:00:25. > :00:29.Parliament here at Holyrood. This morning, MSPs have been scrutinising
:00:29. > :00:33.the bill for the independence referendum which is due next year.
:00:33. > :00:38.There is also a report out from the audit committee, with more detail on
:00:38. > :00:43.the business of waiting times and waiting lists in the NHS. Those
:00:43. > :00:51.could come up in questions to the first Minister, the main substance
:00:51. > :00:58.of this programme. Let's go to the chamber. John McGarrity was left for
:00:58. > :01:01.eight hours in a hospital trolley in a corridor. At the time, the first
:01:01. > :01:05.Minister said, these things happen in the NHS. His Health Secretary
:01:05. > :01:11.said, it was not a true reflection of the NHS. First Minister tell me,
:01:11. > :01:17.does he know the number of people left on trolleys, and if it is
:01:17. > :01:20.getting better or worse? That is not what I said at all. I remember very
:01:20. > :01:24.specifically saying that this government takes it seriously any
:01:24. > :01:31.individual case where treatment is < district route. That is what we
:01:31. > :01:33.should do, and that is what we do. I did make a point that there are
:01:33. > :01:40.substantial indications that overall treatment in the health service is
:01:40. > :01:44.improving, that patient satisfaction is improving, and also the point
:01:44. > :01:54.that everyone should be proud of our national health service in
:01:54. > :01:54.
:01:54. > :01:59.Scotland. I think he did see it, but clearly has not reflected on it. I
:01:59. > :02:02.do not dispute, we all love the National Health Service, we did.
:02:02. > :02:08.Pensioners like John McGarrity, waiting for eight hours on a
:02:08. > :02:11.trolley, is a disgrace. I presumed, when I raised this with him in
:02:11. > :02:20.February, that he investigated occurrences like this, so I will try
:02:20. > :02:23.again - and he tell me, has the situation got better or worse?
:02:23. > :02:25.tell Johann Lamont that the situation in terms of treatment in
:02:26. > :02:30.the national health service overall is improving, and it is improving
:02:30. > :02:35.despite the great treasure on all public services, and it is improving
:02:35. > :02:41.because of the commitment and effort of our staff, nurses, doctors and
:02:41. > :02:46.ancillary staff. I can give her a range of statistics which indicate
:02:46. > :02:50.that. So, on individual cases, where treatment is less than satisfactory,
:02:50. > :02:56.of course, they are looked at seriously and taken into account,
:02:56. > :03:00.but Johann Lamont should not deflect from the case that overall,
:03:00. > :03:03.treatment in terms of waiting times, in terms of the efficacy of
:03:03. > :03:07.treatment and the number of people being treated, is improving in the
:03:08. > :03:10.National Health Service. I think that is an enormous tribute to the
:03:10. > :03:16.staff and the commitment of the National Health Service, in what are
:03:16. > :03:19.difficult times. I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that the first
:03:19. > :03:27.Minister can give me a long list of answers to questions he was not
:03:27. > :03:31.asked. He has not answered the question I asked him. And this is
:03:31. > :03:37.not an body running down the NHS, it is about taking our jobs seriously.
:03:37. > :03:47.I can only assume that the reason he does not know is because he does not
:03:47. > :03:47.
:03:47. > :03:51.care. He has not even asked. Perhaps he does not like to ask in case the
:03:51. > :03:59.answer breaches his perfect view of his world. So, let me tell him what
:03:59. > :04:03.is happening in the NHS. He is supposed to be running this NHS
:04:03. > :04:07.instead of deciding what currency a fantasy Scotland will have in his
:04:07. > :04:10.fantasy world. In the real world, the number of people languishing in
:04:10. > :04:15.accident and emergency is increasing, and we know that thanks
:04:15. > :04:20.to a Freedom of information request. In John McGarrity's area of
:04:20. > :04:30.Glasgow, the number of patients who waited more than for hours to be
:04:30. > :04:30.
:04:30. > :04:36.seen has more than trebled going up from 10,100 to 31,700 this year.
:04:36. > :04:41.Looking across Scotland, in NHS Lanarkshire, the Health Secretary 's
:04:41. > :04:47.own backyard, the number of patients waiting more than four hours in
:04:47. > :04:50.accident and emergency has also more than trebled. In Grampian, the first
:04:50. > :04:56.Minister's Kennedy backyard, there was a large increase in the numbers
:04:56. > :05:06.waiting more than four hours. Now, the first Minister knows what is
:05:06. > :05:08.
