19/12/2012 Politics Scotland


19/12/2012

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Hello and welcome to the last Politics Scotland of 2012:

:00:22.:00:24.

The Chancellor's extra cash for Scotland - the Finance Secretary

:00:24.:00:27.

will outline where it's going. And our look back at the year with

:00:28.:00:36.

our A to Z. And coming home - almost 5,000

:00:36.:00:43.

troops will be coming home from Afghanistan at next year.

:00:43.:00:49.

So, it's the last programme of the year. Joining me here in the studio

:00:49.:00:52.

I have a couple of our regular commentators who will look back at

:00:52.:00:55.

the year with me over the course of the programme - Professor John

:00:55.:01:04.

Curtice and Alf Young. John, what was your moment of the year?

:01:04.:01:08.

think one has to go all the way back to the beginning of this year,

:01:08.:01:14.

to January, when the UK Government indicated that it was willing

:01:14.:01:19.

indeed to have a section 30 order that would pass the legal authority

:01:19.:01:24.

to hold a referendum on its independence to the Scottish

:01:24.:01:27.

Parliament, subject to some important conditions, including the

:01:27.:01:30.

crucial one - that there should only be one question on the ballot

:01:30.:01:36.

paper. Two things happened straight away. There was an incredible

:01:36.:01:39.

debate about how the referendum should be held, should there be one

:01:39.:01:48.

or two questions? The second thing was the outside world suddenly

:01:48.:01:51.

finally realised that Scotland really was indeed likely to get the

:01:51.:01:56.

chance to vote on whether or not it should leave the United Kingdom or

:01:56.:02:01.

not. There was incredible foreign press interest, and when Alex

:02:01.:02:04.

Salmond made his own statement later there was a huge press

:02:04.:02:10.

contingent here. And the whole year of politics has been dominated by

:02:10.:02:15.

the process and the substance of this referendum debate. Sir David

:02:15.:02:21.

Cameron fired the political starting gun. What about you, Alf

:02:21.:02:27.

Young? Can I have two moment? Chancellor George Osborne's

:02:27.:02:34.

disastrous Budget in March with all the you turns. And then in the

:02:34.:02:40.

Autumn Statement, an attempt to get back in control of things. But

:02:40.:02:45.

having to admit we are now facing austerity right through to 2018,

:02:45.:02:51.

which takes us way beyond the next Scottish election and UK election.

:02:51.:02:57.

All to defend the UK's triple A rating, we are now on negative

:02:57.:03:03.

watch from all three of the big ratings agencies. The coalition is

:03:03.:03:07.

letting it be known that if we lose it it would not really be a big

:03:07.:03:12.

deal. So we fought and fought to save it, all the austerity and

:03:12.:03:15.

everything, and probably next year it will be downgraded and the way,

:03:15.:03:22.

but they are saying, well, it doesn't really matter.

:03:22.:03:24.

Now, let's head to Westminster, where the Prime Minister has

:03:24.:03:27.

announced that around 3,800 British troops will be withdrawn from

:03:27.:03:31.

Afghanistan during 2013. David Cameron said the partial reduction

:03:31.:03:34.

paved the way for the final removal of the bulk of British personnel

:03:34.:03:42.

from the central Asian country as planned, by the end of 2014.

:03:42.:03:47.

sure the whole House will wish to join me in sending Christmas wishes

:03:47.:03:50.

to our brave forces in Afghanistan and elsewhere. To their families

:03:50.:03:54.

that will be missing them and to servicemen and women around the

:03:54.:03:58.

world, you are always in our thoughts. We owe you deep gratitude

:03:58.:04:03.

and we send you our heartfelt thanks at Christmas time.

:04:04.:04:07.

Speaker, I joined the Prime Minister in paying tribute to our

:04:07.:04:12.

troops in Afghanistan who continue to show such a huge courage and

:04:12.:04:16.

bravery. I bent it is particularly important at this time of year to

:04:16.:04:25.

remember them and their families, many of whom will be separated. I

:04:25.:04:28.

also want to welcome the government's expected announcement

:04:28.:04:33.

today on reducing the troops in Afghanistan in 2013. We await that

:04:33.:04:37.

statement. Can the Prime Minister tell the House how many troops and

:04:37.:04:42.

civilian staff will be left in Afghanistan after the 2014 deadline,

:04:42.:04:47.

and can he confirm whether they will be under Afghan-led command?

:04:47.:04:51.

Firstly, I join the Leader of the Opposition in welcoming what our

:04:51.:04:55.

troops to. Particularly on Afghanistan there are two decisions.

:04:55.:05:00.

Firstly, the draw down of troops between now and the end of 2014,

:05:00.:05:03.

and what the Defence Secretary will announce is that, because of the

:05:03.:05:08.

success of our forces and the Afghan national security forces,

:05:08.:05:11.

and the fact we're moving to mentoring at a battalion level to

:05:11.:05:16.

men to it at a brigade level by the end of 2013, we will be able to see

:05:16.:05:21.

troops come home in two relatively even steps in 2013 and 2014,

:05:21.:05:26.

leaving probably around 5,200 troops after the end of 20 their

:05:26.:05:36.
:05:36.:05:40.

team, compared with 9,000 we have now. -- end of 2013. In terms of a

:05:40.:05:45.

post 2014, there had been no final decisions. We have said clearly no-

:05:45.:05:48.

one will be in a combat role and nothing like the number of troops

:05:48.:05:53.

there now. We promised the Afghans we would provide an at of the than

:05:53.:05:58.

