:00:20. > :00:59.Politics is dominated at the moment by the European Union referendum and
:01:00. > :01:02.the idea that the offer to extend registration to vote until midnight
:01:03. > :01:04.tonight, but domestic politics remains important as well and I
:01:05. > :01:07.guess it will be domestic politics to the fore in questions to the
:01:08. > :01:09.First Minister. This is the second in a new, longer format First
:01:10. > :01:12.Minister's Questions, asked for by the presiding officer, Ken
:01:13. > :01:14.Macintosh. Domestic questions are expected to dominate. The chamber is
:01:15. > :01:18.looking at a general questions. The presiding officer is moving on to
:01:19. > :01:20.Prime Minister's Questions. Engagement to take forward the
:01:21. > :01:24.programme for Scotland. We note the problem is that the NHS is facing.
:01:25. > :01:28.Anti-ageing population, a Scottish Government that has failed to keep
:01:29. > :01:31.up with the need to recruit and retain the staff are required. We
:01:32. > :01:36.discovered this week that ?157 million of the NHS budget is being
:01:37. > :01:40.spent on bringing in agency nurses because of staff shortages. We note
:01:41. > :01:44.that is a problem with nurse recruitment. Can the First Minister
:01:45. > :01:51.tell me how many vacant consultant positions have been lying unfilled
:01:52. > :01:56.for more than six months? In terms of NHS vacancies, the position now
:01:57. > :02:00.in terms of NHS vacancies is, in some cases, better than when we took
:02:01. > :02:04.office, in some cases almost the same. What people across Scotland
:02:05. > :02:10.will be interested in is the fact that today we have record high
:02:11. > :02:17.staffing in the NHS. Today, compared to win the edge the SNP took office,
:02:18. > :02:23.there are almost 11,400 additional staff working in our NHS. Qualified
:02:24. > :02:29.nurses and midwives are up by nearly 6%, doctors are up by over 26% and
:02:30. > :02:37.medical and dental consultants are now at a record high, up by 42.9%.
:02:38. > :02:43.That is the reality of the workforce in our NHS. All of these doctors and
:02:44. > :02:50.nurses are working hard to make sure that patients are seen quickly and
:02:51. > :02:57.they get world-class treatment when they do so and offers them an
:02:58. > :03:00.enormous debt of gratitude for that. The First Minister keen to give out
:03:01. > :03:05.every single number except the one I asked for. The answer is that there
:03:06. > :03:12.are 162 unfilled consultant posts. That is up 14% in three months and
:03:13. > :03:17.up by more than 300% since 2011. The fact is this, Doctor Nicky Thompson
:03:18. > :03:20.of the Scottish consultants committee says, the Scottish
:03:21. > :03:25.Government must recognise that they have major recruitment and retention
:03:26. > :03:31.problems and take action. Does the First Minister recognise that, in
:03:32. > :03:36.the wake Nicky Thomson wanted to and she prioritised that action without
:03:37. > :03:41.delay? We are prioritising action to recruit and retain staff in our NHS.
:03:42. > :03:46.Ruth Davidson speaks specifically about the consultant vacancy rate.
:03:47. > :03:51.The consultant vacancy rate in our NHS today is lower than it was when
:03:52. > :03:57.this government took office. It was 7% when we took office, it is now
:03:58. > :04:01.6.5%. That is a percentage of the total number of consultants working
:04:02. > :04:07.in our NHS that is much higher than it was when we took office. However
:04:08. > :04:10.you cut it, however you look at the statistics, there are more people,
:04:11. > :04:16.including more doctors and nurses, working in the NHS today than it was
:04:17. > :04:22.the case when the SNP took office. That is a record to be proud of, but
:04:23. > :04:27.I note that we must continue to improve our NHS so it continues to
:04:28. > :04:30.provide good quality care for people across Scotland. That is why we set
:04:31. > :04:37.out at the election, in a manifesto we were a latching on, plans to
:04:38. > :04:40.invest more than any other party proposed, but the nature of the
:04:41. > :04:49.reform our NHS to ensure it continues to do the fantastic job it
:04:50. > :04:54.already does. At the facts on the ground. I have feared the latest
:04:55. > :04:57.report into the ongoing problems at Saint John 's paediatric unit in
:04:58. > :05:01.Livingston. They'd be quite what it says. There is a continuing heavy
:05:02. > :05:05.reliance on a small number of staff doing additional night and weekend
:05:06. > :05:09.shifts and prone to sure this collapse because of sickness or
:05:10. > :05:13.other unplanned absence. It adds that only four of the nine eight
:05:14. > :05:18.hour slots are filled on a substantive basis. It continues, the
:05:19. > :05:22.middle grade medical rota remains unstable treaty vacancies and
:05:23. > :05:28.advanced nurse practitioner 's paediatric nurse practitioners are
:05:29. > :05:31.required to fill the gaps. In other words, backfilling for doctors
:05:32. > :05:35.because they cannot get the staff. This might be an exceptional case
:05:36. > :05:40.but it is utterly unacceptable. Doctors say we need action and isn't
:05:41. > :05:47.this, right here, the consequence of inaction from this government? In
:05:48. > :05:52.terms of paediatrics at St John's. Yes, there are challenges. That
:05:53. > :05:58.doesn't come as news to anyone. It is those challenges that prompted
:05:59. > :06:03.the expert report on the future of the paediatric unit and that report
:06:04. > :06:07.is currently being considered by NHS Lothian and I know they will be
:06:08. > :06:14.supported by the Scottish Government and will take forward an actions
:06:15. > :06:18.needed. I should point out the fact that under the SNP, the situation at
:06:19. > :06:23.St John's in general terms is a lot more positive and the hospital is in
:06:24. > :06:28.a stronger position than it was when this government took office because
:06:29. > :06:31.we provided funding for an MRI scanner, funding for a short stay
:06:32. > :06:38.collective surgery unit, we've redesigned A, we refurbished the
:06:39. > :06:42.Labour ward. There has been a new lab in medicine training school
:06:43. > :06:47.opened, a new regional eating disorders unit opened. These are a
:06:48. > :06:51.range of improvements made and be are to sure we do the same in
:06:52. > :06:55.paediatrics as well. I will never stand here, I am a former Health
:06:56. > :06:59.Secretary, I will never stand here and say there are no challenges to
:07:00. > :07:05.be overcome in our national health service. Scotland is not unique in
:07:06. > :07:09.that sense, but we have more staff, we are investing record sums, that
:07:10. > :07:13.is why there are waiting times that, in many cases, are not just lower
:07:14. > :07:17.than when we took office, they are considerably lower than they are in
:07:18. > :07:21.other parts of the UK. When you look at the situation in England where
:07:22. > :07:28.the Tories are in government, I know they don't like this, but compare
:07:29. > :07:32.the fact that junior doctors have been on strike in England and not in
:07:33. > :07:38.Scotland. Look at A is one example. Performance in our record
:07:39. > :07:43.units is 10% better in Scotland than it is under the Tories in England.
