:00:19. > :00:27.A warm welcome to the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood. Today MSP 's
:00:28. > :00:32.will vote to set the Scottish rate of income tax from April this year.
:00:33. > :00:36.There is the debate about the new part was due to come in next year.
:00:37. > :00:45.Big new tax powers and what level should the grant the? Huge debate in
:00:46. > :00:51.dispute with the UK Government. The devolution committee says they have
:00:52. > :00:55.extended to moral's deadline. That could come up and questions to the
:00:56. > :01:02.First Minister. It could be anything, only one way to find out
:01:03. > :01:10.is to cross to the chamber. Parliament just welcoming to the's
:01:11. > :01:14.guests. Kezia Dugdale. To ask the First Minister what engagement she
:01:15. > :01:18.has planned for the rest of the day? I understand Jeremy Hunt will
:01:19. > :01:22.shortly announce the UK Government intends to impose a new contract on
:01:23. > :01:26.junior doctors and I therefore want to make it clear to this chamber
:01:27. > :01:30.deaths will not apply in Scotland. This is not the way to treat health
:01:31. > :01:35.professionals so we will not impose a contract but continue to work with
:01:36. > :01:45.our doctors and other NHS staff in the best interests of patients. IPod
:01:46. > :01:53.engagements to take forward the Government's programme for Scotland.
:01:54. > :01:57.Labour will protect education spending in real terms for the whole
:01:58. > :02:05.of the next Parliament. Will the First Minister do the same if she is
:02:06. > :02:08.re-elected? We will set out our full plans for education and other
:02:09. > :02:15.matters in our manifesto. Let me point out to Kezia Dugdale that the
:02:16. > :02:20.record of this Government is so far. Average spending their primary
:02:21. > :02:27.pupil, according to the most recent statistics, has increased by 11%,
:02:28. > :02:29.?496, since 2006. Average spend per second at ?496, since 2006. Average
:02:30. > :02:38.spend per secondary school that has increased by 10%. Total revenue
:02:39. > :02:42.spending on schools has risen by ?208 million. That is director of
:02:43. > :02:48.this Government and we will continue to act to protect the number of
:02:49. > :02:52.teachers and schools and act to address the attainment gap. I am
:02:53. > :03:01.happy to ask the people of Scotland in at two weeks' time to judge us on
:03:02. > :03:07.that record. Here is director of the SNP. 4000 fewer teachers, 152,000
:03:08. > :03:12.fewer college students and the gap with the new bridges and the rest as
:03:13. > :03:17.wide as it has ever been. I listened very carefully to the First Minister
:03:18. > :03:21.but there was no commitment to protect education spending in real
:03:22. > :03:26.terms for the next five years. We can take from that response that
:03:27. > :03:34.education spending will be cut again, with even more severe
:03:35. > :03:37.consequences. This afternoon SNP controlled Perth and Penrhos Council
:03:38. > :03:42.will hold a special budget meeting to discuss the cuts they are being
:03:43. > :03:47.forced to make because of the choice this First Minister has made. That
:03:48. > :03:58.is the SNP controlled council. Here are the planned cuts. 186 pages
:03:59. > :04:02.worth of cuts. Cuts to child care, help for those with additional
:04:03. > :04:08.support needs. Cuts took early year teachers, cuts to maths and English
:04:09. > :04:13.teachers. Page after page contains a warning of SNP cuts that will harm
:04:14. > :04:18.our children's future. That is the reality from one of the First
:04:19. > :04:19.Minister's own councils. When will she stop pretending horror budget
:04:20. > :04:29.won't harm our children's future? -- she stop pretending horror budget
:04:30. > :04:35.oh budget. As Kezia Dugdale is where we have put forward a settlement for
:04:36. > :04:41.local authorities that involves a 2% reduction on their total revenue
:04:42. > :04:45.spending. That is a reduction of set by the ?250 million that we are
:04:46. > :04:50.investing from the National Health Service into social care. In that
:04:51. > :04:55.settlement which has now been accepted by all of the local
:04:56. > :04:59.authorities in Scotland, enables us to protect households by freezing
:05:00. > :05:05.the council tax, enables us to protect the number of teachers in
:05:06. > :05:10.our schools, enables's to invest in and expand social care and enables
:05:11. > :05:14.us from October of this year to ensure all social care workers are
:05:15. > :05:21.paid a living wage. That is the reality. That is the reality of the
:05:22. > :05:27.possession of this Government. Of course in the context of a budget
:05:28. > :05:36.cut from Westminster imposed on this Government. A budget cuts that
:05:37. > :05:40.Labour, when they campaigned so vigorously with the Conservatives,
:05:41. > :05:50.were quite happy to see imposed on this Parliament. Athat ship sailed
:05:51. > :05:58.the moment she stood side-by-side with the Tories last week to impose
:05:59. > :06:07.cuts on our communities. Author! Let's be clear about what these cuts
:06:08. > :06:12.really mean. This document, and SNP council, this document here is
:06:13. > :06:17.cutting the entire budget for supply teachers. I will quote from the SNP
:06:18. > :06:23.council paper about the consequences of that cup. It states, classes may
:06:24. > :06:31.have to be sent home and possibly schools closed. That is the scale of
:06:32. > :06:34.the cuts that she is imposing on schools and today is Parliament will
:06:35. > :06:39.have two set the Scottish rate of income tax for the very first time.
