:00:23. > :00:26.parliament at Holyrood. It's the final day of the session, the final
:00:27. > :00:31.session of questions to the First Minister. But they are coming back
:00:32. > :00:35.in August, because the term is rumbled up because of that small
:00:36. > :00:38.matter of a referendum on September the 18th on independence. I guess
:00:39. > :00:42.that is the underpinning to this session of questions, but there will
:00:43. > :00:47.also be questions on the health service. Let's find out by crossing
:00:48. > :00:51.to the chamber and my colleague, Glen Campbell.
:00:52. > :00:57.Ministers dealing with the question on homophobic hate crimes at the
:00:58. > :01:01.moment. They've also been discussing the housing supply in Scotland and
:01:02. > :01:06.evening heading sanctions against the Faroe Islands. All ahead of
:01:07. > :01:09.First Minister's question Time, with opposition leaders challenging the
:01:10. > :01:14.First Minister on the topics of their choice. That is the main event
:01:15. > :01:17.of the week here at Holyrood, about to get under way. We also know that
:01:18. > :01:23.during the half-hour session, the First Minister will face questions
:01:24. > :01:27.on the handling of emergency patients, on Police Scotland
:01:28. > :01:28.management of information and on fixed odds betting. It welcome from
:01:29. > :01:46.the presiding officer to VIP guests. Members will also wish to welcome
:01:47. > :01:51.the delegation from the network of Parliamentary committees on economy,
:01:52. > :02:01.finance and European integration of the Western Balkans.
:02:02. > :02:07.We now move to First Minister's Questions. Johann Lamont. To ask the
:02:08. > :02:12.First Minister what engagement he has planned for the rest of the day.
:02:13. > :02:17.Thy to take forward the government's programme for Scotland.
:02:18. > :02:21.On Tuesday, Health Secretary Alec Neil said, satisfaction with our NHS
:02:22. > :02:24.has increased by 20% over the last seven years and nearly two thirds of
:02:25. > :02:30.people in Scotland claimed to be satisfied with our health service.
:02:31. > :02:33.On the same day, the outgoing head of BMA Scotland, Doctor Brian
:02:34. > :02:38.Keighley said, I quote, what I have seen over the past five years is a
:02:39. > :02:43.continuing crisis management of the longest car crash in my memory. It
:02:44. > :02:48.is time for our politicians to face up to some very hard questions. I
:02:49. > :02:52.agree with Brian Keighley. He speaks for NHS staff all over the country.
:02:53. > :02:58.Could the First Minister tell the people of Scotland by the leader of
:02:59. > :03:02.Scotland's's doctors is wrong? Let's deal with the question of
:03:03. > :03:07.satisfaction of the public and the National Health Service. That wasn't
:03:08. > :03:11.an opinion poll or a snap survey, that was the Social Attitudes Survey
:03:12. > :03:16.for Scotland, the most detailed assessment of social attitudes in
:03:17. > :03:20.the country. What that demonstrated is that satisfaction with the
:03:21. > :03:26.National Health Service has risen to 61%. By way of comparison, when
:03:27. > :03:32.Johann Lamont was a minister it was 45%, in 2006. So when she starts by
:03:33. > :03:37.saying it is a claim of Alex Neil, it is the Social Attitudes Survey
:03:38. > :03:40.for Scotland, the most detailed assessment of public attitudes. That
:03:41. > :03:44.compares directly to satisfaction with her national health service
:03:45. > :03:48.today and the National -- satisfaction which was when Labour
:03:49. > :03:53.was in power. It's been a strongly rising trend. As far as Doctor Brian
:03:54. > :03:57.Keighley is concerned, he wants more funds for the NHS. He makes an
:03:58. > :04:08.entirely reasonable point that despite the fact the NHS has had its
:04:09. > :04:11.budget protected in real terms, it is under sustained pressure because
:04:12. > :04:13.of the rising demand for health services. How do I know that?
