:00:22. > :00:28.Welcome to the Scottish parliament at Holyrood. The topic is questioned
:00:29. > :00:33.to the First Minister. I reckon some will deal with a topic being
:00:34. > :00:38.discussed yesterday, Governor expenditure and revenue for
:00:39. > :00:43.Scotland. Balance sheets suggesting in the latest year there was a
:00:44. > :00:48.deficit of some ?15 billion. Higher because of poor oil receipts in
:00:49. > :00:54.terms share of the economy twice the level in the rest of the UK. Or at
:00:55. > :00:57.the UK as a whole. Opposition parties pounced on it yesterday and
:00:58. > :01:03.I guess they will do the same today. Let's find out. The First Minister
:01:04. > :01:06.was rightly congratulated for securing the fiscal framework deal
:01:07. > :01:13.predicting the future of the Barnett formula. Central to that deal was
:01:14. > :01:15.the principle of law detriment. That means the transfer of financial
:01:16. > :01:21.responsibilities to this parliament should never leave Scotland worse
:01:22. > :01:27.off. Yesterday's pictures showed the deficit would be twice the size of
:01:28. > :01:30.the United Kingdom's. Does the First Minister seriously still believe
:01:31. > :01:38.there would be no detriment to Scotland leaving the UK? It
:01:39. > :01:46.interesting to recall that if we look back to the last year of the
:01:47. > :01:57.last Labour Government the UK's deficit was ?153 billion. That
:01:58. > :02:00.amounted to 10.2% of the UK's GDP. I maybe just messed Kezia Dugdale
:02:01. > :02:05.telling Chancellor Alistair Darling back then that the UK could no
:02:06. > :02:12.longer afford to be an independent country. The truth of the matter is
:02:13. > :02:18.countries the world over have deficits and let's remember best
:02:19. > :02:29.about Scotland's deficit. It wasn't created an independent Scotland, it
:02:30. > :02:33.was created on Westminster's watch. Applause-mac it's a rather strange
:02:34. > :02:37.argument for any self respecting politician who argue we should stick
:02:38. > :02:42.with the system that created the deficit instead of taking more
:02:43. > :02:49.powers into our own hands to do something about it. Lastly, isn't it
:02:50. > :02:54.typical of labour that we hear nothing about the strong Scottish
:02:55. > :02:59.economy, the underlying strength of the Scottish economy? I will leave
:03:00. > :03:06.Labour to do what they love best, not Scotland. I will get on with the
:03:07. > :03:16.job of building this country up. Kezia Dugdale. That was about as
:03:17. > :03:26.convincing as Brian Souter's tax return. The First Minister is in
:03:27. > :03:38.complete denial. The day after heart on this devastated... Order! Less is
:03:39. > :03:42.just 24 hours after our own figures devastated the case for
:03:43. > :03:46.independence. She wants to carry on as if nothing has happened. The
:03:47. > :03:53.economic case for independence has always been a dubious. Even our own
:03:54. > :04:03.a former adviser, Alec Bell, tells us today it is now dead. The figures
:04:04. > :04:07.don't just raised constitutional questions, they give us an insight
:04:08. > :04:12.into the Government's spending priorities. Investing in education
:04:13. > :04:17.is fundamental to growing the economy yet the figures show the SNP
:04:18. > :04:26.have cut education and training by 10%. If education is horror number
:04:27. > :04:35.one priority White has heart Government cut the budget by 10%.