:06:40. > :06:43.The First Minister will have another chance to keep the anti-austerity
:06:44. > :06:48.promise she made and to stop these cuts to schools and other vital
:06:49. > :06:54.public services. For years she has argued more powers means fewer cuts.
:06:55. > :07:04.Today she will have the chance to use these powers to stop these cuts.
:07:05. > :07:09.Well she finally take it? In the interests of accuracy, the ship of
:07:10. > :07:16.labour campaigning hand in hand with the Tories has not sealed. That
:07:17. > :07:31.ship, Labour's ship has been sunk and some Scottish Labour completely.
:07:32. > :07:35.Let's turn to Labour's policy of raising tax raising the basic rate
:07:36. > :07:56.of income tax for every worker in our country earning ?11,000 and
:07:57. > :07:59.above. Author! -- Order! Presiding Officer, we know how desperate
:08:00. > :08:12.Labour are by the volume of the insults baseline. OurAPPLAUSE
:08:13. > :08:21.There is a debate to be had in this country about tax but it should be a
:08:22. > :08:25.proper grown-up debate about tax. Labour's policy is written on the
:08:26. > :08:31.back of a cigarette packets. The lack of detail is embarrassing but
:08:32. > :08:37.then it is a policy put forward by a party that knows it is 100 million
:08:38. > :08:43.miles away from being a credible opposition, let alone a credible
:08:44. > :08:47.alternative Government. It is a dishonest policy because they know
:08:48. > :08:51.it well hit the low paid and that is why they are suggesting a rebate but
:08:52. > :08:56.have not been able to answer a single question about how that works
:08:57. > :09:05.in practice. It is a policy that is out of touch and Carlos. Kezia
:09:06. > :09:13.Dugdale stands there as someone who, like me, and like all of us has a
:09:14. > :09:21.decent salary. And yet she suggests increasing the tax bill of the low
:09:22. > :09:24.paid by 5% somehow doesn't matter. I seem to Kezia Dugdale, tell that to
:09:25. > :09:29.someone who is struggling to make ends meet, felt that to someone who
:09:30. > :09:35.has suffered years of pay freezes and is counting every penny. It is
:09:36. > :09:40.not fair or progressive to shift the burden of Tory austerity onto the
:09:41. > :09:44.shoulders of the low paid and that is probably why less than one in
:09:45. > :09:52.three voters back Labour's policy. APPLAUSE
:09:53. > :09:56.One moment, Miss double bill. I already warned the chamber about
:09:57. > :10:00.haggling the First Minister or anybody else speaking. There was a
:10:01. > :10:05.remark that came across the Chamber that I didn't quite here but I think
:10:06. > :10:11.from the reaction in the Chamber there was the use the one that is
:10:12. > :10:15.clearly unparliamentary. I will review the official report
:10:16. > :10:19.afterwards and if the member to that word was used to admit it and
:10:20. > :10:22.withdraw it now that would be helpful, but if not I will take
:10:23. > :10:35.action this afternoon. First Minister. Sorry, Kezia Dugdale.
