:00:19. > :00:26.parliament here at Holyrood where MSPs have spent the morning working
:00:27. > :00:30.on the fine details of the rose for next year's referendum. There is the
:00:30. > :00:36.continuing controversy over RBS, the issue of healthcare for the elderly
:00:36. > :00:40.and, as ever, a big debate going on over pensions and welfare provision.
:00:40. > :00:43.Any or all of those topics could come up when the leaders of the
:00:43. > :00:50.opposition question the First Minister. Let's cross to the chamber
:00:50. > :00:55.and see how things are going on with my colleague, Michael McNeil.
:00:55. > :00:58.Here they're asking about the impact of the Ministry of Defence rules,
:00:58. > :01:02.changes for procurement of Naval vessels and the impact that will
:01:02. > :01:07.have on jobs in Scotland. We are hearing an answer at the moment from
:01:07. > :01:11.the Deputy First Minister. Let's cross and hear what she has to say.
:01:12. > :01:16.Regardless of the constitutional arrangements. The MoD has recently
:01:16. > :01:20.placed an order in Korea. So anybody who suggests our own shipyards
:01:20. > :01:29.wouldn't succeed in the future I think is, as the member suggests,
:01:29. > :01:33.not being entirely credible in the situation. Before we come to the -
:01:33. > :01:43.members will wish to join me in welcoming to the gallery the Speaker
:01:43. > :01:43.
:01:43. > :01:46.of the Queensland parliament, the honourable Fiona Simpson, MP.
:01:46. > :01:51.APPLAUSE We now move to questions for the
:01:51. > :01:55.First Minister. Question one, Johann Lamont. Thank you very much. To ask
:01:55. > :02:00.the first are Minister what engagements he has planned for the
:02:00. > :02:03.rest of the day. Later today I will be meeting the managing director of
:02:03. > :02:10.the marketing firm Kira who I am delighted to announce are creating
:02:10. > :02:13.up to 200 jobs at a in a silt in Glasgow. -- city in Glasgow. After
:02:13. > :02:16.yesterday's positive employment statistics and last week's sparkling
:02:16. > :02:20.performance and inward investment, despite a number of challenges and
:02:20. > :02:27.number of areas and companies and despite austerity from Westminster,
:02:27. > :02:30.this has been a good news week for the Scottish economy.
:02:30. > :02:35.APPLAUSE Thank you. Could the First Minister
:02:35. > :02:39.tell us, apart from the pound, the Bank of England, the NHS, the armed
:02:39. > :02:48.forces, the monarchy and the welfare state, what has the United Kingdom
:02:48. > :02:51.ever done for us? Well, I think - is that not more of a question for
:02:51. > :03:01.those who advocate the continuing rule from London over the Scottish
:03:01. > :03:02.
:03:02. > :03:06.people? I would think that having rule from London and austerity
:03:06. > :03:12.budget described by a former Chancellor - I am trying to grasp
:03:12. > :03:16.his name, Alistair Darling, as madness, in terms of the economic
:03:16. > :03:20.direction of policy would rather make the case for these economic
:03:20. > :03:24.fiscal decisions over tax and spending being made in Scotland. I
:03:24. > :03:30.also think that many people in Scotland would rather like to stay
:03:30. > :03:33.in one of the 190 countries out of 200 the world free of nuclear
:03:33. > :03:41.weapons as opposed to having the largest concentration of weapons of
:03:41. > :03:45.mass destruction in Europe. It is very odd, then, that the First
:03:45. > :03:52.Minister wants to reassure everybody that everything will stay the same
:03:52. > :03:56.and that nothing will change. The mystery is, if the UK has so much we
:03:56. > :04:06.want to share why would we leave it and then ask them to share the
:04:06. > :04:09.things we have left behind? The truth is - if they're so monstrous
:04:09. > :04:16.you wonder why they would want to share these things with us anyway.
