:00:18. > :00:24.A a very warm welcome to the Scottish Parliament here at
:00:24. > :00:29.Holyrood. The Budget has been discussed here. It has been
:00:29. > :00:35.discussed at Westminster, John Swinney was quizzed on it. Let's
:00:35. > :00:40.see what comes up on First Minister's Questions. The devil is
:00:40. > :00:50.often in the detail with the Budget. Politicians and officials will be
:00:50. > :00:51.
:00:51. > :00:58.We welcome plans from GlaxoSmithKline to invest and
:00:59. > :01:03.create 100 new jobs so. This major investment reinforces Scotland's
:01:03. > :01:12.global reputation in life sciences. I also welcome the fact that the
:01:12. > :01:16.Chancellor responded to John Swinney's proposal. The granting of
:01:16. > :01:20.enhanced capital allowances. I am sure we'll remember the Chancellor
:01:20. > :01:25.generously acknowledging that was a John Swinney proposal when he made
:01:25. > :01:28.his Budget statement yesterday. I welcome the development, as indeed
:01:29. > :01:38.the chamber does, and they look forward to announcing further
:01:38. > :01:43.investment in these areas in I am sure you will enjoy your visit,
:01:43. > :01:47.and we always welcome glimmers of hope in terms of employment and
:01:47. > :01:52.investment in communities across Scotland. Very few of us agree with
:01:52. > :01:55.the approach taken by the Tories in terms of the health service. I was
:01:55. > :02:00.glad last month when the First Minister told us that Scotland is
:02:00. > :02:03.choosing a different path. Since then we find out more about the
:02:03. > :02:07.path taken by the First Minister and it seems to have been a
:02:07. > :02:13.downhill gradient. Decreasing standards in elderly care, cuts to
:02:13. > :02:21.social care budgets, and patients going without blankets. Even the
:02:21. > :02:25.good statistics, as we found out yesterday, cannot be trusted.
:02:25. > :02:33.Before he rhymes of the statistics he has already prepared, can ask,
:02:33. > :02:36.why should we trust him? I think we should look at the record,
:02:36. > :02:41.particularly public satisfaction with the health service in Scotland
:02:41. > :02:45.which is at a record level. The ultimate verdict is passed by the
:02:46. > :02:50.people and their confidence in their National Health Service. That
:02:50. > :02:54.is in direct contrast to what is happening south of the border.
:02:54. > :02:59.There, many people are wondering if they are going to have a National
:02:59. > :03:06.Health Service worthy of the name. This Government is totally
:03:06. > :03:09.committed to a National Health Service in Scotland. I think the
:03:09. > :03:14.point of the Scottish Parliament is that we cannot aspire to better
:03:14. > :03:18.than what the Tories are offering us at Westminster. But we do expect
:03:18. > :03:22.your record to be better as well. Can we look first of all at what
:03:22. > :03:27.experts have been saying. The Royal College of Nursing says there are
:03:27. > :03:32.not enough nurses to provide basic, safe care. All that Scotland is
:03:32. > :03:36.warning that councils and health boards are failing to insure a
:03:36. > :03:41.vital care services can be delivered in the future. The Centre
:03:41. > :03:48.for Public Policy in the regions says since 2006, Scotland has been
:03:48. > :03:55.lagging behind resources. Does the First Minister think they are all
:03:55. > :04:00.wrong as well? Let's look at qualified nurses and midwives.
:04:00. > :04:05.There are more qualified nurses and midwives in Scotland than there
:04:05. > :04:10.were in 2006. Let's look at it in comparison with the other countries
:04:10. > :04:17.in these islands. Per head of a thousand population, we have a
:04:17. > :04:23.eight nurses and midwives. Compared to 5.9 in England. 7.6 in Northern
:04:23. > :04:28.Ireland. I think that indicates the huge priority that this Government,
:04:28. > :04:33.and this Parliament, invests in our National Health Service. Joanna
:04:33. > :04:37.Lamond and says, that is not much comparison, comparing what we're
:04:37. > :04:40.doing in Scotland as a united Parliament in terms of preserving
:04:40. > :04:45.the National Health Service, and what is happening in England. We
:04:45. > :04:50.could look at what is happening in Wales at the present moment. The
:04:50. > :04:54.sole area at in these islands where the Labour Party is in government.