:10:36. > :10:43.Thank you, presiding officer. It is very clear from the evidence from
:10:44. > :10:51.the resolution foundation, from Spice, the House of Commons library,
:10:52. > :10:55.that Labour's proposals are fair and workable. That is why council leader
:10:56. > :11:00.after council leader has backed them, white union leaders have said
:11:01. > :11:07.it is fair. That is the truth that the First Minister cannot escape.
:11:08. > :11:13.The First Minister and I have something in common here. We both
:11:14. > :11:19.oppose George Osborne's austerity and both want the best for our
:11:20. > :11:24.country. Where we part is Labour has a fair plan that will ask some of us
:11:25. > :11:34.to pay a bit more and wealthiest few to a lot more. And in so doing we
:11:35. > :11:38.can stop these cuts, cuts that would damage our economy and stop young
:11:39. > :11:44.people achieving their potential. Cuts that would see councils slash
:11:45. > :11:49.spending on other schools and cuts to childcare that are all working
:11:50. > :11:54.families back. Faced with the choice between using the powers of this
:11:55. > :12:03.Parliament to invest, cutting schools, why does the First Minister
:12:04. > :12:08.choose cuts? Firstly, Kezia Dugdale and Labour don't oppose George
:12:09. > :12:15.Osborne's austerity, they campaigned with the Tories to keep us subject
:12:16. > :12:21.to his austerity. And what Labour want to do is not an austerity shift
:12:22. > :12:26.the burden of that austerity on to the shoulders of low paid workers.
:12:27. > :12:32.Kezia Dugdale mention the resolution foundation. Here is what they said,
:12:33. > :12:41.there will be hard cases and poor families will lose out. That was on
:12:42. > :12:44.Labour's policy. Here is what the professors from the University of
:12:45. > :12:47.Starling said, as part of the proposal would require a
:12:48. > :12:52.comprehensive data sharing arrangement between local
:12:53. > :12:56.authorities and impose a substantial administrative burden on local
:12:57. > :13:02.authorities. There are questions without such an arrangement would be
:13:03. > :13:07.possible under the Scotland Act. Labour is perpetrating a con trick
:13:08. > :13:13.on the lowest paid workers in our society. My tax bill will rise by
:13:14. > :13:18.2.7% if Labour's proposal was implemented, the tax bill of the
:13:19. > :13:25.teacher or a nurse would go up by 5%. That is not fair. I want to get
:13:26. > :13:30.Kezia Dugdale the opportunity. This busy tax rise she wants to see
:13:31. > :13:35.implemented in seven weeks' time. If she wants to be taken seriously
:13:36. > :13:41.better answer these questions. How much will be rebate cost? How will
:13:42. > :13:43.it be assessed and how many of the 500,000 pensioners will even get the
:13:44. > :13:53.rebate? APPLAUSE
:13:54. > :14:04.The First Minister the questions to you, you don't put them to the
:14:05. > :14:08.opposition. Ruth Davidson. To ask the First Minister when she will
:14:09. > :14:14.meet the Secretary of State for Scotland next? No immediate plans.
:14:15. > :14:17.For the first time the SNP Government has taken over
:14:18. > :14:22.responsibility for managing payments to farmers. Here is how they have
:14:23. > :14:32.done so far. A botched ID system costing nearly have as much as this
:14:33. > :14:35.Parliament building. Farmers thought they would receive payments by the
:14:36. > :14:44.end of January when only one thought of them have. We know what the
:14:45. > :14:50.response has been and it came in five pages of excuses that was
:14:51. > :14:54.e-mailed by mistake from the SNP to everybody in Parliament. Can I ask
:14:55. > :14:58.the First Minister, should party, instead of getting their excuses
:14:59. > :15:05.and, be spending more time fixing the problem's my team, both in
:15:06. > :15:10.Government and in the civil service, are working to make sure we get
:15:11. > :15:15.payments to farmers as quickly as possible and the cabin is discussing
:15:16. > :15:19.this issue on a weekly basis. We are firmly behind the farming community
:15:20. > :15:25.and doing everything possible to get payments to them as quickly as
:15:26. > :15:28.possible. It is through processing payments as taken longer than
:15:29. > :15:32.intended due to the complexities of the new cap system and we have been
:15:33. > :15:37.open with industry and with farmers about these complexities and what
:15:38. > :15:43.we're doing to address them we started peeing the first instalment
:15:44. > :15:48.to farmers by December and by the end of January around 30% had been
:15:49. > :15:56.painted with fodder payments initiated. As of last week 35% of
:15:57. > :16:01.payments had been committed. Offices are operating seven days a week.
