:00:18. > :00:24.Hallo and a very warm welcome to the Scottish parliament here at
:00:25. > :00:28.Holyrood. Topics on the agenda politically, well, there's the
:00:29. > :00:31.budget here, of course. There's always Brexit and I wouldn't be at
:00:32. > :00:36.all surprised if there are some questions on the subject of
:00:37. > :00:39.education, with the second report out overnight, painting a picture of
:00:40. > :00:43.fairly poor attainment at Scottish schools and a big attainment gap
:00:44. > :00:47.between those from wealthy and deprived backgrounds. Anyway, only
:00:48. > :00:53.one way to find out. We crossed to the chamber. We are
:00:54. > :00:57.just getting underway here. I would like to ask the vet Minister what
:00:58. > :01:01.engagement she has planned for the rest of the day. Engagement to take
:01:02. > :01:10.forward the Government's plan for Scotland. There is no specific plan
:01:11. > :01:17.where able children in Scotland exile. Over the past years, we have
:01:18. > :01:21.seen a decline in that. Not my words, but that is the verdict from
:01:22. > :01:25.education experts Sutton trust this morning. Can the First Minister
:01:26. > :01:28.explain why a 15-year-old south of the border is more likely to be a
:01:29. > :01:34.high achiever in science than a 15-year-old in Scotland? Well, Ruth
:01:35. > :01:39.Davidson refers to the Sutton trust's report which has just been
:01:40. > :01:43.published. It is an important report and helps to aid our understanding
:01:44. > :01:47.of the challenges we need to address in order to tackle the attainment
:01:48. > :01:51.gap. It is important to note though that the Sutton trust does not
:01:52. > :01:58.resent new data. Its analysis of these cause published in December
:01:59. > :02:04.and those scores are based on a survey carried out two years ago, a
:02:05. > :02:09.survey that predates the attainment challenge and predates the reforms
:02:10. > :02:14.to our education system that are now underway. This report certainly
:02:15. > :02:20.under lines the importance of those reforms. We will study the
:02:21. > :02:24.recommendations of the report carefully. In terms of the gap
:02:25. > :02:28.between the richest and poorest high achieving pupils, the gap is
:02:29. > :02:32.actually more in Scotland and it is in England. I take no comfort from
:02:33. > :02:39.that because the report says that we must do better and we must do that.
:02:40. > :02:42.As always, the First Minister has her long list of excuses ready but
:02:43. > :02:48.the answer to the question that I asked lies at the door of an SMP
:02:49. > :02:54.which has failed utterly over ten years of Government is set Scottish
:02:55. > :02:58.education on the right course. The First Minister fails to address some
:02:59. > :03:02.of the clear recommendations in that report this morning. Recommendations
:03:03. > :03:05.that could make a difference to a child's education, because the
:03:06. > :03:09.Sutton trust says that our best performing schools should help
:03:10. > :03:14.support children in underperforming schools. This could help support
:03:15. > :03:17.schools and develop leadership in staff. It's an idea we called for
:03:18. > :03:24.last year. We'll be First Minister act on it? It's one of four key
:03:25. > :03:28.recommendations that are in the report and indeed, we have already
:03:29. > :03:32.established what is called the insight system. That allows teachers
:03:33. > :03:37.in the senior based to see how their schools are performing compared to
:03:38. > :03:41.others, identify areas of success and identify where improvements
:03:42. > :03:46.could be made. Thus enabling schools to see where there is best practice
:03:47. > :03:52.and learn from that best practice is already underway. We are committed
:03:53. > :03:56.to taking forward clusters of schools to allow different schools
:03:57. > :03:59.to learn from each other. Then there are other recommendations within the
:04:00. > :04:04.report which we are taking forward in different ways. One of the key
:04:05. > :04:08.recommendations is about how we monitor people's and indeed I heard
:04:09. > :04:14.someone from the Sutton trust make this point this morning, the
:04:15. > :04:20.importance of monitoring pupils at all levels of ability, and that is
:04:21. > :04:25.what standardised assessment is all about and school by school day care
:04:26. > :04:29.that we are now publishing. We have a range of reforms underway to make
:04:30. > :04:34.sure that we do improve attainment overall but close the attainment gap
:04:35. > :04:41.and all of that programme of work is backed and underpinned by the
:04:42. > :04:45.attainment funded just last week, when it was announced ?120 million
:04:46. > :04:49.will be allocated directly to head so that they are equipped to take
:04:50. > :04:54.this work forward so that we see the further improvements that we need to
:04:55. > :04:57.see over the years to come. I have to say, presiding officer, I am
:04:58. > :05:01.surprised by the First Minister sounding so positive on that because
:05:02. > :05:05.we know that a project specifically to winning flagship schools with
:05:06. > :05:11.underperforming schools was recently dumped by this Government and with
:05:12. > :05:15.education Scotland confirming there was no money to keep it going. The
:05:16. > :05:22.blunt truth is that this garden trust findings on attainment sires
:05:23. > :05:27.are particularly shocking. We said that bursaries should be provided to
:05:28. > :05:34.attract the best scientists into teaching. Yesterday, the Scottish
:05:35. > :05:38.Government decided instead to launch a poster campaign. Does the First
:05:39. > :05:44.Minister really think that that's sufficient to get enough teachers
:05:45. > :05:48.into teaching? Let me take on all of these individual points. In terms of
:05:49. > :05:55.the programme Ruth Davidson talks about, that approach was in our
:05:56. > :05:58.attainment programme and was underpinned by the additional
:05:59. > :06:01.funding in our attainment challenge and the workaround clusters of
:06:02. > :06:07.schools. That is the right way to develop the work that has been done
:06:08. > :06:12.over the past few years. In terms of getting teachers into schools. For a
:06:13. > :06:16.party that south of the board is taking bursaries away from
:06:17. > :06:20.professional groups, it's a bit rich to talk about bursaries. We will
:06:21. > :06:23.continue to take the steps that we continue to be appropriate and what
:06:24. > :06:26.John Sweeney and the General teaching Council have announced over
:06:27. > :06:32.recent times is a way of different ways in which we attract our best
:06:33. > :06:36.and brightest into teaching, particularly into areas where there
:06:37. > :06:40.is identified to be a shortage. Ruth Davidson may mock some of what has
:06:41. > :06:44.been announced but these are important initiatives to make sure
:06:45. > :06:49.we get teachers coming into education generally but also into
:06:50. > :06:53.the same subjects. We continue to look if there is more action we
:06:54. > :06:56.should be taking. In terms of the attainment gap, I have said
:06:57. > :07:02.repeatedly and will continue to say that this is a focus for this
:07:03. > :07:05.Government and we are absolutely focused on making sure that we do
:07:06. > :07:10.leather further improvements. That is across a range of methods,
:07:11. > :07:15.whether that is on school exam passes, positive destinations, with
:07:16. > :07:18.signs in our education system that attainment gap narrowing. I want to
:07:19. > :07:24.see it narrow further and I want to see a faster which is why we are
:07:25. > :07:28.taking the action that we are doing. And yet Scotland still has 4000
:07:29. > :07:35.fewer teachers than when her Government came to power. Presiding
:07:36. > :07:40.Officer, we now see the consequences of ten wasted years of this SNP
:07:41. > :07:46.Government and the harm that it has done to the life chances of our
:07:47. > :07:49.peoples. In science, 15-year-olds in Scotland are two years behind
:07:50. > :07:55.children in Singapore. In reading, they are behind children in Canada
:07:56. > :08:01.and Finland by a year. In maths, they are a year behind children in
:08:02. > :08:05.Estonia. That is the legacy of this Government. It is a generation of
:08:06. > :08:08.Scottish children who are being left behind in the race for
:08:09. > :08:13.qualifications and full featured jobs. Scotland used to lead the
:08:14. > :08:18.world in education. Why under this Government are we always catching --
:08:19. > :08:22.playing catch up? I actually think Ruth Davidson in the final question
:08:23. > :08:33.does a disservice to teachers across this country, because I do not, do
:08:34. > :08:40.not and never will shy away from the challenges that we must address, but
:08:41. > :08:44.in our education system today, we have got record high exam passes, we
:08:45. > :08:48.have got a record numbers of young people going into positive
:08:49. > :08:54.destinations after they leave school and we also do see signs, weather is
:08:55. > :08:59.exam passes, positive destinations or access to university, signed the
:09:00. > :09:03.narrowing of that attainment gap, that is their reality. But as I
:09:04. > :09:08.repeatedly say, that is not good enough. That is why since the data
:09:09. > :09:16.was gathered for the Sutton trust report, we have embarked upon a
:09:17. > :09:19.programme of improvements underpinned by substantial funding
:09:20. > :09:22.going straight into the hands of headteachers. There are headteachers
:09:23. > :09:26.right across this country who last week got told of a substantial
:09:27. > :09:30.additional funding that they will have at their direct disposal to
:09:31. > :09:33.invest in additional teachers or the things that they think will help
:09:34. > :09:39.raise attainment. This is solid action, action we are continued --
:09:40. > :09:41.continuing to focus on so that we deliver the improvements that young
:09:42. > :09:51.people and parents across the country have got the right to see.