:07:44. > :07:46.We will keep working to improve our national health service, but we will
:07:47. > :07:55.take no lectures from the Tories on how to do it. I note the First
:07:56. > :07:58.Minister is off to London for a debate tonight but we are talking
:07:59. > :08:07.about the Scottish NHS that her government has been in charge of. We
:08:08. > :08:12.are right to point out that The Royal College is publishing a
:08:13. > :08:15.report. What she didn't mention is that the SNP tried to put it back
:08:16. > :08:19.until after the election. She didn't mention that this was against the
:08:20. > :08:22.wishes of health bosses in the area he feared that a delay in
:08:23. > :08:28.publication would only add to uncertainty over the future of the
:08:29. > :08:32.word. We need a serious and honest debate about a sustainable NHS in
:08:33. > :08:37.Scotland. What we don't need is an SNP spin operation that buries bad
:08:38. > :08:43.news because it is inconvenient. We have gaps in nursing, gaps in
:08:44. > :08:49.consultants, gaps in GPs. After nine years, isn't it time the SNP
:08:50. > :08:52.government sorted it out? I note the Conservatives have replaced Labour
:08:53. > :08:55.in this chamber as the official opposition but I did not really
:08:56. > :09:02.appreciate that that meant Ruth Davidson would stand up here and use
:09:03. > :09:07.recycled scare stories about St John's. I thought she might be
:09:08. > :09:11.aspiring to better than that, but clearly not. The fact of the matter
:09:12. > :09:14.is decisions around the expert report, the timing of that and
:09:15. > :09:19.taking forward the recommendations of that would be matters for NHS
:09:20. > :09:24.Lothian and we will support them in doing that. Can I say, yes we are
:09:25. > :09:27.talking about the Scottish NHS and I am talking about the improvements in
:09:28. > :09:32.the Scottish NHS under this government. While I was doing was
:09:33. > :09:37.comparing that to some of the respects in which the NHS where the
:09:38. > :09:40.Tories are in charge has gone backwards instead of forwards. We
:09:41. > :09:45.have had the sight of junior doctors out on strike because of the
:09:46. > :09:50.intransigence of a Tory government. We will take action to improve our
:09:51. > :09:54.health service. Yes, this government has been in office for nine years
:09:55. > :09:59.and let me just remind people in this chamber what we have seen over
:10:00. > :10:05.these nine years. Record high staffing, starting up by more than
:10:06. > :10:10.11,000, nurse numbers up, doctors up, consultants up, paramedic
:10:11. > :10:14.numbers. GPs are up. Senior managers, the number of them are
:10:15. > :10:20.down because we have met our target to produce them. The NHS is in good
:10:21. > :10:29.hands and we will keep it moving in the right direction. When will the
:10:30. > :10:36.First Minister next meet carers Scotland. I hope I will have the
:10:37. > :10:39.opportunity to meet them soon. The Minister for health will meet them
:10:40. > :10:45.next week and as everyone in the chamber will be aware, this week is
:10:46. > :10:49.carers week, therefore I want to take this opportunity on behalf of
:10:50. > :10:59.others to thank carers and young carers for everything they do on our
:11:00. > :11:05.behalf. Earlier this week, the First Minister was named as the 50th most
:11:06. > :11:08.powerful woman in the world. Today, a report by UCAS confirmed that the
:11:09. > :11:12.number of students from her background is going to university
:11:13. > :11:15.has dropped. When will the First Minister use some of her immense
:11:16. > :11:22.power to improve the life chances of Scottish young people? She clearly
:11:23. > :11:38.pays more attention to these things than I do, but... Never mind, I am
:11:39. > :11:49.sure she will get there eventually. On the important matter that she
:11:50. > :11:54.rightly raises this morning, I, as people would expect, have studied
:11:55. > :11:58.these figures in detail. We are ready to prioritise fair access to
:11:59. > :12:02.university, but it is important and appropriate to look at the figures
:12:03. > :12:06.in the round. They come with a health warning. They do not include
:12:07. > :12:09.the number of students in Scotland who enter higher education through
:12:10. > :12:14.college. They'd look at what they do show. Looking at 18-year-olds
:12:15. > :12:20.exclusively, the numbers from our most deprived areas dropped slightly
:12:21. > :12:25.from 2014 to 2015, but nevertheless are up considerably compared to
:12:26. > :12:29.2010. The more fundamental point is this one, not everyone who goes to
:12:30. > :12:32.university goes at it in. When you look at these figures and look at
:12:33. > :12:38.the figures for people of all ages, the numbers from deprived areas is
:12:39. > :12:44.applying to an thing accepted to university is up in 2015 compared to
:12:45. > :12:49.2014. In both cases by about 10%. Yes, we have got work to do, I have
:12:50. > :12:53.been clear about that. That is quite in lamenting the report is
:12:54. > :12:59.important, but it is wrong to say the progress isn't being made. What
:13:00. > :13:03.I heard there was three different excuses about why the numbers are
:13:04. > :13:09.wrong, rather than an explanation about why the government haven't
:13:10. > :13:14.done enough. What these figures show, very clearly show, is that
:13:15. > :13:17.there has been a drop in the number of people from your background is
:13:18. > :13:21.applying to university. There has been an even bigger job in the
:13:22. > :13:27.number of poorer people being accepted when they do apply. This is
:13:28. > :13:33.what happens when you cut grants and bursaries by a third. This is a
:13:34. > :13:36.government that recently tried to scrap a scheme that secured
:13:37. > :13:41.university places for the poorest students. Students are worried that
:13:42. > :13:46.the First Minister will try that again. She says she wanted 20% of
:13:47. > :13:51.university students to come from the poorest backgrounds by 2013. Given
:13:52. > :13:54.that ambition, can she guarantee today that the government will fully
:13:55. > :14:00.fund this scheme for the lifetime of this Parliament? I have made very
:14:01. > :14:04.clear that we are determined to increase access and to do what is
:14:05. > :14:09.required to do that. Can I say, and I hope we can find some agreement
:14:10. > :14:13.here, I didn't say the figures were wrong. On the contrary, they said
:14:14. > :14:20.they were right. I simply pointed out what the figures actually say.
