:00:17. > :00:19.Hello and welcome to Politics Scotland. Coming up:
:00:19. > :00:25.Unemployment in Scotland has dropped for the third month in a
:00:25. > :00:28.row, but what will it now take to sustain this trend?
:00:28. > :00:31.With David Cameron and his deputy, Nick Clegg out of the country,
:00:31. > :00:35.William Hague steps up to the plate for Prime Ministers Questions.
:00:35. > :00:38.at Westminster the sun is shining and unemployment is down yet again,
:00:38. > :00:44.but looking further ahead, could the economic storm clouds be
:00:45. > :00:49.gathering? So unemployment in Scotland has
:00:49. > :00:51.fallen again. With me now, our business and economy editor,
:00:51. > :00:54.Douglas Fraser and today's studio commentator, the author and
:00:54. > :00:56.journalist, David Torrance. Thank you for coming in. Douglas, talk us
:00:56. > :00:59.through the numbers. The numbers we got relate to the
:00:59. > :01:09.survey that is carried out of the workforce. This was was February to
:01:09. > :01:12.
:01:12. > :01:15.April of this year. There were 220 Scots were looking for work during
:01:15. > :01:18.that period. That's at a fall of 14,000. That leads to us a figure
:01:18. > :01:22.of 8.2% of the entire workforce looking for work. That's the same
:01:22. > :01:25.number as for the UK as a whole. The other way of looking at
:01:25. > :01:31.unemployment, the same survey showed us how many people in jobs.
:01:31. > :01:35.In Scotland, that was up by 18,000. Both of these look relatively good
:01:35. > :01:39.compared to what we are seeing in the rest of the UK. There is
:01:39. > :01:42.another way of counting unemployment, of course, that's the
:01:42. > :01:49.narrower definition of those on Jobseeker's Allowance. Now that was
:01:49. > :01:55.up by 400. It is heading in the wrong direction as in the UK.
:01:55. > :02:03.Another forecast out today for the economy and for jobs? Yes, that
:02:03. > :02:08.looks back. Three times the Strathclyde University comes out
:02:08. > :02:13.with a forecast. On growth, it is confirming what we knew. We expect
:02:13. > :02:18.weak growth. 0.4%. They are pulling back on their expectations of
:02:18. > :02:23.growth for next year and the year after that, they reckon we will be
:02:23. > :02:27.in the growth pattern we were used to in better times. They translate
:02:27. > :02:30.that into the number of jobs that could be lost as a result of weak
:02:30. > :02:34.growth. They reckon that through towards the end of next year, you
:02:34. > :02:38.could fin the unemployment numbers going up by over 30,000. It could
:02:38. > :02:44.get over the 750,000 mark for Scotland.
:02:44. > :02:48.What is happening in the eurozone. Have they related that to Scotland?
:02:48. > :02:52.Economists and businesses. That's what they are worried about. They
:02:52. > :02:56.have been muddling through for a long time. But they asked what if
:02:56. > :03:01.Greece leaves the eurozone? They have asked what if the whole of the
:03:01. > :03:05.eurozone reverts back to 17 currencies? The shock would be very,
:03:05. > :03:10.very significant in terms of of trade and bank lending and in terms
:03:11. > :03:16.of confidence. It would reverberate around the world. Scots who sell
:03:16. > :03:20.their products to the United States would be affected. What they reckon
:03:20. > :03:26.is, if there is a Greek exit, just one country, leaves the eurozone,
:03:27. > :03:30.that could after three years cost nearly 50,000 jobs in Scotland.
:03:30. > :03:35.More dramatic, but rather less likely is this idea that the whole
:03:35. > :03:39.of the eurozone breaks up. That could cost after three years,
:03:39. > :03:43.144,000 jobs. That's worse than the downturn that we are struggling to
:03:43. > :03:48.recover from. We are going to the chamber at
:03:48. > :03:50.Holyrood to hear about a debate on the effect of the employment
:03:50. > :03:55.picture on women and what's happening to them in the jobs
:03:55. > :03:58.market. What are the key issues? There has been a problem spotted in
:03:58. > :04:01.recent months. Because of the Government cuts, women being a
:04:02. > :04:06.larger part of the public sector workforce, women have been harder
:04:06. > :04:12.hit by those cuts. Today's figures suggest that that is continuing to
:04:12. > :04:16.some extent, but not an obvious trend that women are hit by
:04:16. > :04:21.Government cuts. David, later, we will be coming to
:04:21. > :04:26.you shortly. But staying on the subject of jobs - I should have
:04:27. > :04:31.said David. Let's cross to the Holyrood chamber where the debate
:04:31. > :04:34.is getting women into work and we can join our commentator Sarah
:04:34. > :04:38.Patterson. This afternoon is part of the
:04:38. > :04:44.committee's inquiry into women and work as you say. They want to hear
:04:44. > :04:47.the views of SNPs to take that work forward and Mary Fee who was
:04:47. > :04:51.speaking on behalf of the Equal Opportunities Committee, she said
:04:51. > :04:57.the Parliament needs to end gender inequality. She pointed out that
:04:57. > :05:01.women hold less than a third of the UK's top jobs. They pointed out the
:05:01. > :05:07.need for good female role models. We have heard that flexible
:05:07. > :05:11.childcare is one of the stumbling blocks to ended that inequality and
:05:11. > :05:14.the minister, she talked of her concerns about the high levels of
:05:14. > :05:19.female unemployment and she announced that the Government would
:05:19. > :05:24.be working with the STU to formulate new policy. We've had
:05:24. > :05:28.quite a lot of depressing statistics from all sides of the
:05:28. > :05:35.chamber, but behind it all is the fundamental question which is why
:05:35. > :05:41.in a modern Scotland our men -- are men more equal in the workplace? We
:05:41. > :05:46.can cross live to the chamber. And ask the minister to consider
:05:46. > :05:48.that women on the edge are included in this and for the equality
:05:48. > :05:58.opportunities committee to consider the issue of women on the edge?