:04:16. > :04:20.The truth is his current plan only weakens Scotland. Now his plan is to
:04:20. > :04:28.enshrine a foreign Government's economic and welfare policies in
:04:28. > :04:33.Scottish policy without Scots having any say whatsoever. So, my question
:04:33. > :04:40.to the first MEP is this, he used to say that the pound and the UK
:04:40. > :04:44.welfare state were bad for Scotland, what's changed? Well, can I correct
:04:44. > :04:49.Johann Lamont. One of the reasons we want to have independence is so we
:04:49. > :04:54.can have social justice for the Scottish people. I notice that only
:04:54. > :04:57.a few weeks ago Johann Lamont said if she could be persuaded of that
:04:58. > :05:03.point then she would support independence. Let's have a go about
:05:03. > :05:07.persuading her of that point. One thing independence will guarantee
:05:08. > :05:15.for the people, that they won't have differentential rates of benefits
:05:15. > :05:19.across the United Kingdom. I quote from the Daily Record of 4th June, a
:05:19. > :05:24.reliable source indeed, Scots could get welfare benefits at lower rates
:05:24. > :05:29.than people in wealthy parts of England under plans being worked on
:05:29. > :05:34.by Labour. Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls yesterday raised the idea of a
:05:34. > :05:39.regional cap on welfare opening the door to carations in a range of
:05:39. > :05:43.social security benefits. Not just will independence free us from the
:05:43. > :05:47.bedroom tax imposed by a Tory Party, it will free us from Ed Balls plans
:05:47. > :05:57.to pay people in Scotland less benefits than wealthy parts of
:05:57. > :06:01.
:06:01. > :06:07.England. First of all, that's not what Ed Balls said. He knows it
:06:08. > :06:16.well. We have all learned that just because the First Minister says it,
:06:17. > :06:21.doesn't mean that it is true. The idea that it's possible for this
:06:21. > :06:25.Government to argue that it will have a greater commitment to social
:06:25. > :06:33.justice under independence when it's already said it will be tied to UK
:06:33. > :06:36.policies on welfare until 2020, is completely ridiculous. An
:06:36. > :06:40.independent experts have said it is impossible to get rid of the bedroom
:06:40. > :06:46.tax day one of independence if you are going to continue with the
:06:46. > :06:53.welfare position as advocated by the UK. It's nonsense on stilts and
:06:53. > :06:58.everyone but this lot know it. However, Presiding Officers, many of
:06:58. > :07:02.us, maybe all too many of us, remember that young nationalist
:07:02. > :07:07.rogue in Westminster who when the Tory Chancellor Nigel Lawson
:07:07. > :07:14.announced a cut in corporation tax was expelled from the chamber for
:07:14. > :07:18.calling the Budget an obscenity. And now the all too rich irony is that
:07:18. > :07:24.the one thing the First Minister wants control of, the one thing he
:07:24. > :07:30.holds firm to, the one thing he won't shift on is corporation tax.
:07:30. > :07:37.In an independent Scotland corporation tax would be 3p lower
:07:37. > :07:46.than whatever the Tories set it at and the benefits he reckons, a
:07:46. > :07:51.massive 0. 07% growth per year, and that is worth 3% margin of error. I
:07:51. > :08:00.ask again, what happened to that young man who believed in
:08:00. > :08:03.independence and now advocates independence? Johann Lamont forgot
:08:03. > :08:10.to mention the thousands of jobs to be created as well. I know the
:08:10. > :08:14.Labour Party these days doesn't care about jobs and I knew Johann Lamont
:08:14. > :08:17.wasn't going to ask about it today given the splendid jobs figures
:08:17. > :08:21.yesterday. I think they're still important to some people in this
:08:21. > :08:27.country and that's why having a competitive rate of corporation tax
:08:27. > :08:31.and then collecting it seems like a good idea. Ea: I have been first to
:08:31. > :08:35.criticise George Osborne for his lack of direction in collecting
:08:35. > :08:41.corporation tax in this country. However, it has been pointed out to
:08:41. > :08:45.me that non-payment of corporation tax and other taxes peaked under
:08:45. > :08:49.Gordon Brown's ten years at the Treasury. I really do think Labour
:08:49. > :08:53.and of course we know the Labour Party are actively advising people
:08:53. > :08:57.on tax avoidance for their own donors at the present moment. I
:08:57. > :09:02.think they're in a poor position to lecture people on tax avoidance.
