :15:30.John Sweeney said last week when he was visiting communities, that we
:15:31. > :15:33.will very shortly make an additional announcement about an additional
:15:34. > :15:40.allocation to deal specifically with the impact of storm Frank, and what
:15:41. > :15:44.we have seen in the days after. We are taking care to discuss with
:15:45. > :15:49.local authorities the appropriate amount of that allocation will be.
:15:50. > :15:50.It is right, it is proper and focused on helping people who have
:15:51. > :16:00.been so hard-hit. In addition, local authorities can
:16:01. > :16:05.apply for help to deal with the immediate impact of flooding, and we
:16:06. > :16:10.will continue to invest to make sure that local authorities are able to
:16:11. > :16:13.put into place the appropriate flood protection and flood defence schemes
:16:14. > :16:18.so we continue to remain focused, and I hope we have the support of
:16:19. > :16:24.people across the Chamber. I thank the presiding officer for her
:16:25. > :16:28.answer, but the ?4 million she talks about is a previous allocation. It
:16:29. > :16:31.has nothing to do with the subsequent ?5 million that I asked
:16:32. > :16:34.about that people who are currently affected want to know how this
:16:35. > :16:39.government is going to spend and how it is going to help them. And I wait
:16:40. > :16:42.for further details on that answer. The First Minister says she's
:16:43. > :16:48.getting on with addressing the issues and she is getting support
:16:49. > :16:53.from the UK, but local authorities are saying amused by claims that
:16:54. > :16:57.future flood defences are being fully funded. Farmers and crofters
:16:58. > :17:00.who are bearing the brunt of these floods are still waiting for the
:17:01. > :17:05.support payments they were promised months ago because of what the NFU
:17:06. > :17:08.calls the SNP government's lumbered approach, and people are beginning
:17:09. > :17:12.to ask why is it that families can't get the support here they are
:17:13. > :17:18.getting elsewhere in the UK. I will give just one other example. Before
:17:19. > :17:22.Christmas, the UK Government set up an emergency recovery fund in flood
:17:23. > :17:26.affected regions that was designed to help restore soil, rebuilt
:17:27. > :17:29.tracks, and to repair flood channels. Scottish farmers are
:17:30. > :17:34.asking the Scottish government to mirror this scheme north of the
:17:35. > :17:39.border. Will the First Minister do so? We will take as we have done all
:17:40. > :17:44.appropriate action to help people affected by flooding. Ruth Davidson
:17:45. > :17:49.says we haven't announced the additional allocation. We are right,
:17:50. > :17:53.the reason for that is both a simple one and an understandable one to
:17:54. > :17:58.people. We are still dealing with an ongoing situation. I very much hope
:17:59. > :18:01.it is not the case that we will see communities affected by flooding
:18:02. > :18:05.again today but it is entirely possible that we will do, so we need
:18:06. > :18:09.to make sure we take time to assess the full impact so we know what an
:18:10. > :18:13.appropriate allocation of funding will be. It may be more than ?5
:18:14. > :18:18.million that we need to allocate in order to meet the impact that people
:18:19. > :18:23.are facing but just as we did in response to Storm Desmond, we will
:18:24. > :18:25.take the appropriate action in response to Storm Frank and the
:18:26. > :18:28.flooding that hit in the days after that, and the flooding that we may
:18:29. > :18:34.well see in parts of the country today. In terms of with Davidson's
:18:35. > :18:38.comment about flood protection and flood defences, we have funded all
:18:39. > :18:44.eligible schemes that have met the criteria in terms of flood defence
:18:45. > :18:47.systems. There are, as a result of it, 14th flood risk management
:18:48. > :18:54.strategies across Scotland, schemes over the remainder of this decade
:18:55. > :18:59.worth more than 200 million ?200 million that are planned. We
:19:00. > :19:03.guarantee local authorities to a 6% of our capital budget right through
:19:04. > :19:08.to 2020 with financial certainty that those schemes can be funded.
:19:09. > :19:13.That is the action we have taken. It is responsible, right, and it will
:19:14. > :19:17.be proportionate to the scale of the impact that be bloody thing with.