:04:14. > :04:16.Because Brian Kidd be said on the 24th of June, I accept the SNP has
:04:17. > :04:18.done as much within the Barnett formula and resources that are
:04:19. > :04:23.available to them. So when Johann Lamont says that Brian Keighley says
:04:24. > :04:30.the NHS is under pressure, as indeed he did, let's remember he also said
:04:31. > :04:33.and accepted that we are doing everything we can within the
:04:34. > :04:37.resources that are available to us to provide these resources for our
:04:38. > :04:42.National Health Service. That may be one reason why satisfaction the
:04:43. > :04:47.national health services on a rising trend, and the other reason would be
:04:48. > :04:50.that the people of Scotland understand the work and performance
:04:51. > :04:53.of our people in the NHS who are delivering such an excellent result,
:04:54. > :05:02.even under circumstances of pressure. Dr Brian Keighley is a
:05:03. > :05:09.member of staff in the health service. You ought to listen to what
:05:10. > :05:18.he is saying. Not pick one thing he has said but reflect on everything
:05:19. > :05:22.he has said. With accident and emergency targets missed, with
:05:23. > :05:27.cancer target missed, with care for the elderly in crisis, the man who
:05:28. > :05:31.represents Scotland's doctors, Brian Keighley, said, I quote, the current
:05:32. > :05:37.service is teetering on the edge of collapse. The leader of Scotland's
:05:38. > :05:41.doctors said, my main regret is that I've not been able to do more than
:05:42. > :05:45.act as a deputy attendant on the good ship NHS Titanic. Could the
:05:46. > :05:49.First Minister tell the people of Scotland by the leader of
:05:50. > :05:56.Scotland's doctors is wrong and he is right? Can I offer another quote
:05:57. > :06:01.from Brian Keighley? Again, in the same interview. Johann Lamont
:06:02. > :06:06.doesn't want to accept it. He says, clearly my target is not the current
:06:07. > :06:09.Cabinet sector, it is the classes in Scotland. The point he is making is
:06:10. > :06:14.that health resources are under pressure because of rising demand.
:06:15. > :06:21.He accepted the point that we've done everything we can under the
:06:22. > :06:25.constraints of the Barnett formula. Would that have been done if the
:06:26. > :06:30.Labour Party had been in power over these last seven years? We know it
:06:31. > :06:34.wouldn't have been done in 2007 because Jack McConnell said the NHS
:06:35. > :06:37.would just have to cut its cloth and wouldn't have access to the
:06:38. > :06:41.consequential is. We doubt it would have been done in 2011, because the
:06:42. > :06:45.Labour Party refused to commit to the resources in real terms. And we
:06:46. > :06:52.want evidence of the Labour Party in power, just look to Wales, suffering
:06:53. > :06:57.the same stresses under the Barnett formula as Scotland. And on every
:06:58. > :06:59.measurement turning in a worse health performance. Does Johann
:07:00. > :07:04.Lamont not accept the connection between the resources available to
:07:05. > :07:09.us under the Barnett formula and the ability to fund the NHS to a degree
:07:10. > :07:14.that Brian Keighley and all of us would want? And isn't that an
:07:15. > :07:18.argument for having access to Scotland's resources, so we can do
:07:19. > :07:28.is -- deliver that desirable outcome? We would have less money to
:07:29. > :07:32.spend on public services with prescriptions for Scotland. While
:07:33. > :07:36.his French on the backbenches applaud that oft heard script, he
:07:37. > :07:42.should reflect that that script he trots out every time on the NHS
:07:43. > :07:46.sounds very much like complacency. And patients who live in the real
:07:47. > :07:50.world and are dealing with these problems daily. Because we have been
:07:51. > :07:53.warning the First Minister about the amount of problems in our NHS for
:07:54. > :07:59.the last two years, and every time we get the same old script. He can't
:08:00. > :08:06.keep ignoring the reality. Brian Keighley, the leader of Scotland's
:08:07. > :08:11.doctors, said, we have a crisis of out of hours health provision that
:08:12. > :08:14.sees huge and unacceptable queues at A departments. We see reports of
:08:15. > :08:20.geriatric provision coming under increased criticism through
:08:21. > :08:25.inadequate care packages and increasing bed blocking. And, at the
:08:26. > :08:29.same time, GPs coping with a 20% increase in workload. He then
:08:30. > :08:34.continued. We see vital cancer treatment is delayed because of
:08:35. > :08:37.unsustainable cost and we see cracks emerging in hospital food,
:08:38. > :08:44.cleanliness, staff shortages and vacancies within both the consultant
:08:45. > :08:48.body and GP trainees. He finished, how is the Scottish Government
:08:49. > :08:54.responding? It talks of seven-day provision at a time when we have an
:08:55. > :08:59.inadequate five-day service. First Minister, those are the problems
:09:00. > :09:03.that our NHS staff are facing everyday. So can I ask him, what is
:09:04. > :09:10.the First Minister's plan for the NHS? Our plan is to continue to fund
:09:11. > :09:14.the NHS in Scotland to the maximum degree, something that low Labour
:09:15. > :09:18.Party neither in Scotland nor Wales would commit to. Our plan is to have
:09:19. > :09:24.access to the resources of Scotland, so we can move beyond austerity and
:09:25. > :09:27.have a proper, responsible, reasonable increasing public
:09:28. > :09:32.spending, as John Swinney outlined. We know that Brian Keighley accepts
:09:33. > :09:38.we're doing everything can within the formula. That is a reason to
:09:39. > :09:43.break free of the formula and have access to the resources of Scotland.