:09:52. > :09:56.What engagements does the First Minister have planned for the rest
:09:57. > :10:05.of the week? Engagements to take forward the plan for Scotland. A new
:10:06. > :10:11.report today exposes that S NP's catastrophic failure on education.
:10:12. > :10:19.They can grow in all they like, presiding officer, but it's true and
:10:20. > :10:23.they should read it. And in the subjects most important are growing
:10:24. > :10:29.Scotland's economy in the future, young people are being let down.
:10:30. > :10:33.Despite the hard work of pupils and Scotland -- and teachers, the SNP's
:10:34. > :10:37.failure is there for all to see and time and time again I have come here
:10:38. > :10:42.and argued that the SNP are leaving the poorest children behind. Now
:10:43. > :10:47.this report shows that they are also holding the brightest children back.
:10:48. > :10:52.The birds minister said education would be her defining priority, so
:10:53. > :10:57.why is her Government failing a whole generation of children? -- the
:10:58. > :11:02.First Minister. At risk of repeating the answers I gave earlier. This is
:11:03. > :11:07.an important report. I readily accept that. But the data in this
:11:08. > :11:12.report is based on a survey carried out two years ago. Why that is
:11:13. > :11:17.significant is that that predates the programme of reforms that we
:11:18. > :11:20.have underway. It predates the additional resources we have made
:11:21. > :11:25.available through the attainment challenge and the attainment fund.
:11:26. > :11:30.These approaches are not just getting additional resources into
:11:31. > :11:33.the hands of headteachers, they are introducing standardised assessment
:11:34. > :11:38.so that we track the progress of our young people more reading Lee and
:11:39. > :11:43.more robustly. They are leading to the publication of more transparent
:11:44. > :11:49.data and information on an ongoing basis than Scottish education so
:11:50. > :11:53.that we can track our progress. I think every politician in this
:11:54. > :11:58.chamber who raises these issues is absolutely right to do so, such is
:11:59. > :12:02.their importance. But I think they also have an obligation to get
:12:03. > :12:06.behind the reforms that we are introducing because on some of these
:12:07. > :12:09.reforms, we have seen members of the Labour benches having initially
:12:10. > :12:14.backed them, when they come under some pressure on them, decide they
:12:15. > :12:18.don't back them after all. I would say this Sutton trust report
:12:19. > :12:23.underlines the importance and the necessity of those reforms to
:12:24. > :12:28.education and that's why I hope all members across this chamber will
:12:29. > :12:32.enthusiastically back them. It's clear from that answer that when the
:12:33. > :12:38.First Minister runs out of excuses, she just repeats them. She dismisses
:12:39. > :12:42.the reporting today's paper but she can't dismiss every single report
:12:43. > :12:46.that preceded that and the question is, how many reports that she have
:12:47. > :12:49.to get about the state of education in Scotland before Steve accepts the
:12:50. > :12:55.simple truth that the heart of every single one, that there is the simple
:12:56. > :12:59.truth missed by the SMP and the Tories, that if we want to give
:13:00. > :13:04.young people the best possible chance in life, we have do invest in
:13:05. > :13:08.them. That means investing in local schools. What we get from the SNP
:13:09. > :13:16.though is ?1.5 billion worth of cuts since 2011. In the original report,
:13:17. > :13:20.the one that wasn't rewritten by the First Minister, the independent
:13:21. > :13:24.poverty adviser said this, any reduction in the services would be
:13:25. > :13:32.damaging for low income households. Who should we believe? The first
:13:33. > :13:37.Ministry or her own poverty adviser. Firstly, in terms of Kezia Dugdale's
:13:38. > :13:40.first comment that, I didn't dismiss the Sutton trust's report and
:13:41. > :13:46.anybody watching this at home will have heard me say it is an important
:13:47. > :13:50.report that aids our understanding of the challenges we face. I simply
:13:51. > :13:54.pointed out the fact that it is based on data that is already two
:13:55. > :13:58.years old and predates the work that we are doing. In terms of previous
:13:59. > :14:02.reports that Kezia Dugdale also wrongly claims that I'm dismissing,
:14:03. > :14:07.the Sutton trust report published this morning which I have read is
:14:08. > :14:11.based on the Pisa report which was published in December. It's not new
:14:12. > :14:22.data. That does not make it an important but it is an important
:14:23. > :14:24.contextual point to make. In terms of her point on investment in
:14:25. > :14:26.schools, absolutely, she is right. Which is why we have established the
:14:27. > :14:29.attainment fund. The attainment fund is putting ?120 million in the
:14:30. > :14:37.coming financial year into the hands of headteachers in 95% of the -- 95%
:14:38. > :14:40.of schools across this country. That adds to the ?50 million we were
:14:41. > :14:44.already investing in the attainment challenge. That is the kind of
:14:45. > :14:48.investment we need to see in our schools, the kind of investment that
:14:49. > :14:52.this Government is delivering in our schools. In my last point on
:14:53. > :14:58.budgets, we have heard a week in and week out in this chamber Kezia
:14:59. > :15:04.Dugdale stand-up here talking about what she claims our council cuts and
:15:05. > :15:06.yet this week we started to see Labour councils, Inverclyde
:15:07. > :15:11.yesterday, deciding that they have enough money available to them
:15:12. > :15:19.without using the flexibility we have given councils are in council
:15:20. > :15:26.tax. Labour here repeatedly say that tax rises are necessary to protect
:15:27. > :15:38.services like education but we have council is now saying the opposite,
:15:39. > :15:41.proving the point that we are giving resources to local councils to
:15:42. > :15:44.enable them not just to protect services but in the case of
:15:45. > :15:57.education to get more money into the hands of those who run our schools.
