Browse content similar to 20/06/2013. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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final week before the recess, but you know something, I don't think | :00:37. | :00:40. | |
that will change anything about the nature of the questions to the First | :00:40. | :00:48. | |
Minister today. Welcome to the floor of the chamber, where we are | :00:48. | :00:51. | |
currently hearing from the finance secretary, who is answer in | :00:51. | :00:57. | |
questions about air passenger duty and golf tourism. We are shortly | :00:58. | :01:02. | |
going to hear a question from Stuart McMillan, they are SNP member for | :01:02. | :01:05. | |
the West of Scotland, who will be asking the Government if they have | :01:05. | :01:10. | |
time to take that question about what recent discussions it has had | :01:10. | :01:13. | |
with the UK Government regarding immigration. Unfortunately, we are | :01:13. | :01:16. | |
not going to go to that question, we are going to go straight to First | :01:16. | :01:26. | |
:01:26. | :01:34. | ||
Minister 'sQuestions. Let's go to the chamber. | :01:34. | :01:39. | |
Thank you. That brings us to the next eight business, which is First | :01:39. | :01:44. | |
Minister ministers Questions. Leicester number one. -- question | :01:44. | :01:50. | |
number one. I would like to ask the First Minister what engagement he | :01:50. | :01:55. | |
has plans for the rest of the day. Plans to take forward education for | :01:56. | :02:03. | |
Scotland. Thank you. John Swinney will remember questions regarding | :02:03. | :02:06. | |
the state pension in a separate Scotland. This week, in public, John | :02:06. | :02:13. | |
Swinney promise not just a State Pension, but one that would go up | :02:13. | :02:21. | |
just by 2.5% per year, but said nothing... It is easy to say it. He | :02:21. | :02:26. | |
said nothing about the age of retirement. Can the First Minister | :02:26. | :02:30. | |
explain how John Swinney got from questioning the affordability of | :02:30. | :02:34. | |
pensions to this new policy, what is the cost of the new policy and how | :02:34. | :02:42. | |
will those Cosby mac? -- how will those costs be met? I would just | :02:43. | :02:46. | |
lead to point out that one of the key areas that the Government has | :02:46. | :02:50. | |
brought forward is that welfare spending in Scotland is less as a | :02:50. | :02:53. | |
proportion of our national economy than it is for the UK at the present | :02:53. | :02:59. | |
moment. The welfare budget is more affordable in Scotland than some | :02:59. | :03:07. | |
people regard it as across the UK. Given the wholesale desertion of the | :03:07. | :03:12. | |
cause of universal benefits and welfare policy by the Labour Party | :03:12. | :03:17. | |
in recent weeks, the acceptance of the Tory plans from the Shadow | :03:17. | :03:21. | |
Chancellor, I think this is the very last subject that Joanne Lamont | :03:22. | :03:27. | |
should be commenting on. Can I just point out the triple guarantee, the | :03:27. | :03:31. | |
guarantee of the triple locks that would be present, I think it is an | :03:31. | :03:34. | |
excellent thing to give reassurance, but the whole basis of the guarantee | :03:34. | :03:39. | |
is that it is exactly that. It is a guaranteed in terms of getting | :03:39. | :03:42. | |
pensioners the best deal possible, which is what the SNP are committed | :03:42. | :03:48. | |
to doing. If the First Minister wanted to be credible, he could at | :03:48. | :03:54. | |
least make an effort and answer the question. And he says, this is the | :03:54. | :03:58. | |
last question I should ask. It is the first question that many | :03:58. | :04:03. | |
pensioners and others across this country are asking. You know, when I | :04:03. | :04:07. | |
was studying my exams at school, I remember that you had to do the | :04:07. | :04:12. | |
maths, show the working, before you reach the answer. And what John | :04:12. | :04:17. | |
Swinney did this week was simply ignore what he said before and gave | :04:17. | :04:24. | |
an answer with no credible working at all. For whatever the real cost | :04:24. | :04:28. | |
of this pension policy, we know it has cost the credibility of John | :04:28. | :04:36. | |
Swinney, and now the Government itself. Because we live in the real | :04:36. | :04:40. | |
world. In private, the Cabinet doubts the affordability of the | :04:40. | :04:44. | |
