21/01/2016 Politics Scotland

Hello and a warm welcome to the Scottish parliament here at

Holyrood. There are talks in the Treasury over the fiscal framework

that will determine the budget after the new tax powers come Holyrood's

way. A policy adviser to whether the policies adopted by the Scottish

government really help all that much in addressing the issue of poverty.

Those topics may come up on questions to the First Minister.

There is only one way to find out, which is to cross to the chamber.

A round of applause and a warm welcome to Parliament to dignitaries

visiting from one of Pakistan's provinces.

I will ask the First Minister what engagement she is planning for the

day. The governor's programme for Scotland. Yesterday, the First

Minister's policy adviser said that many Jota living in poverty live in

working has ours. They still struggle to make ends meet. The

First Minister claims that every three and four-year-old has access

to 16 hours of free early learning and childcare week. It sounds good,

but parents know it just isn't true. Time and again, I meet mothers who

say they cannot get a place for their child that they are told is

their right. Last year in this chamber, the First Minister said she

was working with local councils to deliver on her pledge. So can she

tell us whether council funding to deliver 16 hours of free early

learning and childcare has gone up or down in the draft budget for next

year after Mark firstly, can I also welcome the report that was

published yesterday by the poverty adviser. It is a solid report that

makes a number of recommendations that this government will consider

very seriously indeed. I note that the poverty adviser says that the

policy decisions taken by this Scottish government have, and I

quote, been important in protecting people from poverty. As Kezia

Dugdale is aware, the Government currently funds 16 hours a week for

children of three and four years old, and horrible two-year-olds. It

remains the case that as well as funding that provision in a global

sense, we're working with councils to improve the flexibility of that

provision so it better fits in with the working patterns of parents. We

also determined over the life of the next Parliament, should the people

of Scotland re-elect us in May, two double provision of childcare for

young people. This is important to parents you will be listening to

this. The poverty adviser said yesterday that as well as quantity,

quality was important, which is why I also announced ?1 million to pilot

different ways of delivering that expanded childcare. that is our

policy on childcare. It will be judged in a you months, on our

record on that, we are still waiting to hear what Labour's policy is. In

all of that, there was not even an attempt to answer the question that

I asked. APPLAUSE

The honest answer is that the council childcare funding is being

cut by this government's budget. Affordable and flexible childcare is

key to helping people in work get out of poverty. Yet this SNP

government's solution is to cut the childcare budget and slash funding

for local services. We know the First Minister's promise is on

childcare are not being delivered. What about her latest pledge to

almost double the number of free childcare hours by 2020? A few

months ago, the first list was asked about how these plans be delivered.

She said, we're working with local authorities to determine the

extension of capacity that will be required. That will be a mix of new

build an extension of current local authority capacity. Two months on,

can be First Minister tells how the extra nurseries need to be built to

fulfil that promise customer the promised a matter left me take as

yet Dugdale's points in order. In terms of our current policy, we are

funding the expansion of childcare that we committed to in this

Parliament. Just to remind people who may be listening to this, in

2007, Young people, three and four-year-olds, were entitled to go

.5 hours of free childcare... We have extended that and have taken

the extra step to its lending it to vulnerable to-year-olds as well.