:14:21. > :14:24.What she says they say is right for 18-year-olds entering university in
:14:25. > :14:29.this year. But 18-year-olds from the most deprived amenities entering
:14:30. > :14:34.university has gone up from 2010 to 2015 and in terms of people of all
:14:35. > :14:37.ages going to university, whether it is applying to university or
:14:38. > :14:43.entering university, the numbers from our most deprived areas have
:14:44. > :14:49.gone up in 2015. Both of them by 10%. I am not saying the figures are
:14:50. > :14:53.wrong, I am simply setting out what the figures actually say. I think
:14:54. > :14:57.that is the appropriate thing to do. I have made clear that while we are
:14:58. > :15:02.making progress, I do not think that progress is going far enough or
:15:03. > :15:06.going fast enough. That is what I commissioned the widening access
:15:07. > :15:09.report. That is why I have committed to intimidate its recommendations
:15:10. > :15:13.and will appoint a commission. If the Commissioner tells us that
:15:14. > :15:17.universities are not doing enough, we will use the statutory powers we
:15:18. > :15:20.legislated for that Labour voted against the nature of that
:15:21. > :15:23.universities do more. We are determined to do this, we are
:15:24. > :15:29.committed to doing this and I would hope Labour would get behind us.
:15:30. > :15:35.Earlier this week, when the First Minister missed her health targets,
:15:36. > :15:43.she moved the goalposts. Today she is trying to do it again when it
:15:44. > :15:49.comes to the Ucas figures. This is a reference to a consultation on
:15:50. > :15:55.potential changes on the way health targets are collected. Let's look at
:15:56. > :16:01.the overall picture. Poorer people are less likely to apply to the
:16:02. > :16:04.university under this government and are less likely to be accepted and
:16:05. > :16:10.are more likely to drop out because of the cuts you have made two
:16:11. > :16:15.bursaries and grants. Labour's manifesto pledged to reverse the
:16:16. > :16:22.cuts to bursaries. Surely the First Minister will pledge to do just
:16:23. > :16:26.that. When we last made changes to the bursary threshold, it was the
:16:27. > :16:30.NUS president who I accept would like others to do more and was a
:16:31. > :16:34.member of the widening access commission described it as great
:16:35. > :16:39.news for Scottish students. One of the other things in our manifesto
:16:40. > :16:43.was a review of student support which we will take forward in the
:16:44. > :16:48.course of this Parliament. I say again to Kezia Dugdale, I know she
:16:49. > :16:58.is genuinely interested in this, the statistics that I have been reading
:16:59. > :17:01.out. She is wrong to say what she has said. I haven't changed a single
:17:02. > :17:05.goal post. I am saying what the figures actually show. She is right
:17:06. > :17:11.in saying that in terms of 18-year-olds, there has been a
:17:12. > :17:17.slight decline but since 2010 it is up. She doesn't seem to grasp the
:17:18. > :17:21.point that looking at people of all ages, applications or entry to
:17:22. > :17:27.universities, the numbers from our most deprived communities are up. Up
:17:28. > :17:32.10% for applications and entries. That is simply a fact than it is in
:17:33. > :17:36.these figures. Instead of arguing over the fact because you can't
:17:37. > :17:41.argue, they are what they are, let's get behind the action that this
:17:42. > :17:44.government has decided to take and I look forward to Labour having the
:17:45. > :17:56.gumption to get behind us and make sure we can achieve what we have set
:17:57. > :18:07.out to achieve. APPLAUSE STUDIO: The Scottish Greenlee leader
:18:08. > :18:13.Patrick Harvie. Recent days have seen revelations about the extent of
:18:14. > :18:18.deeply unethical business practices in this country from exploitative
:18:19. > :18:22.zero hours contracts, payments below the minimum wage, brutal
:18:23. > :18:30.disciplinary procedures and the harassment of workers. Major players
:18:31. > :18:35.on the high Street have been playing fast and loose with their employees
:18:36. > :18:41.and throwing them on the scrapheap at a whim when lining their own
:18:42. > :18:46.pockets. The Scottish Government should be able to make more
:18:47. > :18:54.decisions about employment but does she agree that we need to Bush at
:18:55. > :19:03.the edge of our powers to ensure that unethical business practices
:19:04. > :19:10.are pushed out of our economy. Yes I do. I heard evidence from Mike
:19:11. > :19:15.Ashley on practices at sports direct and it was utterly shameful and
:19:16. > :19:20.every right thinking person should condemn that unequivocally. As a
:19:21. > :19:26.government, as Patrick Harvie knows, have established the business pledge
:19:27. > :19:29.which is intended to promote good business practices. We are
:19:30. > :19:35.absolutely clear about zero tolerance for unethical business
:19:36. > :19:39.practices, of the kind we heard this week or zero hours contracts,
:19:40. > :19:43.companies not paying the minimum wage, we want companies to go beyond
:19:44. > :19:49.the minimum wage and paid the living wage. We have had discussions before
:19:50. > :19:51.about whether there should be more compulsion around the business
:19:52. > :19:57.pledge and it is something we will continue to consider. I'm not able
:19:58. > :20:01.to go into this in great detail but I will be in London tonight taking
:20:02. > :20:06.part in the debate on the EU referendum and I don't want to move
:20:07. > :20:09.to the position where we have a deregulated labour market with
:20:10. > :20:13.people like Boris Johnson able to rip of the workers' rights that the
:20:14. > :20:18.EU guarantees in this country. STUDIO: Wray another reference to
:20:19. > :20:30.the studio debate tonight with Forest option. Promoting the
:20:31. > :20:35.firework agenda and the business pledge. She is willing to consider
:20:36. > :20:39.compulsion. Isn't it abundantly clear given the scale of the abuses
:20:40. > :20:43.taking place on a daily basis that we need to do more than encourage
