:00:22. > :00:25.A warm welcome from the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood. There is a
:00:25. > :00:30.debate this morning on public sector pensions, a big row with
:00:30. > :00:33.tactics with regard on that. Evidence been taken this afternoon
:00:33. > :00:38.on the Scotland Bill, the issue of giving more powers to the Scottish
:00:38. > :00:42.Parliament. The big one is the questions to the First Minister
:00:42. > :00:52.which we will now cross to the Chamber to hear.
:00:52. > :00:52.
:00:52. > :01:00.Some very noisy exchanges. Presiding officer, 215,000 Scots
:01:00. > :01:05.are at unemployed. 100,000 young people are without work. How many
:01:05. > :01:12.Scots have to find themselves on the dole before the First Minister
:01:12. > :01:15.admits his Plan B is not working? The situation in Scotland is
:01:15. > :01:21.extremely serious and the Government is working flat out to
:01:21. > :01:30.generate the maximum number of jobs. Even Iain Gray would have to accept
:01:30. > :01:35.that the position aggravated by the United Kingdom has not helped. Is
:01:35. > :01:39.good Government is being successful because we have higher up -- higher
:01:39. > :01:43.employment and lower economic inactivity than the rest of the UK.
:01:43. > :01:47.That is an important aspect which indicates that some of the efforts
:01:47. > :01:51.we are making are bearing fruit in bringing people back into
:01:51. > :01:58.employment and generating employment for young people for.
:01:58. > :02:08.215,000 now... Is this the limit of the SNP's ambition? Is this
:02:08. > :02:11.
:02:11. > :02:16.success? To be not quite as terrible as the Tories? Even by
:02:16. > :02:23.that very low bark, youth unemployment in Scotland is higher
:02:23. > :02:29.than in the UK as a whole. George Osborne is cutting too fast and too
:02:29. > :02:37.deep. Isn't the truth that Alex Salmond is cutting capital budgets
:02:37. > :02:42.and public sector jobs even faster and even deeper than the Tories?
:02:42. > :02:48.don't know where to start with Iain Gray, but let's examine his record.
:02:48. > :02:51.In the period, and it was a brief period, in comparison with the
:02:51. > :02:57.Labour Party's record in office when Scottish unemployment was
:02:57. > :03:01.higher than that of the rest of the UK, Iain Gray mentioned it seven
:03:01. > :03:07.times, virtually every First Minister's questions. Indeed, what
:03:07. > :03:13.he said in his valedictory adresses Leader of the Opposition, because
:03:13. > :03:17.he thought he was going into Government, he said, here is the
:03:17. > :03:20.figure that matters. Alex Salmond inherited a Scotland with lower
:03:20. > :03:25.unemployment than the rest of the country Antilles as Scotland with
:03:25. > :03:29.higher unemployment than the rest of the country. That was the figure
:03:29. > :03:33.that matter to him. Now, of course, when we find that thanks to the
:03:33. > :03:37.efforts of the Scottish Government to mitigate the impact of
:03:37. > :03:41.Westminster cutbacks, we find employment Scotland -- employment
:03:41. > :03:45.in Scotland is higher than the rest of the UK, unemployment is lower,
:03:45. > :03:51.all of a sudden, that doesn't matter any more. Of course it
:03:51. > :03:56.matters. It is one of the figures that matters and in terms of
:03:56. > :03:59.ambition, my ambition and the ambition of the SNP is to have this
:03:59. > :04:09.country free to have resources to bring wealth and employment to our
:04:09. > :04:15.people. You know, if any of these 215,000
:04:15. > :04:22.unemployed people are listening, that will not sound like a Plan B
:04:22. > :04:27.to them. That will sound like nothing but a lot of mince. And
:04:27. > :04:33.that is what we have come to expect from this First Minister. But we
:04:33. > :04:39.nastier and this, George Osborne cut capital budgets by 11% and Alex
:04:39. > :04:48.Salmond cut them by 21%. George Osborne got rid of 3.8% of public-
:04:48. > :04:56.sector jobs. Alex Salmond got rid of 4.1%. George Osborne cut college
:04:56. > :05:02.its by 4%. Alex Salmond cut ours by 10%. If he cannot give those
:05:02. > :05:06.hundred 1,000 young people a job, at least he can give them the truth.