That is the measure of the commitment. The commitment that

Kezia Dugdale referred to do, and I'm happy that she thinks that we

will be in power, I take that as an endorsement of the election campaign

at this early stage. As I said previously, in response to Ruth

Davidson on that occasion, we're doing detailed work with local

authorities to plan for that expansion, which will take place

over the period of the next Parliament. That will be a mix and

we don't yet know exact about that next will be because we are still

working to plan for that expansion. It will be a mix of new build. That

is why I have described it as the most important capital investment of

the next Parliament, but it will also involve existing buildings that

local authorities already use. I have for the said it will involve

childminders. One of the things that came up yesterday was written in

relation to lend it childcare. We have to look at these issues

seriously and robust lead. Kezia Dugdale is still to set out what

Labour's policy on childcare is. I know what mine is, I know what work

doing to deliver it. We just have a vacuum coming from the benches

opposite. The First Minister does not know how many nursery she needs,

but campaigning mothers do. 650 new nurseries would have to be built to

accommodate the extra places needed because of the First Minister's

latest pledge. She has just ascribe it as the biggest capital

expenditure of the next Parliament. But John Sweeney's budget this year

cuts capital funding for nurseries by 56%. By the First Minister's own

admission, it would cost ?880 million to deliver on her new pledge

in running costs alone. Yet, at the same time, she is taking half ?1

billion out of council budgets. Let us get this clear. The First

Minister needs 650 new nurseries but she has cut the capital budget to

build them. She needs ?880 million to expand childcare services, but

she has lashed council budgets by ?500 million. Only in the world of

the SNP will that deliver a childcare revolution. The First

Minister's childcare policy is a mess. Issue hoping that parents --

is she hoping that parents are just too busy to notice after Mark to be

fair to Kezia Dugdale, I know that her day-to-day working expense

involves a rather large mass, otherwise known as the Labour Party.

So no wonder... Order! No wonder it is uppermost in her mind. She

forgets some of the key points. She mentions firstly capital funding for

local authorities. She will be aware, or if she is not aware, she

should be, because John Sweeney has outlined it, the budget of local

authorities has been repo filed -- re-profile. In terms of the overall

council budgets come as I said last week, and I think the week before,

in terms of the overall revenue expenditure of local authorities,

they are looking at a 2% reduction, and that is before we take account

of additional resources for social care, additional resources through

the attainment fund and the additional investment we plan over

the life of the next Parliament in transforming the provision of

childcare. I say again, presiding officer, those are our plans. We

have set them out and we will set out the budgets that support those

plans. If Kezia Dugdale really wants to give people in this country a

choice in just a few months, she has to do more than wine from the

opposition benches. She has to give an alternative. So far, there ain't

no alternative from the Labour Party whatsoever.

It is not a 56% cut, it has just been re-profiled. Almost a year ago,

the first men is that told me that she had looked campaigning mothers

in the eye and told them that she reflects Scotland's child care

albums. The more parents here, the less they believe. Just me or my

record, says the First Minister. Here it is will stop promises not

delivered, budgets cut and parents let down. Instead of delivering what

families really need, isn't it the case that the SNP's childcare plan

is just one great big con. We have guaranteed local governments a

maintained share of the overall Scottish government capital budget.

That is the reality. It might not suit the Labour Party's increasingly

desperate narrative but nonetheless those are the facts. Just to come

back to the central issue, I can point to the achievement of this

government in childcare over the life of this Parliament and the last

Parliament. And three and four-year olds are entitled to 45% more

childcare now than they were when Labour was in office. To-year-olds

are entitled to childcare that none of them were entitled to when Labour

was in office. Not only that, I can point to clear plans for how we are

going to transform childcare over the next Parliament. As the policy

adviser says, not only are we allowing more parents, mothers in

particular, to get into work we are also supporting young people with

the best start in life. Those are our achievements and our plans, and

the people of Scotland will judge them, presiding officer. When they

are making that judgment, they will also look at what is the alternative

and I say again, Kezia Dugdale has said zero about what the Labour

Party will do for childcare, and that is why the people of Scotland

are casting their judgment on Labour, and their judgment is to

keep them firmly in opposition. Question number two. Ruth Davidson.

I will ask the First Minister which will next meet the Prime Minister.