State Pension. If their public words are to have any credibility, surely | :04:45. | :04:51. | |
they must now be able, to date, to tell us how it would be afforded. I | :04:52. | :04:55. | |
ask again. How did the Government moved from questioning the | :04:55. | :04:59. | |
affordability of the State Pension to this new policy of guaranteed | :04:59. | :05:07. | |
rises for all and what will it cost? Then perhaps this time Joanne | :05:07. | :05:10. | |
Lamont will appreciate the significance of the information the | :05:10. | :05:14. | |
Government published demonstrating that the welfare budget as a | :05:14. | :05:18. | |
proportion of Scotland's national wealth is less, proportionally, that | :05:18. | :05:23. | |
the welfare budget as a proportion of the UK, therefore making welfare | :05:23. | :05:28. | |
more affordable in Scotland. Given the guarantee that we have given and | :05:28. | :05:32. | |
it is current policy until the labour policy revise it, then of | :05:32. | :05:35. | |
course we can put that forward for the security of all the pensioners | :05:35. | :05:39. | |
in Scotland. Now, Joanne Lamont says this is the first question | :05:39. | :05:45. | |
pensioners will ask. I will tell you what pensioners are asking in | :05:45. | :05:50. | |
Scotland at the moment. They are asking that their bus pass is safe. | :05:50. | :05:53. | |
They are asking about free personal care, because Joanne Lamont is not | :05:54. | :06:00. | |
only unable, like Ed Balls, to commit to the public welfare | :06:00. | :06:05. | |
budget, she is challenging the basic fabric of the achievements of | :06:06. | :06:13. | |
devolution and the great games for pensioners across Scotland. Thank | :06:13. | :06:20. | |
you, First Minister. Joanne Lamont. On the bus pass, it helps to have a | :06:20. | :06:25. | |
bus to go with it. Do you know, there are people across the country | :06:25. | :06:28. | |
who believe that next year we're going to have a serious debate about | :06:28. | :06:34. | |
the future Scotland. From that showing, the First Minister is | :06:34. | :06:37. | |
incapable of convincing anyone, anyone, that he has even remotely | :06:37. | :06:41. | |
thought about the things that really matter to families across the | :06:42. | :06:45. | |
country. We know why the First Minister can be so relaxed about | :06:45. | :06:49. | |
pensions. By my reckoning, he has five, and they are all backed by the | :06:49. | :06:54. | |
UK Government. He has a civil service pension, an MP pension, and | :06:54. | :06:59. | |
MSP pension, his First Minister 's pension, and we should not forget, | :06:59. | :07:07. | |
and we should not forget... I am very grateful for the pension I have | :07:07. | :07:12. | |
got, but we should not forget, presumably, as Royal Bank of | :07:12. | :07:14. | |
Scotland pension, and he should thank Gordon Brown for saving that | :07:14. | :07:24. | |
:07:24. | :07:25. | ||
one. So we now... We now that he will be all right. But he is | :07:25. | :07:32. | |
prepared to put everyone else at risk. For pensions now and in the | :07:32. | :07:36. | |
future -- for pensioners now and in the future to believe that the SNP | :07:36. | :07:40. | |
is so certain that the State Pension is affordable, and the First | :07:40. | :07:43. | |
Minister tell us know how much money he will have to race to find it and | :07:43. | :07:49. | |
how much it will cost? Show us the workings, not just the answer. | :07:49. | :07:54. | |
Firstly, I think pensioners watching this broadcast, mentioning the words | :07:54. | :08:00. | |
Gordon Brown, whose raid on pensions destroyed the pensions of people | :08:00. | :08:06. | |
across this country, just indicates the insensitivity of the Labour | :08:06. | :08:12. | |
Party. Let me try this again for Joanne Lamont. Because of the | :08:13. | :08:17. | |
workings of the Scottish Government has produced, the welfare budget as | :08:17. | :08:20. | |
is share of Scotland's national wealth is less and therefore more | :08:20. | :08:24. | |
affordable than the welfare budget across the UK. Therefore, our plan | :08:24. | :08:31. | |
is affordable. It is more affordable in Scotland. It is an essential part | :08:31. | :08:35. | |
of the contract of society with pensioners. Other things are an | :08:35. | :08:40. | |
essential part of that as well. I take from Joanne Lamont 's question | :08:40. | :08:46. | |