:05:06. > :05:11.Will he admit he is cutting faster and deeper than the Tories and that
:05:11. > :05:17.is where unemployment is rising in Scotland? -- that is why
:05:17. > :05:21.unemployment is rising. It is higher than it was last year,
:05:21. > :05:25.employment, and unemployment is lower. Unemployment in the rest of
:05:25. > :05:30.the UK is at its highest for 20 years. Let's dispense with this
:05:30. > :05:33.nonsense about capital spending. I have heard it repeated so many
:05:33. > :05:39.times by Labour Party specs people over the last few days and Iain
:05:39. > :05:43.Gray should be aware of taking lines from Richard Baker. The
:05:43. > :05:49.reason that capital investment is being cut in Scotland is it is
:05:49. > :05:55.allocated on the Barnett formula. And the reason it is being cut its
:05:55. > :05:57.-- harder in Scotland is because of the Barnett formula. Was there none
:05:57. > :06:02.devolved department targeting slightly less capital spending
:06:02. > :06:06.cutbacks than the devolved department, and before we blame the
:06:06. > :06:11.Tory and Liberal coalition Government, they are proceeding on
:06:11. > :06:14.exactly the capital plants that were laid out by Alistair Darling,
:06:14. > :06:19.the Labour Chancellor. Alistair Darling, the man who was going to
:06:19. > :06:25.cut deeper and tougher than Margaret Thatcher, who now says in
:06:25. > :06:29.his memoirs, his plans were credible because they were not
:06:29. > :06:33.tough enough. What are we doing about that cut back to capital
:06:33. > :06:37.spending? We are shifting �750 million from resource to capital
:06:37. > :06:41.spending. We have got a non-profit distribution programme which is
:06:41. > :06:47.going to generate �2.5 billion in capital spending which is giving us
:06:47. > :06:52.a total of capital spending unique in these islands, rising every year
:06:53. > :06:56.to 2014-2015. It is a real action to help real people, not a Labour
:06:56. > :07:06.Party which chooses to engage in collective amnesia by way of these
:07:06. > :07:09.
:07:09. > :07:14.capital cuts came from. Westminster, Labour roar. -- Labour rule. I see
:07:14. > :07:19.that over the last week, the First Minister has won a couple of awards.
:07:19. > :07:23.It would be churlish of me... It would be churlish of me not to
:07:23. > :07:30.congratulate him. But with unemployment standing at 100,004
:07:30. > :07:36.JUN people, 215,004 people generally in Scotland, it there was
:07:37. > :07:42.a complacent politician of the year award, he would run away with it.
:07:42. > :07:47.He likes to talk about a mythical independence generation. Well, this
:07:47. > :07:52.generation are on their own OK. 100,000 of them. Alex Salmond will
:07:52. > :07:57.give them a rest bite saying it is starting, but he will not give them
:07:57. > :08:02.a start. You will not give them a job. He will not give them an
:08:02. > :08:06.opportunity, and he will not give them a future. I see that Alex
:08:06. > :08:10.Salmond would like to be called Prime Minister in a separate
:08:10. > :08:14.Scotland. Doesn't that tell you everything you need to know about
:08:14. > :08:19.the priorities of his Government? Went is he going to stop thinking
:08:19. > :08:27.about his next job and give our young people a first job so they
:08:27. > :08:31.can start in life? Let's look at the track record of SNP ministers
:08:31. > :08:37.working hard to generate employment in Scotland. At the Grid
:08:37. > :08:46.international companies who in the last few months have decided to
:08:46. > :08:51.locate the -- their operations here. There are lots of them. All of
:08:51. > :08:56.these companies and the efforts of the SNP ministers and our officials
:08:56. > :09:00.been gathering that investment to Scotland. What of the Labour Party
:09:00. > :09:06.been doing? They are in careers with the Tories, trying to tour
:09:06. > :09:11.Scotland down at every opportunity. -- they are in cahoots. The Labour
:09:11. > :09:16.Party says their responsibility lies just what the Scottish
:09:16. > :09:21.Government, despite the fact they know full well who the cutbacks are
:09:22. > :09:25.coming from. Their own five-point plan for growth gives the game away.
