:00:19. > :00:23.A very warm welcome to the Scottish parliament here at Hollywood, where
:00:24. > :00:27.they are talking bills, MSPs debating stage one of the bill that
:00:28. > :00:31.will end up abolishing the right-to-buy council houses in
:00:32. > :00:36.Scotland, but respond, big controversy over this, but this bone
:00:37. > :00:42.and the bill that would abolish the collaboration in Scottish criminal
:00:43. > :00:45.cases. -- it has been postponed. Not sure of either topic will come up in
:00:46. > :00:52.First Minister's Questions. Let's cross to the chamber.
:00:53. > :00:57.John Swinney is dealing with a question about renewable energy. In
:00:58. > :01:02.that they are the gallery today, 16 ambassadors and high commissioners
:01:03. > :01:07.representing the Association of South East Asian Nations match
:01:08. > :01:11.taking an interest today, or at least the next half hour in Scottish
:01:12. > :01:18.politics much as the First Minister faces questions, Labour's Johann
:01:19. > :01:21.Lamont first, then for the Conservative Party, Ruth Davidson,
:01:22. > :01:26.then questions from backbenchers. Under welcome to their ambassadors
:01:27. > :01:33.from-- and welcome to the ambassadors from the Presiding
:01:34. > :01:44.Officer. Welcome ambassadors from the Association of Southeast Asian
:01:45. > :01:50.Nations. APPLAUSE. Thank you, question number one,
:01:51. > :01:53.Johann Lamont. To add the First Minister what engagements he has
:01:54. > :02:01.planned for the rest of the day. Taking forward the government's
:02:02. > :02:10.programme for Scotland. Do you still have confidence in your Justice
:02:11. > :02:13.Secretary? No surprise there. I welcomed the government was
:02:14. > :02:18.micro-interesting, robbery, because like many others in this chamber, I
:02:19. > :02:24.have concerns about whether it achieves justice for every victim,
:02:25. > :02:31.particularly women. The process has been flawed and serious reservations
:02:32. > :02:34.have not been addressed. I believe the Cabinet Secretary has taken the
:02:35. > :02:41.right decision in delaying these plans, but I also thought it was the
:02:42. > :02:45.right decision six weeks ago when my Coley, formerly one of the most
:02:46. > :02:51.senior police officers, suggested this course of action. Can I remind
:02:52. > :02:55.you of Kenny MacAskill's considered response to that question six weeks
:02:56. > :03:01.ago, saying we know that Labour members take their cue from Cameron
:03:02. > :03:07.and George Osborne, Labour has sold its soul and is in danger of selling
:03:08. > :03:09.out the victims of crime. Does the First Minister agree with his
:03:10. > :03:15.cabinet secretary that previous moves to delay this legislation are
:03:16. > :03:24.part of a Tory led conspiracy? Or was it just the right thing to do?
:03:25. > :03:29.It is certainly true that it was very difficult to reconcile
:03:30. > :03:32.Labour's manifesto commitment to look at the matter of corroboration
:03:33. > :03:36.with the position the Labour Party were adopting with regard to the
:03:37. > :03:43.criminal Justice Bill. Moving the General Lorimer robberies and from
:03:44. > :03:48.Scotland -- moving the general law of corroboration we believe will
:03:49. > :03:52.secure access to justice for other people otherwise denied by the
:03:53. > :03:56.present situation. When cases cannot be brought to trial because they do
:03:57. > :03:59.not have that standard of corroboration which is unique within
:04:00. > :04:04.the Scottish criminal justice system. That is why the moves Kenny
:04:05. > :04:07.MacAskill made, and this government proposed, to look again at the
:04:08. > :04:13.general law of corroboration, to move it and put in place the
:04:14. > :04:18.standard of evidence as opposed to the quantity of evidence has been
:04:19. > :04:23.widely welcomed by the organisations giving most people suffering most
:04:24. > :04:28.from this situation, such as rape crisis organisations, and the three
:04:29. > :04:32.opposition parties at the bureau this week if we could look again at
:04:33. > :04:37.delaying the legislation until after the review group reported. The
:04:38. > :04:44.Justice Secretary ceded to that request. Given that was done, would
:04:45. > :04:53.it not be gracious and reasonable for the Labour Party to try and
:04:54. > :05:00.focus on the issue? The issue that hope lay all of us want to secure,
:05:01. > :05:02.and that is access to justice for people who have been subjected to
:05:03. > :05:10.some of the vilest crimes in Scotland. APPLAUSE.
