:00:20. > :00:24.Three it very warm welcome to the Scottish Parliament, where this
:00:24. > :00:31.afternoon, we are expecting a statement from Nicola Sturgeon
:00:31. > :00:35.about the Scottish links to European Union. Will we be able to
:00:35. > :00:40.be a member, up aura, as Jose Manuel Barroso suggests, will be
:00:40. > :00:43.have to apply as a new state? But that may not come up and the
:00:43. > :00:51.questions to the First Minister, which is the main subject of this
:00:51. > :00:55.programme. Nicola Sturgeon's spokesperson
:00:55. > :00:59.accused the paper of fabricating the story. Indeed, the First
:00:59. > :01:04.Minister said there had been injured by anti- independence
:01:05. > :01:10.people. The paper was even forced to print a partial apology. Now, we
:01:10. > :01:14.know the story is true. A fortnight ago, I asked the First Minister
:01:14. > :01:19.When Did You Last complain to a newspaper about its coverage and he
:01:19. > :01:27.answered the with an e-mail today at 11:19am. Does he now needs to
:01:27. > :01:32.update that answer and does he now needs to apologise to the Scotsman?
:01:32. > :01:35.I am sure the Scotsman corrected their story because it implied that
:01:35. > :01:42.a letter had been sent when the commission said that no such letter
:01:42. > :01:46.had been sent. That was the position. I suppose a more
:01:46. > :01:51.interesting argument might be hired the Scotsman got sight of a letter
:01:51. > :01:55.which had not actually been sent by the President of the European
:01:55. > :02:03.Commission. No doubt, we will be enlightened in the columns of the
:02:03. > :02:06.Scotsman newspaper to arrive at that conclusion. I am sorry that to
:02:06. > :02:12.one does not appreciate me trying to answer her questions. I will try
:02:12. > :02:17.not to. I will try not to write to her and explain to her when the
:02:17. > :02:21.last time like a -- complained to newspaper was. I actually think it
:02:21. > :02:26.is a good idea to publish corrections when mistakes are made.
:02:26. > :02:33.No doubt, at some point, Joanna Lamond will apologise and publish
:02:33. > :02:37.corrections for the many factual errors she brings to this chamber.
:02:37. > :02:41.I have been in this job nearly one year and I have worked out that you
:02:41. > :02:46.do not intend answering questions very often at all. Secondly, just
:02:46. > :02:51.keeping saying something does not make it true. The problem for the
:02:51. > :02:56.First Minister about the letter is that his defence seems to be that
:02:56. > :03:02.it was not sent. Well we all know it has been sent a knife and he has
:03:02. > :03:07.to deal with what that letter actually says. Nicola Sturgeon told
:03:07. > :03:12.this Parliament in 2007, and I quote, Scotland would automatically
:03:12. > :03:18.be a member of the European Union and upon independence. There is
:03:18. > :03:25.legal opinion it to back that up. Not only do we now know that to be
:03:25. > :03:30.untrue, it now transpires that she had not even asked for legal advice
:03:30. > :03:35.which allowed her to make that assertion. Of course, this
:03:35. > :03:39.ministerial habit of assertion is by role. On Tuesday, John Sweeney
:03:39. > :03:44.told the house of Lords he had been having a very helpful dialogue with
:03:44. > :03:50.the Bank of England are on keeping the pines after independence. And
:03:50. > :03:59.what does the banks say? They say, and I quote, we have not entered a
:03:59. > :04:03.dialogue. Order. So, what does it say about the Scottish Government
:04:03. > :04:10.when the people of Scotland have to go to the European Commission and
:04:10. > :04:14.to the Bank of England to hear the truth?