:15:58. > :16:08.Resources they need, but she is putting in ?120 million and taking
:16:09. > :16:13.out ?1.5 billion. You have been in power for ten years, First Minister,
:16:14. > :16:18.and that is your record. And the Sutton Trust report proves beyond
:16:19. > :16:27.all doubt that teachers need more support to give young people the
:16:28. > :16:32.skills they need. But under the SNP thereafter 4000 fewer teachers in
:16:33. > :16:35.Scotland, and we have lost 826 science and maths teachers since the
:16:36. > :16:38.SNP took office. It is no wonder John Sweeney had to launch a
:16:39. > :16:43.recruitment drive for teachers yesterday. Teacher numbers down, the
:16:44. > :16:51.attainment gap widening, the only thing that is up under the SNP is
:16:52. > :16:55.cuts to schools. Beaver with records this poor, primary pupils could do
:16:56. > :17:00.the maths, why can't the First Minister? Maybe she should ask the
:17:01. > :17:05.leader of Inverclyde Council to do the maths for her. As a result of
:17:06. > :17:12.the changes announced last Thursday, there are now ?400 million of
:17:13. > :17:19.additional resources available for local services, that is the reality,
:17:20. > :17:22.and that includes ?120 million available for headteachers to
:17:23. > :17:30.deliver improvement in our schools. And for Kezia Dugdale to talk about
:17:31. > :17:33.cuts in local services the day after the Labour leader of Inverclyde
:17:34. > :17:37.Council took to social media to boast that he had enough money that
:17:38. > :17:42.enabled him to become the leader across Scotland that had frozen the
:17:43. > :17:47.council tax for longest, Labour go on contradicting themselves. As
:17:48. > :17:50.Labour go on contradicting themselves from the sidelines, we
:17:51. > :17:52.will get on with delivering the improvements in education that
:17:53. > :17:53.parents and children have a right to expect.
:17:54. > :18:08.APPLAUSE Two supplementary constituency
:18:09. > :18:12.questions. Will the First Minister join with me in welcoming the plan
:18:13. > :18:17.to make Andy and Angus a world centre for oil and gas
:18:18. > :18:20.decommissioning? I welcome the ?5 million fund to yesterday, although
:18:21. > :18:24.agree with Gary Smith of the GMB that considering the scale of the
:18:25. > :18:28.opportunity, it is a drop in the ocean. Wilshere back the proposal by
:18:29. > :18:33.guaranteeing at least half of this fund to Dundee to give us the best
:18:34. > :18:39.chance of securing decommissioning jobs? As this Government has
:18:40. > :18:44.demonstrated through its actions, we are enthusiast exporters of the city
:18:45. > :18:47.deals, and have supported already a number of deals and will continue to
:18:48. > :18:51.work with councils in Tayside to ensure we are doing everything we
:18:52. > :18:57.can to support development in Dundee and across Tayside. I'm glad she
:18:58. > :19:04.welcomed the ?5 million decommissioning challenge fund. I'm
:19:05. > :19:07.sure she has read the material published and will see that this is
:19:08. > :19:13.an initial fund with future funding expected in future years. Our supply
:19:14. > :19:17.chain already does very well in terms of winning work in aspects of
:19:18. > :19:22.the decommissioning process, for example project management,
:19:23. > :19:26.unplugging Wells, but we need to make sure that where we have got the
:19:27. > :19:32.infrastructure in place to enable firms to compete successfully for
:19:33. > :19:37.the work around removal of topsides and rakes onshore. That is why this
:19:38. > :19:40.fund is important and we will continue to make sure that as we
:19:41. > :19:45.support the oil and gas industry in terms of production, because it has
:19:46. > :19:50.a right future ahead of it, we will also make sure that Scottish firms,
:19:51. > :19:55.where ever they are are to take advantage of the benefits of
:19:56. > :20:00.decommissioning, and yesterday I met in Aberdeen two firms doing just
:20:01. > :20:07.that, and I want to see more of them able to compete in that way.
:20:08. > :20:12.Patients were turned away from the GP out of hours service at our local
:20:13. > :20:15.hospital last Sunday, it had to close because there were no doctors
:20:16. > :20:20.to cover the rotor. Yesterday was told of a private report from NHS
:20:21. > :20:25.Glasgow and Clyde that gives their preferred option of centralising the
:20:26. > :20:29.veil out of hours service to the royal Alexandra Hospital. Given that
:20:30. > :20:33.retaining out of hours GP services was a key commitment in the vision
:20:34. > :20:41.for the Vale, what action will the First Minister take to stop a health
:20:42. > :20:44.board for breaking her promise? She mentioned often the vision for the
:20:45. > :20:47.veil, but to remind her that the vision for the veil is what we had
:20:48. > :20:52.to come up with when I was Health Secretary to come up with the many
:20:53. > :20:59.health services that had been put under threat by the previous
:21:00. > :21:03.administration that was in place. In fact, had that Labour administration
:21:04. > :21:15.stayed in place, I very much doubt if
:21:16. > :21:25.the Vale would still be providing the excellent services that they
:21:26. > :21:29.still do. To ask the First Minister when the Cabinet will next meet. The
:21:30. > :21:37.Cabinet will next meet on the 21st of February. The aviation industry
:21:38. > :21:45.claims to have an aim of halving its CO2 emissions by 2050 compared with
:21:46. > :21:48.2005 levels. The UK climate change committee which is the Scottish
:21:49. > :21:54.Government's chosen adviser on climate change, has ruled that
:21:55. > :21:58.aviation emissions should be no higher than 2005 levels by the same
:21:59. > :22:03.date, and yet the Scottish Government's climate action plan
:22:04. > :22:07.published last month implies that there will be in mission reductions
:22:08. > :22:12.in aviation, but does say how much or how they will be achieved. And
:22:13. > :22:16.the Scottish Government is now setting about redesigning the
:22:17. > :22:20.aviation tax regime without appearing to have any such target in
:22:21. > :22:24.mind, and despite knowing that its tax proposal would actually increase
:22:25. > :22:29.emissions. Does the Scottish Government have any idea of the
:22:30. > :22:36.actual level of aviation emissions that they consider acceptable? The
:22:37. > :22:41.climate change plan sets out in detail across a range of different
:22:42. > :22:45.sectors how we will go about meeting our climate change obligations, and
:22:46. > :22:47.it will develop over time and on which we would expect input from
:22:48. > :22:53.this chamber and across a range of different sectors. As we have said
:22:54. > :22:57.repeatedly before and I will say again today, the environment must be
:22:58. > :23:02.a consideration in every decision we take, including any decisions around
:23:03. > :23:07.aviation and any decisions around APD which is what Patrick Harvie is
:23:08. > :23:10.getting at. We have also said before that if we pursue any policies that