:09:25. > :09:30.Course, capital investment, which I have dealt with, but the other four
:09:30. > :09:34.points which Labour has planned are all requests of the Westminster
:09:34. > :09:38.Government. Why are Labour lobbying in opposition the Westminster
:09:38. > :09:42.Government? Because they know that is where the economic power lies
:09:42. > :09:46.over the Scottish economy and the Scottish people, at the present
:09:46. > :09:51.moment. That is why the ambition of this party is to harness the
:09:51. > :09:56.resources of Scotland and put them towards the Scottish people and
:09:56. > :10:06.that is what Iain Gray will never be called First Minister. -- that
:10:06. > :10:09.
:10:09. > :10:13.is why Iain Gray. Let him not dare say that I do not speak up for
:10:13. > :10:21.100,000 unemployed young Scots. He does not speak up for them nor do
:10:21. > :10:27.the supine backbenchers behind him. Let's look at their record. In the
:10:27. > :10:31.last two years, the number of people unemployed is worse. The
:10:31. > :10:36.unemployment was his worst. The Employment Rate is worse. The
:10:36. > :10:39.economic activity rate is worse. That is their record. Not only
:10:39. > :10:47.should they be ashamed of it, he should be here and tell us now what
:10:47. > :10:50.he is going to do about it. I know we are changing to two years
:10:50. > :10:55.because Iain Gray would have to acknowledge that unemployment is
:10:55. > :10:59.down in Scotland over the last year and employment is up. Uniquely in
:10:59. > :11:04.the United Kingdom. Labour is in power in the United Kingdom in one
:11:04. > :11:07.place. In Wales. I am not going to criticise the Government of Wales
:11:08. > :11:12.because they are under the same strictures of Westminster cutbacks
:11:12. > :11:16.that we are at the present moment. If Labour had the answer to
:11:16. > :11:21.economic problems and unemployment, why is unemployment in Wales higher
:11:21. > :11:26.than it is in Scotland? Why his youth unemployment higher than it
:11:26. > :11:29.is in Scotland? If Labour had the magic solutions, why haven't they
:11:29. > :11:33.implemented them in the one place where there are still in
:11:33. > :11:37.Government? Their failure in the Government in UK, the failure to
:11:37. > :11:42.come forward with answers, their failure to realise that being in
:11:42. > :11:47.cahoots with the Tories enshrined - - in try to discourage investment
:11:47. > :11:57.in Scotland, these are why Labour failed in the election, and that
:11:57. > :12:00.
:12:00. > :12:03.his wife this party are going to be extinct in this country. Does the
:12:03. > :12:13.First Minister know when he will next meet the Secretary for
:12:13. > :12:14.
:12:14. > :12:18.Scotland? No plans in any future. 48 hours ago, Transport Scotland
:12:18. > :12:23.published its plans to wreck our railways. It plans for slower
:12:23. > :12:30.trains, for fewer stations, more crowding, longer journeys and four
:12:30. > :12:33.passengers up and down the country. This morning, we read of his
:12:33. > :12:38.screeching U-turn and the SNP Government trying to run a mile
:12:39. > :12:48.from their own consultation. Let's look at this document. Let's look
:12:49. > :12:50.
