Browse content similar to 24/01/2013. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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A very warm welcome to the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood. What is | :00:28. | :00:31. | |
happening to the fall-out with David Cameron's European speech | :00:31. | :00:38. | |
yesterday? The provision of beds and the health service generally. | :00:38. | :00:41. | |
Ms peas were taking evidence on the provision of foreign language | :00:41. | :00:49. | |
teaching in schools. The next half hour is blunt language, it is | :00:49. | :00:57. | |
questions to the First Minister. Question number one. What | :00:57. | :01:05. | |
engagements has he planned for the rest of the day? To take forward | :01:05. | :01:08. | |
the Independent's programme for Scotland. The First Minister told | :01:08. | :01:15. | |
the Today programme last week, we are going into talks with the | :01:15. | :01:21. | |
European Commission. When are those talks going to take place? Joanne | :01:21. | :01:26. | |
Lamont will have seen the European commission's view. Which states | :01:26. | :01:33. | |
they have not expressed an opinion in terms of a specific situation | :01:33. | :01:37. | |
regarding Scotland. All the stuff we had before Christmas according | :01:37. | :01:42. | |
to the European Commission was not about Scotland. However, they did | :01:42. | :01:47. | |
offer a route forward. They said that if a member state would want | :01:47. | :01:52. | |
to ask for an opinion, then an opinion could be provided. We have | :01:52. | :01:55. | |
made it clear to the UK Government that we could go jointly to the | :01:55. | :01:59. | |
European Commission to find out what the commission's view is and | :01:59. | :02:05. | |
we can get that viewpoint. That seems to be an entirely reasonable | :02:05. | :02:08. | |
suggestion and perhaps Joanne Lamont will depart from her | :02:08. | :02:11. | |
colleagues in the coalition Government and support the positive | :02:11. | :02:19. | |
suggestion of this it is Government. I think we can workout you did not | :02:19. | :02:25. | |
answer the question. If I can put aside what I am asked and say about | :02:25. | :02:27. | |
something else might be an interesting thing to do, but it is | :02:27. | :02:32. | |
not what you are supposed to do in this chamber. You said you were | :02:32. | :02:36. | |
going into talks and since the First Minister made the assertion | :02:36. | :02:40. | |
he was going to meet John Mann while Barroso before the First | :02:40. | :02:44. | |
Minister had even received a reply asking for talks, what was the | :02:44. | :02:49. | |
basis upon which the First Minister said he was going into talks with | :02:49. | :02:54. | |
the European Commission? Was it the same basis when he said he had had | :02:54. | :03:03. | |
legal advice, when he had not. That is, he made it up. I think the | :03:03. | :03:05. | |
basis was which asked for talks with the European Commission on | :03:05. | :03:09. | |
what seemed to be the viewpoint that they stated in December, | :03:09. | :03:13. | |
widely reported, which applied to the case of Scotland. The European | :03:13. | :03:18. | |
Commission has now replied saying they said no such thing. However, I | :03:18. | :03:23. | |
think it would be useful for the European commission's view Pike to | :03:23. | :03:27. | |
be heard. I want to hear their opinion and that is why the deputy | :03:27. | :03:31. | |
First Minister has indicated we would jointly, with the UK | :03:31. | :03:35. | |
Government, if they agree find out what the European Commission thinks. | :03:35. | :03:39. | |
We have had since December some other important opinions on this | :03:39. | :03:44. | |
matter. Sir David Edwards, the former Court judge at the European | :03:44. | :03:51. | |
Court of Justice only this week seemed to profoundly support | :03:51. | :03:56. | |
firstly the Scottish Government's viewpoint that we have indicated | :03:56. | :04:03. | |
many times, we will negotiate from within the European Union, and in | :04:03. | :04:07. | |
another opinion they should be two successor states with equal status | :04:07. | :04:11. | |
with regard to each other. These profound and important legal | :04:12. | :04:16. | |
opinions tend to give weight to the Scottish Government's point of view. | :04:16. | :04:20. | |
