15/03/2012 Politics Scotland


15/03/2012

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Am sure our institutionally cautious politicians will be even

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We are under way. First Minister Congratulating Perth on the city

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Can the First Minister explain why Scottish families today are facing

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some of the highest childcare costs in Europe, while his government

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offers less help than Nick Clegg? In the last term of office we took

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the availability of childcare in Scotland from the 425 hours we

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inherited to 475 hours. I'm sure she will welcome the pledge which

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will go into legislation, to make sure it is available to everyone in

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Scotland. To move that to 600 hours. It will give us the best package of

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child care and pre-school facilities of any country in these

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I note the First Minister didn't answer the question of why we are

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still in the place we are. Nothing new there. On Saturday, the First

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Minister, who has never knowingly undersold his position, promised

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the best package of free nursery education on offer anywhere in the

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UK. Just not yet. Nothing new here. We heard this same pledge in the

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SNP manifesto would 2007. Remember that one, filed in the section of a

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library near you. We know what happened with that pledge. Promised

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in 2007. Dumped by Mike Russell in 2009. The First Minister repackaged

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it on Saturday. We need to wait until after the referendum in 2014

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before he delivers it. Why has he failed to deliver on his own

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pledge? Why has he left Scottish families and Scottish children

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down? Can I say to John Le Monde, our ability to deliver on the

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programme was judged by the people of Scotland last year in the

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election. Can I correct or on the costs, she said I didn't answer her

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caress JUN director. She's wrong in terms of the costs to these islands.

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Nursery, two years and over, the average in England is �103.19. The

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average in Scotland is under bat. - - that. These are very substantial

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child care costs. One of the arguments put forward persuasively

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is that it is a function of the supply and affordability of which

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can drive up costs in certain instances. And therefore the most -

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- more publicly-funded childcare and pre- school that is on offer,

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that will have two beneficial effects. It will help the families

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who are getting that availability of childcare and nursery. Secondly,

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it will help to drive down costs in terms of other provisions. The

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judgment of the people of Scotland in terms of the ability of a

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minority SNP government over four years was made in the May election.

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The judgment of the people of Scotland on the Labour Party's

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attitude was also made last year in May. I would hope that even if on

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so many issues Joanne Mamon to cannot bring the Labour Party into

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a more positive position, at least on this position she will now

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committed to supporting the legislation which will enshrine

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this in law, which will make available 600 hours to the families

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across Scotland. If we were in power in 2007, we would now be in a

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position... I can assure you, if you have worked out how important

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public provision was, perhaps you might have acted a little earlier

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rather than now. We worked this out a long time ago because what

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families Need Is action now. Not a clause in a children's Bill, and

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not a two year's delay. Families don't just need legislation in the

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future, they needed government now which will provide the funding to

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deliver reliable and affordable child care when people need it.

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First Minister, he has the power now. Why does he not exercise it?

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On Saturday, the First Minister promised a Bill. It might be news

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to him, but working families all over Scotland already have a bill.

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A bill for child care. It's a pretty expensive one. Families Need

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this support now. Why do we have to wait another two years for the

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First Minister to put a clause in a Bill, never mind actually

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delivering what people need? If the Labour Party was so keen on this

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issue, then why on earth didn't they implemented in the eight years

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they were in power? Why did we inherit 425 Abbas, which we

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increased to 475 bout was? If after eight years, when she was a

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minister, only then... I'm not surprised no one can hear this

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because it is inconvenient to have to remind them of the dreadful

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record of the Labour Party in government. If after their 80 years

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there was a conversion in 2007, which if only the Labour Party had

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been re-elected they would have implemented, then why didn't they

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implement it south of the border when Labour was still in

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government? The Record of the Labour Party up to 2007 in

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government was judged by the Scottish people harshly. The Record

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of the Labour Party in opposition to 2011 was judged by the Scottish

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people even more harshly. One of the key reasons for that dramatic

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failure, when she was the Deputy Leader of the party, but the total

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and absolute negativity. Can they please bring themselves at this