:05:11. > :05:10.some of the vilest crimes in I think the First Minister, if you
:05:11. > :05:16.are serious about that, with address I think the First Minister, if you
:05:17. > :05:19.Secretary's responds to concerns was I think the First Minister, if you
:05:20. > :05:26.to impugn the motives of those doing so. I ask him again to
:05:27. > :05:29.to impugn the motives of those doing what the Cabinet Secretary's
:05:30. > :05:31.to impugn the motives of those doing responds to the Labour Party request
:05:32. > :05:32.to impugn the motives of those doing for delay was, the gap between that
:05:33. > :05:35.and what the First Minister says for delay was, the gap between that
:05:36. > :05:39.could not be greater. Let us look at the process,
:05:40. > :05:43.could not be greater. Let us look at Justice Scotland
:05:44. > :05:45.could not be greater. Let us look at raised valid concerns
:05:46. > :05:47.could not be greater. Let us look at corroboration. These were
:05:48. > :05:50.could not be greater. Let us look at by the Justice Secretary, who told
:05:51. > :05:54.could not be greater. Let us look at his party conference, laws are made
:05:55. > :05:59.by Parliament, not one profession. This is not a debate between learner
:06:00. > :06:04.legal friends. When the Justice committee raised more concerns,
:06:05. > :06:08.Kenny MacAskill came up with the genius idea of setting up an expert
:06:09. > :06:16.group to scrutinise the bill which will report after the legislation
:06:17. > :06:22.was passed. After his disgraceful performance in this chamber six
:06:23. > :06:31.weeks ago, and this embarrassing climb-down, I at the First Minister
:06:32. > :06:36.in all seriousness, do you believe this has been an appropriate way to
:06:37. > :06:42.take through legislation on an issue of this importance? -- I ask the
:06:43. > :06:46.First Minister. This government is taking forward legislation because
:06:47. > :06:53.we believe absolutely the issue is of vital importance. That has been
:06:54. > :06:57.our motivation for taking forward this legislation, because we have
:06:58. > :07:04.listened to arguments and the pleas from the organisations I mentioned.
:07:05. > :07:09.I can cannot help but contrast the observations of Johann Lamont in
:07:10. > :07:11.this issue. Compared to the organisations campaigning and
:07:12. > :07:22.putting forward and supporting the government's I -- attends to redress
:07:23. > :07:27.the situation. Such as rape crisis Scotland. The welcome from victim
:07:28. > :07:32.support Scotland, Annabel Goldie describing yesterday the Cabinet
:07:33. > :07:38.Secretary's decision as courageous. She did not do that in as Humphrey
:07:39. > :07:43.way, but in a genuine way. This government which has a majority in
:07:44. > :07:48.this Parliament, listening to the arguments put forward by the
:07:49. > :07:54.opposition parties, trying to get the maximum unity behind our
:07:55. > :07:58.proposal, isn't it reasonable that given the desire we have to access
:07:59. > :08:04.justice for the victims of crime, that that should have a general
:08:05. > :08:07.welcome and support? That is the determination of this government to
:08:08. > :08:16.reject the situation and that is exactly what we are going to do.
:08:17. > :08:21.It is precisely because I cared so deeply about these issues that we
:08:22. > :08:27.were determined that we build a consensus on making such a decision.