:19:18. > :19:21.And I personally and the ministers in my government who have one or
:19:22. > :19:27.more responsibilities in this remain absolutely focused to do everything
:19:28. > :19:29.we can and we need to do to help individuals, businesses and
:19:30. > :19:35.communities who have been so hard hit in recent weeks. I would like to
:19:36. > :19:39.ask the First Minister what impact the introduction of an upper band of
:19:40. > :19:46.the minimum wage for workers over 25 will have on pay and equality and in
:19:47. > :19:50.work poverty in Scotland? Are wage level for over 25s will be a benefit
:19:51. > :19:56.to some workers but we have concerns about the UK Government's approach
:19:57. > :20:00.to pay because it is not as this week's Resolution Foundation made
:20:01. > :20:04.clear a real living wage. The rise doesn't support people under 25, one
:20:05. > :20:09.of the groups most affected by the recession, and the introduction of
:20:10. > :20:12.this new rate won't compensate workers for the ?12 billion in
:20:13. > :20:16.reductions to welfare, given it will be introduced alongside the
:20:17. > :20:23.withdrawal of universal credit and tax credit cuts. We want to
:20:24. > :20:27.encourage employees to promote equality and tackle poverty. The
:20:28. > :20:30.real living wage is captivated according to the basic cost of
:20:31. > :20:36.living and that is what the Scottish government will continue to focus
:20:37. > :20:39.our efforts on. I agree with much of that assessment, combined with
:20:40. > :20:45.welfare changes, the measure won't abolish in work poverty. By leaving
:20:46. > :20:49.younger workers behind, it risks deepening their exploitation by the
:20:50. > :20:55.most unscrupulous employers. The First Minister knows the greens wish
:20:56. > :21:00.the fair work agenda to be bolder. It emphasises support those
:21:01. > :21:04.employers willing rather than the more robust approach for the
:21:05. > :21:07.employers less willing. Isn't it time for the First Minister to
:21:08. > :21:11.consider insuring that taxpayer funded as the support services will
:21:12. > :21:17.only be available to those employers who treat the upper 25 year band of
:21:18. > :21:21.the minimum wage as the minimum for workers of all ages to make sure
:21:22. > :21:25.that we don't just have an all carrot nose stick approach which may
:21:26. > :21:31.work for some employees but not for the worst. Patrick Harvie had an
:21:32. > :21:36.exchange during the debate the other day with John Sweeney on this very
:21:37. > :21:41.issue and I appreciate where Patrick Carvey is coming from. I want our
:21:42. > :21:44.further work agenda to be real and meaningful, and it is that. We are
:21:45. > :21:50.the any government in the whole of the UK that has a Cabinet level
:21:51. > :21:54.Minister dedicated to promoting fair work. What we're trying to do with
:21:55. > :21:58.both the living wage accreditation scheme and through the business
:21:59. > :22:01.pledge and through the fair work convention is say to businesses that
:22:02. > :22:05.they should be employing fair work practices, not as some kind of
:22:06. > :22:09.favour to government, not as something we feel they have to do,
:22:10. > :22:13.but as something that is beneficial to them, and to the prosperity of
:22:14. > :22:18.their businesses, as well as beneficial to their employees. And
:22:19. > :22:25.that is the whole ethos that we are trying to encourage, and that is
:22:26. > :22:28.bearing success. We are now the part of the UK outside the south-east
:22:29. > :22:32.with the highest percentage of people paid the real living wage,
:22:33. > :22:37.and the number of employers that are accredited rise considerably, and a
:22:38. > :22:41.growing number of companies have signed up. We will continue to give
:22:42. > :22:49.that focus to that work. We will continue to consider and to discuss
:22:50. > :22:53.how we can accelerate progress. I look forward in this Parliament to
:22:54. > :22:57.discuss these things and to hearing the ideas and suggestions of Patrick
:22:58. > :23:01.Harvie and his colleagues. The First Minister will be aware that support
:23:02. > :23:06.industries like retail, hospitality and the care sector to pay the real