:04:54. > :04:58.I have got great sympathy for the Welsh Government, and the pressure
:04:58. > :05:02.they are under it in terms of the Westminster government. We are
:05:02. > :05:06.under the same pressure, but the Welsh government decided not to
:05:06. > :05:14.protect the revenue budget of the National Health Service in real
:05:14. > :05:18.terms. It is due to fall by eight 8% between 2011 and 24 teams.
:05:18. > :05:23.Unlike the decision made by this administration to protect the
:05:23. > :05:29.revenue budget of the National Health Service in real terms. So,
:05:29. > :05:33.the contrast is not just between Scotland and the SNP and the Tories
:05:33. > :05:37.at Westminster. The contrast is between the SNP in Scotland and
:05:37. > :05:41.Labour in Wales. And I think the vast majority of people in Scotland
:05:41. > :05:49.will support the policy of this government to protect our National
:05:49. > :05:54.Health Service. First of all, your budget has been cut by �319 million.
:05:54. > :06:00.Secondly, the substance of that answer was that the nurses' union
:06:00. > :06:06.is wrong. To talk about Wales, we would like him to focus on his
:06:06. > :06:13.responsibilities as First Minister here. Because he talks on these
:06:13. > :06:17.benches, we would love to be in his position, I can assure you. The
:06:17. > :06:21.rhetoric of this Government does not fit with reality. The First
:06:21. > :06:28.Minister does not accept the picture painted by the experts.
:06:28. > :06:32.What can he say to hell Macbeth? She was very ill and the Royal
:06:32. > :06:37.Alexandra Hospital. She spent her first night frozen because staff
:06:37. > :06:42.were unable to get her a blanket. She had to rely on her daughter
:06:42. > :06:45.bringing one in for her the next day. They great-grandfather went in
:06:45. > :06:51.to the hospital for a serious operation. Three nights in hospital
:06:51. > :06:55.with only his beach towel to keep him warm. Does the First Minister
:06:55. > :07:03.realise it is not enough to say you are protecting the NHS, you
:07:03. > :07:06.actually have to do it. The Health Secretary has indicated that she is
:07:06. > :07:11.prepared to look into any case in the national herd -- National
:07:11. > :07:21.Health Service were care does not meet standards. This is a huge
:07:21. > :07:23.
:07:23. > :07:27.priority for this Government. Jackie Baillie has already had to
:07:27. > :07:36.apologise about her scare stories about shortages of blankets which
:07:36. > :07:40.turned out to be untrue. She is very well aware of this. I know
:07:40. > :07:48.that the survey, which was not a Scottish survey, which is published
:07:48. > :07:54.this week indicated concern by nurses. However there has been that
:07:54. > :07:58.surveys by it the RCN that did have Scottish input. There was one in
:07:58. > :08:08.April 2006 were 4,000 nurses were questioned in Scotland. In that
:08:08. > :08:12.
:08:12. > :08:17.survey, two-thirds of nurses said the Government prevented them
:08:17. > :08:21.providing the standard of care they wanted. That has declined to 50%. I
:08:21. > :08:26.would like to have a situation where no nurse was concerned about
:08:26. > :08:31.the pressure of work. But by any standards, that represents an
:08:31. > :08:35.improvement to when a Labour were in Office. Let's remember that when
:08:35. > :08:38.Labour were in office, their incompetence and financial
:08:38. > :08:43.management meant they could not even spend the Scottish budget that
:08:43. > :08:47.was allocated we have been protecting the National Health
:08:47. > :08:51.Service against the most ferocious cuts for many generations. That is
:08:51. > :08:58.why we stand proudly on our record on Scotland's National Health
:08:58. > :09:02.Service. It is one thing for the First Minister to repeat his
:09:02. > :09:08.version of his record. He has to confront the reality of what is
:09:08. > :09:12.happening to people's lives. It is one thing to attack Jackie Baillie,
:09:12. > :09:15.but it is another to attack those who are raising concerns about the
:09:15. > :09:20.National Health Service. We have established the First Minister will
:09:20. > :09:25.not listen to me, or listen to independent voices. Will he listen
:09:25. > :09:30.to people suffering from his mismanagement of the NHS? The
:09:30. > :09:34.people I spoke about are sitting in the public gallery. We found at
:09:34. > :09:42.least 7 recent cases of patients going without blankets at the Royal
:09:42. > :09:44.Alexandra Hospital. The Government denied it. I was called to
:09:44. > :09:50.investigate my own health spokesperson for having the
:09:50. > :10:00.audacity to give a voice to the complaints of her own constituents.
