:00:20. > :00:24.Hello there and a warm welcome to the Scottish parliament here at
:00:25. > :00:30.Holyrood. The main talking point is David Bowie's survives -- surprise
:00:31. > :00:36.intervention in the Scottish independence debate. Apparently he
:00:37. > :00:43.reckons that the UK is hunky-dory. It has caused a bit of a fuss, of
:00:44. > :00:51.course. But Alex Salmond reckons it is a god-awful small affair. Let go
:00:52. > :00:55.to First Minister's Questions. To ask the First Minister what
:00:56. > :01:00.engagement he has planned for the rest of the day. Presiding officer,
:01:01. > :01:05.I am sure the whole chamber will want to join me in congratulating
:01:06. > :01:11.Eve Muirhead and the rink on winning the bronze medal at the Winter
:01:12. > :01:18.Olympics. That is a demonstration that we can all be heroes just for
:01:19. > :01:23.one day. And of course those of us on this side would of course
:01:24. > :01:32.congratulate the corners. We are very proud of them as Scots and part
:01:33. > :01:40.of team GB. Can I ask the First Minister to turn and face the
:01:41. > :01:43.strain? In the past seven days, the shadow -- Chancellor, the Shadow
:01:44. > :01:48.Chancellor, the Chief Secretary of the Treasury, the ST you see, the
:01:49. > :01:55.CBI and the Institute of Directors have all said that both plans a and
:01:56. > :02:03.B for the currency are nonstarters. The president of the EU commission
:02:04. > :02:11.and the president of the EU Council said his plans were at best
:02:12. > :02:21.extremely difficult. The First Minister has just insult them.
:02:22. > :02:26.Order. Perhaps you didn't realise he was insulting people instead of
:02:27. > :02:31.arguing with them. Can the First Minister explain to us why David
:02:32. > :02:39.Bowie is preposterous, bluffing and bullying? I think in terms of
:02:40. > :02:42.insult, most people in Scotland would feel that George Osborne
:02:43. > :02:50.insulted the intelligence of the Scottish people. This may be the
:02:51. > :02:57.last time, and probably the only time, that I will quote the Daily
:02:58. > :03:02.Mail. But I think when Joanne Clement -- Joanne Lamont is facing
:03:03. > :03:08.headlines in the Daily Mail, there may be a reasonable conclusion that
:03:09. > :03:11.the indications we have so far are that the joint enterprise between
:03:12. > :03:19.George Osborne and Ed Balls has backfired on the two unionist
:03:20. > :03:23.parties in spectacular fashion. I watched television the other night
:03:24. > :03:28.and I saw Gordon Brown walk off an interview on STV because he was
:03:29. > :03:35.asked whether Ed Balls was wise to make an alliance with George
:03:36. > :03:38.Osborne. I have never seen him walk off an interview. Perhaps people in
:03:39. > :03:43.the Labour Party should realise the damage that has been done to them by
:03:44. > :03:56.standing hand in glove with the likes of George Osborne. Perhaps the
:03:57. > :04:02.First Minister might reflect on the damage being done to this parliament
:04:03. > :04:06.by the insults he presents to our intelligence and the people of
:04:07. > :04:09.Scotland about the way in which he dismisses those who disagree with
:04:10. > :04:14.him. It takes an extraordinary lack of self-awareness for the First
:04:15. > :04:19.Minister to accuse other people of not telling the truth as a
:04:20. > :04:22.campaigning tactic. Truly, as you live your life, you judge your
:04:23. > :04:28.neighbour. The fact of the matter is, these are too serious for the
:04:29. > :04:34.First Minister to insult us in this way. This week, Alex Salmond, Nicola
:04:35. > :04:38.Sturgeon and John Swinney have been repeatedly asked to put a figure on
:04:39. > :04:44.the transaction costs to British business that will come with giving
:04:45. > :04:50.up the pound in the event of a Yes vote, but have refused to come up
:04:51. > :04:52.with an answer. But the Scottish Parliament information Centre has
:04:53. > :04:59.come up with some numbers. Transaction costs for the rest of
:05:00. > :05:05.the UK, the so-called George tax, work at ?9 per head for people in
:05:06. > :05:10.England, Wales and Northern Ireland. But if the Scottish Government's own
:05:11. > :05:18.figures are to be believed, the cost in Scotland would be ?75 per head.