:16:02. > :16:05.Additional staff have been taken on an local offices. Richard Lochhead
:16:06. > :16:08.is working hard on this and has been working with the banks to make sure
:16:09. > :16:12.they take this into account in terms of the lives of farmers. We will get
:16:13. > :16:21.on with the job making these payments as quickly as possible.
:16:22. > :16:28.She might be quoting straight from that document of blaming complex at
:16:29. > :16:31.it, but I will quote from the NFU president. He says Time and again,
:16:32. > :16:36.the Scottish Government actions have not matched up to what has been
:16:37. > :16:41.promised. NFU S have lost trust in the system to the extent that the
:16:42. > :16:49.Cabinet Secretary's assertions cannot be taken as given. We also
:16:50. > :16:54.see that Scotland is lodging its own investigation into this failure of
:16:55. > :16:59.management, warning that" there is still significant risk to the
:17:00. > :17:02.successful delivery of this programme". The First Minister has
:17:03. > :17:09.lost the trust of rural Scotland. She has overseen yet another
:17:10. > :17:13.government IT fiasco, and farmers no longer have confidence in her rural
:17:14. > :17:17.affairs minister. What reassurance, if any, can she give to rural
:17:18. > :17:22.workers today that this failure is getting the fullest priority of the
:17:23. > :17:25.Scotch government? The reassurance I can give is that we will continue to
:17:26. > :17:28.do what Richard Lochhead and all of us have been doing, which is
:17:29. > :17:33.concentrating on wrecking sure we get payments to farmers as quickly
:17:34. > :17:39.as possible. I have given the chamber and update on the statistics
:17:40. > :17:43.so far, and this continues to change on a daily basis as more payments
:17:44. > :17:46.are made. We continue to work as hard as possible to make sure that
:17:47. > :17:49.as many of the first instalment payments are made by the end of
:17:50. > :17:55.March and the balance of payments as soon as possible after that. We are
:17:56. > :17:58.porting progress weekly to the relevant Parliamentary committee and
:17:59. > :18:03.to industry, and we are in communication with area offices to
:18:04. > :18:08.support faster processing and to unblock any issues. That is what we
:18:09. > :18:15.will continue to do, work as hard as we can to make sure farmers get the
:18:16. > :18:19.payments they are due. What issues will be discussed at the next
:18:20. > :18:22.meeting of the Cabinet? Matters of importance to the people of
:18:23. > :18:25.Scotland. We have heard that councils across Scotland are setting
:18:26. > :18:31.their budgets with ?500 million worth of cuts. We have also heard
:18:32. > :18:35.about Perth and Kinross. Right now, SNP run Aberdeenshire Council are in
:18:36. > :18:41.their budget meeting. ?3 million worth of cuts to education are on
:18:42. > :18:46.the table, but it is not too late for the First Minister to call a
:18:47. > :18:50.halt. Will she be got the phone, or does she want her council to make
:18:51. > :18:53.those cuts? If Willie Rennie had picked up the phone to his
:18:54. > :18:58.conservative colleagues while he was propping them up in coalition, we
:18:59. > :19:06.might not have suffered the cuts to our budget that were imposed on us
:19:07. > :19:10.by Westminster. As I have said, we have put forward a settlement for
:19:11. > :19:14.local authorities that reduces their total revenue expenditure by 2%,
:19:15. > :19:20.offset by ?250 million of investment in social care. We want to work with
:19:21. > :19:26.local authorities to make sure that settlement protects the things that
:19:27. > :19:30.matter, teachers in our schools, social care investment, a living
:19:31. > :19:33.wage for social care workers and protecting household budgets. It is
:19:34. > :19:37.no surprise to me that the party that backed Iain Duncan Smith when
:19:38. > :19:41.he wanted to impose the bedroom tax doesn't care about increasing taxes
:19:42. > :19:47.on low-paid workers, but I do, so we will continue to take a fair
:19:48. > :19:49.approach, and that will be one of the many differences between this
:19:50. > :20:01.government and the Liberal Democrats. It is the same old
:20:02. > :20:07.excuses. Order. I would have sympathy for the First Minister, if
:20:08. > :20:11.she did not have the power to do something about it, but she does.