-- Officer Training Academy and we are prepared to look at issues

:05:58.:06:02.

above and beyond that, but that is the starting base line. Can I back

:06:02.:06:06.

the Prime Minister for that answer? Given that thousands of troops will

:06:06.:06:10.

still be in harm's way in Afghanistan, can the Prime Minister

:06:10.:06:14.

say what specific effort the government is making what the

:06:14.:06:20.

international community to match the continuing military adverts --

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at that with the greater diplomatic efforts which I know he thinks are

:06:23.:06:27.

important. Because this will give us our best chance of leaving

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behind an inclusive, durable political settlement in Afghanistan.

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He is entirely right, as well as a military track there's always been

:06:37.:06:42.

a diplomatic track. Let me be clear - after 20th December 14, there

:06:42.:06:47.

will still be some troops who will be involved in returning equipment

:06:47.:06:51.

and dealing with logistics. Exact announcements will be made at a

:06:51.:06:56.

later stage. Let's stay at Westminster and speak to our

:06:56.:07:01.

correspondent there who is standing by. Good afternoon. Interesting

:07:01.:07:04.

idea what the Prime Minister was saying about our troops in

:07:04.:07:07.

Afghanistan and the Defence Secretary Philip Hammond furnished

:07:07.:07:11.

us with a bit more detail after that. I think many in the House

:07:11.:07:18.

were pleased to hear that news. most MPs believe it is now time for

:07:18.:07:22.

Britain to start to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan. David

:07:22.:07:30.

Cameron gave us the Max - at the moment there are 9,000. -- the

:07:30.:07:38.

maths. By the end of next year, 3,800 troops will have come back

:07:38.:07:44.

from Afghanistan, leaving just over 5,000 to be drawn down in 2014.

:07:44.:07:48.

David Cameron making it plain that at the end of that year, he does to

:07:48.:07:54.

all intents and purposes want to see all Britain's combat troops

:07:54.:07:59.

removed from Afghanistan. It was noticeable from Ed Miliband, he was

:07:59.:08:02.

wanting to focus not just on the military draw down but to get some

:08:02.:08:06.

assurances if the Prime Minister can give that that the diplomatic

:08:06.:08:10.

process is working and Afghanistan. It was notable that the Prime

:08:10.:08:17.

Minister said that they were now able to mentor bar more -- far more

:08:17.:08:20.

Afghanistan police and troops, despite the incidents we have heard,

:08:20.:08:27.

the recent cream on be a tax where Afghan forces are have attacked

:08:27.:08:37.
:08:37.:08:43.

British troops. -- the recent green on blue attacks. Another story

:08:43.:08:50.

hitting the headlines yesterday and today - the Andrew Mitchell scandal.

:08:50.:09:00.
:09:00.:09:01.

Things now seem a bit different. Yes, this is intriguing and

:09:01.:09:04.

interesting. New revelations and allegations average -- have come

:09:04.:09:09.

out over the past few days. The allegations concern a member of

:09:09.:09:12.

their diplomatic police service, who it seems at one point had sent

:09:12.:09:17.

an e-mail to people in government, to his local MP, and also suggested

:09:17.:09:21.

he wasn't that a member of the public who had seen what had gone

:09:21.:09:26.

on. It now transpires that perhaps that was not the case. He has been

:09:26.:09:30.

arrested, he is being interviewed by police. It is worth saying none

:09:30.:09:34.

of these new allegations have been proven, they are just that -

:09:34.:09:38.

allegations. It is also worth emphasising that the police

:09:38.:09:41.

officers who were involved in the original altercation with Andrew

:09:41.:09:45.

Mitchell say they are quite happy with their story, but we have a

:09:45.:09:49.

further police investigation going on and we have a building head of

:09:50.:09:53.

steam here from supporters of Andrew Mitchell that, to some

:09:53.:09:59.

extent, he ought to be politically rehabilitated. It is a story which

:09:59.:10:05.

in journalistic terms is continuing to give. It has some fascinating

:10:05.:10:08.

ankles to it and I think most people at Westminster are a bit

:10:08.:10:13.

confused, a bit perplexed, as to what happened. If these allegations

:10:13.:10:18.

are proved true - and they are still allegations now - it raises

:10:18.:10:21.

serious questions about what has gone on within the Metropolitan

:10:21.:10:27.

Police. Finally, a brief look at another issue. A lot of MPs will be

:10:27.:10:33.

interested in to the report about BBC chaos and confusion but no

:10:33.:10:43.

cover up over the Jimmy Savile affair. Yes, looking into Jimmy

:10:43.:10:49.

Savile and later Lord McAlpine. The report is excoriating, it

:10:49.:10:52.

criticises BBC management, one senior manager is retiring, other

:10:52.:10:57.

editors are being moved. Again, this is something which MPs,

:10:57.:11:01.

because they deal with the BBC on a daily basis, nationally or locally,

:11:01.:11:07.

most of them have the -- had dealings with ABB see on a weekly

:11:07.:11:12.

basis, they will want to look through this report. Not a very

:11:12.:11:15.

comfortable day for the BBC Today, and certainly the criticism of

:11:16.:11:19.

senior management, it may be the season of goodwill but there

:11:19.:11:26.

doesn't seem to be much goodwill in this report.

:11:26.:11:29.

Now, two weeks ago the Chancellor's autumn statement detailed some

:11:29.:11:32.

extra money for Scotland - that's being debated in the Chamber at

:11:32.:11:40.