:10:00. > :10:02.
:10:02. > :10:06.The reality is, if you read the newspaper, he would have seen our
:10:06. > :10:12.claims are true. If the First Minister does not believe me, why
:10:12. > :10:18.doesn't he come and meet with the two constituents and explain that
:10:18. > :10:23.we do not have a problem with the NHS. Explain it is a figment of
:10:23. > :10:28.Jackie Baillie's imagination. They will tell him what the NHS is
:10:28. > :10:38.really like. When is the First Minister going to stop the rhetoric
:10:38. > :10:38.
:10:38. > :10:42.and face up to the reality of his own responsibilities? I said
:10:42. > :10:45.specifically that the Health Secretary would investigate any
:10:45. > :10:49.case in the National Health Service where treatment fell below our
:10:49. > :10:52.expectations, and she would be delighted to meet the patients
:10:52. > :10:58.concerned or any other people who experience care which is less than
:10:58. > :11:03.what all of us would expect. That is why I said it in my last answer.
:11:03. > :11:06.I did not criticise the nurses of Scotland. I pointed out we would
:11:06. > :11:11.love to have a situation where nurses were not concerned about
:11:11. > :11:15.numbers and standards of care. I merely pointed out that surveys
:11:15. > :11:21.showed that the standard of care is improving from when Labour were in
:11:21. > :11:27.power. But we should not be surprised about that. In 2007 when
:11:27. > :11:31.this government came to office, the Government them said that the
:11:31. > :11:37.National Health Service would just have to cut its cloth. It would not
:11:37. > :11:42.get any consequential as whatsoever. That was their policies. During the
:11:42. > :11:49.recent election campaign, Iain Gray said in Newsnight Scotland, we
:11:49. > :11:54.would not ring-fence the health budget in Scotland. The reality is,
:11:54. > :11:59.thanks to the direction of this government in 2007, the NHS had
:11:59. > :12:03.more money spent in it. Thanks to this government last year, the NHS
:12:03. > :12:08.had more money spent in it. Given what is happening in Wales, no-one
:12:08. > :12:12.can be in any doubt that the only party in Scotland committed to
:12:12. > :12:18.protecting the National Health Service and its budget is this SNP
:12:18. > :12:23.government! Some nods of satisfaction in the public gallery.
:12:23. > :12:26.Whatever that was, it was not taking responsibility. The Health
:12:26. > :12:32.Secretary wrote and said the problems with the towels were that
:12:32. > :12:37.the staff could not source them. Unison members have been
:12:37. > :12:41.complaining for 10 months that this was a serious issues. It is about
:12:41. > :12:51.time the Minister took responsibility, defender of the NHS
:12:51. > :12:55.and responded to concerns of constituents. I think the health
:12:55. > :12:59.board explicitly denied Jackie Baillie's claims as far as we
:12:59. > :13:02.cycled towels were concerns. It is not very useful to return to
:13:02. > :13:09.something which our health spokesman should be embarrassed
:13:09. > :13:13.about. I have got great interest in making sure that every patient
:13:13. > :13:18.experiences less than satisfactory care is not just met, but that
:13:18. > :13:23.these issues and complaints are dealt with. I am merely pointing
:13:23. > :13:27.out that it is beyond argument that if Labour had come to power in 2007,
:13:27. > :13:32.if they had come to power last year, there would be less resources spent
:13:32. > :13:37.on Scotland's National Health Service. The fact that Joanna
:13:37. > :13:41.Lamond was in government in 2007 and deputy leader last year
:13:41. > :13:51.indicates that she should hang her head in shame because she was
:13:51. > :13:53.