:23:07. > :23:11.living wage will weep significant benefits for those employees, many
:23:12. > :23:14.of those of whom are under 25, so what action is the Scottish
:23:15. > :23:20.government taking to specifically target those sectors to pay the real
:23:21. > :23:23.living wage? Well, these sectors, and Jackie Baillie is right about
:23:24. > :23:26.this, there are a small number of sectors that employ large numbers of
:23:27. > :23:31.people that we need to make most progress in if we are going to lift
:23:32. > :23:39.the overall numbers paid the living wage. Relatively recently, we had a
:23:40. > :23:44.summit, which was very focused on retail and leisure and care sectors,
:23:45. > :23:49.and we will bring forward in the debate on Tuesday over the next few
:23:50. > :23:52.months small proposals of our own about how we extend payment of the
:23:53. > :23:55.living wage further. There's no doubt in my mind that if we get more
:23:56. > :23:59.and more people onto the living wage, we will help to raise the
:24:00. > :24:02.quality of work, which is why it is so much in the interest of
:24:03. > :24:07.businesses and employers, but we will also go a great way to deal
:24:08. > :24:10.with the inequality and poverty challenges that we face, so I had
:24:11. > :24:19.this is an area that notwithstanding whatever disagreements we have, we
:24:20. > :24:23.will find areas to agree on. This week's research by the Resolution
:24:24. > :24:28.Foundation states that 500 thousand low-paid workers in Scotland will
:24:29. > :24:33.benefit from the new look living wage by 2020. The Resolution
:24:34. > :24:39.Foundation said we welcome the new National living wage which will have
:24:40. > :24:47.a huge impact on low pay. Should she be more welcoming of this policy? If
:24:48. > :24:53.I can repeat the first line of my first answer to trick Harvey, a
:24:54. > :25:00.higher wage level for over 25s will be of benefit to some low-paid
:25:01. > :25:05.workers so nobody can argue with that. It doesn't go far enough. The
:25:06. > :25:09.real living wage, lots of people outside this government, lots of
:25:10. > :25:13.people have put a lot of work in over a long number of years to
:25:14. > :25:17.calculate what the real living wage should be. And the real living wage
:25:18. > :25:20.is captivated very deliberately according to the basic cost of
:25:21. > :25:24.living, which is why I think the real living wage is the figure we
:25:25. > :25:29.should be aspiring to get people paid. That is what I'll continue to
:25:30. > :25:35.focus on. Anything that takes us in that direction of course is to be
:25:36. > :25:38.welcomed but I will not limit myself to the ambition that characterises
:25:39. > :25:47.the Tory party, I will aim much higher than that. Thank you. I'd
:25:48. > :25:51.like to ask the First Minister what discussions the Scottish government
:25:52. > :25:55.has had with the UK Government regarding the proposed referendum on
:25:56. > :25:59.EU membership. The Scottish government is practising gauge with
:26:00. > :26:03.the UK Government, at ministerial and official level, to influence
:26:04. > :26:07.both the form of the referendum and the UK Government's agenda for EU
:26:08. > :26:12.renegotiation, in order to protect Scotland's interest the Mac. We
:26:13. > :26:14.spoke about this issue at our meeting in December with the Prime
:26:15. > :26:18.Minister. The Scottish government believes EU membership is in the
:26:19. > :26:22.best interest of Scotland and we are concerned the people of Scotland
:26:23. > :26:26.could be taken out of the EU against our will. We've also sought and we
:26:27. > :26:31.will continue to seek engagement in the UK's renegotiation process but
:26:32. > :26:35.to date, the pig government has not provided us with sufficient detail
:26:36. > :26:40.or opportunity to meaningfully influence these proposals but we
:26:41. > :26:43.will carry on making attempts. I thank the First Minister for her
:26:44. > :26:48.answer. How can we trust the Prime Minister on Europe when he cannot
:26:49. > :26:52.even get members of his own cabinet to agree with him. What can the
:26:53. > :26:56.First Minister and her government do to ensure that Scotland is not
:26:57. > :27:04.hauled out of Europe against its will? I'm not surprised that the