Holyrood now, and Brian Taylor is watching. It has just been

:11:40.:11:48.

announced that the consequential us of that money from the Chancellor

:11:48.:11:58.
:11:58.:11:58.

will be allocated. Let's listen. This year, the Scottish government

:11:58.:12:02.

has written a times to the UK Government asking for an immediate

:12:02.:12:07.

capital stimulus to provide much- needed work to the Scottish

:12:07.:12:10.

construction centre and boost local economies over Scotland. In

:12:10.:12:14.

addition, we broke twice jointly with other devolved administrations.

:12:15.:12:19.

At a time when public sector investment has been crucial to a

:12:19.:12:22.

boost to economic recovery, this additional capital would have been

:12:22.:12:27.

welcome at an earlier stage. Taking into account the budgetary impact

:12:27.:12:32.

of the Autumn Statement, by 2014 and 2015, we can expect the

:12:32.:12:38.

Scottish capital budget of four by 26% in real terms compared to 2010

:12:38.:12:42.

and 2011. We have added to the capital provided in our Spending

:12:42.:12:49.

Review settlement where possible. We are supplementing are up --

:12:49.:12:52.

supplementing our programme by switching resources and capital

:12:52.:13:02.
:13:02.:13:06.

receipts. Also through use of fossil fuel packaging in June. I am

:13:06.:13:09.

able to announce further editions now. In November, we provided an

:13:09.:13:14.

updated list of projects were �820 million that could begin

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construction by the end of 2013. The additional funding that I am

:13:20.:13:26.

allocating today means the go-ahead to now be given to these projects.

:13:26.:13:31.

Today, I am announcing proposals for additional capital investment

:13:31.:13:36.

of �190 million this year and next. This is a combination of the

:13:36.:13:40.

consequential schools resulting from the Autumn Statement of 4.6

:13:40.:13:49.

million in 2012 to 2013, and 160.2 million in 2013-2014. In addition,

:13:49.:13:53.

due to the progress that has been made, I am able to direct

:13:53.:13:56.

contingency funds which now on will be needed for the 4th replacement

:13:56.:14:02.

costing project. This amounts to a further �25 million. Some

:14:02.:14:05.

commitments are made today will need continued investment over the

:14:05.:14:12.

next two years and mounting -- amounting to a additional

:14:13.:14:21.

investment. The programme I announced today adds up to �250

:14:22.:14:25.

million. Our overriding concern has been to focus on projects with a

:14:25.:14:28.

significant impact on jobs and an ability to deliver quickly along

:14:28.:14:32.

with those that reduced carbon and help to meet our climate change

:14:32.:14:37.

targets. Back in September, the First Minister wrote a joint letter

:14:37.:14:40.

to local authorities encouraging them to consider how they could

:14:40.:14:45.

boost their own capital investment. We are now allocating �46 million

:14:45.:14:49.

of the consequential to local government for this purpose. That

:14:49.:14:53.

is on the condition that local authorities spend this additional

:14:53.:14:59.

funding of projects that are ready to deliver it and are not already

:14:59.:15:05.

funded in their programmes for the next two years. This is a mechanism

:15:05.:15:11.

to provide assurance. We will invest �21 million in transport to

:15:11.:15:15.

develop our cycling, ferry and Canal infrastructure and maintain

:15:15.:15:19.

our trunk road network. This is in line with our commitment to

:15:20.:15:24.

increase active travel, to support our lifeline services, to encourage

:15:24.:15:28.

regeneration along a canal network, which is now the responsibility of

:15:28.:15:32.

the Scottish government, and to continue to invest in a strategic

:15:32.:15:37.

network, all of which encourages sustained growth. Over �11 million

:15:37.:15:41.

will be invested in economic development projects through our

:15:41.:15:44.

enterprise agencies on a range of the early start projects, and all

:15:44.:15:48.

of which will provide the foundations for economic growth in

:15:48.:15:54.

their respective areas. �22 million will be spent on regeneration

:15:54.:16:00.

projects in the City of Glasgow and other places. This includes

:16:00.:16:05.

developing high energy office space to attract inward investors to

:16:05.:16:10.

Scotland. �10 million will be invested in our justice system,

:16:10.:16:13.

including these are up -- the Scottish court system. We have

:16:13.:16:23.

noted concerns raised against the backlog, and are seeking to address

:16:23.:16:26.

Investment needs to maintain their historic Court Estate and improve

:16:27.:16:32.

energy efficiency. Over �7 million will be spent in rural environment

:16:32.:16:38.

and tourism projects through the Forestry Commission. Investment in

:16:38.:16:43.

forestry will include long-distance path which include recreational and

:16:43.:16:50.

tourism benefits. We will also provide fresh investments to

:16:50.:16:54.

Scottish information centres to insure our visitors receive a high

:16:54.:16:56.

standard of information provision when they visit in the run-up to

:16:56.:17:00.

and during 2014, when Scotland welcomes the world with the

:17:00.:17:05.

Commonwealth Games, the Ryder Cup and our next homecoming. Nearly �7

:17:05.:17:09.

million will be allocated to cultural and heritage projects to

:17:09.:17:14.

the National Theatre of Scotland, historical Scotland, and created

:17:14.:17:18.