:04:36. > :04:41.First Minister. Before I come onto that, isn't it worth noting that the
:04:42. > :04:47.Better together Alliance came together in that last question. It
:04:48. > :04:52.is the case that all we get from Labour is the miserable talking down
:04:53. > :05:00.of Scotland and Scotland's prospects. Let's not forget that in
:05:01. > :05:05.the years when Scotland's fiscal position is stronger than the UK's,
:05:06. > :05:11.Labour still criticised the case for independence because the truth of
:05:12. > :05:17.the matter is this, Labour prefers Scotland to be run by the Tories
:05:18. > :05:22.rather than having Scotland run by this Parliament. For as long as that
:05:23. > :05:29.remains the case Kezia Dugdale's party will remain on political life
:05:30. > :05:36.support. On education, what the figures yesterday showed, actually,
:05:37. > :05:47.if an increase in Scottish education spending of 1.7% between 2013 - 14
:05:48. > :05:52.and 2014-15. As we have outlined, our attainment fund, over and above
:05:53. > :05:56.core education budgets, doubled by the finance secretary in the budget,
:05:57. > :06:01.is going to make sure we do even more to tackle the issues of
:06:02. > :06:06.attainment in schools. As I said, I'll leave Labour to moan from the
:06:07. > :06:14.sidelines, lock Scotland and I will get on with building this country
:06:15. > :06:19.up. Kezia Dugdale. She can't escape the facts. These
:06:20. > :06:25.are her own figures. She cut education and training by 10%. I can
:06:26. > :06:29.throw a number at the First Minister and she can throw another one back
:06:30. > :06:34.from that big book of excuses she has got in front of her. Behind all
:06:35. > :06:39.of these numbers are people. People whose lives are currently being
:06:40. > :06:46.turned upside down because of SNP cuts to schools and other vital
:06:47. > :06:53.public services. Just this week, I spoke with three women who have been
:06:54. > :06:58.directly affected by SNP cuts. One of the rock life to pursue a career
:06:59. > :07:03.in education, only to be told she will soon be out of a job. I make a
:07:04. > :07:11.school librarian yesterday on the verge of tears and beg for my help
:07:12. > :07:14.to make her save her job. And a classroom assistant in
:07:15. > :07:19.Clackmannanshire, the very place the First Minister told me job cuts were
:07:20. > :07:23.exaggerated, told me she was at a loss to understand the denial of our
:07:24. > :07:27.First Minister in the relation to the extent of job losses. She says
:07:28. > :07:34.the figures are wrong. Are these three women all wrong as welcome?
:07:35. > :07:39.First Minister. Let me point out the facts the Kezia
:07:40. > :07:48.Dugdale. Average spend per primary people has increased by 9%, ?411,
:07:49. > :07:55.since we took office. Average spend per secondary school pupil as
:07:56. > :08:00.increased by 11%, ?670, since the SNP took office. Average spending
:08:01. > :08:04.per pupil in Scotland in both primary and secondary is higher than
:08:05. > :08:11.in England. That is the rector of the SNP but that is a record that we
:08:12. > :08:16.are determined to build on. That is by we have prioritised education,
:08:17. > :08:19.tackling attainment, it's widely finance secretary double the funding
:08:20. > :08:26.for attainment in the budget just two weeks ago. When I speak to
:08:27. > :08:32.people across Scotland as I do day in and day out, what they ask me is
:08:33. > :08:37.this, if Labour is sincere in its commitment to education, then why,
:08:38. > :08:42.just two weeks ago, did they vote against a budget that maintained
:08:43. > :08:46.teacher numbers and doubled the fund for attainment in our schools? That
:08:47. > :08:52.is the question people across Scotland want to know the answer to.
:08:53. > :08:56.Kezia Dugdale. We voted against a budget that
:08:57. > :09:03.wrecked ?500 million out of our schools and public services. We
:09:04. > :09:09.couldn't believe her figures in 2014 at the cant believe them today. Why?
:09:10. > :09:14.Because we see people losing their jobs. From the start that remain
:09:15. > :09:19.face even greater pressures and it is our young people who will lose
:09:20. > :09:22.out because of this Government's cuts to education. For years the
:09:23. > :09:28.First Minister said independence was the only way to stop the cuts, but
:09:29. > :09:31.that argument is now dead. Labour have set out a plan to use the
:09:32. > :09:38.powers of this Parliament to stop the cuts, on the 50p tax, higher
:09:39. > :09:46.rate threshold and 1p plan she has voted it down at each and every
:09:47. > :09:49.turn. If yesterday's figures confirm independence is not the answer and
:09:50. > :09:53.she refuses to use the powers of this place to an posterity what
:09:54. > :10:03.exactly will she do to stop the cuts? First Minister let us hear the
:10:04. > :10:06.First Minister. It was Kezia Dugdale and her
:10:07. > :10:11.colleagues who said two people across Scotland they had to vote no
:10:12. > :10:16.to avoid cuts. Now they go around Scotland telling ordinary people
:10:17. > :10:25.that their taxes have to go up to pay for the Tory cuts that Labour
:10:26. > :10:32.made 's speak subject to. -- made us stay subject to. That is the sheer
:10:33. > :10:36.and after disgrace of the Scottish Labour Party. To add to that
:10:37. > :10:41.disgrace is the fact that two weeks ago they voted in this Parliament
:10:42. > :10:45.against a budget that maintained teacher numbers. A budget that
:10:46. > :10:49.doubled funding for attainment in schools, a budget that would deliver
:10:50. > :10:55.the living wage to social care workers across our country. Was I
:10:56. > :11:01.the bizarre, there was apparently a vote Labour event in this city of
:11:02. > :11:05.Edinburgh last night. Kezia Dugdale should read the reports of it.
