:00:30. > :00:36.Welcome to Question Time For the First Minister. Any questions can
:00:36. > :00:40.be asked to but my guess is that they will be focused on at this.
:00:40. > :00:47.The referendum consultation launched yesterday. Leads course --
:00:47. > :00:56.cross to the chamber and my colleague, Glen Campbell.
:00:56. > :01:01.He is giving details of his engagements for the rest of the day.
:01:01. > :01:06.We always welcome a sinner who repents and pays attention to
:01:06. > :01:10.others within the chamber. I am absolutely delighted with that news
:01:10. > :01:15.and believe it is in the interests of the people of Scotland that we
:01:15. > :01:20.set up to that task together. The question was unveiled there will be
:01:20. > :01:24.asked in the forthcoming referendum. Do you agree that Scotland will be
:01:24. > :01:31.an -- should be an independent country? Will he tell the chamber
:01:31. > :01:38.today... We know what do you think! Willie tell the chamber, what does
:01:38. > :01:43.he mean by an independent country? A country which is free to make its
:01:43. > :01:48.own decisions. Standing on its own feet financially. Operating in co-
:01:48. > :01:54.operation with other countries and the world. On major issues of
:01:54. > :01:58.policy which is not directed to, for example the current attacks on
:01:58. > :02:04.people of disabilities, not supported by the Scottish
:02:04. > :02:12.population. Independence is the normal status of some 200 nations
:02:12. > :02:17.across the planet. Of course, on the attacks on the
:02:17. > :02:22.disabled, these are Conservatives who are doing that. Not because
:02:22. > :02:26.they are English. You must understand that it is not a choice
:02:26. > :02:31.in this country between the Conservatives and separation. There
:02:31. > :02:34.is another approach. In his version of independence the First Minister
:02:34. > :02:39.conceded significantly that the Bank of England would be the lender
:02:40. > :02:43.of last resort. Will that mean that John Swinney will not only bring
:02:43. > :02:48.his budget to this chamber but he must go to the Bank of England to
:02:48. > :02:52.ask permission on how much she can borrow, what his fiscal policies
:02:52. > :02:58.will be, and how much she can spend? The First Minister told us
:02:58. > :03:05.this week that he is an avowed Anglophile. Is he not taking that a
:03:05. > :03:11.bit too far? Can I take these points in time?
:03:11. > :03:15.The idea that you can separate the fact that under the current
:03:15. > :03:19.constitution, Scotland, not just sometimes but much of the time,
:03:19. > :03:24.ends up with governments we do not vote for - I think that is a great
:03:24. > :03:29.mistake. The rate of Independence, one of the great advantages is that
:03:29. > :03:35.people will get their government they vote for, and not the
:03:35. > :03:40.Government that somebody else voted for. I am not quite certain this is
:03:40. > :03:45.her best subject. We're talking about monetary policy. I held her
:03:45. > :03:48.deputy leader on the radio this morning say that if Scotland has a
:03:48. > :03:54.monetary union and the Bank of England is the lender of last
:03:54. > :03:58.resort then we would lose the ability to set interest rates. I
:03:59. > :04:04.have news for the Labour Party. Politicians lost the ability to set
:04:04. > :04:09.interest rates on the 6th May 1997 when Gordon Brown declared the Bank
:04:09. > :04:14.of England independent. That separation between monetary policy,
:04:14. > :04:19.controlled by the MPC and the Bank of England, and fiscal policy
:04:19. > :04:24.controlled by the Chancellor, that perhaps you want to catch up on at
:04:24. > :04:29.the present moment. It would mean that the Scottish finance secretary
:04:29. > :04:33.would have the ability to set our own taxes. For example, at the
:04:33. > :04:38.present moment, to invest in capital investment which would have
:04:38. > :04:42.revived the Scottish economy. I must say that I am delighted that
:04:42. > :04:51.these questions because they are the nub of the debate which will
:04:51. > :04:56.persuade people to vote for independence in the referendum.
:04:56. > :05:01.I bow to their expertise of the former economist who of course is
:05:01. > :05:09.so wise and sensible that he encouraged Fred Goodwin to buy the
:05:09. > :05:14.bank. Perhaps some humility about the economy might be in order. The
:05:14. > :05:18.reality is that the First Minister is telling us he is content that
:05:18. > :05:24.the key decisions which will impact on people's mortgages, savings, and
:05:24. > :05:27.pensions, will be made by a foreign bank with no remit to look at
:05:27. > :05:33.Scotland's conditions and circumstances. Does he agree with
:05:33. > :05:41.his own chief economic adviser, Crawford Beveridge, that this is
:05:41. > :05:51.not ideal? I am not sure about for read a good
:05:51. > :05:58.
