:00:20. > :00:24.Hello, a warm welcome to the Scottish Parliament here at
:00:25. > :00:29.Holyrood, they focused on the aftermath of the Chancellor's Autumn
:00:30. > :00:32.Statement, ?800 million more for Scotland, capital spending, over
:00:33. > :00:35.format years, the Scottish Government says it does not make up
:00:36. > :00:40.for the cuts they have suffered. There is an argument over the
:00:41. > :00:44.railways. What's going on. Let's see if any of those topics come up in
:00:45. > :00:50.questions to the First Minister and over to Glen Campbell.
:00:51. > :00:55.-- four. That is a round of applause to welcome the ambassador from
:00:56. > :00:59.Sweden and he is welcomed to the gallery.
:01:00. > :01:03.I would like to ask the First Minister what engagement she has
:01:04. > :01:07.planned for the rest of the day? To take forward the Scottish
:01:08. > :01:10.Government's programme. Thank you. Yesterday the Transport
:01:11. > :01:14.Minister said ScotRail had learned the lessons from the chaos that
:01:15. > :01:20.passengers have endured. In the statement yesterday he left a series
:01:21. > :01:24.of questions unanswered. He said that ScotRail is under way to
:01:25. > :01:28.implementing 250 action points for improvement but he will not tell us
:01:29. > :01:31.what they are. It is not for the first time. One month ago he told
:01:32. > :01:34.MSPs any parliamentary committee that he would come back to them with
:01:35. > :01:38.an answer. When asked again yesterday, he had nothing more to
:01:39. > :01:47.tell us. Can the First Minister give us a commitment to date, while her
:01:48. > :01:49.government published its 250 action points or not?
:01:50. > :01:53.Yes, ScotRail will publish them within the next few days. I thank
:01:54. > :01:57.the First Minister for that answer and I appreciate the clarity. Of
:01:58. > :02:01.course, it would have been better as the Transport Minister had been able
:02:02. > :02:08.to give the same clarity yesterday. As we are making progress, let us
:02:09. > :02:12.keep it going. Let us keep this progress going, First Minister. We
:02:13. > :02:18.are told there are 250 action points but we will not be pulled... Well,
:02:19. > :02:30.we want to be told when they upcoming! Let us look at timing. We
:02:31. > :02:34.are told that work is underway to deliver them. How can be judge that
:02:35. > :02:37.when yesterday, when asked, the Transport Secretary ducked the
:02:38. > :02:42.question on timescale? The public want to know when things will get
:02:43. > :02:45.better. We asked yesterday but there was no answer from the Transport
:02:46. > :02:50.Minister. You have given me an answer today that he did not give
:02:51. > :02:54.me. Let us go for two out of two. What is the deadline for the
:02:55. > :02:59.improvements? Can you give us an answer that he did not? These
:03:00. > :03:03.improvements cover a period of time. There is a summary of all of these
:03:04. > :03:08.action points that is on the website or ScotRail that any merger of the
:03:09. > :03:14.Chamber or public can read. The full detail of each of the 246, to be
:03:15. > :03:18.precise, action points will be published over the next few days.
:03:19. > :03:23.What the cover art improvements to infrastructure, improvements to the
:03:24. > :03:28.ScotRail fleet and improvements to operations and, of course, all of
:03:29. > :03:32.this is backed by an investment of ?5 billion over the remainder of
:03:33. > :03:36.this decade and improving our real services. But in terms of the
:03:37. > :03:40.timescale, Humza Yousaf made it very clear yesterday that what we are
:03:41. > :03:45.doing and pressing Scott Dureau to deliver our ongoing improvements to
:03:46. > :03:50.their performance. The contract that is in place right now targets
:03:51. > :03:54.ScotRail with making sure that 91 out of every 100 trains run within
:03:55. > :04:00.the recognised industry standard for punctuality. At the moment, their
:04:01. > :04:02.performance is 89 out of 100, that is not good enough. The various
:04:03. > :04:11.action points that are covered in this plan are about improving that
:04:12. > :04:13.service and we are beginning to see improvements in that service
:04:14. > :04:17.immediately. We should all get behind the Transport Minister as he
:04:18. > :04:21.seeks to do that. And we were doing so well. Now we have got a
:04:22. > :04:24.government that is only one month on starting to reveal the improvement
:04:25. > :04:28.plan that one month ago it said it would get on with doing so. But also
:04:29. > :04:33.this week it floated an alternative plan and it raised the question of a
:04:34. > :04:38.public sector operator running the system. We must ensure that any of
:04:39. > :04:41.these options are realistic, so can the First Minister tell the Chamber,
:04:42. > :04:46.what is the earliest that such an operator could take over eight Jams
:04:47. > :04:51.system and as the Transport Minister has said if it is not a poorer
:04:52. > :04:58.service, why did she think it is necessary? -- the rail system. We
:04:59. > :05:02.had a commitment in our manifesto to make sure there were possibilities,
:05:03. > :05:06.we did not have the powers previously, but we have said when
:05:07. > :05:09.the franchise is next up for renewal that there will be a public service
:05:10. > :05:13.able to compete for that franchise. I know that the Tories are no friend
:05:14. > :05:17.of the public sector, privatisation has always been the watchword of the
:05:18. > :05:26.Tories, but we want to make sure that there is a public service bed
:05:27. > :05:29.able to complete when the franchise is up for renewal, at the earliest
:05:30. > :05:32.that will be 2022, and we will begin to make plans to ensure that that is
:05:33. > :05:36.possible. That is why Humza Yousaf, and he said yesterday in this
:05:37. > :05:39.chamber, has invited all of the transport spokespersons from the
:05:40. > :05:42.parties to a meeting to begin discussions on how that can be
:05:43. > :05:46.delivered. I would hope that all people in this chamber would welcome
:05:47. > :05:53.that and it shows the action at this government is taking to improve our
:05:54. > :05:57.railways. Presiding Officer, even the First Minister would admit that
:05:58. > :06:04.this week the rail networks have been in a shambles. Commuters
:06:05. > :06:08.standing on platforms. The Scottish Government has blamed the train
:06:09. > :06:11.operator for the mess and the train operator has been the Scottish
:06:12. > :06:14.Government for how many seats are available and therefore
:06:15. > :06:19.overcrowding. The contract has at least six more years to run and the
:06:20. > :06:21.question that passengers want an answer to is pretty simple. When
:06:22. > :06:26.they have seen the events of the last week, over the next six years,
:06:27. > :06:34.how can they have any confidence at all that this deal is going to work?
:06:35. > :06:36.Firstly, in terms of capacity on our railways, we are working towards
:06:37. > :06:40.plans that will deliver 200 new services, 20,000 more seats each day
:06:41. > :06:49.and better journey times. That is what we are purchasing but the ?5
:06:50. > :06:53.billion of investment we are putting into our railways. I should tell
:06:54. > :06:55.you, 60% of the cost of running our railways in Scotland comes from
:06:56. > :06:57.government funding, that compares to 20% salt of the border and while
:06:58. > :07:00.performance of our railways right now, as I have said and the
:07:01. > :07:05.transmitters -- Transport Minister has said, is not as good as we would
:07:06. > :07:10.like it to be, we attempt to see it improved, but the performance in the
:07:11. > :07:12.teams in Scotland is slightly better than the GB average. So we take our
:07:13. > :07:15.responsibilities seriously and I would think it is better for all
:07:16. > :07:20.members across this chamber to back the Transport Minister as he works
:07:21. > :07:23.to make sure that ScotRail is delivering the standard of service
:07:24. > :07:32.that the travelling public have the right to expect.