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stage to welcome an announcement to take the child care provision to

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600 hours, to benefit every single family across every area of

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If that's the First Minister being... God help the when he

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decides to start turning on me. Never mind as a minister. As a

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mother for eight years, I've got the benefit of what Labour did on

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child care. In Glasgow now all, with a Labour council, we've got

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STUDIO: Local government elections coming up. Order. What we have here

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is another episode of the tomorrow government. In two years time,

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maybe. Working families are struggling now and the First

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Minister simply doesn't get it. Fewer children in nursery, after-

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school clubs closing down and the child care on offer simply not

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meeting their needs. The First Minister said on Saturday, in

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devolved Scotland we can demand. In an independent Scotland we can

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That was for the children at the back there. He is so protective

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Dunn so predictable. What he really meant is that he won't deliver

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until he gets his way in a referendum. Talk about an abuse of

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power. Because the reality is, for the First Minister this issue is

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not about child care. It is about what really gets him excited, and

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that is the constitution. In this devolved Scotland, Family's can't

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wait, Won't Wait and we insist that he delivers for Scottish families

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now. Will the First Minister take this issue seriously, take the

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people of this country seriously and act now to help Scottish

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families? First Minister. After that, I think perhaps she should

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stay on script in the future of. I don't think that Glasgow council is

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her strongest suit at the present moment. You are losing councillors

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in Glasgow even quicker than you lost votes in the Scottish election.

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If what we inherited from Labour was so wonderful, then why did the

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last minority SNP government, as part of the concordat of local

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government, have to increase the provision from 425 hours, which we

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inherited, to 475 hours? In terms of looking forward, I was

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complemented about the 18 mentions of myself and her speech at the

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Labour Party conference two weeks ago. I think it's rather better to

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lay out policies, as we did at our conference, on the 2500 young

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people given a life opportunity, the �10 million additional

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Commonwealth Games legacy found that every SNP council in Scotland

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will introduce the living wage, as the SNP government has done. And to

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put into legislation, to give that guaranteed to families across

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Scotland of 600 hours of child care and Prix nursery education.

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Question number two. Do ask the First Minister when he will next

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meet the Secretary of State for Scotland? No plans for the near

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future. Earlier this week, the Scottish medicines consortium

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decided not to approve a drug to men in Scotland suffering from

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advanced prostate cancer. A drug which has been used so successfully

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to extend the life of Mr al-Megrahi, when the Scottish Government sent

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him home to die. In a battle against the cancer which caused so

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many are -- costs so many hundreds of Scottish men their lives every

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year, there have been few advances. This drug is one. Will the Minister

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act to give cancer sufferers greater access to important new

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drugs? It is a hugely serious and important issue. Everybody in this

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chamber recognises, as new drugs come onto the market place, it is

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totally understandable that people who are afflicted with serious

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conditions have a tremendous desire to see every new drug available. In

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all seriousness, the SMC process, which has been in Scotland now for

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10 years, is hugely and substantially admired because of

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its independence and its thoroughness. Over that 10 years

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there hasn't been a single case of any government overruling an

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essence -- and SMC judgment. There is a very substantial and good

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reason for that. What happens now is that the drug company concerned

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has indicated it is going to go back and resubmit. The SNC has the

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extraordinary and difficult task of judging the efficacy of the

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treatment against the budgetary constraints, which inevitably apply

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in any health service. If the position of the SMC or NICE when

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England was to accept every submission that came forward, it

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would be impossible to sustain the Budget. They have to do it in

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criteria. I do think Ruth Davidson should pay considerable attention

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to what and number of the cancer charities have been saying about

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the obligations on drugs companies with new drugs coming forward, to

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try and make them available to the National Health Service at a cost

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which can be afforded. The First Minister misrepresents what I was

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asking. I wasn't asking him to overrule the S M C, which is

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independent and thorough. There is an obvious solution. A Scottish

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cancer drugs fund. My predecessor, Annabel Goldie, raised it 14 months

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ago with the First Minister of. Conservative then met with him and

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his then Health Secretary. We have since brought it to the chamber for

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debate as lately as September. In other parts of the UK we have seen

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the huge impact that this can make on sufferers and their families. To

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date, 12,000 people have had their lives extended through the cancer

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drugs fund. What possible excuse does the First Minister have to

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refuse the same opportunity to cancer sufferers in Scotland? The

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government is about choices. The First Minister chose to find �50

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million to give free prescriptions to people like himself who can

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afford to pay for them. But he is choosing not to find a more modest

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sum to extend and approve the lives of Scots with fatal conditions.