:05:58. > :06:07.
:06:07. > :06:09.Thank you. APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
:06:09. > :06:12.As we have heard, women are being disproportionately affected by the
:06:12. > :06:13.recession and that's going to be compounded by the policies of the
:06:13. > :06:15.Westminster Government, particularly with regard to Welfare
:06:15. > :06:17.Reform. The STU is clearly concerned about this and has been
:06:17. > :06:23.mentioned before, over the past year women's unemployment increased
:06:23. > :06:30.by 90% while main unemployment declined. I note that Graeme Smith
:06:30. > :06:34.says that the STUC looks forward to working with the Scottish
:06:34. > :06:38.Government. I am delighted that they will be involved in the first
:06:38. > :06:43.women's employment summit and it sounds an interesting agenda. We
:06:43. > :06:47.can't rewrite history. The assumptions that have been made,
:06:47. > :06:52.assumptions that are forgotten at a time of law and the post world war
:06:52. > :06:56.treatment of women is a clear example of hypocrisy in our society.
:06:56. > :07:00.Women are more likely to have primary caring responsibilities.
:07:00. > :07:06.More likely to work part-time. Therefore, more likely to be on
:07:06. > :07:13.lower paid. More likely to have lower paid and insecure status jobs
:07:13. > :07:16.and more likely to be lone parents. These are factors which impact
:07:16. > :07:19.greatly on what we have been discussing. I would like to - I am
:07:19. > :07:24.grateful to the organisations which have provided briefings. I would
:07:24. > :07:28.like to refer to an informal briefing provided to me following a
:07:28. > :07:34.conversation with a young mother in Inverness. A mother of twins who
:07:34. > :07:40.following a meeting with the other young moth mothers, she would like
:07:40. > :07:45.me calling her young, provided me information about what their
:07:45. > :07:48.concerns where. I will tell you about them. They both work for the
:07:48. > :07:54.NHS and both have a child under one. One has returned to work and the
:07:54. > :07:58.other hasn't. Their concerns related to, "Flexible working. Lack
:07:58. > :08:02.of affordable and flexible childcare and only available 6am to
:08:03. > :08:07.6pm. The requirement to pay a month upfront before a child starts with
:08:07. > :08:13.the childminder and and nursery. Employer attitudes to reduce hours
:08:13. > :08:21.on return from maternity leave, not always positive. Complicated
:08:21. > :08:25.benefits, tax credits system that offers no si cystance to lower --
:08:25. > :08:32.assistance to lower income families. Need for employers to offer
:08:32. > :08:35.flexible working to fathers, not just mothers." I am I am grateful
:08:35. > :08:39.to the convener and we heard a flavour of the problems that
:08:39. > :08:43.existed there. Indeed, the particular example the convener
:08:43. > :08:47.alluded to, short notice changes of shift for women who have the
:08:47. > :08:55.childcare and often care for other family members and the importance
:08:55. > :09:01.of that was recognised by the fact that it was discussed at the STUC
:09:01. > :09:06.women's conference. We also heard there is a huge gulf between
:09:06. > :09:11.employers, agreed policies and what is happening in practise and I am
:09:11. > :09:19.grateful to the Equality and Human Rights Commission for their
:09:19. > :09:23.information that work/life balance as well as the request to ask for
:09:23. > :09:29.flexible working is likely to be given lower priority during the
:09:29. > :09:34.recession. More than ever, we need strong
:09:35. > :09:38.trade unions and staff associations to ensure not just that people are
:09:38. > :09:42.properly represented, but to ensure that hard fought for workplace
:09:42. > :09:45.gains are not lost. There is much that can be done. I think it was
:09:45. > :09:47.significant that neither of these two young women knew about the
:09:47. > :09:51.initiatives from the Scottish Government. So there is information
:09:51. > :10:00.to get out there. There is a lot to be done and I look forward to the
:10:00. > :10:03.rest of the debate. APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
:10:03. > :10:05.This is a very difficult time for women and men, but many problems
:10:05. > :10:07.have a particular impact on women. Unemployment among women is
:10:07. > :10:14.increasing. The pay gap persist. Childcare is too expensive.
:10:14. > :10:24.Flexible working is not widely available and segregation is rife.
:10:24. > :10:26.