:07:33. > :07:35.Kezia Dugdale. To as the First Minister what engagements she has
:07:36. > :07:42.planned for the rest of it? I will be in Cardiff tomorrow for a meeting
:07:43. > :07:47.with the British Irish Council. Today there was more Dyfi and
:07:48. > :07:51.destruction on the Jams network of Scotland. At one stage one of trains
:07:52. > :07:55.were running late. Yet again, thousands of people were delayed
:07:56. > :08:00.getting to work. Out of this week the Transport Minister Humza Yousaf
:08:01. > :08:03.said it was not a poorer service and in an answer to Ruth Davidson the
:08:04. > :08:06.First Minister did what the government always does, she blamed
:08:07. > :08:10.the Labour Party and then talked about England. -- rail. But she
:08:11. > :08:16.really think that those delayed in Glasgow Central today care about
:08:17. > :08:20.what happened in 2002 what is happening in Cornwall this morning?
:08:21. > :08:23.I am not particularly interested as to what is happening in Cornwall,
:08:24. > :08:30.but I am interested in what is happening in Scotland. What has
:08:31. > :08:35.happened this morning as members are aware, there has been a points
:08:36. > :08:40.failure affecting services to and from Glasgow Central, that failure
:08:41. > :08:44.has now been rectified. I regret any delay and any disruption and as I
:08:45. > :08:47.said last week we apologise to anyone whose team was delayed
:08:48. > :08:51.because of that points failure. Unfortunately, these kind of things
:08:52. > :08:54.do happen on our railways and what is important is that ScotRail
:08:55. > :09:00.communicate properly with the travelling public and that we make
:09:01. > :09:02.sure that the investments in our rail infrastructure bridges the
:09:03. > :09:08.chances of these things happening in the future and that is why the
:09:09. > :09:11.investment plan and operations, infrastructure and fleet are so
:09:12. > :09:15.important. We will continue to take our responsibility seriously. When I
:09:16. > :09:18.talk about performance under Labour, I am not suggesting that should in
:09:19. > :09:24.any way excuse poor performance right now, but I simply put at... We
:09:25. > :09:28.simply do that to put the performance of today into context.
:09:29. > :09:33.For the most recent period, the performance of ScotRail was 89.8%,
:09:34. > :09:37.it should be higher than that, but that is higher than in any one of
:09:38. > :09:42.the year is under way last Labour Administration. I say that simply to
:09:43. > :09:48.put it into context. So we will continue to make the investments and
:09:49. > :09:51.to the work necessary to improve our rail services. I think that is what
:09:52. > :09:58.the travelling public have a right to expect from us. I am sure that
:09:59. > :10:05.was of great comfort to the people stranded on platforms this morning!
:10:06. > :10:09.But I am glad that the First Minister agrees with me that the
:10:10. > :10:13.service Scotland's commuters are receiving is not good enough and
:10:14. > :10:19.that the First Minister thinks that passengers deserve better. Because
:10:20. > :10:22.in January, the price of regulated rail fears is due to rise. A
:10:23. > :10:26.passenger using an annual season ticket to travel between Edinburgh
:10:27. > :10:31.and Glasgow will have to pay ?71 more next year. That makes people
:10:32. > :10:36.even angrier. I think passengers deserve a break. That is why today
:10:37. > :10:40.Labour is publishing a plan to freeze all regulated rail fears next
:10:41. > :10:49.year. Surely the First Minister agrees with us... Surely the First
:10:50. > :10:54.Minister agrees with us that people deserve a break? She has the power
:10:55. > :11:07.to give them one. So while she backed the call of the Labour Party
:11:08. > :11:11.for 2017 rail f freeze. We will look to see how that
:11:12. > :11:15.proposal is being paid for because we have an investment package that
:11:16. > :11:19.we have spoken about that is important that we are able to
:11:20. > :11:23.implement and deliver. We do not want to see rail fares increase more
:11:24. > :11:29.than necessary and that is why at the moment we have increases in rail
:11:30. > :11:34.fares at the lowest level since powers over railway were devolved to
:11:35. > :11:42.this parliament in 2005. We have seen peak time rail Jams Limited to
:11:43. > :11:48.inflation, offbeat ones limited to inflation -1%, so that is the
:11:49. > :11:53.discipline that we exert on rail fares. Above all else, we will make
:11:54. > :11:56.sure that we have fearless above the funding of our railways to make sure
:11:57. > :12:00.that we can carry out the investments that are required to
:12:01. > :12:06.make sure that standards improve on our railways. This is a serious
:12:07. > :12:10.proposal with the means to pay for it contained with them and we would
:12:11. > :12:14.as the Scottish Parliament's independent experts to cost it for
:12:15. > :12:18.us. They have estimated that it would cost as little as ?2 million.
:12:19. > :12:24.That is the equivalent of two months' profit, two months' Abellio
:12:25. > :12:28.profit. People are fed up with expensive, overcrowded and
:12:29. > :12:35.unreliable trains and the SNP are desperate to talk tough about what
:12:36. > :12:37.action they might take in 2022, but passengers left stranded on freezing
:12:38. > :12:41.platforms this morning need a break now. Does the First Minister not
:12:42. > :12:44.agree with me that after weeks of misery, passengers and Scotland
:12:45. > :12:55.deserve to know that there is light at the end of the tunnel with a rail
:12:56. > :12:58.fare freeze in 2017? Firstly, we have said that we will attack any
:12:59. > :13:04.proposal that is put forward and I will stick that commitment but we
:13:05. > :13:08.have also been beaming down on rail fare increases already. As I said to
:13:09. > :13:12.Ruth Davidson, a much bigger proportion of our funding of
:13:13. > :13:16.railways comes from government funding as opposed to rail fares as
:13:17. > :13:21.is the key south of the border and I think that is right and proper. But
:13:22. > :13:23.we will plan the investment as required to improve the
:13:24. > :13:27.infrastructure and the trains and the operation of our trained so that
:13:28. > :13:30.the kind of the lives that we are talking about at the moment are not
:13:31. > :13:33.seen in the future. That is the disposable action we will continue
:13:34. > :13:37.to take and I think that is the action the travelling public have a
:13:38. > :13:40.right to expect. Yes, we will look at the option of a public servers
:13:41. > :13:51.that in the future but at the moment we will focus on making the
:13:52. > :13:52.improvements that people want to see.
:13:53. > :13:55.Constituency supplementary is, the force from Richard Lyle. Thank you,
:13:56. > :13:57.too as the First Minister what the response is of the Scottish
:13:58. > :13:59.Government on the news that the proposed closure of the Kwik-Fit
:14:00. > :14:06.insurance services contact servers are in my constituency? I am aware
:14:07. > :14:12.of the closure of the Kwik-Fit site in Uddingston with the possible loss
:14:13. > :14:14.of more than 5000 jobs that were 500 jobs and my thoughts are with those
:14:15. > :14:19.concerned at this time. Paul Wheelhouse spoken to the management
:14:20. > :14:23.and they are looking at options. We have underlined our full support for
:14:24. > :14:31.the auditing site and the workforce and we are committed to working with
:14:32. > :14:36.North Lanarkshire Council and others to do all we can to retain jobs.
:14:37. > :14:39.Scottish enterprise is working closely with the company to consider
:14:40. > :14:40.all possible avenues for support and we will continue to engage
:14:41. > :14:43.throughout the consultation process. It is important that we give the
:14:44. > :14:45.site and its work force the full support they need and deserve at
:14:46. > :14:48.this difficult time and we are absolutely committed to doing that.