:08:28. > :08:33.And that is why the Cabinet Secretary's hostility to anyone who
:08:34. > :08:37.disagreed with him whatsoever. I ask the First Minister to go back and
:08:38. > :08:41.look at what his Cabinet Secretary said six weeks ago and asked if that
:08:42. > :08:47.was an appropriate way to conduct himself. This is not Kenny
:08:48. > :08:53.MacAskill's first mess, his sectarian legislation was described
:08:54. > :08:59.as mince and horribly drafted, and his police reforms now in a tough
:09:00. > :09:04.war. Whilst I believe the decision announced this week was right, this
:09:05. > :09:10.Parliament still has a problem. We do have to find a way of building a
:09:11. > :09:15.consensus to address the issues of corroboration and low conviction
:09:16. > :09:19.rate of rape. The Labour Party from the beginning has aired we would do
:09:20. > :09:26.so, but given the approach of Kenny McLean soul -- the approach of Kenny
:09:27. > :09:30.MacAskill, and people's concerns about what he is doing, does the
:09:31. > :09:36.First Minister believe it is possible for this Parliament to
:09:37. > :09:42.reach that critical consensus on corroboration with Kenny MacAskill
:09:43. > :09:45.as Cabinet Secretary? In terms of accepting the review group and its
:09:46. > :09:51.role and the detailed examination that is going to be given in helping
:09:52. > :09:57.people towards acceptance and building consensus, of course. Do I
:09:58. > :10:03.believe the Labour Party will look on this issue as an issue in itself?
:10:04. > :10:08.Probably not. But the consensus that Kenny MacAskill is building is a
:10:09. > :10:14.cross Scottish society and that consensus, as we see, if I could say
:10:15. > :10:19.to Johann Lamont, it is precisely because we care about this issue so
:10:20. > :10:27.much that we pursue this legislation with vigour and we will continue to
:10:28. > :10:31.pursue it with such vigour. But I am interested in the question she asked
:10:32. > :10:37.about the confidence I have in this Justice Secretary. I will tell you
:10:38. > :10:41.why I do have confidence, because we have 1000 extra police in the
:10:42. > :10:48.streets and communities of Scotland, thanks to this Justice
:10:49. > :10:53.Secretary. Recorded crime in Scotland is down by 35%, thanks to
:10:54. > :10:59.this Justice Secretary. Violent crime is down by almost half under
:11:00. > :11:07.the office of this Justice Secretary. And crimes of handling
:11:08. > :11:13.offensive weapons are down by 60%! And above all, that people's fear of
:11:14. > :11:16.crime is dropping in Scotland for the first time. And all of these
:11:17. > :11:22.comparisons, under this Justice Secretary, are comparisons with when
:11:23. > :11:25.the Labour Party was last in government, and the people of
:11:26. > :11:30.Scotland, knowing and appreciating these things, no this government has
:11:31. > :11:34.discharged its responsibility to the team and it is of Scotland in a way
:11:35. > :11:39.no previous devolved administration managed. And the real issues that
:11:40. > :11:43.matter to the people are contained in these vital statistics. So when
:11:44. > :11:48.they address the general rule of corroboration, we will do it on the
:11:49. > :11:51.basis of giving justice to the victims of crime, and that will be
:11:52. > :11:59.the performance against which this government and this Justice
:12:00. > :12:06.Secretary is judged. Question number two, Ruth Davidson. When will you
:12:07. > :12:10.next meet the Prime Minister? No plans in the near future. The
:12:11. > :12:16.Justice Secretary gave his speech No plans in the near future. The
