:00:19. > :00:24.A very warm welcome to the Scottish parliament. Our MSPs are still
:00:24. > :00:29.mostly talking money, the fall-out from the budget bill yesterday, at
:00:29. > :00:34.stage three, the budget was carried after various amendments proposed
:00:34. > :00:39.on the subject of Tollett -- colleges and houses. Today many
:00:39. > :00:45.councils are sitting their budgets as a consequence of that. Also here
:00:45. > :00:48.today, MSPs are taking evidence about the referendum proposals,
:00:48. > :00:54.beginning the detailed scrutiny of the preparation for that. So a lot
:00:54. > :01:01.to talk about, not to question the First Minister about, let's crossed
:01:01. > :01:06.to my colleague. We have just welcomed guests to the presiding
:01:06. > :01:14.officer's Gallery here, we will shortly be hearing from the leader
:01:14. > :01:21.of the opposition and her first What engagement he has planned for
:01:21. > :01:24.the rest of the day? Were have launched the fantastic news that
:01:24. > :01:32.together with the Scottish universities and life sciences
:01:32. > :01:37.Alliance and the University of Dundee have one a contract, which
:01:37. > :01:40.means 40 highly-skilled jobs in new house for the promise of many more
:01:40. > :01:48.developments become, putting Scotland at the presenter of
:01:48. > :01:53.European drug discovery. -- the very centre. Yesterday morning, the
:01:53. > :01:59.First Minister visited technology company in Glasgow, where he said,
:01:59. > :02:06.this is one stop -- small satellite for Clyde and a giant leap for the
:02:06. > :02:11.extra-terrestrial export business. In the afternoon, his backbenchers
:02:11. > :02:21.applauded a �24 million cut in college budgets. Does the First
:02:21. > :02:23.
:02:23. > :02:28.Minister feel he and his party are in touch with real Scots? Yet! --
:02:28. > :02:35.Yes! Scotland need to jobs. Last year the Scottish government said
:02:35. > :02:43.it would spend �353 million on a shovel ready capital project. In
:02:43. > :02:48.reality, they spent just �20 million. Of the �190 million they
:02:48. > :02:54.said they would spend on new schools, they have spent nothing,
:02:54. > :02:58.not one Quinn. On Monday, however, the Deputy First Minister said it
:02:58. > :03:04.was within 15 months of the referendum, and we could be like
:03:04. > :03:14.Namibia or auto ago. Does he feel he is in touch with the real
:03:14. > :03:14.
:03:14. > :03:19.priorities of the Scots? capital budget, the one that you
:03:19. > :03:23.find the shovel ready project, has been cut by a 26% by the but
:03:23. > :03:28.Leinster government. -- Westminster government. Their defence of that
:03:28. > :03:32.is it is better than the 35%, which was the projected cut at Alistair
:03:32. > :03:38.Darling, the man who wanted to implement cuts which were "deeper
:03:38. > :03:42.and tougher" Than those of Margaret Thatcher. The great advantage of
:03:42. > :03:47.direct capital spending by government is it can be spent on
:03:47. > :03:51.shove already protects and it can be spent quickly. The fact that she
:03:51. > :03:55.doesn't know the difference between direct government spending and the
:03:55. > :04:03.non profit distribution trust is a signal feature of the Labour
:04:04. > :04:07.party's inability to understand the basics of public finance. The
:04:07. > :04:13.funding is project-based, you have to build a project and gather in
:04:13. > :04:19.the finance. The great virtue of MPD is that it is alight cheaper
:04:19. > :04:23.than PFI. -- a lot cheaper to stop the reason week introduced the
:04:24. > :04:30.programme is because we didn't want to see the Scottish people ever
:04:30. > :04:33.again play out billions of pounds over the next few years, and
:04:33. > :04:39.private finance initiative project which will result in payments of
:04:39. > :04:45.many, many times of capital value. The fact that even the Conservative
:04:45. > :04:48.Party admit that PFI was a ghastly mistake exposes the better to get
:04:48. > :04:58.the campaign as two right wing parties, competing for which one
:04:58. > :04:59.