:14:49. > :14:55.Presiding Officer, as a result of some very unsatisfactory clinical
:14:56. > :15:00.outcomes at Caithness General's maternity unit, one mother in fact
:15:01. > :15:04.had to endure hard labour in an ambulance on the road between work
:15:05. > :15:07.and risk more, it would appear that NHS Highland have proposed next week
:15:08. > :15:14.without public consultation to downgrade the Caithness general
:15:15. > :15:19.maternity unit to a midwife led unit with Read more becoming the hub.
:15:20. > :15:23.Knowing that childbirth can quickly become life-threatening, not only to
:15:24. > :15:28.mother but also to child, if the government happy that Caithness and
:15:29. > :15:32.Sutherland mothers, with difficult deliveries, might have to face five
:15:33. > :15:37.Hour Drive is to Inverness, which could be considerably more in
:15:38. > :15:42.winter? Would they not join me and hopefully the First Minister and the
:15:43. > :15:47.Caithness residents and local councillors and asking for a full
:15:48. > :15:52.public consultation before these changes are automatically impose?
:15:53. > :16:01.This is an important issue which has been raised. It was first raised,
:16:02. > :16:05.and want to make clear the standard of care received in that care fell
:16:06. > :16:10.below what we would expect for women in Scotland, and I expect NHS
:16:11. > :16:14.Highland and the Ambulance Service to act on the findings and make
:16:15. > :16:19.improvements to ensure mothers and babies can be transferred safely and
:16:20. > :16:25.comfortably whenever they need to be. On the more general issue, as
:16:26. > :16:30.the member is aware, NHS Highland published a report into the safety
:16:31. > :16:33.of maternity in neonatal services in Caithness hospital and they will
:16:34. > :16:37.further consider that later this month. The report was triggered by
:16:38. > :16:42.the death of a baby in Caithness meetings to unit in September 20 15.
:16:43. > :16:46.And on the bases above report cover the medical director will recommend
:16:47. > :16:51.Caithness is re-figureheads and should operate tonne operate as a
:16:52. > :16:55.midwife led units. The recommendation has been made on the
:16:56. > :17:00.grounds of safety, it is supported by external review, but as a reason
:17:01. > :17:04.why NHS Highland Road consoled on the decision, and it won't come to
:17:05. > :17:10.ministers. However, they are proposing to consult widely on the
:17:11. > :17:14.proposals to strengthen and to ensure they meet local concerns. I
:17:15. > :17:16.hope all members would recognise where a report makes a
:17:17. > :17:21.recommendation on the basis of patient safety and it is clearly on
:17:22. > :17:28.the basis of safety, it is incumbent upon the local NHS board to act
:17:29. > :17:34.accordingly. The First Minister will be aware of this week's announcement
:17:35. > :17:37.a buyer has been found for the hydroelectric plant and surrounding
:17:38. > :17:44.land and fort William currently owned. Can the business provide an
:17:45. > :17:49.update? They informed its workforce and the stock exchange yesterday it
:17:50. > :17:55.had reached agreement to sell its shareholding to the Alliance in a
:17:56. > :17:58.deal that has, is being supported by the Scottish Government. The sale is
:17:59. > :18:02.great news for the local community and especially for the 150 plus
:18:03. > :18:08.people working at the fort William and the mini site. The uncertainty
:18:09. > :18:11.hanging over the site was lifted, ending an anxious wait for the
:18:12. > :18:15.workforce and those whose livelihoods depend on the business.
:18:16. > :18:20.This deal not only safeguards existing jobs, but also has the
:18:21. > :18:23.potential to create hundreds more through planned investment. I hope
:18:24. > :18:30.everybody across the chamber would warmly welcome it. Is the First
:18:31. > :18:35.Minister aware that cuts are being made to mental health services by
:18:36. > :18:41.West and bark and ship partnership, as a result of NHS Greater Glasgow
:18:42. > :18:45.and Clyde's budget? Is you further away the SNP group leader voted with
:18:46. > :18:49.the unelected health board appointees in favour of these cuts,
:18:50. > :18:53.whilst Labour councillors voted against? Did she agree with the SNP
:18:54. > :19:00.group leader 's's actions in voting for cuts to mental health services
:19:01. > :19:04.in my area? Firstly, Greater Glasgow and Clyde's budget has not been cut
:19:05. > :19:06.next year, it is increasing in line with a budgets of other territorial
:19:07. > :19:20.health boards. And the reason for that, of course, is this
:19:21. > :19:22.government is committed to increasing the NHS budget overall
:19:23. > :19:24.and over this Parliament by ?500 million more than inflation. It is a
:19:25. > :19:27.bigger commitments which Labour made. That is to reality for the
:19:28. > :19:30.situation. In terms of the particular issue Jackie Baillie
:19:31. > :19:34.razors, I am not aware of the particular local issue. If she wants
:19:35. > :19:40.to write to me, I will look into that. The health service, because of
:19:41. > :19:43.rising demand, faces real pressures, but we are determined to work with
:19:44. > :19:46.the health service to give it extra resources so it can meet those
:19:47. > :19:50.pressures, and within the overall NHS budget, we have make clear our
:19:51. > :19:56.budget to increase funding for mental health services as well. At
:19:57. > :19:59.this very moment, the city of Edinburgh Council is meeting to
:20:00. > :20:06.approve its local development plan. A document that will see thousands
:20:07. > :20:12.upon thousands of new homes built in my constituency, putting intolerable
:20:13. > :20:15.pressure on health services, further choking our two routes which are
:20:16. > :20:20.ranked as the most polluted in Scotland. And in addition, tearing
:20:21. > :20:25.up much loved green belts and natural heritage in areas like this
:20:26. > :20:31.state. I accept there is a housing crisis in this country, but there is
:20:32. > :20:34.a crisis of a different kind in my constituency. Citizens of West
:20:35. > :20:39.Edinburgh are on their knees groaning under the weight of new
:20:40. > :20:43.houses that we are forced to endure. Will the Scottish Government bring
:20:44. > :20:48.forward a new planning Bill which seeks to rule out development in
:20:49. > :20:51.areas that are not sustainable, which compels developers under
:20:52. > :20:56.section 75 orders to in the first phase of the Buckman build things
:20:57. > :21:00.like new health centres and road infrastructure? Will she defined
:21:01. > :21:07.once and for what is meant green belts, and protected for evermore? I
:21:08. > :21:11.am more than happy to look into the detail that the member raisers, but
:21:12. > :21:15.as I listen to the question, I'm struck by two things. This is a
:21:16. > :21:18.question which appears to be criticising the Scottish Government
:21:19. > :21:22.for a Council wanting to build more houses, given that many members in
:21:23. > :21:27.your position frequently criticise us for not building and of houses,
:21:28. > :21:30.it seems to be a rather contradictory way of attacking the
:21:31. > :21:36.government. Secondly, from a party that issues you standing up in this
:21:37. > :21:40.chamber accusing the government of centralising decision-making, to now
:21:41. > :21:44.stand up and ask us to pass legislation to restrict the local
:21:45. > :21:50.decision-making of a local council seems to me to be entirely on its
:21:51. > :21:56.head. So, we will continue to make sure the planning system operates
:21:57. > :21:59.effectively, that concerns of local communities are taken into account,
:22:00. > :22:05.but we can see expansion in house-building, which is much needed
:22:06. > :22:11.across the. Can ask the First Minister when the Cabinet will next
:22:12. > :22:17.meet? Tuesday. The Cabinet hasn't left itself much time now between
:22:18. > :22:21.yesterday's Westminster budget Staten tonne statement and to
:22:22. > :22:25.introduce a new draft statement for Scotland next year. The statement
:22:26. > :22:29.yesterday was accompanied by a great deal of rhetoric about protecting