:12:17. > :12:19.including SNP member considered to be the most
:12:20. > :12:24.including SNP member considered to Parliament. In it, he claimed that
:12:25. > :12:31.those with principled objections to the abolition of a key tenet of
:12:32. > :12:36.Scots law were part of nothing more than a Unionist conspiracy. His
:12:37. > :12:42.performance was shameful to watch. So let us try this again. Now that
:12:43. > :12:48.the Justice Secretary has been forced into a climb-down, as the
:12:49. > :12:51.First Minister accept that Kenny MacAskill's claim that opposition
:12:52. > :12:55.parties were selling out the victims of crime because of constitutional
:12:56. > :13:01.beliefs was as wrong as it was offensive? I cannot help but
:13:02. > :13:06.contrast what Ruth Davidson just said with a statement issued by
:13:07. > :13:09.Annabel Goldie yesterday. Annabel Goldie, in her statement yesterday,
:13:10. > :13:14.the spokesperson for the Conservative Party on this issue,
:13:15. > :13:21.welcomed the Justice Secretary's statement, the request of the
:13:22. > :13:24.opposition party and said it took no little courage to
:13:25. > :13:29.opposition party and said it took no statement. What has happened between
:13:30. > :13:33.that generous welcome on the issue yesterday and the remarks just said
:13:34. > :13:38.by Ruth Davidson? Many in this Parliament, if we take a canvas
:13:39. > :13:42.opinion, rather like the days when Annabel Goldie was sitting we are
:13:43. > :13:49.Ruth Davidson was and Ruth Davidson did not have the leadership of her
:13:50. > :13:52.party. The differences I have never doubted the Scottish Cup and's
:13:53. > :13:57.concern for victims of crime in this matter. -- never doubted the
:13:58. > :14:03.Scottish Government's concerns. But we have been here before. The First
:14:04. > :14:06.Minister forced to stand there and defend his Justice Secretary's
:14:07. > :14:15.handling of the Lockerbie bomber, the handling of the single police
:14:16. > :14:19.force, no being forced to defend on corroboration. This is the same
:14:20. > :14:26.Justice Secretary who has had bills for minimum
:14:27. > :14:28.other ministers. This Justice Secretary's judgement is openly
:14:29. > :14:37.questioned by colleagues as Secretary's judgement is openly
:14:38. > :14:42.opponents. His judgement that the case to abolish corroboration has
:14:43. > :14:47.been made cannot be taken at face value. The First Minister now has an
:14:48. > :14:52.opportunity to restore some of the credibility lost by Kenny
:14:53. > :14:55.MacAskill's handling of this case, and he can extend the
:14:56. > :15:00.MacAskill's handling of this case, review to consider whether a bullish
:15:01. > :15:15.-- can extend the remix of the review. Will you? Knew we get to the
:15:16. > :15:19.heart of the issue. Looking at the report and the safeguards necessary
:15:20. > :15:26.to make the abolition of the general rule corroboration of where Waverley
:15:27. > :15:32.acceptable was not that at all, as far as the Conservative party we are
:15:33. > :15:39.concerned. It was actually root and branch opposition to the general
:15:40. > :15:46.rule corroboration of. Yes, you can have opposition to the general rule
:15:47. > :15:52.of the abolition of corroboration. But you cannot then complain about
:15:53. > :15:57.cases not been brought to court. That vital case was an example of a
:15:58. > :16:03.case not been brought to court because of the general rule of
:16:04. > :16:07.corroboration. You cannot have it both ways on the Conservative party.