I am sure Joanne Lamont has read them, and thus do them, and she | :04:20. | :04:25. | |
will want to take account of them as we pursue this debate. It would | :04:25. | :04:31. | |
be interesting, however, it Joanne will give me a second, to have an | :04:31. | :04:39. | |
indication from the Labour Party... Order, order. If they are heading | :04:39. | :04:46. | |
towards the exit door of the European Union. Forgive me for not | :04:46. | :04:51. | |
allowing the First Minister his soundbite before he moved on. | :04:51. | :04:56. | |
Because of course although the President has not spoken about the | :04:56. | :05:03. | |
specific issue of Scotland he has said a new state well not have the | :05:03. | :05:09. | |
treaty applied. I can only assume that while the First Minister wants | :05:09. | :05:14. | |
to trim down the monarchy and the regulation of the banks, he thinks | :05:14. | :05:18. | |
an independent Scotland will be a new state, but he can correct me if | :05:18. | :05:22. | |
I am wrong in that regard. The President has said he cannot | :05:22. | :05:27. | |
comment on the application to join the EU, but the Czechoslovakians | :05:27. | :05:32. | |
foreign minister has promised. They will have a veto on an independent | :05:32. | :05:38. | |
Scotland's EU application false --. Scotland would have to apply for | :05:38. | :05:42. | |
membership. He went on to say Scotland would get a worse deal | :05:42. | :05:47. | |
because, a much smaller country with much less economic importance | :05:47. | :05:54. | |
has less weight. Why do you think they're foreign minister is | :05:54. | :06:01. | |
scaremongering like that? Scotland is approximately the same | :06:01. | :06:06. | |
geographical size as the Czech Republic. I have got the comments | :06:06. | :06:10. | |
from the foreign minister and he was specifically asked would he | :06:10. | :06:16. | |
want to block Scotland's entry into the European Union and he said no. | :06:16. | :06:20. | |
Even the Czech foreign minister speaking before he realised the | :06:20. | :06:25. | |
exit door to which the UK is heading under Cameron's leadership | :06:25. | :06:29. | |
thought he would not want to stop Scotland being a member of the | :06:29. | :06:32. | |
European Union. If the Czech foreign minister does not want to | :06:32. | :06:38. | |
stop Scotland, why did the Labour Party seemed to cast some doubt on | :06:38. | :06:42. | |
it? The events of the last 24 hours are a very interesting in this | :06:42. | :06:48. | |
debate. It indicates the threat has gone's continued membership to the | :06:48. | :06:52. | |
European Union does not come from this Parliament or the people of | :06:52. | :06:56. | |
Scotland. It comes from the banks of the Thames and a Tory coalition | :06:56. | :06:59. | |
Government who are heading towards the exit door and a Labour | :06:59. | :07:03. | |
opposition who have still to clarify what on earth they think | :07:03. | :07:11. | |
about it. I know that it is the First Minister's stock in trade to | :07:11. | :07:16. | |
miss the point, however, what the Czech foreign minister is making | :07:16. | :07:20. | |
the point about is not whether he would block Scotland, but what | :07:20. | :07:26. | |
price they would extract from Scotland's membership of the UK. | :07:26. | :07:32. | |
Alex Salmond and David Cameron are like these in a pod. They will | :07:32. | :07:39. | |
always put... They will always put... Order, order. They will | :07:39. | :07:46. | |
always put their parties' interest before the interests of the people | :07:46. | :07:51. | |
of this country. There is nothing quite so negative as trying to | :07:51. | :07:55. | |
mislead the country and perhaps that is why support for | :07:55. | :07:59. | |
independence is at its lowest since devolution. Perhaps the people who | :07:59. | :08:03. | |
hear him say he has legal advice when he has not do not believe him | :08:03. | :08:08. | |
any more. Maybe the pensioner lying in a trolley in a freezing corridor | :08:08. | :08:13. | |
does not believe him when he says he is doing a great job with the | :08:13. | :08:18. | |
NHS. Maybe when he says he is doing everything he can to create jobs | :08:18. | :08:22. | |
and then goes on a half-a-million planned trip to the Gulf people do | :08:22. | :08:28. | |