:09:44. > :09:46.But I don't accept Johann Lamont's prescription about the accident and
:09:47. > :09:49.emergency and the cancer waiting lists. We are acting to improve
:09:50. > :09:55.performance in accident and emergency, but acting to improve
:09:56. > :10:00.meeting our cancer targets, we are particularly concerned that we moved
:10:01. > :10:06.below the 62 day target. But the Labour Party never wants achieved
:10:07. > :10:11.that target, not once in office did the Labour Party achieve the 62 day
:10:12. > :10:15.cancer target. Yes, we believe that 93% of people being seen within four
:10:16. > :10:20.hours in accident and emergency isn't good enough. But the Labour
:10:21. > :10:27.Party in power, when Johann Lamont was a minister, claimed that 87% was
:10:28. > :10:31.an excellent performance. So given as the Social Attitudes Survey
:10:32. > :10:34.demonstrates that public satisfaction with the National
:10:35. > :10:40.health service is rising, given that we committed, which Labour would do,
:10:41. > :10:43.to protect the NHS budget in real terms, and given that our
:10:44. > :10:45.performance, under pressure though the NHS and given that our
:10:46. > :10:49.performance, under pressure though the NHS Labour Party were in power,
:10:50. > :10:54.what possible credibility as a minister in the last government
:10:55. > :10:58.complaining about the situation with public finances being under pressure
:10:59. > :11:08.when they couldn't run Scotland went public finances were plentiful? The
:11:09. > :11:12.problem with the First Minister is the First Minister wants to make
:11:13. > :11:30.this a cheap political debate between himself and myself. That's
:11:31. > :11:35.not a problem. Order! Settle down. Miss Graham. We can do that, but we
:11:36. > :11:43.let the people of Scotland down every time we settle for that. Every
:11:44. > :11:47.time. On the big issues when we settle for that, or saying that the
:11:48. > :11:51.only solution is independence. When not I race these questions but the
:11:52. > :11:57.head of the BMA raises it, patients race, people in the constituencies
:11:58. > :12:04.who every day are being let down by a government not interested in the
:12:05. > :12:05.NHS, not interested in anything but the obsession that took them into
:12:06. > :12:15.politics in the first place. Every time, on behalf of the people
:12:16. > :12:18.of Scotland, but I have asked the First Minister about blanket
:12:19. > :12:22.shortages, unacceptable waiting times in A, a lack of access to
:12:23. > :12:26.cancer drugs, cancer waiting times, elderly people left on trolleys for
:12:27. > :12:29.hours, older people getting 15 minute care visits, Doctor
:12:30. > :12:34.shortages, anything about the NHS, and we've seen it again today, the
:12:35. > :12:37.First Minister has told me that people are happy with our health
:12:38. > :12:43.service. It's getting privatised in England and it would be worse if we
:12:44. > :12:53.were Welsh. Inadequate answers to serious questions. The First
:12:54. > :12:57.Minister has told us this is a really serious issue for people of
:12:58. > :13:05.Scotland and it deserves better than that. The First Minister has told us
:13:06. > :13:10.he has Plan A, B, C, ghee, E and F for the currency in an independent
:13:11. > :13:12.Scotland. Does he not realise that what Scotland wants, what our
:13:13. > :13:22.hard-working doctors and nurses demand from him, is any kind of plan
:13:23. > :13:25.for the NHS today. I see that Johann Lamont doesn't think it is important
:13:26. > :13:29.that the NHS in Scotland is being kept in public hands and not
:13:30. > :13:36.subjected to the disintegration. Very interesting. Dr Keighley in his
:13:37. > :13:40.speech to BMA Scotland this week didn't say that. What he said is,
:13:41. > :13:44.quote, what is totally clear is that the NHS we have in Scotland is
:13:45. > :13:48.fundamentally different from that to England in terms of philosophy and
:13:49. > :13:52.organisation. North of the border we have been spared the spectacle of a
:13:53. > :13:55.huge organisation being thrown in the air with the only speculation as
:13:56. > :14:00.a guide to where the pieces might land. We have avoided wholesale
:14:01. > :14:05.reorganisation. The NHS manager games of musical chairs and the
:14:06. > :14:09.worst successes of the use A as a party political football and for
:14:10. > :14:12.that we must be thankful. Brian Keighley thinks that's important.