:04:14. > :04:19.I think there were perhaps three points and that questions. Firstly,
:04:19. > :04:23.the letter had not been sent last week. That much is clear. The
:04:23. > :04:27.suggested had been sent is wrong. Secondly, she says that there is no
:04:27. > :04:31.legal opinion which supports the SNP position on continued
:04:31. > :04:38.membership. There is ample legal opinion from a range of sources,
:04:38. > :04:42.which have been cited. The former Secretary-General of the European
:04:42. > :04:50.Commission are amongst others. A range of quotes which have been
:04:50. > :04:57.brought to this chamber. Incidentally, there is plenty of
:04:57. > :05:01.legal opinion which supports that opinion. Order. Lastly, in terms of
:05:01. > :05:06.the Bank of England, to one has come along to this chamber on a
:05:06. > :05:10.number of occasions and I remember one specifically on 31st May. She
:05:10. > :05:13.told me there had been discussions of the Bank of England. Rather
:05:14. > :05:16.helpfully, the Bank of England and that there confidence in these
:05:16. > :05:19.matters and I respected that and I pointed out that I had met the
:05:19. > :05:26.Governor of the Bank of England on 16th February entitled and that in
:05:26. > :05:28.May. The SNP Government of pointed out, and I quote exactly, as
:05:28. > :05:32.indicated at the Scottish Government is engaged with the Bank
:05:32. > :05:36.of England to discuss factual and technical matters for around
:05:36. > :05:40.proposals for an economic framework. That is exactly what has happened.
:05:40. > :05:44.The Bank of England does not really take a position on the question of
:05:44. > :05:50.independence for Scotland. That is not its job. But it has responded
:05:50. > :06:00.at, as it should do, as a public body, at to a request for factual
:06:00. > :06:04.
:06:04. > :06:06.information and has engaged with the commission. I think to get a
:06:06. > :06:12.Nobel Laureate in economics is quite an important thing which
:06:12. > :06:15.should not be derided by the Labour Party. These preparations are made.
:06:15. > :06:19.The SNP Government engaged with those who were willing to engage in
:06:19. > :06:23.discussions. We have engaged in the factual information requested from
:06:23. > :06:26.the Bank of England. We are prepared to engage with the
:06:26. > :06:30.President of the European Commission as the Deputy First
:06:30. > :06:35.Minister has made clear. And we would engage with the UK Government
:06:35. > :06:41.to discuss these matters, but Parliament after Parliament have
:06:41. > :06:47.refused to engage in such discussions. So perhaps she will
:06:47. > :06:49.help us to disagree with our Tory allies and suggest the United
:06:49. > :06:56.Kingdom Government now engaged in the discussions that this
:06:56. > :07:00.Government is perfectly prepared to enter into.
:07:00. > :07:10.I suppose in the fantasy world that the First Minister now inhabits,
:07:10. > :07:11.
:07:11. > :07:14.that meant a stout defence of his position. Because his problem is he
:07:14. > :07:18.claims that he wants to have dialogue with all these people, but
:07:18. > :07:28.asserted we would be in Europe, we would be part of a sterling so
:07:28. > :07:33.without ever asking anybody,. And when Mr Swinney goes to London,
:07:33. > :07:36.we're having a dialogue and the Bank of England says not. I am not
:07:36. > :07:41.sure if you're suggesting that the Bank of Scotland is actually being
:07:41. > :07:44.misleading. Maybe you could clarify that later. We can go back to that
:07:44. > :07:49.interview when the First Minister said he had sought legal advice
:07:49. > :07:54.from the law officers when he had not. And we will remember - just
:07:54. > :07:56.ask him about that. He asked them, can you clarify whether an
:07:56. > :08:03.independent Scotland would have to reapply for membership of their
:08:03. > :08:07.European Union? Alex Salmon said, no, we would not. We do have to
:08:07. > :08:11.bear in mind that this was the same interview in which the First
:08:12. > :08:21.Minister's words, yes we have, meant no we haven't, in terms of
:08:21. > :08:25.the debate. The man in charge of the European Commission was -- Jose
:08:25. > :08:29.Manuel Barroso has told the BBC if there is a new state, of course
:08:29. > :08:36.that state has to apply for membership. What part of that state
:08:36. > :08:41.funds does the First Minister not understand?
:08:41. > :08:45.I will try to remember the style of that question, but I think it
:08:45. > :08:50.started on of the question of the Bank of England. The Bank of
:08:50. > :08:53.England has agreed to engage with the Scottish Government for
:08:53. > :08:57.technical advice with the Fiscal Commission. That is a perfectly
:08:57. > :09:01.proper thing for the Bank of England to do. It does not take a
:09:01. > :09:06.public position on the debate of Scottish independence. It has no
:09:06. > :09:10.reason to. You would not expect it to. The Governor of the Bank of
:09:10. > :09:13.England has been perfectly proper in providing the resource for the
:09:13. > :09:16.technical advice which has been requested by the Fiscal Commission
:09:16. > :09:20.and engage with the Fiscal Commission wants it is established.