not believe him. Because the reality is Alex Salmond cheered the | :08:28. | :08:37. | |
Tories into Downing Street... order. He sees Tory welfare cuts as | :08:37. | :08:44. | |
an opportunity for his party. And he celebrates, he celebrates, he | :08:44. | :08:50. | |
celebrates Tory mistakes on Europe. In fact, is it not the case he | :08:50. | :09:00. | |
:09:00. | :09:02. | ||
loves the Tories so much he has taken... Order, order! Let me try | :09:02. | :09:07. | |
it again so that you definitely hear it. In fact, is it not the | :09:07. | :09:13. | |
case he loves the Tories so much he has taken support for independence | :09:13. | :09:21. | |
down to Tory levels of popularity? I think Joanne Lamont should try | :09:21. | :09:28. | |
many times again to get it right. I am not the one who is in the better | :09:28. | :09:31. | |
together campaign. Hand in glove with the Conservative Party. Amid | :09:31. | :09:36. | |
all that nonsense there was a serious point about the NHS. It is | :09:36. | :09:41. | |
not acceptable for a patent to wait eight hours, less alone and 84 | :09:41. | :09:48. | |
year-old man from Glasgow. But the NHS conducts 1.5 million accident | :09:48. | :09:53. | |
and emergency admissions in a year, about 6% over the last few years. | :09:53. | :09:57. | |
Not all of these admissions are conducted in the manner that we | :09:57. | :10:03. | |
would like and that is inevitable in an organisation. But you can | :10:03. | :10:07. | |
measure whether the NHS improves or not. The facts are that when we | :10:07. | :10:13. | |
took office in September 2006, 90.3% of patients waited less than | :10:14. | :10:20. | |
four hours in accident and emergency. In September, 2012, 95% | :10:20. | :10:25. | |
of patients waited less than four hours. These are the facts of | :10:25. | :10:30. | |
improvement in the NHS, which must be driven forward, so we do not | :10:30. | :10:36. | |
have any individual cases of 84 year-olds waiting six hours. I have | :10:36. | :10:41. | |
dealt with Joanne Lamont's alliance with the Conservative Party. If the | :10:41. | :10:46. | |
Labour benches do not like it, they should not be hand-in-glove in a | :10:46. | :10:51. | |
better together campaign. The point of the European Commission is not | :10:51. | :10:56. | |
that they say they are not going to comment, they say they have not | :10:56. | :11:00. | |
commented on the Scottish situation, but allow the opportunity for the | :11:00. | :11:04. | |
member state to go to find out the European commission's opinion. I | :11:04. | :11:10. | |
would like to hear the European commission's opinion which is why | :11:10. | :11:12. | |
the Deputy First Minister has indicated we would be willing to do | :11:12. | :11:19. | |
that in a joint submission. Unfortunately, Joanne Lamont's | :11:19. | :11:21. | |
allies in the Conservative and Liberal parties do not seem to have | :11:21. | :11:26. | |
any enthusiasm. Is it because the proposition that comes forward from | :11:26. | :11:31. | |
the Unionist parties that somehow energy rich, fishing rich, | :11:31. | :11:35. | |
renewable which Scotland would not be welcomed with open arms into the | :11:35. | :11:40. | |
European Union is absolutely incredible. In contrast to the | :11:40. | :11:46. | |
anti-European attitudes prevailing in the House of Commons for many | :11:46. | :11:49. | |
people across the Continent would welcome a pro-European Scotland | :11:49. | :11:58. | |
into the community of nations. calling Joanne Lamont again because | :11:58. | :12:02. | |
I expect any member in this chamber to be allowed to be heard when they | :12:02. | :12:09. | |
ask their questions. Thank you very much, presiding officer. The SNP's | :12:09. | :12:14. | |
position on Europe seems to have changed from of course we would be | :12:14. | :12:19. | |
a member, to why wouldn't we be a member? On the question of the | :12:19. | :12:22. | |
health service it is not good enough for a First Minister to come | :12:22. | :12:27. | |
here and say everything is fantastic and for policy to shift | :12:27. | :12:32. | |
and be driven by the fact a newspaper and a journalist raised | :12:32. | :12:37. | |
these questions. It is about time the First Minister got his health | :12:37. | :12:41. | |
minister to make sure the NHS was safe, rather than simply responding | :12:41. | :12:45. | |