:23:11. > :23:14.have lead in one area to an increase in emissions, what that means in
:23:15. > :23:17.order that we meet our targets is we have to work harder in other areas
:23:18. > :23:24.to ensure that we are driving down emissions overall, so as we develop
:23:25. > :23:27.we remember that we are meeting our current climate change targets ahead
:23:28. > :23:30.of schedule, and we are about to go into the process of legislation
:23:31. > :23:36.where we will toughen the targets, but as we do so, we will continue to
:23:37. > :23:44.ensure that not just our policy is there but across all of Government
:23:45. > :23:47.take account of the environmental of obligations that we have. I'm afraid
:23:48. > :23:50.that the climate action plan doesn't give details on aviation emissions
:23:51. > :23:55.that the First Minister seems to suggest it does. But I'm glad she
:23:56. > :24:00.thinks that environmental considerations should be a factor in
:24:01. > :24:03.setting aviation tax levels, I hope to have the government's support in
:24:04. > :24:07.writing that into the legislation so that no future government is able to
:24:08. > :24:12.ignore that important consideration. What I have found most astonishing
:24:13. > :24:15.in hearing witnesses give evidence in support of the Government's
:24:16. > :24:19.proposal is that none of them seem capable of producing a shred of
:24:20. > :24:24.credible evidence about what the impact will be, not on flight
:24:25. > :24:27.numbers or prices, not on job creation, they all produce different
:24:28. > :24:32.figures for that, mostly based on out of date research, figures
:24:33. > :24:36.plucked from the air. They are not able to tell us what the impact will
:24:37. > :24:40.be on the economy or public finances, even those that claim some
:24:41. > :24:45.baseless prediction of extra tax being generated in the economy
:24:46. > :24:48.reduced no robust evidence about how much of it will flow to the Scottish
:24:49. > :24:57.Government and how much of it will flow to the UK Treasury. Adding to
:24:58. > :25:00.that the lack of any clear impact of the effect of this policy on the
:25:01. > :25:06.environment, the one thing that we do know about this policy is that it
:25:07. > :25:08.will be an effective tax cut to a highly profitable, highly polluting
:25:09. > :25:13.industry while public transport languishes. Isn't it time to shelve
:25:14. > :25:19.this whole plan until the Scottish Government has got anything
:25:20. > :25:22.approaching an evidence base? The tax cuts for the individuals and
:25:23. > :25:27.families who use air travel, including families who go on holiday
:25:28. > :25:31.and who may well welcome a reduction in the cost of going on holiday, and
:25:32. > :25:35.in terms of some of the evidence from those who would support this
:25:36. > :25:41.policy, they do make very clear statement in terms of the impact of
:25:42. > :25:46.that in greater routes from Scotland, more flights, and more
:25:47. > :25:50.jobs in the industry. Of course, as we take forward both the legislation
:25:51. > :26:01.around the devolution of airport and Judy YouTube it also our budgets for
:26:02. > :26:09.future years, we take account of differing amounts today. -- the
:26:10. > :26:12.devolution of air passenger duty. Protecting the Barrett is key, and
:26:13. > :26:15.that is why the climate change plan backing up the legislation that is
:26:16. > :26:19.already in place, paving the way for the new legislation that we are
:26:20. > :26:24.going to bring in is so important. Let's not forget one of the central
:26:25. > :26:27.issues here. Scotland is already meeting its climate change target,
:26:28. > :26:31.and is seen as a world leader when it comes to reducing emissions and
:26:32. > :26:35.tackling climate change, that is something all of us should be proud
:26:36. > :26:37.of and we should continue to make sure that in everything we do we set
:26:38. > :26:49.environmental standards that the rest of the world want to emulate.
:26:50. > :26:53.Supplementary questions. Did the Prime Minister note that last night
:26:54. > :26:57.the Labour Party signed a blank cheque to the First Minister to ally
:26:58. > :27:01.without further democratic reference to determine the terms of the EU,
:27:02. > :27:07.and in particular the White Paper and paragraph 8.16 which said that
:27:08. > :27:12.there should be a mutually beneficial solution for the
:27:13. > :27:16.Spaniards in the UK in relation to fishing. Clearly con firm in a
:27:17. > :27:24.sell-out of an interest by the Tories once again!
:27:25. > :27:29.APPLAUSE Nobody should be surprised if the
:27:30. > :27:32.Tory Government are preparing to sell at the Scottish fishing
:27:33. > :27:37.industry, because they have done it on plenty of occasions before. But
:27:38. > :27:40.in terms of the wider issue about the vote in the House of Commons
:27:41. > :27:44.last night, I think it is deeply regrettable that amendment after
:27:45. > :27:48.amendment was rejected by the Government, and we are talking about
:27:49. > :27:51.amendments that ask for protection from EU nationals, ask the
:27:52. > :27:54.Government to commit to not doing things like breaching the Good
:27:55. > :27:56.Friday agreement in Northern Ireland, all of these amendments
:27:57. > :28:01.were rejected, not a single concession was won through any of
:28:02. > :28:05.these amendments, and yet we still have a Labour so-called opposition
:28:06. > :28:11.that decides to vote for that bill and hand the Conservative government
:28:12. > :28:13.a blank cheque. I think that is utterly pathetic, and shows the
:28:14. > :28:19.weakness of the opposition that there is in the UK Parliament in
:28:20. > :28:23.form of the Labour Party. Jeremy Corbyn was treated last night that
:28:24. > :28:29.the real fight begins now, but how utterly pathetic, that is not so
:28:30. > :28:33.much bolting the stable door after the horse has bolted, it is more
:28:34. > :28:40.like closing the stable door after the horse is dead and buried. The UK
:28:41. > :28:46.badly needs vigorous opposition in the House of Commons. The SNP is
:28:47. > :28:54.providing it every day, it is just a pity that the Labour Party are
:28:55. > :28:58.failing to do so. Thank you, Presiding Officer. This week the SNP
:28:59. > :29:04.have confirmed E.ON all doubt that they no longer accept the overall
:29:05. > :29:15.outcome of the democratic process. -- beyond all doubt. So in that same
:29:16. > :29:20.spirit, can the First Minister guarantee that my constituents, who
:29:21. > :29:23.neither voted for her as First Minister north this Scottish
:29:24. > :29:27.Government, will not be forced to take part in a second independence
:29:28. > :29:34.referendum against their express will? I think it is clear and
:29:35. > :29:38.becoming increasingly clear with every week that passes that the
:29:39. > :29:42.people the Tories in this chamber represent other Tory government in
:29:43. > :29:46.Westminster. That is who they are here to represent and stand up for.