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Will the First Minister now make a different choice? Were he now, 14

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months down the line and after countless premature deaths,

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reconsider, intervene and support a Ruth Davidson says that she did not

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suggest that ministers should overrule the SMC. Our health

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spokesman did. He should not have done that. That is a process that

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depends on its independence for its effectiveness. It is not the case

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that medicines, even those not approved by the SMC, cannot be made

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available to patients in Scotland. They have the prices of individual

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patient treatment requests. 126 medicines were requested through

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that process within NHS Scotland of medicines which are not approved by

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SNC as yet. 87 of these requests were approved. 39 were not approved.

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Ruth Davidson presents to this Chamber the question that the

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cancer drugs found initiative taking place in England is one

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which is substantially supported. Can I remind her that the cancer

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charity is issued a briefing paper for the Scottish parliamentary

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debate about whether or not Scotland should have cancer drugs

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found. And said, the cancer drugs than does not address the root

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causes of why patients may be denied access to treatment. Her own

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Tory MP colleague, quoted from 26th December last year, the Cancer

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Drugs Fund was set up to stop this kind of Lottery in my area. It is

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not fit for purpose and it is not working for the benefit of patients.

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So this gym but did consider the question of the Cancer Drugs Fund

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and paid attention to the many submissions that we received

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suggesting that that was not the best way forward. Can I suggest

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that the process we have in Scotland works effectively. 60% of

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the drugs which are very submitted on a more reasonable cost basis

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after initially being turned down by eight the S N C R then approved.

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I hope and believe that now that Ruth Davidson has said we should

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not interfere with that process will understand the necessity of

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that process. And now that she is aware, as I am sure she is, that

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the non approval of a drug that does not mean that there is still

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the prices of individual treatment requests wherein individual

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clinician can on the precise circumstances of the patient and

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argue on Fowler could full value. - - therapeutic value. I do believe

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that this Chamber, in terms of our responsibility to the people of

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Scotland, particularly those suffering from diseases, should be

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able to see the substance and efforts that of being made to

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enable to give people the best possible treatment.

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Given the highly critical report by the Accounts Commission into the

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Highlands and Islands rescue service which highlighted 35 sub-

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standard fire stations, lack of investment in vehicles and IT, and

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most damaging of an -- ball, the lack of training, equipment and

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health and safety resilience for firefighters. Can I just the first

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minster few ensure that a thorough review was not undertaken to find

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out how things went so badly wrong at this service and to help prevent

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this ever happening again. I think it is right and proper to give time

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for us to consider a response. By see that the meeting on Monday the

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19th is to consider possible terms of reference for an inquiry. I am

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pleased to see the most significant support from our other seven Fire

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and rescue services, including the secondment of a number of staff

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being made available to assist the board in addressing the challenges

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it faces. A single fire surface will have access to these wider

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management resources to deploy where they are most needed as a

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matter of course. Can I ask the First Minister, given

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the allegations in the recent biography and the price of the

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Crown action throughout the prosecution appeal process, if it

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is possible through the inquiries Act to instruct an independent

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examination for these examinations begin for the Crown and whether

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this might fall within the remit. The programme it -- the appropriate

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body is not the court of law. It is absolutely imperative that the

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commission are given the powers they need to release the full set

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statement of reasons in this case. I have to say that although,

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obviously, I welcome this closure, because we are trying to get the

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disclosure of the full report. I think that is imperative. By two

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not think that partial disclosure, particularly when it is down on a

