:00:18. > :00:27.A very able warm welcome to the Scottish Parliament for the business
:00:28. > :00:36.of the day. Controversy over the waiting times in accident and
:00:37. > :00:43.emergency in Scotland's hospitals. There is a call for tougher action
:00:44. > :00:52.on domestic abuse. Some of these subjects make, in the course of
:00:53. > :00:59.First Minister's Questions. Recycle some of these drugs to Africa.
:01:00. > :01:07.Before we move to the next item of business, members will welcome to
:01:08. > :01:22.the gallery the President of the regional council of Lombardi. We now
:01:23. > :01:31.move to First Minister's Questions. What engagements does the first
:01:32. > :01:36.Minister for the rest the day. Last year, the Scottish government once
:01:37. > :01:40.again missed the accident and emergency target, meaning thousands
:01:41. > :01:45.of Scots had to wait more than four hours for treatment. The response
:01:46. > :01:48.was to lower the target. According to figures this week, they are not
:01:49. > :01:56.only missing the original target, the unknown missing the easier to
:01:57. > :02:03.reach target now. More hospital patients are suffering. The first
:02:04. > :02:07.Minister promised action. Those waiting for treatment for more than
:02:08. > :02:18.four hours has no chapel on his watch. -- triple. Audit Scotland
:02:19. > :02:22.we're looking at 2013 in the statistics. Let me first say what we
:02:23. > :03:25.are doing about the situation. statistics. Let me first say what we
:03:26. > :03:29.Johann Lamont Would know that they are also marked on the substantial
:03:30. > :04:39.improvements on statistics since the original ones.
:04:40. > :04:46.improvements on statistics since the watch? I do not know how familiar
:04:47. > :04:50.she is with statistics. The waiting times were the worst ever in
:04:51. > :05:02.accident and emergency. Let me correct a runout. She was right in
:05:03. > :05:15.quoting the statistics for 2012-15. That was the situation we are trying
:05:16. > :05:18.to rectify. Let me say again, we are looking to tackle these figures and
:05:19. > :05:25.bring them down to more acceptable levels. She said they were the worst
:05:26. > :05:30.figures ever. Let me give the figures for 2006 -07, when she was
:05:31. > :05:38.the Minister there were over 1 million attendances and some 300,000
:05:39. > :05:46.less than in 2012-15. The amount of people waiting more than four hours
:05:47. > :05:52.was 120 5,000, 753. Now that she is here these figures, will she with
:05:53. > :05:56.the law the suggestion that the 2012-13 was the worst ever, because
:05:57. > :06:01.it was clearly not. Will she acknowledge we are trying to improve
:06:02. > :06:05.the performance, it is substantially better than when she was a Minister
:06:06. > :06:10.and will she concentrate on the action plan which will serve the
:06:11. > :06:18.people and the hospital patients in our communities as best we can. The
:06:19. > :06:29.degree of complacency in that response is staggering. Let us go
:06:30. > :06:32.back to a comfort zone. The politician makes a debating point
:06:33. > :06:38.rather than responding to the question. This is what patients are
:06:39. > :06:43.seen, what staff are seeing an poor audit Scotland are seeing an poor
:06:44. > :06:47.audit Scotland is seen as well. The reality is does not seem to
:06:48. > :06:53.understand or care about the problem. We have a social care
:06:54. > :06:57.crisis which is fuelling an accident and emergency cases. People
:06:58. > :07:00.attending accident and emergency cannot get to bed because patients
:07:01. > :07:06.are being parked and inappropriate wards, waiting to be discharged but
:07:07. > :07:11.with nowhere to go. Hard-working zero nurses and doctors are not to
:07:12. > :07:15.blame. They are doing their best. As the first Minister going to get
:07:16. > :07:21.serious about this crisis are just going to fiddle with the targets
:07:22. > :07:25.once again? I think she should accept it as more than a debating
:07:26. > :07:33.point to point out she is fundamentally mistaken and her claim
:07:34. > :07:40.that 2012-13 was the worst year. The figure is a much bigger one than the
:07:41. > :07:45.one she sated. Let me talk about complacency. I reject that totally.