to stories that have to come into the papers in order for there to be | :12:45. | :12:50. | |
action. Let the record showed I never said anything of the sort. I | :12:50. | :12:56. | |
pointed out that 1.5 million admissions to accident and | :12:56. | :12:59. | |
emergency and in any human organisation that some people would | :12:59. | :13:04. | |
not be treated as we would like and that is not acceptable. It is not | :13:05. | :13:08. | |
acceptable for an old person to wait that length of time on a | :13:08. | :13:14. | |
trolley in a Glasgow hospital are anywhere across the NHS. The. | :13:14. | :13:18. | |
Joanne Lamont did not like his we can tell through the statistics the | :13:18. | :13:22. | |
improvement in the NHS and accident and emergency. If it was | :13:22. | :13:29. | |
unacceptable now, as I say it is, was it not more acceptable in 2006 | :13:29. | :13:33. | |
when the Labour Party were in power and many thousands more people were | :13:33. | :13:40. | |
in that position in the NHS? They NHS conducts itself and deals with | :13:40. | :13:44. | |
7 million treatments over the course of a year and 1.5 in | :13:45. | :13:48. | |
accident and emergency should be seen as a health service and its | :13:48. | :13:54. | |
workers performing in the interests of the nation. Thank goodness there | :13:54. | :13:58. | |
and Monkland accident and emergency services are open and not closed as | :13:58. | :14:05. | |
the Labour Party would have done. Question number two. I would like | :14:05. | :14:08. | |
to ask the First Minister when he will next meet the prime minister. | :14:09. | :14:15. | |
No plans in the future. Despite the First Minister's party stations, | :14:15. | :14:19. | |
there are many things on which there is clear water between us and | :14:19. | :14:25. | |
Labour, not just Europe. Their defence is we are sound on Europe | :14:25. | :14:31. | |
and they are not. We would give Scotland a say and they would not | :14:31. | :14:39. | |
and neither would it seem with the First Minister. Why is that? Why is | :14:39. | :14:42. | |
it when the research shows it twice as many Scots want a euro | :14:42. | :14:46. | |
referendum than what Scotland delete the UK? Why would he not | :14:46. | :14:56. | |
:14:56. | :15:06. | ||
The reason the SNP advocate a position, is we do not want to be | :15:06. | :15:12. | |
in the European Union, therefore we do not argue for a referendum in | :15:12. | :15:16. | |
that issue. But David Cameron says he wants to stay in the EU. When he | :15:16. | :15:20. | |
is talking to other European leaders he says he is a great | :15:20. | :15:24. | |
reformer who is going to save Europe. But in front of his | :15:24. | :15:30. | |
Eurosceptic backbenchers, he says it is an in - a note -- and in oat | :15:30. | :15:36. | |
referendum. Where is the urgency to have the euro referendum that we | :15:36. | :15:40. | |
used to have for the Scottish referendum? If the negotiations | :15:40. | :15:46. | |
fail, will the Conservative Party line-up and campaign against the | :15:46. | :15:51. | |
EU? Ordered did David Cameron not bother to consult her when he made | :15:51. | :16:00. | |
his speech yesterday? Yes, he did. Yes, I saw him, this | :16:00. | :16:04. | |
week and last. The difference is, the Prime Minister is ready to | :16:04. | :16:09. | |
negotiate a better deal for the UK, and year-old leaders like Angela | :16:09. | :16:14. | |
Merkel are lining up to sit down for talks, and this minister cannot | :16:14. | :16:19. | |
get through the door in Brussels for a simple meeting. I am grateful | :16:19. | :16:22. | |
to the First Minister, because this week's something has become | :16:22. | :16:26. | |
crystal-clear - bought for the UK and you have a chance for you see | :16:26. | :16:30. | |
in Europe, vote for independence and he is telling you to leave it | :16:30. | :16:36. | |
up to him. We all know which way Scotland is going. We also know | :16:36. | :16:40. | |
that this First Minister is old enough to have had his say on | :16:40. | :16:48. | |
Europe decades ago. But no one in Scotland under 55 ever has. No one | :16:48. | :16:53. | |
under 55 in Scotland has ever had their say on Europe, and industry | :16:53. | :16:57. | |
First Minister's world, they never will. The First Minister needs to | :16:57. | :17:02. | |