that the bus pass is in danger from the Labour Party. Let's be clear. | :08:46. | :08:50. | |
What did they say when they set up the cuts commission? Nothing is off | :08:50. | :08:54. | |
the table. People should hear loud and clear, not just the bus pass, | :08:54. | :08:58. | |
tuition fees, the whole social contract of devolution is now under | :08:58. | :09:03. | |
threat from the party which once cared about working people. No | :09:03. | :09:07. | |
longer are the working people or pensions cared for by them, they are | :09:07. | :09:12. | |
hot in pursuit of their alliance with the Tory party. Thank you. | :09:12. | :09:20. | |
Joanne Lamont. My goodness. We have asked a simple question. He says it | :09:21. | :09:26. | |
is evident. Share it with us, share with us what it will cost. I think | :09:26. | :09:29. | |
that any pensioner, any family worried about their children's | :09:29. | :09:34. | |
future, will look at this broadcast as he calls it today, and wonder how | :09:34. | :09:40. | |
it is possible for a First Minister to offer a future which does not | :09:40. | :09:43. | |
look simply more like a leap in the dark on the fundamental issues | :09:43. | :09:50. | |
facing families. It is no wonder, not even his own SNP candidate in | :09:50. | :09:57. | |
Aberdeen Donside believes there is a chance of the First Minister winning | :09:57. | :10:02. | |
referendum. Not even his own economic advisers find him credible. | :10:02. | :10:07. | |
His noble laureate says he is wrong on corporation tax. And only last | :10:07. | :10:11. | |
May, Professor John Kay laid out why he has got his policy on the | :10:11. | :10:16. | |
currency wrong. The Institute Of Chartered Accountants Of Scotland | :10:16. | :10:22. | |
says there is a �170 billion hole in his plans for private pensions. The | :10:22. | :10:27. | |
First Minister simply cannot tell us how he will afford the State | :10:27. | :10:32. | |
Pension. This is an absolute failure, an absolute failure of | :10:32. | :10:39. | |
office, to be unable to answer those most basic questions. The reality is | :10:39. | :10:44. | |
that the First Minister has no credibility... I am glad you have | :10:44. | :10:47. | |
something to laugh about, because for the rest of us, this is far from | :10:47. | :10:57. | |
:10:57. | :10:58. | ||
funny. Order!If politics was about slogans and shouting, you would do | :10:58. | :11:07. | |
fine. Order!The fact of the matter is, on something as fundamental as | :11:07. | :11:11. | |
the future of this country, the First Minister has no detail and no | :11:11. | :11:15. | |
facts. Is it that is that the only way to protect your pension is to | :11:15. | :11:22. | |
pension off Alex Salmond next September? First Minister.In case | :11:22. | :11:26. | |
Joanne Lamont did not hear it properly, somebody merely suggested | :11:27. | :11:33. | |
it should have been Higher maths. The total wealth of Scotland, the | :11:33. | :11:38. | |
total product of Scotland and the only spent on welfare, that is less | :11:38. | :11:42. | |
of the percentage in Scotland than it is across the UK. Thus far, is | :11:42. | :11:46. | |
that correct? That is correct, and accepted. Therefore, the | :11:46. | :11:52. | |
affordability of that welfare budget, the Government part of which | :11:52. | :11:56. | |
is pensions, is therefore more recordable in Scotland than it is in | :11:56. | :12:01. | |
the United Kingdom as a whole. That seems a reasonable position. I think | :12:01. | :12:05. | |
most higher grade Higher maths students would manage to get that. | :12:05. | :12:11. | |
In terms of the pension black holes, can I return to Mr Brown? The | :12:11. | :12:14. | |
pension black holes that afflict the United Kingdom were created by | :12:14. | :12:18. | |
Gordon Brown in his raid on pensioners. And in terms of policy | :12:18. | :12:25. | |
to pensioners, what pensioners are looking for our guarantees on the | :12:25. | :12:28. | |
bus pass, guarantees on free personal care, and this party gives | :12:28. | :12:33. | |
these guarantees. With Labour, everything is up for grabs, and as | :12:33. | :12:36. | |
far as Aberdeen Donside is concerned, not perhaps the Labour | :12:36. | :12:43. | |
Party 's strongest suit because Aberdeen Donside will be voting | :12:43. | :12:52. | |
today to keep their schools open. Question number two, with Davidson. | :12:52. | :13:00. | |