No plans at present. This morning, we learned that the number of school

inspections has fallen from 491 in 2004 2005, to just 137 last year. A

drop of 70%. Inspections are a vital means of providing parents with the

necessary information to make decisions about their children's

schooling. Last year, fewer than 6% of Scotland's schools were

inspected. Under the SNP, a child can go right through their school

career without ever having had their school assessed. If that rate keeps

up, it will take 19 years to get around all of Scotland's schools

once. Given that, does the first minute to think that parents are

getting the information they deserve when it comes to looking at local

schools? Let me say two things about that. First, as Ruth Davidson knows,

education Scotland undertakes a wide range of programmes to ensure the

quality of education that is provided by as schools. During the

period of the meditation of curriculum for excellence, there was

a deliberate, and I think, correct decision to reallocate resources to

other activities to oversee the implementation of curriculum for

excellence. During that period, inspectors were deployed to

undertake, support decisions. It was recognised in a report recently,

immolation to the information, education Scotland has been a

linchpin in providing guidance, quality and resource assurance. I

saw the Chief Inspector right to this effect if you days ago, there

will be an inspection in the coming years permitted by Utah's

improvement activity, in particular making sure that we use the resource

of the new attainment advises that are working on the attainment

challenge. Briefly, the second thing I would say is that Ruth Davidson

knows my commitment set out in the national improvement framework that

I published in the first week in January to fast league expand --

give us the transform the information available to parents and

the public about performance in our schools. In the next couple of

years, people will be able to look at performance of pupils in the

school and compare that. The direction... It was a straight

question, and the First Minister did not want to give a straight answer.

I will give one. No, parents are not getting the information they

deserve. They are told by the education establishment that it

knows best and everybody else will just have to lump it. One former

director of education said in the press this morning that inspections

are now, and I quote, virtually useless as a source of information

for parents. The First Minister this morning and a previous days in this

chamber asked how opposition parties to propose how to improve the system

if they contain about it. We say this, it is time to re-establish an

independent inspectorate, outwith the arms of the Scottish government,

so that parents know when their school is measured, it is done

entirely separately from those people who are setting the policy.

We want more transparency of information for parents and a regime

that execs high standards and are proven from coasting schools,

parents given regular and up-to-date information. Does the First Minister

back that plan? Firstly, the Inspectorate is

independent and does demand high standards from schools. Local

authorities also have a duty to make sure that the quality of education

is what we would expect. I have outlined why and what the

Inspectorate was focusing on during the period of curriculum for

excellence and to increase the number of inspections over the next

few years. I want to do more than Ruth Davidson has outline there. I

want to give more information about the performance of pupils in primary

schools and lower secondary schools because at the moment we don't have

that. Under the national improvement framework, once that is established,

we will see the percentages of pupils in every primary school

across our country who are achieving the different required levels of

curriculum for excellence. This is a revolution in transparency in

Scottish education. For the first time, the public will be able to

look at that and see schools that are doing well and less well and

give all abuzz the information we need to drive further improvement. I

am much more ambitious in terms of transparency than Ruth Davidson is.

A number of constituency questions. Graham Day. The First Minister will

be aware of the problems for Johnson press, raising the concerns over the

future of important local newspapers and with jobs at stakes. Will the

Scottish Government engage with the company to ensure these newspapers

have a future? Thank you for an important question. I give him the

assurance that we will seek to engage with the company and with

every company where thereafter potential job losses, the

arrangements we put in place will be available primarily through pace. We

need a dynamic media and all others will be concerned by this latest

announcement on the back of a recent announcement about job losses in

other areas of the media. All of us have a duty to make sure that we

have a properly resourced media in this country and to hold all of ours

to account and contribute to the national debate that we all want. It

was announced this week that 80 jobs would be lost at a technology

company in my constituency and that the number could be higher because

it doesn't include contract staff. The company has lost 2000 jobs

worldwide since January last year and there is real concern about job

security. My constituents are worried that there is very little

chance of them finding other employment in the oil and gas

industry. What action will the government take at this time of high

job losses? We are aware of the situation that the member outlines

and the government will be engaging with the company and as I said in

response to Graham Day, we make available to the workforce of any

workforce in this situation all that we can to help those facing

redundancy. I'm sure the enterprise minister will be happy to meet with

the member to discuss this particular case in more detail. The

First Minister will be aware of the announcement of 100 job losses at

Marine is in the Highlands and Islands and many in my constituency.