:11:06. > :11:12.Apparently her name wasn't mentioned once in three hours. Speaker after
:11:13. > :11:18.speaker line up to praise the SNP. If Kezia Dugdale can even ensues her
:11:19. > :11:21.own side of the argument, is it any wonder she's already resigned
:11:22. > :11:32.herself to coming second in the election in may? Question number
:11:33. > :11:36.two. Ruth Davidson. Ask the First Minister when she will next meet the
:11:37. > :11:47.Prime Minister. I have no immediate plans. The SNP line on GERS and oil
:11:48. > :11:51.seems to be everybody got it wrong and no one saw it coming, but that
:11:52. > :11:56.is total rubbish. Almost two years to the day I told the First Minister
:11:57. > :12:02.predecessor he was being wildly optimistic oil revenues. We knew
:12:03. > :12:07.then that oil revenues were predicted to be ?3 billion but the
:12:08. > :12:12.SNP refused to listen and try to con people in the referendum campaign by
:12:13. > :12:17.claiming it would be up to ?8 billion. Standing there in the then
:12:18. > :12:21.First Minister told me, with some level of indignation, his figures
:12:22. > :12:29.were robust. Not surprisingly, nobody trusts her predecessor unless
:12:30. > :12:32.any more. It wasn't just him. It was best First Minister who led that
:12:33. > :12:36.independence campaign so why should people trust her on that either? She
:12:37. > :12:42.should maybe have tried giving some of that wisdom to the UK Government
:12:43. > :12:45.Department of Energy and Climate Change because their prediction on
:12:46. > :12:49.oil prices was higher than the Scottish Government's. Isn't it
:12:50. > :12:54.typical that we have a Tory Government that, just like the child
:12:55. > :12:59.in the Labour Party, constantly want to talk about the prospects of this
:13:00. > :13:04.country. Let me tell you what the figures published yesterday showed.
:13:05. > :13:09.Firstly let me say this, ?3000 more revenue generated per head in
:13:10. > :13:14.Scotland in the last five years that the UK. Brought in onshore revenues
:13:15. > :13:19.outstripping falling oil revenues. Higher employment in Scotland,
:13:20. > :13:24.faster productivity growth, but we won't hear any of that from the
:13:25. > :13:27.better together Tory Labour alliance, because that might mean
:13:28. > :13:37.talking Scotland up and that would never, ever do. Ruth Davidson.
:13:38. > :13:42.The truth is a ?15 billion black hole from a reader that told us we
:13:43. > :13:48.would be ?500 better off each if we watered for independence. It's a
:13:49. > :13:52.great pity that this First Minister is still tied to the Alex Salmond
:13:53. > :13:57.playbook of bluster and baseless assertion. The third is the SNP's
:13:58. > :14:01.economic perspectives for independence is broken. It was
:14:02. > :14:06.broken when they made it, they knew it then and they know it now. They
:14:07. > :14:11.are discredited White Paper will live on as a black spot on this
:14:12. > :14:16.First Minister's reputation. And like to quote from the SNP's former
:14:17. > :14:26.chief adviser, and expel. He wrote, we must assume these bright people
:14:27. > :14:34.here know the old model, once of domestic, is now dead. He is right.