:22:30. > :22:35.people who are just about managing. It contained a great deal more good
:22:36. > :22:40.news for the wealthiest. Some 85% of the income tax cuts over the course
:22:41. > :22:45.of the rest of the Parliament will go to the richest households. The
:22:46. > :22:50.people who are being given some light relief in changes to Universal
:22:51. > :22:55.Credit, that only restores a tiny fraction of what has already been
:22:56. > :22:58.taken away from them. And the other writing of the so-called national
:22:59. > :23:04.living wage, the other band on the minimum wage, won't get anywhere
:23:05. > :23:08.close to the real living wage and also won't protect younger workers,
:23:09. > :23:12.who are the most exploited at the moment in our economy. The Scottish
:23:13. > :23:17.Government can take action on all of these. Does the First Minister
:23:18. > :23:22.agreed that the Scottish budget must not only avoid reproducing the same
:23:23. > :23:27.unjust policies that are being pursued south of the border, but
:23:28. > :23:33.must result in a punitive benefit to Scotland that closes the inequality
:23:34. > :23:37.gap and lose far fewer people in Scotland generally struggling? Yes,
:23:38. > :23:42.I do agree with that. Our budget will be published on the 15th of
:23:43. > :23:46.December. I think it's important to talk about the context for this
:23:47. > :23:49.Parliament and this government of what the Chancellor announced. It
:23:50. > :23:55.doesn't surprise me with Davidson didn't want to mention Autumn
:23:56. > :23:59.Statement today. Because even after the additional capital funding that
:24:00. > :24:01.was announced yesterday, that we will benefit from Brew consequential
:24:02. > :24:15.is, our budget by the end of this decade will be 9.2%
:24:16. > :24:17.in real terms no one than it was when the Tories took office. In
:24:18. > :24:19.effect of the ?800 million yesterday, instead of our budget
:24:20. > :24:22.being ?3.3 billion lower than when the Tories took office, it will be
:24:23. > :24:28.?2.9 billion lower, and the Tories want is to be thankful for that. Of
:24:29. > :24:31.course, we saw the Universal Credit situation remained largely
:24:32. > :24:34.unchanged, which means the autumn budget statement was a case of
:24:35. > :24:40.taking money away from the poorest are given to the richest. It was
:24:41. > :24:45.busting the Tories showing their true colours. We will set out and
:24:46. > :24:51.were budget plans on the 15th of December but we have already said we
:24:52. > :24:55.will not pass on a massive tax cut to the 10% top income earners in the
:24:56. > :25:00.country, because at a time when our budget has been hammered, when
:25:01. > :25:03.public services are being hammered, when ?100 billion of additional
:25:04. > :25:08.borrowing because of the Brexit recklessness, this is a time to
:25:09. > :25:10.protect our services and protect the vulnerable, and this is what this
:25:11. > :25:16.government will do. APPLAUSE
:25:17. > :25:20.That goal is one I share, but I hope we can move away from the language
:25:21. > :25:25.of passing on tax cuts over the border. The Chancellor down south
:25:26. > :25:28.doesn't set tax rates and balance in Scotland. It is the Scottish
:25:29. > :25:32.Government that will set them, so there's no question on passing on,
:25:33. > :25:36.it is about deciding what is right for Scotland in the first
:25:37. > :25:40.principles. It seems pretty clear there are specific actions that must
:25:41. > :25:43.be taken if we want the Scottish budget to have the effect that the
:25:44. > :25:50.First Minister is saying she wants to achieve. We should be saying, for
:25:51. > :25:55.example, that all workers, not just of workers over 25, will get the
:25:56. > :25:58.genuine living wage and have the kind of conditionality on that for
:25:59. > :26:02.government support that the Scottish Government has shied away from. We
:26:03. > :26:07.should be using the capital spending to cut people's living costs on
:26:08. > :26:12.areas such as energy efficiency. We should be using devolve powers to
:26:13. > :26:15.top up benefit, a top of the child benefit could lift tens of thousands
:26:16. > :26:20.of children out of poverty in Scotland. And we must avoid
:26:21. > :26:28.protecting wealthy people like ourselves in this progressive tax
:26:29. > :26:31.policies that save money the people on low incomes and razored for those
:26:32. > :26:34.who can afford to pay more. Does the First Minister agree it is
:26:35. > :26:39.dispiriting to see the Labour Party, for example, say it is middle
:26:40. > :26:44.earners who would cost more money if we raised the higher rate? Higher
:26:45. > :26:49.rate taxpayers are on high incomes commission and we expect them to pay
:26:50. > :26:55.a bit more? I agree with that last point. Higher rate income earners in
:26:56. > :27:01.over ?43,000 a year. My judgment is it is not right to give a large tax
:27:02. > :27:05.cut to the top 10% of income earners at a time when those at the bottom
:27:06. > :27:15.end suffering so much and when there is so much pressure on our public
:27:16. > :27:17.services. That is the judgment we make. It is dispiriting after the
:27:18. > :27:19.rhetoric we've heard in this Parliament, John MacDonald saying
:27:20. > :27:22.they agreed with that tax cut for top earners. In terms of the other
:27:23. > :27:26.point Patrick Harvie razors, he will appreciate I won't go into all
:27:27. > :27:30.details because the finance secretary will set out the budget in
:27:31. > :27:35.due course. If we look at energy efficiency, this government will
:27:36. > :27:39.invest heavily in energy efficiency, we will continue to do everything we
:27:40. > :27:43.can to mitigate the effect of welfare cuts. I would across the
:27:44. > :27:48.chamber would welcome the fact we have managed to confirm our work
:27:49. > :27:52.programme would have sanctions attached to it, something which will
:27:53. > :27:56.be warmly welcomed. In terms of the minimum and living wage, although we
:27:57. > :28:00.don't have the power to set it, we make it clear we want to see the
:28:01. > :28:04.extension of the real living wage, and I've extended to 40,000 social
:28:05. > :28:08.care workers. These are the actions we will continue to take to help
:28:09. > :28:12.those most in need and to protect our public services, and when we
:28:13. > :28:19.published the budget, I hope the whole chamber will back it. There's
:28:20. > :28:25.a minister is aware NHS Ayrshire has a less than good track record going
:28:26. > :28:27.back many years regarding not disseminating information gained and
:28:28. > :28:33.lessons learned at critical incidents. Pattern of failure for
:28:34. > :28:35.too many brave families is established, and while I welcome
:28:36. > :28:44.this L'Ecole review into baby deaths, we have been here before and
:28:45. > :28:48.the question remains -- this new review. Does the First Minister
:28:49. > :28:51.believed, and can she guarantee the outcome of this enquiry into baby
:28:52. > :28:59.deaths will deliver improvements for the people of Ayrshire? Firstly, it
:29:00. > :29:08.is fair to say changes have been made. The review, the John Scott, I
:29:09. > :29:13.instigated it as Health Secretary in 2012, a review of Ayrshire's adverse
:29:14. > :29:15.management. Some of what we have heard is deeply concerning and
:29:16. > :29:24.that's why the Health Secretary has asked is to improve it. And any
:29:25. > :29:31.others they believe is necessary and report on whether the process is
:29:32. > :29:40.being followed. We will report back at the earliest point necessary, and
:29:41. > :29:44.we will talk to the families. I can give assurances that if there are
:29:45. > :29:51.lessons to be learnt on improvements to be made, we will not hesitate to
:29:52. > :29:55.act. The justice minister has instructed Her Majesty's
:29:56. > :29:59.Inspectorate of Constabulary to undercover Lowe review undercover
:30:00. > :30:04.policing. One of the key officers Stephen Whitelock who was previously
:30:05. > :30:07.deputy director of the specialist force that was responsible for
:30:08. > :30:12.carrying out the undercover policing activity that he is now reviewing.