Scotland, delivering improvements to cultural venues and maintenance

:17:18.:17:22.

of the existing heritage across Scotland. �10 million will be

:17:22.:17:26.

allocated to maintain a help a stake, targeted to further tackle

:17:26.:17:31.

the backlog maintenance identified in the state of NHS Scotland state

:17:31.:17:36.

a report published in February this year. Nearly �20 million of

:17:36.:17:40.

investment will be made in further and higher education projects. This

:17:40.:17:44.

will allow us to support the development of a centre for

:17:44.:17:47.

livestock improvement at the cutting edge of collaborative

:17:47.:17:52.

academic development. We will address pressing needs in the

:17:52.:17:59.

college state, accelerate progress on that the development involving

:17:59.:18:09.
:18:09.:18:13.

further technology of call -- and And hit one of the highest priority

:18:13.:18:17.

isn't this taking no action in Scotland which is why this

:18:17.:18:22.

government is allocating �50 million to affordable housing. The

:18:22.:18:27.

exhaust tranche of housing this year, with editions already made in

:18:27.:18:33.

Cadbury, June, September and now. We will be allocating an extra �200

:18:33.:18:39.

million, demonstrating went we have an opportunity to invest, this

:18:39.:18:49.
:18:49.:18:51.

government does exactly that. This will increase the socially... A

:18:51.:18:56.

significant proportion of the investment will come banks --

:18:56.:19:01.

commenced this financial year, with the majority in the first half of

:19:01.:19:08.

2013 and 14. This will boost the economy and bring lasting

:19:08.:19:15.

improvements to -- improvements to Scotland's base. We will work with

:19:15.:19:18.

the organisations involved to provide more detail of intellectual

:19:19.:19:22.

proper -- projects over the coming weeks. The changes that I am

:19:22.:19:29.

announcing today will be reflected in the budget bill, and a double by

:19:29.:19:32.

can the debate about the proposals as part of the budget process in

:19:32.:19:42.
:19:42.:19:44.

the new year. Listening to that we have John Curtice band Alf Young.

:19:44.:19:50.

He says the biggest until last. A building boom for Scotland. They

:19:50.:19:54.

are clearly -- clearly problems in the housing sector. There is an

:19:54.:20:01.

overall problem of demand. Most of the sector is pretty flat. We want

:20:01.:20:04.

affordable housing so people can get on the first step off the

:20:04.:20:12.

ladder. It is a pressing issue. Any money is good. �50 million is not

:20:12.:20:15.

huge in the context of what is needed to be done, but it must be

:20:15.:20:24.

welcome, and there will be another �46 million in capital spending. So

:20:24.:20:30.

that is the lion's share of the �200 million package. What

:20:30.:20:34.

difference does that make do you think in terms of trying to bring

:20:34.:20:41.

that Ford? How much can we get for it out of that? You can work it out

:20:41.:20:46.

yourself. In terms of units, you get a rough idea of how much it

:20:46.:20:56.
:20:56.:20:56.

cost to build. It is not a huge amount. If you say it is going to

:20:56.:21:06.

cost �15 million -- �50,000 per unit, you have a 1,000 units.

:21:06.:21:15.

is he trying to do here? This is something at his own investigation.

:21:15.:21:20.

On the economic front, there has been a debate on whether or not the

:21:20.:21:25.

government should keep to plan a or whether it should amend it or not.

:21:25.:21:34.

George Osborne's Autumn Statement but a little bit of style to it.

:21:34.:21:44.
:21:44.:21:44.

They found a little bit of money from the 40s spectrum. Using that,

:21:44.:21:49.

the government will not suffer from it, because it won't be in areas of

:21:49.:21:52.

consequential loss. They have managed a pounds and -- find some

:21:53.:22:02.

more money from capital spending. Mr Sweeney has now got a least some

:22:02.:22:11.

of the money he wanted. He really wanted to or three times as much.

:22:11.:22:17.

Here's the money. In truth, given the way in which the devolution

:22:18.:22:23.

settlement is still funded Int Scotland, he is still primarily a

:22:23.:22:30.

function of decisions in Westminster. This is him deciding

:22:30.:22:35.

to pass on the money. It is by accident rather than by intention.

:22:35.:22:42.

It staying with the subject of government spending, security costs

:22:42.:22:46.

for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow have trebled, according to

:22:46.:22:52.

Mr in charge of a project. Shona Robison told MSPs that lessons have

:22:52.:22:55.

been learned from the London Olympics. As is the case with all

:22:55.:23:00.

major events, as the planning process has Richard, our knowledge

:23:00.:23:06.

of safety and security measures have crystallised. We note that the

:23:06.:23:11.

athletes village will need to be secured from 20th January 14 rather

:23:11.:23:16.

than 20th June 14 as a written the plant. We now better understand the

:23:16.:23:21.

shift pattern for stewards and other security staff, and the

:23:22.:23:24.

impact on staffing costs. The London 2012 experience was similar

:23:24.:23:29.

in that demand for security personnel could not be finalised

:23:29.:23:35.

until late, and the operational planning -- late in the operational

:23:35.:23:39.

planning process. That was the reason for the massive increase in

:23:39.:23:44.

security budget. Olympic lessons around risk assessment has helped

:23:44.:23:49.

us plan more clearly the security requirements of the venues. We need

:23:49.:23:57.

more CCTV, perimeter or fencing and security checks. It is critical to

:23:57.:24:03.

ensuring that everyone is protected properly from the moment they are

:24:03.:24:07.

approaching two the venue to the moment they leave. As games

:24:07.:24:12.

planning has progressed, we have developed a clearer picture of the

:24:12.:24:18.

non-competition venues needed. These have security requirements

:24:18.:24:26.

that could not be possibly spoke to -- scope early. They all need an

:24:26.:24:31.

effort of prevention -- protection. Alongside the review of the

:24:31.:24:38.

security requirements, we have been deciding how to strengthen our

:24:38.:24:43.

governments -- strengthen our governments. In light of this, we

:24:43.:24:48.

have decided to take to specific actions. The Glasgow 2014 strategic

:24:48.:24:56.

group has asked the general Constable of police Scotland to

:24:56.:25:01.

deliver the overall security for the Games. The chief constable has

:25:01.:25:06.

accepted that role. He will not only direct policing around the

:25:06.:25:12.