:13:53. > :14:03.prepared to under resource To ask the First Minister when you
:14:03. > :14:20.
:14:20. > :14:22.will next meet the Prime Minister? I am not surprised in this light is
:14:22. > :14:28.it that is a with some does not want to talk about yesterday's
:14:28. > :14:34.budget, particularly the effect on old people across Scotland. Let us
:14:34. > :14:38.remember the huge number of people earning under �16,000 who or where
:14:38. > :14:42.having to pay descriptions in Scotland before it they were
:14:42. > :14:46.rightly abolished by this Government. I can tell her that the
:14:46. > :14:50.idea at that you should cut taxes for the richest members of the
:14:50. > :14:55.community at the expense of not providing medicines that people can
:14:55. > :15:02.afford to was a deeply unpopular in Scotland. But that is nothing new
:15:02. > :15:06.for the Scottish Conservative Party. I am happy to talk about the 73,000
:15:06. > :15:13.people taking out of tax altogether, but 2.1 people who have seen their
:15:13. > :15:19.tax rate rise, but that is not the numbers I asked for it from this
:15:19. > :15:22.First Minister. The Government's own figure is that a �130 million
:15:22. > :15:29.will be spent funding free prescriptions by the end of this
:15:29. > :15:36.month alone. But as �130 million to buy votes at the last election. As
:15:36. > :15:40.we heard last week, there is no money for a cancer drug fund. They
:15:40. > :15:45.tell us at this week that there is less money for nurses on the front
:15:45. > :15:51.line. Despite the protestations of the First Minister today, below us
:15:51. > :15:55.numbers of nurses in Scotland for six years. Yesterday, Health Board
:15:55. > :15:58.found fiddling the figures because it is missing its targets and today
:15:58. > :16:02.the British Medical Association saying that even visiting your
:16:02. > :16:08.family doctor means getting treated in sub-standard conditions and in
:16:08. > :16:12.crumbling buildings. Government is all about choices. Well First
:16:12. > :16:19.Minister now admit that there are far graver needs in Scotland's
:16:19. > :16:23.health service than his choice for a free prescription giveaway?
:16:23. > :16:28.think pressure on the National Health Service might be something
:16:28. > :16:32.to do with the cutbacks taking place in the Westminster Government.
:16:32. > :16:36.I am surprised even Ruth Davidson would want to defend the situation
:16:36. > :16:44.testified by pharmacists across the country for patients had to choose
:16:44. > :16:48.which medicines they took because of prescription charges. I do not
:16:48. > :16:51.think mentioning that the British Medical Association is such a good
:16:51. > :16:56.idea for Ruth Davidson, as I understand that you were thinking
:16:56. > :16:59.of standing candidates against the Conservative Party in England, so
:16:59. > :17:02.disgusted are they by the performance of the it Tory
:17:02. > :17:07.Government on the health service. I am delighted that recidivism want
:17:07. > :17:11.to talk about yesterday's budget, because on television last night
:17:11. > :17:16.David Blundell was unable to tell us how many people in Scotland
:17:16. > :17:19.would benefit from the cut in top rate tax to and unable to tell us
:17:19. > :17:25.how many pensioners would suffer from the pensioners being punished
:17:25. > :17:30.in the Budget. I can tell Chris Davidson, up 15,000 top taxpayers
:17:30. > :17:35.in Scotland will benefit and 327,000 current pensioners and
:17:35. > :17:42.half-a-million future pensioners will be powered -- punished by the
:17:42. > :17:47.Tory, Liberal Democrat Coalition. I believe that these 15,000 tax rate
:17:47. > :17:51.top -- top rate taxpayers in Scotland would not have wanted
:17:51. > :17:58.their bonus to be at the expense of have a pet -- have a million
:17:58. > :18:03.pensioners in Scotland, and therein lies our politics -- lies the
:18:03. > :18:13.difference in our politics. Punish the pensioners and keep the rich
:18:13. > :18:13.