:09:20. > :09:23.That seems to be a perfectly reasonable position for the Bank of
:09:23. > :09:29.England to take and I hope that will now extend to the UK
:09:29. > :09:31.Government departments, so as they take a similarly wise position. The
:09:31. > :09:35.Scottish National Party the Government have never argued that
:09:35. > :09:44.we don't have to negotiate our position in terms of the European
:09:44. > :09:46.Union. I remember a question on 25th January, which says on the
:09:46. > :09:50.publication of consultation documents in January that we had
:09:50. > :09:55.changed our position to say that there would be negotiations. I
:09:55. > :09:58.pointed out to her on 25th January that it was never a position that
:09:58. > :10:06.there would not be negotiations. The point is that negotiations
:10:06. > :10:09.would be held from within the context of the European Union. If
:10:09. > :10:14.it was with some surprise that the stop press release last Friday
:10:14. > :10:17.which repeated the suggestion that saying that negotiations was a
:10:17. > :10:20.change and the Government's position. We have retained that
:10:20. > :10:26.there would be negotiations on the question of Scotland's position
:10:26. > :10:29.within the European Union. We have said unambiguously that these
:10:29. > :10:39.negotiations will take place from within the context of the European
:10:39. > :10:40.
:10:40. > :10:45.Union. Order. And I could quote a variety of Labour MPs who except
:10:45. > :10:49.that Scotland would not be excluded from the European Union. No serious
:10:49. > :10:53.person actually believes that to be the case. And it is not the case,
:10:53. > :10:57.of course, because not just is that in the interest of Scotland's to be
:10:57. > :11:06.a member of the European Union, it is overwhelmingly in the interests
:11:06. > :11:09.of the European Union to have Scotland as a member.
:11:09. > :11:13.The First Minister has to reflect that the President of the European
:11:13. > :11:21.Commission may have some of authority on this matter. On
:11:21. > :11:26.balance. Order a. And he has said a new state would have to apply and I
:11:26. > :11:30.had thought that this SNP backbenchers and the frontbenchers,
:11:30. > :11:36.their aspiration was for Scotland to be a new state. Otherwise, what
:11:36. > :11:40.is the point of what we will be debating for the next two years? I
:11:40. > :11:44.don't want to dwell on private grief, but I would say to the First
:11:44. > :11:49.Minister, does he not realise he has a bit of a credibility problem
:11:49. > :11:54.when he comes this Parliament and gives an answer he describes as
:11:54. > :11:59.exact an answer as anybody has given in any Parliament and a few
:11:59. > :12:03.yards later, he Hasted met he was entirely wrong. Does he not see
:12:03. > :12:08.that when he says he has sought legal advice when he has not,
:12:08. > :12:13.people doubt the next words which, of his mouth. When his Finance
:12:13. > :12:16.Secretary says he is in dialogue with the Bank of England and the
:12:16. > :12:22.bank says they're not, what does that say about his Government?
:12:22. > :12:26.Isn't that the truth that John Swinney, Nicola Sturgeon, the First
:12:26. > :12:35.Minister, all of them, are not leading Scotland. There are
:12:35. > :12:38.misleading Scotland. Order.