:05:19. > :05:25.Eight times greater. No wonder they wouldn't and so the question. Given
:05:26. > :05:29.this would be the consequence of his plan to break up the United Kingdom,
:05:30. > :05:38.why should Scottish business pay the Alex tax? Our proposal is to share
:05:39. > :05:49.the pound. And not have the transaction cost. It is her proposal
:05:50. > :05:53.that would force Scotland into a different currency and forced
:05:54. > :05:56.transaction costs on Scottish and English business. The point that was
:05:57. > :06:02.being made by the Scottish Government is a reasonable one. I
:06:03. > :06:11.don't think English taxpayers would take kindly to being forced to pay
:06:12. > :06:15.the George or Joan tax. I don't think Joanne Lamont would want her
:06:16. > :06:19.name attached to the same tax as George Osborne. I said earlier this
:06:20. > :06:26.would be the only time I would quote the Daily Mail. I am going to quoted
:06:27. > :06:32.again! Twice in one session! I do apologise for quoting Labour's house
:06:33. > :06:35.journal, but nonetheless I notice another aspect of the poll this
:06:36. > :06:40.morning showed that our proposal to share the pound was the most pop-up
:06:41. > :06:45.-- popular proposal among the Scottish people. Does that not
:06:46. > :06:49.suggest that perhaps there is a resonance in support of what we are
:06:50. > :06:52.saying, and the Labour Party are struggling because of their
:06:53. > :06:57.association with the Conservative Party? I hope Joanne Lamont
:06:58. > :07:02.continues with this because I may go for the hat-trick and start talking
:07:03. > :07:07.about the party ratings that bad poll indicates. The Labour Party
:07:08. > :07:11.have done themselves huge damage by associating with the Conservatives,
:07:12. > :07:17.and in particular, George Osborne. The reaction of the Scottish people
:07:18. > :07:20.to being told, instructed, from on high that our currency, the currency
:07:21. > :07:26.that we jointly built up, actually does not belong to us, it belongs to
:07:27. > :07:29.George Osborne, I think it is entirely understandable and will be
:07:30. > :07:37.deeply uncomfortable for the Labour Party in Scotland.
:07:38. > :07:43.If we're talking about associations with Tories, it is only the SNP who
:07:44. > :07:54.want to cut tax by 3p more than any Tory Chancellor. 3p more! If we are
:07:55. > :07:58.talking about polls, the same poll, the same poll says that two thirds
:07:59. > :08:02.of the people in this country want to know what the First Minister
:08:03. > :08:08.proposal is for a plan B for the currency, and it is about time he
:08:09. > :08:11.told us. The reality is this. The rest of the United Kingdom,
:08:12. > :08:18.including Carwyn Jones, have said they do not want a currency union.
:08:19. > :08:25.They don't want a currency union. You can art -- you cannot make them
:08:26. > :08:28.have a currency union if you are not in the same country. What do you not
:08:29. > :08:36.understand? What do you not understand? What does the First
:08:37. > :08:42.Minister not understand about his proposal to take Scotland out of the
:08:43. > :08:45.United Kingdom? It has come to this, presiding officer. The Scottish
:08:46. > :08:49.Government, as we have seen, is prepared to deny, deflect, assert an
:08:50. > :08:55.insult in order to win this referendum. -- and insult. They want
:08:56. > :09:01.to keep a currency union, and unfettered single market without
:09:02. > :09:05.transaction costs. They say they want to keep borrowing costs in line
:09:06. > :09:09.with current levels. They say they want to stay in the EU with a rebate
:09:10. > :09:19.on the current opt out. And then they ask, what is the positive case
:09:20. > :09:21.for the union? Isn't the truth that the only way we guarantee keeping
:09:22. > :09:34.those things is by staying in the United Kingdom? Well, I will support
:09:35. > :09:39.Joanne Lamont's call for a calm and considered debate. We look forward
:09:40. > :09:42.to these things! The fiscal commission says the best option for
:09:43. > :09:47.Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom is to share the currency.