:18:13. > :18:18.happy is the policy of the Tory party. Since the publication of the
:18:18. > :18:21.Price Waterhouse Cooper report NHS scandal, I have been approached by
:18:21. > :18:26.a number patients and staff who have raised further concerns about
:18:26. > :18:29.the management culture and practices there. Well the First
:18:29. > :18:35.Minister now instruct a full comprehensive and independent
:18:35. > :18:39.review of the whole of NHS West Lothian's activities? A statement
:18:39. > :18:44.from the Health Secretary yesterday dealt with that exact point. I do
:18:44. > :18:48.not think anyone listening to that statement yesterday could be under
:18:48. > :18:53.any and -- any other impression how seriously the health service takes
:18:53. > :18:58.the situation and how determined the Health Secretary is to sort
:18:58. > :19:02.this out. I do not think this issue to deflect from the reality that
:19:02. > :19:07.more people in Scotland right now are satisfied with the NHS than
:19:07. > :19:12.ever before. Secondly, all the new ball an enormous amount across the
:19:12. > :19:20.health service in Scotland to the dedication and work of the health
:19:20. > :19:25.professionals and all of the staff in our National Health Service.
:19:25. > :19:32.Cast the First Minister what assurances he can provide to the 60
:19:32. > :19:40.strong workforce in our health facing closure? And the nearby
:19:40. > :19:42.Nestle plant in Govan are facing a significant redundancies? Will the
:19:42. > :19:48.Scottish Government work effectively to mitigate the impact
:19:48. > :19:57.on them, their families and the whole of the community? I should
:19:57. > :20:06.remember's concern. -- share of the member's concerns. I can confirm we
:20:06. > :20:10.will do everything we can to help local Ayrshire people, the
:20:10. > :20:16.employees of nicely who may be affected, I understand it company
:20:16. > :20:21.itself is committed to finding new jobs for local employees. We will
:20:21. > :20:27.do everything we can act to provide support to minimise the time that
:20:28. > :20:34.these individuals are affected by redundancies. Caspar First Minister
:20:34. > :20:41.of what impact -- what its impact will be of the UK but it on the
:20:41. > :20:51.people of Scotland? The budget allocated next to no money full
:20:51. > :20:53.resources to support growth in the economy. Indeed, the off at -- the
:20:53. > :20:58.Office of budget responsibility say that the Government has announced
:20:58. > :21:02.policy measures that have a limited effect on our economic forecast. I
:21:02. > :21:08.hear from the Tory benches today the comment on the oil industry. If
:21:08. > :21:11.the summit of Tory ambition is to undo part of the Davin -- damage
:21:11. > :21:19.that they did in last year's budget, all will no doubt they will blame
:21:19. > :21:24.the Liberal Democrats for last year, if that is the summit of the Tory
:21:24. > :21:31.party's ambition, then it is hardly surprising that they had been
:21:31. > :21:36.reduced to the proposition that they are in Scottish politics.
:21:36. > :21:39.he share my concern about George Osborne's budget will do more to
:21:39. > :21:44.benefit millionaires than the people of Scotland? The First
:21:44. > :21:50.Minister will also be aware that the Chancellor's proposal to freeze
:21:50. > :21:56.age-related tax benefits for up pensioners will leave average
:21:56. > :21:59.pensioner's �83 worse off in 2013 and 14. Can the First Minister
:21:59. > :22:09.indicate what the impact on pensioners and Scotland will be by
:22:09. > :22:10.
:22:10. > :22:17.this disgraceful change in pensioner's tax allowances? There
:22:17. > :22:24.are 330,000 current pensioners who will be affected by this decision.