:30:13. > :30:18.Will the First Minister stepping and remove Mr Whitelock from the inquiry
:30:19. > :30:24.which might otherwise it credibility will be in tatters before its work
:30:25. > :30:27.has barely begun. I will fully consider the issue Neal Finlay is
:30:28. > :30:33.raising but I think more generally, as he said, the Justice Secretary
:30:34. > :30:37.has directed them to undertake a review of undercover policing, it is
:30:38. > :30:41.important we allow that to proceed and then act on any of the findings
:30:42. > :30:45.of it, but I want to make sure we all want to make sure there is
:30:46. > :30:48.confidence in that review, so we will consider any issues that were
:30:49. > :30:51.raised that might damage that confidence, so I will look at the
:30:52. > :31:02.issue and come back to the member in due course.
:31:03. > :31:06.With Brexiteers ?350 million per week replaced by the Chancellor
:31:07. > :31:12.yesterday replaced by ?250 million per week and new boring, does this
:31:13. > :31:17.not make it much more difficult for governments north and south of the
:31:18. > :31:22.border to deliver a social justice when our economy is being burdened
:31:23. > :31:30.by debt of this magnitude due to the incompetence of the Tories? -- ball
:31:31. > :31:34.rolling. -- borrowing. Yes, that is absolutely correct, we started to
:31:35. > :31:40.see perhaps for the first time yesterday laid bare the true cost of
:31:41. > :31:44.Brexit and rather than there being the promise of ?350 million extra
:31:45. > :31:50.each week for the National Health Service, what we saw yesterday, is
:31:51. > :31:54.that the additional borrowing, the additional borrowing caused by
:31:55. > :32:00.Brexit led to ?225 million a week, that is the Brexit con that so many
:32:01. > :32:03.people in the Conservative Party have presided over. That is why I am
:32:04. > :32:06.determined that we continue to explore every option to protect the
:32:07. > :32:09.interests of Scotland and in particular predictable place in the
:32:10. > :32:14.single market because that is how we minimise the cost of Brexit that are
:32:15. > :32:17.being imposed on us by the Conservative Party. Thank you,
:32:18. > :32:21.Presiding Officer, last month the First Minister voted for an
:32:22. > :32:29.amendment in this chamber setting out red lines regarding the great
:32:30. > :32:33.deals. Yesterday, it was confirmed there would be no scrutiny of these
:32:34. > :32:37.deals by the European Court of Justice. This government's written
:32:38. > :32:42.answers and firms that there is a threat to our NHS and our protected
:32:43. > :32:45.foods. Bobby Minister release legal advice that points to damaging
:32:46. > :32:50.impacts and what action will she take to make sure that Scotland's
:32:51. > :32:57.voice and values are held in Europe at the Skrtel time? -- the First
:32:58. > :33:00.Minister. You will be aware of the legal
:33:01. > :33:05.advice, we do not have direct power over trade agreements that you have
:33:06. > :33:09.mentioned. But where I agree with you is that it is an comet on the
:33:10. > :33:13.government and Powell Parliament to make sure that the voice of Scotland
:33:14. > :33:16.as Herod and as I have said previously, we do have concerns
:33:17. > :33:21.around some of the contents of both these trade agreements and the
:33:22. > :33:27.threat to public services, including the NHS and we have argued there
:33:28. > :33:32.should be an explicit exclusion for the NHS in agreements like this. We
:33:33. > :33:37.have concerns over the investor state dispute resolution process. We
:33:38. > :33:39.will continue to argue the case that Scotland's concern should be taken
:33:40. > :33:43.into account and we will make sure that the voice of Scotland is heard
:33:44. > :33:47.on these matters. To ask the First Minister what the
:33:48. > :33:52.response of the Scottish Government is to the Autumn Statement? The
:33:53. > :33:56.Autumn Statement starkly set up the to the UK economy and public
:33:57. > :34:00.finances with economic growth and tax revenue revised downwards and
:34:01. > :34:04.the borrowing and inflation sharply up. In responding, the UK Government
:34:05. > :34:07.had the opportunity to end its field austerity policy but instead the
:34:08. > :34:10.Chancellor has continued with the cuts that are reducing budgets to
:34:11. > :34:14.public services and getting the income to families across Scotland.
:34:15. > :34:17.A small increase in capital investment is welcomed, but this
:34:18. > :34:19.reduces the cuts that were put in place by the Chancellor's
:34:20. > :34:54.predecessor. By the end the decade our capital
:34:55. > :34:57.budget alone will be 8% lower in real terms than it was when the
:34:58. > :35:00.Tories came to power in 2010. We will publish the Scottish draft
:35:01. > :35:02.budget next month and it will set up the measures we are taking to
:35:03. > :35:03.support our economy, tackle inequality and invest in public
:35:04. > :35:05.services, underlining the very different approaches our two
:35:06. > :35:08.governments take. Thank you. Woody First Minister agree with me that
:35:09. > :35:10.the full extent of the Tories' reckless gamble with the nation's
:35:11. > :35:13.future has been laid bare for all to see in the Autumn Statement? I she
:35:14. > :35:15.had said, slower growth, higher inflation and with tax revenue down.
:35:16. > :35:17.Would she do with me that the bombshell projection that the UK
:35:18. > :35:20.debt will increase by a staggering ?220 billion by 2020 if there is a
:35:21. > :35:23.hard Brexit that makes it absolutely imperative that Scotland is able to
:35:24. > :35:25.remain any single market by whatever means?
:35:26. > :35:29.The Tories do not like to hear this because what we are hearing now is
:35:30. > :35:38.the reality of their recklessness on Brexit. ?100 billion of additional
:35:39. > :35:45.borrowing. Debt increasing by around ?200 billion. Debt to GDP ratio
:35:46. > :35:53.hitting 90%, lower growth and lower real wages and a real squeeze on
:35:54. > :35:57.living standards. That is the price of the Tory Brexit that Ruth
:35:58. > :36:03.Davidson and her colleagues seem now to be so enthusiastic about. Well,
:36:04. > :36:07.the Tories in Scotland might be the born-again Brexiteers, but this
:36:08. > :36:10.government will continue to stand up for the interests of Scotland, we
:36:11. > :36:14.will continue to seek to protect our place in Europe and, yes, we will
:36:15. > :36:18.continue to find ways to protect our place in the single market because
:36:19. > :36:21.that is what we need to do to protect jobs, protect public
:36:22. > :36:24.finances and to protect the living standards of people across this
:36:25. > :36:33.country because none of these things are safe in the hands of the Tories.
:36:34. > :36:38.Murdo Fraser. Thank you, Presiding Officer, can I
:36:39. > :36:41.suggest that if the First Minister wants to find Brexiteers, all she
:36:42. > :36:49.needs to do is look at the benches behind her! The Chancellor's Autumn
:36:50. > :36:53.Statement delivers for Scotland, ?800 million extra capital spending,
:36:54. > :36:57.?74 million extra resource pending, 3.3 billion for our Scottish
:36:58. > :37:01.charities, a freeze in fuel duty is, an increase in the personal alarms
:37:02. > :37:05.to help the lowest earners and an increase in research and development
:37:06. > :37:09.spending and the City Deal for Stirling and Clackmannanshire. The
:37:10. > :37:13.constituency members seem to have forgotten about that. All of this is
:37:14. > :37:26.part of the fastest-growing economy in the G7. Why cannot the First
:37:27. > :37:32.Minister for once stop being so measurable and just welcomed this
:37:33. > :37:35.good news? First Minister. I think most of the misery yesterday was
:37:36. > :37:39.coming from the Chancellor, not from anyone on this site, I remember the
:37:40. > :37:46.days when Murdo Fraser used to aspire to be a serious politician.