:10:26. > :10:31.Both who are Both horizontal and vertical segregation. It is
:10:31. > :10:36.sometimes subtle segregation which is is difficult to identify and
:10:37. > :10:40.remove. The problem is kneeing where to begin. Take ago look at
:10:40. > :10:44.other countries might be helpful. For example, this week, a
:10:44. > :10:49.constituent recommended a Norwegian system of parental leave which
:10:49. > :10:52.reserves some for men and allows for paternal leave to be taken
:10:52. > :10:56.simultaneously. This would be helpful for women as well as
:10:56. > :11:01.everyone else and be parter of the family-friendly and flexible
:11:01. > :11:05.working that is vital for families. When that is not available, women
:11:05. > :11:11.in our society who suffer, and let's not forget it is the economy
:11:11. > :11:19.that suffers as well. Other members have referred to the Royal Society
:11:19. > :11:22.of Edinburgh Report which pointed out that the majority of women with
:11:22. > :11:28.with qualifications in science and maths are not working in those
:11:28. > :11:33.areas. They estimate that is costing the economy �170 million a
:11:33. > :11:38.year. I notice that in the evidence session that the committee held the
:11:38. > :11:41.NHS was particularly praised. I would go along with that, but I had
:11:41. > :11:45.another quEpt who had to -- constituent to who had to leave her
:11:45. > :11:50.job as a nurse in the NHS because she couldn't get the flexible
:11:50. > :11:54.arrangements she required as a single parent. Affordable, flexible,
:11:54. > :11:59.high quality childcare is clearly central to all of this. This was
:11:59. > :12:02.recognised over 20 years ago by women in the greater Pilton area of
:12:02. > :12:07.my constituency when they identified campaigning for a
:12:07. > :12:12.childcare centre as central for their ambitions to get out of
:12:12. > :12:16.poverty and get reasonably paid employment. In fact, a woman who
:12:16. > :12:21.used that centre actually wrote in a Facebook exchange this morning
:12:21. > :12:24.with me that the Pilton childcare centre, "Helped me progress. I
:12:24. > :12:29.would not have been able to work full-time and get my degree without
:12:29. > :12:34.that project. I will never be able to thank the women who campaigned
:12:34. > :12:38.for the centre enough." Clearly, that is absolutely central and I am
:12:38. > :12:44.sure the minister knowsI don't go through these debates without
:12:44. > :12:54.mentioning that childcare centre. We go now to the garden lobby where
:12:54. > :12:58.we are joined by Ken Macintosh and Clare Adamson and Willie Rennie.
:12:58. > :13:02.A report out today is looking at the effect of quantitative easing
:13:02. > :13:05.and saying if we look to the wider economy here, which dictates what
:13:05. > :13:11.the job prospects are, the quantitative easing effect is
:13:11. > :13:15.really so limited that it has no impact and confidence is the issue.
:13:15. > :13:17.Is that your assessment despite the vast amounts of money going in?
:13:17. > :13:20.don't think you can see that quantitative easing has had no
:13:20. > :13:25.effect, but you are right to highlight the fact that there is
:13:25. > :13:28.still a lack of confidence in the economy. All of us as consumers
:13:28. > :13:32.know that people are worried about their shopping, about their bills,
:13:33. > :13:36.nobody is buying for selling houses. Nobody is moving jobs. So yes,
:13:36. > :13:41.there is a clear problem with lack of confidence and there is no doubt
:13:41. > :13:45.that there are other measures which this Government should be taking.
:13:45. > :13:48.The biggest would be to put money in consumers pockets, a cut in VAT
:13:48. > :13:53.would do that. Alistair Darling has been talking
:13:53. > :13:57.about borrowing to stimulate the economy. You should be borrowing to
:13:57. > :14:02.stimulate the economy particularly on infrastructure projects which is
:14:02. > :14:08.the SNP's argument? Yes, it is our argument. Ed Balls has been put
:14:08. > :14:13.forward a five-point plan to stimulate the economy which calls
:14:13. > :14:16.for infrastructure pro jeghts to be -- projects to be brought forward
:14:16. > :14:20.earlier. If you look at what Obama has done in America, they have got
:14:20. > :14:26.the economy at a level higher than it was before the recession. We are
:14:26. > :14:32.still four points below where we were.
:14:32. > :14:35.Clare Adamson, can we look at the ending to banks to allow them to
:14:35. > :14:40.bend to businesses? What are the problems do you think with that?
:14:40. > :14:44.Well, I think, the lack of lending to small businesses has been one of
:14:44. > :14:49.the barriers to getting out of the economic position that we are in at
:14:49. > :14:57.the moment and I will say that's why the small business bonus which
:14:57. > :15:01.has ben benefited 80,000 small businesses in Scotland is important
:15:01. > :15:05.Freeing important Freeing up that money is important.
:15:05. > :15:10.If we look at the measure that's come out of Westminster. Do you
:15:10. > :15:14.have concerns that in fact credit worthy households are unwilling to
:15:14. > :15:17.borrow anymore money as credit worthy businesses because they have
:15:17. > :15:20.got things under control and the kind of people coming to the banks
:15:20. > :15:30.for the money are the sort of people they don't want to give it
:15:30. > :15:32.
:15:32. > :15:37.I think we have to look at the value of the proposals. I think we
:15:37. > :15:47.have to take some risk to achieve this. It is interesting you raise
:15:47. > :15:51.the issue of debt and reluctance of debt. Students in Scotland a
:15:51. > :15:55.�10,000 better off than those in England so we have to recognise
:15:56. > :16:00.that people are debt averse and we have to do everything we can to get
:16:00. > :16:08.money back into the economy. Willie Rennie, have frustrated are you
:16:08. > :16:12.that the Coalition seems to refuse to go down the line of borrowing?