Games, but also the wider security situation against venues. He will

:25:12.:25:17.

attend meetings of the security group chaired by the First Minister.

:25:17.:25:25.

He will report on all areas of planning. We are also appraising --

:25:25.:25:30.

improving the governance. We will publish a paper but will be tell

:25:30.:25:36.

this further. In the light of the lessons learned from London, and

:25:36.:25:39.

the word that the police have carried out subsequently, the chief

:25:39.:25:45.

constable has advised that they should be a budget to deliver a

:25:45.:25:49.

safe and secured games. I am announcing today that the Scottish

:25:49.:25:55.

government is taking responsibility for a new games and security budget

:25:55.:25:58.

of �19 million. As a minister responsible for the Commonwealth

:25:58.:26:02.

Games, I have to listen when Scotland's top police officer tells

:26:02.:26:09.

me that this is what is required to deliver a safe and secure games.

:26:09.:26:13.

That was the Sports Minister speaking in parliament yesterday.

:26:13.:26:21.

She said that the Games budget had trebled. The minister that separate

:26:21.:26:29.

she had to listen to the Chief Constable, and he is a powerful man

:26:29.:26:34.

to command that kind of change. lot of people will say that this

:26:34.:26:39.

goes to show when you put on these events, the budget never ends up

:26:39.:26:45.

the same as the original budget. The London Olympics suffered from

:26:45.:26:52.

exactly the same problem. That cynicism aside, everyone remembers

:26:52.:26:59.

the London Olympics from the Danny Boyle opening ceremony to the

:26:59.:27:04.

performances of the Paralympic athletes. Do one thing they did not

:27:04.:27:10.

happen in London was that there was not anything serious from a

:27:10.:27:16.

security issue. We are much more concerned about terrorism, and any

:27:16.:27:21.

country that takes on an event like this is to ensure that there is not

:27:21.:27:26.

negative publicity as well as other consequences. We should not be

:27:26.:27:31.

surprised that Scotland will also want to try and ensure that it runs

:27:31.:27:41.
:27:41.:27:41.

the game in Glasgow. The responsibility is now with the new

:27:41.:27:46.

chief constable, and in line with the broader policy of public

:27:46.:27:50.

services in Scotland, it is probably in the public sector. The

:27:50.:27:57.

bond Pickup levels about security at the London Games, when Chief

:27:58.:28:06.

Forest -- the Group 4 security for had some problems, the Scottish

:28:06.:28:11.

government has nailed its colours to the mast, but security is going

:28:11.:28:18.

to be delivered by the public sector in 2014. Alf Young, the

:28:18.:28:24.

Scottish government is also keen to it melt the colours to the mast. Do

:28:24.:28:31.

you think they have adapted this very open stance, explaining costs

:28:31.:28:35.

to people? They made to the commitment. What they did not here

:28:35.:28:40.

in the statement is where the �60 million is coming from. Some of a

:28:40.:28:43.

programme is going to suffer, or maybe some of the money that has

:28:43.:28:48.

come through from the Autumn Statement will find its way not

:28:48.:28:52.

into existing projects, but more security at the Games. I do not

:28:52.:28:55.

know, but it will be interesting to know where exactly where it is

:28:55.:29:00.

coming from. When you have a single policeman in charge of Scotland,

:29:00.:29:05.

and also directly in charge of the security at the Games, you have no

:29:05.:29:10.

contest ability. He cannot compel one to the other and say it is this

:29:10.:29:14.

guy right, when he wants an extra �60 million. Is there someone who

:29:14.:29:18.

could do it in a different way? Begin not have that and not. One of

:29:18.:29:23.

the consequences of having a single police force is that he is the only

:29:23.:29:28.

man to listen to. Clearly up to now, he has only just got the job,

:29:28.:29:34.

Ministers are going to listen to him. It is that time of year again

:29:34.:29:40.

it. An annual look back on the big stories of the next 12 months --

:29:40.:29:50.
:29:50.:29:50.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 102 seconds

:29:50.:31:32.

the last 12 months. Sit back and I am not that special. They are not

:31:32.:31:41.

concentrating on who they really The Scottish government has

:31:41.:31:45.

previously cited a number of opinions from authorities, past and

:31:45.:31:51.

present, in support of its few that they will continue in membership of

:31:51.:31:59.

the European Union, however, as the Edinburgh agreement provides the

:31:59.:32:07.

context of independence, we now at stake he basis on which a specific

:32:07.:32:17.
:32:17.:32:17.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 102 seconds

:32:17.:36:55.

This summer, I was called a rebel I think this resource budget is an

:36:55.:36:59.

increase in funding by definition. I take full responsibility for what

:36:59.:37:03.

I say in this chamber and I apologise to the chamber for this

:37:03.:37:13.
:37:13.:37:18.

I am an expert in tourism. Where is your empirical evidence? I am your

:37:18.:37:28.
:37:28.:37:45.

The idea that Scotland is a land where everything is free is a lie.

:37:45.:37:55.
:37:55.:38:21.