:05:08. > :05:10.happening, will he tell us what he is going to do about it? Is that not
:05:10. > :05:16.exactly why the Health Secretary announced the plan for reinforcing
:05:17. > :05:22.the staff and resources at accident and emergency units across Scotland,
:05:22. > :05:25.so that the position could be improved? That's what the Health
:05:25. > :05:33.Secretary has announced, because that is the correct response to the
:05:33. > :05:35.pressures we have seen over this winter. The capacity of our accident
:05:35. > :05:42.and emergency units has substantially increased under this
:05:42. > :05:47.government. The number of diagnoses and treatments carried out in
:05:47. > :05:53.accident and emergency departments is up by 6% since 2006 -07, under
:05:53. > :05:57.this government. That has been able to be done because the resource
:05:57. > :06:00.budget of the National Health Service in Scotland has increased
:06:00. > :06:06.under this governance, despite the extraordinary financial pressures
:06:06. > :06:10.imposed upon us from Westminster. We know that would not have happened
:06:10. > :06:15.had the Labour Party being in power, because we know that they would not
:06:15. > :06:19.commit either in 2007 or in 2011, in the run-up to the election, to
:06:19. > :06:22.protect the budget of the National Health Service. We also know it
:06:22. > :06:26.because the only place that Labour are in power in these islands is
:06:26. > :06:32.where there has been a real term decline in National Health Service
:06:32. > :06:42.funding. And that is a reality. So, let's answer the question in this
:06:42. > :06:46.
:06:46. > :06:50.sense... When pressure comes on the National Health Service, this
:06:50. > :06:54.government response by voting for additional resources, so that we can
:06:54. > :06:57.treat real patients with real conditions and sustain the health
:06:57. > :07:01.service against winter pressure. But I do not think a party which was
:07:01. > :07:05.unable to commit itself to the health service in the election
:07:05. > :07:09.campaign, and is unable to commit itself to the health service in
:07:09. > :07:19.Wales now, is in any position to pose as a defender of the National
:07:19. > :07:21.
:07:21. > :07:24.Health Service, when they wanted to spend that money elsewhere. We would
:07:24. > :07:31.settle for the First Minister answering the question in any sense
:07:31. > :07:38.whatsoever. Speaking about Wales, you are in power here! You have been
:07:38. > :07:41.in power here, responsible for the NHS. Eminem you understand, you have
:07:41. > :07:49.been in power since 2007, dealing with the National Health Service.
:07:49. > :07:55.And on this point about winter pressures, the winter pressures this
:07:55. > :08:03.year were less than in 2010, so that explanation simply does not stack
:08:03. > :08:07.up. If the first Minister has ever gone out into the real world and met
:08:07. > :08:12.a patient waiting for treatment on a trolley, we can assume that he would
:08:13. > :08:16.reflect, as that person is lying in front of them, and say, you are more
:08:16. > :08:19.satisfied with the NHS than ever before. The first Minister might
:08:19. > :08:24.tell that person lying on the trolley, things are better under his
:08:24. > :08:29.area of responsibility. He would simply not be serious. Where will he
:08:29. > :08:37.understand that patients need medical treatment, not slogans? He
:08:37. > :08:45.has been in charge of the NHS for six years. In that time... Well, it
:08:45. > :08:50.is not thank goodness for the people lying on trolleys. Cash the first
:08:50. > :08:58.Minister tells them they should be grateful for that. It is not thank
:08:58. > :09:04.goodness at all. What does he do? Instead of cutting times, and we can
:09:04. > :09:08.hardly believe this, he cuts the target. I have raised this issue
:09:08. > :09:12.with him time and again, and is it not the case that the reason things
:09:12. > :09:16.have got worse, the reason he has done nothing to improve the
:09:16. > :09:26.situation, the reason he does not even know, is because he does not
:09:26. > :09:27.
:09:27. > :09:33.care about the NHS patients, he only carers, and they also only care...
:09:33. > :09:43.They also only care about SNP slogans. Well, here is a phrase
:09:43. > :09:44.
:09:44. > :09:52.which sums up... Order. You might want to ask your own guy for an,
:09:52. > :09:58.occasionally. Order. Then, we will really know we are in a new place.