:20:12. > :20:15.The buck stops in that seat over there. This afternoon, this
:20:16. > :20:25.Parliament votes on the income tax resolution. 1p gives ?475 million
:20:26. > :20:30.for education for Scotland's children. It is the power to stop
:20:31. > :20:35.the cuts. She has the power. Why will she not use it? Is it pride? Is
:20:36. > :20:41.it our finance secretary, or does she not care any more? As I have
:20:42. > :20:45.said, it is no surprise to me that the leader of a party that spent
:20:46. > :20:50.five years in coalition with the Conservatives doesn't care about
:20:51. > :20:53.people on low wages. But I do care about people on low wages struggling
:20:54. > :20:59.to make ends meet, spending every week counting every penny and pound.
:21:00. > :21:04.Willie Rennie's policy of putting a penny on the basic rate of income
:21:05. > :21:07.tax, he is not even pretending that he is going to try and compensate
:21:08. > :21:12.low income workers the way Labour is. His policy would have everybody
:21:13. > :21:17.earning above ?11,000 a year paying more in tax. I don't think that is
:21:18. > :21:21.fair. I think that is transferring Tory austerity to the shoulders of
:21:22. > :21:29.the low paid. He might want to do that. I am not prepared to do that.
:21:30. > :21:37.Bestial number four, Claire Adamson -- questionable for. What is the
:21:38. > :21:43.impact on Scotland of the planned UK reductions to housing benefits for
:21:44. > :21:47.vulnerable people who stay in supported and women's aid refuge
:21:48. > :21:51.accommodation? The UK Government proposed to set the housing element
:21:52. > :21:56.of benefit claims to local housing allowance levels, as this is lower
:21:57. > :21:59.than the cost of rent and service charges in refuges and supported
:22:00. > :22:03.accommodation. This will have a catastrophic impact in some of the
:22:04. > :22:06.most vulnerable people in our society who rely on such support for
:22:07. > :22:10.survival. That includes women fleeing to Mr kerb use, disabled and
:22:11. > :22:14.older people and some homeless people. The Scottish Government is
:22:15. > :22:17.concerned about these proposals, which were outlined in the UK
:22:18. > :22:21.Government spending review. The social Justice Secretary has written
:22:22. > :22:26.to the UK minister for welfare reform to Express her grave concerns
:22:27. > :22:32.and seek more clarification will be provided on protection for those in
:22:33. > :22:36.supported accommodation. Thus the First Minister agree that the only
:22:37. > :22:39.way to stop both tenants and providers from the worry and stress
:22:40. > :22:42.being caused by these proposals is if the UK Government make clear now
:22:43. > :22:49.that refuge and supported accommodation will be exempt from
:22:50. > :22:54.the local housing allowance Cap? Yes, I agree. Tenants need to be
:22:55. > :22:58.reassured that their accommodation will be exempt from the local
:22:59. > :23:03.housing allowance rate so that they don't need to worry about the
:23:04. > :23:07.future. Providers of supported and refuge accommodation also need the
:23:08. > :23:10.security to know that they can continue to provide essential
:23:11. > :23:14.services and be able to plan for the future. The UK Government's
:23:15. > :23:17.proposals mean there is now uncertainty about the future
:23:18. > :23:21.provision of refuge and other forms of supported accommodation not just
:23:22. > :23:23.in Scotland, but across the UK, despite an announcement that changes
:23:24. > :23:30.to funding arrangements would be cost neutral. UK ministers can put
:23:31. > :23:33.an end to this worry now, and I call on them to announce an exception for
:23:34. > :23:41.refuge and supported accommodation from the local housing allowance
:23:42. > :23:46.Cap. What is the Scottish Government's policy on as Westwood's
:23:47. > :23:50.forecast for North Sea decommissioning until 2040? This
:23:51. > :23:55.report reinforces how important it is to support the sector at this
:23:56. > :24:00.time. Our first aim is to avoid any premature cessation of production,
:24:01. > :24:03.which is why the UK Government should ensure that the fiscal regime
:24:04. > :24:07.is not a barrier to investment, as has been in the past. We must also
:24:08. > :24:15.ensure that the decommissioning process is managed effectively.