explain to them why he would deny them their say. Can he? Why does he | :17:02. | :17:08. | |
not trust them? In her first question, she seemed | :17:08. | :17:13. | |
to imply that she was at least admitting the possibility, perhaps | :17:13. | :17:17. | |
even accepting I was going to win the referendum. In her second, she | :17:17. | :17:21. | |
seems to have considered the first election for an independent | :17:21. | :17:30. | |
Scottish Parliament. -- conceded the first election. If they so wish, | :17:30. | :17:35. | |
one name in 2016, they can go to the Scottish people and have | :17:35. | :17:41. | |
exactly the same position as David Cameron has in 2015. But implied in | :17:42. | :17:45. | |
the question is the acceptance that some hope with Davidson has come to | :17:45. | :17:50. | |
the conclusion that, even under her dynamic leadership, the | :17:50. | :17:53. | |
Conservative Party are not going to be threatening to many of the | :17:53. | :17:59. | |
polling stations with their to rake in 2016. I think the circumstances | :17:59. | :18:02. | |
of the last few days have fundamentally changed the debate in | :18:02. | :18:10. | |
Scotland. -- the polling stations with their victory. The Labour and | :18:10. | :18:13. | |
Tory campaigns have rested on the assumption that uncertainty would | :18:13. | :18:17. | |
be created in terms of Scotland's position in Europe. It is obvious | :18:17. | :18:21. | |
to any reasonable person now that the uncertainty of Scotland's | :18:21. | :18:26. | |
position in Europe comes from the Conservative Party, led by the nose | :18:26. | :18:29. | |
by Euro-sceptics, and the compromises David Cameron has made | :18:29. | :18:35. | |
to hold onto his job. I doubt very much if the Scottish situation, | :18:35. | :18:39. | |
never mind the Scottish Conservative Party or NEETs - -- | :18:39. | :18:43. | |
where any part of the Prime Minister's calculations. That is | :18:43. | :18:48. | |
why Scotland is safer with independence as a European nation. | :18:48. | :18:53. | |
A brief constituency supplementary from Hugh Henry. The bag you, | :18:53. | :18:57. | |
Presiding Officer. On Monday night there was a major | :18:57. | :19:01. | |
fire at a recycling plant in Johnson next to residential | :19:01. | :19:05. | |
properties in the town centre. Some residents were evacuated and rail | :19:05. | :19:10. | |
services to a Ayrshire were halted. Will the First Minister consider a | :19:10. | :19:14. | |
review of legislation to ensure these operations are not located in | :19:14. | :19:18. | |
public areas, and will he ask his minister to come and meet with me | :19:18. | :19:26. | |
and relative -- Melville -- revel and aged -- relevant agencies? | :19:26. | :19:30. | |
I am sure the Deputy First Minister will be happy to arrange a meeting | :19:30. | :19:33. | |
to discuss the matter further, and I would have thought a discussion | :19:33. | :19:37. | |
of the matter would be the right way to proceed, then to decide what | :19:37. | :19:41. | |
action needs to be taken as a result of that meeting. | :19:41. | :19:45. | |
Question number three, will he Rennie. To ask the First Minister | :19:45. | :19:49. | |
what issues will be discussed at the next Cabinet meeting. As use of | :19:49. | :19:55. | |
the importance to the people of Scotland. A -- issues of importance. | :19:55. | :19:58. | |
The First Minister has been an advocate of an independent Scotland | :19:58. | :20:02. | |
all his political life. I can understand why he might not want to | :20:02. | :20:06. | |
give up on his ambition of an independent Scotland, but can he | :20:06. | :20:09. | |
tell me, it Scotland votes no, will he engage with other parties on | :20:09. | :20:15. | |
further powers for the Parliament? Nicola Sturgeon has urged us all to | :20:15. | :20:20. | |
work together if Scotland votes yes. Will he want with us if Scotland | :20:20. | :20:28. | |
walks no? -- will he worked with us? My memory on this is that Ollie | :20:28. | :20:36. | |
Henry wants -- will he Rennie was desperate to avoid a devo max on | :20:36. | :20:42. | |
the referendum. We see Scotland's future as independent, I have no | :20:42. | :20:47. | |
idea of the Liberal Democrats and malty faced alliances between the | :20:47. | :20:52. | |
anti-European Tories and the no further destination Labour Party, | :20:52. | :20:57. | |