:04:59. > :05:04.can be the more extreme! Even in my least charitable moments I did not
:05:04. > :05:08.imagine that the First Minister planned not to spend any money on
:05:08. > :05:18.NPD programme on schools. It is not but I don't understand a project,
:05:18. > :05:24.it isn't spending 100 by �2 million, he has not spent at. Banks back --
:05:24. > :05:28.he has not spent one Quinn. At the complacency is astonishing. I will
:05:28. > :05:34.ask him to come back to the real world for us. We spoke to an Fisher
:05:34. > :05:37.of this morning, 50 year-old mother of three. She has cancer. If she
:05:37. > :05:41.lived in England, she would be receiving drugs which could prolong
:05:41. > :05:46.her life. Because she lives in Scotland, she doesn't get that
:05:46. > :05:53.treatment. The government's delayed review of drugs will be too late
:05:53. > :05:57.for her. And her case is sadly not an isolated one. So while she fight
:05:58. > :06:04.for treatment, the former health secretary, Nicola Sturgeon, had
:06:04. > :06:09.time this week to publish the words of Abraham Lincoln, apparently on a
:06:09. > :06:17.written constitution. This the first Mr believe that he and his
:06:17. > :06:22.government are in touch with the real needs of people like and
:06:22. > :06:27.Fisher? The whole area of access to drug treatments is extremely
:06:27. > :06:31.serious, something that should come in this chamber, be treated as that.
:06:31. > :06:36.The Labour Party will remember that they agreed with us in not going
:06:36. > :06:41.down the road of cancer drugs fund, they agreed with many cancer
:06:41. > :06:45.charities on that aspect. They also welcomed the introduction of the
:06:45. > :06:48.rare conditions medicine fund by the Health Secretary, and it should
:06:48. > :06:54.be accepted that in trying to deal with these extraordinarily
:06:54. > :06:57.difficult issues, we are trying to find the best system possible,
:06:57. > :07:04.which allows our people to have access to the best possible
:07:04. > :07:08.treatment. The idea that these issues are easy to deal with his
:07:08. > :07:12.extraordinary, that you can wave them away, it is one of the great
:07:12. > :07:15.challenges facing health services across the world. The combination
:07:15. > :07:21.we have tried to arrive at in Scotland through the Scottish
:07:21. > :07:25.medicines contorting, the tradition -- introduction of the patient's
:07:25. > :07:31.request, as we believe the best possible system we can have at the
:07:31. > :07:35.moment, as we move to the new drug pricing system. I would hope that
:07:35. > :07:38.whatever people's views across the chamber are, they would recognise
:07:39. > :07:45.that like all parties, we are trying to deal with that issue in
:07:45. > :07:50.the best possible way to help the most number of people. I can assure
:07:50. > :07:55.you, I do take this issue extremely seriously. What us that the
:07:55. > :08:01.government to do is listen to what people are saying to them, and act.
:08:01. > :08:05.-- what I ask the government to do. This issue has taken newspaper
:08:05. > :08:12.headlines to get Alec Neil to act and I think that is a problem. Even
:08:12. > :08:15.now, what the first minister says does not a dress -- address the
:08:15. > :08:20.problems of the woman I mentioned, and I would ask him again delicate
:08:20. > :08:24.that. Whatever the First Minister is giving, what he is not doing is
:08:24. > :08:28.addressing the real needs of Scott. He would rather play games of
:08:28. > :08:36.imagining where he might be in three years' time than face the
:08:36. > :08:42.reality of today. And while he pretence -- while he pretend,
:08:42. > :08:48.patients go untreated, students miss out on a college education,
:08:48. > :08:52.and the First Minister... Order. prepares the seating plan for our
:08:52. > :08:57.independence ball. Even seems to have given up on trying to make the
:08:57. > :09:05.case for independent, and instead is trying to persuade Scots they
:09:05. > :09:09.have already voted for it. When will the First Minister start
:09:09. > :09:19.addressing the real needs of Scots, rather than his own game of, let's
:09:19. > :09:22.pretend. Order. I would remind her that the Labour Party voted with
:09:22. > :09:26.the government on the question of the cancer drugs fund and secondly,
:09:26. > :09:32.that Alec Neil is the health secretary and took the advice
:09:32. > :09:36.coming forward, in setting up the rare conditions medicine fund, and
:09:36. > :09:39.the Routledge review is looking at this very issue to make sure we
:09:40. > :09:44.have the best possible system in Scotland. That indicates to me that
:09:44. > :09:53.we are taking things extremely seriously as far as that is
:09:53. > :09:57.concerned, as every member should. This government's commitment...