:37:47. > :37:53.Now he is simply delusional. You know, the facts speak for themselves
:37:54. > :37:58.and let us take account, let's take account of the 800 million extra in
:37:59. > :38:04.capital, of the 74 million extra in revenue. Let us factor that all in
:38:05. > :38:08.and see where we end up. We end up any position, whereby the end of
:38:09. > :38:12.this decade, by the end of this decade, our budget will not be 3.3
:38:13. > :38:17.billion more when it always took office as we were expecting, it will
:38:18. > :38:22.just be 2.9 billion lower than when the Tories took office, and yet, the
:38:23. > :38:26.Tories expect us all to thank them for that. Well, that is the price of
:38:27. > :38:29.allowing the Tories to run our economy and the difference between
:38:30. > :38:34.model freezer and the Conservatives and those of us in this house is
:38:35. > :38:40.that we think we do a better job of running our economy ourselves, that
:38:41. > :38:44.is the choice that faces us. Alexander Stewart. Thank you, too as
:38:45. > :38:47.the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking in
:38:48. > :38:52.light of recent reports that Scotland's children are some of the
:38:53. > :38:57.least active in the world? Some of the findings of the Active Healthy
:38:58. > :39:00.Kids Report Card 2016 are disappointing and we want to do more
:39:01. > :39:04.to challenge sedentary behaviour and decreased the physicality level of
:39:05. > :39:08.children. As the board recognises we have a strong widget of the
:39:09. > :39:12.infrastructure in place that underpin our plans. The outcomes
:39:13. > :39:15.framework hopefully provide more opportunities for children to be
:39:16. > :39:19.active and build upon our investment in school board and sports
:39:20. > :39:24.facilities since 2007. I am sure the member will share my disappointment
:39:25. > :39:27.that the UK Government watered down its recent childhood obesity
:39:28. > :39:32.strategy and I hope will lend her support for our call on restrictions
:39:33. > :39:36.on junk food advertising before 9pm to children's exposure to the
:39:37. > :39:41.marketing of unhealthy foods. Thank you for that response and I do
:39:42. > :39:44.welcome the government's efforts to encourage physical activity,
:39:45. > :39:48.however, according to the Scottish health survey, the SNP have only
:39:49. > :39:51.managed to increase the number of children meeting physical activity
:39:52. > :39:55.guidelines by a few percent since the to power. As the First Minister
:39:56. > :40:01.admit not enough progress has been made on this? I readily acknowledge
:40:02. > :40:08.that we have to do much more but let us look at children doing two hours
:40:09. > :40:13.or more periods of PE, for example. In 20 -- in 2005, that was less than
:40:14. > :40:18.10%, there sure that has gone up to 98%. That is just one example of the
:40:19. > :40:22.progress that is being made and we are investing heavily in local
:40:23. > :40:28.sports facilities. The report that the member's question referred to,
:40:29. > :40:31.the Active Healthy Kids Report Card, it found that we scored very well in
:40:32. > :40:35.terms of policies and facilities but in terms of actual physical activity
:40:36. > :40:42.or children, there is much more that we need to do, that is why we are
:40:43. > :40:44.supporting the daily mile scheme in our schools which is an absolutely
:40:45. > :40:48.fantastic initiative. We will continue to make sure that the
:40:49. > :40:51.facilities and investment is translating into actual improvements
:40:52. > :40:54.and epitope on this issue, because it is so important, not just at the
:40:55. > :40:59.moment but for the future, that people in this chamber would get
:41:00. > :41:03.behind us on this. James Kelly. Thank you, two as the First Minister
:41:04. > :41:07.what action the Scottish Government is taking to tackle the problem of
:41:08. > :41:12.nuisance calls? I know the significant harm that
:41:13. > :41:19.emissions calls can harm -- can have, particular on the most
:41:20. > :41:22.vulnerable in society, much of this power is lying with Westminster.
:41:23. > :41:26.Much more can be done to tackle this. We held a summit in June with
:41:27. > :41:29.representatives of UK regulators and telecoms companies and consumer
:41:30. > :41:36.groups on what practical steps can be taken and it is why we have
:41:37. > :41:39.outlined plans in the Programme for Government on a nuisance calls
:41:40. > :41:44.commission which meets for the first time next week. There are no easy
:41:45. > :41:48.solutions to this, but the response from our commission members,
:41:49. > :41:52.business groups, the UK Government, shows there is a willingness to
:41:53. > :41:56.protect consumers and tackle unscrupulous business practice. I
:41:57. > :42:01.thank the First Minister for that answer. I am sure the First Minister
:42:02. > :42:04.will agree with me that nuisance calls are unacceptable, particularly
:42:05. > :42:11.because they are often used to target the old and the vulnerable.
:42:12. > :42:14.The scale of the problem in Scotland is highlighted by the UK says stakes
:42:15. > :42:16.which were published earlier this week and they showed that Scottish
:42:17. > :42:23.cities occupy three of the top format places in proportion nuisance
:42:24. > :42:28.of calls. In Glasgow alone, over half of all incoming calls to
:42:29. > :42:32.trueCall customers were regarded as nuisance calls. Can I asked the
:42:33. > :42:36.First Minister therefore, if the Scottish Government will make use of
:42:37. > :42:41.the new consumer powers and published a bold action plan which
:42:42. > :42:45.will put pressure on businesses to protect consumers and help
:42:46. > :42:52.vulnerable people by supporting the provision of call blocking
:42:53. > :42:56.technology? -- top three of four. Yes, I broadly agree with everything
:42:57. > :42:59.the member has said. I agree that nuisance calls are unacceptable,
:43:00. > :43:05.particularly as they tend to target older and more vulnerable people.