where the Liberal Democrats stand. The First Minister knows, the | :20:57. | :20:59. | |
referendum is about whether Scotland stays as part of the UK or | :20:59. | :21:07. | |
not. Even his old consultation rejected a second question. I do | :21:07. | :21:11. | |
not understand why they are so shy about this. The Liberal Democrats | :21:11. | :21:19. | |
are published plans for home rule in the UK. There is a consensus | :21:19. | :21:23. | |
emerging bond more powers from all of those plants, and it seems to be | :21:23. | :21:28. | |
endorsed by members of the public. Will he at least consider working | :21:28. | :21:33. | |
with me and others on a new constitutional future if Scotland | :21:33. | :21:38. | |
vote snow? His deputy want partnership, that is reasonable. | :21:38. | :21:45. | |
Why doesn't he? The survey shows strong support for | :21:45. | :21:48. | |
Scottish Parliament increasing powers, it also shows strong | :21:48. | :21:51. | |
support for the Scottish Parliament having full powers. It also shows | :21:51. | :21:57. | |
the majority support control of items such as social security, | :21:57. | :22:01. | |
which have not even featured in any of the Liberal-Democrat its | :22:01. | :22:07. | |
proposals. The Lib Dems have been extremely coy and reluctant about | :22:07. | :22:12. | |
the referendum, then to have anything else on the ballot paper. | :22:12. | :22:17. | |
Now, apparently we should revisit that in some way or rearrange the | :22:17. | :22:22. | |
furniture. I do not see how that is tenable. The Liberal Democrats | :22:22. | :22:26. | |
would not go into alliance with the SNP at one point because we wanted | :22:26. | :22:30. | |
a referendum on independence. Now they are in alliance with the | :22:30. | :22:36. | |
Conservative Party who want a referendum on Europe! At the | :22:36. | :22:40. | |
Liberal Democrats are willing to produce the look European | :22:41. | :22:43. | |
principles because they have office in the House of Commons at the | :22:43. | :22:52. | |
moment, I do not think many people will regard them as reliable allies. | :22:52. | :22:57. | |
My proposition to will he Rennie is that, given in the past at least | :22:57. | :23:00. | |
Liberal Democrats have expressed the strongest support for Scotland | :23:00. | :23:07. | |
having the strongest possible Paras, why doesn't he desert the European | :23:07. | :23:11. | |
for Bic Conservatives and the no further Labour Party and, and | :23:11. | :23:21. | |
:23:21. | :23:26. | ||
joined the yes campaign? -- the What the Scottish Government's | :23:26. | :23:31. | |
position is on recent reports that Scotland is receiving less than its | :23:31. | :23:38. | |
population sure of defence At the Freedom of Information on | :23:38. | :23:44. | |
which the article is based reports that Scotland received 11 �9 | :23:44. | :23:54. | |
billion less than its population Shearer on major EU exempt projects. | :23:54. | :23:58. | |
The on independence, this party could take charge of these powers. | :23:58. | :24:04. | |
I notice that was backed by the former chairman of the defence | :24:04. | :24:09. | |
industry representatives. Her recent surveys showed that Scotland | :24:09. | :24:14. | |
could contain its defence because of an industrial capability that | :24:14. | :24:19. | |
makes it attractive. The First Minister will be aware that the MoD | :24:19. | :24:25. | |
announced earlier this week that up to 5,000 job losses are expected as | :24:26. | :24:29. | |
a result of further are made redundancies. Can the First | :24:29. | :24:36. | |
Minister raised this issue with the UK Government and seek clarity on | :24:36. | :24:41. | |
has got one baby affected? And does he feel that instead of wasting | :24:41. | :24:43. | |
billions of pounds on the obscenity of nuclear weapons, this money | :24:43. | :24:52. | |
would be better spent maintaining the front line? I do think that, | :24:52. | :24:57. | |
and I think the Conservative lead Government, which regarded defence | :24:57. | :25:00. | |
Bint -- as a major issue in the constitutional debate should | :25:00. | :25:03. | |
explain why people who have potentially been on the frontline | :25:03. | :25:09. | |
fighting in Afghanistan are going to conform to P45s on their | :25:09. | :25:14. | |
doorstep. Most human beings would find that disgraceful under the | :25:14. | :25:21. | |