-- Ruth Davidson. Thank you. I would like to as the First Minister when | :13:00. | :13:05. | |
he next plans to meet the Prime Minister. I have no plans for that | :13:05. | :13:10. | |
at the moment. Yesterday parents courageously came in here to launch | :13:10. | :13:15. | |
an inquiry to find out what happened to the ashes of their babies. It | :13:15. | :13:21. | |
spreads to crematoriums across Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and Glasgow. We | :13:21. | :13:24. | |
have now learned that a number of families use the facility in Falkirk | :13:25. | :13:29. | |
have been affected, as have a number of families using a private | :13:29. | :13:32. | |
crematorium. The Government 's response has been overtaken by | :13:32. | :13:36. | |
events. Does the First Minister recognise that neither of the | :13:36. | :13:39. | |
investigations into these tragedies will give the answer is that these | :13:39. | :13:49. | |
parents need? Can I first say that, let's just accept that everyone in | :13:49. | :13:52. | |
this Parliament has the greatest sympathy and empathy for the parents | :13:52. | :13:56. | |
involved. I suspect that people across the country... My mother, and | :13:56. | :14:02. | |
this is common in many families, has experienced this. If you add to this | :14:02. | :14:07. | |
the extremity of not knowing about the disposal of a child ashes, then | :14:07. | :14:12. | |
every person, every human person, understands her parents feel in | :14:13. | :14:16. | |
those circumstances, or at least has the empathy to try and understand | :14:16. | :14:20. | |
how parents feel. That is shared across this entire parliament. The | :14:20. | :14:24. | |
question is how best to be proceed to get clearance the answers they | :14:24. | :14:29. | |
need? And of course, importantly, to try and change the policy which has | :14:29. | :14:32. | |
prevailed in the past perhaps, but nonetheless has prevailed, certainly | :14:32. | :14:39. | |
in Glasgow and perhaps in other areas across Scotland. First, on the | :14:39. | :14:47. | |
Commission. With the backing of that Commission, the leader has indicated | :14:47. | :14:51. | |
that he is confident that he can make proper recommendations by the | :14:51. | :14:55. | |
end of this year. He says that is the case, and if it is the case, | :14:55. | :14:59. | |
then I think that would be a huge step forward. It would be adding | :14:59. | :15:06. | |
pages for us to be able to legislate next year. The average length of | :15:07. | :15:11. | |
public inquiry in Scotland is three and a half years. The two that we | :15:11. | :15:14. | |
have sanctioned have not finished at this stage. That would be an asset, | :15:14. | :15:24. | |
:15:24. | :15:30. | ||
if it would be to -- if it were to be the case. Secondly, the | :15:30. | :15:36. | |
investigations. I have a letter sent to Michael Matheson this week where | :15:36. | :15:39. | |
it is pointed out, because this question has been raised, the | :15:39. | :15:46. | |
enquiries have been hampered by the status of her investigation. She | :15:46. | :15:51. | |
says, my investigations have not been hampered, I have not received | :15:51. | :15:56. | |
any indication there will be any such issue. If we can get answers to | :15:56. | :16:00. | |
satisfy hopefully the vast majority of parents, presumably, the same | :16:00. | :16:06. | |
sort of enquiry, the same sort of investigation as set out by Lord | :16:06. | :16:10. | |
Bonomy in his letter last week, could affect the other areas of | :16:10. | :16:16. | |
Scotland. Again, if that is not possible, if the formal border could | :16:16. | :16:19. | |
does encounter obstacles and cannot get to the truth, I would be the | :16:19. | :16:24. | |
first person, just like the Bonomy Commission, to see if further steps | :16:24. | :16:29. | |
have to be taken. Let's try and conduct this answer to the anguish | :16:29. | :16:33. | |
of parents in a way that accepts every single member in this | :16:33. | :16:37. | |
chamber, so we feel empathy and understanding for the | :16:37. | :16:45. | |
circumstances. About candy empathy, sympathy and | :16:45. | :16:49. | |
understanding of the First Minister -- I welcome. But the First Minister | :16:49. | :16:52. | |
knows that the Bonomy Commission is not looking at individual cases, it | :16:52. | :16:57. | |
will not give answers historically to what happened to parents in this | :16:57. | :17:00. | |