:09:48. > :09:51.That was the basis on which the commission working group put forward
:09:52. > :09:54.that policy. I think that is the right policy. I think it is the
:09:55. > :09:58.right policy for Scotland. I think it is the right policy for the rest
:09:59. > :10:07.of the United Kingdom. Can I say to Joanne Lamont, the debate has moved
:10:08. > :10:12.on, has it not? I was looking at the website for the Scotsman today in
:10:13. > :10:16.terms of evidence being presented. Scottish independence were also
:10:17. > :10:22.incorrect on the EU. Jim Carrey, former Director-General, says that
:10:23. > :10:28.he was extremely unwise and incorrect. If that is not enough,
:10:29. > :10:33.the speech in Ireland of the Secretary-General of the
:10:34. > :10:38.commission. Should it vote for independence? She said that Commons
:10:39. > :10:48.over the weekend had been misunderstood. -- comments. Perhaps
:10:49. > :10:56.the comparison between Scotland and Kosovo was perhaps not the wisest
:10:57. > :11:03.comparison to make. Evidence has been presented in significant form
:11:04. > :11:07.by people as eminent as... It shows absolutely that Scotland, who have
:11:08. > :11:10.been part of this European Union for 40 years, the build-up rights and
:11:11. > :11:15.entitlements as part of that structure, who conform to the
:11:16. > :11:21.democratic imperatives that the EU represent, of course we are entitled
:11:22. > :11:25.to our rights as European citizens. And the idea that the rest of Europe
:11:26. > :11:31.is wanting to deny us these rights is a total illusion talked up by the
:11:32. > :11:40.Unionist parties. Scotland is a European nation and we shall
:11:41. > :11:44.continue to be a European nation. The real problem with this is that
:11:45. > :11:56.the First Minister only listens to people who agree with him. And it
:11:57. > :12:03.works. It works. It works in here. But it doesn't work in the rest of
:12:04. > :12:06.the world. It is not in the First Minister's gift to tell people in
:12:07. > :12:12.England, in Northern Ireland, in Wales, in Europe, what is in their
:12:13. > :12:16.best interest. It is in their gift. And he has to deal with that. The
:12:17. > :12:23.permanent Secretary to the Treasury has rejected the currency union. So
:12:24. > :12:26.too has the Chancellor, the Shadow Chancellor and the Chief Secretary
:12:27. > :12:34.to the Treasury. The CBI, the Institute of Directors and the
:12:35. > :12:39.Scottish TUC. It is not good enough simply to listen to yourself. You
:12:40. > :12:42.have to accept other people have a credible position. The president of
:12:43. > :12:46.the EU commission and the president of the Council of ministers have
:12:47. > :12:50.said that Scotland getting an agreement of all the other member
:12:51. > :12:57.states after a yes vote would be extremely difficult, if not
:12:58. > :13:05.impossible. Business cost of ?75 per head. Average mortgages up and
:13:06. > :13:12.eyewatering ?100 a week. And I am sure people across the country will
:13:13. > :13:14.reflect how little seriousness the SNP backbencher is put on the
:13:15. > :13:22.consequences for ordinary people. So despite all of this the First
:13:23. > :13:31.Minister still simply steams ahead. Isn't it the case that the only
:13:32. > :13:39.preposterous bullying bluffer in this fight is the First Minister?
:13:40. > :13:42.Can I quote from Professor Christine Bell, constitutional Professor of
:13:43. > :13:47.law at Edinburgh University? I have no knowledge of her politics.
:13:48. > :13:52.Whether she agrees with me or not. She says, legally under
:13:53. > :13:56.international law the position is clear. If the remainder of the UK
:13:57. > :14:01.keeps the name and status of the UK, it keeps its liabilities for the
:14:02. > :14:09.debt. Scotland cannot therefore default. As Joanne Lamont knows, we
:14:10. > :14:14.have set out in the White Paper our proposal that we should share the
:14:15. > :14:18.assets and liabilities of the United Kingdom. We think that is the fair
:14:19. > :14:23.and responsible thing to do. One of these assets is, of course, the Bank
:14:24. > :14:28.of England, which was nationalised in 1946. It is undoubtedly a
:14:29. > :14:31.national public asset. We think that is a fair proposition to put
:14:32. > :14:36.forward. What we pointed out is that the implication, in fact, the
:14:37. > :14:41.certainty, because the Treasury had to state this to the market last
:14:42. > :14:44.month, that if you argue, as the UK and the Treasury are now doing, all
:14:45. > :14:49.of these eminent people that Joanne Lamb and has cited, they are the
:14:50. > :14:53.legitimate state, they keep the assets of the united kingdom. It
:14:54. > :14:58.follows that they end up with the liabilities. The reason that I
:14:59. > :15:03.believe George Osborne and Ed Balls are bluffing is not just that it
:15:04. > :15:07.would be against the interests of the English people to impose
:15:08. > :15:11.transaction costs into Scotland, it is that I don't believe we will get