:09:57. > :10:01.are the party with two successive elections who promise to increase
:10:01. > :10:06.funding in the National Health Service. She leads a party which
:10:06. > :10:09.would not give that commitment. Therefore, the issue of the
:10:10. > :10:13.National Health Service, which like all public services is under great
:10:14. > :10:17.pressure, it should be remembered that because of this government's
:10:17. > :10:20.success in being re-elected at the National Health Service revenue
:10:20. > :10:26.budget is increasing in real terms. There has been no guarantee from
:10:26. > :10:30.anyone else. The difficulty of the Labour Party in making political
:10:30. > :10:35.point with the National Health Service was well exemplified only
:10:35. > :10:41.yesterday by the extraordinary and dreadful revelations about mid-
:10:41. > :10:46.Staffordshire Hospital Foundation Trust. It is a point that occurred
:10:46. > :10:50.not when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister, not one that
:10:50. > :10:55.coalition was in charge, but under Labour's watch. What happened,
:10:55. > :10:59.according to page 19 of the report, was a management thinking during
:10:59. > :11:04.the period was dominated by financial pressures and achieving
:11:04. > :11:10.Foundation Trust status, to the detriment of quality of care. So
:11:10. > :11:14.what I would submit to her is that this government's commitment to
:11:14. > :11:18.have a National Health Service, a properly integrated national health
:11:18. > :11:22.service, instead of one which is it internally competing on the road to
:11:22. > :11:32.privatisation, started by the Labour Party south of the border,
:11:32. > :11:33.
:11:33. > :11:41.is vindicated by events both in The First Minister accuses me of
:11:41. > :11:44.making a political point and then goes on precisely to do that, in
:11:44. > :11:49.defence, or complacently, of what is happening in the National Health
:11:49. > :11:54.Service now. All I ask him is to understand that people of his
:11:54. > :11:58.country are not talking about constitutional platforms. They want
:11:58. > :12:07.a First Minister who will address the needs of women like Mrs Fisher
:12:07. > :12:11.now. I think the fact that in the House of Commons, I voted against
:12:11. > :12:18.foundation hospitals and the Labour Party voted for them is something
:12:18. > :12:25.that is worthy of political debate. She says she doesn't like
:12:26. > :12:28.constitutional politics, and she worries that the SNP's attention is
:12:29. > :12:33.devoted... But I have been doing analysis. I have been analysing the
:12:33. > :12:37.questions she has been asking me. What is the number one subject that
:12:37. > :12:41.she asked me about at first knitters questions? Is that the
:12:41. > :12:45.economy, the health service, education? No, it is Scottish
:12:45. > :12:50.independent! So the woman who accuses this government of being
:12:51. > :12:54.obsessed by independent comes along here and invariably asks about
:12:54. > :13:00.Scottish independence. The reason she asks about it is because the
:13:00. > :13:04.Labour record is so lamentable on everything else. The reason I
:13:04. > :13:08.enjoyed asking about Scottish independence is by asking the
:13:08. > :13:18.resources of this nation, we can put not just the public services
:13:18. > :13:19.