situation in different parts of the country. The investigation May in | :17:00. | :17:05. | |
Edinburgh, but it does not address what is happening elsewhere, and the | :17:05. | :17:09. | |
idea that the Edinburgh investigation could in some way be | :17:09. | :17:15. | |
looked at or replicated in the local authority areas has been skewered | :17:15. | :17:20. | |
this week by the Chief Executive of Glasgow City Council, who wrote this | :17:20. | :17:25. | |
week saying, we believe that in order to find out the truth of what | :17:25. | :17:28. | |
happened in individual cases, it would be better for there to be a | :17:29. | :17:36. | |
nationwide enquiry, rather than a host of local enquiries. The First | :17:36. | :17:39. | |
Minister has repeatedly sidestepped calls for a public enquiry. Two | :17:39. | :17:44. | |
weeks ago, he said the Pirate Dashti said the priority was Lord Bonomy | :17:44. | :17:49. | |
putting these procedures in place, and three weeks ago he said it was | :17:49. | :17:52. | |
right local authorities look at this individual. Dashti said the | :17:52. | :17:59. | |
priority. But this scandal has spread to public and private | :17:59. | :18:03. | |
crematorium in at least four local authority areas. Parents, knowing | :18:03. | :18:07. | |
how long it will take, are still calling for an enquiry to find out | :18:07. | :18:13. | |
what happened to their babies. And now we have ahead of Scotland's | :18:13. | :18:16. | |
largest local authority saying the current approach is not enough and | :18:16. | :18:22. | |
he wants more. I have repeatedly said this is not a particle -- a | :18:22. | :18:26. | |
party political issue, but there is no getting away from the fact the | :18:26. | :18:32. | |
only party not supporting calls for an enquiry as the SNP. -- is the | :18:32. | :18:38. | |
SNP. I do not think parents would particularly like calls from in | :18:38. | :18:47. | |
here. The parents do not understand, and now the do I, the SNP demanded a | :18:47. | :18:57. | |
full public enquiry into the genuine ferry -- and now the do I. -- Dunoon | :18:57. | :19:03. | |
ferry. Why is the case of these parents less deserving? | :19:03. | :19:12. | |
This Government has sanctioned a full public enquiry. None of the | :19:12. | :19:22. | |
:19:22. | :19:22. | ||
enquiries run trivial issues -- or on trivial issues. Thomsons | :19:22. | :19:28. | |
solicitors, who represents some of the parents, are advocating for | :19:28. | :19:33. | |
additional public enquiries in Scotland. The baby Ashes enquiry, | :19:33. | :19:41. | |
legionnaires enquiry, and implants enquiry. I believe if on a major | :19:41. | :19:46. | |
public issue only a public enquiry can get answers and justice that | :19:46. | :19:50. | |
people deserve, I will not hesitate to sanction a public enquiry. That | :19:50. | :19:54. | |
in this instance, we have the hope and belief that Lord Bonomy, who | :19:54. | :19:58. | |
this week wrote to the local authorities around Scotland, | :19:58. | :20:03. | |
including two George back of Glasgow Council, setting out how in local | :20:03. | :20:10. | |
enquiry can set out an enquiry -- George Black. And setting out | :20:10. | :20:14. | |
guidance. They have to be cut -- carried out independently and | :20:14. | :20:18. | |
sensitive to the concerns of families. If that is possible for | :20:18. | :20:23. | |
the enquiry in Edinburgh, why not for an enquiry in Glasgow? I do not | :20:23. | :20:30. | |
understand why something can be done in Edinburgh, but not in Glasgow. | :20:30. | :20:35. | |
But the report by Lord Bonomy, which is open to submission, will provide | :20:35. | :20:38. | |
the guidance and regulations we can now introduced to stop this | :20:38. | :20:43. | |
happening again, and this could be done by the end of the dear, he is | :20:43. | :20:48. | |
confident he can report with the commission that he has any expertise | :20:48. | :20:52. | |
-- of the year. This includes the two charities representing the | :20:52. | :20:58. | |
bereaved, to put forward recommendations. If the enquiry in | :20:58. | :21:04. | |
Edinburgh can get to the bottom of the cases to the satisfaction of | :21:04. | :21:09. | |
parents, why can this not done elsewhere? What if Lord Bonomy is | :21:09. | :21:12. | |
not able to come up with the recommendations we can endorse as a | :21:12. | :21:18. | |
Parliament to stop this happening again, if there are obstacles in the | :21:18. | :21:23. | |