:27:05. > :27:06.prime minister has been forced on a free vote amongst his Cabinet
:27:07. > :27:11.colleagues in the referendum because the Tories have always been split
:27:12. > :27:15.from top to bottom on Europe. The referendum, far from healing these
:27:16. > :27:19.splits so far only seems to be making them worse. I'm not sure if
:27:20. > :27:24.the Scottish Tories have got a position. It is a complete free for
:27:25. > :27:29.all in the Scottish Tories. No idea how many positions will be
:27:30. > :27:32.represented on those benches. But that is for the Tories to worry
:27:33. > :27:38.about. What I'm concerned about is this prospect of Scotland, if it
:27:39. > :27:44.votes, and I take nothing for granted, but if Scotland was to vote
:27:45. > :27:47.to stay in in the EU, but the UK taken out, that would be a
:27:48. > :27:53.democratic outrage. And I think it is a cause of real concern. I will
:27:54. > :27:57.be campaigning, speaking out from my own part, I'll be campaigning to
:27:58. > :28:01.seek to persuade people, not just in Scotland, but I hope people across
:28:02. > :28:04.the UK choose to stay in the EU because, notwithstanding its
:28:05. > :28:17.imperfections, our interests are best served by being with them. To
:28:18. > :28:20.ask the First Minister whether the Scottish government will conduct a
:28:21. > :28:23.review of flood defences in conjunction with local authorities
:28:24. > :28:30.in light of this winter's flooding incidents? As I've already commented
:28:31. > :28:36.on today, the scale of the flooding that was seen in recent days has
:28:37. > :28:40.been exceptional. And the impact has been devastating for many people
:28:41. > :28:44.across the country. The response from our emergency services,
:28:45. > :28:51.volunteers, members of the public, councils and others working together
:28:52. > :28:55.to keep communities safe, minimise damage, that response has been
:28:56. > :28:59.heroic, but there is a long road for the people most affected. A review
:29:00. > :29:04.of flood defences was conducted in 2007. The Scottish government has
:29:05. > :29:07.made available funding of ?42 million a year to enable local
:29:08. > :29:11.authorities to invest in flood protection schemes. As I've just
:29:12. > :29:14.said to Ruth Davidson, we have 14 flood risk management strategies in
:29:15. > :29:18.place and a number of schemes that will be funded over the years to
:29:19. > :29:23.come. It is right that when we've experienced flooding such as that as
:29:24. > :29:26.we've seen in recent weeks that we do consider carefully any lessons
:29:27. > :29:29.that can be learned from what has been an exceptional situation and
:29:30. > :29:33.consider what further mitigating actions we can take for the future,
:29:34. > :29:38.and this government will do that. Thank you, first Minister's. If you
:29:39. > :29:44.are committing to a review in the light of recent flooding incidents,
:29:45. > :29:47.I'd wholeheartedly welcome that. The response in communities has been
:29:48. > :29:50.inspiring. But communities, businesses and local authorities are
:29:51. > :29:55.Killy concerned about the huge cost they've already incurred in dealing
:29:56. > :29:58.with this public emergency. And if I can follow up the First Minister's
:29:59. > :30:10.answer to Ruth Davidson earlier, the deputy First Minister has encouraged
:30:11. > :30:14.?4 million. Can the First Minister clarify the Scottish government will
:30:15. > :30:18.fully fund all those local tax reductions and given the cost of
:30:19. > :30:21.flooding is estimated to be a quarter of ?1 billion every year
:30:22. > :30:27.now, can we have a review to have it a new look, a fresh look at the
:30:28. > :30:30.resilience for infrastructure, our homes, businesses, our farming
:30:31. > :30:34.communities for the future, given that with the financial pressures on
:30:35. > :30:36.local authorities, not all amenities at risk of flooding will receive
:30:37. > :30:42.flood defences over the next five years. As I said in my initial
:30:43. > :30:45.answer, of course we need to make sure that we learn any lessons that
:30:46. > :30:49.need to be learned. It would be wrong to take any other approach.