Someone always pays for it in the In the West, rain will be lighter

:38:21.:38:26.

and patchier, there may be some patches of rain. It will be snow

:38:26.:38:31.

for the higher ground, over the higher ground. A potential for a

:38:31.:38:41.
:38:41.:38:41.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 102 seconds

:38:41.:39:40.

few flurries over Balmoral. He read That is our A to Z of 2012. If you

:39:40.:39:46.

want to catch it again it is on our website. Back to Holyrood now to

:39:46.:39:54.

speak to mark McDonald of the SNP. Before we get on to looking back at

:39:54.:39:57.

2012, let's pick up on some issues emerging from the statement about

:39:57.:40:03.

the extra money received from the Chancellor in the autumn budget.

:40:03.:40:09.

Mark, some highlights there - �50 million for new housing, a jobs

:40:09.:40:14.

boost. Is that enough to try to get Scotland's economy moving? Well,

:40:14.:40:19.

what we have to deal with, Andrew, is the money we received from the

:40:19.:40:22.

UK Exchequer. It would have been nice to receive this money the

:40:22.:40:26.

first time we asked for it. It was not forthcoming. The Chancellor has

:40:26.:40:30.

now finally yielded to our calls for additional capital investment.

:40:30.:40:36.

Now we have to deploy it across a range of poor for years. But even

:40:36.:40:39.

with this additional capital investment, the budget is still

:40:39.:40:47.

suffering a cut of 26% against last year's budget. If we have had the

:40:47.:40:51.

ball control to take care of our own decisions, we would not have to

:40:51.:40:55.

suffer their wrong-headed approach of Westminster. Could he have given

:40:55.:41:01.

more money for bigger projects rather than many -- may be a key --

:41:01.:41:05.

piecemeal approach such as 7 million for cultural projects, 7

:41:05.:41:12.

million for roads? Could you put it all together into one big budget?

:41:12.:41:16.

Are I think the people receiving the funding today would perhaps

:41:16.:41:20.

abject to the term a piecemeal. This will be extremely welcome

:41:20.:41:25.

funding across a range of sectors. Yes, everybody wants a bit more

:41:25.:41:28.

money but we have to deal with the cake that is sliced up at

:41:28.:41:34.

Westminster. We do not have the ability to raise our own financing

:41:34.:41:38.

here so we have to play the hand that has been dealt. We welcome the

:41:38.:41:43.

fact that additional capital has been brought forward. We would have

:41:43.:41:46.

liked more and earlier but we will deal with this and it will boost

:41:46.:41:52.

jobs across Scotland in this tough time. They are doing what they can,

:41:52.:41:56.

then, they say their hands are tied by the Chancellor and his lack of

:41:56.:42:02.

generosity, it seems. Well, it is welcome George Osborne has of

:42:02.:42:09.

plight this cash -- has supplied this cash. It is welcome. What is

:42:09.:42:12.

interesting is how quickly we can see these projects proceeding,

:42:12.:42:15.

because it is only when the money actually starts getting spent and

:42:15.:42:21.

the work is carried out on the ground that jobs will be created.

:42:21.:42:25.

And there is an issue with procurement. We need to make sure

:42:25.:42:30.

that as much of this money is going into supporting local Scottish

:42:30.:42:35.

businesses and workers as we can within EU rules. The SNP are keen

:42:35.:42:39.

to talk about the powers they don't have, but due to the delay in them

:42:39.:42:43.

bringing forward the non-profit distributing model to build new

:42:43.:42:48.

schools, it will be a year before all projects that should have

:42:48.:42:55.

started in 2013 will start. That was within that John Swinney's gift.

:42:55.:43:02.

He is responsible for that delay, nobody else. Now, and look back at

:43:02.:43:07.

the year. We saw there that Alex Salmond gotten to a bit of trouble

:43:07.:43:12.

about the college education project, I'm sure that would be your moment

:43:12.:43:19.

of 2012. There can only be one moment of 2012 for me, and that was

:43:19.:43:23.

the launch of the yes campaign for a positive outcome in the

:43:23.:43:28.

referendum it in 2014. It is a fantastic historic opportunity for

:43:28.:43:32.

the people of Scotland to shape and control their own destiny, and that

:43:32.:43:39.

for me was the highlight of 2012. I'm sure that will not be your

:43:39.:43:46.

highlight. Nor will it be the Chancellor's approached her

:43:46.:43:51.

austerity! What is your moment? I've enjoyed seeing the unravelling

:43:51.:43:54.

of the Independent's campaign over the last few weeks. It seems to

:43:54.:44:00.

have well and truly gone off the rails. I think Mark and his

:44:00.:44:04.

colleagues will be looking to forward to a fresh start over many

:44:04.:44:10.

years. I enjoy it looking at your clip their where Donald Trump was

:44:10.:44:14.

being entertained by the Scottish Parliament, or perhaps he was

:44:14.:44:21.

entertaining us. That was a very interesting Parliamentary occasion

:44:21.:44:25.

and it got us a lot of attention, a lot of interest in the subject of

:44:25.:44:30.

renewable energy. I don't think we should apologise for getting the

:44:30.:44:33.

Scottish Parliament leading the news bulletins, I think that was a

:44:33.:44:42.

good day for our committee. What you want for Christmas? What I

:44:42.:44:46.

would like his two weeks off with the family and some peace from

:44:46.:44:52.

politics. It doesn't usually happen at Christmas. Mark, I presume the

:44:52.:44:58.

same view? Yes, and also I hope the Scrooges of the campaign at are

:44:58.:45:01.

visited by three spirits over Christmas and come back renewed

:45:01.:45:04.

characters, seeing that independence is the best way

:45:04.:45:14.
:45:14.:45:18.