:05:58. > :06:05.win. After all, I did not make for red could win staff fled good win.
:06:05. > :06:10.-- Sir Fred Godwin. Nor did high have him on my council economic
:06:10. > :06:15.advisers, that was Gordon Brown. The Chancellor no longer sets
:06:15. > :06:21.interest rates. That has not happened since 1997 when the Bank
:06:21. > :06:25.of England was declared independent. Interestingly the Labour Party were
:06:25. > :06:30.keener on independence for the Bank of England than be where for the
:06:30. > :06:36.country of Scotland. But we will leave that to the one side. There
:06:36. > :06:41.are some 167 countries with formal or informal monetary unions. That
:06:41. > :06:45.does not make them any less independent. It has been suggested
:06:45. > :06:51.by some ex Labour ministers that perhaps the currency arrangement
:06:51. > :06:59.would not be wished by people in England. Let's get that right. You
:06:59. > :07:02.cannot stop people using a tradable currency. That was a myth by the
:07:02. > :07:07.Chancellor's advisers. But there are good reasons any Chancellor of
:07:07. > :07:12.the Exchequer would accept their idea of a currency union. Oil and
:07:12. > :07:17.gas. We would get the revenues from our geographical share. But Orwell
:07:17. > :07:24.and gas also provides a 30,000 billion pounds support to the
:07:24. > :07:30.balance of payments and therefore to a Stirling a year. Secondly, �24
:07:30. > :07:35.billion of Scottish international exports, that is why given the huge
:07:35. > :07:40.support supplied by Scotland to the stealing a rare that any Chancellor
:07:40. > :07:46.of the Exchequer would bite our hands off for such a sensible
:07:46. > :07:51.arrangement. This is the nub of it. You hope and
:07:51. > :07:56.believe. But that does not necessarily make it so. The people
:07:56. > :08:00.in this country one confidence in their pensions, mortgages, future.
:08:00. > :08:07.They say, you think you have the prescription for our ills, but it
:08:07. > :08:12.is the same when you have had for 40 years. The world has changed. We
:08:12. > :08:17.have the euro. The rise of China. Technological -- technological
:08:17. > :08:27.revolution. But in good times or bad you always have the same answer
:08:27. > :08:28.
:08:28. > :08:34.and that his independence. The SNP push is not about people's savings,
:08:34. > :08:39.mortgages, pensions, it is about the blind faith that it will be
:08:39. > :08:45.better because he says so. Why is he prepared to take unnecessary
:08:45. > :08:54.risks with people's money? In the midst of the worst economic global
:08:54. > :09:02.crisis since the 1930s, for no good reason? It will create political
:09:02. > :09:07.separation and with less economic control.
:09:07. > :09:17.I am glad that Labour are living up to the boast that they will argue a
:09:17. > :09:22.
:09:22. > :09:27.positive case! Can I just arrived at the nub? Over the last few
:09:27. > :09:31.decades the it number of independent countries has gone from
:09:31. > :09:36.50 to 200. I would have thought if we're talking about the tide of
:09:36. > :09:40.history, it is moving towards the status of independence. 50 country
:09:40. > :09:50.since the Second World War have become independent from London. And
:09:50. > :09:55.not a single one has applied to get back! Scotland would emerge as an
:09:55. > :09:58.independent country with the six highest wealth per head in the
:09:58. > :10:04.Organisation of economic co- operation and Development. That in
:10:04. > :10:07.itself is not the argument for independence. The argument is self
:10:08. > :10:11.determination. But given we would be sacked most prosperous country
:10:11. > :10:16.in the developed world, most people in Scotland will have some degree
:10:16. > :10:24.of confidence in our ability to survive and prosper as a socially
:10:24. > :10:30.just, economic we progressive society.
:10:30. > :10:34.Ruth Davidson. When will the First Minister next
:10:35. > :10:38.meet the Secretary of State for Scotland?
:10:38. > :10:44.I wish him a speedy recovery from his current ailments and I hope to
:10:44. > :10:52.meet him next week to discuss the consultation on the referendum.
:10:52. > :10:57.Talks were postponed because the Secretary of State has chicken pox.