individual enquiries in Edinburgh, and this cannot command the | :21:23. | :21:27. | |
confidence, I will be the first to say, in that circumstance, we have | :21:27. | :21:33. | |
to go for a public enquiry or some other recourse. But the full | :21:33. | :21:38. | |
expectation that I have at this present moment is that Lord Bonomy | :21:38. | :21:40. | |
will give us the recommendations to bring into legislation in Scotland | :21:40. | :21:48. | |
next year to show that this will not happen again, and the former Lord | :21:48. | :21:53. | |
Advocate should command confidence when she says she can conduct this | :21:53. | :21:56. | |
investigation independently in Edinburgh. And if it can be done in | :21:56. | :22:01. | |
Edinburgh, it can most certainly be done elsewhere in Scotland. | :22:01. | :22:05. | |
What issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet? | :22:05. | :22:09. | |
Issues of importance to the people of Scotland. | :22:09. | :22:15. | |
Four years ago, I joined families in West Fife against proposals to | :22:15. | :22:19. | |
extract coal from the neighbouring feels. We lost, permission was | :22:19. | :22:27. | |
granted. Residents were assured by developers the industry had learned | :22:27. | :22:31. | |
lessons of past failures and after extraction the land would be | :22:31. | :22:36. | |
converted into a local environmental resource. Operations have ceased, | :22:36. | :22:42. | |
leaving a huge hole and spoiled heaps, dwarfing the area. Families | :22:42. | :22:49. | |
have been let down and thousands of families from Scotland are also | :22:49. | :22:54. | |
suffering. Mining companies were supposed to buy insurance bonds to | :22:54. | :23:00. | |
pay -- to pay for the land restoration, but there is a huge | :23:00. | :23:05. | |
deficit and insufficient funds available. Due to the scale of the | :23:05. | :23:08. | |
problem, will the First Minister order an independent enquiry into | :23:08. | :23:15. | |
this failure? The first task is what Fergus Ewing | :23:15. | :23:23. | |
is doing, everything he can to preserve employment in the opencast | :23:23. | :23:29. | |
in -- opencast industry and also to work with local industries for the | :23:29. | :23:33. | |
necessary environmental clean-up. Can I say to Willie Rennie, it is | :23:33. | :23:36. | |
true and I agree with his description about the bonds that | :23:36. | :23:42. | |
were meant to be provided for. I hope that we have legislative | :23:42. | :23:46. | |
control over such matters in this Parliament and we meet -- and we | :23:46. | :23:49. | |
will make sure these things are enforced because it is part and | :23:49. | :23:53. | |
parcel of what we should do in this Parliament, to make sure not just | :23:53. | :24:01. | |
jobs protect it, but also communities. | :24:01. | :24:05. | |
Local authorities do have the powers just now to enforce appropriate | :24:05. | :24:11. | |
restoration. It is not as if they are deprived of the powers that | :24:11. | :24:15. | |
would resolve this problem. He resolves to the work of Fergus Ewing | :24:15. | :24:19. | |
and I commend him for the task force, but that primarily looks at | :24:19. | :24:23. | |
the needs of the business side. The restoration trust that is proposed | :24:23. | :24:28. | |
has no real bite and is proposing more lenient restoration bonds for | :24:28. | :24:31. | |
the industry, risking further environmental problems in the | :24:31. | :24:37. | |
future. Some companies have made millions, but communities have been | :24:37. | :24:42. | |
left environmentally bankrupt. The industry is now looking to dump | :24:42. | :24:48. | |
opencast for other people to clean-up. Communities have enjoyed | :24:48. | :24:52. | |
years of noise, dust and heavy transport and they now fear a legacy | :24:52. | :24:58. | |
of derelict sites, polluted water and scarred landscapes. I would | :24:58. | :25:01. | |
encourage him to set up that independent enquiry. As communities | :25:01. | :25:06. | |
were promised, that the mistakes of the past would not be repeated, but | :25:06. | :25:10. | |
we were. But the sake of these families and many others, will the | :25:10. | :25:14. | |
First Minister act? I am extremely sympathetic on this | :25:15. | :25:21. | |
issue. But let's consider his statement about local authorities. | :25:21. | :25:24. | |
The environmental powers of local authorities mean little if the | :25:25. | :25:28. | |