:14:35. > :14:37.Let me also quote from somebody during the referendum campaign. This
:14:38. > :14:44.one is actually more irrelevant because, much to my regret, Scotland
:14:45. > :14:49.didn't vote yes, Scotland voted no. In that campaign this is what the
:14:50. > :14:57.bright Minister David Cameron had to say. There will be a ?200 billion
:14:58. > :15:02.oil boom if Scotland votes no. Wipe the David Cameron say that unlike
:15:03. > :15:08.their turn out to be wrong? We will take no bluff and bluster from the
:15:09. > :15:13.Conservative Party. The fact is Ruth Davidson is the leader of a party
:15:14. > :15:17.that has stripped billions of pounds out of Scotland's budget. The
:15:18. > :15:23.parties that told Scotland they had to ball low in order to avoid cuts
:15:24. > :15:27.are the same parties now imposing cuts. Given that Westminster has
:15:28. > :15:30.created the Scottish endeavours at why on earth would we stay part of
:15:31. > :15:43.that system instead of taking power ensue our own hands. Gordon
:15:44. > :15:48.McDonald. A resident of the Broom house area
:15:49. > :15:52.of my constituency was on a pilgrimage to Mecca last month with
:15:53. > :15:56.his wife and three children. During the final prayer of the day there
:15:57. > :16:01.was a surge in the crowd and the threat and grab hold of the needed
:16:02. > :16:05.person for balance. Unfortunately that person turns out to be a police
:16:06. > :16:09.officer and he was arrested for assault. He was sentenced to 35 days
:16:10. > :16:14.in prison and there is concern he may be subject to another trial that
:16:15. > :16:19.could result in a far longer sentence. Given people who are on a
:16:20. > :16:23.holy pilgrimage with their family do not travel with the intention to
:16:24. > :16:24.insult anyone, I ask if there is any way the First Minister can
:16:25. > :16:38.intervene? I am very concerned to hear about
:16:39. > :16:42.this situation. Large numbers of my constituencies go on pilgrimages
:16:43. > :16:46.every single year. -- constituents. My officials have already been in
:16:47. > :16:49.contact with the Commonwealth office and have advised the British Embassy
:16:50. > :16:55.are in touch with him by telephone and have requested a prison visit by
:16:56. > :16:59.the Minister of foreign affairs. We have been advised at this stage they
:17:00. > :17:04.have not had his sentence confirmed as the case appears to be still
:17:05. > :17:07.under investigation. We have asked to be kept updated and informed of
:17:08. > :17:13.any progress. I undertake today to provide the member with updates as
:17:14. > :17:16.appropriate. To us the first Minister what issues will be
:17:17. > :17:21.discussed and the next meeting of the Cabinet. Matters of importance
:17:22. > :17:27.to the people of Scotland. Let's examine the consequences of a
:17:28. > :17:34.massive economic misjudgement on the finances of an independent Scotland.
:17:35. > :17:39.Order! She says it is only one year's figures. We all know the
:17:40. > :17:45.worst is yet to come. The ?15 billion shortfall is twice the
:17:46. > :17:53.education budget. Three times the European deficit limit. She needs
:17:54. > :17:57.growth figures five times higher than China to get out of this. She
:17:58. > :18:02.was warned repeatedly about her claims. Can she looked me in the eye
:18:03. > :18:08.today and says she really believed what she said then? Or is it worse?
:18:09. > :18:17.Is that economic judgment really that bad? Massive economic
:18:18. > :18:21.misjudgement. I think that is a very, very apt description of a
:18:22. > :18:26.party that goes into coalition with the Tories and keeps David Cameron
:18:27. > :18:33.and George Osborne in government for five Yonge -- long years. Never
:18:34. > :18:38.forget, that was the Liberal Democrats. Interestingly, until now,
:18:39. > :18:49.Willie Rennie is not looking me in the eye when I remind him of his
:18:50. > :18:56.coalition with the Tories. His hypocrisy gets ever more
:18:57. > :19:00.breathtaking. While Winnie Rennie's party was propping up George Osborne
:19:01. > :19:02.and David Cameron in government, those politicians were ripping
:19:03. > :19:07.billions of pounds out of the Scottish budget. I will take no
:19:08. > :19:13.lectures from a Liberal Democrat on the question of cuts. I bet the
:19:14. > :19:20.Scottish people cannot wait to yet again pass judgment on the Liberal
:19:21. > :19:26.Democrats on the 5th of May. I noticed that the Deputy First
:19:27. > :19:31.Minister leaned over to give her a bit of advice on that answer. It is
:19:32. > :19:35.ace shame and she did not listen to the finance secretary before. --
:19:36. > :19:41.such a shame. We all know about the secret dossier. It happens to be
:19:42. > :19:45.right. He was right all along. Why do G not listen to him back then?