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select bases, is assisting this debate, except for this. I cannot

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see any possible reason for having obstacles in the way of the full

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disclosure and publication of the complete report and I hope the

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Chamber can unite as far as possible to make sure that this

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happens. The First Minister may be aware

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from an article in today's Evening Times about the completely

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unacceptable treat ment of a 73 here stroke victim who was forced

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to try herself with pillowcases. I know of the health board have

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apologised to the lady and her family. She has spoken out because

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she does not want others to suffer the same experience. Can I ask what

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action the First Minister will take to ensure this does not happen

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again. I will discuss the matter with the

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Health Secretary and write to the member. Can I say that the

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individual case and people speaking out of a very important part of the

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process of constant improvement in our health service. These cases

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have to be dealt with and to the boards understand that on the

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processes are in place to make sure that happens. That should not

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deflect anybody in this Chamber from the recognition that our

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health service and our health service workers are held in the

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highest regard and indeed, higher regard than ever before in terms of

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public levels of satisfaction. What issues will be discussed at

:21:23.:21:27.

the next meeting of the Cabinet? Issues of importance to the people

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of Scotland. Last week, I want the First Minister that is unhealthy

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relationship with Rupert Murdoch. This week, the First Minister's old

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friend, Donald Trump, turned into a 41. Can I press him on another rich

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and powerful friend and his influence on Government policy? The

:21:48.:21:51.

first Munster will know that I agree with him on equal marriage

:21:51.:21:56.

for gay people. I want to remove the barriers that prevent the

:21:56.:21:59.

churches and other organisations from conducting same-sex marriages

:22:00.:22:08.

if they choose to. But a donor to SNP has well and it is about

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equality for gay people. Can the First Minister confirmed me that he

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will not give in to him and he will stand up for what is right for

:22:17.:22:27.
:22:27.:22:28.

equal marriage? I understand that the Liberal Democrats the farce in

:22:28.:22:32.

politics as it used to be was to seek consensus and agreement and

:22:32.:22:36.

find areas where parties could unite together. Two things have

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happened. Even when the Liberal Democrat leader says he is seeking

:22:41.:22:47.

consensus, he manages to deploy in such a way as to try and make that

:22:47.:22:51.

consensus impossible. And secondly, people in Scotland did not realise

:22:51.:22:55.

that when the Liberals said they were seeking consensus before the

:22:55.:22:59.

last UK general election that the consensus in the City was the

:22:59.:23:08.

continuation of Westminster Tory rule in Scotland. Observers will

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note to the First Minister did not answer my question. It is simple.

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Can he guarantee you that he will not give in to what Brian Souter?

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Equal marriage will be a mark of a modern Scotland. Last Sunday saw a

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big push by some judges to block the change. The cardinal said it

:23:31.:23:36.

was grotesque. An archbishop said there was a duty to stop it. The

:23:36.:23:41.

group, Scotland for marriage, went to the absurd extreme of saying it

:23:41.:23:46.

opened the door for polygamy. These are serious forces against us. I do

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not want the argument to slip away from us. Can I ask the First

:23:50.:23:54.

Minister again, with the stand up to Brian Souter and will he take

:23:54.:24:02.

the lead for a -- for equality in Scotland? I do not think in terms

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of raising the issue to the level of debate that we hope and expect

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in Scotland. I do agree with will he Rennie incidently, I think that

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is something we should aspire to, but that requires all standards of

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the debate to live up to that. I made my views on this matter

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cleared during the election. They have not changed. The point is a

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very important one. We are in the process of consultation. That

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consultation has commenced. There has been a massive number of

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responses. It would be right and proper that that consultation

:24:36.:24:41.

process, the consideration of the evidence that is presented, is

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allowed to take its course. If I can just say, if this Chamber, and

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if the parties in it would get to an issue like equal status in

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marriage, which is an issue of a strong, moral matter and a strong

:24:56.:25:00.

matter of individual conscience, on these issues above all, it it was

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politicians while lecturing to the rest of society about the care they

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must take in terms of the language, but having a debate on an issue of

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principle that is worthy of the name of the parliament and indeed

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of the country, but the politicians themselves should try to rise to

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the challenge that they set to the people. Will the Scottish

:25:22.:25:26.