:20:44. > :20:46.the willing, we have to make it abundantly clear to the unwilling
:20:47. > :20:52.that these deplorable practices will not be accepted. Will the First
:20:53. > :20:57.Minister insure that the firework agenda can give real consequences to
:20:58. > :21:02.those employers who exploit their workers, use tax havens or have poor
:21:03. > :21:06.environmental performance will no longer have access to government
:21:07. > :21:11.funded taxpayer support, grants, loans and business support services
:21:12. > :21:15.from the public sector. I'm determined and committed to making
:21:16. > :21:19.sure that the firework agenda has the ability to do what we wanted to
:21:20. > :21:30.do. I'm broadly in agreement with what he is saying but some of what
:21:31. > :21:36.we heard from Sports cap! Direct was illegal as well as unethical. That
:21:37. > :21:40.is something that we should make sure is tackled through the law of
:21:41. > :21:45.the land. When companies break the law in treating their staff they
:21:46. > :21:47.should be held to account not just in how we distribute government
:21:48. > :21:50.money but through the law of the land and I hope all others in this
:21:51. > :22:03.chamber would agree with that. STUDIO: A reference to the owners of
:22:04. > :22:08.sports direct. To ask what is the government's reaction to the
:22:09. > :22:15.Scottish Cancer patient experience survey results. We were very pleased
:22:16. > :22:19.with the results but we know there is more to be done which is why we
:22:20. > :22:23.have announced a cancer strategy supported by ?100 million over the
:22:24. > :22:28.life of this Parliament. It makes clear the importance of listening to
:22:29. > :22:33.what people with cancer are saying and acting on what they say is. Does
:22:34. > :22:39.the First Minister agree with is that whilst our Scottish NHS is
:22:40. > :22:44.achieving world-class outcomes, we can't afford to be complacent and
:22:45. > :22:47.can she outline how the strategy will deliver the best Cancer care
:22:48. > :22:54.for the people of Scotland in future? Cancer services have come an
:22:55. > :23:08.awful long way in the last decade. Mortality rates are down 11% over
:23:09. > :23:15.this period but the ?100 million cancer strategy will be in demented
:23:16. > :23:20.with people with cancer, clinicians and other parties and it will be
:23:21. > :23:26.invested to make sure we are doing more to support invention of cancer,
:23:27. > :23:30.doing more to support early diagnosis of cancer and through
:23:31. > :23:34.taking advantage of advances in radiotherapy, for example, making
:23:35. > :23:37.sure that people have access to the best possible treatment. But also
:23:38. > :23:42.the emotional and financial needs of people with cancer and the needs of
:23:43. > :23:48.their family, those are taken into account with a sticky as well. That
:23:49. > :23:57.is what I am determined we do so we continue to provide world class
:23:58. > :24:10.cancer treatment for people. STUDIO: A Labour MSP. Despite asking for it,
:24:11. > :24:15.49% of patients are not receiving ad vice on benefits available. 66% of
:24:16. > :24:22.patients are not receiving a cure plan. One in five patients saying
:24:23. > :24:28.that they didn't get an appointment soon enough after the suspicion
:24:29. > :24:32.arose. Given these statistics, given the ongoing challenge of cancer
:24:33. > :24:35.being the biggest killer in Scotland, can the First Minister
:24:36. > :24:43.confirmed that the current expectations will not be included in
:24:44. > :24:47.her target review? The Health Secretary set out the purpose of the
:24:48. > :24:55.review and how that will be taken forward. It is a review backed by
:24:56. > :24:59.clinicians and others. There are targets in the NHS that are vitally
:25:00. > :25:02.important to people to give them the assurance and certainty of when they
:25:03. > :25:10.will be treated and there is no intention to undermine that. He's
:25:11. > :25:16.right to focus on the aspects of the survey that were positive and those
:25:17. > :25:22.that indicated there was more work to do. Many of these areas are
:25:23. > :25:26.around not just the clinical aspects of cancer care but the emotional
:25:27. > :25:32.aspects and these are some of the areas that we have most work to do.
:25:33. > :25:37.I was Health Secretary launching the first Macmillan financial advice
:25:38. > :25:43.service. These do fantastic work but findings say we have more to do so
:25:44. > :25:45.we will focus on all of this. Early diagnosis, speedy access to
:25:46. > :25:53.treatment and also the way that patients in the survey say what they
:25:54. > :26:05.want and need. STUDIO: Murdo Fraser, Scottish Conservative MSP. What
:26:06. > :26:10.support will the government give the Scottish oil and gas industry? The
:26:11. > :26:16.recent report highlights the challenges. We visited Aberdeen last
:26:17. > :26:25.week and reiterated our commitment to securing a long-term future for
:26:26. > :26:30.the sector. For example through the training fund, the energy jobs task
:26:31. > :26:34.force. The UK Government retains control of the key taxation levers
:26:35. > :26:39.and a clear conclusion of the report is that more action must be taken on
:26:40. > :26:43.that front with more than half of all companies wanting to see wide
:26:44. > :26:53.fiscal stimulus for the industry. We will continue to support exploration
:26:54. > :27:00.and guarantee infrastructure. There is a briefing in committee room to
:27:01. > :27:06.after. One thing that the report tells us is that a majority of large
:27:07. > :27:14.companies see the opportunity to diversify into shale gas but sadly
:27:15. > :27:18.most of these job opportunities will be created outside of Scotland
:27:19. > :27:24.because of the moratorium on fracking. The science says and she
:27:25. > :27:32.should know because her government commission the survey, it concludes
:27:33. > :27:39.that the technology exists to allow the safe extraction of such reserves
:27:40. > :27:44.subjecting robust regulation being put in place. Why is the First
:27:45. > :27:55.Minister not listening to our government's own scientists on this.
