10/12/2015 Politics Scotland

I warm welcome to Holyrood and the Scottish parliament. The latest set

of questions to the First Minister. Difficult to assess what might come

up. It could be the condition of the fourth road bridge and problems for

drivers and passengers. Let's find out by crossing to the chamber and

my colleague Glen Campbell. Thousands of people rely on it to

get to and from their work every day and businesses depend on that for

getting goods and services to customers. I know of a shellfish

firm in the Highlands worried about the impact of bridge closure and a

construction firm in Fife is thousands of pounds out of pocket

paying for stuff to be put in hotels in other parts of the country

because they have deadlines to meet. One business leader told me that top

priority was making sure small businesses control freely. Derek

Mackay agreed to authorise small vans to travel along the priority

route currently restricted to buses and HGVs. That has not happened yet.

Can the minister confirm when that will take place? Can I thank the

public for their patience and forbearance during what I know is a

period of significant disruption for many individuals and businesses. Can

I also thank a wide range of staff who are now working around the clock

to deal with this issue? Let me also thank the -- restate the

determination of this Government to do everything we can to minimise

disruption and get the Forth Road Bridge open again as quickly as

possible. In terms of the point Kezia Dugdale has raised. There have

a number of points from a of sources about how to improve the travel plan

that is in place. Some of those proposals have been implemented, for

example the priority route put in place for buses and these TVs, that

priority has been lifted during the night time period and we are

currently looking at a range of proposals including the LGB proposal

that Kezia Dugdale spoke about. M sure members will appreciate we are

trying to take all possible action to minimise the disruption caused

and in particular when we look at the priority route we have to take

care we get them balance right between sensible restrictions and

also not doing things that with the prioritise that route, so we

continue to look at what flexibilities we can put in place

and we will continue to keep the public fully updated. I accept that

answer at the First Minister misses the fact this was a promise the

Transport Minister made on Tuesday to small businesses that has not yet

been realised. These businesses are losing business every day so when

the First Minister said she needs to focus on minimising disruption she

has to fall. Urgently, so I ask her to ensure this measure is put in

place because we need more than short-term sticking plaster

solutions. This situation has shown us we need a permit which doesn't

put off essential work in the hope of saving money. -- a government.

There is a new bridge coming and we support of that and then Vermont is

working hard to mitigate transport problems and we support that too,

but for the First Minister to sweep everything under the carpet will not

wash. We know the bridge maintenance contract has been privatised by her

government and budgets have been slashed by her government. We know

them budget for the bridge was cut a 65%. Audit Scotland told us that.

That is a cut to the maintenance budget of an ageing but essential

asset. With the benefit of hindsight does that First Minister accepts

these budget cuts were wrong? No, I don't. To complete the point, I

think the public deserve a proper and full explanation of the

situation. To complete the point is eared Dugdale raised in her first

question, we will consider any suggestion made about travel

planning and will implement changes as quickly as possible. We have to

take care that an opening the priority route to more vehicles we

don't have a situation where that races ceases to provide free or

cheap transport for vehicles we provided it for. On the other

issues, the specific part of the bridge that is now being repaired

was not broken back in 2010. Order. What was considered in 2010 was

prompted by concerns about another part of the link, not the part that

is now cracked. The work considered would have been a more extensive

repair than was required and it would have completely closed the

fourth road bridge for a number of weeks and that is why better, which

was made up of all parties, decided to do further analysis and propose a

more proportionate repair -- FETA. That repair was under way when the

current crack was identified and if I look at contracts were we are

accused of underfunding, the grant provided to FETA was greater that

year than in the previous three years, and Kezia Dugdale began her

last question by saying this Vermont wanted to save money. Let me remind

the chamber and that public, this is the Government that invested in a

new Forth Road replacement crossing. Hardly the hallmark of a Vermont

that was trying to save money. What was Labour's position on a new Forth

Road replacement? James Kelly, Labour's then infrastructure

spokesman, who was complaining that we hadn't fixed a crack five years

before the crack happened, he said that from the start the new Forth

Road replacement crossing has been a vanity project for the Scottish

Government. It was the Labour benches that wanted to save money on

making sure people could continue to travel across the fourth, not this

Government. People need to know they have a government that is determined

to learn the lessons of the past, not one more interested in covering

its tracks and labelling someone else. -- blaming someone else.