:12:50. > :12:54.at the lovely pictures on the front of it up the SNP members. How can
:12:54. > :13:00.anyone have the confidence to invest long-term in Scotland's
:13:00. > :13:03.future when SNP ministers are talking our railways down? I think
:13:04. > :13:13.the clue to the status of the document is on the front page. The
:13:13. > :13:19.bit where it says a consultation. I am surprised at Ruth Davidson. If
:13:19. > :13:23.example on page six, we are talking about sleeper services and laying
:13:23. > :13:27.out the options, because that is what the document is meant to do,
:13:27. > :13:33.it says the sleeper services could be reduced or have increased
:13:33. > :13:37.financial support. Understandably, some have interpreted that as going
:13:37. > :13:40.one way. It is a document of options from transport Scotland.
:13:40. > :13:44.The ministerial view on railways will be published at the end of the
:13:44. > :13:49.consultation. That will be at the beginning of March. That'll be the
:13:49. > :13:53.view of the SNP ministers. Can I say to her, while I will listen to
:13:53. > :13:56.the consultation and we think it is important to have this as part of
:13:56. > :14:03.the process, you don't need a crystal ball to see the direction
:14:03. > :14:08.of travel in Scotland's railways. That has been laid down. That is a
:14:08. > :14:11.railway with new stations and expanding passenger numbers and
:14:11. > :14:16.dramatic increases in the amount of track and availability of rail
:14:16. > :14:26.services. That is the course the SNP ministers will continue to set
:14:26. > :14:29.
:14:29. > :14:33.for Scotland's railways. is the point. It is a Government
:14:33. > :14:38.consultation in the Government's words on their terms saying that
:14:39. > :14:42.the quango did it and ran away. We want Scotland's role is fit for the
:14:42. > :14:48.21st century and to attract long- term investment but there is a
:14:48. > :14:52.cloud hanging over long-term investment right now. It is a cloud
:14:52. > :14:59.that the Neil Brown document itself admits. Let's turn to page 21 which
:15:00. > :15:01.tells us that we might only a -- might be able to get a short-term
:15:01. > :15:06.deal for well is because investors could be worried about the
:15:06. > :15:10.unanswered constitutional question. There we have it, presiding officer,
:15:10. > :15:15.SNP ministers have come clean and that First Minister should come
:15:15. > :15:25.clean right now. Failing to answer the constitutional question is
:15:25. > :15:33.
:15:33. > :15:39.turning off long-term investment in I think what people will look at,
:15:39. > :15:42.not just in the past few years but over the next few years, is the
:15:42. > :15:52.contrast in rail services in Scotland which have been expanding,
:15:52. > :16:01.
:16:01. > :16:10.and those in Scotland where fears have been expanding. -- fairs. --
:16:10. > :16:17.fares. I am delighted that Ruth Davidson has taken the opportunity
:16:17. > :16:21.to rather quietly repeat some of the nonsense that has come from her
:16:21. > :16:27.colleagues in Westminster. The argument about investors being
:16:27. > :16:34.deterred from Scotland. I have read out the substantial list of
:16:34. > :16:38.companies investing in Scotland at the moment. I have also noted the
:16:38. > :16:45.lobbying from Conservatives in the north-east of England who are
:16:45. > :16:51.jealous of Scotland's success in job creation. I hope that Ruth
:16:51. > :16:58.Davidson at some point will take the opportunity to distance herself
:16:58. > :17:04.from her own party colleagues will stop I hope the Conservative Party
:17:04. > :17:08.in this Parliament will stick up for Scotland and this associate
:17:08. > :17:17.themselves from the views expressed by the Conservative Party in the
:17:17. > :17:24.north-east of England. Can I prefer deep First Minister to the report
:17:24. > :17:30.published today which recommends that the High Court should not be
:17:30. > :17:38.able to refuse an affair will from Scottish cases as it can currently
:17:38. > :17:44.do. There is a recommendation that there provision should be repealed.
:17:44. > :17:49.Can I ask if he is of a mind to except that the recommendation?