:29:47. > :29:50.APPLAUSE Let me remind the member that 62% of
:29:51. > :29:56.the people of Scotland voted to remain in the European Union, and I
:29:57. > :30:00.have a duty as First Minister to stand up for the interests of this
:30:01. > :30:08.country and to do everything I can to make sure that the Tories do not
:30:09. > :30:12.get away with taking Scotland of a hard Brexit cliff edge with the
:30:13. > :30:17.implications that have jobs, investment, economy as a whole and
:30:18. > :30:21.the very society that we live in. On the question of a second
:30:22. > :30:25.independence referendum, I have been very clear about my determination to
:30:26. > :30:30.find compromise. It just so happens I am facing a UK Government that
:30:31. > :30:34.isn't willing to compromise with me. But I have also said that I am
:30:35. > :30:38.determined to ensure that Scotland will not be dragged out of the EU
:30:39. > :30:43.and dragged off that hard Brexit cliff edge against its will. My
:30:44. > :30:46.mandate for that, it was in the manifesto that I was elected on just
:30:47. > :31:01.under one year ago. APPLAUSE
:31:02. > :31:17.Politicians to... Both of which are designed to increase flights and
:31:18. > :31:21.flight paths. As I have said before and as I think most people
:31:22. > :31:25.recognise, we have to strike the right balance between ensuring our
:31:26. > :31:29.economy can grow and we are providing the infrastructure and the
:31:30. > :31:32.travel connections, whether they are road networks, public transport or
:31:33. > :31:36.aviation connections that support the economic growth of our economy
:31:37. > :31:40.but also making sure that we have that Baker is on the environment
:31:41. > :31:44.that I have already spoken about. Scotland is leading the world when
:31:45. > :31:50.it comes to climate change and that is something we should all be out
:31:51. > :31:54.of. Stuart McMillan. To ask the First Minister what legislation is
:31:55. > :32:02.in place to deal with drug trials. -- drug driving. Drug driving can
:32:03. > :32:06.ruin lives like drink-driving and taking illegal drugs and driving is
:32:07. > :32:10.completely irresponsible. We have long-standing legislation in place
:32:11. > :32:14.which makes it illegal to drive was impaired by drugs. This is used by
:32:15. > :32:17.the police and our courts to ensure that those who take drugs and drive
:32:18. > :32:22.can be held to account for putting their lives and the lives of others
:32:23. > :32:26.at risk. Our priority is to help make Scotland's raids say that we
:32:27. > :32:31.will always consider policies careful -- carefully that can make
:32:32. > :32:41.them safer. Thank you for that. I would like to refer ministers to my
:32:42. > :32:45.interest in this. The drug driving limits were introduced in 2015 and
:32:46. > :32:49.an evaluation of those limits is likely to be published in the next
:32:50. > :32:54.few months. Can the First Minister tell me whether the Scottish
:32:55. > :32:58.Government will be looking at the effect these limits have had and
:32:59. > :33:03.whether she will be looking at further efforts in Scotland if it is
:33:04. > :33:10.deemed appropriate to do so? Yes, we will, and I think he raises a point
:33:11. > :33:15.that is important. We prioritise legislation in 2014 to lower the
:33:16. > :33:21.drink-drive limit as evidence showed that lives would be saved by doing
:33:22. > :33:29.that. We will study very carefully the valuation of the drug driving
:33:30. > :33:32.limits introduced in England and Wales to see whether we should
:33:33. > :33:43.introduce similar, if the evidence shows that that would be beneficial
:33:44. > :33:47.here. I welcome some of the comments the First Minister has made but as
:33:48. > :33:52.legislation changed in England and Wales two years ago, we'll ready now
:33:53. > :33:56.has been a fourfold increase in the number of motorists charged with
:33:57. > :34:04.drink-driving and conviction rates have moved to 95% from 52%. Is that
:34:05. > :34:08.not the evidence that we need and why are we so behind the curve
:34:09. > :34:11.compared with the rest of the UK? I think that some of the evidence we
:34:12. > :34:16.will want to look at and make sure that we are responding it. It is
:34:17. > :34:21.important to stress this so that anybody listening to this is it
:34:22. > :34:26.loudly and clearly, it is already an offence to be in charge of a motor
:34:27. > :34:30.vehicle while unfit to drive through drink or drugs. It is very clear
:34:31. > :34:33.that all of us while taking part in what is an important discussion
:34:34. > :34:38.don't allow that message to be underplayed. When police suspect a
:34:39. > :34:43.motorist of drug driving, they can already carry out a roadside test
:34:44. > :34:46.and if the driver failed that test, they can arrest the driver and take
:34:47. > :34:50.them to the police station where further tests are carried out. So it
:34:51. > :34:56.is already an offence to drive a car in this country if you are employer
:34:57. > :34:59.-- impaired due to drugs and nobody, absolutely nobody, should do such a
:35:00. > :35:03.thing. We will wait for the evaluation of the drug driving
:35:04. > :35:06.limits in England and Wales to inform our consideration of the best
:35:07. > :35:13.approach to that in Scotland to see whether that development would help
:35:14. > :35:17.us make our roads even safer. I'm sure all members would understand
:35:18. > :35:20.that it is a complex area. I understand there are individual
:35:21. > :35:26.limits for 70 different drug types in England and Wales. I know the
:35:27. > :35:30.evaluation is due to be published this year. We expect that to be
:35:31. > :35:33.helpful and it will build on the evidence the member has already
:35:34. > :35:36.cited so that we can understand the ball practical implications of drug
:35:37. > :35:41.driving limits and whether the potential benefits have been
:35:42. > :35:44.realised in England and Wales. The final point I would make here was
:35:45. > :35:49.distressing absolutely that one death on our roads is too many, our
:35:50. > :35:54.roads are generally becoming safer overall but that should also
:35:55. > :36:00.increase our determination to do anything reasonable to make our
:36:01. > :36:07.roads safer still. In relation to legislation to open relation to
:36:08. > :36:11.driving offences, under the Scotland act 2004, the police have authority
:36:12. > :36:16.to issue a written warning for driving they consider is causing
:36:17. > :36:20.alarm, distress or annoyance and, if indeed, there is a repeat of that
:36:21. > :36:24.offence within 12 months, to confiscate the vehicle. Yet there is
:36:25. > :36:28.no appeal procedure in relation to the written warning. Can I ask if
:36:29. > :36:32.the Government will revisit this legislation as it seems to me that
:36:33. > :36:38.is in breach of article six, the right to a fair hearing? I am happy
:36:39. > :36:43.to look into this matter and I ask the Justice Secretary to reply to
:36:44. > :36:49.Christine Grahame. Without prejudging the response, I would say
:36:50. > :36:52.that I think it is important the police have the tools they need to
:36:53. > :36:55.make our roads as safe as they possibly can be which is why I
:36:56. > :36:59.stress the law as it currently stands but also say readily that we
:37:00. > :37:04.must look at evidence elsewhere in the UK to see if there are further
:37:05. > :37:07.steps we can take. It's police -- it's imported the police have the
:37:08. > :37:11.steps they need but I will ask the Justice Secretary to look into the
:37:12. > :37:16.specifics that Christine Grahame races and get back to her as soon as
:37:17. > :37:20.possible. To ask the First Minister to look at what steps the Scottish
:37:21. > :37:23.Government has taken to reduce the number of delayed discharges from
:37:24. > :37:29.hospital. The introduction of health and social care integration is a key
:37:30. > :37:40.driver in driving discharge. We have seen a deep crease in the number of
:37:41. > :37:46.bed days last impaired the last year and every month compared to last
:37:47. > :37:50.that have continued. In 2017 to 2018, the budget plans for almost
:37:51. > :38:01.half ?1 billion of NHS investment in social care and health. Cabinet
:38:02. > :38:05.minister promised to abolish a bed blocking two years ago but
:38:06. > :38:10.statistics show that over 45,000 days were spent in hospital by
:38:11. > :38:14.people that were fit to leave. Last month, it was revealed that 700
:38:15. > :38:18.people died in Scotland's hospitals whilst waiting to be discharged and
:38:19. > :38:23.this week we have that one patient was stuck in hospital for 508 days
:38:24. > :38:31.awaiting discharge. For the avoidance of any doubt, we all thank
:38:32. > :38:35.the professional and committed NHS staff. However, does the First
:38:36. > :38:41.Minister accept that more needs to be done to prevent vulnerable people
:38:42. > :38:46.being stranded in hospital? I absolutely accept the importance of