Thank you both for joining us. Let's speak to our, Peters once

:45:18.:45:24.

again. Let's focus on the more substantive issue about John

:45:24.:45:32.

Sweeney's statement. He was trying to delay some investments? There is

:45:32.:45:37.

this argument about Harry should fund capital projects in Scotland,

:45:37.:45:45.

how you trying getting normal state money. The truth seems to be that

:45:45.:45:50.

some of the previous models, the public-private initiative is no

:45:50.:45:55.

longer be flavour of the month, even among to Conservative

:45:55.:46:05.
:46:05.:46:07.

ministers. It is a surprise not to hear a -- the SNP saying more. It

:46:07.:46:11.

is perhaps too expensive, and it has left us with a built but we

:46:11.:46:15.

will be paying for 20 or 30 years down the track. But it is still

:46:15.:46:19.

undoubtedly the case that there has been some reasonable criticisms

:46:19.:46:23.

about getting some of the Scottish Government's alternative ways of

:46:23.:46:29.

doing this on track, such as these buildings built on time. The issue

:46:29.:46:33.

of how you get in end of -- extra funding from the private sector in

:46:33.:46:40.

order to get the capital budget going as far as you can, without

:46:40.:46:47.

creating a burden for future generations is something that

:46:47.:46:51.

causes a division on both sides of the border. You're talking about

:46:51.:46:56.

the jobs boost on the housing development programme. It was not

:46:56.:47:02.

that much money, but do you think you were helping more to come their

:47:02.:47:07.

way from the Autumn Statement? may well have been looking for more.

:47:07.:47:15.

I think the numbers announce were north of �300 million. What was

:47:15.:47:23.

announced today was to London Fire million pounds. -- �205 million.

:47:23.:47:26.

said today that he was not going to announce what he was going to do

:47:27.:47:33.

with the third year's worth of money. He has left some money and

:47:33.:47:43.

some parcels inciters centre -- Santa's sack for 2014. Thank you Mr

:47:43.:47:50.

Osborne! Just on that tranche, it did not seem much, but maybe that

:47:50.:47:59.

was all we could get? The general point that he has court �200

:47:59.:48:08.

billion, and he has chopped it up into packages. -- �200 million. Do

:48:08.:48:14.

you go for some big hits where you get will action and you get some

:48:14.:48:21.

playback quickly? He is going for a bit here and a bit here. Which

:48:21.:48:26.

works best, do think? The big hit somewhere or do you think the

:48:26.:48:33.

little bits stimulate? I think he have a whole generation there are

:48:33.:48:37.

finding it difficult to get into the housing market. Providing a bit

:48:37.:48:42.

of extra money, which of the top of the head, is 1,000 units, that is

:48:42.:48:48.

not going to light up the sky with activity. Clearly doubling that

:48:48.:48:57.

would be 2000 units, which would be a bit better. I think the biggest

:48:57.:49:03.

hits make more impact. Of course, blog was pointing out that they are

:49:03.:49:09.

struggling with a money they are getting from Westminster, and the

:49:09.:49:13.

pond has made to Murdo Fraser that they are struggling with the

:49:13.:49:16.

austerity much further down the line. We the Scottish government is

:49:16.:49:21.

having to cope with it the reductions in funding, but one of

:49:21.:49:26.

things happening in the course of this year it is that how the

:49:26.:49:30.

government is spending his money. The Scottish government is not

:49:30.:49:38.

dealing with the austerity, but it is still managing no tuition fees

:49:38.:49:48.
:49:48.:49:50.

for Scottish universities. There has certainly been cuts for further

:49:50.:49:54.

education and that his concern. One thing that has happen this year is

:49:54.:50:00.

that some of the politicians try to avoid, but some of the consequences

:50:00.:50:05.

of the choices the SNP have made have become evident, and it has led

:50:05.:50:11.

to this debate as to whether or not free Unison -- university tuition,

:50:11.:50:17.

which is one of the distinctive policies, is maybe the best way of

:50:17.:50:22.

spending a diminishing budget. One argument is that you should have

:50:22.:50:28.

more money to spend in the first place. But subtly, we are going to

:50:28.:50:33.

see this continuing debate. Thank you very much. Let's go back to the

:50:33.:50:43.
:50:43.:50:43.

gardening lobby of Holy Rood. -- Holyrood. Thank you for joining us.

:50:43.:50:50.

Then the get your reaction, Ken Mackintosh. The man it was welcomed,

:50:50.:50:59.

going to various projects. You must welcome it to. It must bring a

:50:59.:51:04.

smile to a few faces. The question I was asking is that what is the

:51:04.:51:09.

impact on the Scottish economy? He is the cabinet secretary, Andy is

:51:09.:51:12.

presiding over a country in recession, and a country where

:51:12.:51:15.

hundreds of thousands of people are out of work. He said that he wanted

:51:15.:51:20.

the money to boost jobs and growth, and what he seems to have done is

:51:20.:51:24.

handed out. These projects are very worthy. I do not get an

:51:24.:51:30.

overwhelming picture of a plant here that is designed to boost

:51:30.:51:35.

employment which is measured, for example, by a number of

:51:35.:51:42.

apprenticeships. Even the �50 million for housing? Without not

:51:42.:51:49.

boost jobs? You will notice that he was asked, will it boost the

:51:49.:51:55.

levels? He has cut its, and the housing associations cannot use the

:51:56.:51:59.

money to poorer effectively. Hinnies to adequate -- increased

:51:59.:52:05.

levels, he keeps putting extra money into housing, just to replace

:52:05.:52:09.