:22:24. > :22:30.By 2016 and 2017, the effect will be �220 more in income tax and the
:22:30. > :22:34.number of pensioners affected will have risen to 500,000. That is half
:22:34. > :22:39.a million pensioners that his party has punished and many of them have
:22:39. > :22:43.no doubt will be watching this debate and his programme. Can I say
:22:43. > :22:46.to the Conservative Party that the pensioner's allowance was first
:22:46. > :22:51.introduced by Winston Churchill when he was Chancellor of the
:22:51. > :22:56.Exchequer. We have got to the stage for the Conservative Party in terms
:22:56. > :23:00.of their determination to pursue their own agenda are prepared to
:23:00. > :23:04.punish millions of pensioners across the UK, half a million
:23:04. > :23:12.pensioners in Scotland, reverse the policies of Winston Churchill and
:23:12. > :23:17.they wonder why next to nobody is voting for them! Just for clarity,
:23:17. > :23:25.I wonder if the First Minister welcomes the increase in personal
:23:25. > :23:30.tax allowances to over 9,000 -- �9,200, and as he will come up the
:23:30. > :23:34.cutting of corporation tax to �14 next month and 22p in 2014? Because
:23:34. > :23:42.a Government press release and his own answers today have completely
:23:42. > :23:44.ignored those for two very important measures for Scotland.
:23:44. > :23:49.John Swinney yesterday welcomed a number of the measures in the
:23:49. > :23:54.Budget. It is true, we're tough -- we are helping people out of
:23:54. > :24:01.taxation and we welcome this. I wish the Chancellor would be
:24:01. > :24:05.prepared to acknowledge John Swinney's role. I think if John
:24:05. > :24:10.Swinney, out of the goodness of his heart makes a proposal on 7th
:24:10. > :24:16.February, and then I find out it was all Daniel Alexander's
:24:16. > :24:21.brilliant idea, I think these things should be corrected. The see
:24:21. > :24:24.his point is this. I do not believe that the relatively few number of
:24:24. > :24:29.people benefiting in Scotland from the reduction in the top rate tax
:24:30. > :24:33.would have wanted to have that benefit at the expense of half-a-
:24:34. > :24:37.million pensioners in Scotland. I do not believe that, clearly Gavin
:24:37. > :24:47.Brown does, that is the difference between our two parties, which is
:24:47. > :24:54.why we are here and he is their! What impact possible changes by the
:24:54. > :25:00.UK Government to regional pay awards would have in Scotland.
:25:00. > :25:09.Scottish ministers have set pay policy for devolved body --
:25:09. > :25:15.devolved bodies. This move could penalise public servants, introduce
:25:15. > :25:18.regional pay disparities and pay cuts to implement higher public
:25:18. > :25:23.spending as we are. This will do nothing to promote growth or
:25:23. > :25:26.furnace and I think the Chancellor should think again. Can he outlined
:25:26. > :25:30.what the Scottish Government is doing to offer public sector
:25:30. > :25:39.workers under its control some level of security of pay and will
:25:39. > :25:44.he express...? Our policy has been consistent. We want to see a
:25:44. > :25:48.Scotland where affair may -- fair wage is a living wage. Every
:25:48. > :25:54.employee in the Scottish Government are guaranteed from this year at
:25:54. > :25:58.least a living wage of �7.20 per hour. Two-thirds of the thousands
:25:58. > :26:01.who have benefited from this have been women. The living wage will
:26:01. > :26:05.also be introduced to local Government employees in all
:26:05. > :26:15.councils and I hope it is a substantial number of which will
:26:15. > :26:17.
:26:17. > :26:20.have led by the SNP. Caspar First Minister about his own pension in
:26:20. > :26:26.particular and given that he was part of the previous scheme where
:26:26. > :26:29.he would have accrued benefits on the basis of his time his service,
:26:29. > :26:36.Acas quit their he has moved to the new scheme which would be much
:26:36. > :26:39.better for the public purse, if not himself? I am quite certain that if
:26:39. > :26:45.he looks up the record for his -- he will find his question is based
:26:45. > :26:48.on a false premise. Can I ask the First Minister of whether the
:26:48. > :26:52.Scottish Government will reconsider its support for the continuation of
:26:52. > :26:57.a bonus points scheme for hospital doctors in the light of the
:26:57. > :27:02.reduction in NHS jobs and general pay freeze in the public sector?