:09:02. > :09:05.Let's get to the guts of the welfare report. What Johann Lamont
:09:05. > :09:09.misunderstands is the administration of a system doesn't mean an ie
:09:09. > :09:13.departmentical policy within the system. -- identical policy within
:09:13. > :09:18.the system. We have a joint administration of the student loans
:09:18. > :09:25.system. But there's two radically different policies in Scotland and
:09:25. > :09:29.England. In Scotland we have - thanks to the SNP. In England, they
:09:29. > :09:34.have tuition fees thanks to the Tories and the Labour Party. And to
:09:34. > :09:39.have more Tuesday in Scotland -- tuition feeses, if in the unlikely
:09:39. > :09:48.event of the Labour Party getting back to power. Johann Lamont said I
:09:48. > :09:54.am misrepresenting Labour policy. I am quoting the Daily Record. Now,
:09:54. > :09:58.Johann la month has got to the stage she thinks the Daily Record is
:09:58. > :10:02.vehicle letly trying to -- secretly trying to undermain the Labour
:10:02. > :10:07.Party, I think that would indicate a sense of difficulty within her party
:10:07. > :10:11.which goes even beyond my expectations. The fact is that Ed
:10:11. > :10:18.Balls has accepted the Tory spending plans. He has accepted the Tory cap
:10:18. > :10:23.on welfare. Labour refuse, refuse to say they'll repeal the bedroom tax
:10:23. > :10:27.and here we have it in the Daily Record, they want to pay poor people
:10:27. > :10:37.in Scotland less than poor people elsewhere in these Islands. What
:10:37. > :10:42.
:10:42. > :10:45.sort of United Kingdom is that? That's simply not true. It's only
:10:45. > :10:54.the First Minister who wants a welfare system which is better and
:10:54. > :10:58.it's going to be funded by cutting corporation tax by 3p more, it's
:10:58. > :11:03.complete completely ludicrous. In fact, if it wasn't that this was
:11:03. > :11:08.about pensions, people's pages - wages, the future of our children we
:11:08. > :11:11.could laugh at that loud krous -- ludicrous response from the First
:11:11. > :11:17.Minister. Well prepared as it was, it did not respond to the challenge
:11:17. > :11:21.at the very heart of his proposals for an independence Scotland, which
:11:21. > :11:28.is to rely on the goodwill of a state that said oppresses us and we
:11:28. > :11:33.have to free ourselves from. Of course you see the question we face
:11:33. > :11:37.is this, and I suspect his own backbenchers and party members may
:11:37. > :11:42.reflect on this too. Has the First Minister lost his mojo on
:11:42. > :11:49.independence or does he simply think, and this might be more
:11:49. > :11:55.accurate, does he simply think that the people of Scotland are mugs? His
:11:55. > :12:00.plans for the currency, for pensions, for benefits, and for jobs
:12:00. > :12:06.and mortgages now all hinge on the goodwill of a country we would just
:12:06. > :12:11.have made a foreign one by voting to leave it. I don't know why you are
:12:12. > :12:17.saying it's rubbish. The First Minister and Deputy First Minister
:12:17. > :12:24.have reassured us that's what would happen after independented pence. --
:12:24. > :12:32.independence. Perhaps SNP backbenchers might want to set up a
:12:32. > :12:40.breakaway group, SNP for Independence. I think there's one or
:12:40. > :12:46.two... Can we have a little bit of calm to allow Johann Lamont to
:12:47. > :12:50.complete her question. As we know, the more noisier it is, the probably
:12:50. > :12:54.truer the accusation is. The truth is and the First Minister has
:12:54. > :13:01.acknowledged this and celebrates it, that the UK would control our
:13:01. > :13:06.currency, our economy, and now our pensions. But perhaps he does have
:13:06. > :13:16.another plan he isn't telling us, because it's all too evident that
:13:16. > :13:20.
:13:20. > :13:30.the current plan - it's too evident that the current plan is neither
:13:30. > :13:31.
:13:31. > :13:36.independence... Order. Mr Swinney. Indeed. Because the fact of the
:13:36. > :13:41.matter is he must have another plan he isn't telling us because the
:13:41. > :13:45.current plan is neither independented pence nor credible. --
:13:45. > :13:51.independence nor credible. First Minister. I was waiting for the big
:13:51. > :13:58.punchline and it never came. It was interesting it got to the 4th
:13:58. > :14:01.question before Johann Lamont - a spontaneous reception from the
:14:01. > :14:08.Conservative Scottish party. Alistair Darling managed a standing
:14:08. > :14:12.ovation. Can I point out that the - she said it would take goodwill for
:14:12. > :14:17.the Government in Westminster to accept the shared administration of
:14:17. > :14:21.the welfare system. The point is that Scotland administers a large
:14:21. > :14:26.part of the welfare system of England and Wales. I don't think
:14:26. > :14:30.that's goodwill. That's common sense for the Government at Westminster
:14:30. > :14:35.and therefore the proposals put forward by the welfare committee.