the money he has already cut. But he has not revise the totals for

:52:09.:52:19.
:52:19.:52:20.

the amount of houses he is building. The money he has cut is because of

:52:20.:52:23.

the Chancellor in the coalition government at Westminster, and they

:52:23.:52:28.

are complaining that their budgets have been cut. Was there any room

:52:28.:52:31.

for the Chancellor to give the Scottish government and little more

:52:31.:52:38.

to boost capital spending? Chancellor to give the Scottish

:52:38.:52:41.

government �300 million of additional monies. This government

:52:41.:52:45.

has had more money than they ever have done in the past, so times are

:52:45.:52:51.

tough, and everyone understands that, and whatever position they

:52:51.:52:54.

would be in, they would be constantly complaining about

:52:54.:52:57.

someone else. It is his decisions that he has taken. The point is

:52:57.:53:05.

that the record on spending is not good. The almond spent �300 million

:53:05.:53:09.

in the current financial year. They have only spent �20 million. They

:53:09.:53:13.

are not getting the money into the project that our economy needs, and

:53:13.:53:20.

that is a lesson for businesses across Scotland, and that mechanism

:53:20.:53:28.

is not performing. We are looking back at 2012. What has been your

:53:28.:53:33.

moment of your year? When the something than nothing a speech

:53:33.:53:40.

happened? Despite something for nothing? It certainly got people

:53:40.:53:45.

thinking again, but for me, the highlight of the year was the local

:53:45.:53:50.

election results. These are political highlight, rather than

:53:50.:53:54.

the personal highlight of the year! I am not sure that the whole of

:53:54.:53:58.

Scotland was jumping around the room, but we were in the Labour

:53:58.:54:04.

Party to. The SNP were crowing into the elections that they were going

:54:04.:54:08.

to take Lanarkshire, but they got thumped, and you only have to look

:54:08.:54:13.

back at the joy on people's faces, and see the difference it is making

:54:13.:54:17.

to the lives of people in Glasgow. That is the high point. Tavish

:54:17.:54:27.

Scott, there was not much joy in the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

:54:27.:54:30.

Idle talk about the Ryder Cup! I would be happy to talk about

:54:30.:54:35.

sporting highlight than any in politics. I think the long-term

:54:35.:54:39.

factor that did happen this year it was the Leveson inquiry, and the

:54:39.:54:45.

relationship between and among so the press, and what that means for

:54:45.:54:53.

how you, Andrew, and the rest report on the issues around the

:54:53.:55:01.

world. That has indications for the future. -- implications. We are

:55:01.:55:07.

asking a run this. What you want for Christmas? Why Teva my wife

:55:07.:55:12.

Connie gives any! But are but hope for something that they put into a

:55:12.:55:18.

golf bag. How does that for about a played pro Scottish economy bit of

:55:18.:55:23.

Christmas present buying! If I do not get my act together, Santa

:55:23.:55:30.

might not appear in my house! Politically, I would not mind

:55:30.:55:35.

killing Alex Salmond some legal advice! Ken Mackintosh and Tavish

:55:35.:55:40.

Scott, thank you very much and a merry Christmas! Les gets and final

:55:40.:55:50.
:55:50.:55:52.

Interesting, just here what those two was saying. What are you

:55:52.:55:56.

looking forward to in 2013, politically? A I think we are going

:55:56.:56:03.

to have another 12 months about debating the constitution. The sad

:56:03.:56:10.

thing is that the longer the debate goes on, the more the fog of

:56:10.:56:16.

uncertainty accumulates, and I do not cents out there that people are

:56:16.:56:26.
:56:26.:56:26.

energised by the debate. If they were -- they are worried about jobs,

:56:26.:56:30.

and budgets and meeting them. And the austerity cuts which are going

:56:30.:56:40.
:56:40.:56:40.

on and on and on. Those two Dynamics, those different dynamics,

:56:40.:56:45.

they do not play very well together. It will be interesting to see,

:56:45.:56:53.

because we are promised in 2013 that there will be a white paper

:56:53.:56:58.

where the government will set out its case, and it will be ingested

:56:58.:57:04.

see how the case matches with the realities in Europe, and the

:57:04.:57:09.

continuing membership of the monetary union with sterling. How

:57:09.:57:16.

will that play out if Scotland becomes independent, alongside the

:57:16.:57:20.

realities everyone is facing? the fog of uncertainty, there has

:57:20.:57:24.

been a lot of debate about Europe and sterling. Do you think that

:57:24.:57:30.

will dominate 2013? Yes. We are going to be talking about process

:57:30.:57:36.

issues. We are going to talk about what is -- who is responsible for

:57:36.:57:46.
:57:46.:57:47.

what in Scotland. But we anticipate that the Labour Party's

:57:47.:57:51.

pronouncements on constitution. One of the non stories of 2012 will be

:57:51.:57:59.

the -- was the change to the proposal. There are going to have

:57:59.:58:06.

to sell what they have. But it is going to be process issues that did

:58:06.:58:10.

-- that carry on south of the border. The relationship between

:58:11.:58:15.

the UK and Europe. The other think that is going to be important is

:58:15.:58:21.

the question about who should make decisions for the United Kingdom as

:58:21.:58:25.

a whole. Goodall questions of politics, even though we are in the

:58:25.:58:33.

era of economic difficulty, will be Spain -- will remain at really

:58:33.:58:37.

essential to Scottish and British politics. Thank you both are very

:58:37.:58:43.

much indeed today. That is all from us. We will be back on 9th January,

:58:43.:58:50.

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