:15:12. > :15:16.to a situation where George Osborne wants to make every person in
:15:17. > :15:25.Scotland ?25,000 richer, which is what would happen if the UK had to
:15:26. > :15:32.accept all of the national debt. Order! Unlike Joanne Lamb and, I
:15:33. > :15:36.would find agreeing with George Osborne extremely uncomfortable. --
:15:37. > :15:39.Joanne Lamont. That is why the Labour Party is suffering serious
:15:40. > :15:51.and perhaps permanent damage in Scotland by their alliance with the
:15:52. > :15:58.Conservative Party. I want to ask the First Minister when he will meet
:15:59. > :16:05.the Secretary of State for Scotland? No current plans but we might both
:16:06. > :16:11.be in the Aberdeen area on Monday. I'm sure the First Minister's hotel
:16:12. > :16:15.will be of a higher standard. On one side of the argument we have Alex
:16:16. > :16:20.Salmond, on the other side of the argument we have everyone else and
:16:21. > :16:30.hasn't his response today been telling? As if to make my point for
:16:31. > :16:32.me, thank you very much. The First Minister of Wales says he does not
:16:33. > :16:36.want a currency union with an independent Scotland and he is
:16:37. > :16:42.ignored. The permanent Treasury says he will not advise one and he is
:16:43. > :16:46.dismissed. The Chancellor and his opposite number said they could not
:16:47. > :16:51.support this for the UK, and it is a bluff. Alex Salmond's independence
:16:52. > :16:59.allies say they want a set its currency and be sidelined. The CBI
:17:00. > :17:04.and Institute of to say the risk is unacceptable and be Unionist
:17:05. > :17:11.stooges. The rest of the people in the UK say no also. And they are
:17:12. > :17:15.ignored this week. The First Minister may be in denial, but the
:17:16. > :17:25.rest of the country has woken up. Isn't this the week we find out the
:17:26. > :17:30.emperor has got no clothes. Far be it from me to remind Ruth Davidson
:17:31. > :17:41.the fiscal commission working group contained two Nobel laureates. As
:17:42. > :17:47.well as other eminent economists. It is interesting in that reference,
:17:48. > :17:51.because when Mark Carney gave his excellent speech in Edinburgh a few
:17:52. > :18:00.weeks ago, he only mentioned two economists, one was Adam Smith, and
:18:01. > :18:05.we agree he is a great founder of the economic science and the second
:18:06. > :18:14.economist Mark Carney cited was Sir James Merrill ease. Do you think he
:18:15. > :18:19.was unaware he was one of the authors of the fiscal commission
:18:20. > :18:24.working group on whose recommendations we acted on? She
:18:25. > :18:29.shakes her head but she started her question by saying nobody agreed
:18:30. > :18:36.with me. I am pointing out a Nobel laureate economist put forward the
:18:37. > :18:45.proposition. And the poll indicates today having halved that what ever
:18:46. > :18:53.else she might say the Scottish people do not agree with George
:18:54. > :19:08.Osborne. The sand is shifting beneath his feet as he stands up and
:19:09. > :19:11.speaks. We have made our choice, we want a strong Scotland in a strong
:19:12. > :19:17.United Kingdom. That already gives us the currency union he desperately
:19:18. > :19:22.wants to keep and gives a political and social union. He wants to pick
:19:23. > :19:26.and mix when everyone knows that they can't. The First Minister said
:19:27. > :19:31.he quoted the Daily Mail so I will quote the Guardian. In the
:19:32. > :19:38.contradictions it says, Alex Salmond and company are acting like spoiled
:19:39. > :19:42.children. On the currency he is weak, on pensions he is weak,
:19:43. > :19:48.un-European is weak, on the basic facts he is weak. He is weak, weak,
:19:49. > :19:59.weak. Isn't it true he is the man with no plan? Ruth Davidson is a
:20:00. > :20:02.week every week. Higher praise I cannot give than the new chairman of
:20:03. > :20:07.the Scottish Conservative Association asked this week to
:20:08. > :20:15.assess a Ruth Davidson's performance. He said she was, "
:20:16. > :20:18.improving". If you cannot get the endorsement of the new chairman of
:20:19. > :20:24.your own party, you are not in a strong position. Perhaps Ruth
:20:25. > :20:31.Davidson should draw this a line in the sand. The line in the sand might
:20:32. > :20:35.be, we should have a look at the attitudes of the Scottish people as
:20:36. > :20:40.we currently understand them. We can think of a number of things about
:20:41. > :20:45.the best constitutional options for Scotland, but there is little doubt
:20:46. > :20:52.the reaction to having things led down from on high by George Osborne
:20:53. > :20:58.has been somewhat negative, for the improving Scottish Conservative
:20:59. > :21:03.Party. It may not be of any great moment to the Conservatives and some
:21:04. > :21:12.of the backbenchers were described as coasting in the same article. All
:21:13. > :21:14.of them are coasting. The Conservative Party have little to
:21:15. > :21:24.lose, but you are dragging down this lot with you. Guilt by association.