:38:47. > :38:48.us continuing to make progress in reducing and eradicating delayed
:38:49. > :38:53.discharges from our hospitals. In terms of some of the report with the
:38:54. > :38:59.about very, very long waits, whilst I won't get into individual cases,
:39:00. > :39:04.it is important that we take care in talking about these cases. What we
:39:05. > :39:10.will also find with what appeared to be exceptionally long waits is that
:39:11. > :39:15.they are very conjugated cases. Often they will be people who are
:39:16. > :39:20.adults with incapacity and legislation is the reason for them
:39:21. > :39:23.continuing to be in hospital, outside of the control of our health
:39:24. > :39:28.and social care system. That would be the first point I would make. The
:39:29. > :39:32.second point I would make is that whilst we still have work to do, we
:39:33. > :39:40.are seeing a steady reduction in bed days lost to delayed discharge in
:39:41. > :39:45.Scotland. That is down to, and I have spoken to professionals who
:39:46. > :39:49.tell me this, that it is down to the benefits now coming free from the
:39:50. > :39:53.health and social care integration and into expanding social care
:39:54. > :39:57.services. It is important that we accelerate and keep focused on that
:39:58. > :40:01.work. The last point I would make is not in any way to say that we don't
:40:02. > :40:03.have more work to do here in Scotland or to absolve the Scottish
:40:04. > :40:08.Government of our responsibilities, but what we are seeing in delayed
:40:09. > :40:15.discharges, let similarly to what we see in AMD, is a real divergences of
:40:16. > :40:19.performance comparing Scotland to the rest of the UK. Delayed
:40:20. > :40:22.discharge is going up in England and I think we have seen the King 's
:40:23. > :40:27.fund and the Nuffield trust saying that the official figures there do
:40:28. > :40:30.not even show the true story and they hide a lot of the reality of
:40:31. > :40:34.the situation. We have got more work to do but let's get behind those in
:40:35. > :40:39.our Health Service and social care services and the to do that, because
:40:40. > :40:42.this Government has made the reform in the shape of integration and is
:40:43. > :40:46.putting in the resources to equipment to do just that so that we
:40:47. > :40:52.can eventually eradicate delayed discharge from our hospitals. I'd
:40:53. > :40:57.like to thank Billy Carson for raising the attention of the Liberal
:40:58. > :41:02.Democrat investigation into that. Further to this, today we publish
:41:03. > :41:06.additional statistics which show that as of mid-January, patients in
:41:07. > :41:09.Lothian, Highland, Ayrshire and Arran were waiting as many as 200
:41:10. > :41:15.days and more to be discharged from hospital after they were deemed fit
:41:16. > :41:20.to go home. In Glasgow, there is a patient who has waited 370 days
:41:21. > :41:27.after being deemed fit to go home. A consultant neurosurgeon two weeks
:41:28. > :41:31.ago came to my constituency to be mowing the biggest crisis in his
:41:32. > :41:36.career. Every week his colleagues and himself are having to turn away
:41:37. > :41:43.patients and cancel operations due to bed blocking in that hospital.
:41:44. > :41:48.Will the First Minister accept his in -- his invitation to his hospital
:41:49. > :41:52.this afternoon to explain to his patients by their operations have
:41:53. > :41:56.been cancelled? I have visited the Western General Hospital many, many
:41:57. > :42:01.times in the years that I've been in Government, particularly when I was
:42:02. > :42:03.Health Secretary. I am always delighted to visit the Western
:42:04. > :42:08.general and look forward to doing so in the not too distant future. This
:42:09. > :42:13.is a very important issue but I would say to the member, as I would
:42:14. > :42:16.take to the previous member who raised this question, we don't want
:42:17. > :42:20.to see anyone delayed in hospital any longer than they have to be
:42:21. > :42:27.that, but when we are dealing with very long waits particularly, more
:42:28. > :42:31.often than not when I go into this specific cases mentioned in the
:42:32. > :42:35.chamber, there are very complex situations often involving the
:42:36. > :42:38.adults with incapacity legislation. What that means is that this is not
:42:39. > :42:42.a situation where somebody has been delayed because of anything the
:42:43. > :42:47.health and social care services are not doing, it is the court process
:42:48. > :42:50.in terms of adults with incapacity. Often there will be other
:42:51. > :42:54.complexities in these cases. For example, I heard of a case, and I
:42:55. > :42:57.would go into details, but the reason the person was delayed longer
:42:58. > :43:01.than they should have been was because the accommodation that had
:43:02. > :43:06.to be provided for that person was very specialist that it took longer
:43:07. > :43:12.to that. I simply caution members from citing these particular cases
:43:13. > :43:15.as evidence of a wider issue. The wider issue in terms of delayed
:43:16. > :43:22.discharge in Scotland is yes, we have still got work to do, but
:43:23. > :43:25.unlike other places in the UK, we are seeing delayed discharge coming
:43:26. > :43:30.down and I would say again that that is not happening accidentally. It is
:43:31. > :43:35.happening because of social care and health integration and because of
:43:36. > :43:43.the hard work of those who work in our health and social care systems
:43:44. > :43:47.right across the country. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish
:43:48. > :43:50.Government's responses to recent NSPCC figures which show that
:43:51. > :43:57.thousands of children with serious mental health problems rang
:43:58. > :44:00.ChildLine last year. More children and young people are coming forward
:44:01. > :44:05.to ask for help and that shows that in the past there were far too many
:44:06. > :44:09.children who were not seen and his needs were not met. We do want
:44:10. > :44:14.people to come forward for help to whatever age and they feel most
:44:15. > :44:17.comfortable, including ChildLine. It is not the wrong response for a
:44:18. > :44:21.young person to contact ChildLine and that is why the Government
:44:22. > :44:28.continues to support ChildLine financially, this year to the tune
:44:29. > :44:32.of ?310,000. I thank the First Minister for her answer. This week,
:44:33. > :44:36.the Scottish children services highlighted that the number of
:44:37. > :44:40.children with identified mental health issues in schools more than
:44:41. > :44:46.doubled between 2012 and 2016. This is according to the Scottish
:44:47. > :44:50.Government's and statistics. Over the same period, Scottish Government
:44:51. > :44:54.statistics confirmed that the number of educational psychologists
:44:55. > :44:56.employed in Scotland continues to fall and applications for
:44:57. > :45:02.postgraduate study have been plummeting since 2012, the same year
:45:03. > :45:05.that the bursary funding for trainee psychologists was removed by the
:45:06. > :45:11.Scottish Government. Is the best Minister willing to give
:45:12. > :45:14.consideration to reinstating funding support for trainee psychologists
:45:15. > :45:18.and what insurances can to get that the mental health Minister and
:45:19. > :45:21.preparatory -- the Cabinet secretary of education are working urgently to
:45:22. > :45:23.adjust the mental health crisis in our classrooms
:45:24. > :45:41.In terms of psychology, CAHMS children and support has increased
:45:42. > :45:46.by 60%, and psychologists posts are up by 60% as well, and overall, the
:45:47. > :45:53.CAHMS workforce has increased by 58%, and that reflect the additional
:45:54. > :45:57.investment we are putting into mental health services, but she is
:45:58. > :46:02.right to raise this issue, and she raises it regularly and I commend
:46:03. > :46:09.her for doing so. She talks about the increase of the number of young
:46:10. > :46:13.people with identified health needs. We know that many young people in
:46:14. > :46:16.the past did not become identified and didn't get the help they need,
:46:17. > :46:21.and we now have because of the reduced stigma and other factors
:46:22. > :46:24.more young people being identified, and therefore able to access the
:46:25. > :46:27.support they need. We continue to invest in mental health services, to
:46:28. > :46:31.increase the workforce, to reduce waiting times and to make sure young
:46:32. > :46:37.people get access to the services they need in a timely fashion. In
:46:38. > :46:40.terms of the issue about school liaison, I have said before and I
:46:41. > :46:44.said in the last couple of weeks in this chamber, the health service
:46:45. > :46:48.cannot deal with this on its own, so the joint working with our education
:46:49. > :46:51.system between councils and services is important, and the mental health
:46:52. > :46:58.strategy when that is published will reflect the need for joint working.