:16:12. > :16:16.Everything you do in the economy has a consequence. The
:16:16. > :16:25.International Monetary Fund report did not say we should borrow more
:16:25. > :16:32.to spend more on shovel re D projects. -- shovel ready projects.
:16:32. > :16:36.Some staff is pretty hard to take, some of the proposals. Like cutting
:16:36. > :16:41.winter fuel payments. None of these things are easy but there are no
:16:41. > :16:45.easy answers and that is why the government is working hard on the
:16:45. > :16:49.things like banks lending to businesses and that is a challenge.
:16:49. > :16:55.If what we hear from the bangs is that the profile of the people who
:16:55. > :16:58.are going to be borrowing, they are not comfortable lending to and also,
:16:58. > :17:02.people in credit do not want to borrow because everything is
:17:02. > :17:07.insecure. Would it not be better to put the money that has gone into
:17:07. > :17:11.lending for the banks in took infrastructure project? These are
:17:11. > :17:18.highly complex issues and I recognise the point you are making.
:17:18. > :17:24.Can you push on a piece of string? Is there any point in pushing it
:17:24. > :17:28.and dividing it. I can understand problem there. The Treasury is
:17:28. > :17:33.confident weekend get substantial sums of lower-cost lending into
:17:33. > :17:38.businesses and households much more readily than we currently are. We
:17:38. > :17:44.are the world -- the world economy is challenging now. We are not
:17:44. > :17:52.recommending that we borrow more money. The IMF said that. It is all
:17:53. > :17:58.about spending enough to stimulate the economy. Let us go to the
:17:58. > :18:02.unemployment figures out today. What do you read into them? It is a
:18:02. > :18:08.mixed picture. Any fall in unemployment has to be welcomed but
:18:08. > :18:13.I suspect they are seasonally down and the underlying trend is a
:18:13. > :18:18.continued rise in unemployment. What was depressing today was the
:18:18. > :18:26.confirmation that we have lost 25,000 plus tot -- public sector
:18:26. > :18:29.jobs over the last year. Listening to the debate in the chamber, it is
:18:29. > :18:34.interesting to know it, and disappointing, that unemployment
:18:34. > :18:39.for women in Scotland is higher than in the UK. Let us look at that,
:18:39. > :18:44.Clare Adamson. There seems to be a specific female dynamic in the fact
:18:44. > :18:48.that women are often the ones in part-time jobs and that women are
:18:48. > :18:53.often the ones who seem most disadvantaged when there is a jobs
:18:53. > :18:58.squeeze. Yes, I think the figures showed that. But there was welcome
:18:58. > :19:04.news today in the job figures and one Ernst & Young report showing
:19:04. > :19:08.that confidence in investing in the Scotland is highest in the UK and
:19:08. > :19:17.that is welcome. We need to take advantage the benefits that
:19:17. > :19:22.Scotland has at the moment. The introduction of 600 hours of free
:19:22. > :19:29.child care is vitally important for many, not just for all families but
:19:29. > :19:36.the most vulnerable families in Scotland. You haven't delivered
:19:36. > :19:40.yet? The Minister said this afternoon that a bill will be
:19:40. > :19:47.brought next year but that promise was made five years ago. We will
:19:47. > :19:54.beat implementing the additional free care places for families. Also,
:19:54. > :20:00.this year, will we -- we will have a women's jobs summit to examine
:20:00. > :20:03.how we can encourage businesses to look at women's employment. When we
:20:03. > :20:09.look at the balance of the loss of jobs in the public sector, is the
:20:09. > :20:13.balance being picked up in the private sector at all? There is
:20:13. > :20:18.some pick-up in the private sector and that is how we will get out of
:20:18. > :20:23.this perception. That is why it is important to provide the levers in
:20:23. > :20:27.place. And also the things we were talking about in terms of child
:20:27. > :20:33.care and that is why the UK government is moving at a faster
:20:33. > :20:38.pace, actually, than the SNP. As a package, this can stimulate the
:20:38. > :20:44.economy and get people back to work. Thank you. David is here in the
:20:44. > :20:49.studio. With these numbers, you can have quarterly reports and then
:20:49. > :20:54.there is a developing trend which is possibly more relevant over a
:20:54. > :20:58.longer period of time. As Ken Macintosh said, the underlying
:20:58. > :21:02.message is pretty much the same. There is certainly no compelling
:21:02. > :21:08.evidence that the economic crisis is over and that Scotland is
:21:08. > :21:15.emerging from that quickly. As ever with these is -- statistics, you