:21:25. > :21:29.To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next
:21:30. > :21:34.meeting of the Cabinet? We will discuss issues of importance to the
:21:35. > :21:39.people of Scotland. The First Minister has put on his best poker
:21:40. > :21:45.face this week. But they might not be bluffing. There could be a
:21:46. > :21:52.separate Scottish currency. His own fiscal commission thinks it could be
:21:53. > :21:57.a possibility, John Cain knows it, Patrick Harvie and Dennis Caravan
:21:58. > :22:02.want it. The First Minister is the last man standing refusing to
:22:03. > :22:07.concede. Will he take this opportunity to confirm a Scottish
:22:08. > :22:11.currency is a possibility? He has a duty to make a statement to
:22:12. > :22:19.Parliament this week or next week, so people in Scotland know where
:22:20. > :22:25.they stand. Will he do that? Did you notice the first date meant that
:22:26. > :22:33.question when he said, might be bluffing. I think this is an
:22:34. > :22:36.improvement. I think Willie Rennie in that traditional, liberal
:22:37. > :22:43.tradition of on the one hand this and on the other hand that, doesn't
:22:44. > :22:45.display the same certainty as the Conservative and Labour Party
:22:46. > :22:51.alliance. As Willie Rennie should know, the fiscal commission working
:22:52. > :22:54.group set out a range of options for the currency options of an
:22:55. > :22:57.independent Scotland. They said these options were viable given the
:22:58. > :23:03.strength of the Scottish economy. They recommended the best option
:23:04. > :23:08.Scotland and the rest of the UK is the currency union we propose. We
:23:09. > :23:13.propose that is the one that will be negotiated because it is in the best
:23:14. > :23:17.interests of Scotland and it is most certainly in the best interest of
:23:18. > :23:25.the rest of the UK, who will not want to be lumbered with the whole
:23:26. > :23:32.of the UK national debt. Despite all of the opinion, including on his
:23:33. > :23:39.side, he cannot even say it might be a possibility. He cannot hide on
:23:40. > :23:45.that until September. It will be the Chancellor, after a yes vote, if
:23:46. > :23:51.that was to happen, who will have to convince about a currency union. The
:23:52. > :23:55.First Minister's plan is based on the judgement of that Chancellor.
:23:56. > :24:00.And that Chancellor is George Osborne. This is a man he derides
:24:01. > :24:06.for his judgement every day of the week. The First Minister is gambling
:24:07. > :24:13.that George Osborne will transform from his belligerent barbarian to
:24:14. > :24:21.this pacifist puppy, arch enemy to best friend in a day. But they don't
:24:22. > :24:24.think that is going to happen. Two out of three people in the poll he
:24:25. > :24:30.likes to talk about today, once the First Minister to set out his
:24:31. > :24:36.alternative. Why is he ignoring them? If he is a pacifist puppy, I
:24:37. > :24:43.would not dream of using such language, and Mr Danny Alexander who
:24:44. > :24:49.gave evidence to the Parliamentary committee yesterday seems to be the
:24:50. > :24:55.shadow to the Chancellor of the Exchequer at the moment. The
:24:56. > :24:58.preferred option is our option of a currency union between Scotland and
:24:59. > :25:03.the rest of the United Kingdom. I don't think it is me who would have
:25:04. > :25:07.said Danny Alexander or George Osborne to see that in the best
:25:08. > :25:11.interests, it is facing up to the realities of the debt for the rest
:25:12. > :25:17.of the UK and I hope transaction costs north and south of the border
:25:18. > :25:22.are not a good thing for business. I have this vision of George Osborne,
:25:23. > :25:27.Ed balls and Danny Alexander after independence, who will be on our
:25:28. > :25:33.side, of course. But Ed Balls and George Osborne going to businesses
:25:34. > :25:37.in and North saying we're going to you transaction costs to export
:25:38. > :25:45.goods to Scotland, come and vote for us. I don't think that is credible.