:43:06. > :43:07.Beasley, much of the action can be taken here is reserved to
:43:08. > :43:11.Westminster but that does not mean that we will not explore what action
:43:12. > :43:14.is available to us. You are right to point out, although there is no
:43:15. > :43:18.clear explanation as to why this is the case, are that nuisance calls
:43:19. > :43:21.appear to be more of a problem in Scotland than they are in other
:43:22. > :43:32.parts of the UK. You are correct to point out that we will have further
:43:33. > :43:38.powers over consumer policies and we are actively looking at how they use
:43:39. > :43:41.those policies in a way that can make a contribution to tackling this
:43:42. > :43:43.problem and obviously call blocking technology is one of the areas, not
:43:44. > :43:46.just the Scottish Government, but other governments are looking at. I
:43:47. > :43:48.am very happy to continue a dialogue on this with any member across the
:43:49. > :43:55.Chamber who is interested in this as we seek to work out how we can best
:43:56. > :43:59.tackle what is an unacceptable and I think, most people would agree, a
:44:00. > :44:01.growing problem for older people in particular in our duties. Daniel
:44:02. > :44:04.Johnson. To ask the First Minister, following the recent call from Save
:44:05. > :44:07.The Children, what action the Scottish Government is taking to
:44:08. > :44:10.increase the number of teachers and other staff working in this race
:44:11. > :44:15.with specialist training in spite and language development? Our
:44:16. > :44:19.national practice guidance published in 2014 focuses on the needs of
:44:20. > :44:23.babies, potters and young children and a variety of settings and makes
:44:24. > :44:27.best practice recommendations. We are committed to expanding the free
:44:28. > :44:30.error learning and child care including to the most vulnerable to
:44:31. > :44:34.get old and by 2018 providing nurseries in the most deprived areas
:44:35. > :44:40.of Scotland with an additional graduate or teacher with early
:44:41. > :44:44.learning expertise. In addition, childcare entitlement will be
:44:45. > :44:50.provided to support the borders of provision. Holistic model such as
:44:51. > :44:54.the Woodburn from the learning centre which looks at other services
:44:55. > :44:58.for children and families including speech and language therapists. I
:44:59. > :45:05.think the First Minister for that answer. She restated her commitment
:45:06. > :45:08.to expanding childcare and we share that game, but it is not the case
:45:09. > :45:13.that over the last five years, Scotland's nurseries have lost over
:45:14. > :45:20.900 teachers under government? How does you square that fight with the
:45:21. > :45:24.promises that she has just made? We are not just committed to expanding
:45:25. > :45:27.early learning and childcare in the future, we have expanded the
:45:28. > :45:30.learning and childcare and we published not too long ago the
:45:31. > :45:34.financial review of the expansion of that policy that showed that if
:45:35. > :45:38.anything, the Scottish Government has overfunded that commitment with
:45:39. > :45:44.local councils but, of course, we are working with local councils to
:45:45. > :45:48.plan the further expansion. And the commitment around extra teachers and
:45:49. > :45:52.graduates in nurseries in deprived areas is an important one, as is the
:45:53. > :45:54.flexible ability that will be encompassed in the expanded
:45:55. > :45:58.provision because that does give us the opportunity to look at different
:45:59. > :46:01.models of provision, such as the one that I cited in my earlier answer.
:46:02. > :46:07.There is no doubt that the key to solving this issue is early
:46:08. > :46:11.education and that is why it is important that we look at expanding
:46:12. > :46:14.not just the quantity of it, but it quality of it and the early years
:46:15. > :46:20.Minister Mark McDonald is focused on doing both.
:46:21. > :46:27.That said, there we have it, questions dominated by the Autumn
:46:28. > :46:31.Statement, we'll talk about that. Also on the issue of the railways
:46:32. > :46:36.coming up parties don't want to let it go, they aren't satisfied. Let's
:46:37. > :46:42.talk about that when my colleagues here. Ruth Davidson didn't go on the
:46:43. > :46:46.rail as last week but she was taken to the tracks today. She was.
:46:47. > :46:53.There's has been the big issue this week. The transport minister has had
:46:54. > :47:00.a very hard time. Really having a go at. It is quite a concerted attack
:47:01. > :47:05.on her. I'm not sure whether he's managed to come out of it all that
:47:06. > :47:09.well. He was being open and saying he wanted things to improve, and
:47:10. > :47:20.then he said later on it wasn't a bad service. To be fair, he said he
:47:21. > :47:28.thought it could improve in certain areas. I think it is something the
:47:29. > :47:31.government obviously need to do something about. They have talked
:47:32. > :47:38.about the possibility of having to bring back into ownership. Let's
:47:39. > :47:44.talk about that in a second. What did you make of the response today,
:47:45. > :47:48.publishing the action plan? She released biked Ruth Davidson's guns.
:47:49. > :47:54.But first question was, you have this plan for ScotRail, when will
:47:55. > :47:59.you publish it? In the next couple of days. It put her on the back
:48:00. > :48:05.foot. She wasn't quite adept enough to change. Mapoe. Which is a bit
:48:06. > :48:09.daft, there's only two answers, I'm not or I am. Surely there was an
:48:10. > :48:14.answer. I think Nicola Sturgeon will be signing relief because it went
:48:15. > :48:26.smoothly. You should be able to get the government on the back foot over
:48:27. > :48:30.a to, argue arguably brewer service. The idea of public control, it is
:48:31. > :48:37.not guaranteed, she talking about having it available. The next time
:48:38. > :48:42.this comes up, it will be the first time under the Scottish rules it
:48:43. > :48:46.will be possible for a public body to bid for that. But the government
:48:47. > :48:50.seems rather than a set of base shell entity which could step in
:48:51. > :48:56.where that to be required. It is an SNP pledge to take it into public
:48:57. > :49:01.ownership. However, let's look at the other Boltons, Network Rail,
:49:02. > :49:12.that isn't doing well. Is it a good idea? I suggest not. Where is this
:49:13. > :49:16.going? Will they persist with it. It is probably right, trains are
:49:17. > :49:20.difficult. You can't guarantee there will be a good train service. There
:49:21. > :49:26.were examples being quoted are problems this morning. If the
:49:27. > :49:34.government could sort it out, they would do. Public ownership is a
:49:35. > :49:38.popular policy, and I'm surprised politicians haven't been mauled
:49:39. > :49:47.bullish with that. We will talk with you again in a few minutes. Of
:49:48. > :49:51.course, the other big issue raised, the aftermath of the Autumn
:49:52. > :49:55.Statement, some sharp exchanges with the Conservatives. In preparation
:49:56. > :49:58.for thinking about that topic, I interviewed Derek Mackay, the
:49:59. > :50:05.Scottish Finance secretary, who will drop Scotland's plans, published on
:50:06. > :50:09.the 15th of December. I asked in his response to the ?800 million of
:50:10. > :50:15.extra capital investment over four years. I certainly welcome a fiscal
:50:16. > :50:20.stimulus and capital investment, it was one of the things the devolved
:50:21. > :50:24.administration was asking for. But let's put it into context, it is
:50:25. > :50:30.giving back some of the resource that was taken away from us. Let's
:50:31. > :50:33.talk about the revenue spending, there had been some anxiety in
:50:34. > :50:37.Scotland that in search of savings, you might pick this has meant and
:50:38. > :50:42.start again, with adverse consequences. That hasn't happened.
:50:43. > :50:47.It hasn't, but there is still ?3.5 billion worth of savings to be found
:50:48. > :50:52.between now and the end of the parliament. To the Chancellor is
:50:53. > :50:55.still to identify those savings, and they may well reopen asset
:50:56. > :51:00.settlement to impact in Scotland. I had called upon the Chancellor not
:51:01. > :51:05.to negatively reopen our settlement, but people will also remember we
:51:06. > :51:12.were told if we voted Brexit, there would be an extra ?350 million for
:51:13. > :51:16.the NHS. Well, not fun, not a penny announced as a consequence of the
:51:17. > :51:22.Chancellor's Autumn Statement. How do you characterise the impact on
:51:23. > :51:28.Scotland overall? We've learned the Brexit bombshell which has lowered
:51:29. > :51:31.economic growth, lower revenues as a consequence, higher borrowing and
:51:32. > :51:35.high inflation. That will impact on the economy generally and will
:51:36. > :51:39.impact on household budgets. There could have been a major move to give
:51:40. > :51:43.business certainty at this time by saying we wanted a reasonable
:51:44. > :51:46.approach and membership to single market, that hasn't happened, and
:51:47. > :51:51.that will have an impact, is the biggest threat to our economy at
:51:52. > :51:56.this point in time. We are where we are, Chancellor did not argue for
:51:57. > :52:00.Brexit coming he has to deal with the circumstances as he finds them.