:12:38. > :12:43.As explained at our meeting, the bank is committed to impartiality
:12:43. > :12:47.in that debate. We will respond to requests of the UK and Scottish
:12:47. > :12:53.governments for technical device -- advice, on the condition that it is
:12:53. > :12:56.provided in strict confidence. Order. The bank will have no public
:12:56. > :13:01.position in the debate. Consistent with that, the bank will engage
:13:01. > :13:05.with the Fiscal Commission that you have established. That is the
:13:05. > :13:10.letter from the Governor of the Bank of England on 19th March this
:13:10. > :13:19.year. That is exactly consistent with the position that the Scottish
:13:19. > :13:22.Government opted for word. Without breaching the confidentiality
:13:22. > :13:26.request that was given by the Governor, but I had met the
:13:26. > :13:29.Governor in February of this year, she might have come to the
:13:29. > :13:34.conclusion that that engagement that the Governor speaks about was
:13:34. > :13:39.going on, that was the purpose of it. It is entirely reasonable for
:13:39. > :13:42.the Scottish Government to seek to engage with important a parties in
:13:42. > :13:48.terms of preparing the ground for the independence referendum and a
:13:48. > :13:51.particular, the white paper of next bottom. It is not unreasonable for
:13:51. > :13:55.the Labour Party, which to distally had the occasional difference what
:13:55. > :13:59.the Conservative Party, to say it would be a good idea for the UK
:13:59. > :14:02.Government departments to make preparations. Why it is not an
:14:03. > :14:06.unreasonable position? Because the Scottish Select Committee, which is
:14:06. > :14:11.Labour Party dominated, suggested that the Ministry of Defence should
:14:11. > :14:14.do exactly that. The point is that we are perfectly prepared to engage,
:14:14. > :14:18.perfectly prepared to prepare the ground for the white paper,
:14:18. > :14:22.perfectly prepared to rebut the scaremongering of the Labour Party
:14:22. > :14:28.on each and every occasion and we stand on the ground that the
:14:28. > :14:32.country, where 90% of the oil reserves of the European Union, of
:14:32. > :14:37.25% of the potential renewable energy reserves, the second largest
:14:37. > :14:41.gas provider in the European Union, with 60% of the territorial waters
:14:41. > :14:51.of these islands is something that no serious person across this
:14:51. > :14:56.
:14:56. > :15:01.Continent would try to exclude from To ask the First Minister when he
:15:01. > :15:08.will next meet the Prime Minister. No plans in the near future. Thank
:15:08. > :15:13.you for that answer. I also listened with interest to the
:15:13. > :15:16.Cabinet Secretary's performance. In particular when he said the
:15:16. > :15:24.Scottish Government had held dialogue with the European
:15:24. > :15:30.Commission about Scotland's entry into the EU. Stefan Chela and
:15:30. > :15:35.President Barroso confirmed in writing that there had been no
:15:35. > :15:41.discussions on this subject. Can the First Minister tell the people
:15:41. > :15:47.of Scotland what talks John Swinney was referring to, who conducted
:15:47. > :15:55.them, at what level and what ground was covered? If we were to contact
:15:55. > :15:58.Europe, would we get the same answer as he is about to give?
:15:58. > :16:04.meet European commissioners on a regular basis and informal dialogue
:16:04. > :16:12.takes place across a range of subjects as we meet at official
:16:12. > :16:18.level. Can I say that there have been few, if any, people who I have
:16:18. > :16:22.met across the world over the last few months who have not asked me
:16:22. > :16:27.about the question of Scottish Independence. Scotland is
:16:28. > :16:32.attracting a huge amount of interest in international terms.
:16:33. > :16:37.The Conservative Party would like to be in a position where nobody is
:16:37. > :16:43.interested and would like to put forward a position that nobody
:16:43. > :16:46.should be interested in Scotland. Scottish Government ministers will
:16:46. > :16:52.clock Inn in formal terms with European Commissioners and with
:16:52. > :16:57.anyone else in terms of explaining why Scotland should be an
:16:57. > :17:03.independent country. Can I gently remind the First Minister that he
:17:03. > :17:08.is here to give straight answers to straight questions. Dead people of
:17:08. > :17:14.Scotland deserve honest answers. The First Minister seems unwilling
:17:14. > :17:22.to give us something straightforward as which
:17:22. > :17:28.discussions have been going on, if, indeed, any have been at all. This
:17:28. > :17:38.seems like the First Minister was spanked and sent to bed for not
:17:38. > :17:44.doing homework properly. Now in a panic Nicola Sturgeon is being
:17:44. > :17:49.dispatched to Brussels to sort this mess out. Can I ask the First
:17:49. > :17:53.Minister, it does Brussels share his sense of urgency? Who has
:17:53. > :18:00.agreed to meet the Deputy First Minister, when will these meetings
:18:00. > :18:05.take place and what questions will be asked? It has not been unknown
:18:05. > :18:09.for politicians in these islands do have disagreements with the
:18:09. > :18:14.European Commission. David Cameron said yesterday that he did not
:18:14. > :18:23.agree with President Prossor at First Minister's questions. That
:18:23. > :18:27.seemed to be quite a reasonable statement. -- President Barroso.