:13:19. > :13:24.but the economy of this country to rights. Ruth Davidson. To ask the
:13:24. > :13:29.First Minister when he will next meet the Prime Minister. No plans
:13:29. > :13:33.in their future. On college funding and the cancer drugs and could I'm
:13:33. > :13:39.not sure if she has gone through the greatest hits, but I would like
:13:39. > :13:44.to take him through some of his own pet projects. Postal, the rural
:13:44. > :13:49.parliament for Scotland, announced in September of 2011, and are still
:13:49. > :13:53.not been established. The legislation passed in June 2010,
:13:53. > :14:00.two years and eight months on, not established. At the college reform
:14:00. > :14:04.programme, announced in September of the 2011, having no time to go
:14:04. > :14:11.at all. This from a First Minister is as he can build an entire
:14:11. > :14:18.independent nation in just 18 months. -- who says he can. That
:14:18. > :14:22.timetable is, "not just unrealistic, but hopelessly unrealistic". On the
:14:22. > :14:29.basis of his own failings, why is the First Minister right but the
:14:29. > :14:33.acknowledged expert in this field wrong? As far as the greatest hits
:14:33. > :14:37.for the Conservative and Labour parties, that is all part of the
:14:38. > :14:42.Better Together campaign. As far as the Courage reorganisation, I
:14:42. > :14:46.thought the basis but many Conservative MSPs is we were
:14:46. > :14:52.proceeding too fast with college a reorganisation. But of course it is
:14:52. > :14:58.an essential part of the future of Scotland's colleges. I was struck
:14:58. > :15:03.yesterday in the college to bait by two things. Firstly that they have
:15:03. > :15:10.devoted the highest revenue figure, higher than any figure in the
:15:10. > :15:15.entire Labour - liberal coalition, of 522 million. Their highest was
:15:15. > :15:21.510 million. I am glad the Tory benches has asked about real terms!
:15:21. > :15:31.I have been cast my eye south as to what the position, as we understand
:15:31. > :15:39.
:15:39. > :15:44.It appears that the cut is coming is not 4%, but it's nearer 20%. In
:15:45. > :15:49.terms of the comparable budget and given that Scotland's finances, as
:15:49. > :15:54.the Conservative Party know and have drawn a line in the sand are
:15:54. > :16:01.directly dependent on Barnett kopbsquenshalz isn't it a triumph
:16:01. > :16:04.that we've managed to avoid the near 20% cut in college funding
:16:04. > :16:09.that they're calling for south of the border. In terms of the time
:16:09. > :16:13.table on independence, if 30 countries across the world manage
:16:13. > :16:20.to progress to independence from the referendum to independence
:16:20. > :16:24.quicker than that time table, I really do think the why on earth
:16:24. > :16:29.shouldn't Scotland manage that as well? The reality is whatever time
:16:29. > :16:35.table the SNP laid out, however many international examples, the
:16:35. > :16:41.Conservative Party mired in the negativity would also always say no
:16:41. > :16:48.you cannae. Well, yes we can. APPLAUSE
:16:48. > :16:53.Order. Despite the bulging eye bluster the only thing that
:16:53. > :16:59.happened yesterday was that Mr Swinney cut college funding by more
:16:59. > :17:04.than �24 million while his bdgeers clapped and cleared drk
:17:04. > :17:08.backbenchers clapped and cheered. Quite apart from a Welfare State, a
:17:08. > :17:12.Scottish Treasury, a Scottish Supreme Court, let's focus on one
:17:12. > :17:15.body that this First Minister needs to establish in that 18 month time
:17:15. > :17:25.frame, the armed forces. The defence of the realm is the first
:17:25. > :17:27.
:17:27. > :17:37.responsibility of any Government. There are... Order. Order. We will
:17:37. > :17:37.