:21:15. > :21:19.have people claiming credit. The UK government was first off the mark,
:21:19. > :21:23.St the statistics were down to UK government policy and within an
:21:23. > :21:29.hour, the SNP said it was down to their planning and their specific
:21:29. > :21:34.policies. It is a measure of have fundamentally important this is
:21:34. > :21:42.because, going into any form of election, jobs is an issue that
:21:42. > :21:48.speaks to people. Yes, it is true. The SNP also flag up in their press
:21:48. > :21:53.release the Ernst and Young report in the attractiveness in the UK and
:21:53. > :21:57.that is a lesson. Despite the continued speculation about the
:21:57. > :22:02.referendum and so on, Scotland remains the most attractive part of
:22:02. > :22:06.the UK to do business. I imagine they feel vindicated because it has
:22:06. > :22:11.been put to them constantly that the uncertainty from the referendum
:22:12. > :22:16.process will damage business. first minister is in California and
:22:16. > :22:22.he says they could be a jobs tie up in terms of renewables. Yes, that
:22:22. > :22:26.is Alex Salmond's big thing. Energy and renewables is something that
:22:26. > :22:33.really fires him up. I think he told an audience in California
:22:33. > :22:40.that's got learned could be the centre for renewables. A couple of
:22:40. > :22:43.days ago, he said that cutting corporation tax to around 20% in
:22:43. > :22:48.Scotland would make it more attractive to business not just the
:22:48. > :22:53.UK and Europe but internationally. Getting out of Europe is
:22:53. > :22:58.interesting and finding markets like China and America? The reasons
:22:58. > :23:03.are clear. The European context is still pretty grim. On that note,
:23:03. > :23:08.Alex Salmond, to my knowledge, has not said anything about the
:23:08. > :23:13.eurozone crisis which is quite strange. He has built up a lot of
:23:13. > :23:21.kudos in being a politician with an economist background but on this
:23:21. > :23:27.issue, he has not said anything. key change here. Have you seen
:23:27. > :23:34.Brave? I have seen the trailer and the excellent BBC news coverage of
:23:34. > :23:39.it. Do all Highland women behave like that? I should hope not!
:23:39. > :23:45.will be back shortly. 20:12 Hours Against Hate is one
:23:45. > :23:52.campaign to challenge races and, sectarianism and sexism. It has
:23:52. > :23:58.been launched by a Farah Pandith, the US Representative to Muslim
:23:58. > :24:05.Communities. Secretary Clinton established my
:24:05. > :24:10.position so that we could work with our embassies around the world,
:24:10. > :24:15.Muslim and Muslim-majority countries to get to know the next
:24:15. > :24:20.generation. I am focused on people to people engagement and a Moni
:24:20. > :24:26.focused on the generation under 30, which is really important. This
:24:26. > :24:30.demographic makes a huge difference. One false of humanity is Muslim and
:24:30. > :24:35.most are under 30. Surely your dog is made harder
:24:35. > :24:43.because of the US and UK foreign policy over the years in Iraq and
:24:43. > :24:47.Afghanistan. Many young Muslims may be disengaged and may have a hate
:24:47. > :24:52.just for the West? We have to talk about that in a
:24:52. > :24:59.particular way. There is an ass and then that exists in the world but
:24:59. > :25:08.started prior to nine 11th. We completely reject this. There is a
:25:08. > :25:14."wee". President Obama has been clear that we are building many
:25:15. > :25:18.organisations around the world of many faiths. The young generation
:25:18. > :25:25.is really compelling because what they are saying is something very
:25:25. > :25:29.precise to this generation that doesn't necessarily get translated
:25:29. > :25:35.when we talk about things. This generation is more connected then
:25:35. > :25:39.any other in the world. On Twitter they can send their ideas forward
:25:39. > :25:45.and the matter. What they say is that they do not want to live with
:25:45. > :25:51.bigotry and hatred that our parents and grandparents lived with.
:25:51. > :25:57.Whether it is young people in Beirut, Sarajevo or Stockholm.
:25:57. > :26:05.you think some Muslims may say you are trying to foment a referee and
:26:05. > :26:10.-- referee -- reformation? What they are seeing is that they we
:26:10. > :26:15.need to stand up and speak out when bad things happened. Whether it is
:26:15. > :26:19.church burnings, an increase in anti-Semitism or any other kind of
:26:19. > :26:27.races imports extremism or bigotry. I see young people who say they
:26:27. > :26:33.want to do more and it is very important we do not pigeon hole.