:46:59. > :47:02.On the issue of child line, given that that was the thrust of the
:47:03. > :47:06.question, we will continue to make sure that we are providing bursary
:47:07. > :47:14.and financial support where we consider that to be necessary. In
:47:15. > :47:19.terms of ChildLine, let me not finish before I thank them for their
:47:20. > :47:22.work that they do. ChildLine is an essential resource for young people,
:47:23. > :47:25.which is why the Government want to go on supporting it with the
:47:26. > :47:30.financial help that we do. APPLAUSE
:47:31. > :47:34.That concludes First Minister's questions.
:47:35. > :47:40.And there we have it, the close of questions to the First Minister.
:47:41. > :47:45.Brexit featuring, but a bigger opening section on attainment in
:47:46. > :47:50.Scotland's schools, the Sutton Trust report based is the First Minister
:47:51. > :47:53.said repeatedly upon international figures, and based upon data that
:47:54. > :47:58.was two years old, but nonetheless, I will discuss it now with a couple
:47:59. > :48:02.of colleagues, it was not a good day at the office the First Minister,
:48:03. > :48:05.you could see the Education Secretary looking glum. Indeed,
:48:06. > :48:09.Nicola Sturgeon said she wants to be judged on education, and I think the
:48:10. > :48:14.opposition party leaders were only too happy to oblige today. She is at
:48:15. > :48:17.her best with her back against the wall, she comes out fighting, but
:48:18. > :48:22.that report that came out today was so damning, it gave the party leader
:48:23. > :48:26.so much ammunition, she got a verbal pummelling, and you could tell that
:48:27. > :48:31.she was struggling by saying that Ruth Davidson was talking down
:48:32. > :48:36.teachers. I think the basic problem is she is saying we are starting to
:48:37. > :48:39.put measures now in 2015 after I became First Minister to try to
:48:40. > :48:44.improve the situation, and the opposition party leaders are saying,
:48:45. > :48:47.that is near zero, you have been a senior member of this Government
:48:48. > :48:53.Ranegie ten years now, on the record is pretty appalling. Rebecca, the
:48:54. > :48:57.two issues arising, the attainment gap between those from less well-off
:48:58. > :49:01.families and those families that are doing OK, but there was also the
:49:02. > :49:07.issue that even those families that are doing OK economically, it would
:49:08. > :49:11.seem from this analysis that their children are struggling as well by
:49:12. > :49:15.comparison with elsewhere. That's right, so these are two issues that
:49:16. > :49:19.the First Minister has been struggling with the sometime now,
:49:20. > :49:24.and as Simon says, it is no longer possible to fall back on blaming the
:49:25. > :49:31.previous government, ten years in power. The other difficulty that
:49:32. > :49:34.they have is that in fairness to the Scottish Government, they don't have
:49:35. > :49:39.all the levers of control over education. Many of them reside with
:49:40. > :49:42.local government. We have seen in the budget the Scottish Government
:49:43. > :49:48.trying to circumvent that problem by giving this ?120 million fund
:49:49. > :49:54.directly to head teachers to deal with the problems, but no doubt
:49:55. > :49:59.about it, there are problems. You just have to look at the gloomy
:50:00. > :50:03.faces, it has to work, giving ?120 million directly to schools, but is
:50:04. > :50:06.controversial because local councils don't like power being taken away
:50:07. > :50:11.from them, and this has got to get better politically for the First
:50:12. > :50:15.Minister. This is a very difficult, intractable, long-standing problem.
:50:16. > :50:20.Throwing money at it might not work, structural change might not work, it
:50:21. > :50:24.will be long and difficult and there is no quick fix to this. Nicola
:50:25. > :50:28.Sturgeon having tied her reputation to this so closely, the stakes are
:50:29. > :50:35.high for her personally in getting this to work. Ms resonate with her,
:50:36. > :50:37.given her personal background, seeing children from deprived
:50:38. > :50:42.backgrounds being able to fulfil their potential, and a report today
:50:43. > :50:45.says that isn't happening. She was adamant in saying she was not
:50:46. > :50:50.dismissing the report, she wasn't dismissing other reports, Kezia
:50:51. > :50:55.Dugdale try to pin that on her, and she said, no, we are facing this.
:50:56. > :50:59.There was a definite tone of humility coming across from the
:51:00. > :51:05.First Minister on this, and as you say, higher education Minister
:51:06. > :51:13.looking very solemn. He is usually Heckerling B opponents, but he was
:51:14. > :51:19.looking very sombre, serious. And you might have expected talk to be
:51:20. > :51:26.dominated by the second referendum on Brexit, but this was pursued so
:51:27. > :51:35.heavily, and it was perhaps not surprising that they went away from
:51:36. > :51:40.the Brexit issue, but nevertheless, this is not going to go away. We are
:51:41. > :51:43.going to talk later about the budget process, of course there is a deal
:51:44. > :51:47.between the Scottish Government and the Greens. It sounded like Patrick
:51:48. > :51:55.Harvie was trying to get in his bid for the next tax fight over air
:51:56. > :51:58.passenger duty. He has been accused recently of cosying up to the SNP,
:51:59. > :52:05.being a patsy was the term one person used. You try to stop the use
:52:06. > :52:09.of that phrase, said it was unpleasant line which. Some of the
:52:10. > :52:17.questions have been quite a Molly and, criticising west Mr Rather than
:52:18. > :52:23.the Scottish Government, -- emollient, criticising Westminster
:52:24. > :52:28.rather than the Scottish Government. There did seem to be a contradiction
:52:29. > :52:33.in the First Minister's answer, she was saying that this move will help
:52:34. > :52:38.drive up the number of routes to and from Scotland, but at the same time,
:52:39. > :52:41.it won't put up carbon emissions, which seems to be counterintuitive.