:17:37. > :17:40.hear Miss Gaifdson -- Davidson. Mr Stephenson, enough! There are
:17:40. > :17:43.65,000 MoD civil servants supporting the UK military right
:17:43. > :17:46.now. The Scottish Conservatives have learned that the number of
:17:47. > :17:50.people the Scottish Government are planning for a Scottish Defence
:17:51. > :17:54.Force is just seven, just seven people not only facing an
:17:54. > :18:00.impossible task but who were better deployed delivering the public
:18:00. > :18:05.services for which this Parliament is responsible. In fact, defence is
:18:05. > :18:11.just one of 16 areas where officials are being diverted from
:18:11. > :18:16.their devolves duties to work on the First Minister's separatist
:18:16. > :18:20.obsession. Order. Just settle down, please. It is no wonder that this
:18:20. > :18:25.First Minister can't create a rural Parliament or a Scottish sentencing
:18:25. > :18:28.Council or the college programme getting through in time. Will the
:18:28. > :18:34.First Minister admit that he's failing to run a devolves nation,
:18:35. > :18:39.never mind planning a new one? First Minister. I was waiting for
:18:40. > :18:43.the climax, but well, can I just restate again because if the
:18:44. > :18:47.average time period for the 30 countries that were listed in 15
:18:47. > :18:52.months then I find it difficult to understand why Scotland and the UK
:18:52. > :18:57.as developed Ze mockracys kopbtd achieve a similar or -- democracies
:18:57. > :19:00.couldn't achieve a similar or greater time period. For -- the
:19:00. > :19:05.four European countries in that list the average time period is
:19:05. > :19:10.four months. Being in that position is pretty well established by
:19:10. > :19:14.international compare sons. Can I turn to, I don't know if the
:19:14. > :19:19.defence industry and the troops, ones who have been made compulsory
:19:19. > :19:23.redun dapbtd. The ones who are fighting -- redundant. The ones who
:19:23. > :19:26.are fighting for their Government and then handed their P45, I don't
:19:26. > :19:28.think that's the Conservative Party's strongest suit at the
:19:29. > :19:31.present moment. I thought the complaint the Conservative Party
:19:31. > :19:35.was too many people in the Scottish Government planning for
:19:36. > :19:42.independence. Now we seem to be suggesting there's too few. And all
:19:42. > :19:46.these thousands of folk in the Ministry of Defence, these are the
:19:46. > :19:53.thousands of planners, the one who plan to have aircraft carriers and
:19:53. > :20:00.then forgot to have the aircraft to go on them. Are these really the
:20:00. > :20:05.sort of examples that Ruth Davidson - you've wrote it down, that's the
:20:05. > :20:10.point, great aircraft carriers, no planes to put on them. It's not the
:20:10. > :20:17.most fantastic idea of Ministry of Defence planning. They used to say
:20:17. > :20:21.military of intelligence as on oxy moron. MoD planning is the real
:20:21. > :20:25.oxymoron. Question number three. ask the First Ministers what issues
:20:25. > :20:29.will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet Issues of
:20:29. > :20:35.importance to the people of Scotland. Yet in the budget I was
:20:35. > :20:39.told that my realistic and costed proposals to give 24,000 two-year-
:20:39. > :20:43.olds a free nursery place had been rejected by the Government. I was
:20:43. > :20:47.told that the First Minister's Government preferred family nurse
:20:47. > :20:52.partnerships instead. Can he tell me how many children currently
:20:52. > :20:56.benefit from family nurse partnerships? It's a low figure at
:20:56. > :20:58.the present moment which is exactly why it's being rolled out across
:20:58. > :21:04.Scotland as we announced last October. The pilot was in Lothian
:21:04. > :21:09.and it's now being rolled out across Scotland. But can I say to
:21:09. > :21:13.you that his argument was carefully considered and the reason the
:21:13. > :21:17.Government's taken the stance it has is because one, we believe we
:21:17. > :21:21.should get to the 600 hours. We inherited 412-and-a-half hours I
:21:21. > :21:25.think and make that apply to three and four-year-olds and give it
:21:25. > :21:29.statutory backing. Partners and Councils say we can achieve this in