:19:46. > :19:51.Now she spent all her time dismissing all the things John
:19:52. > :19:56.Swinney warned about. Falling oil revenues. She claimed the ?15
:19:57. > :20:01.billion black hole does not really matter. She supports independence no
:20:02. > :20:09.matter what the price. No fact or number will ever change her mind.
:20:10. > :20:15.But ?15 billion. ?15 billion. It is twice the education budget. Is it
:20:16. > :20:22.not the case that the First Minister was ready to put independence before
:20:23. > :20:27.the education of our children? Of course, we did not need a secret
:20:28. > :20:32.dossier to see the occasions of the Liberal Democrats and their
:20:33. > :20:37.misjudgement. We saw that unfolding in George Osborne's budget every
:20:38. > :20:41.year for the five years Willy Rennie's party kept them in
:20:42. > :20:45.government. Billions of pounds taken out of this government's budget by
:20:46. > :20:51.Tories kept in office by the Liberal Democrats. Willie Rennie has the
:20:52. > :20:58.nerve to stand here and talk to anybody about education and health
:20:59. > :21:02.and cuts in anybody's budget. The fact is we are living with the
:21:03. > :21:06.invitations of Willy Rennie's decisions and his party's decisions
:21:07. > :21:11.in government. That is why his already very small and rather
:21:12. > :21:16.pathetic band of MSPs will be even smaller after the 5th of May.
:21:17. > :21:20.Question number four. Christine Gramm. To pass the first Minister
:21:21. > :21:25.whether the Scottish government considers that the rehousing
:21:26. > :21:29.provisions for victims of domestic abuse are satisfactory. Tackling
:21:30. > :21:35.domestic abuse is a pretty for me and this government. We are
:21:36. > :21:39.investing record levels of funding. This year alone, we are committed to
:21:40. > :21:41.spending more than ?17 million to tackle violence against women and
:21:42. > :21:47.girls will stop homeless legislation supports children fleeing abuse and
:21:48. > :21:50.support into temporary accommodation and appropriate settled
:21:51. > :21:56.accommodation under long-established laws and women can also apply for an
:21:57. > :22:00.exclusion order from the court suspending the right of the abuser
:22:01. > :22:03.to live in the family home. As I said in conference on Tuesday this
:22:04. > :22:06.week, Moore does need to be done in this area. That is why the Minister
:22:07. > :22:11.for Housing and welfare has offered to meet Scottish women's age to
:22:12. > :22:17.discuss what more support is required. -- paid. I recognised not
:22:18. > :22:23.only the legislation but the gunmen funding and the aftermath --
:22:24. > :22:28.government funding and its aftermath... In five Tom the
:22:29. > :22:34.majority of women taking part in the scheme felt they had no choice when
:22:35. > :22:38.ending an abusive relationship. I would ask what the Scottish
:22:39. > :22:41.catchment's response is when they call for a national strategy to
:22:42. > :22:45.address this issue because it is surely clear women should not be
:22:46. > :22:51.twice abused and victims. I agree with that. I am very sympathetic to
:22:52. > :22:54.the call made by Scottish women's aid for a national strategy and that
:22:55. > :22:59.is one thing the Housing Minister will discuss in the meeting I
:23:00. > :23:02.referred to. We have very strong homeless legislation in place. It
:23:03. > :23:06.has been described as among the most progressive in the world. Homeless
:23:07. > :23:09.people have a right to temporary accommodation immediately and if
:23:10. > :23:13.unintentionally homeless, the right to settled accommodation. It
:23:14. > :23:18.provides protection when people had to leave their home because of
:23:19. > :23:23.domestic abuse. I do understand and I sympathise with the notion that
:23:24. > :23:27.forcing an abused woman to leave their home instead of staying in the
:23:28. > :23:34.family home compounds that sense of injustice. I think it is a very
:23:35. > :23:40.important issue and one which our partners we are determined to do
:23:41. > :23:43.more to tackle. The government has recently consulted on the
:23:44. > :23:48.introduction of the specific offence of domestic abuse. Does she agree it
:23:49. > :23:51.should include provision for protection for women by placing
:23:52. > :23:56.conditions on perpetrators, including removing offenders from
:23:57. > :24:00.households, which would be similar to domestic violence protection