:16:08. > :16:13.You cannot say you want cases brought to court and Justice for the
:16:14. > :16:17.victims and then oppose these reforms. That is why this government
:16:18. > :16:24.is doing exactly the right thing. I think we are doing the right thing
:16:25. > :16:29.to accede to the request of the review group to report so we can
:16:30. > :16:36.build the consensus on this issue. I have enormous confidence in a
:16:37. > :16:41.Justice Secretary who has delivered the lowest levels of recorded crime
:16:42. > :16:47.in a generation, who has put an extra 1000 policemen on the streets
:16:48. > :16:50.and we recorded crime is down by 35% on the issues that matter to the
:16:51. > :16:59.people of Scotland. That is the performance of this Justice
:17:00. > :17:08.Secretary. I have a supplementary question. At the end of January, I
:17:09. > :17:14.raise my concerns about the outbreak of a virus in the hospital in my
:17:15. > :17:22.constituency. Three months down the line, there are still restrictions
:17:23. > :17:27.on admissions in place. Does he share my concern about the great
:17:28. > :17:37.deli in resolving this? I share very much the concern of the member. She
:17:38. > :17:40.does know that the virus, in terms of the general application in
:17:41. > :17:46.Scotland, is significantly better than last year, but there is concern
:17:47. > :17:50.that this incident has not shown that general improvement. The Health
:17:51. > :17:55.Secretary will offer a meeting today to take forward any further action
:17:56. > :18:05.that we can take in order to resolve the situation. What measures are the
:18:06. > :18:11.Government putting in place to tackle food poverty? 71,000 people
:18:12. > :18:19.used food banks in Scotland last year. This was a fivefold increase
:18:20. > :18:25.in the previous year. It is an unacceptable statistic. It is
:18:26. > :18:32.unacceptable that so many people have to rely an emergency food
:18:33. > :18:37.provision. Last year, the United Kingdom Government wrote to Glasgow
:18:38. > :18:45.district Council saying that supermarket should do something to
:18:46. > :18:53.waste less food in order to reduce food bank reliability. It is
:18:54. > :19:04.outrageous that United Kingdom Ministers are coming to Scotland to
:19:05. > :19:13.lecture others on welfare. Earlier this month, the Government put
:19:14. > :19:18.forward ?1 million to combat food poverty in Scotland. He also knows
:19:19. > :19:27.we are investing ?260 million over the period up to 2016 to limit the
:19:28. > :19:34.damage of the imposition of welfare cuts. We will try and help wherever
:19:35. > :19:43.we can. With his general point, I listened to the radio this morning
:19:44. > :19:48.and said the Secretary of State saying "this is a fantastic system
:19:49. > :19:56.which provides support for some of the most vulnerable people in our
:19:57. > :20:01.society". This the man who is part of the better together campaign.
:20:02. > :20:08.This is an explanation of the parties who are dismantling the
:20:09. > :20:13.welfare state, which is driving people into food banks, actually
:20:14. > :20:19.arguing that they are I fabulous system. He is not only out of touch
:20:20. > :20:26.with the facts, but also out of touch with reality. What action is
:20:27. > :20:34.the Government taking to address the gender inequality gap. I accept
:20:35. > :20:40.women face inequality in many areas of life. We are looking to tackle
:20:41. > :20:45.that with the range of initiatives. It should be said there are good
:20:46. > :20:50.signs. The female unemployment rate in Scotland is now 69.4%, higher
:20:51. > :20:57.than any other United Kingdom nation. 52% of full-time college
:20:58. > :21:06.students are female and 43% of those starting in apprenticeships where
:21:07. > :21:12.women. That was up from 37% in 2008 -09. But all of should agree that
:21:13. > :21:19.more needs to be done. On the 9th of June, we will provide a forum for
:21:20. > :21:23.the gender equality organisations within Scotland to discuss
:21:24. > :21:28.opportunities for women with an independent Scotland. The first
:21:29. > :21:35.Minister will be aware that there is a lot of talk from anti-independence
:21:36. > :21:40.politicians about the supposed fantastic benefits on having welfare
:21:41. > :21:54.decisions made in Westminster. What they have been silent on as can we
:21:55. > :21:57.actually get a question? Can the first Minister assure the chamber
:21:58. > :22:01.that the Scottish government will use every means at its disposal to
:22:02. > :22:13.make Scotland a theatre and more equal society? -- fear.