:24:16. > :24:19.Scotland can play a leading role in the development of the
:24:20. > :24:22.decommissioning market. While some decommissioning activities to be
:24:23. > :24:27.expected over the next decade, there are still substantial reserves to be
:24:28. > :24:34.recovered in the North Sea, up to 22 billion barrels of oil and gas are
:24:35. > :24:42.admitted to remain. New fields are expected to come on stream. She says
:24:43. > :24:45.some decommissioning is to be expected, but 150 of our oil
:24:46. > :24:49.platforms are to be scrapped over the next ten years, making
:24:50. > :24:54.decommissioning an urgent priority if we are to anchor these industrial
:24:55. > :24:59.jobs in Scotland. They are already sailing past our ports down to
:25:00. > :25:04.Hartlepool. Dundee needs a working river, not just a waterfront. I have
:25:05. > :25:09.met with Shell, and they have said that decommissioning can happen in
:25:10. > :25:12.our city. We lost out on the 750 renewables jobs that the SNP
:25:13. > :25:16.promised, but we have three factory closures over the last few weeks,
:25:17. > :25:26.with lots of skilled people in our city looking for work. Can we get a
:25:27. > :25:30.question? Can the First Minister pledge three things, that the oil
:25:31. > :25:32.and gas technology centre will be established in Dundee, that she will
:25:33. > :25:38.find economic development money like she did for Aberdeen, and that she
:25:39. > :25:41.will come to Dundee, meet with our decommissioning companies and see
:25:42. > :25:52.how we can scale up to a full-size industry in our city? I will give
:25:53. > :25:56.consideration to that proposal, although I understand that a city
:25:57. > :26:01.deal for Dundee is still under discussion. And as she will know
:26:02. > :26:05.from the Scottish Government's position on the Inverclyde Valley,
:26:06. > :26:13.we are supportive of city deals. It is important to say two things.
:26:14. > :26:16.Firstly, we must avoid premature decommissioning. That is why the
:26:17. > :26:21.announcements we have made around support for North Sea all and gas
:26:22. > :26:25.are important. It is widely cited in investment is important. And it is
:26:26. > :26:31.why having the right fiscal regime is important. Secondly, we need to
:26:32. > :26:35.make sure that as decommissioning does start, which notwithstanding
:26:36. > :26:38.what is happening to oil prices, is always going to be the case, we need
:26:39. > :26:44.to make sure Scotland is playing a leading role. Decommissioning will
:26:45. > :26:47.develop into a major business activity, and there is huge economic
:26:48. > :26:54.benefit for us from that. We created the decommissioning trade body to
:26:55. > :26:57.establish good practice. We support the planned to establish a single
:26:58. > :27:02.decommissioning board so that we can drive forward innovation and
:27:03. > :27:04.efficiency, and we are committed to investing in the necessary
:27:05. > :27:09.infrastructure to support decommissioning activity, or just
:27:10. > :27:15.inserted through the ?2.4 million funding from Scottish Government
:27:16. > :27:24.enterprise to develop the key in Shetland, but there will be other
:27:25. > :27:29.projects we want to support as well. I would ask Jenny Mara to engage
:27:30. > :27:33.with that constructively. Scotland is going to be dramatically more
:27:34. > :27:36.exposed to the risks from the inevitable decline in the fossil
:27:37. > :27:40.fuel industry if we simply kid ourselves that it isn't happening
:27:41. > :27:45.already. Isn't it clear that we face a simple choice - embrace the
:27:46. > :27:50.opportunities from decommissioning and accelerate activity in that
:27:51. > :27:55.regard as our principal focus, or see those jobs go to bidders from
:27:56. > :27:59.other countries, which will gain an international reputation of being
:28:00. > :28:04.world leaders in the industry? I noticed a Jenny Mara applauding a
:28:05. > :28:08.call for accelerated decommissioning of the North Sea. That seems a
:28:09. > :28:14.strange position to take. I would say to Patrick Harvie, I agree with
:28:15. > :28:16.the first part of his question. I hope he heard me say we should
:28:17. > :28:20.embrace the opportunities of decommissioning. We differ in that I
:28:21. > :28:24.don't think we should be accelerating decommissioning, we
:28:25. > :28:28.should seek to avoid a mature and commissioning. We should also do
:28:29. > :28:33.what this government has consistently done, which is invest
:28:34. > :28:41.in infrastructure and renewable generation. We will continue to
:28:42. > :28:43.support the North Sea, while also supporting the transition to
:28:44. > :28:50.renewable capacity. That is the right balance approach to take.