:52:01. > :52:05.He stressed the underlying strength of the UK economy. Scotland has
:52:06. > :52:09.strong foundations but the oil and gas sector had been crying out for
:52:10. > :52:14.support, and there was nothing from the Chancellor on the oil and gas
:52:15. > :52:22.sector by way of tax relief or investment. That could support of
:52:23. > :52:29.the North East sector, as was support for front line services. By
:52:30. > :52:32.failing to tackle the concerns and the uncertainty around Brexit, and
:52:33. > :52:37.membership of the single market, that will give us a challenge going
:52:38. > :52:42.forward. That means, as he has admitted, lower economic growth. He
:52:43. > :52:48.said there is a capital simmers, there will be efforts to tackle what
:52:49. > :52:51.he says is an underlying problem. You've got to welcome these
:52:52. > :52:56.initiatives. I think Scotland was ahead of the game in much of this in
:52:57. > :53:00.terms of our position on Scottish growth scheme or innovation around
:53:01. > :53:06.recalibrating our economic strategy, wanting to do more around exports as
:53:07. > :53:09.well. We have a strong track record on infrastructure and transport and
:53:10. > :53:15.housing and on digital. I look forward to setting out more of our
:53:16. > :53:23.plans on the 15th of December. Finally, the change of timing, the
:53:24. > :53:27.budget to be in the autumn, if we get the full details on spending
:53:28. > :53:31.plans in the autumn, how does that fit with your timetable? When the
:53:32. > :53:35.Chancellor said that was going to be his last big Autumn Statement, I
:53:36. > :53:41.thought for a moment he was going to resign in the autumn. That is not
:53:42. > :53:45.what is happening, he is resetting the physical events in the fiscal
:53:46. > :53:48.calendar. That is a matter of the UK Government. It is fortuitous I had
:53:49. > :53:55.already worked in partnership with the finance committee to look again
:53:56. > :53:58.at our Parliamentary timetable. This parliament has been powerful, more
:53:59. > :54:02.fiscally responsible and we will look at the timetabling issues going
:54:03. > :54:09.forward to reset how we do our business to ensure how it fits with
:54:10. > :54:13.how the UK sets out its plans. He will have to deal with the
:54:14. > :54:26.aftermath. Let's look behind us. Some people behind us. It is the
:54:27. > :54:31.prostate Cancer campaign. Thank you for hanging on. The photocall was
:54:32. > :54:36.earlier, but a few other teams stayed on. Let's talk again to my
:54:37. > :54:39.colleagues, Ian Swanson and Lyndsay McIntosh. This question of the
:54:40. > :54:46.Autumn Statement. Let's talk about the statement itself. You heard,
:54:47. > :54:50.stop moaning, stop complaining and rejoice. Nicola Sturgeon not in a
:54:51. > :54:56.mood for rejoicing. Nicola Sturgeon was risking all the problems and
:54:57. > :54:59.explaining that despite the ?800,000, 800 million that will come
:55:00. > :55:06.to Scotland because of infrastructure statement, that
:55:07. > :55:10.despite that, it won't be a serious increase. There will be less money
:55:11. > :55:21.in Scotland. They had expected the budget to be 3.3 million pounds
:55:22. > :55:27.less, it will be 2.2. Nonetheless, he was going for it. He went for it.
:55:28. > :55:32.I think there's two things from that Autumn Statement, one is the Brexit
:55:33. > :55:37.bombshell. It is a grim economic news, there's no getting away from
:55:38. > :55:43.it. Some are trying to get away but, some conservatives are saying they
:55:44. > :55:47.are getting it wrong, not taken into account the changes Britain could
:55:48. > :55:53.make under Brexit, such as cutting tariffs. The OBR forecasting, they
:55:54. > :55:57.don't always get it right, they sometimes get it wrong. They've got
:55:58. > :56:04.less of an agenda than the Brexit years do. Regardless, bad economic
:56:05. > :56:08.news in there. From a Scottish perspective, it could be a lot
:56:09. > :56:11.worse. There's capital investment Ian has mentioned. There is a city
:56:12. > :56:18.deals we are getting, sterling coming on board. The current
:56:19. > :56:23.spending budget, which was one prospect, we shouldn't be cheering
:56:24. > :56:27.for it, but it was one concern. And aside from that, the Scottish
:56:28. > :56:32.Parliament has got a lot more power than it can use to mitigate against
:56:33. > :56:43.this austerity which is coming down the line. But not keen, Ian, Nicola
:56:44. > :56:45.Sturgeon won't replicate the effective cut for other rate
:56:46. > :56:50.taxpayers by increasing the threshold of the 50,000. It will be
:56:51. > :56:55.interesting to see how things work out because it was all well today
:56:56. > :57:00.being able to attract the UK Government for the cuts they are
:57:01. > :57:05.making. In the next fortnight or so, the SNP government will be on the
:57:06. > :57:08.back foot because they will have to defend what ever budgets they come
:57:09. > :57:13.up with. It is not necessary all going to be good news. You have a
:57:14. > :57:20.conservative attack of saying, stop whining and rejoice, but a labour
:57:21. > :57:26.and Liberal Democrat attack of pushing up the standard rate of
:57:27. > :57:31.income tax. There is that tension, because with new powers over income
:57:32. > :57:35.tax, which is an important part, a significant power the Scottish
:57:36. > :57:40.Parliament now has, it is important for the SNP, a big test whether they
:57:41. > :57:46.are willing to use these powers, or wherever they are wanting to not
:57:47. > :57:49.cause trouble. Lindsay, it is a question of balance in Parliament
:57:50. > :57:56.because the SNP don't have a majority. We are back to the days of
:57:57. > :57:59.2007-11, when they did deals of other parties together budget
:58:00. > :58:03.through. There is more of an oppositional stance. I can't imagine
:58:04. > :58:07.the Conservatives will be there go to partners. You have to think the
:58:08. > :58:12.first people they will look to the Greens, and as we saw, Patrick
:58:13. > :58:18.Harvie laying out this big shopping list of what he might want. Some of
:58:19. > :58:22.those he's got no chance over, the income tax I would be shocked if
:58:23. > :58:29.Nicola Sturgeon did much work that. It was such a big announcement. You
:58:30. > :58:35.pay higher in Scotland than you do in England on the other rate.
:58:36. > :58:40.Because of the Chancellor's changes. But she said, I'm not going further
:58:41. > :58:44.on the top and because of the risk that people believe the country and
:58:45. > :58:47.she did work on that. I would be shocked if she changed it now. There
:58:48. > :58:52.are other things Patrick Harvie are asking for, such as energy
:58:53. > :58:58.efficiency, perhaps something things with welfare, some of the carer 's
:58:59. > :59:03.allowance, that she might be more... Child benefit as well. Will this be
:59:04. > :59:07.tough to get a deal? Derek Mackay will have to do the budget talks
:59:08. > :59:10.treasure map it will be, and John Swinney was the man in charge the
:59:11. > :59:15.last time when they were in a minority situation, so he's not then
:59:16. > :59:18.now, perhaps he will offer some advice behind the scenes. It is
:59:19. > :59:24.Derek Mackay, and is eight big challenge for him. And a minority
:59:25. > :59:29.when the opposition parties are feeling aggressive in some ways.
:59:30. > :59:34.Lindsay, Ian, thank you indeed. The last time we were in the situation,
:59:35. > :59:38.John Swinney was a finance secretary and he did deals with the
:59:39. > :59:42.Conservatives from which they extract concessions and things such
:59:43. > :59:46.as business rate in town centres. It might be tougher this time, we'll
:59:47. > :00:22.bring you all the news here on BBC Scotland. Goodbye.
:00:23. > :00:25.The most daunting of cookery challenges is back.
:00:26. > :00:28.It's not as simple as it first appears, is it?