:14:13. > :14:17.Given that Johann Lamont cited him, why doesn't the Labour Party think
:14:18. > :14:20.it's important? Is it perhaps because Andy Burnham was talking
:14:21. > :14:26.about having a common health service across the UK and leave the health
:14:27. > :14:31.service in Scotland to the tender mercies of the privatisation agenda
:14:32. > :14:35.being pursued at Westminster? Johann Lamont doesn't want to talk about
:14:36. > :14:40.what the public think about the National Health Service because the
:14:41. > :14:46.increase in National Health Service performance in terms of accident and
:14:47. > :14:52.emergency and in cancer care is reflected in the 21% increase in
:14:53. > :14:56.public satisfaction, 85% of Scottish inpatients say overall care and
:14:57. > :15:00.treatment was good or excellent. 87% rated the performance of their GP
:15:01. > :15:06.surgery as good or excellent. 84% of social cake users rated their
:15:07. > :15:09.overall care and support as good or excellent. They are real people in
:15:10. > :15:14.the real-world understanding the commitment and strength of people in
:15:15. > :15:17.the NHS, supported by a government which has funded the health service
:15:18. > :15:19.in real terms and which would be able to do a great deal more in
:15:20. > :15:33.independent Scotland. Question two, Ruth Davidson. To ask
:15:34. > :15:38.the First Minister when he will next meet the Secretary of State for
:15:39. > :15:42.Scotland. No plans in the near future. We end this Parliamentary
:15:43. > :15:49.session in a familiar place. We have the SNP blind to the very real risks
:15:50. > :15:52.involved with leaving the UK. And we have independent expert analysis
:15:53. > :15:58.pointing those risks out. To take an example just from this morning, a
:15:59. > :16:01.new report from the Scotland Institute, which has examined the
:16:02. > :16:16.blunt financial troops that would face a separate Scotland. We may not
:16:17. > :16:18.like to hear it but having interviewed the main credit rating
:16:19. > :16:25.agencies, they say an independent Scotland
:16:26. > :16:42.There is a real cost to separation. Of Better Together is the strongest
:16:43. > :16:46.suit, given the triple a rating and given the speculation on rising
:16:47. > :16:56.interest rates being as much about the present situation. Even
:16:57. > :17:01.excluding North Sea oil output, only looking at onshore income, Scotland
:17:02. > :17:07.would qualify for our highest economic assessment. Scoring for the
:17:08. > :17:12.economic strength of an independent Scotland would like to fall
:17:13. > :17:16.somewhere in the high range. We know the volatility of growth, the is
:17:17. > :17:24.limited range of outcomes for GDP per capita but of all possible
:17:25. > :17:31.outcomes Scotland would be among the richest nations in the world. Do
:17:32. > :17:38.even people in the ratings agencies, not known for their sunny optimism,
:17:39. > :17:43.if the say this about Scotland and point out Scotland is one of the
:17:44. > :17:47.wealthiest countries in the world, cannot be Scottish Conservatives
:17:48. > :17:53.realise the potential of this economy and have confidence in our
:17:54. > :17:58.ability to capture the natural resources, combined with the
:17:59. > :18:10.strengths of the people and come up with a different assessment together
:18:11. > :18:15.with the assessment ratings? These views are being misrepresented. It
:18:16. > :18:19.sounds to me like the first minister thinks the Scotland Institute from
:18:20. > :18:28.that answer is wrong which means they join a long list. Since January
:18:29. > :18:32.he has stood up here and told as the former director-general of the EU
:18:33. > :18:36.Council is wrong, the governor of the Bank of England is wrong, the
:18:37. > :18:41.First Minister of Wales, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the
:18:42. > :18:46.Shadow Chancellor, the Confederation of British industry is wrong. The
:18:47. > :18:51.Barclays chief executive is wrong and the Chief Executive of London
:18:52. > :18:58.life, the Chief Executive of The Royal Bank of Scotland, BP and Asda