:18:27. > :18:32.Does she understand that Conservative politicians have been
:18:32. > :18:38.disagreeing with them for most of the last two years and the reason
:18:38. > :18:43.is that the Conservative Party you're a substantial section of it
:18:43. > :18:48.want to leave the European Union now. We are told the Prime Minister
:18:48. > :18:52.will be announcing an end/Out referendum after these negotiations
:18:53. > :18:58.next month. He said he would do that last January if I remember
:18:59. > :19:03.correctly. Don't become to the conclusion that the almost
:19:03. > :19:11.substantial threat to Scotland's position as a European Union nation
:19:11. > :19:18.is from the Conservative Party with its undying reaction to anything
:19:18. > :19:23.European? If that is the feeling within her party I can tell Ruth
:19:23. > :19:31.Davidson that the amount of influence she has over the London
:19:31. > :19:37.direction of the Conservative Party is next to 0. War betide any member
:19:37. > :19:44.of our Euro-sceptical party to come to this chamber and ask questions
:19:44. > :19:47.of Scotland's position to come to Europe as an independent nation.
:19:47. > :19:54.Can I as the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the
:19:54. > :20:00.next meeting of cabinet? Issues important to the people of Scotland.
:20:00. > :20:04.As has finally been admitted that they will need to be negotiations
:20:04. > :20:10.of Scotland's membership of the European Union, can he tell me
:20:10. > :20:16.before the referendum what voters will know about what we could lose?
:20:16. > :20:23.What voters in Scotland lose his having liberals propping up a
:20:24. > :20:30.Conservative Party in Government. That was a rather comprehensive
:20:30. > :20:36.answer that I was not expecting. The First Minister does not seem to
:20:36. > :20:41.understand that this is not about membership. It is about the terms.
:20:41. > :20:45.I am surprised that the First Minister does not seem to
:20:45. > :20:50.understand that very simple point. It is about the politics of other
:20:50. > :20:54.countries and he seems to think that all 27 members of the European
:20:54. > :20:59.Union will just signed up to whatever he wants. As people doubt
:20:59. > :21:04.what he says, the doubt what he says weather at the First Minister
:21:04. > :21:10.likes it or not. They want to know before the referendum what they
:21:11. > :21:16.might lose. Can he tell me when he plans to meet with the members of
:21:16. > :21:21.the European Union to discuss Scotland's membership and to
:21:21. > :21:25.establish what they will want in return? In contrast to the previous
:21:25. > :21:30.two party leaders, Willie Rennie has put his finger on something
:21:30. > :21:35.important. He is not questioning whether Scotland will be a member
:21:35. > :21:40.of the European Union but taking the debate on to the negotiations.
:21:41. > :21:45.The answer I gave earlier to Patricia Ferguson is what I refer
:21:45. > :21:52.him to. When Willie Rennie has told about the terms in the past he has
:21:52. > :21:58.actually stated that Scotland could be forced to adopt the euro. That
:21:58. > :22:07.is one of the key aspects. You are not disagreeing. You were shaking
:22:07. > :22:13.your head but not disagreeing? I see! I pointed out you were a
:22:13. > :22:18.Liberal Democrat. It was the Liberal Party! I tried to point out
:22:18. > :22:23.that under circumstances that we envisaged for Scotland's continuing
:22:23. > :22:28.membership, of course there is the opt out position, even if that were
:22:28. > :22:38.the case it is not the point at all that it would be forced into the
:22:38. > :22:42.
:22:42. > :22:48.euro. The article today in the Scotsman newspaper goes through a
:22:48. > :22:55.whole range of European debate. Except there is one. Virtually
:22:55. > :23:01.beyond argument, just one opt out must be discussed here briefly and
:23:01. > :23:05.that is the euro opt-out. It is a genuine example of scaremongering
:23:05. > :23:12.with in this debate. The notion that Scotland could be forced or
:23:12. > :23:17.compelled to adopt the euro is simply untrue. It ill behoves the
:23:17. > :23:27.politician in this chamber who was most in favour of the euro just at
:23:27. > :23:32.