:27:56. > :28:01.The moratorium of fracking has been introduced so we can study all the
:28:02. > :28:06.different aspects of this. It is guided by and based on evidence but
:28:07. > :28:11.also takes into account the opinion of the public. Those who would have
:28:12. > :28:15.to live in areas affected by technology like this. That is the
:28:16. > :28:19.right thing to do. Murdo Fraser didn't quote the report when it
:28:20. > :28:22.comes to diversity patient fully. The companies that talked about the
:28:23. > :28:29.opportunities of diversification also took about the opportunities of
:28:30. > :28:33.diversification into renewables. I wonder why a Tory member of the
:28:34. > :28:37.Scottish Parliament didn't want to mention renewables. Against all of
:28:38. > :28:42.the witches of people the length and breadth of the country, against some
:28:43. > :28:46.of the investment decisions, the Tory UK Government is currently
:28:47. > :28:48.destroying our renewables potential because of its wrong-headed
:28:49. > :28:52.decisions. Perhaps he would be better advised to get onto his
:28:53. > :28:55.colleagues in the UK Government and ask for support for renewables
:28:56. > :29:06.before coming to this chamber to talk about fracking. On 21st of
:29:07. > :29:11.January the 1st Minister was asked when she would provide an updated
:29:12. > :29:16.oil and gas to analytical bulletin. I am giving her a second
:29:17. > :29:21.opportunity. Given the severe challenges facing the oil and gas
:29:22. > :29:26.industry outlined starkly by the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of
:29:27. > :29:32.Commerce survey in May, will she now publish a revised oil and gas
:29:33. > :29:35.bulletin and when will we see it? It will be published in June, sand I
:29:36. > :29:43.will make sure she is one of the first to know when it is due. -- it
:29:44. > :29:49.will be published in due course. We publish these publications routinely
:29:50. > :29:53.but we don't need advice to tellers about the challenges faced in the
:29:54. > :29:58.sector right now. We know that from our engagements with the industry
:29:59. > :30:03.and report such of the ones we have received recently. In the meantime,
:30:04. > :30:05.we will get on with the job of supporting the industry. Practical
:30:06. > :30:07.support on the ground and calling on the UK Government to do the right
:30:08. > :30:24.thing as well. When she meets Amber Rudd, would she
:30:25. > :30:27.undertake to make a point about the tax relief being used to make sure
:30:28. > :30:31.the jobs in this industry are here in Scotland, rather than taken
:30:32. > :30:36.overseas to ignore away or other EU countries? I can give the commitment
:30:37. > :30:41.that we will make that case. I will try to do it tonight but bewildered
:30:42. > :30:46.on an ongoing basis. There is an important point here. We don't want
:30:47. > :30:50.to see premature decommissioning, but decommissioning is a massive
:30:51. > :30:54.economic opportunity for us and we want the nature of the benefit of
:30:55. > :30:59.that opportunity is enjoyed here in Scotland and not elsewhere and part
:31:00. > :31:03.of what we need to do is what he says, to make sure the tax
:31:04. > :31:12.environment is the right one and we will argue that case very strongly.
:31:13. > :31:15.What is the Scottish Government doing to reverse the reported fall
:31:16. > :31:21.in women studying science and competing at higher levels?
:31:22. > :31:26.Interestingly, the reported fall he says, it is not an actual file in
:31:27. > :31:31.most cases. The figures that were released to the media over the
:31:32. > :31:35.weekend are simply wrong. Every subject he named, with the exception
:31:36. > :31:42.of competing, has seen rises in the number of girls, not false. Physics,
:31:43. > :31:46.chemistry, biology, human biology, the. Including computed, the total
:31:47. > :31:51.number of entries is up 10%. How come they are so wrong? Let me tell
:31:52. > :31:58.you, Iain Gray arrived at his figures by counting only... He
:31:59. > :32:05.excluded both the beef eyes and the... Did he do this deliberately
:32:06. > :32:09.or whether the Labour education spokesman did not know that hires
:32:10. > :32:14.were being reformed? I am not sure which is worse. In contrast, the
:32:15. > :32:19.Scottish Government will encourage people into these subjects because
:32:20. > :32:26.they are vital to these -- to Scottish future. Perhaps the First
:32:27. > :32:37.Minister and I can argue about the numbers and other time.
:32:38. > :32:46.I think we agree that we do need women to choose science and,
:32:47. > :32:51.actually, I wanted to use this opportunity to congratulate her on
:32:52. > :32:53.the appointment of Professor Sheila Rowan as Chief scientific adviser.
:32:54. > :32:59.That is a great appointment, but it is also a fantastic role model to
:33:00. > :33:05.encourage more girls and young women into science and she is a physicist,
:33:06. > :33:10.which is good in my view. When Anne Glover was appointed as the first
:33:11. > :33:14.chief scientist in Scotland, she had direct, open for access to the First
:33:15. > :33:20.Minister. That has not been the case in recent years. It would be another
:33:21. > :33:25.welcome and powerful signal if the First Minister or to re-establish
:33:26. > :33:29.that, when she considered doing so? I will consider everything that will
:33:30. > :33:38.help us in this regard. Can I thank him about his comments. We cannot
:33:39. > :33:41.gloss over this, it goes back to the exchange with myself and Coetzee
:33:42. > :33:47.Guptill, I hope the SNP and Labour can be allies, but we have do have a
:33:48. > :33:54.debate based on facts, not distortions. Let me underline what
:33:55. > :34:00.Labour did. They compare 2007 and 2015. They took the 2007 baseline,
:34:01. > :34:06.when hires were the only thing young people sat and used that as the
:34:07. > :34:10.baseline. Then they went to 2015 and only counted the old hires, they did
:34:11. > :34:14.not include the new and revised ones which are replacing the old ones.
:34:15. > :34:19.They then went to the media on the basis of that information and said
:34:20. > :34:23.there was a fault in the number of girls studying these science
:34:24. > :34:28.subjects. It was flatly wrong, it was a distortion of reality and
:34:29. > :34:34.frankly it was a disgrace. If we are going to move forward to build
:34:35. > :34:37.consensus, to build alliances about improving education for young
:34:38. > :34:47.people, if you want to be part of that then let's stop the distortion
:34:48. > :34:51.and did on the basis of facts. First Minister, an all girls team from
:34:52. > :34:57.Saint Anders -- Andrews School recently reached the final of an
:34:58. > :35:02.engineering challenge which is run by the engineering development
:35:03. > :35:06.trust. Does the First Minister agree that it would be worthwhile to
:35:07. > :35:10.ensure the ongoing success of the Scottish Government strategies in
:35:11. > :35:15.this field, worthwhile to consider such initiatives as this on the
:35:16. > :35:21.local and national basis, targeted specifically at girls and young
:35:22. > :35:28.women? Yes they do and can I take the opportunity to congratulate the
:35:29. > :35:34.girls in her constituency for their success. I understand 18 from
:35:35. > :35:38.another high school in my constituency was also successful. I
:35:39. > :35:43.congratulate all the teams involved. And I also agree with her about the
:35:44. > :35:47.work of the scheme. Initiatives like these have a role to play in
:35:48. > :35:53.inspiring young people and helping them develop their skills and an
:35:54. > :35:57.awareness of the world of work. They often help us tackle outdated
:35:58. > :36:02.stereotypes about so-called boy's jobs and so-called girl's jobs. We
:36:03. > :36:08.are pleased to support schemes of a similar nature and we will continue
:36:09. > :36:12.to do so. Let me agree with and entertained by congratulating all
:36:13. > :36:23.the teams who took part in the scheme and I should remember the
:36:24. > :36:33.team from... Went with the new ferry crossing open? Yesterday the
:36:34. > :36:37.crossing is expected to be open for traffic by mid May which is head of
:36:38. > :36:43.the contractual completion date of June 20 17. I think the First
:36:44. > :36:49.Minister for answer. Many people will find it hard to understand why
:36:50. > :36:52.25 days lost to adverse weather can lead to a five-month delay in
:36:53. > :36:56.opening the crossing. Indeed, it has been an open secret in my
:36:57. > :37:02.constituency that a delay was inevitable. I learned in January
:37:03. > :37:06.that the facility making contract -- concrete road tax did not have
:37:07. > :37:13.capacity to meet target. Does the First Minister belief parliament and
:37:14. > :37:16.my constituents believe that she first year of this delay after the
:37:17. > :37:22.election and they knew nothing about the problem with the road tax? If
:37:23. > :37:27.the member has any evidence to the contrary he should bring it forward,
:37:28. > :37:32.because of the Cabinet Secretary said yesterday is absolutely what is
:37:33. > :37:38.the case. Ministers were informed on the 26th of May that the F C BC were
:37:39. > :37:45.looking at whether impacts. The revised programme was ratified.