company concerned has gone out of this nurse, there are no assets to | :25:28. | :25:35. | |
chase in that position. -- have gone out of this nurse. That is why the | :25:35. | :25:39. | |
bonds and the funds are so significant. No reasonable person | :25:40. | :25:45. | |
could blame a council for not being in a position to chase money that is | :25:45. | :25:51. | |
no longer existent -- that is no longer present. In terms of the | :25:51. | :25:56. | |
restoration fund, it is not true to say Fergus Ewing has only been | :25:56. | :26:01. | |
concerned for the jobs and the industry, which is a very legitimate | :26:01. | :26:04. | |
objective, but he has also been concerned to try and help the | :26:04. | :26:10. | |
situation. Willie Rennie makes the case that I would make, that if you | :26:10. | :26:15. | |
were going to pursue an industry which could potentially leave people | :26:15. | :26:18. | |
with such environmental damage, you have to have the legislative track | :26:18. | :26:25. | |
-- legislative framework to make sure the funds that provide to -- | :26:25. | :26:29. | |
the body that provides the funds is independent. And I look forward to | :26:29. | :26:35. | |
doing that. What discussions have the Scottish | :26:35. | :26:38. | |
government have with the security services regarding the emergency | :26:38. | :26:44. | |
landing at Prestwick airport on June 15th 2013? | :26:44. | :26:47. | |
Police Scotland kept the Scottish government fully informed of the | :26:47. | :26:55. | |
developments, forming a diversion to the fight. Police Scotland met the | :26:55. | :26:58. | |
plane on arrival, 100 officers from the specialist crime division | :26:58. | :27:01. | |
undertook a controlled disembarkation of the plane, | :27:01. | :27:06. | |
searched it, interviewed everybody, before the flight continued to New | :27:06. | :27:11. | |
York. This incident highlights the strategic portent of Prestwick as an | :27:11. | :27:16. | |
airport and facility necessary to receive high risk fights involving | :27:16. | :27:23. | |
the potential for hijacking or terrorism. So we have written to the | :27:23. | :27:27. | |
UK Secretary of State this week highlighting that big role that | :27:27. | :27:30. | |
Prestwick played in this latest Indu stashed latest incident and | :27:30. | :27:34. | |
commending the multi-agency response led by the police. | :27:34. | :27:40. | |
I thank the First Minister for his comprehensive answer. This incident | :27:40. | :27:44. | |
highlights the importance of Prestwick not only to Scotland but | :27:44. | :27:49. | |
also the aerospace industry for travel and for maintenance and | :27:49. | :27:56. | |
repair and for resilience. But it, and other Scottish airports, have | :27:56. | :28:02. | |
been -- would be neglected by the London coalition's new airport for | :28:02. | :28:07. | |
the South East of England. Does he agree we should have an independent | :28:07. | :28:10. | |
and comprehensive airport strategy for Scotland to include more direct | :28:10. | :28:17. | |
flights for Scotland that would take effect in 2016? | :28:17. | :28:24. | |
The Westminster government's obsession is costing other airports | :28:24. | :28:26. | |
also and the discrimination that places against the airports of | :28:26. | :28:32. | |
Scotland and also the Northern regions of England, and the | :28:32. | :28:35. | |
devolution to this Parliament to take effective action would increase | :28:35. | :28:41. | |
activity in Scotland. I think that was supported by the majority and I | :28:41. | :28:45. | |
think a large majority in this Parliament, and I hope the labour | :28:45. | :28:55. | |
:28:55. | :28:58. | ||
Lions have not lost parents using as for this -- Labour party. | :28:58. | :29:02. | |
What impact has the recent decision by three senior executives to leave | :29:03. | :29:09. | |
the Scottish police authority have on the new strategy? | :29:09. | :29:19. | |
:29:19. | :29:20. | ||
Think no impact. The IT strategy... It continues to be led by an able | :29:20. | :29:25. | |
and skilled body. The First Minister taught previously | :29:25. | :29:28. | |
of tensions across Scottish policing. Ash talked. With the loss | :29:28. | :29:33. | |
of the head of finance, good -- governance and strategy, and the | :29:33. | :29:39. | |
Chief Executive officer, so it is clear that the factors behind the | :29:39. | :29:43. | |