Conservative Party. I also note under the terms of Trident a | :25:21. | :25:25. | |
correction in the Herald newspaper, it seems the previous job at | :25:25. | :25:29. | |
estimates were based on double and triple counting. Both in terms of | :25:29. | :25:33. | |
the real redundancies in defence, that are happening under the | :25:33. | :25:36. | |
Conservative-led Government, and the least of expenditure of | :25:36. | :25:40. | |
billions on a system of mass destruction, I think we would be | :25:40. | :25:46. | |
far better if these areas were under Scottish control. The First | :25:46. | :25:51. | |
Minister will be aware that the Scotsman report did not cover all | :25:51. | :25:56. | |
MoD spending in Scotland, including the cost of extensive world-class | :25:56. | :26:01. | |
protection for our oil rigs and gas rigs in the North Sea. Can he tell | :26:01. | :26:06. | |
me, if Scotland were to the UK, how would this protection be provided? | :26:06. | :26:11. | |
By the Scottish conventional defence forces, and the advantage | :26:11. | :26:15. | |
would be we would have conventional forces protecting Scotland's | :26:15. | :26:19. | |
interests in partnership with allies, as opposed to wasting | :26:19. | :26:22. | |
billions on an unwanted, unusable system of weapons of mass | :26:22. | :26:26. | |
destruction that the vast majority of Scottish MPs and the | :26:26. | :26:32. | |
overwhelming majority of MSPs have thwarted against. If she actually | :26:32. | :26:35. | |
believes in this Parliament, believes even in the views | :26:35. | :26:39. | |
expressed by many people in the Labour Party, how on earth can she | :26:39. | :26:43. | |
accept the situation of billions of expenditure are wasted on Trident | :26:43. | :26:48. | |
while conventional forces are being run down by? And how can she | :26:48. | :26:51. | |
possibly defend gun in the system of public spending cuts across the | :26:51. | :26:54. | |
UK, these buildings going into weapons of mass destruction? I | :26:54. | :26:57. | |
think she should look to our conscience and come up with a | :26:57. | :27:04. | |
different answer. Thank you Presiding Officer, to ask | :27:04. | :27:07. | |
the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is | :27:07. | :27:11. | |
to the Joseph Rowntree Report suggesting a boy born in one of the | :27:11. | :27:16. | |
most deprived areas has a life expectancy 14 years below one born | :27:16. | :27:21. | |
in the least deprived. The report and the number make | :27:21. | :27:30. | |
profound points. Health should be a huge priority across this chamber. | :27:30. | :27:35. | |
In the report, which makes serious reading, there was one welcome | :27:35. | :27:39. | |
piece of confirmation that the child poverty rate in Scotland | :27:39. | :27:48. | |
dropped 10% in the decade up to 2011, which is still far too high | :27:48. | :27:56. | |
but it represents a significant and arrogant. | :27:56. | :27:59. | |
The First Minister is correct that previous governments have been able | :27:59. | :28:03. | |
to lift one third of children out of poverty, and the current | :28:03. | :28:06. | |
Government's policies make the task harder but are not excuses for | :28:06. | :28:11. | |
despair. Does the First Minister agree with the report's authors who | :28:11. | :28:15. | |
were in Glasgow on Monday? Scottish ministers already have the power to | :28:15. | :28:20. | |
make a real difference to help inequalities. The authors were | :28:20. | :28:24. | |
clear - the poor should not have to wait for a referendum. Does he | :28:24. | :28:29. | |
further agree that the young boy described by the report need -- | :28:29. | :28:33. | |
needs the Scottish Government's help now? Can the First Minister | :28:33. | :28:38. | |
make any changes or policy priorities that recognise that is | :28:38. | :28:44. | |
used particularly in public health help the better off most? | :28:45. | :28:49. | |
The author's sport at the conference, therefore we speak -- | :28:49. | :28:53. | |
treat the content of the report seriously. I think Drew Smith is | :28:53. | :28:57. | |
going to have be come to terms with an unavoidable fact - there is no | :28:57. | :29:01. | |
question whatsoever, a major determinant of the immediate causes | :29:01. | :29:06. | |
of poverty is what is available in the social security system. That | :29:06. | :29:11. | |