:24:01. > :24:04.orders in England? I am happy to consider that. As she knows, we are
:24:05. > :24:09.in the later stages of the conference. We are looking at the
:24:10. > :24:14.wording of a new offence without ruling out what she just said. I
:24:15. > :24:17.think that might be more to do with disposals in court rather than the
:24:18. > :24:24.specific wording but I am happy to look at it. The key purpose of this
:24:25. > :24:28.consultation and the proposed offence is to deal with examples of
:24:29. > :24:32.abuse, coerces and controlling behaviour, which the current law
:24:33. > :24:36.does not deal with adequately. That is the motivation behind this
:24:37. > :24:39.consultation. This is important in terms of what happens to a woman
:24:40. > :24:46.trying to escape abuse and I will give serious consideration to the
:24:47. > :24:49.point that has been made. Thank you. Exclusion orders are helpful but
:24:50. > :24:52.often the abuser does not take any notice and breaches them. Safe
:24:53. > :24:58.housing is what is crucially required. What work has been carried
:24:59. > :25:04.out into creating refuge rooms and panic buttons in a victim's home to
:25:05. > :25:08.make sure they get the help they need if the abuser breaches
:25:09. > :25:12.exclusion orders? There is a range of work carried out by organisations
:25:13. > :25:16.like Scottish women's aid on that kind of issue. I am happy to provide
:25:17. > :25:20.more detailed information about what the Scottish government funding
:25:21. > :25:27.supports in that respect. In terms of the key issue, I am in agreement.
:25:28. > :25:32.There will be circumstances when a woman that is the victim of abuse
:25:33. > :25:37.will want to move away and start afresh without the influence of the
:25:38. > :25:40.abuser. But where possible it is the abuser whose life should be turned
:25:41. > :25:45.upside down by the abuse and not the victim of that abuse. That is what
:25:46. > :25:51.we should work towards in every possible circumstance. This issue,
:25:52. > :25:55.not just specific issue but the general issue of tackling violence
:25:56. > :25:59.against women and children is one of the most important this parliament
:26:00. > :26:02.and society can deal with. We celebrated earlier International
:26:03. > :26:07.women's Day and we all did our own things to mark that. We must
:26:08. > :26:12.recognise that violence against women is both a cause and symptom of
:26:13. > :26:16.gender inequality. Until we tackle that and eradicate violence against
:26:17. > :26:26.women we will not have true gender equality in this country. Question
:26:27. > :26:28.number five. David Stewart. To ask the First Minister what assessment
:26:29. > :26:33.the Scottish covenant has made of the commission 's report on the
:26:34. > :26:37.future of Scottish ferry services. We are committed to providing the
:26:38. > :26:43.best possible ferry services. The announcement of a total freeze in
:26:44. > :26:45.fares for the Hebrides services for 2016-17 and the ?100 million order
:26:46. > :26:50.of two new vessels underline that commitment. We are focused on making
:26:51. > :26:54.sure of a fair procurement process to getting the best deal for all the
:26:55. > :27:02.communities of the Clyde and Hebrides. No matter the outcome of
:27:03. > :27:04.that process, Scottish ministers will retain control of the all
:27:05. > :27:09.important issues like fairs and timetables. This will always be a
:27:10. > :27:15.public service contract. Infrastructure will remain publicly
:27:16. > :27:19.owned as it is now. The law requires a process and it is a position we
:27:20. > :27:23.inherited from the previous Labour and Liberal Democrat penetration. It
:27:24. > :27:27.was accepted by that administration when it initiated the first tender
:27:28. > :27:33.exercise for Clyde and Hebrides very services. Is the First Minister
:27:34. > :27:37.where the UK government banned circle from tendering after a
:27:38. > :27:41.tagging contract where they claimed payments for prisoners that had
:27:42. > :27:45.already died? Even at the 11th hour, which agreed to meet the author of
:27:46. > :27:52.this report, a respected economy from Glasgow University? Would she
:27:53. > :27:56.share my view that the part of the DNA of the west coast of Ireland, if
:27:57. > :28:01.this company loses the contract there will be no person to publicly
:28:02. > :28:05.fly the banner of public ferry services in future? I want to make