Government provide further information on its plans to improve

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childcare for pre-school children? Making a transformational change in

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childcare support for families, we are committed to making that shift.

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As the Member knows and as we have discussed already in this exchange,

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the last part of next year's Children's Bill will legislate from

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expansion from 400 Zante five and was to a minimum of 600 hours per

:25:49.:25:54.

year of funding ailing learning and childcare for all three and four

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euros and two year-olds who are looked after in Scotland. There

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will be a clear statement of faith in commission -- and commitment to

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the future. The early years task force will help us ensure the

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delivery of this is flexible to meet the needs of all of Scotland's

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families. There is far too much chatter. Could you please

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concentrate and that has hear what the member and the First Minister

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has to say. Can I find the First Minister for his response and

:26:33.:26:37.

welcome the Government's's commitment to extend childcare.

:26:37.:26:41.

Does the First Minister shared the concerns of Save the children that

:26:41.:26:45.

the introduction of universal care will make childcare costs more

:26:45.:26:55.
:26:55.:26:58.

difficult for many families? Is it not time for this Parliament to

:26:58.:27:06.

have control over tax and benefits for Scottish families? I think the

:27:06.:27:11.

Chamber should be aware that the research from the Institute of

:27:11.:27:15.

Fiscal Studies says that the changes to the welfare system as a

:27:15.:27:18.

whole will increase the number of children in absolute poverty across

:27:18.:27:24.

the United Kingdom by 500,000 by 2015. Is that not an argument for

:27:24.:27:29.

why a win his powers over tax and benefits for the children of

:27:29.:27:35.

Scotland to protect them from poverty? It seems to me that the a

:27:35.:27:38.

disgruntled benches of the Labour Party have a very clear choice

:27:38.:27:42.

before them. Keeper backing Tory control over the benefits that will

:27:42.:27:47.

worsen child poverty or join with us and bring powers to Scotland so

:27:47.:27:56.

we can look after all of Scotland's children. Anand was the First

:27:56.:27:58.

Minister when the Scottish Government will announce its

:27:58.:28:04.

position on same-sex marriage. hugely important issues. We have

:28:04.:28:09.

received over 50,000 responses. The biggest response receive to any

:28:09.:28:13.

consultation. The responses are being collected and analysed. We

:28:13.:28:18.

expect to complete that prices over the coming months. Any Scottish

:28:18.:28:22.

Government proposals for equal marriage have the support of many

:28:22.:28:26.

members across the Chamber for have signed the equal marriage cloud.

:28:26.:28:28.

Come the First Minister confirm that the Government will not

:28:28.:28:33.

publish its response to last year's consultation until after local

:28:33.:28:36.

Government elections? Is a run a good reason why equal marriage

:28:36.:28:43.

cannot be achieved before the referendum of 2014? What can be

:28:43.:28:48.

published in terms of Government is heavily restricted, as indeed it

:28:48.:28:52.

should be. We are going through the consultation responses. We will

:28:52.:28:57.

make progress on that basis. I hope and believe that all members,

:28:57.:29:02.

regardless of the viewers, across this issue, will recognise the

:29:02.:29:06.

absolute critical importance on the subject, perhaps above all others.

:29:06.:29:11.

People on all sides of the bait, can genuinely say that the process,

:29:12.:29:16.

first of consultation and then of analysis and publication is genuine

:29:16.:29:20.

and a proper process. That is exactly the type of prices we

:29:20.:29:27.

intend to follow. We are coming to the close of our coverage with the

:29:27.:29:32.

issue being gay marriage right at the close field --. Earlier, a

:29:33.:29:36.

substantial discussion on the subject of child care and the drugs

:29:36.:29:40.

policy, which was very substantive indeed. Going into the

:29:40.:29:43.

philosophical basis of the provision of drugs treatment in

:29:43.:29:51.

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