:26:33. > :26:39.Muslims around the world are very diverse and have a hard time
:26:39. > :26:43.accepting it is a monolith because it is not. With young people here,
:26:43. > :26:49.in our most recent race crime incidents in Scotland, they were
:26:49. > :26:55.down last year but 46% were carried out by people under 20. Is this
:26:55. > :27:01.surprising? I think young people can be disenfranchised. It is
:27:01. > :27:05.really important they have a voice. If they do, and if they have an
:27:05. > :27:09.opportunity to really say what they feel and why they feel it and that
:27:09. > :27:16.people listen, we might tackle some of these things. When young people
:27:16. > :27:21.are given a voice, it doesn't find horrible expressions of violence
:27:21. > :27:27.but, I guess we want to create a Scotland, in fact a world, where
:27:27. > :27:32.everyone is listened to. We have sectarian issues in Scotland also
:27:32. > :27:35.and new laws to tackle bigotry at football matches, for example. What
:27:35. > :27:40.have you learnt from your visit here and do you have any
:27:40. > :27:46.suggestions that might help us? Doing what you are doing right now
:27:46. > :27:49.- talking about this and what Maureen is doing on the ground with
:27:49. > :27:54.communities, the opportunity to visit the school today and hearing
:27:54. > :28:00.from young people who say they have people of young fates and races in
:28:00. > :28:07.our community and we are proud of it, it is taking an opportunity to
:28:07. > :28:11.learn about the other. Each government, each governance
:28:11. > :28:15.structure around the world is handling this in different ways and
:28:15. > :28:20.it is up to them to do that but giving the boys to the young people
:28:20. > :28:25.who are actually doing remarkable and amazing things, can been a
:28:25. > :28:30.great example to others around the world. Maureen, you are trying to
:28:30. > :28:38.tackle that in an interface cancel. But it is an interface problem,
:28:38. > :28:44.isn't it? Sadly, sectarianism exists in most faith communities
:28:44. > :28:50.and if you really were to examine it, it is when people of any faith
:28:50. > :28:56.backgrounds say when it -- the way I see the world is right and the
:28:56. > :29:01.way you treat the world is wrong, is wrong. It can sometimes manifest
:29:01. > :29:06.itself in sectarian hatred and we want that to stop. People are just
:29:06. > :29:12.tired of it. It is stupid, it is infantile and it doesn't have a
:29:12. > :29:18.place in Scotland and, I think, anywhere in the world. When you
:29:18. > :29:26.engage with people in the world and try to reduce the risk of terrorism,
:29:26. > :29:30.and we had an example here of the Lockerbie bombing, and one US
:29:30. > :29:37.senator called the release of the that Lockerbie bomber as an
:29:37. > :29:41.egregious mistake. We have a robust and wonderful relationship and I
:29:41. > :29:44.leave it for you to look at the wonderful things the Secretary of
:29:44. > :29:51.State has said about the relationship we have between our
:29:51. > :29:56.countries. This campaign is about people. It is not about one country
:29:56. > :30:02.or another. It is about organic relationships around the world. We
:30:02. > :30:05.are really honoured to have Scottish NGOs and we are
:30:05. > :30:15.celebrating the fact we have a new platform to work together on this
:30:15. > :30:16.
:30:16. > :30:21.campaign. By now to Westminster. With Deputy Nick Clegg in Rio for
:30:21. > :30:31.the Earth Summit and the Prime Minister at the G20 summit, it was
:30:31. > :30:31.
:30:31. > :30:36.down to William Hague to take the Account Foreign Secretary confirm
:30:36. > :30:42.that the UK is the only country in a double dip recession apart from
:30:42. > :30:48.Italy? The IMF forecast in the coming year the British economy -
:30:48. > :30:52.well, they may not want to know what is is being said by the IMF.
:30:52. > :30:56.The Shadow Chancellor, he is not here with his hand gestures, but he
:30:56. > :30:59.has always said we should take notice of the IMF and they say in
:30:59. > :31:04.the coming year that the British economy is going to grow faster
:31:04. > :31:08.than the German or French economy. That next year growth in the
:31:08. > :31:13.British economy will be similar to that of the United States and twice
:31:14. > :31:17.that of the eurozone and that would not be happening had we not brought
:31:17. > :31:20.the excessive deficits and debts under the last Government under
:31:20. > :31:27.control. Account Secretary of State inform
:31:27. > :31:33.the house why it is that he wants to see his nurses in Richmond
:31:33. > :31:37.Yorkshire to be paid less than say nurses doing the same job say in
:31:37. > :31:42.Richmond Surrey? Well, this is an issue that the pay review bodies
:31:42. > :31:46.are now examining as the honourable member will know. They will report
:31:46. > :31:50.next month, but the case for local pay and they will make their
:31:50. > :31:54.recommendations, we can debate that, the case for local pay was once
:31:54. > :31:59.made by a Chancellor of the Exchequer who said it makes sense
:31:59. > :32:02.to recognise that a more considered approach to local and regional
:32:03. > :32:08.conditions in pay offers the best modern route to full employment in
:32:08. > :32:11.our country. That Chancellor of the Exchequer was his near neighbour
:32:11. > :32:15.neighbour. The Government has made clear its
:32:15. > :32:19.commitment to root out tax avoidance by public officials and
:32:19. > :32:29.civil servants. Account Deputy Prime Minister - can the Foreign
:32:29. > :32:36.