:21:29. > :21:32.the high quality standards that Scotland is used to in terms of
:21:32. > :21:36.child care and nursery provision, which are much higher, as he should
:21:36. > :21:41.know, than in England and Wales at the present moment in terms of the
:21:42. > :21:46.qual ti indications that staff -- qualification that's staff have to
:21:46. > :21:49.have. There say strong belief in England at the present moment
:21:49. > :21:52.expressed by local authorities that the only way the Conservative
:21:52. > :21:58.liberal coalition will extend to two-year-olds is by reducing the
:21:58. > :22:01.standards. You shake your head, it's only a week since it was
:22:01. > :22:07.announced there would be a relaxation of the number of
:22:07. > :22:11.children per worker. Now, I think there is a case to be made in terms
:22:11. > :22:16.of the quality of provision as well as the incredible extension to 600
:22:16. > :22:25.hours and many, many families across Scotland will welcome that
:22:25. > :22:31.increasingly. I suspect even the most sycophantic backbenchers will
:22:31. > :22:34.recognise my question was about family nurse partnerships not three
:22:34. > :22:39.and fear-year-olds. He should check his facts, if he looks at what's
:22:39. > :22:46.happening in England, they are increasing the standard for nursery
:22:46. > :22:51.eneducation, not reducing it. It is a low number. It's only 908. Family
:22:51. > :22:57.nurse partnerships, they are a good thing. But they're no substitute
:22:57. > :23:01.for 24,000 nursery places. They're doing both in England. It's not one
:23:01. > :23:05.or the other. They're doing both. I shouldn't have to remind him, but
:23:05. > :23:08.the investment before the age of three, all the experts say, is the
:23:08. > :23:12.best investment to make. It gives the best return. So if he's not
:23:12. > :23:17.going to use his budget to make this change, how's he going to
:23:17. > :23:24.close the gap between the 900 people that he wants to help and
:23:24. > :23:28.the 24,000 people that could benefit under my plans? The family
:23:28. > :23:31.nurse partnerships will be rolled out across Scotland. That was the
:23:31. > :23:36.purpose of the October announcement because of their success in the
:23:37. > :23:40.pilot study. I hope he will go back and revise his question in terms of
:23:40. > :23:44.the record. He said that standardser were being increased
:23:44. > :23:48.and perhaps he was referring to the qualifications of the staff in
:23:48. > :23:52.England. That's not the point I made to him. The point I made to
:23:52. > :23:56.him was the relaxation in terms of the number of children per staff
:23:56. > :24:02.member. If you increase the number of children allowed per staff
:24:02. > :24:08.member, that would tend to indicate a lowering of quality of provision
:24:08. > :24:12.as opposed to... Well, there is substantial, and yes, it is going
:24:12. > :24:18.up. Greater numbers of children per staff member, that would indicate
:24:18. > :24:22.to me a lower of quality of provision as many people, we'd be
:24:22. > :24:28.happy with debate with him how the best way forward. I do think that
:24:28. > :24:32.the extension to 600 hours, the initiative has been taken that
:24:32. > :24:35.early years development is a part of this Government's programme and
:24:35. > :24:39.the stress on early years. You know, this is an argument he puts forward
:24:39. > :24:44.and an argument that I hope we listen to and respond to in terms
:24:44. > :24:48.of early years planning. He represents or is in a party in
:24:48. > :24:54.Government which is destroying the livelihoods of low-inquom families
:24:54. > :24:57.across Scotland at the present -- income families across Scotland at
:24:57. > :25:00.the present. They've lost hundreds of thousands of pounds in tax
:25:00. > :25:03.allowances and child care. They face the prospect of being
:25:03. > :25:08.forcefully, in terms of finance, evicted from their homes if they
:25:08. > :25:13.happen to have a spare room. Representing a party which is
:25:13. > :25:17.engaged in that sort of policy is a bit of a brass neck to come along
:25:17. > :25:24.here and pretend you're on the side of young families.