Order. On Tuesday the Transport Minister told this Parliament there

was no link between cancelled repairs in 2010 and the work needed

now. On Wednesday he made the fatal mistake of going on the radio and

telling the truth, that they were linked. The public is losing faith

in his handling of this situation, so we know that vital maintenance

work that would have repair the damaged area was put off by the

years ago. Can the First Minister confirm what other works on the

bridge have been cancelled or delayed because of a lack of

funding? Kezia Dugdale can go onto the website and see the published

minutes of the fourth St transport authorities, a body that took

decisions about their work on the bridge independently of the

Government. Our role before we took over the grant funding was to fund

that maintenance programme, but it would have been helpful if Kezia

Dugdale had listened to the last answer I gave her. The part of the

bridge that is being repaired now was not broken in 2010. According to

engineers, the fault that is currently being repaired on the

bridge happened with in the last few weeks. That is the reality of the

situation and we are now working, as the public expect, to repair that

fault as quickly as possible and get the bridge back open as quickly as

possible, and I think it is a rich for Labour to come here and talk

about this Government in terms of our commitment to keeping people

travelling across the Forth Road Bridge. I already quoted James

Kelly, infrastructure spokesman at the time for Labour, perhaps Kezia

Dugdale would also be interested in the views of her former employer,

George folks. What he said,... Order. Let us hear the First

Minister. They don't want to hear this because what Lord George folks

said... Order. He described the new Forth replacement crossing as a

prestige project which was a total waste of money. That is what he

said. I will continue to make sure, Presiding Officer, that I, the

Transport Minister and this Government on some trade on

minimising disruption people are suffering now. We will concentrate

on getting this bridge reopened as quickly as possible and will also

concentrate on making sure the new bridge that this permit decided to

build will be completed on time, so this time next year that new bridge

is also open to traffic. I am sure the hundreds of people on the 710

from Cowdenbeath valued that answer and thought the First Minister was

on their side. She encouraged me to look at the FETA website. I have the

minutes in my hand from the October 2013 meeting. They say the Scottish

Government's September Spending Review resulted in a 58% reduction

in capital funding and a number of projects had to be deferred beyond

2015. The minutes go on to say that deferral of part or all of these

projects increases the risk to the long-term structural integrity of

the bridge. Crucially the trust end links work was one of the projects

delayed, delayed because of SNP cuts, short-term decisions at the

expense of the long-term future of an important asset, so we have

budgets cut, privatisation of services and cancelled repairs.

Instead of trying to avoid the get -- the blame, when will the

Government accept responsibility? The work considered in 2010 was

prompted by concerns about another part of the trusts and length, not

apart that is now cracked -- trusts end links. People might want to

listen to this. Criticisms appears to be that five years ago a body

that took decisions in that end of the of the Government decided not to

fix a part of the bridge that was not broken. A part of the bridge

that only became broken in the last few weeks. We might not have had a

crystal ball to tell us five years ago something with the come broken

five years in the future but we did have the foresight to know that an

ageing structure did need replaced. That is why this Government took the

decision to build a new Forth replacement crossing, a decision

that would not have been taken had Labour been in government, there is

little doubt of that. I think what people in Fife and people affected

either 's closure want to hear from me is this, this Government is

focused on continuing to do what we have been doing since Thursday,

making sure we minimise as far as possible the disruption caused by

this closure and more importantly making sure we support those who

were working round-the-clock to do this bridge reopened. That is what

this Government will continue to focus on. Ruth Davidson. To ask the

First Minister when she will next meet the Prime Minister. Monday. We

should take this down in temperature. The priority has to be

to make sure the bridge is fixed as soon as and these problems are

addressed but I did not then put First Minister can avoid the fact

the budget for the Forth Road Bridge was hammered in recent years. Two

weeks ago the Chancellor announced a significant increase in capital

expenditure for Scotland, so can the First Minister make it clear that

when the finance Secretary unveils his budget next week, cuts to the

bridge budget are reversed and that author Road Bridge has every penny

available to guarantee it stays open as long as we need it?