:18:59. > :19:05.are wrong. He said the Scottish Government's own oil figures were
:19:06. > :19:09.wrong, the Chief Executive of the Wear group was wrong, Scottish
:19:10. > :19:16.financial enterprise was wrong, Scottish engineering was wrong. He
:19:17. > :19:23.said the ISS, the Centre for Public policy, the Citigroup were wrong and
:19:24. > :19:29.finally he said the much celebrated Professor who is the government's
:19:30. > :19:41.own economic adviser was wrong, wrong, wrong. How does it feel to be
:19:42. > :19:45.so misunderstood? In fairness to the independent governor of the Bank of
:19:46. > :19:53.England, I have never said any such thing and I defended his beach. Mark
:19:54. > :19:57.Carney had to correct Tory MPs in the House of Commons who were
:19:58. > :20:09.similarly trying to misrepresent him as Bruce Davidson has. Perhaps the
:20:10. > :20:22.Labour Party with its strong connections historically... Order! I
:20:23. > :20:34.do accept that I have eight? About the ER. Right from the start I
:20:35. > :20:39.believed the Tories used OBR not just as part of the government but
:20:40. > :20:44.as part of the Conservative Party. I am quoting directly from Alistair
:20:45. > :20:50.Carling in the Financial Times in July 2010. The leader of the Better
:20:51. > :20:59.Together campaign until Murdo Fraser takes over, if that leader believes
:21:00. > :21:07.the OBR is an instrument of the Conservative Party, then am I not
:21:08. > :21:10.entitled to question why it gets all its forecasts wrong? Can the
:21:11. > :21:20.Conservative Party not realise some of the analysis of Mr Fraser? The
:21:21. > :21:32.analysis says because you lack confidence in the people of Scotland
:21:33. > :21:38.and the future of Scotland then the people of Scotland lack confidence
:21:39. > :21:42.in the Conservative Party. Murdo Fraser was to make a speech today
:21:43. > :21:54.calling for a federal UK if independence is rejected. Please do
:21:55. > :22:05.not use nicknames. The appearance of a young man from Aberdeenshire in a
:22:06. > :22:14.Isis video has shocked our community. The views of one person
:22:15. > :22:22.does not represent a whole community, will he join me in
:22:23. > :22:27.calling for solidarity? I leave and agree with that. One of the purposes
:22:28. > :22:32.of extremism is to seek to divide communities. It is something we have
:22:33. > :22:38.to be constantly vigilant about. Please Scotland have been active in
:22:39. > :22:45.engaging with and building strong communities. We should not and must
:22:46. > :22:52.not be seen as reflecting in any way mainstream opinion in any community
:22:53. > :23:00.in Scotland. We know how to reactions can be. The reaction to
:23:01. > :23:07.the airport attack in 2007 showed Scotland at its very best. We hope
:23:08. > :23:12.they will support our zero tolerance approach to hate crime against the
:23:13. > :23:21.Muslim community or any other minority group in Scotland. Can I
:23:22. > :23:27.ask what his response is to the report transitioning to a new
:23:28. > :23:32.Scottish state? I could not help but notice in Ruth Davidson's long list
:23:33. > :23:36.of people I disagree with, Fester Dunne levy miraculously disappeared
:23:37. > :23:41.banks to his important contribution to the referendum debate. It
:23:42. > :23:49.vindicates the Scottish Government's possession on moving
:23:50. > :23:57.towards an independent Scotland as outlined in our white paper. Neither
:23:58. > :24:00.Danny Alexander nor the Prime Minister nor Ruth Davidson have been
:24:01. > :24:11.able to get any satisfactory explanation. Sir Nicholas MacPherson
:24:12. > :24:17.has been described as a missed briefing of key DAT. I think it is
:24:18. > :24:27.about time we find out why this briefing was allowed to happen. The
:24:28. > :24:42.Professor came to his conclusions because of the government neglecting
:24:43. > :24:44.to arrive at a decision. Some of the misleading figures have been
:24:45. > :24:50.described as spectacularly inaccurate. The Prime Minister
:24:51. > :24:56.should come to Scotland and openly debate these issues, does he agree?