:10:57. > :11:03.Today we need more clarity than we have just been given on some
:11:03. > :11:07.substantive principles. The First Minister repeatedly asserts that he
:11:07. > :11:14.wants independence in order to have economic levers at the disposal of
:11:14. > :11:20.the Scottish Government. He now maintains that he wants to keep the
:11:20. > :11:24.pound. He wants to leave the United Kingdom but remain part of the
:11:24. > :11:29.currency union. Which means an independent Scotland will have its
:11:29. > :11:32.interest rates set by the Bank of England. Does he accept that the
:11:32. > :11:37.banks set interest rates now considering the whole United
:11:37. > :11:44.Kingdom but would be unlikely to give Scotland a second thought
:11:44. > :11:47.after independence, leaving Scotland with less control?
:11:47. > :11:51.F the Bank of England are so concerned for economic conditions
:11:51. > :11:57.then perhaps the Conservative Party at some point will turn their
:11:57. > :12:00.attention towards it. There is not a single Scot sitting on the
:12:01. > :12:06.Monetary Policy Committee. There are two Bank of England employees
:12:06. > :12:11.in the whole of Scotland, as far as I know, at the present moment. And,
:12:11. > :12:17.yes, we would have influence in the same way that other monetary unions
:12:17. > :12:21.allow. We have no influence at the present moment. But can I bring her
:12:21. > :12:25.back to the nub? When the Labour Party and government subsequently
:12:25. > :12:30.agreed with the Conservatives on a policy of independent monetary
:12:30. > :12:35.policy they gave away any ability for politicians to control interest
:12:35. > :12:41.rates. Across the developed world that has been a continuing trend
:12:41. > :12:45.since that period. Therefore the idea that politicians and London
:12:45. > :12:50.control interest rates now is completely fallacious. There are
:12:50. > :12:56.many advantages in a current -- currency union for both Scotland
:12:56. > :13:03.and England. Nor is this idea new, it has been in SNP documents for a
:13:03. > :13:07.considerable time. I am not sure if he Astle --
:13:07. > :13:11.answered the question I asked. He has been telling the media in this
:13:11. > :13:16.country and elsewhere that the pound could be a transition
:13:16. > :13:21.currency. Just like in Australia when it became independent. If that
:13:21. > :13:31.is the transition plan, what is the ultimate choice? Is it the you
:13:31. > :13:34.
:13:34. > :13:40.know? Or perhaps he is planning his own currency? The First Minister of
:13:40. > :13:45.Celtic's -- the First Minister Astaire's that an independent
:13:45. > :13:52.Scotland would not be forced to join the euro when the weight of
:13:52. > :13:56.independent opinion says otherwise. He acknowledges the Bank of England
:13:56. > :14:05.as a lender of last resort. On this vital issue he is twisting and
:14:05. > :14:10.turning. For almost 40 years he has campaigned for independence. But he
:14:10. > :14:14.leaves dangerous uncertainty on the issues that matter. Is it not the
:14:14. > :14:20.truth that he has no plans to assume that the full levers of
:14:20. > :14:25.financial power because either of the options that he has flirted at
:14:25. > :14:34.between would leave significant control with London or Europe and
:14:34. > :14:39.us with less control than we have The better vote transition is what
:14:39. > :14:47.Ruth Davidson is in her own mind, but ETA is perfectly correct for me
:14:47. > :14:48.to say in the world of 200 nations 67 -- 67 of them are either in a
:14:48. > :14:52.67 -- 67 of them are either in a currency unions or formal currency
:14:52. > :14:56.arrangements. That does not mean they are not independent currencies.
:14:56. > :15:01.It means in terms of economic policy they have decided to enter
:15:01. > :15:05.monetary union or currency arrangement. I look forward to the
:15:05. > :15:10.Conservative Party to increase 67 countries and telling them they are
:15:10. > :15:16.not really independent because it is -- they have decided it is the
:15:16. > :15:19.best economic policy to have a currency union. This gives us good
:15:19. > :15:24.all-over our fiscal policy and set our spending and taxation
:15:24. > :15:29.priorities. For example, we might not wish to pursue the
:15:29. > :15:34.Conservative's misguided attack on people with disabilities in
:15:34. > :15:37.Scotland at the moment. We might decide to make the Scottish economy
:15:37. > :15:42.more competitive to attract more international did -- investment.