:25:24. > :25:28.Question number four. Thank you presiding officer to ask
:25:28. > :25:35.the First Minister what the impact will be on Scotland's fishing fleet
:25:36. > :25:39.with the proposed 15% reduction in mackerel quotas? The Iceland's
:25:39. > :25:42.declaration of what is another large unilateral quota is
:25:42. > :25:47.disappointing. It should be said they've reduced the quota by 15%
:25:48. > :25:52.but they continue to take 22% of the total allowable catch, a share
:25:52. > :26:00.well in excess of their claim to 15%, which is in itself too high
:26:00. > :26:05.given a short time here yod of par tis -- par -- period of
:26:05. > :26:08.participation in that fishery. That puts risk the jobs which are
:26:08. > :26:13.important to vulnerable coastal communities. I think the First
:26:13. > :26:19.Minister for his answer. I wonder if it's possible for action to be
:26:19. > :26:23.taken to set up a mediation process to bring Iceland into the stock
:26:23. > :26:27.management arrangements for mackerel in the Atlantic?
:26:27. > :26:31.current process has involved 15 rounds over four years of
:26:31. > :26:36.negotiation and clearly hasn't worked. I think therefore, the
:26:36. > :26:40.Cabinet Secretary is right to call for a new approach. That's why
:26:40. > :26:45.Richard Lockhead has put forward the idea of an international
:26:45. > :26:48.mediator to bring parties together and facilitate an agreement. We are
:26:48. > :26:51.liaising with the European commissioner and other mackerel
:26:51. > :26:56.fishing kun Troyes take forward this notion. I know the chamber
:26:56. > :26:59.will appreciate the seriousness of this situation and we hope we have
:26:59. > :27:04.unanimous support for the initiative. Does that mean the
:27:04. > :27:06.First Minister and the Government have turned their back on the EU
:27:06. > :27:11.sanctions previously agreed by the European Commission. Does he
:27:11. > :27:16.recognise that white fish boats from Shetland are fishing in waters
:27:16. > :27:22.because that government has taken that action as well? No, it doesn't
:27:22. > :27:25.mean we have, we pressed for the sanctions as a means of getting
:27:25. > :27:32.people back to the stable. Tavistock must accept we must find
:27:32. > :27:35.a gnaw proch. We had the 15 rounds of negotiations over four years.
:27:35. > :27:38.Neither of the fishermen that he currently represents are the one
:27:38. > :27:42.that's I used to represent are in any doubt that situation cannot be
:27:42. > :27:46.allowed to drag on. We support strongly the enforcement on
:27:46. > :27:50.sanctions which the European Union has been dragging its feet. We
:27:50. > :27:54.support a new initiative to bring parties back to the table and the
:27:54. > :27:58.idea of international mediation is a new idea in the context and will
:27:58. > :28:04.get a broad welcome from the people who realise how important it is for
:28:04. > :28:09.us to make a break for them. I ask the First Minister who will
:28:09. > :28:14.administer any funds establish on a victims surcharge on offenders?
:28:14. > :28:19.It's an important proposal published today. It will raise
:28:19. > :28:23.funds for ouz used no supporting those affected by crime. Our First
:28:23. > :28:26.Choice as an administrator of the victims surcharge fund is victim
:28:26. > :28:32.support Scotland working in collaboration with other national
:28:32. > :28:37.victim support organisations. thank the First Minister. The
:28:37. > :28:42.victims fund is a splendid idea to be welcomed. The issue is how it is
:28:42. > :28:44.to be implemented. Has the First Minister read the Government's
:28:44. > :28:48.policy memoranda today that says the Scottish court service expects
:28:48. > :28:52.fully one third of court fines to remain unpaid 12 months after
:28:53. > :28:56.they've been imposed, over half of fiscal fines imposed in the last
:28:56. > :29:04.three years are not yet paid in full, how will the surcharge be any
:29:04. > :29:08.different? Let me welcome for this initiative and the member is right.
:29:08. > :29:12.This is exactly why we have legislation, we have proposals that
:29:12. > :29:16.we discuss in Parliament and get to the best possible position in
:29:16. > :29:20.securing the success of the victim support fund. Now that we've agreed
:29:20. > :29:25.on the principle, perhaps Louis McDonald can agree on the
:29:25. > :29:29.practicalities. The victims of witnesses bill will
:29:29. > :29:35.come to the Justice Committee and I note there's a separate distinct
:29:35. > :29:39.police restitution orders, how will these work? The offences against
:29:39. > :29:44.police officers are unacceptable. We propose in the victim witnesses
:29:44. > :29:47.bill to create a new kind of penalty where those found guilty
:29:47. > :29:51.after salt on the police are required to treatment and
:29:51. > :29:54.rehabilitation services for police officers. They're not intended to
:29:54. > :30:00.replace compensation orders to individual police officers.