:07:46. > :07:50.We have set out the action plan which has been welcomed by the
:07:51. > :07:57.profession. This government, unlike the Labour government, promise to
:07:58. > :08:09.protect real spending in the NHS. Last December, the figure in terms
:08:10. > :08:15.of December increased, but we want to get that even higher. If she
:08:16. > :08:20.wants to hear about complacency, then perhaps she should recall when
:08:21. > :08:32.she was Minister and Andrew care was Health Minister, quite recent study,
:08:33. > :08:39.what the figure was, 87.5%, that figure was healed by Andrew care as
:08:40. > :08:44.showing that the vast vast majority of departments were meeting the
:08:45. > :08:50.targets. In terms of her and her party 's credibility, she can
:08:51. > :08:56.explain why when she was a Minister, at 87.5% was wonderful, White 93%
:08:57. > :09:01.under this government is such a disaster? Will she accept that
:09:02. > :09:05.thanks to the hard-working professionals in the NHS, that is an
:09:06. > :09:10.improvement, and improvement we intend to drive up father with our
:09:11. > :09:14.investment plan. But when she comes to this chamber to make up figures
:09:15. > :09:22.when she cannot substantiate her point. Then she and her party are
:09:23. > :09:37.fundamentally lacking in any credibility on the NHS. The fact
:09:38. > :09:40.that the Scottish National party backbenchers responded so warmly to
:09:41. > :09:47.the Ansar tells us all about the problem. Doctor Thomson, the cheer
:09:48. > :09:52.of the British Medical Association consultants said medical staff are
:09:53. > :09:57.working under considerable strain to maintain high quality care and an
:09:58. > :10:03.overstretched system. Clearly, this is not sustainable. But what we get
:10:04. > :10:07.from the first Minister is a first Minister coming up with
:10:08. > :10:11.unsustainable and sewers. Let us be honest about what is happening here
:10:12. > :10:18.and what the Government 's approach is, it is revealed in this line in
:10:19. > :10:22.the audit Scotland report. It says, the Scottish government has
:10:23. > :10:31.indicated it will review the 95% target after September 2014. What
:10:32. > :10:37.could possibly be happening in September 2014! Well, we are not
:10:38. > :10:43.prepared to wait for his referendum before we make sure that the ill and
:10:44. > :10:48.the injured do not have to wait for treatment. Is it not the case that
:10:49. > :10:54.the first Minister cares more about the constitution of the country than
:10:55. > :11:01.the health of the people. In dealing with the situation, we announced the
:11:02. > :11:07.?50 million emergency care plan, we are reviewing the 95% figure towards
:11:08. > :11:13.the end of the year because we want to drive it up towards 98%. I have
:11:14. > :11:18.been very critical of the Labour Party and the health service. ,
:11:19. > :11:23.because they would not fall or commit to protect the health service
:11:24. > :11:28.budget in real terms. I remember Lord McConnell seeing every other
:11:29. > :11:36.service, we have to cut its cloth, because of the were going to go into
:11:37. > :11:39.education. There is another administration and these islands,
:11:40. > :11:49.the Labour administration, who decided that because of the spending
:11:50. > :11:53.cuts in Westminster, the could not protect the NHS. Not on a single
:11:54. > :12:03.occasion have the even reached 90% in Wales. They have failed every
:12:04. > :12:15.time. In contrast, in Scotland, we have rising staff in the NHS. We
:12:16. > :12:23.have 127,000 staff and a staff last year. Advisory medical staff has
:12:24. > :12:27.increased, rising nursing staff and midwifery. This has been made
:12:28. > :12:34.possible because we have protected the health service in real terms. If
:12:35. > :12:38.the Labour record in office in this place was so lamentable and if the
:12:39. > :12:44.record on wheels is so much worse, then how on earth can they have any
:12:45. > :12:52.credibility with regard to the NHS. So why not welcome the investment
:12:53. > :12:57.investment which has been put in to drive the figures up. Get behind the
:12:58. > :13:05.plan and stop trying to rewrite history about the current
:13:06. > :13:10.administration or the previous one. Thank you. When will we first
:13:11. > :13:22.Minister next meet the Prime Minister? I have no plans in the
:13:23. > :13:28.near future. You asked me about the implementation of a Scottish