:15:42. > :15:45.Above all, we would have the advantage of having access to
:15:45. > :15:50.Scotland's natural resources, which were the last 30 years has been
:15:50. > :15:54.denied to us by successive Labour and Conservative governments, who
:15:54. > :16:01.have used the cash to bankroll successive Tory and Labour
:16:01. > :16:04.Chancellors of the Exchequer. I think control of our taxation,
:16:04. > :16:08.spending and natural resources looks to me like an attractive
:16:08. > :16:17.independent proposition for the people of Scotland.
:16:17. > :16:23.Further to the question from work my door knob last week, I wonder if
:16:23. > :16:27.the First Minister has any updated -- Mark McDonald last week, I
:16:27. > :16:32.wonder if the First Minister has any of dated information on my
:16:32. > :16:39.constituency in bear's Den? The Minister for energy, enterprise
:16:40. > :16:49.and tourism, Fergus Ewing, spoke with the IB, UK L P -- UK plc last
:16:49. > :16:53.Thursday. He has also discussed the situation with administrators to
:16:53. > :16:58.ensure every avenue is explored to keep the businesses operating. And
:16:58. > :17:04.all of this, our chief abiding concern with constituency members
:17:04. > :17:09.is to keep jobs and businesses in these challenging economic times.
:17:09. > :17:12.What issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet?
:17:12. > :17:16.They next meeting will discuss issues of importance to the people
:17:16. > :17:20.of Scotland. The First Minister published his
:17:21. > :17:25.Budget in September. Since then, the UK Government has changed its
:17:25. > :17:28.plans and added extra money to Scotland. Since September when he
:17:28. > :17:35.published his budget, how much energy -- extra money has his
:17:35. > :17:40.Government received? The original plans were to reduce
:17:40. > :17:46.Scotland's capital direct budget over the next four ideas by 36 %.
:17:46. > :17:53.Under the revised plans, VAT reduction becomes 42 %. -- that the
:17:53. > :17:59.reduction. I know that will he Rennie has pointed to the 4% and
:17:59. > :18:07.said, what are you doing with this great funding boost? Can I suggest,
:18:07. > :18:12.most people would regard a quote of 36 % to 32 % as better than 36 %,
:18:12. > :18:18.but it is still one-third of our capital budget cut, which we would
:18:18. > :18:22.like the power to reserve -- reverse. For the second week
:18:22. > :18:27.running I have asked him a basic question about financial control in
:18:27. > :18:32.his Government, and he has not known the answer. He does not need
:18:32. > :18:38.to look across at Mr Swinney. He is looking into Mr Swinney's eyes for
:18:38. > :18:47.the answer. I can tell him that the Scottish Parliament's financial
:18:47. > :18:51.scrutiny unit has provided a note which said Saud he has an extra
:18:51. > :18:56.�400 million this year available and next. Given there have been
:18:56. > :19:00.63,000 e-mails from college students and the National Union of
:19:01. > :19:04.students have told him this week that his college coxed Het the
:19:04. > :19:10.poorest people in some of the poorest communities, I can't
:19:10. > :19:15.understand why he is being so stubborn. We have discussed this
:19:15. > :19:19.before many times. Has cut its �40 million, he has ten times that
:19:19. > :19:27.available. Will he agreed to look again at this Budget and see if he
:19:27. > :19:36.can do the right thing for a Scottish colleges?
:19:36. > :19:41.He refers to �400 million. The figure of which the �400 million as
:19:41. > :19:46.a replacement is �300 million, still leaving a shortfall of �2.6
:19:46. > :19:51.billion. If you look at capital injection into colleges, it is
:19:51. > :19:56.extremely good. By have figures in college student funding support.
:19:56. > :20:01.When we took office it was �69.6 million. Planned spending in the
:20:01. > :20:06.next two years is �84.2 million. That seems to me a very strong
:20:06. > :20:10.result in these difficult times. Will he Rennie criticises before
:20:10. > :20:14.having colleagues take the key specialist device the finance
:20:14. > :20:17.sector offers me on many occasions. I am sure he would love to be in a
:20:18. > :20:25.position where he could look round and get advice from lots of
:20:25. > :20:30.colleagues. They only have five MSPs in this
:20:30. > :20:36.department for -- in this Parliament.
:20:36. > :20:40.To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's responses to
:20:40. > :20:43.the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions statement that benefit
:20:43. > :20:48.reforms will not lead to an increase in child poverty in
:20:48. > :20:54.Scotland. The Department of Work and Pensions
:20:54. > :20:59.warm assessment and to the impact suggest that 70,000 children and
:20:59. > :21:03.Scotland will be adversely affected by this proposal alone. The most
:21:03. > :21:08.current figures place the number of children in poverty in Scotland at
:21:08. > :21:12.20 %, far too high. Although it is the lowest level since devolution.