:14:35. > :14:38.Let's turn to the very specific policy. One which I think is as more
:14:38. > :14:42.public currency than any other to talk about the differences between
:14:42. > :14:48.governing in this place and governing from Westminster. That is
:14:48. > :14:55.the bedroom tax. We know not just from the Daily Record, which Johann
:14:55. > :14:58.Lamont wants to disassociate herself from now, but also from Helen
:14:58. > :15:02.Goodman, shadow cabinet member for Labour under responsibility of the
:15:02. > :15:07.bedroom tax and she made it quite clear on the daily Politics Show
:15:07. > :15:15.11th March that Labour has no plans to abolish or reverse the bedroom
:15:15. > :15:21.tax. Ed Balls said he would accept the Tories entire spending plans
:15:21. > :15:25.only this week. In contrast this Government will abolish the bedroom
:15:25. > :15:32.tax if we are elected as the first Government of an independent
:15:32. > :15:42.Scotland. And not only will we abolish it, we will do it in the
:15:42. > :15:47.
:15:47. > :15:50.first year of that independent Scotland. Ask the First Minister
:15:50. > :15:56.when he will next meet the Secretary of State for Scotland? No plans in
:15:56. > :15:59.the near future. Rooud Davidson morning the Health Secretary
:16:00. > :16:02.promised people who had been forced to pay thousands of pounds in care
:16:02. > :16:06.cost for relatives with complex care needs that should have been covered
:16:06. > :16:10.by the NHS would be appropriately reimbursed. In three years we have
:16:10. > :16:14.seen the number of people having these costs supported fall by 27%
:16:14. > :16:18.across country. Can I ask the First Minister why have relatives of some
:16:18. > :16:23.of the mo vulnerable and desperately ill people in this country been
:16:23. > :16:28.denied the support to which they were entitled? Well, the guidelines
:16:28. > :16:33.in terms of continuing care in Scotland have been consistent for
:16:33. > :16:37.sometime, the goodance was issued in 2008. It took the good practice
:16:37. > :16:40.recommendations which were put forward by the Scottish public
:16:40. > :16:44.service ombudsman and what the Health Secretary said and what I
:16:44. > :16:47.will repeat is if any case in which these guide lines haven't been
:16:47. > :16:51.followed then of course that situation will be rectified.
:16:52. > :16:55.Luckily, because of the passage of the patient rights act, the advice
:16:55. > :16:59.and support services which is operated by the Scottish citizens
:17:00. > :17:03.advice bureau, care information Scotland, line founded by the
:17:03. > :17:06.Scottish Government with confidential phoneline and access to
:17:06. > :17:11.board means there are many routes for patients to look and to
:17:11. > :17:15.challenge a position that they think is unjust. Can I just say to Ruth
:17:15. > :17:18.Davidson, yes of course if any individual has not had their rights
:17:18. > :17:25.according to the regulations in Scotland then that case will be
:17:25. > :17:29.looked at and rectified. I would much rather live in a country where
:17:29. > :17:33.77,000 people at the present moment have access to free personal and
:17:34. > :17:36.nursing care and are cared for as part of the fab brick of the health
:17:37. > :17:42.service -- fabric of a health service than in a country that does
:17:42. > :17:47.not have that advantage for its elderly people. Rooud Davidson.