:09:58. > :10:05.However, one phrase which sums up this country is this, in this
:10:06. > :10:15.country, under Alex Salmond, Scotland is lying on a trolley, and
:10:16. > :10:17.
:10:17. > :10:25.the referendum is in intensive care. It did strike me, as I was listening
:10:25. > :10:35.to that, that folk being treated now in Monklands accident and
:10:35. > :10:35.
:10:35. > :10:41.emergency, in Ayr, should know that there are hospitals would not even
:10:41. > :10:46.be there if it was left to the Labour Party. The Labour Party were
:10:46. > :10:49.going to cut the hospitals. And perhaps what is more important than
:10:49. > :10:54.Johann Lamont's view of the National Health Service is what the people
:10:54. > :10:58.think about the National Health Service. 85% of Scottish in patients
:10:58. > :11:04.reported that overall care and treatment was good or excellent on
:11:04. > :11:10.the inpatient survey. 88% of people are very or satisfied with local
:11:10. > :11:18.health services in 2011, up from 81 Boffey in 2007. These were the
:11:18. > :11:21.issues which were tested at the 2011 election, which is why people
:11:21. > :11:25.vindicated the SNP's stewardship of the National Health Service, and
:11:25. > :11:29.left the Labour Party languishing in opposition. Johann Lamont says we
:11:29. > :11:35.should not speak about what is happening in Wales. Why not? Because
:11:35. > :11:40.it indicates what actually happens when the Labour party is in power.
:11:40. > :11:44.We are now in a position of fierce cuts from Westminster affecting both
:11:44. > :11:48.Welsh and Scottish budget. In Wales, they decided to cut the health
:11:48. > :11:52.budget in real terms. They were under financial pressure and could
:11:52. > :11:58.not see the commitment to maintain the health service budget of
:11:58. > :12:00.Scotland. In Scotland, this government decided to maintain and
:12:00. > :12:08.sustain the resource budget of the National Health Service in real
:12:08. > :12:12.terms. So, when it comes to political commitment, not only is
:12:12. > :12:16.the record of this government vindicated by the people in the
:12:16. > :12:20.election of 2011, but also in the financial commitments it has made,
:12:20. > :12:30.the National Health Service in our hands is the reason, above all, why
:12:30. > :12:32.
:12:32. > :12:36.we are in government and the Labour Party is in opposition. I would like
:12:36. > :12:43.to ask First Minister when he will meet the Prime Minister. No plans in
:12:43. > :12:48.the near future. This week, a diagnosed psychopath and triple
:12:48. > :12:52.murderer was set free. Thomas McCulloch was told that he would
:12:52. > :12:56.spend the rest of his life in jail, but thanks to a human rights appeal,
:12:56. > :13:00.he is once again walking our streets. I know that nothing can be
:13:00. > :13:04.done retrospectively in this or in any other historic case, but what
:13:04. > :13:07.has the First Minister done to make sure that in future, as in England,
:13:07. > :13:15.when such violent and vicious people are given a life sentence, it will
:13:15. > :13:20.actually mean life? Well, the terms for the release of prisoners is a
:13:20. > :13:26.matter for the Scottish parole board, under legislation. If I
:13:26. > :13:31.remember correctly, under a act from 1993, it is not for ministers to
:13:31. > :13:37.intervene in the decision of the parole board. They make a decision
:13:37. > :13:47.according to statute. That statute was passed, incidentally, when the
:13:47. > :13:49.
:13:49. > :13:51.Conservative party were in power. I am glad that Ruth Davidson
:13:51. > :13:52.acknowledges that retrospective decisions cannot be made anyway. I
:13:52. > :13:55.am sure she is not suggesting that we should come from I is the
:13:55. > :13:59.independence of the parole board. Or if she has a specific puzzle, then
:13:59. > :14:09.let her come forward with it, and it will be considered by the justice
:14:09. > :14:14.
:14:14. > :14:21.secretary. I note that he is saying that it is the parole board's Rob.
:14:21. > :14:27.When I put the same question to him a while ago he used another example.