:32:36. > :32:38.Secretary make clear... LAUGHTER
:32:38. > :32:40.Can the Foreign Secretary make clear and the Government will be
:32:40. > :32:43.robust in rooting out tax avoidance by the corporate sector who do jobs
:32:43. > :32:45.for Government or are employed by the Government? Absolutely. I won't
:32:45. > :32:46.mention to the Deputy Prime Minister his slip just now. It is
:32:46. > :32:51.between ourselves! LAUGHTER
:32:51. > :32:55.In these four walls! And yes, absolutely. The Chancellor set out
:32:56. > :33:02.very clearly in the Budget his determination to deal with tax
:33:02. > :33:05.avoidance and to do so without warning in future and I know if the
:33:05. > :33:09.Chancellor was here he would say that applies to the corporate
:33:09. > :33:11.sector as well. There is more work to to do, but
:33:11. > :33:16.unemployment has reduced in Scotland and for the second year in
:33:16. > :33:18.a row, Scotland is the best best performing location for foreign
:33:19. > :33:22.investment in the UK. Would the Foreign Secretary take the
:33:22. > :33:26.opportunity to congratulate the Scottish Government and Scottish
:33:26. > :33:31.development international which is the lead agency that secures
:33:31. > :33:35.foreign direct investments in Well, the honourable member is
:33:35. > :33:39.right to draw attention to the employment figures which we must
:33:39. > :33:43.never be complacent and there is always more work to do, but the
:33:43. > :33:48.right honourable lady didn't ask about these and they show a
:33:48. > :33:51.quarterly fall in unemployment of 51,000 and they do show the rate of
:33:51. > :33:55.unemployment coming down and importantly, youth unemployment
:33:55. > :34:00.coming down by 29,000 in the last quarter, but long-term unemployment
:34:00. > :34:05.is still still rising and that remains a challenge. Of course,
:34:05. > :34:09.Scotland as part of the United Kingdom is an attractive place to
:34:09. > :34:13.invest in and I congratulate many Scottish people and businesses on
:34:13. > :34:17.their work. They would have harder work to do if Scotland were not
:34:17. > :34:27.part of the United Kingdom. Let's go over to Westminster and
:34:27. > :34:34.
:34:34. > :34:39.our correspondent David Porter. Hello, David, there was a lot of of
:34:39. > :34:43.of yowling today? You know what they say, when the cat's away -
:34:43. > :34:48.William Hague was taking Prime Minister's Questions. It was quite
:34:48. > :34:52.a sparky affair. A lot to go on the economy and things like that and to
:34:52. > :34:58.discuss Prime Minister's Questions and the other big issues affecting
:34:58. > :35:05.Scotland I am joined by two Scottish MPs, the Scotland office
:35:05. > :35:08.minister and Mike Weir for the SNP. Unemployment is down again. Do you
:35:08. > :35:11.think we have turned the corner, that unemployment is on a down ward
:35:11. > :35:15.path? I wouldn't be complacent enough to
:35:15. > :35:19.suggest that unemployment is on a permanent downward path. It is
:35:19. > :35:23.great news that there is 18,000 more people in work in Scotland
:35:23. > :35:26.this month. That is the third month running. It is good news for the
:35:26. > :35:29.individuals. It is good news for the families and good news for
:35:29. > :35:33.Scotland's economy, but there are still very concerning issues
:35:33. > :35:36.particularly around youth unemployment. That means that both
:35:36. > :35:40.ourselves and the Scottish Government have to redouble our
:35:40. > :35:46.efforts which have been good at working together on the issue of
:35:46. > :35:49.youth unemployment, but that has to remain an important focus for us.
:35:49. > :35:54.Mike Weir, you will welcome the fact that unemployment is coming
:35:54. > :35:57.down, but you would like to see more to boost the economy? Indeed.
:35:57. > :36:01.It is good news that unemployment is coming down, but it is too high.
:36:01. > :36:06.We need investment in the economy and particular, we need investment
:36:06. > :36:08.in the infrastructure to create new jobs. That's desperately needed.
:36:08. > :36:13.The Scottish Government has been arguing for that. There is a list
:36:13. > :36:17.of projects ready and able to go if the Treasury would release the
:36:17. > :36:20.purse strings. That's the problem the Scottish has got, the money is
:36:20. > :36:24.controlled by -- the Scottish Government has got, the money is
:36:24. > :36:27.controlled by London. We require to get money through the Treasury in
:36:27. > :36:32.London. The same question to both of you.
:36:32. > :36:34.Is this the economy and unemployment not one of the
:36:34. > :36:38.questions where it shouldn't be politics, both the Government in
:36:38. > :36:45.London and Edinburgh, should be saying whatever other political
:36:45. > :36:48.political differences we have, we will put them aside. Mike Weir
:36:48. > :36:53.governments have been working together and they have been to
:36:53. > :36:59.joint meetings. On unemployment, Scotland continues to work on this
:36:59. > :37:02.issue, but there are political differences on the fundamentals of
:37:02. > :37:06.the economy, particularly investment needed in infrastructure,
:37:06. > :37:10.the Chancellor signalled some U- turns, but there is a long way to
:37:10. > :37:15.go. If we had the money available for the infrastructure, we could
:37:15. > :37:18.create more employment in Scotland. That's needed. There is huge urn
:37:18. > :37:22.certainties -- uncertainties and we have to be aware of these.
:37:22. > :37:27.I hope that we can continue to work together particularly on the issue
:37:27. > :37:31.of youth unemployment which as David Miliband acknowledges didn't
:37:31. > :37:34.start under this Government, there has been underlying issues with
:37:34. > :37:40.youth unemployment since 2004 and everybody needs to work together on
:37:40. > :37:43.that. There is politics in this. What Mike and John Swinney don't
:37:43. > :37:49.acknowledge, they have had �1 billion more in terms of funding
:37:50. > :37:54.than they anticipated at the time of the Spending Review. And their
:37:54. > :37:57.so-called shovel ready projects is a mass for for not taking
:37:57. > :38:02.responsibility for their priorities and decision making. I would rather
:38:02. > :38:06.see money spent improving the A75 in my constituency than giving
:38:06. > :38:10.prescriptions to millionaires. These are the choices that the SNP
:38:10. > :38:14.Government are making. They have got extra resources, but they are
:38:14. > :38:18.choose to go deploy them in a -- choosing to deploy them that suits
:38:18. > :38:21.their political agenda. You have a lot of economic leavers
:38:21. > :38:24.and money. You are not sensible? That's utter nonsense. There is
:38:24. > :38:31.less money in the Scottish Government budget than there were
:38:31. > :38:37.prior to the Government coming to power. There is �1 billion more?