:13:29. > :13:34.clearing 's lot. That is information which can come forward and issues of
:13:35. > :13:42.domestic abuse. We are considering the Solicitor General 's proposals
:13:43. > :13:52.on this. Also, the chief constable has proposed a group to look at the
:13:53. > :13:57.disclosure scheme in Scotland. I can assure her that these will be
:13:58. > :14:02.carefully considered. I would like to thank the first Minister and
:14:03. > :14:12.welcome what he has said. While he is any listening mode, can he also
:14:13. > :14:18.look at the request by me for a public enquiry into the baby Ashes
:14:19. > :14:22.scandal. The first Minister was keen to talk about whales, but less keen
:14:23. > :14:26.to talk about his own record in Scotland. The first Minister cannot
:14:27. > :14:31.get away from the fact that he missed his target for treating
:14:32. > :14:35.people in accident and emergency and then lowers his target and then
:14:36. > :14:39.missed it again. This is not just about the people waiting for more
:14:40. > :14:45.than four hours an accident and emergency, or the thousands waiting
:14:46. > :14:49.more than 12 hours, this is about everybody having to expect to wait
:14:50. > :14:53.half an longer than they did just five years ago. The first Minister
:14:54. > :14:58.wants to blame everyone else when something goes wrong, but is it not
:14:59. > :15:02.the case that it is this government which has overseen the National rail
:15:03. > :15:06.service for the last seven years in Scotland. Does this feel you're not
:15:07. > :15:11.land squarely on his desk and will he not start to take some
:15:12. > :15:15.responsibility for it? The responsibility we have taken four
:15:16. > :15:19.was the emergency health care action plan which we announced. The ?50
:15:20. > :15:27.million will make a substantial difference. The chair of emergency
:15:28. > :15:34.medicine in Scotland welcomed the action plan and the close working
:15:35. > :15:44.relationship with the close NHS which is unveiling the plan across
:15:45. > :15:51.Scotland. The government will implement what is regarded as
:15:52. > :15:58.sensible policies. But to prove what the situation when we took over at
:15:59. > :16:03.the Senate is more reasonable to suggest there are a lot more work is
:16:04. > :16:07.now in the NHS. There are actually twice the number of consultants in
:16:08. > :16:13.accident and emergency than when we took over. It is entirely reasonable
:16:14. > :16:19.to put forward those points. All of those are true. Therefore, when the
:16:20. > :16:24.action plan is announced and welcomed across the NHS, brothers
:16:25. > :16:33.already signs as detailed in the audit Scotland report that it is
:16:34. > :16:40.working, we are looking at a serious problem and taking affirmative
:16:41. > :16:44.action to do something about it. We know more people are being treated
:16:45. > :16:49.and the NHS is under pressure. We are committed to providing extra
:16:50. > :16:56.nurses for Scotland but that does not take us away from the fact that
:16:57. > :17:05.a and E targets are being missed, nursing targets or down and read
:17:06. > :17:09.slashes -- bed numbers are slashed. Last week, the finance secretary
:17:10. > :17:16.said that this government had absolute control over the NHS. We
:17:17. > :17:24.have control over what type of NHS we want, and direction we want it to
:17:25. > :17:30.take. With this complete control over the NHS, are all of these cuts
:17:31. > :17:33.by SNP designed or is the First Minister being so busy with the
:17:34. > :17:38.referendum that they have happened by accident? The health service
:17:39. > :17:42.budget has been protected in real terms and that was the right
:17:43. > :17:46.decision to make. I will defend the decision to anyone at any time. That
:17:47. > :17:50.has not been easy because of the cutbacks from Westminster but
:17:51. > :17:56.nonetheless the budget has been protected. It is their for
:17:57. > :18:02.reasonable to point out that the staff members working in the NHS is
:18:03. > :18:06.higher than when we started and is a virtue of that investment. The
:18:07. > :18:12.nonprofit distribution programme across the NHS is yielding great
:18:13. > :18:16.results and we look forward to the direct investment in Glasgow of the
:18:17. > :18:21.new general hospitals and these are improving health care are radically
:18:22. > :18:28.across Scotland. That is a substantial achievement given the
:18:29. > :18:33.cutbacks elsewhere. The Prime Minister talks about little else