:17:47. > :17:50.Ruth Davidson. I am sure the First Minister isn't conflating continuing
:17:50. > :17:54.healthcare entitlement with free perm care on purpose knowing they're
:17:54. > :17:59.separate and we are not talking about free personal care here. We
:17:59. > :18:01.are talking about the continuous healthcare entitlement. I am pleased
:18:01. > :18:05.that the First Minister has acknowledged that the health
:18:05. > :18:09.Minister held his hands up to the problem today. I believe that's a
:18:09. > :18:13.start and I thank Alec Neil for that. At up with point in his BBC
:18:13. > :18:17.interview he said that he thought it was only a small number of people
:18:17. > :18:22.affected and at another he said he thought we were talking about, I
:18:22. > :18:26.quote, a few,000 in total. The truth is surely nobody knows how many
:18:26. > :18:29.people have been affected by this. When the health Minister and the
:18:29. > :18:33.First Minister asked for those affected to come to them, I say that
:18:33. > :18:38.the Government needs to be a bit more proactive than that. This First
:18:38. > :18:42.Minister has a responsibility to find out how many people in Scotland
:18:42. > :18:48.caring for critically ill relatives have been handing over thousands of
:18:48. > :18:52.pounds when they shouldn't have been. We need a full audit of every
:18:52. > :18:57.person in every health board who may be affected either currently or
:18:57. > :19:03.historically in order to ensure that proper reparations are paid. Will
:19:03. > :19:06.the First Minister order one? just, because it's a serious subject
:19:06. > :19:11.for people. Can I take through what actually happens at the present
:19:11. > :19:15.moment. The guidance as I mentioned in the first answer was updated in
:19:15. > :19:21.2008. That took account of the recommendations of good practice
:19:21. > :19:24.from the ombudsman. What happens to people is the - general practitioner
:19:24. > :19:28.in consultation with team will decide whether an individual is
:19:28. > :19:31.eligible for NHS continuing healthcare. That guidance states
:19:31. > :19:35.that the person that takes the lead is down to the complexity and nature
:19:35. > :19:39.and intensity of somebody's health needs. People are assessed within
:19:39. > :19:42.the system at the present moment. Secondly, thank goodness for this,
:19:42. > :19:47.under the patient rights act far from sitting back and not doing
:19:47. > :19:52.anything about the rights of patients, we passed the patients
:19:52. > :19:56.right act of 2012 and instituted two additional means of people making
:19:56. > :20:00.sure that the health service is treating them properly and according
:20:00. > :20:03.to the guidance. The patient advice and support service for the Citizens
:20:03. > :20:06.Advice Bureau and also the care information Scotland which is funded
:20:06. > :20:11.by the Scottish Government which provides that confidential care
:20:11. > :20:15.line. These are avenues by which people can get the rights ap
:20:15. > :20:22.entitlement under the nast. But Ruth Davidson's sweeping away of the
:20:23. > :20:27.importance of the 77,000 people who get free personal nursing care is
:20:27. > :20:30.not - is exactly on this subject. What happens to people who are
:20:30. > :20:34.entitled to continuing care within the health service is that the
:20:34. > :20:37.people and three-quarters of people almost are in hospital in this
:20:37. > :20:42.position and therefore have no accommodation charges in that sense,
:20:42. > :20:45.but get help with accommodation charges in nursing homes in a way
:20:45. > :20:50.that free personal and nursing care doesn't, that is the aspect of the
:20:50. > :20:54.system. The system is a continuous one. Therefore, what needs to be
:20:54. > :20:59.done and will be done and certainly will be done is that we will ensure
:20:59. > :21:02.that the regulations are properly followed, that the opportunities for
:21:02. > :21:06.patients and individuals and elderly patients and relatives to come
:21:06. > :21:11.forward on these means if there's anything that's been done contrary
:21:11. > :21:17.to these regulations then it will be rectified. Not to understand the
:21:17. > :21:21.system of free personal and nursing care in a society is fundamentally -
:21:21. > :21:27.to where it doesn't exist, I think is not to understand the importance
:21:27. > :21:33.of defending that system for the Scottish people. Constituency
:21:33. > :21:36.question from Neil Finley. It's not been a good or sparkling week for
:21:36. > :21:42.employment in my area. Can I ask the First Minister what help can be
:21:42. > :21:47.given to the people in my region now there is consultation over job
:21:47. > :21:54.losses at a depot. This in April area already reeling from the loss
:21:54. > :21:57.of 1700 job losses? The sparkling performance was in relation to
:21:57. > :22:01.inward investment and the Labour Party should accept that the
:22:01. > :22:04.employment figures particularly for young people in Scotland were very,
:22:04. > :22:09.very good news indeed. Putting forward a constitution constitution
:22:09. > :22:12.issue which is a very important one, then what the member should know is
:22:12. > :22:18.that the Scottish enterprise officials have already been in touch
:22:18. > :22:22.with a company, the national pace managers spoke yesterday with
:22:22. > :22:25.representatives to offer support for employees who might be affected by
:22:25. > :22:30.redundancy. The companies say no decisions have been taken. They also
:22:30. > :22:36.point to the increase in posts which could be creep ated at other
:22:36. > :22:40.distribution centres. -- created. We take these matters seriously and
:22:40. > :22:43.there will be Pace and Ministerial intervention as there has been
:22:43. > :22:47.substantial intervention in West Lothian to try and secure the
:22:47. > :22:51.employment and employment prospects of his constituents. That's
:22:52. > :22:56.something we should jointly do as a parliament just as we should jointly
:22:56. > :23:00.welcome the substantial indications that the Scottish employment
:23:00. > :23:06.situation is improving and that youth unemployment in particular has
:23:06. > :23:09.shown remarkable progress over the last 18 months. Question three.