:21:12. > :21:15.However, the number is very high, at the Health Secretary is seeking
:21:15. > :21:21.a meeting with Iain Duncan Smith as soon as possible to seek assurances
:21:21. > :21:25.that, as a result of these proposals, this trend in declining
:21:26. > :21:30.percentages of child poverty is not now going to be put into reverse.
:21:30. > :21:34.Can I thank him for a very full response. The Scotland Office
:21:34. > :21:38.Minister was unable to answer that question when asked on several
:21:38. > :21:42.occasions in an interview earlier this week. Even though it is his
:21:42. > :21:45.Government imposing the cuts. Does the First Minister agreed that if a
:21:45. > :21:50.UK Government cannot ask -- answer these questions, then the power to
:21:50. > :21:53.make decisions on such an important issue should rest with this
:21:53. > :22:01.Scottish Parliament? In particular, does he agree that child benefit,
:22:01. > :22:04.with an update of 96 %, should remain a universal benefit?
:22:04. > :22:10.As Mac with an uptake. The there are few things and that
:22:10. > :22:15.question. -- with an uptake.
:22:15. > :22:20.There are a few things with him that question. A have a transcript
:22:20. > :22:23.here. I will put it on the records so that every member of this
:22:23. > :22:30.Parliament has the opportunity to read the junior minister being
:22:30. > :22:35.asked seven times the question that Christine Graham has just asked me.
:22:35. > :22:38.I make the point that if the people proposing the pop -- policy are not
:22:38. > :22:43.aware of the impact on the children affected, that may be a good reason
:22:43. > :22:48.for them to not propose the policy. In terms of the question, I was
:22:49. > :22:53.looking at the comments of the chief executive of the Scottish
:22:53. > :22:59.Council of Orange Organisation's when he gave evidence, and again in
:22:59. > :23:03.the press this very morning. The United Kingdom's Government's
:23:03. > :23:08.welfare reform programme will have a dramatic impact on the poorest
:23:08. > :23:12.people in Scotland. Cutting money for the poor in a time of rising
:23:12. > :23:17.demand is simply wrong. It reflects river the values are nor needs of
:23:17. > :23:23.Scotland. We could and should be doing things very differently. I
:23:23. > :23:26.agree with that, and I have -- think that Parliament should have
:23:26. > :23:31.the ability to legislate on these matters.
:23:31. > :23:34.Scotland is not making the progress on tackling child poverty either
:23:34. > :23:38.the First Minister or I would want to see, but I do look forward to
:23:38. > :23:43.the Government's report on the child poverty strategy in March. On
:23:43. > :23:48.the broader issue of child poverty strategy, achieving our potential
:23:48. > :23:53.was published in 2008. Since then we have had budget cuts and a lot
:23:53. > :23:58.has changed. Will the First Minister connect to looking again
:23:58. > :24:02.at that approach, not necessarily a root and branch review, but some
:24:02. > :24:06.consultation, to ensure that the tackling poverty board and the
:24:06. > :24:12.Government's priorities are still right, that policies are still
:24:12. > :24:16.achievable and on track? I committed to bringing forward
:24:16. > :24:22.further consultation and papers on these matters. I hope that Bruce
:24:22. > :24:27.Smith will understand when I tell him very seriously that the ability
:24:27. > :24:36.of this Government to continue the welcome improvements we have seen
:24:36. > :24:40.on the percentage of people in child poverty in Scotland is at
:24:40. > :24:47.best severely constrained by the current changes in welfare benefits,
:24:47. > :24:56.and at worst come across these islands, will be put into reverse.
:24:56. > :24:59.Is that not an argument, if Bruce Smith asserts that proposition, of
:24:59. > :25:05.why that should be under the control of this Parliament, where
:25:05. > :25:08.the views of the Scottish people will prevail, as opposed to leaving
:25:08. > :25:13.it in the hands of ministers who do not even know the effect of their
:25:13. > :25:17.own policies? The Scottish Government has a
:25:17. > :25:20.strategy for Scotland with a particular focus on that young
:25:20. > :25:24.carers. Can the First Minister assure me that the detrimental
:25:24. > :25:29.impact of the Welfare Reform Bill will be monitored to ensure this
:25:29. > :25:36.vulnerable group of young people in Scotland are properly supported?