crisis on more than creative tensions. All this week's meetings | :29:43. | :29:50. | |
of senior officials to reorganise governance across the police | :29:50. | :29:52. | |
authorities finally indicate the government is coming to grips with | :29:52. | :29:56. | |
this tax payer button -- this tax payer funded billion pound | :29:56. | :30:01. | |
organisation, and deliver a single efficient police force? | :30:01. | :30:08. | |
We should not question the system save the police service of Scotland, | :30:08. | :30:18. | |
:30:18. | :30:18. | ||
given that crime in this country is now at 839 year low? Commitment of | :30:18. | :30:22. | |
officers has gone up since this Government took over and thank | :30:22. | :30:25. | |
goodness these people policing our communities safely. In terms of the | :30:25. | :30:32. | |
IT, it is important for him to know this, because he has expressed | :30:32. | :30:39. | |
concern, not just that the accountable officer is one of those | :30:39. | :30:45. | |
leaving, but also that we are up to the challenges of dealing with the | :30:45. | :30:50. | |
legacy. Graham Pearson has pointed out the lunacy of not having IT | :30:50. | :30:54. | |
systems across Scotland that could not communicate with each other, so | :30:54. | :31:00. | |
the proposal for the acquisition of a single police IT service to record | :31:01. | :31:07. | |
data is a major advance and I am pleased to say that discussions with | :31:07. | :31:13. | |
the Scottish police indicate it is affordable within the existing | :31:13. | :31:20. | |
budget. And I know that the Scottish police board will be discussing this | :31:20. | :31:29. | |
proposal next week, on June 26th. What plans does the Scottish | :31:29. | :31:37. | |
government have to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Piper Alpha? | :31:37. | :31:43. | |
It was the world's worst offshore oil platform disaster and it remains | :31:43. | :31:47. | |
etched in the memories of those of us old enough to remember. The | :31:47. | :31:53. | |
government is setting out a range of ministerial involvement in very | :31:53. | :31:57. | |
important activities taking place over the next two weeks, including | :31:57. | :32:02. | |
an offshore safety conference, a screening of a film, which I think | :32:02. | :32:07. | |
is a hugely effective film, and hugely important in bringing to a | :32:07. | :32:12. | |
new generation of horror of Piper Alpha and the absolute importance of | :32:12. | :32:17. | |
seeing it does not happening again. The Memorial trust appeal is raising | :32:17. | :32:21. | |
funds to ensure that the families of those affected by the disaster have | :32:21. | :32:26. | |
that peaceful place to remember their loved ones for years to come. | :32:26. | :32:31. | |
We were able to contribute to that appeal, but I commend the efforts of | :32:31. | :32:37. | |
the campaign in giving bereaved families and appropriate place to | :32:37. | :32:44. | |
remember their loved ones. Thank you for that and so, I would | :32:44. | :32:49. | |
like to take this opportunity to highlight the screening of the film | :32:49. | :32:53. | |
this Friday in Aberdeen and its wider distribution in the weeks | :32:53. | :33:03. | |
ahead. But the First Minister join me in welcoming this feature length | :33:03. | :33:06. | |
documentary for future generations to learn from? | :33:06. | :33:12. | |
I would, it has great importance for a new generation, and I hope it will | :33:13. | :33:16. | |
-- I hope every school child in Scotland will have access to the | :33:16. | :33:20. | |
information, it is important people remember Piper Alpha in terms of the | :33:20. | :33:27. | |
critical nature of what happened. But we also have to think that many | :33:27. | :33:32. | |
offshore workers were not alive when this happens and so the initiative | :33:32. | :33:39. | |
to have a special safety screen films to remind people why they have | :33:39. | :33:47. | |
got the safety case system that was recommended, to remind them why | :33:47. | :33:56. | |
these systems are in place. Also in terms of public obligation is the | :33:56. | :34:06. | |
:34:06. | :34:18. | ||
necessity to make sure the Coast Guard is properly manned. | :34:18. | :34:27. | |
We close on a sombre note of recollection about Piper Alpha but | :34:27. | :34:33. | |
there were personal recollections for the First Minister. About the | :34:33. | :34:43. |