This is a large number of jobs for a small community to lose. Will the

First Minister ensure that all will be done to assist those who may lose

their jobs and outline what measures the government will be putting in

place to help with this serious matter. In the case of the previous

two companies, this will be an anxious time for the employees and

their families. The Scottish Government is in contact with the

company and it has approached Highlands and Islands enterprise to

identify new job opportunities. I will shortly be meeting the company

and discussing what can be done to support staff. We remain fully

supportive of the sector which is key in the supporting employment in

remote coastal communities. It is estimated to generate economic

activity worth more than ?1.8 billion per year. Supporting those

jobs is extremely important and the government will recognise that. What

issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet? That is of

importance to The People of Scotland. This week, I have received

a letter from Amazon in London. The Scottish Government paid almost ?1

million to the company last year despite them paying less than the

living wage. Is it right to help companies that pay such low wages?

All companies should play the taxes they are due to pain. We take tax

avoidance very seriously. I want us to have more tax responsibilities,

something Willie Rennie argued of the suspiciously against. We will

continue to stand up for fairness and the company is paying the tax

that they are due. We take a different view to the one that

Willie Rennie articulated in Dundee on Monday where he suggested that

five would be better off without the jobs that are offered by Amazon. I

am sure that The People working in that company would take a very

different view. I know she finds it difficult to listen to anybody else.

The question was about wages and not about tax. I'll leave her if she is

too embarrassed to do it to defend low wages. Nobody is saying that as

an should close but I want the government to support good jobs.