:23:32. > :23:40.few years ago in the terms of the best -- indeed terms of deaths... -
:23:40. > :23:44.- in terms of this... When Willie Rennie took his position a few
:23:44. > :23:50.years ago he said Scotland would be leading the yes campaign for the
:23:50. > :23:54.euro. It will be the yes campaign for an independent Scotland. For a
:23:54. > :23:59.Liberal Democrat to scaremonger over the euro defies not just the
:23:59. > :24:09.past record of that party but is the reducing the debate to eye-
:24:09. > :24:13.
:24:13. > :24:17.level worthy of a party which has five members. -- to a level. As he
:24:17. > :24:23.suggests Scotland will be forced into the euro, when he admits that
:24:23. > :24:29.is not the case, we can get the debate on a level that we know the
:24:29. > :24:35.Liberal Democrats would really like to have. Do as the First Minister
:24:35. > :24:42.what impact the Scottish Government expects the additional resources
:24:42. > :24:49.will have on Scottish employment? Finally the calls of the Scottish
:24:49. > :24:54.Government have been heeded to boost capital spending. That comes
:24:55. > :24:58.after four years of pressure, 15 colles, eight Letters to the
:24:58. > :25:03.Chancellor and two joint declarations with devolved
:25:03. > :25:09.administrations in this year alone. A substantial degree of engagement.
:25:09. > :25:14.The steps that have been taken are welcome but only take us have way.
:25:14. > :25:24.There is still a lack of cohesion plant in London to return the
:25:24. > :25:24.
:25:24. > :25:31.economy to grow. The additional MP it is expected to boost jobs in
:25:31. > :25:36.Scotland. I am sure it is well understood that this is only a
:25:36. > :25:43.partial return to the capital spending levels that were expected
:25:43. > :25:47.historically. Does he agree that de Treasury decision to heat Scottish
:25:47. > :25:55.calls for capital spending cuts could and should have come much
:25:55. > :26:01.sooner. Can he advised the chamber how many more people currently
:26:01. > :26:11.unemployed in Scotland could be in work were the UK Government to
:26:11. > :26:16.restore the cut to our capital budget? It is true that we tried to
:26:16. > :26:20.anticipate what questions might be asked at First Minister's Questions.
:26:20. > :26:25.One iron law is that if unemployment in Scotland is falling
:26:25. > :26:31.it will not be mentioned by any opposition party in this chamber.
:26:31. > :26:35.He is right, the savage cuts in the capital budget have been a major
:26:35. > :26:40.reason for weakness in the economy. We are delighted and pleased that
:26:40. > :26:45.there has been up partial resumption of at capital spending
:26:45. > :26:51.profile. It is only half of what we believe is needed over the next
:26:51. > :26:58.year and only returns us to a position of some 25% reduction in
:26:58. > :27:01.real terms. However, if the Lib Dems and Conservatives now agree
:27:01. > :27:06.that direct capital investment is essential for direct economic
:27:06. > :27:09.growth then perhaps they will realise that having taken the first
:27:09. > :27:15.faltering steps, more should follow so that economic growth in this
:27:15. > :27:20.country can resume. To ask the First Minister, in light of
:27:20. > :27:24.reported comments from the Fiscal Commission, what the Scottish
:27:24. > :27:30.Government position is on fiscal control and financial regulation in
:27:30. > :27:40.the event of Scotland separating from the rest of the UK? The system
:27:40. > :27:43.
:27:43. > :27:50.takes logical precautions. We want to avoid fiscal decisions that the
:27:50. > :27:55.universal economy has been feted with, the boom and bust, the
:27:55. > :27:59.greatest recession since the 1930s. Fiscal matters will be brought home
:27:59. > :28:05.to Scotland providing opportunities to boost growth and tackle
:28:05. > :28:09.inequality. We are now in a stronger relative fiscal position
:28:10. > :28:15.in the UK according to the latest official statistics. A working
:28:15. > :28:19.group to which I referred earlier has published findings -- will
:28:19. > :28:25.publish findings in the new year and I look forward to seeing those.