:25:46. > :25:49.I keep saying, because of Willie Rennie, I don't think he is a lost
:25:50. > :25:53.soul. I do detect a bit more reasonableness in terms of his
:25:54. > :25:59.approach to things. But I did ink it was unreasonable for Danny Alexander
:26:00. > :26:07.to say independent Scotland's bond rates would be higher. 2.8 cents,
:26:08. > :26:14.Switzerland 1.1%, Austria 1.9%, Sweden 2.3%. There is a lot of
:26:15. > :26:18.evidence small, independence countries across Europe pay lower
:26:19. > :26:28.interest rates than the United Kingdom at the present moment. To
:26:29. > :26:36.ask the First Minister when Scottish government met representatives of
:26:37. > :26:42.Kozlov. It is part of the commitment to working in partnership and local
:26:43. > :26:47.governments. One of the issues ministers are considering is a
:26:48. > :26:50.request to freeze the funding forum on local authorities, something I
:26:51. > :26:56.know which is of interest to Maureen Watt. I thank the First Minister.
:26:57. > :27:00.They have asked the Scottish Government to freeze the funding
:27:01. > :27:04.formula. A decision I believe supported by Aberdeen City Council
:27:05. > :27:09.and Labour councils throughout Scotland. As I understand it, they
:27:10. > :27:14.cannot revisit this without a change to their standing orders and we see
:27:15. > :27:19.Aberdeen and other Labour councils throwing their dummies out of the
:27:20. > :27:24.plan. Can the First Minister set out what it will mean for Aberdeen and
:27:25. > :27:26.what the impact will be on funding for Aberdeen if the Scottish
:27:27. > :27:33.Government accept Kozlov's requests? It is Kozlov who have put
:27:34. > :27:39.forward this proposal, I understand by a narrow majority. John Swinney
:27:40. > :27:47.has considered this and will write to them outlining the impact of the
:27:48. > :27:50.planned freeze as they propose in comparison to distributing the
:27:51. > :27:54.funding local authorities would receive if we use the same method
:27:55. > :27:59.that has been in place since 1983. I will write to Maureen Watson shortly
:28:00. > :28:04.setting out the position of Aberdeen City Council and her constituency.
:28:05. > :28:12.It is worth noting it was this SNP government in 2011 which introduced
:28:13. > :28:17.a funding floor. After eight years of total in action by the previous
:28:18. > :28:21.labour, liberal executive, and that means it ensures Aberdeen currently
:28:22. > :28:26.receives a better deal than it would have had if that measure had not
:28:27. > :28:30.been introduced. I will write to her shortly pointing out the
:28:31. > :28:35.implications of what has come forward, as we understand it,
:28:36. > :28:41.supported by Aberdeen Council. Given the confirmed withdrawals from
:28:42. > :28:45.Kozlov and the speculation of other local authorities, does the First
:28:46. > :28:51.Minister have a view to the point it does not represent authorities in
:28:52. > :28:55.Scotland and is there a contingency plan how the government will engage
:28:56. > :29:04.with local authorities should that reach such a point? We discussed
:29:05. > :29:09.this at Cabinet on Tuesday and we have considered the prospect. The
:29:10. > :29:14.member is right to raise the question, because as he probably
:29:15. > :29:17.knows there is a time period between signalling and intention to leave
:29:18. > :29:26.the organisation and that leaving taking effect. Therefore, it would
:29:27. > :29:29.be in the best interests if we took counsel on it and allow the
:29:30. > :29:33.individual councils to come to their consideration. But it would be
:29:34. > :29:37.helpful to some of the councils if we set out the indicative position
:29:38. > :29:43.that would have arisen if the same funding formula that has been
:29:44. > :29:47.applied since the 1980s had been applied in the year after next. We
:29:48. > :29:57.have to take this proposal always done. But it is important all of the
:29:58. > :30:00.councils understand and know the implications of what some of them
:30:01. > :30:06.seem to have voted for as part of the considerations within the Labour
:30:07. > :30:12.group. Thank you presiding officer. As local government resources shift
:30:13. > :30:15.evermore away from local taxation and towards the block grants, that
:30:16. > :30:22.being a bigger proportion of local government resorts because central
:30:23. > :30:29.government decisions, surely the tensions in the block grant will get
:30:30. > :30:32.worse. Isn't it clear that the freeing up of local government to
:30:33. > :30:36.make local decisions, particularly on local taxation is an absolutely
:30:37. > :30:41.necessary part of this debate for the longer term if we want local
:30:42. > :30:45.government to be government? There we have it, coming to the
:30:46. > :30:49.close of coverage of questions to the First Minister. Substantial
:30:50. > :30:53.exchanges over the currency with all of the leaders joining in that. And
:30:54. > :30:56.closing with the financial situation effect in councils. From me,
:30:57. > :31:01.goodbye.