:52:42. > :52:45.She said if there was an impact on carbon emissions, it would just mean
:52:46. > :52:49.they would have to succeed more strongly in other areas? That is
:52:50. > :52:55.right, I'm not sure how easy in practice that would be to achieve.
:52:56. > :53:01.It is interesting seeing Patrick Harvie returning to green territory
:53:02. > :53:06.with this one, and trying to differentiate himself from the
:53:07. > :53:10.Scottish Government. And we did get Brexit and the budget. She didn't
:53:11. > :53:17.seem awfully keen on Jeremy Corbyn. She didn't, that was definitely the
:53:18. > :53:26.best line of the morning, wasn't it? Yes, giving no quarter to Labour on
:53:27. > :53:32.this. And once again, using the opportunity to repeat her mandate,
:53:33. > :53:40.her manifesto commitment, to call a second referendum. And it has felt I
:53:41. > :53:42.think this week as if we are almost entering a phoney war period even
:53:43. > :53:49.though the second referendum hasn't yet been called and it may not be.
:53:50. > :53:55.Where are we on this one? Was it game on, or was there still room for
:53:56. > :53:58.compromise? I think we are where we have been over the past couple of
:53:59. > :54:04.weeks, I think it is almost inevitable it is going to be called.
:54:05. > :54:07.I can't see how she would have managed to macho party back down of
:54:08. > :54:11.the top of the hill. She said she wanted compromise, the UK Government
:54:12. > :54:15.would do so and so she had a mandate. And one of the things they
:54:16. > :54:20.are really looking at here is the labour angle. Before the 2014
:54:21. > :54:23.referendum, there were a lot of Labour Party supporters who thought
:54:24. > :54:25.that there might be a Labour government next May under Ed
:54:26. > :54:31.Miliband, now that is off the table, she says Labour has folded, they are
:54:32. > :54:34.not there for people and that will play a major part in the campaign
:54:35. > :54:39.for a second independence referendum. So, game on eventually.
:54:40. > :54:44.We will come back to you in a minute. The budget is moving this
:54:45. > :54:49.week. We had stage two, the consideration committee, going
:54:50. > :54:52.through fairly briskly, but it went few after some sharp exchanges over
:54:53. > :54:56.the nature of the agreement, the process that led up to the agreement
:54:57. > :55:01.between the Scottish Government and the Greens. Here are those exchanges
:55:02. > :55:04.from the committee. It turns out you had down the back of the sofa the
:55:05. > :55:07.best part of 200 William Hams you were not telling us about. So how
:55:08. > :55:13.can it have been fair to Parliament and this committee which is trying
:55:14. > :55:16.to scrutinise your draft budget and trying to carry out detailed and
:55:17. > :55:19.proper Parliamentary scrutiny of that when you have all this money
:55:20. > :55:24.squirrelled away that you were not telling us about? I was trying to
:55:25. > :55:30.make you work for your money, to see if you could find any more resources
:55:31. > :55:35.that I wasn't able to allocate! That is unlikely to change for a while.
:55:36. > :55:40.What do you think it says for the transparency of the budget Cabinet
:55:41. > :55:45.Secretary when effectively you have been sitting on a slush fund which
:55:46. > :55:47.you had at the time of the publication of the draft budget
:55:48. > :55:53.several weeks ago, and you hold that back in order for the negotiations
:55:54. > :55:57.therefore not being completely open with Parliament at the time of the
:55:58. > :56:03.draft budget? Is to Kelly, that is not an accurate, fair or reasonable
:56:04. > :56:08.characterisation of the budget process, a process that your party
:56:09. > :56:11.had also engaged in. I think it is very constructive of government to
:56:12. > :56:15.listen to Parliament, to listen to the parties in parliament and to do
:56:16. > :56:19.everything it possibly can to make decisions to try to find consensus
:56:20. > :56:23.to get a budget through. I don't think it is unreasonable to make
:56:24. > :56:27.decisions to enable us to do that, and I totally refute any suggestion
:56:28. > :56:32.that I was sitting on any sort of fund ready to go. It was political
:56:33. > :56:37.decisions that ensure that I could arrive at a proposition to be able
:56:38. > :56:40.to allocate ?160 million extra resources on ring fenced to local
:56:41. > :56:47.Government, and I would have thought that Mr Kelly would have welcomed
:56:48. > :56:51.it, but he seems bitter about it. Defending the budget process and
:56:52. > :56:57.having a go at the Tories. We expect the final two votes the week after
:56:58. > :57:02.next, one on tax, and then a vote on stage three. The tax rate will be a
:57:03. > :57:08.big moment. Absolutely. I know it is a minor tweak at the edges in terms
:57:09. > :57:11.of changing the thresholds of the rates, they are not overhauling the
:57:12. > :57:15.bands, but it is hugely symbolic, that is the first time that Scottish
:57:16. > :57:22.Parliament has voted on all income tax rates. So those who earn that
:57:23. > :57:26.much will be paying more than in England. Absolutely, and the only
:57:27. > :57:29.reason they want we pay more in absolute terms is the Chancellor in
:57:30. > :57:33.England is putting up a personal allowance, so it is a hugely
:57:34. > :57:37.symbolic moment, and the Tories will be claiming that tax increase for
:57:38. > :57:42.all it is worth. And what about the claims that the processes to secret
:57:43. > :57:49.and behind-the-scenes? You might expect that coming from opposition
:57:50. > :57:54.MSPs. Especially the ones you want to be involved in the deal! But it
:57:55. > :57:59.is a bit more serious than that, because it was the group of
:58:00. > :58:03.independent economist who scrutinised it who has been raising
:58:04. > :58:10.concerns about the budget process ever since the first budget document
:58:11. > :58:14.was published, and so it is hard to see how the same kind of approach
:58:15. > :58:16.can be taken next year. They have been calling for greater
:58:17. > :58:21.transparency in the budget documents, and certainly if MSPs
:58:22. > :58:27.next year are going to be looking for what they claim is money down
:58:28. > :58:30.the back of the sofa. Money down the back of the sofa, probably be
:58:31. > :58:35.necessary 18th century, since the Marquis was in charge! Thank you
:58:36. > :58:38.both very much indeed for joining me today. We are coming to the end of
:58:39. > :58:42.our programme here today, and we will bring you further details on
:58:43. > :58:47.Brexit of Europe and all that stuff, and Lookout also, the week after
:58:48. > :58:48.next, those two big votes, probably on the Tuesday, and finalising the
:58:49. > :58:59.budget probably on the Thursday. Square sausages!
:59:00. > :59:07.La creme de la creme. The French kiss.
:59:08. > :59:18.THEY LAUGH When author
:59:19. > :59:31.Sir Terry Pratchett died, They called on Death to
:59:32. > :59:38.give Terry back.