:14:27. > :14:31.Last January, the European Court of Human Rights ruled on this. They
:14:31. > :14:40.upheld the principle of whole life sentences for the most dangerous
:14:40. > :14:49.offenders. Since then, we have seen William Keane gets 22 years for the
:14:49. > :14:53.brutal murder of an elderly woman in Perth. Had the SNP acted in the
:14:53. > :14:59.first term of their government, we could have been certain that Colin
:14:59. > :15:05.Coates and Philip Wade, who tortured a woman to death, would never have
:15:05. > :15:10.been freed. The SMP has had six years to take action. Whole life
:15:10. > :15:16.sentences are clear and unambiguous. Yet, beware absent in a criminal
:15:16. > :15:21.cases at last year, legislation described as a torturous system,
:15:21. > :15:26.barely intelligible to Warriors, let alone the general public. It is
:15:26. > :15:29.simple, life should mean life. While the First Minister give an assurance
:15:29. > :15:35.that he will finally take action to give the public of the protection
:15:35. > :15:40.they deserve? Will he ensure that, in the most extreme cases women the
:15:40. > :15:46.most violent criminals are taken off the streets, they will never return.
:15:46. > :15:52.Ruth Davidson seems to think I am inventing, or bringing the parole
:15:52. > :15:58.board and, as a defence. I have just looked up the Mentioning to the
:15:58. > :16:04.Act, and I was right. It was passed by a Conservative government. All
:16:04. > :16:10.life sentences are entitled by law, including those convicted of murder,
:16:10. > :16:13.to have their suitability for release to be considered. Scottish
:16:13. > :16:20.ministers are required by law to accept any direction of the parole
:16:20. > :16:26.board to release a prisoner. What I would say to Ruth Davidson is this,
:16:26. > :16:29.the Justice Secretary and I are perfectly willing and able to
:16:29. > :16:32.consider suggestions put forward but it does someone ill to come and
:16:32. > :16:36.complain about the law and the relationship of the law and the
:16:36. > :16:40.parole board to the release of prisoners when it turns out that the
:16:41. > :16:48.exact provisions under which the parole board has acted carried into
:16:48. > :16:51.law by a Conservative government. At some point in these questions about
:16:51. > :16:56.the judicial system of Scotland, which ignore the extraordinary
:16:56. > :17:01.success in having the lowest level of recorded crime for over 30
:17:01. > :17:05.years, having the best public satisfaction, in terms of peoples
:17:05. > :17:09.personal feelings of safety, that have had for many years. At some
:17:09. > :17:13.point, if there are complaints about the judicial system in Scotland,
:17:13. > :17:15.would the Conservative party the acknowledged that the things they
:17:15. > :17:22.are complaining about the very things they enacted when in
:17:22. > :17:26.government. Could I ask the First Minister what issues will be
:17:26. > :17:31.discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet? Issues of importance to the
:17:31. > :17:36.people of Scotland. The Deputy Prime Minister is in Essex today promoting
:17:36. > :17:40.the UK Government 's expansion of nursery education to thousands of
:17:40. > :17:45.two-year-olds. In a place like Aberdeen, the First Minister is
:17:45. > :17:51.restricting plans to around 40 children. Under the affordable plans
:17:51. > :17:55.that I put to 1040 would secure a nursery place in Aberdeen. Is it not
:17:56. > :18:02.a shame that so many two-year-olds in Essex will get help but those in
:18:02. > :18:08.Aberdeen will not. Is it not a shame that you cannot go anywhere in
:18:08. > :18:11.Scotland and make that sort of commitment? Willie Rennie has
:18:11. > :18:16.surprised me. It has taken him some considerable time but he has
:18:16. > :18:19.surprised me. When I was wondering about his question, I thought the
:18:19. > :18:23.one thing he would not ask about was child care and this is because I
:18:24. > :18:29.heard the reports of Nick Clegg on the radio this morning. As members
:18:29. > :18:36.will now, for sometimes I have been cautioning Willie Rennie about
:18:36. > :18:41.telling us what is happening south of the border to stop he has said
:18:41. > :18:46.that that is not the case. It is the thing we should aspire to and he
:18:46. > :18:51.accused me of being the roadblock on achieving this in Scotland. It turns
:18:51. > :18:55.out this morning that the roadblock in England is Nick Clegg. He has
:18:55. > :19:01.said, and indicated to the Conservatives, that he will block
:19:02. > :19:06.government reforms to adult child care. He it is said that his veto
:19:06. > :19:09.will jeopardise that. Nick Clegg has finally paid attention to the point
:19:09. > :19:15.I have been making to Willie Rennie over the last few weeks when I have
:19:15. > :19:20.warned him that the delusion of ratios poses a severe danger to the
:19:20. > :19:23.quality of provision. I am now in the position of having converted his
:19:23. > :19:33.party leader to the point I am making. At some stage, I shall
:19:33. > :19:34.