:18:34. > :18:38.apart from Wales but can I point out that while we have a major challenge
:18:39. > :18:44.in some of our health boards in Scotland, none of our health boards
:18:45. > :18:50.anywhere in Scotland are registering the 81.7%, 86% in south end which
:18:51. > :18:55.have been registered by health boards under pressure cells of the
:18:56. > :18:58.border. One of the reasons why people have confidence in this
:18:59. > :19:01.health service is the unbending commitment of this government to
:19:02. > :19:08.fund it in real terms but also the fact we are committed not to
:19:09. > :19:12.privatise it. For any Tory politician to come to this or any
:19:13. > :19:22.other chamber and ignore the dismay caused to the health service across
:19:23. > :19:26.England, almost beggars belief. We will respond to crisis by investing
:19:27. > :19:39.more. We will meet challenges as they come but it will be a public
:19:40. > :19:42.NHS for the people of Scotland. The First Minister will know that
:19:43. > :19:45.European structural funds for the Highlands important in terms of
:19:46. > :19:50.delivering economic growth. Can he confirm that the ?172 million for
:19:51. > :19:54.the new structural fund will be spent in the Highlands and Islands
:19:55. > :19:57.and decisions on which projects are to be disappointed with the taken
:19:58. > :20:04.locally rather than removing this function to Edinburgh as others
:20:05. > :20:10.fear. These matters are under discussion but I am sure he will
:20:11. > :20:19.look at the recent investments being made in Shetland, not least in the
:20:20. > :20:27.airport and other things. These decisions are under discussion at
:20:28. > :20:32.present. What issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the
:20:33. > :20:38.Cabinet? Matters of importance to the members of Scotland. Audit
:20:39. > :20:43.Scotland says a lack of hospital beds is a major problem. Hospital
:20:44. > :20:46.beds are at a record low but last week, the Health Secretary said
:20:47. > :20:51.there was not a strategic shortage of beds. Handed the case that his
:20:52. > :20:58.government has only really woken up to this problem two years ago. He
:20:59. > :21:04.mentioned the Royal College. Doesn't he think we're in this position
:21:05. > :21:09.because he failed to act enough? We are in a position where quite
:21:10. > :21:16.clearly, waiting times are improving in Accident and Emergency. Staff in
:21:17. > :21:21.Accident and Emergency are treating more patients than ever before. We
:21:22. > :21:26.are implementing lessons where best practice is ensuring already very
:21:27. > :21:32.substantial results. We are seeking the terms of the infrastructure in
:21:33. > :21:36.the health service to bring about facilities like the emergency care
:21:37. > :21:40.centre in Aberdeen which is absolutely superb in terms of
:21:41. > :21:44.managing the flow of patients. In terms of new facilities, lots of
:21:45. > :21:48.things have been planned and there has been continuing investment of
:21:49. > :21:52.the NHS in the last few years. It is absolutely right the Health
:21:53. > :21:56.Secretary puts together that action plan to deal with the pressures on
:21:57. > :22:01.the National Health Service but I think there should be some
:22:02. > :22:05.acknowledgement that this NHS is treating more patients than ever
:22:06. > :22:09.before, the public have fantastic confidence in the service and they
:22:10. > :22:14.have nothing but admiration for the staff who are performing to such an
:22:15. > :22:21.exceptional degree. He talked about the public hands of the NHS in
:22:22. > :22:26.keeping it in Scotland. That is the point I want to tackle, charging
:22:27. > :22:29.people for continuing care. It announced last Friday that it was
:22:30. > :22:34.ending the principle that people who need continuing care can get it free
:22:35. > :22:38.in their community. The only way people can avoid hundreds of pounds
:22:39. > :22:42.of charges is to stay in hospital. And that's going to increase the
:22:43. > :22:45.pressure on bed numbers and make the weighting problem worse? He has one
:22:46. > :22:50.half of his government trying to get people out of hospital and the other
:22:51. > :22:59.half giving them all the in -- financial investment to stay in
:23:00. > :23:04.hospital. That doesn't make sense? The Health Secretary Nicola
:23:05. > :23:14.statement and I am sure he will want to participate in that discussion.