:23:09. > :23:12.the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of
:23:12. > :23:17.the cabinet? Next meeting of the cabinet will discuss issues of
:23:17. > :23:21.importance to the people of Scotland. When I asked before about
:23:21. > :23:25.divisions at the police, he laughed and said it was creative tension.
:23:25. > :23:30.Was he laughing when the chief executive resigned in February? He
:23:30. > :23:34.told me that matters had been resolved. But now we discover that
:23:34. > :23:38.chaos continued at the heart of our newly centralised police force. Why
:23:38. > :23:42.didn't he tell this parliament about the resignation of the senior public
:23:42. > :23:48.leader? I have to say this stinks of a cover-up. Why was this parliament
:23:48. > :23:53.not informed of the resignation of the authority's chief executive,
:23:53. > :23:58.just what did he have to hide? quote the chair of the Scottish
:23:58. > :24:04.Police Authority today. There's continuity at the top of of the
:24:04. > :24:09.Scottish Police Authority, direction -- we have all been appointed for a
:24:09. > :24:13.four-year term. The organisation is maturing its relationship with
:24:13. > :24:17.police Scotland and other stake holders. He points out he's been
:24:17. > :24:22.before parliament on a number of occasions. I don't think Willie
:24:22. > :24:25.Rennie should conflate the interim appointments with the perm Nancy of
:24:25. > :24:28.the Scottish Police Authority and should take the word of the chairman
:24:28. > :24:32.of the Police Authority who says that these matters are in the
:24:32. > :24:37.happened and the organisation looks confidently to the future. The other
:24:37. > :24:40.thing I would say is that when we look at the spectacular success of
:24:40. > :24:45.the Scottish police service in delivering the lowest rate of
:24:46. > :24:50.recorded crime for a generation, if we look at the excel Lens of its
:24:50. > :24:54.performance across Scotland, I think a party forecasting doom and
:24:54. > :24:58.disaster when all of the justice figures and the effectiveness of the
:24:58. > :25:01.police in Scotland say otherwise is basically going to be on a hiding to
:25:01. > :25:07.nothing as these points and arguments are replayed to them in
:25:07. > :25:11.the months to come. You cannot hide behind operational independented
:25:11. > :25:15.pence on this. The Scottish Government, as Andrea I didn't
:25:15. > :25:20.know's letter points out, have been involved every step of the way on
:25:20. > :25:26.the organisation, on the structure of the new Scottish Police
:25:26. > :25:30.Authority. The chief executive was going but it was kept quiet. As a
:25:30. > :25:34.result, we will be without a permanent chief. We have had three
:25:34. > :25:38.chief executives in just one year. If that's continuity, I don't know
:25:38. > :25:42.what not continuity is. Why wasn't the recruitment process started
:25:42. > :25:47.earlier? The First Minister told me that the chaos was sorted in
:25:47. > :25:53.January. Then she resigned in February. We led a police debate in
:25:53. > :25:58.March but parliament was not told. Did the Government ask the chairman
:25:58. > :26:05.to keep the organisation, the - the resignation quiet to avoid
:26:05. > :26:11.embarrassment? Very precisely, did your Government tell Vic Emery to
:26:11. > :26:13.keep this quiet? No, well I am not behinding behind operational
:26:13. > :26:18.independence, I have no knowledge of anyone in the Government suggesting
:26:18. > :26:22.any such thing to Vic Emery, he says not because in his statement today
:26:22. > :26:27.he says it changed in personnel are a feature of most Mergers and reform
:26:27. > :26:32.programmes. The issue of operational independence is actually not
:26:32. > :26:36.something to hide behind. It's something of fundamental importance.