:19:34. > :19:44.manage to convert Willie Rennie. anticipated that the First Minister
:19:44. > :19:46.
:19:46. > :19:50.would not think I would ask this question. Order! I wonder if there
:19:50. > :19:54.were ever be a week in which the First Minister does not use an
:19:54. > :20:02.excuse to do nothing, absolutely nothing, for two-year-olds. He seems
:20:02. > :20:10.to be taking a leaf out of the Homer Simpson book. Homer Simpson said, if
:20:10. > :20:14.something is hard to do then it is not worth doing at all. It is quite
:20:14. > :20:21.remarkable that while the UK Government battles to improve the
:20:21. > :20:26.life chances for two-year-olds, the First Minister does nothing. He does
:20:26. > :20:34.nothing but raise the white flag. He has excuse after excuse for doing
:20:34. > :20:40.absolutely nothing. It is good for two-year-olds in Essex. Why is it
:20:40. > :20:48.not good enough for two-year-olds in Aberdeen? First Minister. This is
:20:48. > :20:52.kamikaze. The point that Nick Clegg is making, he thinks it is not good
:20:52. > :20:55.for two-year-olds in Essex to be lauding the quality. The UK
:20:55. > :20:59.Government are not battling to expand childcare, they are battling
:20:59. > :21:03.with each other. Nick Clegg has said he shall block the changes because
:21:04. > :21:08.he is concerned, I think rightly so, that they diminish and inequality is
:21:08. > :21:14.going to be a severe danger to the childcare system. In Scotland, I
:21:14. > :21:18.understand that people have been campaigning on this issue and he has
:21:18. > :21:23.paid particular attention to the view of a group of mothers. I could
:21:23. > :21:30.claim the credit as have the mothers. Perhaps we can get through
:21:30. > :21:34.to Willie Rennie that there is a problem in England that his party
:21:34. > :21:42.leader has identified it. It might be wise for him to reflect on that
:21:42. > :21:44.before he tries this particular line of argument again. Thank you. To ask
:21:44. > :21:51.the First Minister what the locations for Scotland are of the
:21:51. > :21:56.Queen's speech? Yesterday, I think what we were looking for from the
:21:56. > :21:58.Queen's speech was an indication that the Westminster Government
:21:58. > :22:02.realised the seriousness of the economic situation facing the
:22:02. > :22:05.country, in terms of the lack of growth in the economy and indicating
:22:05. > :22:09.that we are going to have new measures to deal with that. That was
:22:09. > :22:14.not in the Queen's speech but there was a dropping of progressive
:22:14. > :22:18.measures in terms of minimum pricing of alcohol. There was no legal
:22:18. > :22:23.commitment to overseas aid, despite repeated promises. Overall, I think
:22:23. > :22:28.that speech was indicating why this country needs good government from
:22:28. > :22:33.this Parliament as opposed to bad Parliament government from
:22:33. > :22:37.Westminster. I thank him for his answer. I didn't prove that
:22:37. > :22:41.Westminster is not working for Scotland. Did the First Minister
:22:41. > :22:45.agree that particularly in these tough economic times we need to see
:22:45. > :22:52.a UK Government that is focused on living jobs and prosperity for
:22:52. > :22:58.Scotland, rather than pandering in a blind panic to the threat of UKIP
:22:58. > :23:03.after last week's elections? I think that analysis about the UK
:23:03. > :23:08.Government 's response is widely shared among political commentators
:23:08. > :23:12.and, indeed, politicians at Westminster. It would be unfortunate
:23:12. > :23:15.because I think that the real issues were not contained in the Queen's
:23:15. > :23:18.speech yesterday. The real issues are what is happening in terms of
:23:18. > :23:24.the new Spending Review, which is currently being prepared at
:23:24. > :23:29.Westminster. The Institute for Fiscal Studies said yesterday that
:23:29. > :23:35.the current government's plan, Westminster that is, is for eight
:23:35. > :23:43.successive years of tax increases and spending cuts. The choice is
:23:43. > :23:49.based in Scotland are clear. We have heard so much from the Now
:23:49. > :23:53.campaigners -- the No campaigners. Here is a certainty, eight
:23:53. > :23:58.successive years of spending cuts and tax increases on the Scottish
:23:58. > :24:05.people. Allow me to cheer up the First Minister and his backbenchers
:24:06. > :24:08.just a little bit. The National Insurance contributions Bill was in
:24:08. > :24:11.the Queen's speech yesterday. There's got a big thumbs up from the
:24:11. > :24:18.Federation of small businesses who said it was a shot in the arm. What
:24:18. > :24:24.is the first Minister's view? support measures which bring people
:24:24. > :24:31.back into employment. The point I was making, for an economy which is
:24:31. > :24:36.severely suffering from a clear deficiency of the manor where there
:24:37. > :24:39.are huge and spend resources, many skilled people lying idle, then not
:24:40. > :24:44.to address that fundamental Western seems to me a failure of leadership.