:23:15. > :23:18.In terms of the success which we are committed to in Scotland, that would
:23:19. > :23:21.have been substantially enhanced if the Westminster government had not
:23:22. > :23:28.withheld its attendance allowance which will help extraordinarily with
:23:29. > :23:31.the finances of that. In terms of financial pressures on the National
:23:32. > :23:36.Health Service, one of the most significant pressures which we
:23:37. > :23:42.cannot unfortunately do anything about is the disaster of the Private
:23:43. > :23:48.Finance initiative which is resulting in payments of eight to
:23:49. > :23:53.ten times the actual cost of hospitals because of the disastrous
:23:54. > :23:56.contacts that he and his colleagues find when they were in government in
:23:57. > :24:00.this office. Our commitment to public National Health Service is
:24:01. > :24:04.not just to protect the funding but to have a public health service is
:24:05. > :24:13.not paying over the odds to private contractors. What is the Scottish
:24:14. > :24:21.Government's position on the increase in Scotland's position. We
:24:22. > :24:24.are very pleased that it is at its highest ever level. It is vital to
:24:25. > :24:53.economic growth and welcome news indeed.
:24:54. > :25:01.economic growth and welcome news prosperous society? I do agree with
:25:02. > :25:05.that. I think one of the signs of the failure of Westminster control
:25:06. > :25:10.of the Scottish economy was the lack of growth in Scotland over 100
:25:11. > :25:14.years. 10% compared to 60% population growth in England.
:25:15. > :25:16.Thankfully since the advent of this Parliament, these trends are
:25:17. > :26:46.reversing. Parliament, these trends are
:26:47. > :26:54.eventually see the Labour cuts, that free personal care will be defended.
:26:55. > :27:03.We protected the local budget in relative terms and it will stand at
:27:04. > :27:06.?10.6 billion. In addition, since 2008, three payments for nursing
:27:07. > :27:11.care have risen in line with inflation and we are also providing
:27:12. > :27:17.an additional ?5 million to local authorities for care of older
:27:18. > :27:21.people. Given the view of Peter Johnson that Ceredigion County
:27:22. > :27:25.Council social work budgets are under huge pressure with some yearly
:27:26. > :27:28.at breaking point, but is the Scottish Government going to do to
:27:29. > :27:34.address the fact that local government revenue spending has had
:27:35. > :27:40.a cut of 1.2% while costs have risen 10%. With demand for services
:27:41. > :27:43.growing, more older people living longer, isn't it time for the
:27:44. > :27:51.Scottish Government to sort out the squeeze on God government funding?
:27:52. > :27:55.-- local government funding. There is a squeeze on public spending in
:27:56. > :27:59.Scotland because of the squeeze being inflicted by the Westminster
:28:00. > :28:05.government. In terms of where the various aspects of public spending
:28:06. > :28:10.have been protected, chiefly protected if the health service.