:22:14. > :22:25.The bedroom tax has affected 72,000 households. Many of them with a
:22:26. > :22:34.person with a disability and the household. We are still waiting
:22:35. > :22:38.after repeated requests for the acceptance by Westminster that what
:22:39. > :22:46.we are doing is appropriate and with our powers. Even when we are
:22:47. > :22:50.devoting the resources of Scotland to address the bedroom tax, we
:22:51. > :22:57.cannot even get a letter back from Westminster. That is acceptable. Not
:22:58. > :23:02.only from those in the coalition, but from the Labour Party, who seek
:23:03. > :23:06.welfare changes could not be implemented in an independent
:23:07. > :23:11.Scotland and should not be implemented in an independent
:23:12. > :23:21.Scotland. Until labour disavows that attitude, they are guilty by
:23:22. > :23:28.association. Is it not interesting that we waited a year for the
:23:29. > :23:34.Scottish National party to take a year to take action on the bedroom
:23:35. > :23:39.tax? The wreck of the gender equality is not good. They have
:23:40. > :23:46.slashed places at colleges, is not the case they have slashed jobs the
:23:47. > :23:51.public sector or having a disappoint your effect on women and they have
:23:52. > :23:58.failed to deliver gender balance on the board of public companies. They
:23:59. > :24:10.have spent a grand total of some ?3000 on advertising to promote
:24:11. > :24:15.public appointments. I cannot but contrast that with the ?1 million
:24:16. > :24:25.spent on producing the prospectus for independence. That was a delayed
:24:26. > :24:35.reaction from the Labour benches. I will offer to statistics. 14% is the
:24:36. > :24:40.number of women and Gordon Brown 's Cabot Cabinet. 14%. 40% as the
:24:41. > :24:49.number of women in the Scottish Parliament Cabinet. Is she totally
:24:50. > :24:54.unaware that employment in Scotland is now at an all-time record and
:24:55. > :25:01.driving that increase unemployment has the sharp rise in employment of
:25:02. > :25:04.women, mostly in full-time jobs. Can she not find the inner part to
:25:05. > :25:11.welcome the improvement in the figures? To welcome the fact that
:25:12. > :25:15.Scotland has the highest women's employment rate of any country in
:25:16. > :25:19.these islands? That may be something to do with the work of this
:25:20. > :25:25.government and the Scottish trade Unions Congress in promoting that?
:25:26. > :25:29.Is she not surprised that we are just not at 42% entering
:25:30. > :25:46.apprenticeships, but the level we inherited of 27% from the Labour
:25:47. > :25:49.Party. 42% is a lot better than 17%. To ask the first Minister of what
:25:50. > :26:00.discussions the Scottish government has had with Glasgow City Council
:26:01. > :26:05.regarding the future of the flats. These were to be demolished before
:26:06. > :26:17.the opening of the Commonwealth Games. The road is one of eight
:26:18. > :26:23.transfer agent projects within Glasgow. The government is in
:26:24. > :26:35.partnership with Glasgow council and Glasgow home soil Association on
:26:36. > :26:38.this. Does he agree that critical alternative atomic accommodation
:26:39. > :26:44.could be found for the asylum seekers living there as quickly as
:26:45. > :26:48.possible? This city and the Scottish government should work with the
:26:49. > :26:55.local community to prioritise a dynamic and innovative regeneration
:26:56. > :27:08.of the site following the abolition of the towers which will benefit the
:27:09. > :27:13.communities. I do agree with that. The member knows that the
:27:14. > :27:20.partnership have done excellent work across major areas of Glasgow. ?30
:27:21. > :27:24.million has been put into the construction of new homes in various
:27:25. > :27:34.districts. I am certain the partnership will also be coming
:27:35. > :27:42.forward with good ideas for the site. I know they will have the
:27:43. > :27:53.widest possible concentration locally to see that acceptance of
:27:54. > :27:56.the regeneration proposals. What is the Scottish government 's
:27:57. > :28:04.assessment of labour market conditions in Scotland? I am
:28:05. > :28:09.delighted he has asked that question. It is significant that the
:28:10. > :28:13.opposition did not want to talk about the latest statistics, virtual
:28:14. > :28:21.employment levels at their highest in Scotland. The employment level
:28:22. > :28:30.has increased by 68% over the year. It is driven by an increase of
:28:31. > :28:38.46,000 in female employment. We are coming to the close of our coverage.
:28:39. > :28:45.Discussions at the beginning on the issue of corroboration. Pressure
:28:46. > :28:52.from the leaders of both the Labour and Conservative parties. But the
:28:53. > :28:57.first Minister said he did not only have confidence in the Justice
:28:58. > :29:00.Secretary, he had fantastic confidence in him. Goodbye for now.