:30:50. > :30:52.What I don't want us to do, though, I didn't want is to do this because
:30:53. > :30:56.of the significant work that has been done to get as to the position
:30:57. > :30:59.of the 14 flood risk management strategies in place is involve
:31:00. > :31:04.ourselves in another long-running review when there is work there
:31:05. > :31:09.planned details worked out that we need to get on with. For example,
:31:10. > :31:13.the community of Newton Stewart I visited, there is a scheme planned
:31:14. > :31:17.as part of the flood risk management strategy, that we need to get on
:31:18. > :31:21.with not look again at a wide-ranging review. So, let's focus
:31:22. > :31:27.on that. In terms of the financial support, as I've said we've received
:31:28. > :31:31.during this session, we will take a decision very soon about a further
:31:32. > :31:34.financial allocation to help councils with things like rates
:31:35. > :31:39.relief, and direct financial support to individuals and businesses that
:31:40. > :31:42.have been impacted. And we will, as I've said repeatedly, take whatever
:31:43. > :31:46.steps we need to take to make sure we are doing all that is reasonable
:31:47. > :31:54.for us to do to help with those that have been so badly hit in recent
:31:55. > :31:58.days. To ask the First Minister how many children are receiving free
:31:59. > :32:02.school meals. Almost exactly a year ago I went back to my old primary
:32:03. > :32:11.school to launch the introduction of free school meals for all children
:32:12. > :32:16.from year one to three. That is proving very successful. Over
:32:17. > :32:22.129,000 pupils are benefiting from free school meals, and over 192,000
:32:23. > :32:32.children across primary, secondary and special schools took one. Thank
:32:33. > :32:36.you. I thank the First Minister for higher answer and pleased that this
:32:37. > :32:40.policy is proving such a success nationally. But disappointed the
:32:41. > :32:44.take-up in Renfrewshire is lower than the national average. Can the
:32:45. > :32:47.First Minister advise what funding is provided to local authorities to
:32:48. > :32:53.enable more children to benefit from free school meals, and what more can
:32:54. > :32:55.be done by local authorities, like Labour-controlled Renfrewshire
:32:56. > :33:03.Council, to promote further take-up? I'm sure your time will come, Mr
:33:04. > :33:06.Adam. You may have sparked celebrations in Paisley that their
:33:07. > :33:13.boy in Parliament has been promoted to the office of First Minister! The
:33:14. > :33:20.government has fully funded the roll-out of free school meals for P1
:33:21. > :33:31.to three with millions of pounds of capital. We've allocated a further
:33:32. > :33:34.?53 million for 2016-17 so local authorities can continue to provide
:33:35. > :33:39.free school meals for all children in primary one to three. It's one of
:33:40. > :33:43.the many ways in which we are putting the tackling of inequality
:33:44. > :33:47.at the heart of an agenda, giving children a healthy, nutritious meal
:33:48. > :33:52.at school, while saving parents around ?380 a year per child. We
:33:53. > :33:55.want more children to benefit in every local authority and will
:33:56. > :33:58.continue to work with education authorities to ensure continued
:33:59. > :34:02.promotion of take-up of school meals so that all children can benefit,
:34:03. > :34:05.and all members across the Chamber have a role to play in making sure
:34:06. > :34:09.all children that are entitled take up the option of a free school
:34:10. > :34:15.meals. That ends First Minister's questions. The close of questions to
:34:16. > :34:19.the First Minister. The discussion of free school meals, evidence of
:34:20. > :34:24.the eclectic menu on offer today. Perhaps among it all, the discussion
:34:25. > :34:29.there about the awesome impact, the terrifying impact the natural
:34:30. > :34:34.calamity of the floods. It understandably dominated, the First
:34:35. > :34:39.Minister was trying to reassure the Chamber that everything that was
:34:40. > :34:44.possible was being done. That we hand you over to daily politics.
:34:45. > :34:49.will look at, many people would want to do that, I don't think it is a
:34:50. > :34:54.particularly big issue because of the Cold War it was, it isn't now.
:34:55. > :34:58.Russia is not planning to invade the West. Are you sound as part of your
:34:59. > :35:03.defence review, not only are you looking we should renew the nuclear
:35:04. > :35:04.deterrent but you are also looking at whether we