:37:46. > :37:50.Since then, ministers have been making sure that transport Scotland
:37:51. > :37:55.were subjecting that programme to rigorous scrutiny. I personally met
:37:56. > :37:59.with the contract on Tuesday of this week to satisfy myself that
:38:00. > :38:02.everything possible was being done to accelerate progress and it was at
:38:03. > :38:08.that meeting that we took the decision, rightly, that Parliament
:38:09. > :38:12.should be informed at the earliest possible opportunity. That is the
:38:13. > :38:19.fact of the matter and eligible members would accept that. In terms
:38:20. > :38:26.of the other points he raises, in terms of the delay, that was set out
:38:27. > :38:29.very by Keith Brown yesterday. The constructors now believe
:38:30. > :38:33.installation will take an extra two or three months. That creates a
:38:34. > :38:37.knock on effect for subsequent activities like road surfacing and
:38:38. > :38:41.wind barriers which will now take place in the winter months because
:38:42. > :38:46.of that delay. That is the reason for the timescale that has been set
:38:47. > :38:50.out. My last point is this, the bridge will not be late. The
:38:51. > :38:57.contractual completion date is June 20 17. The December target did which
:38:58. > :39:01.was six months ahead of schedule will not be met but it will still
:39:02. > :39:05.open ahead of schedule. This is one of the most wonderful and compacts
:39:06. > :39:08.construction progress -- projects being undertaken in the world and we
:39:09. > :39:18.should be proud of it and proud of the people building it. Given the
:39:19. > :39:25.wildly optimistic and skills that have now proven to be wildly
:39:26. > :39:28.optimistic and the previous attempts to project short timescales for the
:39:29. > :39:32.repairs to the old Bridge, would it not be wise for the First Minister
:39:33. > :39:40.to generate a little bit more wiggle room? I am not sure I understand
:39:41. > :39:46.what the question was there. We are putting forward the estimated
:39:47. > :39:48.completion date based on the rigorous assessment and modelling
:39:49. > :39:55.that the contract has been paid to build the bridge have given us. Can
:39:56. > :39:59.I say to Alec Johnson, I know I was praised earlier for being so
:40:00. > :40:05.powerful in the global context, but I am not a bridge engineer. I don't
:40:06. > :40:18.have expertise in building bridges other than the ones I build across
:40:19. > :40:23.this chamber of the time. So I prefer to take my advice on at the
:40:24. > :40:26.time skills and the details of the construction of this new bridge from
:40:27. > :40:30.the experts we are paying to build it. That is the sensible thing to
:40:31. > :40:33.do. It is also the thing that ensures we are doing what matters
:40:34. > :40:44.more than anything else, protecting the safety of the brave people
:40:45. > :40:48.building the bridge. The First Minister just mentioned timescales
:40:49. > :40:50.from experts. We can all understand why the weather might delay a
:40:51. > :40:55.complicated civil engineering projects such as this bridge.
:40:56. > :41:00.However, any complicated project will have contingency built into the
:41:01. > :41:05.timeline. At what point did the Scottish Government knew that the
:41:06. > :41:12.contingency had been used up and wouldn't have been prudent to
:41:13. > :41:14.continue to claim that the December date was realistic if they had
:41:15. > :41:21.already known the contingency was used up? Let me try to put this
:41:22. > :41:26.simply. If ministers had known what Keith Brown outlined yesterday
:41:27. > :41:31.earlier than of course it would not have been prudent or appropriate for
:41:32. > :41:35.us to say it will be open to traffic in December, but that is not the
:41:36. > :41:39.case. What I have just set out which Keith Brown said yesterday is that
:41:40. > :41:43.ministers became aware that contractors were looking at the
:41:44. > :41:48.whether impacts on the 26th of May and they set out the timeline that
:41:49. > :41:52.happened after that. The fact of the matter is that in a project as
:41:53. > :41:56.complex as this, there are challenges to be overcome all the
:41:57. > :42:00.time and the contractors have overcome those that have eaten into
:42:01. > :42:03.the contingency time. Until May they were confident that notwithstanding
:42:04. > :42:08.the worst than predicted whether they could still meet December, the
:42:09. > :42:12.date that was six months ahead of the contractual completion date.
:42:13. > :42:16.They then revised that because they realised that was not possible. They
:42:17. > :42:20.have informed ministers in the appropriate weight and ministers
:42:21. > :42:24.have informed Parliament in the appropriate way. Now, for goodness
:42:25. > :42:27.sake, let's get on with backing the people building this bridge because
:42:28. > :42:35.we are all looking forward to think open to traffic next year. What
:42:36. > :42:39.action will be Scottish Government take to ensure that the Scottish
:42:40. > :42:46.National Blood Transfusion Service is adequately funded? ?43 billion is
:42:47. > :42:53.being invested in a purpose-built state of the National Centre that
:42:54. > :42:56.will deliver a first-rate in the testing and development of human
:42:57. > :42:59.blood cells. This will bring together several core activities of
:43:00. > :43:06.the transfusion service into one purpose-built site. NHS National
:43:07. > :43:09.services Scotland, the parent organisation, has been provided with
:43:10. > :43:15.record levels of funding, including a baseline funding increase of ?10
:43:16. > :43:21.million in 2016-17, which is a real terms increase. Mark Turner, the
:43:22. > :43:25.medical director, has warned that the Scottish Government funding cuts
:43:26. > :43:31.are now so severe that over the course of the next Parliament, it
:43:32. > :43:35.will face serious cuts to the service. Would the First Minister
:43:36. > :43:39.believe that the funding reductions are going to help the aim of us
:43:40. > :43:42.increasing the number of blood donors in Scotland and was she
:43:43. > :43:49.agreed to reconsider the funding over the course of this Parliament?