:24:44. > :24:51.To be anticipated, given the real terms cut, as the member well
:24:51. > :24:55.knows, of 8.2% already in the Scottish Government, to be talking
:24:55. > :25:00.about eight successive years of tax increases and spending cuts is a
:25:00. > :25:02.dismal prospect which I think will encourage many people to think twice
:25:02. > :25:06.about continuing Tory rule from Westminster. We can mobilise
:25:06. > :25:15.resources and people of this nation and build a prosperous and socially
:25:15. > :25:18.just future. Yesterday, the UK Government drew up plans to regulate
:25:19. > :25:22.the lobbying industry. Does the First Minister think that was a
:25:22. > :25:26.mistake and support plans to regulate the industry in Scotland?
:25:26. > :25:29.If the member brings forward the idea is for plans, we will see how
:25:29. > :25:37.they are appropriate to the work of this Parliament. It should be said,
:25:37. > :25:39.in general, that this Parliament operates with a greater degree of
:25:39. > :25:43.transparency that Westminster, having served in both like and
:25:43. > :25:49.seasonal. The Minister brings forward suggestions in a positive
:25:49. > :25:52.fashion then they will be treated with a positive fashion. To ask the
:25:52. > :25:55.First Minister whether the reported comments for the Cabinet Secretary
:25:55. > :26:00.of health and well-being that we are still going to need the same number
:26:00. > :26:05.of beds, hospitals, doctors and nurses just to stand still, in
:26:05. > :26:11.relation to an ageing population, reflect Scottish Government policy?
:26:11. > :26:15.I have the full quote year, which she has not used, was talking about
:26:15. > :26:22.an abolition of over 75-year-old been set to double and made the
:26:22. > :26:25.point that if we were able, through better treatment, to treat people at
:26:25. > :26:29.home within the automatic graduation follows. Yesterday, the Cabinet
:26:29. > :26:33.Secretary announced development of a new bed planning tool which will
:26:33. > :26:38.draw on the expertise of NHS staff and planners to ensure that there
:26:38. > :26:44.are the right type of specialist beds in the right places. I think
:26:44. > :26:51.the First Minister should be advised that the Bed Planning Tool already
:26:51. > :26:54.been named the bed cutting tool. The same promise was made of the same
:26:54. > :26:58.number of beds, hospitals and doctors and nurses. This was just
:26:58. > :27:03.two weeks ago. The following day, his civil servants were running
:27:04. > :27:06.around, Porter to clarify and reinterpreted comments. Yesterday,
:27:07. > :27:11.not one single backbencher defended his comments. Can I ask the First
:27:11. > :27:19.Minister, did Alex Neill actually mean what he said or was he simply
:27:19. > :27:28.expressing his view in terms of the debate? I heard an interview with
:27:28. > :27:33.Jackie Baillie on the radio yesterday. I paid close attention to
:27:33. > :27:35.Jackie Baillie's interviews and even in the context of the hospital
:27:35. > :27:41.acquired superbug capital of Europe statement, her claim yesterday that
:27:41. > :27:47.we did not need a helpline for the National Health Service confidential
:27:47. > :27:52.and because it was not necessary under Labour was and extraordinary
:27:52. > :27:58.statement. Under the label party, the number of beds fell every single
:27:58. > :28:00.year when the Labour Party were in government. That happened not just
:28:00. > :28:06.because of the inability of Jackie Baillie to remember what happened
:28:06. > :28:12.when Labour was in power but of course, as the Health Minister Andy
:28:12. > :28:22.jurors said in 2007, -- as the Health Minister said, there are good
:28:22. > :28:24.