:28:51. > :28:55.Could I ask the First Minister what is good government's response is to
:28:56. > :28:59.the latest Bank of Scotland's purchasing management index? I
:29:00. > :29:02.welcome the recent Bank of Scotland purchasing manager's index. It
:29:03. > :29:06.signals the continued expansion of the private sector in Scotland at
:29:07. > :29:09.the start of this year. It also highlights that the services and
:29:10. > :29:12.manufacturing sectors continue to be affected by the challenges we have
:29:13. > :29:16.been talking about in the oil and gas industry and by the global
:29:17. > :29:21.economic environment. That is why in supporting the Scottish economy, we
:29:22. > :29:26.recently pledged ?379 million of investment in Aberdeenshire. Last
:29:27. > :29:29.week, if further ?12 million were provided to give support to those
:29:30. > :29:36.who are retraining or undertaking new education. But despite the
:29:37. > :29:40.positive gloss the First Minister puts on it, the report from the Bank
:29:41. > :29:45.of Scotland is just one of a series of reports that have had worrying
:29:46. > :29:49.news for the Scottish economy. Yesterday, the Scottish Government's
:29:50. > :29:53.National accounts survey showed that Scottish GDP per capita is now 1%
:29:54. > :29:57.lower than the rest of the UK, when two years ago, it was 6% higher. In
:29:58. > :30:02.this draft budget, the Scottish Government announced a doubling of
:30:03. > :30:07.the so-called large business supplement for nondomestic rates,
:30:08. > :30:13.which will hit 26% of businesses in Edinburgh, 25% in Aberdeen, 24% in
:30:14. > :30:16.Inverness and 20% in Perth. How will this ?60 million tax raid on
:30:17. > :30:23.Scottish businesses help grow our economy? The increase in the large
:30:24. > :30:31.business payment is lower than it was in 2011. This has been reflected
:30:32. > :30:35.throughout our discussions. On one side, we have people wanting us to
:30:36. > :30:40.put tax up on basic rate income tax payers. On the other side, we have
:30:41. > :30:46.people wanting us to cut taxes for business. We will continue to take a
:30:47. > :30:49.balanced approach to our budget, to growing our economy and ensuring
:30:50. > :30:55.fairness for taxpayers. Murdo Fraser puts forward in characteristic style
:30:56. > :30:59.the doom and gloom view of the Scottish economy. Of course there is
:31:00. > :31:03.no room for complacency because of the global economic conditions, but
:31:04. > :31:10.let's look at the reality in our economy. Our economy has grown to
:31:11. > :31:15.three years continuously. We have a higher employment rate than the UK
:31:16. > :31:18.as a whole. Employment is now 67,000 above its prerecession peak. We have
:31:19. > :31:23.a higher youth implement rate than the UK. Our female employment rate
:31:24. > :31:26.is the second highest in the UK. We are investing where investment is
:31:27. > :31:33.required, and we are continuing to support our economy as it moves
:31:34. > :31:36.forward. I would hope Murdo Fraser and the chamber will get behind this
:31:37. > :31:38.government is it six to make sure we continue to see growth in the
:31:39. > :31:44.Scottish economy. That ends First Minister's Questions. STUDIO: We
:31:45. > :31:49.have come to the end of questions for the First Minister's Questions.
:31:50. > :31:53.It was mainly about tax and spending, Nicola Sturgeon seeking to
:31:54. > :31:57.project herself as steering a middle path. There was some rather
:31:58. > :32:00.ungallant children coming from Murdo Fraser as a consequence, but
:32:01. > :32:02.nonetheless, some good exchanges. Time to me to say goodbye and hand
:32:03. > :32:09.you over to the Daily Politics. political transition is, but we have
:32:10. > :32:14.to make all our efforts to get that transition and be thinking about
:32:15. > :32:37.what happens after that. The conference last week was about that,
:32:38. > :32:40.but this will only end, they will need help from the local Sunni
:32:41. > :32:41.powers to do it.