:24:57. > :25:02.I have to say, quoting from Professor Dunleavy's report,
:25:03. > :25:06.Whitehall has been forbidden to discuss issues with Scottish
:25:07. > :25:13.officials in case the conclusions suggest independence would not cause
:25:14. > :25:18.major problems. That is the analysis of the distinguished professor from
:25:19. > :25:21.the London School of economics. The Better Together campaign, since they
:25:22. > :25:27.were fighting Professor Dunne levy, the figure of 7.8 million was meant
:25:28. > :25:37.to be his figure, he has demolished it and accused the Treasury of
:25:38. > :25:43.exaggerating his work by a figure of 12. That is very generous. At what
:25:44. > :25:48.stage will any of the Unionist party leaders or any person in the Better
:25:49. > :25:54.Together campaign have seek to accept and admit they missed
:25:55. > :25:59.briefing of Professor Dunleavy's work? Perhaps Murdo Fraser when he
:26:00. > :26:09.addresses the speech tonight will address that very point. We await
:26:10. > :26:16.with bated breath! The cost was estimated at ?200 million if the
:26:17. > :26:24.defence forces was sheared with the UK until 2020, can he confirm if
:26:25. > :26:29.that is public policy? The member will find the full exposition of the
:26:30. > :26:34.defence costs and budget in chapter six of the White Paper. Just as it
:26:35. > :26:41.seemed to be unfortunate that his colleague did not seem to have read
:26:42. > :26:45.part on representation, I find it doubly disappointing that the same
:26:46. > :26:52.chapter has not been read apparently by anyone in the Lib Dems. Do some
:26:53. > :27:00.reading, some home work, and I will see you after the recess will stop I
:27:01. > :27:05.wonder what the First Minister's responses to Professor Dunleavy's
:27:06. > :27:11.colleague who put the cost at 1.25 million. Does the First Minister not
:27:12. > :27:16.understand that they feel you're his government have had to produce
:27:17. > :27:20.robust information leaves the people of Scotland to believe that the SNP
:27:21. > :27:25.would support independence regardless of the cost. I like rock
:27:26. > :27:29.I believe that the Labour Party wanted to sue this issue we would
:27:30. > :27:39.have heard from Joanne Lamb and earlier today. -- Johann Lamont. I
:27:40. > :27:44.would be interested to know how the Barnett formula is sheared across
:27:45. > :27:49.the Better Together parties. Professor Dunleavy has already
:27:50. > :27:56.responded and suggested why Ian McShane has been led astray. Given
:27:57. > :28:01.the obvious evidence that Professor Dunleavy's work, cited by the Better
:28:02. > :28:04.Together campaign and Danny Alexander, has been comprehensively
:28:05. > :28:10.demolished by Professor Dunleavy himself. Given that the source of
:28:11. > :28:14.the figure has set himself the figure was exaggerated by a factor
:28:15. > :28:22.of 12, at what stage will any of these parties admit they got it
:28:23. > :28:26.wrong? Do we have it. We are coming to the close of our coverage of
:28:27. > :28:39.First Minister's Questions. As expected, the was the granny about
:28:40. > :28:46.independence and funding. -- a rammy. The cheeky remark from the
:28:47. > :28:51.First Minister saying go and do your own work but we know what he means.
:28:52. > :29:07.From me for now, goodbye. and the truthfulness
:29:08. > :29:10.of establishments. Albatross?
:29:11. > :29:17.There it is. The albatross. The albatross is going to need
:29:18. > :29:20.a hair-styling.