Amazon workers have been in touch this week as well and have confirmed

what I have said. It is an exceptionally horrible place. The

employment agencies cream off from everybody's wages. Meanwhile, this

is about tax, Amazon pays hardly any tax in this country. The poverty

Alliance promotes the living wage. Order! They get a small grant from

the Scottish Government. It is a brilliant project. Why give Amazon

four times as much money for low wages as you give the poverty

Alliance to champion the living wage? Will the First Minister make a

commitment not to give any more grants to companies without wage

guarantees? My apologies to Willie Rennie if he missed his first

question. My comments on tax stand, though. This government is arguably

doing more than any other government across the UK to promote the living

wage. The living wage accreditation scheme has 400 companies signed up

to it and there are more people in Scotland paid the living wage in any

part of the country apart from the south-east. We will continue to work

directly with companies to sign up to and paid a living wage. I will

ask Susanna Cunningham, the fair work minister, the only cabinet in

the country that has a minister for their work. To engage with Amazon

and other companies to get more people paid the living wage. We will

make sure that we stand up for recent wages across Scotland. To ask

the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on the

resolution foundation report the state of working Scotland? I welcome

the findings of the report. Particularly the finding that pay in

Scotland has risen faster in any other nation or region in the UK. I

am proud of our commitment to the living wage that means that 80% of

people in Scotland are paid at least the living wage. There are 400

living wage accredited employers. The rise of pay in Scotland will be

attributed to that and incomes of family fell less than anywhere else

in the UK. The report has given valuable analysis that will help us

continue to improve on progress. I was pleased to see statistics

yesterday on employment showing Scotland now has the highest level

of wages of countries in the UK. Scotland is showing that we can

tackle inequality in the economy. What action will she be taking to

build on this good foundation to increase jobs and wages? The member

is right to note the progress of wages and employment this week. Can

I take the opportunity to welcome the figures showing the rise in

employment in Scotland to record levels and the substantial drop in

unemployment. That is all progress. There is no room for complacency and

we are working to do more both in terms of employment and in terms of

wages. Economic strategy sets out a mutually supportive goal of

increasing competitiveness and tackling inequality and we will

continue to make sure that we support the living wage

accreditation scheme to make sure that as we see Empoli and hopefully

increase in Scotland, that is fair work with people getting a decent

days wage for a day's work. In light of the fall in oil prices when will

the Scottish Government publish an updated oil and gas bulletin

focusing on jobs? The focus is on what we can do to support the

industry and the workforce who are facing uncertainty at a worrying

time for them. We continue to do all we can within devolved powers to

help the sector. Last year, I set of the energy jobs task force that has

already helped over 2000 individuals and 100 employers through the

current downturn and it will continue to support innovation and

progress. It has been six months since the last bulletin was slipped

out on the last day of term. In the intervening time, oil has dropped to

$27 a barrel. Industry experts predict it will drop to 20 dollars

per arrow. We cannot afford to lose these jobs and skills in the future.

What will be First Minister do to protect these jobs and wench will

she publish this platoon? We will do all we can to support the industry

and the jobs that are dependent on it. For example, the Scottish

Cabinet will hold a special session on Tuesday attended by Lena Wilson,

the chair of the oil and gas task force to look at what the task force

has done already and what it can do to support those in the industry. I

wrote to the Prime Minister yesterday urging him to agree with

me to accelerate the finalisation of a city deal for Aberdeen, funded

jointly by the UK and Scottish Government so that we can help

Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire Council with the investment that the city

needs. We will also continue to call the UK Government to make sure there

is an appropriate fiscal regime for the North Sea. I note the comments

both of the peak last week when they said announcing the regrettable job

losses that they were confident in the long-term future of oil in the

North Sea. Also oil and gas UK and their comments on the future of the

sector if we do the right things now. We are determined to do the

right things down and we call on the UK Government to do the same. The

First Minister will be aware that there has been a report saying that

the oil and gas is sector could have a sustainable future with the

correct support. Would she agree that vocal campaign for divestments

in oil and gas from pension companies are damaging to the

industry. Anything that undermines the industry at this time is

unhelpful. It was a very helpful report and it is one of the many

things that the Cabinet will discuss as we work out what we can do to

support the industry at this time. What discussions has the Scottish

Government had with the UK Government regarding the possible

reintroduction of the post study work Visa? Since the Smith

Commission report the government has remained committed to work with the

UK counterpart to ensure that a post study Visa is reintroduced in

Scotland. This has been the subject of many meetings. We are

disappointed and rather angry that the Secretary of State for Scotland

recently indicated without any real consultation that there is no

intention on the part of the UK Government to reintroduce the post

study work Visa for Scotland. I understand that the Minister intends

to meet with the steering group and hope that the UK Government would

take the concerns of the Scottish Government and the United voice of

Scottish stakeholders further on board. There is a consensus in this

Parliament to reintroduce the post study work Visa and I think it is

time that the UK Government got on and did it. I thank the First

Minister for that answer. Would she agree with me that not only do the

students benefit but the Scottish economy and society benefits from

having these people living here? I agree wholeheartedly with that. If

we are going to educate the best and brightest people from all over the

world, it makes sense to try and encourage them to make a

contribution in our economy. To give something back to economic and

social life here in Scotland. We know that people come to Scotland

from all parts of the world and make a real and rich contribution to our

society, just as Scots do in other parts of the world. The UK

Government's actions here are short-sighted and wrong-headed and I

urge them to change their minds if there is any credence to what we

hear about a respect agenda, they will do something about it. Thank

you. That ends First Minister's Questions. That is all from us. Time

to say to the loo. investigation suggested that that

poster of Ed Miliband in Alex Salmond's pocket had quite a big

effect on voters in England to get them to go back to the Conservatives

and that cost ?950. That's a tribute, I think, to Crosby. Not

just him. The Saatchis. The texter, who is a brilliant pollster, he

heard the concerns of people in the focus groups. Turned it into a

image. You play back to people their fears and concerns, a great image

like a great line goes around the world quickly. Basically, it is the

inspiration of finding the right words and then the image that

captures it. And sticking at T Labour had too many messages. Linton

Crosby's one of his great advantages he brings to a campaign, he sits on

people. Politicians want