:28:06. > :28:10.sure we have the best ferry services. I hope people understand I
:28:11. > :28:17.will not comment directly on the tender roses that is under way. I
:28:18. > :28:22.will be corrected if I am wrong, but I am pretty sure that the ban on
:28:23. > :28:27.Serco has since been lifted by the UK government. We are required under
:28:28. > :28:34.EU law to put this service out to tender. There was a motion passed in
:28:35. > :28:38.this chamber in September, in 2005, before the first exercise,
:28:39. > :28:43.acknowledging the tendering of the lifeline ferry services is required
:28:44. > :28:49.to protect these vital services. That was aborted by Jackie Baillie,
:28:50. > :28:52.Malcolm Chisholm, Patricia Ferguson, Hugh Henry, Lewis McGugan, Ken
:28:53. > :28:55.Macintosh, Michael McMann, Duncan McNeil, Elaine Murray. That was the
:28:56. > :28:59.position of the last Labour administration. It is the position
:29:00. > :29:03.of this administration and it is all intended to make sure we get the
:29:04. > :29:10.best services for the people who rely on what rock 'n' roll lifeline
:29:11. > :29:13.services. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish government
:29:14. > :29:17.response is from figures of the Association of leading visitor
:29:18. > :29:22.attractions showing a 5.5% increase in visitor numbers at attractions in
:29:23. > :29:25.Scotland in 2015. I am delighted at the latest figures from the
:29:26. > :29:29.Association of leading visitor attractions. Edinburgh Castle is the
:29:30. > :29:32.most visited attraction in Scotland. The National Museum of Scotland is
:29:33. > :29:38.the most visited free attraction in Scotland. The latest data shows that
:29:39. > :29:42.if we combine overseas and domestic visitors, there has been a 7%
:29:43. > :29:48.increase in total tourism visits to Scotland in the year up to September
:29:49. > :29:53.2000 15. And a combined spend increased by 18.8% between 2010 and
:29:54. > :29:57.2014. It is testament to the hard work and skills of everybody in the
:29:58. > :30:01.tourism and hospitality industry in Scotland and public bodies, working
:30:02. > :30:07.in partnership to support the Scottish tourism Alliance and
:30:08. > :30:11.strategy 2020. I thank her for that answer. One of the leading
:30:12. > :30:16.attractions was in my own constituency. I am sure she will
:30:17. > :30:20.agree it is important to think about how tourism can grow. One such way
:30:21. > :30:26.is improving assess ability. We have got an assessable project in my
:30:27. > :30:29.constituency. What support commitment can provide for this
:30:30. > :30:32.going board to improve disabled access to visitor attractions and
:30:33. > :30:39.increase the number of tourists in general? -- going for. We need to
:30:40. > :30:45.support and grow tourism. -- going forward. This market is potentially
:30:46. > :30:52.worth ?1.5 billion to the economy and it is the right thing to do.
:30:53. > :30:56.This gossip and has provided a contribution to develop a guide to
:30:57. > :31:01.-- this covenant has supported developing a guide and we have
:31:02. > :31:04.looked at architecture and design and the Minister for business and
:31:05. > :31:08.announced additional funding to support a series of new partner
:31:09. > :31:12.project. These initiatives will contribute to a wider assessable
:31:13. > :31:16.tourism drives and I think it will be a very important thing for that
:31:17. > :31:21.to happen in terms of inclusiveness for what Scotland has two other hand
:31:22. > :31:24.the economic benefit it will bring. That ends First Minister's
:31:25. > :31:32.questions. We will now move to business. Brought to a close here by
:31:33. > :31:37.the chair. I am disappointed the main subject will be the Scottish
:31:38. > :31:40.balance sheet. That turned out to be correct. The first Minister and is
:31:41. > :31:45.abated exactly the same when she decided to turn attack into defence.
:31:46. > :31:49.The best form of responding to criticism from the other side. Very
:31:50. > :31:53.robust responses from Nicola Sturgeon throughout robust questions
:31:54. > :31:56.as well from her opponents. Time for me to say good night and to hand you
:31:57. > :32:09.to daily politics. -- goodbye. I used to believe in the European
:32:10. > :32:12.dream, a free market, liberal and open democratic
:32:13. > :32:16.brotherhood of man. So inspired was I by this
:32:17. > :32:18.vision that 20 years ago, I even became president of the UK
:32:19. > :32:22.branch of the Young European