:38:37. > :38:40.There is �1 billion more than you anticipated that you would have in
:38:40. > :38:42.2010, Mike. Therefore, you have additional money. You have
:38:42. > :38:46.additional money. That's not the case.
:38:47. > :38:49.Yes, you have additional money and you have chosen not to spend it on
:38:49. > :38:53.these projects. One at a time.
:38:53. > :38:59.The real difference in the Scottish economy, that's what is needed. The
:38:59. > :39:03.UK Government have got an ideal logical crusade of austerity above
:39:03. > :39:07.all else. They have seen it is not working. They are not prepared to
:39:07. > :39:11.release the money and make a real difference and create jobs.
:39:11. > :39:18.Yesterday, they were prepared to put �1 billion into preparing for
:39:18. > :39:23.Trident, to save 300 jobs in derby. On the Treasury figures, the money
:39:23. > :39:27.could have created 50,000 jobs in the economy. That's the difference
:39:27. > :39:35.in the Scottish Government bringing in investment and the Government
:39:35. > :39:39.down here, you are on an austerity kick and not taking actions.
:39:39. > :39:43.The Scottish Government aren't interested in the 6,000 jobs and
:39:43. > :39:48.many jobs around Faslane and the the jobs that bring into that area,
:39:48. > :39:51.what they are interested in is sticking to the blame culture where
:39:51. > :39:54.if anything goes wrong in Scotland, it is the Westminster Government
:39:54. > :39:59.that has to be trotted out to take the blame. It is a failure, it is a
:39:59. > :40:04.failure to take responsibility. They have the funds to take forward
:40:04. > :40:07.those projects and they have chosen to spend the money on other things
:40:07. > :40:10.and now they seek to blame the Westminster Government. That's
:40:10. > :40:16.rubbish. It is just what we would expect
:40:16. > :40:19.from the SNP in that regard. But everybody watching, particularly in
:40:19. > :40:23.terms of youth unemployment, knows we must work together. The
:40:23. > :40:27.politicking on that issue cannot be allowed to get in the way of
:40:27. > :40:31.getting young people out to work. We are going to have to draw it to
:40:31. > :40:36.a close. Thank you very much. The weather is lovely down here at
:40:36. > :40:43.Westminster. You think these two would have been nice to each other
:40:43. > :40:47.as well. Not really is the answer.
:40:47. > :40:56.Back to David in the studio. The No Campaign launches on Monday. What
:40:56. > :41:01.do you know? Well, some boring details, but it kicks off just
:41:01. > :41:10.after 10am in Edinburgh. The main front man has been well trailed as
:41:10. > :41:15.the former chancellor, Alistair Darling, flanked by Charles Kennedy,
:41:15. > :41:25.and Annabel Goldie. For people outside, they will say
:41:25. > :41:26.
:41:26. > :41:35.can this hold together given different objectives? In the
:41:35. > :41:39.devolution campaign hu a similar sin -- you had a similar scenario.
:41:39. > :41:43.There will be, "We have these differences. Several things divide
:41:44. > :41:46.us. But the one thing we are agreed on is the United Kingdom should
:41:46. > :41:50.remain together, better together, which is the name of the campaign
:41:50. > :41:54.and that's what we are campaigning for.". What about the styles of the
:41:55. > :41:58.campaign? We know the Yes Campaign say they want it to be community
:41:58. > :42:04.based. Do you think that will work in practise and where do you think
:42:04. > :42:10.the no campaign is on that one? Yes Campaign is pitching itself as
:42:10. > :42:14.a bottom-up campaign. They say the largest community based
:42:14. > :42:19.organisation. The constitution does not fire up normal voters. It fires
:42:19. > :42:24.up people like you and me and fires up the SNP and some of the other
:42:24. > :42:28.parties, but not at grass-roots level. The No Campaign will pitch
:42:29. > :42:33.it at a higher level and they have been con dugging a -- conducting a
:42:33. > :42:37.media war, opinion formers and so on. That's where the emphasis will
:42:37. > :42:42.be and because people in the Unionist parties are not used to
:42:42. > :42:46.campaigning on the constitution. They are used to campaigning on
:42:46. > :42:51.domestic policy issues. The SNP are the opposite.
:42:51. > :42:57.What about the money? The SNP campaign is rolling in cash. They
:42:57. > :43:02.have had donations and probably more to campaign. The No Campaign,
:43:02. > :43:07.there were suggests there were struggling to raise money. The
:43:07. > :43:13.problem there was they had nothing to give money to. The No Campaign
:43:13. > :43:16.has only got its act together. David.
:43:17. > :43:20.-- David, thank you. My pleasure.
:43:20. > :43:24.A reminder that BBC Scotland are looking for audience members for
:43:24. > :43:34.the latest in our series of big debates, choosing Scotland's future.
:43:34. > :43:43.