:25:36. > :25:42.Yes, I can, and the impact of the vast majority of this Parliament
:25:42. > :25:48.the United before Christmas to express concern about the welfare
:25:48. > :25:52.reform process requires that we have reports and consultations
:25:52. > :25:56.brought to this Parliament so that we have the ability to understand
:25:57. > :26:01.the full effects of the legislation. I also repeat the argument that it
:26:01. > :26:06.would be a good idea not just to be able to monitor the effect but to
:26:06. > :26:10.have the ability to stop them happening.
:26:10. > :26:14.To ask the First Minister whether the for Scottish Government
:26:14. > :26:17.considers any local authority to be not fit for purpose?
:26:17. > :26:21.Local authorities deliver vital and valued services for the people of
:26:21. > :26:27.Scotland. I reckon that -- recognised the commitment of their
:26:27. > :26:30.employees working hard to provide services in our communities.
:26:30. > :26:38.Yesterday a Bill was passed in this chamber which, despite the UK
:26:38. > :26:42.funding cuts, confirms local Government's revenue funding budget
:26:42. > :26:48.is being maintained. Their share of the overall budget will be higher
:26:48. > :26:54.in each year of the three-year settlement than it was in 2007, and
:26:54. > :26:57.2008, when this Government took office. I was going to thank the
:26:57. > :27:01.First Minister for his answer, but I don't think it reflected the
:27:01. > :27:05.question I asked. I will ask a supplementary - does
:27:05. > :27:09.the First Minister agree that North Warwickshire council is not fit for
:27:09. > :27:15.purpose? That it is overstaffed? That social workers have refused to
:27:15. > :27:18.help people, and that staff badger people on low incomes? Does he
:27:18. > :27:21.agree with Reporting Scotland, who reported that North Lanarkshire
:27:21. > :27:25.council is a high-performing council with good strategic
:27:26. > :27:31.direction, with good leadership and clear vision? Does he agree with
:27:31. > :27:35.the trade unions in North Lanarkshire, that the Minister's
:27:35. > :27:39.comments do 1,000 -- little for the morale of thousands of low-paid,
:27:39. > :27:43.dedicated public servants? Will he therefore ask his Cabinet Secretary
:27:43. > :27:47.to apologise for insulting those employees? And will he or for his
:27:47. > :27:53.own apology to those North Warwickshire council staff who are
:27:53. > :28:00.rightly offended by Alex Neil's gratuitous attack on them?
:28:00. > :28:04.I read in the Herald on 21st January, and I quote directly, Alec
:28:04. > :28:07.Neill is actually liaising with some of our friends in the North of
:28:07. > :28:11.England to try and do something about a fast rail project which
:28:11. > :28:15.does not seem to get beyond the Midlands of England for the next 20
:28:15. > :28:20.years from the net -- from the Westminster Government. What I read
:28:20. > :28:25.was, any sensible person knows my comments were directed at the
:28:25. > :28:29.Labour leadership, not the workers, for whom I have the highest regard.
:28:29. > :28:39.Clearly when he is referring to sensible people, that did not
:28:39. > :28:44.
:28:44. > :28:49.include Michael Mick man. -- Michael Meg Munn. -- McMann.
:28:49. > :28:52.To ask the First Minister and what steps he is doing to secure
:28:52. > :28:57.protection for Scottish whisky the stop having secured protection for
:28:57. > :29:01.Scottish whisky in China over a year ago, I personally lost --
:29:01. > :29:08.launched the Scottish food and drink strategy for a judge in China.
:29:08. > :29:16.China is a market with massive growth potential. Exports soared to
:29:16. > :29:22.�62.3 million in the 12 months up until November 2011. Whisky exports
:29:22. > :29:26.reached a record high off �3.4 billion in 2010.
:29:26. > :29:34.I welcome the response and the success of Scotland's thriving
:29:34. > :29:37.whisky industry. Does this -- First Minister find it pathetic that
:29:37. > :29:47.reports are that William Hague was briefing against the use of
:29:47. > :29:49.
:29:49. > :29:54.Scottish exports of whisky against Scottish independence. I thought,
:29:54. > :30:04.second only to stealing pandas, that was the most ludicrous scare
:30:04. > :30:04.
:30:04. > :30:07.story given by Westminster. We come to the close of our
:30:07. > :30:11.coverage of questions to the First Minister. We had planned us and
:30:11. > :30:20.whisky, but earlier we had a substantive series of exchanges