Bid Deputy First Minister was set up the budget on Wednesday and people

have an opportunity to scrutinise the decisions we make. Can I make it

absolutely clear that our entire focus is making sure that those

working to repair the bridge have the resources to get the bridge

repaired. We will continue to make sure that we fund repairs and

maintenance on the bridge so the Bridge stays open, but we will also

make sure that we continue to fund the new bridge currently being built

so that this time next year we will be celebrating the opening of that

bridge to traffic. That is the priority of this government and we

will continue to focus on it 100%. It is clear that the authorities

gambled that the old bridge could be patched up until the new one was

opened and we now know that gamble has failed. In press reports this

week we have seen senior civil engineers say either the bridge

cannot open to heavy goods vehicles of the timetable for repair is

unrealistic. This morning there was an announcement that preventative

action has been taken on seven sites. When the bridge. Reopen, come

the First Minister guarantee it will open to all vehicles? The absolute

intention of this government is to have the bridge opened for people

returning to work in the New Year and said that of the case of the

bridge being open as normal to all vehicles that previously travelled

over the bridge. That is what we have said all along. It is what we

continue to say. Everyone in the chamber will understand and I hope

appreciate that work at this time of the year is heavenly weather

dependent. I last spoke to the senior engineer at yesterday update

I was given yesterday was the prepares remain on track. We are

closely monitoring the situation. We are talking to the engineers on a

daily basis to make sure that we continue to be fully updated and any

changes around the timescale will be fully communicated to the public in

the normal way, but as of this moment in time, I remain of the view

that this bridge will reopen again in time to people returning to work

in the New Year. To us the First Minister what she will discuss at

the next meeting of the Cabinet. We've heard about privatisation and

capital cuts, the two senior engineers leaving and the Transport

Minister not being able to explain adequately about the abandoned

repair, it does make the point that we need a thorough enquiry. That is

what people I think in five are expecting, but it is also what the

First Minister should actively support. But for today, what people

care about most is sorting out the travel arrangements, fixing the

bridge and preventing it from happening again. The bridge is

struggling to cope, so what has the First Minister change this week with

the inspection regime to minimise the chance of having the same

problem on this major transport artery. The engineers who are

working on the bridge, and I spoke to some of them on choose their

morning, they are as we expect taking this opportunity to check

other parts of the bridge as is appropriate. There are a large

number of parts on this bridge. All of them have their own inspection

and maintenance regime around them. This particular part of the rich

according to the advice we have had from engineers cracked within the

last few weeks. That part of the bridge had a regular maintenance

cycle attached to it as well. We will continue to make sure that we

minimise the disruption people are experiencing. We will continue to

listen to representations about how we adapt the travel plan in place.

Secondly, we will also put those who are repairing the bridge to make

sure that the repairs are carried out on time and the bridge can

reopen in the New Year and we will continue to make sure proper

maintenance is in place on the bridge and all critical repairs are

funded and take place. Lastly, as I have said repeatedly, we will focus

on getting the new bridge completed on time and open to traffic this

time next year. The bridge is under considerable strain as everyone in

this chamber knows with this happening within the last few she

cannot be content to just carry on with the old engineering regime. We

must have something new, something in Bruges, something different to

make the system more robust because we simply, I mean, the chaos within

Fife has been quite dramatic and we cannot afford a repeat of this. So

can she tell me what new things is she going to do? What improvements

to be inspection regime is she going to order because we cannot afford

for this to happen again. That is a robust inspection regime in place.

There is a health check being carried out on the bridge to make

sure if other repairs need to be carried out they can do those as

well. I would have thought that Willie Rennie would be in agreement

that what we are and should be focusing on is the other things I

have spoken about. Minimising travel disruption to the public, minimising

disruption to businesses that are affected and making sure that the

repaired to this part of the bridge is carried out so that it can be

open to traffic as quickly as possible. We will focus on that. It

is my responsibility and the responsibility of this government to

take all of those steps. In terms of an enquiry, the transport committee

is open to any part of this Parliament that once you carry out

an enquiry. If the committee chooses to do so, this government will fully

cooperate with that. But our focus at the moment, while others

certainly on one side of this chamber are more interested in plain

political games, our focus is on making sure that we act in the best

interests of people affected by this closure to minimise disruption and

get this bridge reopened. That will be my focus, the focus of this

government and we will not be diverted from it. To us the First

Minister what recent discussions the Scottish Government has had with the

UK Government regarding the fiscal framework? The Deputy First Minister

met with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on Monday. Detail

discussions continue on the fiscal framework that will underpin the

Scotland Bill. The First Minister will be aware that Lord Smith has

stated the fiscal framework is fundamentally important to making

Scotland's Pauwels work. However, Scotland's budget could

fall by 7 billion pounds over the next decade. Given the importance of

the fiscal framework, it is vital that this Parliament speaks with one

voice to protect Scotland's future budget and public services against

the clear and present danger that is now posed by the UK Treasury. I do

think when credible independent voices ranging from the ISS to the

principal of Glasgow University, when they all race serious concerns,

all members of this chamber should take note. -- ISS.