:17:49. > :17:54.have to consider the report in some detail before giving the
:17:54. > :18:00.ministerial response. It is a deeply detailed document that has
:18:00. > :18:07.over 400 pages of detailed assessment. It has potentially far-
:18:07. > :18:12.reaching implications. Those who have had the opportunity to look at
:18:12. > :18:17.the review will recognise in a range of the area is that it is
:18:17. > :18:22.pointed out that decisions which have been made piecemeal by a
:18:22. > :18:30.number of courts have serious implications in the criminal law of
:18:30. > :18:35.Scotland. This report was designed to set forward options for this
:18:35. > :18:40.Parliament to consider. The correct way to proceed is to consider the
:18:40. > :18:44.review in detail and then if necessary, and I think it will be
:18:44. > :18:52.appropriate, to bring forward the requisite changes to this
:18:52. > :18:56.Parliament which are required. First Minister will be aware of the
:18:56. > :19:04.circumstances surrounding the tragic death of my constituent
:19:04. > :19:12.Alison Hulme in Gorleston in 2008. A fatal accident inquiry was
:19:12. > :19:17.published yesterday. In light of the questions over Strathclyde Fire
:19:17. > :19:25.And Rescue can he assure me there will be a comprehensive review of
:19:25. > :19:34.the service which pits saving lives first and foremost? -- Poots saving
:19:35. > :19:44.first and foremost? -- Poots saving first and foremost? -- Poots saving
:19:45. > :19:52.
:19:53. > :19:58.lives. -- puts. We would all send our commiserations to her family.
:19:58. > :20:02.The Institution of sheriffs is well recognised and respected. The
:20:02. > :20:07.determination is that they make have to be accepted by all parties.
:20:07. > :20:12.I do not think they should be second-guessed. I think what people
:20:12. > :20:19.will be looking for is an indication of the action which must
:20:19. > :20:22.now follow. This fatal accident inquiry raised important issues
:20:22. > :20:31.surrounding operational procedures in Strathclyde Fire And Rescue.
:20:31. > :20:35.Under section 34 ministers can request them to carry out their
:20:35. > :20:45.inquiry into the manner of authorities carrying out their
:20:45. > :20:50.functions. Due to be a serious nature of best I have asked a
:20:50. > :20:58.comprehensive inquiry to be carried out. It will then be for ministers
:20:58. > :21:04.to decide what direction, if any, should be made under the powers
:21:04. > :21:09.provided. This is the most serious nature of action that can be made
:21:09. > :21:15.by ministers under the legislation. I think the circumstances of the
:21:15. > :21:22.case reflect it and the require it. I would add that there is nothing
:21:22. > :21:27.in Sheriff Lesley's determination which lays bare a number of key
:21:27. > :21:32.organisation and procedural points which are of great seriousness and
:21:32. > :21:40.had tragic consequences in this case. There is nothing in the
:21:40. > :21:50.sheriff's determination that the fire officers on site had anything
:21:50. > :21:51.
:21:51. > :22:01.but determination to rescue this woman. The Bluelight services do
:22:01. > :22:03.
:22:04. > :22:10.such a fantastic job in Scotland. To ask the First Minister what the
:22:10. > :22:18.Scottish Government's position is on the EIS call for a ballot?
:22:18. > :22:24.Scottish negotiating Committee for teachers is due to meet on 23rd
:22:24. > :22:31.November. The EIS and Scottish Government will also be involved.
:22:31. > :22:36.The suggestion of strike action in my view is premature. The First
:22:36. > :22:41.Minister's colleague, the Cabinet secretary for education, has
:22:41. > :22:46.repeatedly talked about the importance of high quality teaching.