:43:50. > :43:52.We are pledging, over the life of this Parliament, above inflation
:43:53. > :43:55.increases to the health service. I should point out that the Scottish
:43:56. > :44:00.Government does not directly fund this. We fund the parent
:44:01. > :44:05.organisation which is NHS national services Scotland. The funding for
:44:06. > :44:09.NHS national services Scotland has increased by ?10 billion in this
:44:10. > :44:15.financial year, which is a 2% real terms increase. I know the vital
:44:16. > :44:18.importance of the work the Scottish National blood translation service
:44:19. > :44:23.does. I used to say that with my own eyes as Health Secretary. It is an
:44:24. > :44:27.important service, it is a highly valued service and we will continue
:44:28. > :44:31.to do everything we can to support it. The last point I would make is
:44:32. > :44:35.around the new centre. The new centre is about bringing all these
:44:36. > :44:39.services together in one purpose-built site. As well as
:44:40. > :44:43.improving the quality of the work it does over the years ahead it will
:44:44. > :44:47.allow the service to provide its services in a more joined up and
:44:48. > :44:48.effective and efficient way. That is why the capital investment is so
:44:49. > :44:59.important. There we have it. The conclusion of
:45:00. > :45:07.questions to the First Minister. The First Minister referred to purdah
:45:08. > :45:15.which means when she is acting with the backing of civil service advice,
:45:16. > :45:23.she shouldn't be intervening in the European referendum but she did
:45:24. > :45:27.manage to get several references in. Let's speak about questions with
:45:28. > :45:33.Robbie Dinwoodie and Kieran Andrews. Robbie, first of all, Ruth Davidson
:45:34. > :45:42.going off on the issue of the NHS. They batted back and forth
:45:43. > :45:46.statistics but where did it lead? If you're going to go after Nicola
:45:47. > :45:51.Sturgeon with stats, you have to nail them down because she will
:45:52. > :45:56.often have a rival reading of the same stats. Ruth focused on the 162
:45:57. > :46:04.consultant vacancies for more than six months but Nicola came back with
:46:05. > :46:07.a barrage of areas where the NHS figures are different. Often using a
:46:08. > :46:16.different starting point for the calculation. She painted a
:46:17. > :46:25.resolutely upward picture. A much bigger, angrier series of exchanges
:46:26. > :46:31.with Kezia Dugdale and Iain Gray on education stats. She was noticeably
:46:32. > :46:36.aggressive. The more things change, the more they stay the same. The
:46:37. > :46:40.chamber was noisy with a lot of heckling. Nicola Sturgeon said that
:46:41. > :46:45.you couldn't argue about backs and yet that is just what they did. She
:46:46. > :46:50.accused Iain Gray of being selective with his information. It was a
:46:51. > :46:55.damning indictment but if she is corrected will cause big problems
:46:56. > :47:06.for Labour. He didn't come back all that vigorously. He seemed unable to
:47:07. > :47:10.talk about the figures. He seemed conciliatory. It looked like he had
:47:11. > :47:15.been found out and he knew it. It is a problem for the Education
:47:16. > :47:19.Secretary. She was described as the 50th most powerful woman in the
:47:20. > :47:25.world. Second in Britain after Her Majesty The Queen. I thought that
:47:26. > :47:38.the First Minister was a bit patronising. You paid more attention
:47:39. > :47:48.to that than me, yeah, right! The problem of getting young people from
:47:49. > :47:53.poorer backgrounds into higher education, desired Dale was laying
:47:54. > :48:01.the blame at the feet of the SNP -- Kezia Dugdale. But Nicola Sturgeon
:48:02. > :48:05.had her own facts to defend them. She admitted the key fact that at
:48:06. > :48:10.the level of 18-year-olds the figure had declined in a year but if you
:48:11. > :48:21.took the broader entry, the number had gone up. Inter -- interesting
:48:22. > :48:25.exchange about unethical business practices. She was challenged by
:48:26. > :48:31.Patrick Harvie to do more. Her powers are limited in that field.
:48:32. > :48:38.Patrick Harvie admitted that in his question and said that they want
:48:39. > :48:42.more powers over businesses to tackle these issues. Nicola Sturgeon
:48:43. > :48:59.is quite right, some of what has happened at Sport can!
:49:00. > :49:07.Not sure what she can do about those practices. There was a fascinating
:49:08. > :49:12.is danger with Murdo Fraser talking about fracking. Nicola Sturgeon came
:49:13. > :49:17.back and top dog the prospects of decommissioning from the North Sea.
:49:18. > :49:25.That was raised before the election. At that point, Nicola Sturgeon said
:49:26. > :49:32.that people were talking the industry down and now it is a boon
:49:33. > :49:41.for the industry in north-east Scotland. Let's hope for the people
:49:42. > :49:51.there that she sticks by her latest proclamation. It didn't sound like
:49:52. > :50:00.there was much support for fracking. Murdo is persistent. He is Mr
:50:01. > :50:05.fracking. In putting him down in the same way as she does with the
:50:06. > :50:09.Conservatives, she points to what the Tories are doing over the
:50:10. > :50:15.border. In this case, she turned the question around from fracking to say
:50:16. > :50:18.that the other area to diversify into is renewables and the
:50:19. > :50:24.Conservative government are the ones who are damaging that. Any doubt
:50:25. > :50:32.that the moratorium will end in a band? I don't think so. It looks set
:50:33. > :50:36.in stone. There would be a party revolt if it ended in anything other
:50:37. > :50:41.than a band. They want to wait for the evidence to support it first.