system is run at Westminster at the moment. As far as I understand, the | :29:11. | :29:16. | |
Labour Party supports it being run from there. The report details the | :29:16. | :29:20. | |
substantial threat to the incomes of families in Scotland from the | :29:20. | :29:25. | |
changes going through in social security at the moment. Drew Smith | :29:25. | :29:31. | |
should be or where a of the measures the Scottish Government | :29:31. | :29:35. | |
has taken to ameliorate some of the worst effects of the social | :29:35. | :29:39. | |
security changes. The instead of 10 embarking on amelioration, we did | :29:39. | :29:44. | |
not be fantastic if we could all these issues in Scotland and tried | :29:44. | :29:51. | |
to turn back that threat to some of the poorest families in our land? | :29:51. | :29:55. | |
Last week the child poverty Action Group said the Westminster | :29:55. | :30:01. | |
Government policies would result in a staggering one million more | :30:01. | :30:06. | |
children being dragged below the poverty line by 2,000 and windy. | :30:06. | :30:09. | |
That means 85,000 Scottish children pushed into poverty by a Government | :30:09. | :30:13. | |
we did not fought for. Does the First Minister agreed that the only | :30:13. | :30:17. | |
way to protect a those killed and his independence, and we really are | :30:17. | :30:27. | |
:30:27. | :30:27. | ||
not better together? -- to protect those children his independence? | :30:27. | :30:31. | |
Goes on the Labour benches who moan and oppose the suggestion should at | :30:31. | :30:36. | |
some stage come to the conclusion if the support Westminster have | :30:36. | :30:39. | |
think this power, they are implicated in the decision that | :30:39. | :30:43. | |
Government takes to reduce people in Scotland to penury. There is no | :30:43. | :30:48. | |
escaping the fact, if they want different policies in terms of | :30:48. | :30:51. | |
social protection in Scotland, they absolutely must be controlled by | :30:51. | :30:56. | |
this Parliament. Perhaps at some stage the Labour Party will catch | :30:56. | :31:00. | |
up with the attitudes reflected in the Social attitudes Survey and | :31:00. | :31:03. | |
support social security coming under the province and power of | :31:03. | :31:12. | |
this democratic Parliament in Scotland. | :31:12. | :31:15. | |
The First Minister is probably aware that this is cervical cancer | :31:16. | :31:20. | |
awareness Week. What steps can the Government take regarding education | :31:20. | :31:28. | |
and awareness for cervical cancer to mark it is -- for cervical | :31:28. | :31:29. | |
cancer? At bitter certainly correct that | :31:29. | :31:33. | |
the earlier the cancer is diagnosed, the better the chance of a cure. | :31:33. | :31:40. | |
We know that the best screening is at early stages, and women are | :31:40. | :31:44. | |
invited to be screened every three years. As well as information on- | :31:44. | :31:48. | |
screen income we have information on the signs and symptoms of cancer. | :31:48. | :31:52. | |
This week is cervical cancer prevention week. The message from | :31:52. | :31:55. | |
this Government, and I am sure the old Tudor, is that anyone | :31:55. | :31:58. | |
experiencing these signs and symptoms should see your GP | :31:58. | :32:06. | |
straight away. I am sure the First Minister will | :32:06. | :32:11. | |
congratulate the cervical Cancer Trust and what they do for women | :32:11. | :32:15. | |
throughout the country. What ordination within the health boards | :32:15. | :32:18. | |
can the First Minister asked for in terms of the awareness regarding | :32:18. | :32:28. | |
:32:28. | :32:35. | ||
this? There is a decline in the $:/STARTFEED.. There is a programme | :32:35. | :32:45. | |
:32:45. | :32:48. | ||
that highlight the screening programmes available. Nationally | :32:48. | :32:52. | |
the information we provide this key to allowing women to make an | :32:52. | :32:57. | |
informed choice. I would be delighted to arrange a meeting with | :32:57. | :33:00. | |
the Health Secretary and Dennis Robertson to take forward and to | :33:00. | :33:04. | |
look in particular at these are worrying indications that perhaps | :33:04. | :33:09. | |
information is not getting through. That concludes First Minister's | :33:09. | :33:19. | |
:33:19. | :33:20. |