:28:11. > :28:14.Neighbour did not commit to that. The second only to the health
:28:15. > :28:22.service in terms of protection of spending. In 2006 when the Labour
:28:23. > :28:25.Party were in office, Johann Lamont and others were in that
:28:26. > :28:38.administration, that percentage was dodgy for .7%. In 2014 it is 36.7%.
:28:39. > :28:53.Times are tough, how can they be otherwise? Local government spending
:28:54. > :28:59.has risen. Whatever that squeeze and difficulty is, we know it could have
:29:00. > :29:06.been worse if cerebral yak and colleagues had continued in office.
:29:07. > :29:13.-- Sarah Boyack. Westminster retained attendance allowance. To
:29:14. > :29:16.date that is around ?300 million. Surely the whole chamber would agree
:29:17. > :29:27.this should be returned to Scotland. Even the Labour Party
:29:28. > :29:33.asked for that and was refused. It is a hugely important issue and
:29:34. > :29:41.doors include the withdrawal of attendance allowance. Henry McLeish
:29:42. > :29:47.said it was unfair that it should be withdrawn and it was Jim Murphy as
:29:48. > :29:51.the Westminster Minister who said, no, we are going to keep the
:29:52. > :29:56.attendance allowance money and since then, that amounts to over ?300
:29:57. > :30:01.million which tells us two things. Wouldn't it be a grand idea of we
:30:02. > :30:04.considered all aspects of policy, not just spending but revenue and
:30:05. > :30:09.Social Security. Secondly, how useful with that money be now to
:30:10. > :30:12.help funding the things that the Labour Party say they care about but
:30:13. > :30:23.when in office, withdrew funding from Scotland. What the Scottish
:30:24. > :30:28.Government's position on the minimum pricing plan for alcohol being
:30:29. > :30:32.referred to the EU Court of Justice? We look forward to making the case
:30:33. > :30:35.before the European Court of Justice for this vital public help tool
:30:36. > :30:40.which will help you balance Scotland's relationship with
:30:41. > :30:45.alcohol. Each week, misuse is responsible for 20 deaths and 700
:30:46. > :30:49.hospital admissions. Minimum pricing would save lives within months of
:30:50. > :30:56.introduction. We remain committed to implementing that to reduce alcohol
:30:57. > :31:00.related harm. Scotland is leading the way on this issue and the
:31:01. > :31:07.governments of Ireland and Estonia have outlined they will merge their
:31:08. > :31:12.own outlining pricing systems. Does he recalled the wise words of the
:31:13. > :31:15.Commissioner when he said he was in favour of it in principle along with
:31:16. > :31:20.the evidence of Canada and the support of each of the UK's chief
:31:21. > :31:24.legal officer is, does this not demonstrate further that minimum
:31:25. > :31:33.pricing is essential if we are to cut violent crime and save lives in
:31:34. > :31:38.Scotland? We welcome the backing in principle as the member points out
:31:39. > :31:43.quite likely, this adds to the wave of support for the policy
:31:44. > :31:48.particularly for those who work daily with those suffering from
:31:49. > :31:57.alcohol misuse. In Canada it has reduced in harm and it has led to an
:31:58. > :32:00.estimated 32% reduction in holy alcohol related deaths. I welcome
:32:01. > :32:05.the referral to the European Court of Human Rights forward to
:32:06. > :32:13.implementing the policy but evidence shows will save lives.
:32:14. > :32:33.There we have come to the close of our coverage.
:32:34. > :32:39.before. There will not be serving editors on IPSO, the industry being
:32:40. > :32:44.run by the boys in it. Effectively it is, because the appointments
:32:45. > :32:48.committee for IPSO contains Rupert Murdoch's most loyal Lieutenant, the
:32:49. > :32:53.editor of The Times, himself found to be wanting by the courts. Everson
:32:54. > :32:56.said there should be no direct influence of the industry on the
:32:57. > :32:58.appointments.