:26:36. > :26:41.The operational independence of the Police Service is of huge importance
:26:41. > :26:45.in a democratic society and by definition even more important that
:26:45. > :26:50.the Scottish Police Authority has to have operational independence. Vic
:26:50. > :26:54.Emery points out in his quote today, by the end of this month will
:26:55. > :27:02.appeared before the justice committee on four occasions, there
:27:02. > :27:06.will be ample opportunity for Willie Rennie to Putney conspiracy theory
:27:06. > :27:10.that comes that's assuming he remembers to turn up this time.
:27:10. > :27:14.Question four. Christine Graham. Thank you. To ask the First Minister
:27:14. > :27:18.whether the Scottish Government has been in contact with the UK
:27:18. > :27:22.Government regarding illegal surveillance activities in Scotland?
:27:22. > :27:26.We are clear that people have the right to communicate without the
:27:26. > :27:29.fear of unlawful sur vail apes by the state. Following coverage of
:27:29. > :27:33.access to US intelligence Scottish ministers have sought assurances
:27:33. > :27:35.from the UK Government. The cabinet Secretary for justice wrote to the
:27:35. > :27:39.Foreign Secretary on Tuesday of this week both to acknowledge the
:27:39. > :27:44.statement which was made by MrHague on Monday, but to ask for further
:27:44. > :27:49.information for the benefit of this parliament. I thank the First
:27:49. > :27:54.Minister for his answer. Can I ask if the reply also from MrHague will
:27:54. > :27:58.be published. However, what is the kufrnt oversight system for
:27:58. > :28:03.surveillance in Scotland and has there been consideration of changes
:28:03. > :28:08.to the system in the future? I refer in terms of the future work to the
:28:08. > :28:11.evidence that the Deputy First Minister gave before the revanity
:28:11. > :28:17.committee. But can I share with Christine Graham the points that the
:28:17. > :28:20.cabinet Secretary for justice made to the Foreign Secretary. Kenny
:28:20. > :28:26.MacAskill said you will appreciate I wish to be satisfied the rights of
:28:26. > :28:29.people in Scotland have been hundred held. A -- upheld. I would be
:28:29. > :28:32.grateful for further information about the approach you are taking to
:28:32. > :28:35.this investigation and progress that's been made to provide
:28:35. > :28:38.necessary assurance in relation to compliance with the law. In straight
:28:38. > :28:43.answer to Christine Graham's question, of course that reply will
:28:43. > :28:47.be published and we would expect, although it's a matter for the
:28:47. > :28:50.relevant parliamentary committee, that the committee of course could
:28:50. > :28:57.question on that evidence and further pursue the matter if they
:28:57. > :29:02.choose. Jackie Baillie, question five. What steps the Government is
:29:02. > :29:06.taking to improve the detection of cervical cancer? Well, the earlier a
:29:06. > :29:10.cancer is detected the easier it is to treat. We know that the screening
:29:10. > :29:14.is the best way to detect cervical cancer at its earliest stage. Every
:29:14. > :29:18.woman in Scotland between 20-60 years of age is invited to be
:29:18. > :29:21.screened every three years. Information leafletsish ufed with
:29:21. > :29:26.each invitation contain information on the symptoms and advice and
:29:26. > :29:28.seeking medical advice if the symptoms are present. This week is
:29:28. > :29:31.cervical screening awareness week and the message from this Government
:29:31. > :29:35.and I am sure from the chamber is that all eligible women in Scotland
:29:35. > :29:40.should find out more about cervical screening so they can be informed as
:29:40. > :29:44.possible about the benefits of such screening. Can I absolutely
:29:44. > :29:48.associate myself with the First Minister's response, early detection
:29:49. > :29:52.is extremely important. Does he not also agree that securing swift
:29:52. > :29:55.follow-up treatment is also key, unlike England the Scottish
:29:55. > :29:59.Government has cancer waiting targets for initial treatment, but
:29:59. > :30:03.when it comes to follow-up treatment there is some evidence that suggests
:30:03. > :30:06.that patients are waiting longer to be seen but this is not recorded.