:28:24. > :28:29.reasons. Some are now routinely carried out. I see that anti-terror
:28:29. > :28:34.has been reduced to invisibility in the Labour Party. -- I see that he
:28:34. > :28:40.has been reduced to invisibility. Let's talk about Richard Simpson who
:28:40. > :28:45.is still here. He pointed out that he was exceptionally pleased at the
:28:45. > :28:50.recognition of the Cabinet Secretary that the balance of they could
:28:50. > :28:55.result in a reduction in the number of beds. It LP holds the superbug
:28:55. > :29:01.expert to come along and forget entirely what happened under the
:29:01. > :29:05.Labour Party, sleep to one side the changes and balance in medical care,
:29:05. > :29:08.ignore entirely that this party committed itself, and has delivered,
:29:08. > :29:12.the real term increase in health funding that, because of her
:29:12. > :29:22.inability to convince her colleagues, the Labour Party never
:29:22. > :29:23.
:29:23. > :29:29.promised in Scotland and have certainly not delivered in Wales.
:29:29. > :29:33.Apologies, Presiding Officer. Does the First Minister know what the
:29:33. > :29:39.Scottish Government 's response is to the recent report on the
:29:39. > :29:42.consequences of Scottish independence? I thought some of the
:29:42. > :29:45.report was eminently sensible. For example, and I quote, we do not
:29:45. > :29:49.doubt that Scotland as an independent country could play a
:29:49. > :29:56.valuable role in Europe. However, it should be said that not everybody
:29:56. > :30:01.was convinced by the foreign affairs committee. The Tory MP said that he
:30:01. > :30:04.could think of lots of good reasons from this perspective why Scotland
:30:04. > :30:13.might want to vote for a main party of the United Kingdom. The reported
:30:13. > :30:17.today is not one of them. I am surprised that the First Minister
:30:17. > :30:21.was a prized. I do not know what he expected from such a committee at
:30:21. > :30:28.such a time. However, what struck me was that, far from having an
:30:28. > :30:32.interest in Scotland, which it was meant to have, this report ended up
:30:32. > :30:37.being absolutely fraught with anxiety about what would happen to
:30:37. > :30:41.the reduced status of the rest of the United Kingdom when Scotland
:30:41. > :30:46.becomes independent. There were certainly talking about -- they were
:30:46. > :30:50.certainly talking about the reduced post independence position the UN
:30:50. > :30:53.security council, the G8 and the European Union. I wonder if he
:30:53. > :30:59.agrees with me that that is not anything that should influence us
:30:59. > :31:09.when we come to vote in the referendum. Our job is not to prop
:31:09. > :31:13.up an ailing power. It is to secure the future for our children.
:31:13. > :31:19.makes a solid point. I should clarify that I was not surprised by
:31:19. > :31:23.the overall negative tone of the No campaigners who wrote the report.
:31:23. > :31:28.One would expect they would write the negative report about Scottish
:31:28. > :31:31.independence. I thought what was interesting is that without the
:31:31. > :31:36.overall volumes of negativity, there were 12 nuggets of common sense.
:31:36. > :31:45.That is the bit that surprised me. Actually, she is quite right.
:31:46. > :31:48.Menzies Campbell said on the radio that the report was written by
:31:48. > :31:52.people whose interests was to argue against the independence of
:31:52. > :31:56.Scotland. That is quite true, in my case. As a member of the committee,
:31:56. > :32:01.he seems to have agreed with Margot's analysis. The other point
:32:01. > :32:05.she makes is equally substantial. The report focused, brutally
:32:05. > :32:12.entirely, not on the interests of Scotland but the major point it
:32:12. > :32:18.seemed to me was what would happen to the terms of UK's in the world.
:32:18. > :32:23.They make a fundamental mistake here. Prestige and influence in the
:32:23. > :32:27.world is not based on size. It is not based on military intervention.
:32:27. > :32:34.The military intervention in Iraq Tom for example, did not enhance the
:32:34. > :32:38.UK's place in the world. The UK's place, or Scotland's place, will not
:32:38. > :32:43.be governed by that. It will be governed on the ideas of the
:32:43. > :32:48.strength of social sciences, the health of our economy or ability to
:32:48. > :32:53.make a positive influence on humankind. This is what matters, not
:32:53. > :33:01.what they foreign affairs committee concentrated on. Thank you. That
:33:01. > :33:05.concludes First Minister 's Western town. That is a cause of coverage.
:33:06. > :33:13.Alex Salmond disdaining the bubbles of prestige and suggesting that