A mammoth ?7 billion over a decade and that would be unacceptable. All

members of all parties can agree that such a proposal could not

conceivably be accepted by this government. That is why we continue

to negotiate in good faith for a reasonable agreement that will

benefit the people of Scotland. The First Minister will be aware that

the Scottish Government has borrowing powers of ?304 million

this year. With only three months left in the financial year, will the

borrowing Read through the National loan fund, or issuing bonds? John

Swinney will set out his budget for the 2016-17 when he comes to this

chamber next week. I would hope that Jackie Baillie would hope her --

would join her colleague regarding the discussions over the fiscal

framework. I welcome the comments Malcolm Chisholm made yesterday,

accepting the current position. The method for calculating VAT will be

critical to this framework. Is it the First Minister's position that

the OT should be calculated according to the place of production

or consumption? That is one of the many issues under discussion.

Whether we calculate over years to come the reduction to Scotland's

block grant, or we take into account setup costs. We need a settlement

that is fair and reasonable to Scotland, so we will continue to

argue that position across a range of these issues and I hope that we

get to a position where the Scottish Government and the UK Government can

agree a deal that allows these new powers to come into effect. To ask

whether the Scottish Government considers a gap between climate

change and air passenger duty? No, but we do take these issues

seriously which is white international aviation and shipping

is in Scotland's 2009 climate change act. We encourage other governments

to include shipping and aviation in their own climate change act. We

need to continue to take a balanced approach. We are already punching

above our weight to tackle climate change and we are on target to meet

out emissions reduction. Scotland has one of the largest drops in

emissions of 44 regions and states. There are important environmental

and economic issues when we are considering a reduction to air

passenger duty and that is why we are working with air passenger

groups. I welcome what the First Minister said about climate change

in Paris and I am glad she went there by train, but in this week of

all weeks will she reconsider her proposal to slash air passenger

duty? Does she not realise that the research of the Scottish Government

itself indicate it would result in hundreds of thousands more journeys

by plane instead of train. The majority of these extra journeys

would be in the UK which nullifies the argument she used last week

about exports, and the result will be a big boost to aviation emissions

which are already growing faster than the emissions of any other

sector? We will continue to take a balanced approach, an approach that

prioritises economic growth, but take to receive this the hour it

meant and responsibility to the environment. When I was in Paris on

Monday there was recognition amongst a wide range of other countries, not

that Scotland's record is flawless or perfect, but Scotland were

showing international leadership. It is something we should be proud of

and the Scottish Government should continue to take the balanced

approach we have been taking. Two of the First Minister what the Scottish

Government plans are to tackle domestic abuse. It is unacceptable

and we must eradicate it from our homes and communities. We have

committed almost ?12 million this year and a further ?20 million over

three years to support a range of projects to tackle violence against

women. We aim to prevent and eradicate all violence against women

and girls in Scotland. The joint strategic board consists of senior

leaders with specialist knowledge of domestic abuse and they are working

with the Scottish Government to make sure we can achieve this aim. The

consultation on a specific domestic abuse offence was published in

October. A recent charity said there was 25,000 new cases of domestic

violence every year. It was found that there were notable differences

in the perception of what was considered seriously wrong behaviour

towards women. Can the first women comment on those findings? Can she

provide an update on I can. First I would like to pay

tribute to the woman's aid movement and the work they do. We have much

to do to end the scourge of domestic abuse and chains the negative

attitudes that drive it. This social attitudes survey makes for grim

reading on some attitudes that still exist in our society, but also

provides a helpful waistline that will allow us to evidence the

changes we want to make and help us eradicate violence against women and

we are working to make progress in this area. A draft domestic abuse

offence was published in November and feedback from the Justice group

one that has been positive. If formal publication on the offence is

due to be published later this year. Closing with deeply serious

exchanges on a serious subject. Earlier, robust exchanges on the

subject of the Forth Bridge, the historic nature and future plans as

well. I am heading up to the north-east later today. I think I'll

take the train. It's time to hand you over to Daily Politics.

but there was a lot of pressure from people in west London. It was to win

seats? We have an issue about planes flying over your capital city, which

is unusual. We have got Heathrow where it is and it is the hub and we

have to get on with it. Now, Jeremy Corbyn is said not

to have changed his views about anything in more

than 30 years as an MP. Our guest of the day,

David Willetts, on the other hand, has admitted to changing

his mind a few times And he's not the only politician

to have shown a lack of consistency over the years, as our

Ellie's discovered. I think that was the wrong

introduction.