:30:06. > :30:13.Does the First Minister therefore believe that this hidden cancer
:30:13. > :30:17.waiting list is acceptable? I was hoping that on this issue given its
:30:17. > :30:20.importance, given this is cervical cancer week, that the chamber could
:30:21. > :30:24.speak with one voice and Jackie Bailey could avoid seeing every
:30:24. > :30:28.issue as a potential issue for political division in a service
:30:28. > :30:33.which should unite this whole chamber. As Jackie Bailey should
:30:33. > :30:37.know the early detect cancer programme which looks - considering
:30:37. > :30:42.the future inclusion of additional tumour groups, there are excellent
:30:42. > :30:46.results in terms of the cancer treatment waiting times. For
:30:46. > :30:51.goodness sake, just for once, let's unite in seeing the importance of
:30:51. > :30:57.this condition and supporting the efforts of those who put it forward.
:30:57. > :31:00.Question six, Alex Johnston. Ask the First Minister how much it would
:31:00. > :31:06.cost annually for an independent Scotland to raise benefit payments
:31:06. > :31:09.to enable that the Scottish Government considers -- to a left
:31:09. > :31:12.that the Scottish Government considers appropriate? Changes we
:31:12. > :31:15.think are necessary in the context of an independent Scotland when this
:31:15. > :31:19.chamber and this parliament gains control over social security, but I
:31:19. > :31:22.think we should reflect on the changes we have already had to make
:31:22. > :31:27.as a result of the imposition of some of these welfare changes from
:31:27. > :31:34.Westminster. The attempt to cut council tax benefit by 10% which
:31:34. > :31:38.would have affected 560,000 people across Scotland, his constituents,
:31:38. > :31:45.my constituents, luckily avoided by the joint action of CO2 SLO and this
:31:45. > :31:49.Government in taerms of making up that amount, that cost 40 million.
:31:49. > :31:53.The fund to boost the emergency loan fund as a result of the impact of
:31:53. > :31:57.the welfare changes being imposed from Westminster and of course the
:31:57. > :32:00.additional �8 million going to the advice agencies so people suffering
:32:00. > :32:04.from the policies being imposed by colleagues at Westminster can get
:32:04. > :32:08.the help and advice they need. These are points in mitigation. The two
:32:08. > :32:16.policies we have already announced for an independent Scotland will
:32:16. > :32:20.also offer fairness and justice to the people of Scotland. I note the
:32:20. > :32:25.First Minister's careful answer, but still it does not account for the
:32:25. > :32:30.fact that members of his front bench team and particularly his
:32:30. > :32:34.backbenchers are making promises to many people in Scotland about what
:32:35. > :32:38.would apparently happen to benefits and welfare should Scotland become
:32:38. > :32:43.independent. It is absolutely essential that the First Minister
:32:43. > :32:47.take the opportunity to lay out which of these promises he intends
:32:47. > :32:54.to keep, which he believes are merely on the hoof commitments, and
:32:54. > :32:57.what the cost will be because if this cost is substantial the
:32:57. > :33:00.additional transfer of wealth required within the Scottish economy
:33:00. > :33:10.is something everyone should be aware of before they vote on
:33:10. > :33:20.
:33:20. > :33:25.independence. With the commitments we have made in terms of abolishing
:33:25. > :33:28.the bedroom tax will be �60 million a year, moving away from the
:33:28. > :33:35.earnings disregard and giving parity and justice to women in Scotland
:33:35. > :33:39.will cost in the region of �60-80 million a year. We have made these
:33:39. > :33:42.commitments already. Can I say that looking at this argument the
:33:42. > :33:45.imposition of deep unfairness in terms of the Westminster
:33:45. > :33:50.Government's attitude to these things, the plunging of tens of
:33:50. > :33:54.thousands of more people in Scotland into relative poverty, reversing, I
:33:54. > :33:58.believe as these changes will do, the progress that's been made in
:33:58. > :34:02.child poverty in Scotland, of all the flimsy basis on which the union
:34:02. > :34:06.and the alliance with the Labour Party will stand, that is the
:34:06. > :34:12.flimsiest of them all. People who vote for independence will vote for
:34:12. > :34:21.social justice and progress in that Scotland. Thank you. That concludes
:34:21. > :34:26.questions to the First Minister. Exchanges on the issue of welfare
:34:26. > :34:31.provision, right now and potentially post-independence and in the interim
:34:31. > :34:34.period also extremely serious but also thorough going exchange on the