:28:25. > :28:31.Can I ask him to clarify one point, that is whether or not Scotland's
:28:31. > :28:37.future will be supported by at fiscal stability pact? I'm just
:28:37. > :28:43.asking him to clarify two quotes. One is from an interview with
:28:43. > :28:51.Andrew Neil in 2012 in which he said a prerequisite for functioning
:28:51. > :28:57.stability would be a stability pact. He followed that up in 2012 in
:28:57. > :29:01.Chicago when he said there would be no need for a fiscal stability pact.
:29:01. > :29:08.Can I ask the First Minister to clarify which option is his
:29:08. > :29:13.preferred? I said no such thing in Chicago. I pointed out there that
:29:13. > :29:19.looking at the figures, if you had a borrowing limited arrangement
:29:19. > :29:24.with the Bank of England and the Treasury in that here then we would
:29:24. > :29:28.be �2.7 billion relatively better off than the UK fiscal position.
:29:28. > :29:35.That point has been confirmed by the Institute of Fiscal Studies in
:29:35. > :29:39.recent weeks. Do �0.7 billion seems to me to give you a degree of
:29:39. > :29:46.flexibility which means you could borrow less, spend more and save
:29:46. > :29:52.for the future. Just to bring it down to every ad levels for the
:29:52. > :29:57.benefit of everyone. Do 0.7 billion is about �500 per head for every
:29:57. > :30:01.man, woman and child in Scotland. Lot of people looking at the
:30:01. > :30:06.economic disaster visited on this country by the Labour Party and
:30:06. > :30:10.then taken for by the Conservatives, looking at the levels of poverty
:30:11. > :30:15.and deprivation in Scotland, the lack of growth in this economy,
:30:15. > :30:19.would say that some part of that should be invested in the economy
:30:19. > :30:29.and people would be wondering why Ken Mackintosh does not think that
:30:29. > :30:29.
:30:29. > :30:32.this country uniquely does not have the benefit of its own resources.
:30:32. > :30:37.Do as the First Minister the Scottish Government position on the
:30:37. > :30:43.legalisation of drugs given the potential impact on justice and
:30:43. > :30:49.health policies? In terms of the drugs debate I think two things are
:30:49. > :30:53.really important, one is to recognise the huge serious problem
:30:53. > :30:57.Scotland has and still faces to an extraordinary degree. It is also
:30:57. > :31:06.important we recognise within recent statistics there is some
:31:06. > :31:16.sign of improvement. The drug use has fallen since 2006 from 12.6% to
:31:16. > :31:21.9.1% among 16 to 19 year-olds. The drug used report published shows
:31:21. > :31:27.that drug-taking among young people is at its lowest level since 20 --
:31:27. > :31:36.2002. That is from the Scottish Schools adolescent and lifestyle
:31:36. > :31:41.youth survey. The drug strategy focuses on prevention, enforcement,
:31:41. > :31:47.treatment and recovery. I would commend us to pursue that across
:31:47. > :31:53.this chamber and see these early signs of success, not for a reason
:31:53. > :31:59.of complacency, but something we should continue to do. Thank you
:31:59. > :32:06.very much. While welcoming default in a diction, nevertheless there is
:32:06. > :32:10.a substantial source of social problems. Does he see merit among
:32:10. > :32:18.other existing measures of commissioning research into the
:32:18. > :32:22.potential impact of decriminalising drug usage? We share information
:32:22. > :32:27.analysis and evidence, we should always do so and look at that
:32:27. > :32:33.evidence to see what is justified. The position that we have taken I
:32:33. > :32:37.think is the right thing and one we should pursue. Of course we should
:32:37. > :32:44.look at evidence and that is what we will do but what we are
:32:44. > :32:50.currently doing command cross-party support across this chamber and I
:32:50. > :32:56.believe that is the course that we should continue to pursue. We
:32:56. > :33:01.concentrate on the points made out in the road to recovery programme
:33:01. > :33:06.recognising the indications of some success while accepting the nature
:33:07. > :33:12.of the drugs problem in Scotland. If we consider Scotland's
:33:12. > :33:18.relationship with alcohol and the measures we have taken and have
:33:18. > :33:24.duty to pursue and address that imbalance, it is the case that
:33:24. > :33:28.alcohol as an illegal substance does not mean that you remove
:33:28. > :33:34.yourself from the extraordinary problems of abuse of that substance.
:33:34. > :33:39.I think she should be aware of seeing a change in the law as as