:27:02. > :27:06.There are obviously huge issues across the public sector at the
:27:06. > :27:10.moment, how could there be otherwise with our budget been cut
:27:10. > :27:16.so substantially? It should be noted that staffing in NHS Scotland
:27:16. > :27:23.is higher than at the start of the previous Parliament. Overall, NHS
:27:23. > :27:33.staff numbers are up by 3.5% and medical and dental numbers are up
:27:33. > :27:34.
:27:34. > :27:38.by 3.5%. He will be aware that awards and discretionary points
:27:38. > :27:43.have been frozen in Scotland since 2010, and spent on distinction
:27:44. > :27:49.Awards is now less than it was in 2007 when we came to office. He
:27:49. > :27:57.seems to be questioning the numbers, as she often does, it was 24.1
:27:57. > :28:03.million and 2007, it has come down progressively to 24.1 million in
:28:03. > :28:06.2007 to 23.8 million in 2011. not sure if I can start to -- thank
:28:06. > :28:11.him for that answer because I am talking about the bonus points
:28:11. > :28:16.scheme. As a time when his Government has imposed a pay freeze
:28:16. > :28:21.on everyone in the NHS earning over 21,000, how can he justified the
:28:21. > :28:29.fact that there were 201 new entrants to the hospital doctor a
:28:29. > :28:32.bonus points scheme last year receiving additional top ups all
:28:32. > :28:37.fat and up of their salary, and how can he justify the fact that more
:28:37. > :28:42.than one-third of all the consultants already in the bonus
:28:42. > :28:46.scheme were given increases at an additional cost to their health
:28:46. > :28:50.service of �2.6 million? And this despite the promises by the Cabinet
:28:50. > :28:54.Secretary to freeze the system to new entrants and to cease increases
:28:54. > :29:00.to other people. I know the difference and I'm sure Richard
:29:00. > :29:05.Simpson will be the first person to say that this was something in
:29:05. > :29:09.place throughout labour's time in office. The NHS board believe that
:29:09. > :29:13.they are contractually obliged to continue with the current scheme
:29:13. > :29:19.until a new system can be negotiated. That is the belief of
:29:19. > :29:22.the NHS's board. It is not enough for him to sweep away the
:29:23. > :29:26.distinction of that award scheme, because that is a scheme in which
:29:26. > :29:33.there is not a contractual element of entitlement and so it has been
:29:33. > :29:38.possible to freeze the value of a number of awards. Up to 2012, their
:29:38. > :29:48.work less than 84 it -- more than 84 at less consultants holding
:29:48. > :29:48.
:29:48. > :29:52.those awards and a saving of �4.1 million. In terms of his question,
:29:52. > :29:55.it is an inconvenient reminder that he is complaining about something
:29:55. > :29:59.that Labour are not just established the system but did
:29:59. > :30:09.nothing about in their entire time in office and it allows me to draw
:30:09. > :30:09.
:30:09. > :30:13.attention to the area at which is not contractually bound. Does he
:30:13. > :30:19.consider that separation from the rest of the United Kingdom could be
:30:19. > :30:25.negotiated within a year of an independence referendum? Death John
:30:25. > :30:30.Lamond was so confident about his position then he would not need to
:30:30. > :30:35.discuss the process of independence in such pejorative terms. Can I
:30:35. > :30:43.refer to paragraphs 4.1 and 4.5 of their referendum picture of which
:30:43. > :30:46.has now received 7,000 responses? Somewhat greater than the reason
:30:46. > :30:50.member but -- has a membership of the Scottish Conservative Party.
:30:51. > :30:56.You will find in that document a timetable after a vote for
:30:56. > :31:00.independence in the autumn of 2014. I am sure he, in his heart,
:31:00. > :31:05.genuinely agrees that the proposed timetable is proper and following a
:31:05. > :31:15.yes vote the first election of an independent Scotland will take
:31:15. > :31:25.place in 2016. Sharp exchanges there. Particularly