:30:01. > :30:05.Question number six. Can I ask the First Minister what progress has
:30:05. > :30:09.been made on tackling hospital acquired infections. The Government
:30:09. > :30:14.established a health care environment in 2009 to reduce
:30:15. > :30:18.health care acquired infections. Inspectors annual report was
:30:18. > :30:25.published this week. It highlighted between October 2011 and September
:30:25. > :30:31.2012 there was a 42.7% reduction in the number of cases of C diff and a
:30:31. > :30:36.52% reduction in the cases of MRSA compared to when the this was first
:30:36. > :30:41.established in 2009/10. Can I thank the First Minister for his reply.
:30:41. > :30:48.Prot gres is welcome. The First Minister made a call that Jackie
:30:48. > :30:54.Bailey claimed that Scotland was the -- her statistic related to
:30:54. > :31:00.2005/06 when Labour were in office. Can the First Minister tell me what
:31:01. > :31:06.progress has been made since 2005/6 in reducing MRSA? From October 2005
:31:06. > :31:13.to September 2006 there was 1002 cases of MRSA. From October 2011 to
:31:13. > :31:20.December 2012 there were 185 cases, that's an 81.5% reduction in cases.
:31:20. > :31:24.Of course, she aright, Jackie Bailey did issue a press release
:31:24. > :31:29.saying that Scotland was the superbug capital of Europe. No
:31:29. > :31:37.doubt unaware that the statistics referred to 2005/06 when the Labour
:31:37. > :31:41.Party were in office. Now we have this dramatic reduction and
:31:41. > :31:45.listen,le 1.5% reduction is in-- 81.5% reduction is incredible, but
:31:45. > :31:51.it's not the full extent of what we're trying to do in this.
:31:51. > :31:55.No doubt, at some case, Jackie Bailey will accept that her epithet
:31:55. > :31:59.of the superbug capital of yuerp, which I don't know if it's the
:31:59. > :32:09.wisest thing she said any way, thank goodness the administration
:32:09. > :32:48.
:32:48. > :32:53.It's true that one of the successes has been to instil changed
:32:53. > :32:58.behaviour on the part of patients, visitors, staff through the
:32:58. > :33:06.national Health Service and that includes Government ministers. In
:33:06. > :33:10.future, every single one of us will aspire to the high standards.
:33:10. > :33:14.the concerns that recent public health officials in Lothian about
:33:14. > :33:19.unexplained rise in HEIs, what discussion has his Government had
:33:19. > :33:23.with those officials in NHS Lothians and what assurances can he
:33:23. > :33:26.give that the heat target will be met? One of the reason that's
:33:26. > :33:32.hospital acquired infections are falling so fast in Scotland is this
:33:32. > :33:42.is an ongoing process. It's part and parcel of integrated into the
:33:42. > :33:45.Health Service. People will have noticed in response to the serious
:33:45. > :33:49.situation in health and in the mid- Staffordshire that the Prime
:33:49. > :33:56.Minister have called in former advisor to President Obama. It was
:33:56. > :33:58.actually that person who looking at the health improvement and safety
:33:58. > :34:08.initiative gave them the highest praise and said they were world
:34:08. > :34:12.leaders. There can be substantial progress is made, no skphraisencey
:34:12. > :34:22.in terms of how the situation is developing. In order to make sure
:34:22. > :34:23.
:34:23. > :34:27.we continue to make improvements it has to be an ongoing process.
:34:27. > :34:32.we have it, the end of first ministers questions, the subjects
:34:32. > :34:35.as ever being dominated on this occasion, dominated by finance, the