:22:47. > :22:50.Can I ask him how freezing the pay of teachers and cutting supply
:22:51. > :22:55.teachers and now changing their conditions of employment and
:22:55. > :23:01.improve the professionalism of teachers? The sacrifices that have
:23:01. > :23:08.been made by the public sector have not just been made by teachers but
:23:08. > :23:14.by all public sector workers. I do not want to go into the economics
:23:14. > :23:21.of where that problem came from but I do think even the most able
:23:21. > :23:26.Labour member with his head firmly in the sand could ignore at the
:23:26. > :23:30.circumstances from which this has arisen. Nor do I think a review
:23:30. > :23:35.which brings forward changes in procedures and working practices
:23:35. > :23:39.could bring forward positions which are not capable of being discussed
:23:39. > :23:45.and implemented. The basis of the review was to find procedures which
:23:45. > :23:54.would improve the situation in our classrooms, for our professionals,
:23:54. > :24:00.I bowed to no one in recognition of the professionalism of the teaching
:24:00. > :24:03.profession. I think the attitude which has been struck up by the
:24:03. > :24:12.United Kingdom Government on pensions has poisoned the
:24:12. > :24:18.atmosphere. The integrity and value of our public services has to be
:24:18. > :24:24.maintained. To ask the First Minister whether overseas companies
:24:24. > :24:29.are continuing to invest in Scotland at this time? Yes, I read
:24:29. > :24:35.out a substantial list of major overseas companies on Tuesday. I
:24:35. > :24:45.will resist the overwhelming cry on the Conservative benches to read
:24:45. > :24:46.
:24:46. > :24:53.about that list again. The Presiding Officer me intervene!
:24:53. > :24:58.These investments will create more than 3,000 permanent and temporary
:24:58. > :25:04.jobs in Scotland. I do hope that whatever use people have on a
:25:04. > :25:11.variety of political issues, at least this Parliament can Unite in
:25:11. > :25:19.welcoming the investment by Amazon and other great companies that
:25:19. > :25:28.expects confidence in the future of Scotland. -- that express
:25:28. > :25:37.confidence. Whenever he announces a significant new investment or D
:25:37. > :25:42.creation of new jobs, or rather than welcomed them opposition MPs
:25:42. > :25:47.set disdainfully with long faces. Does he agree that instead of
:25:47. > :25:52.constantly scaremongering the opposition MPs should show
:25:52. > :25:57.confidence in the Scottish workforce. Allison said they are
:25:57. > :26:07.looking for a great people. As long as that continues we will be in
:26:07. > :26:10.
:26:10. > :26:15.Scotland. -- Amazon said. Be member we wish to know that while the
:26:15. > :26:18.success in these investments is not recognised on the opposition
:26:18. > :26:24.benches it is recognised by the Tory party in the north-east of
:26:24. > :26:32.Scotland. I mentioned earlier the senior Conservative in the North
:26:32. > :26:35.East of England, she has been engaging in a range of activities
:26:35. > :26:40.which are well documented including going to the Conservative
:26:40. > :26:45.conference in Manchester in October to lobby the Chancellor about the
:26:45. > :26:51.success and firepower of Scotland in attracting thousands of jobs.
:26:51. > :26:55.There are two aspect to that. If north-east of England Tories can
:26:55. > :26:59.recognise the success of attracting these major international companies
:26:59. > :27:04.to Scotland, at least the Tories in this Parliament should try to
:27:04. > :27:11.recognise the same thing. The danger is that this lady, after
:27:11. > :27:17.lobbying the Chancellor, said "ministers have agreed to look at
:27:17. > :27:22.this". What action have Westminster ministers got in mind to try to
:27:22. > :27:30.dissuade major international companies? Was that the real reason
:27:30. > :27:36.for the comments of the Chancellor last Sunday? Can I ask the First
:27:36. > :27:41.Minister what measures are being taken to tackle female unemployment
:27:41. > :27:46.given that they are disproportionately affected? Since
:27:46. > :27:53.September unemployment decreased in Scotland by 14,000 even though it
:27:53. > :27:59.increased elsewhere in the UK. 13,000 of that drop was in female
:27:59. > :28:07.unemployment. We are taking a range of actions to ensure more women and
:28:07. > :28:12.men get the jobs they need. In 2011 nearly 10,000 women began a Modern
:28:12. > :28:22.apprenticeship. We end where we began with a discussion on
:28:22. > :28:29.
:28:29. > :28:35.unemployment. The First Minister ordered the Chief Inspector of
:28:36. > :28:41.accident and emergency services to look into the case of a woman who