:50:42. > :50:44.They are looking for the evidence for their conclusion rather than
:50:45. > :50:51.using the evidence to come to a conclusion. Evidence being gathered
:50:52. > :50:55.there. In Holyrood, it's filtered through the committee system which
:50:56. > :51:00.is a core element of the work done here in Parliament. New parliament,
:51:01. > :51:04.new committees, new members. Parliament will be asked to endorse
:51:05. > :51:09.the new membership. The SNP no longer has a majority in the chamber
:51:10. > :51:12.so they don't have a majority on the committees. There was a feeling in
:51:13. > :51:19.the last parliament that the committees with an SNP majority were
:51:20. > :51:24.a little bit soup pine and sucking up to ministers. The feeling is that
:51:25. > :51:33.will change. We will look at the situation. Attacks on the and
:51:34. > :51:41.powerful. There is a profound and unqualified apology for all of the
:51:42. > :51:48.distress. Public humiliations. For a lawyer, you are remarkably cavalier
:51:49. > :51:52.with any idea of justice. Exposing showdowns. Committee rooms are often
:51:53. > :51:57.where the action takes place in Parliament. There has long been a
:51:58. > :52:02.feeling that Holyrood's midi system once a jewel in the crown, hasn't
:52:03. > :52:10.been living up to expectations. The cause of the SNP's domination of the
:52:11. > :52:16.committees, people thought that reports were watered down and often
:52:17. > :52:21.blocked by backbenchers. They didn't work as well as they should have
:52:22. > :52:25.done because the SNP controlled the chamber and the committees. An
:52:26. > :52:31.difficult issues for the government, people were turning to committees to
:52:32. > :52:36.get a more positive spin on some of the evidence that the committees
:52:37. > :52:43.were hearing. Last month's third historic election victory changes
:52:44. > :52:51.everything. Having failed to win a majority of seats in parliament, the
:52:52. > :52:58.government has excepted it can no longer expect a majority on the
:52:59. > :53:03.committees. The arithmetic used to calculate emitting memberships is
:53:04. > :53:08.our starting point. That would have given us a majority on some
:53:09. > :53:11.committees. We felt that in the spirit of consensus we should accept
:53:12. > :53:15.the parliamentary arithmetic on the basis that in the chamber we have
:53:16. > :53:21.one less than a majority and that should affect the committees.
:53:22. > :53:25.Parliament's new Presiding Officer says negotiations over committee
:53:26. > :53:31.numbers have been consensual. We found that the parliamentary
:53:32. > :53:37.committee recommended that the number of committees were kept small
:53:38. > :53:40.to make them more effective. We are trying to balance that with strict
:53:41. > :53:46.proportionality. That actually requires larger committees. I found
:53:47. > :53:51.during the negotiations that all the business managers and parties were
:53:52. > :53:55.very collegiate and collaborative in their approach. There is a lot of
:53:56. > :54:03.give and take and we reached a conclusion that is fair to every
:54:04. > :54:07.single party in the Parliament. There's also concern that two of
:54:08. > :54:15.Parliament's main committees are all male. The Presiding Officer has
:54:16. > :54:18.announced that measures will be taken to address gender balance soon
:54:19. > :54:29.meaning that the committees will look very different. Joined by my
:54:30. > :54:34.colleagues again. Is it right to say that the committees in the previous
:54:35. > :54:39.parliament were lickspittle? It was a factor of their arithmetic. The
:54:40. > :54:44.SNP had a majority in the parliament and therefore on the committees.
:54:45. > :54:47.Were they bound to act as cheerleaders rather than
:54:48. > :54:52.scrutineers, some con been as may have tried harder than others to do
:54:53. > :54:58.that. It was an inevitability of the old formula. I think it will be
:54:59. > :55:04.better this time. In what regard? Committees are meant to scrutinise
:55:05. > :55:11.and question and sometimes meant to criticise and I think we are more
:55:12. > :55:15.liable to get that this time. It reflected the majority and now it no
:55:16. > :55:20.longer does because there isn't one. Was the instinct when the government
:55:21. > :55:27.was up against it to roll in behind them rather than to add to their
:55:28. > :55:30.trials? I think it was. Look to the Justice committee of the report on
:55:31. > :55:34.court closures. The committee had been quite robust in its language
:55:35. > :55:39.around closures but when it came to the crunch, backing the government's
:55:40. > :55:43.one, the SNP majority voted it through without a change. Even when
:55:44. > :55:53.members had spoken openly against it. The member for North East Fife,
:55:54. > :55:58.one key quote was speaking out against it and he voted it through.
:55:59. > :56:02.It's a result of the SNP being a very loyal party. It is what
:56:03. > :56:08.happens. They automatically vote that way. We lay a lot of stress on
:56:09. > :56:16.the importance of committees but do we over a gate a little bit? No. It
:56:17. > :56:21.is a revising chamber. If you don't get legislation right first time it
:56:22. > :56:26.is not easy to come back. There is no one overseeing it. The committees
:56:27. > :56:32.are vital to ensure what is past is good law. We can't over exaggerate
:56:33. > :56:38.how important they are. The subject that they're not speak its name, it
:56:39. > :56:42.did occur a little bit. It is purdah, she can't talk about the
:56:43. > :56:47.referendum because civil servants are obliged to remain neutral. She
:56:48. > :56:51.got a of references to a certain debate. There are a lot of things
:56:52. > :56:59.happening today on the European scene. George Osborne has decided to
:57:00. > :57:04.come back north of the border and bring project fear back scarier than
:57:05. > :57:09.ever. Gordon Brown is emerging when he does when it comes to referenda,
:57:10. > :57:14.he comes out from where he has been. He is in Glasgow with Neil Kinnock.
:57:15. > :57:26.The big beasts are out in force. A new report saying why he needs to do
:57:27. > :57:30.this. Although the remaining side remains in the lead in Scotland, it
:57:31. > :57:41.is softer and not committed and there is a danger it could slip. In
:57:42. > :57:46.some ways, what the yes side might have wanted is that the gap is
:57:47. > :57:51.narrowing, to have the effect that was had in the independent
:57:52. > :57:58.referendum. They haven't got that but what they can do is analyse how
:57:59. > :58:02.strong the drive is within that yes support. The Remain support. They
:58:03. > :58:12.have the message that it can't be taken for granted. The Leave side
:58:13. > :58:16.saying that George Osborne's figure of the negative effect on Scotland
:58:17. > :58:27.is nonsense. They are being very strong on this in vote to leave.
:58:28. > :58:31.They point out that George Osborne had to revise his own six-month
:58:32. > :58:34.economic forecast so how can you say two years in the future but the
:58:35. > :58:38.effect of Brexit will be on Scotland? It is a fair point to
:58:39. > :58:45.make. These predictions also have a great deal of, you know... Thank you
:58:46. > :58:50.very much for joining us. It will be interesting to see what Nicola
:58:51. > :58:51.Sturgeon makes of the Treasury forecasts. She didn't like them in
:58:52. > :58:56.2014. Will she like them now Ashton