27/09/2012 Politics Scotland

A warm welcome to the Scottish Parliament here at Holyrood.

Questions to the First Minister. But a different format today. For

one thing, the First Minister is not there. He is in Chicago for the

Ryder Cup. I would not be surprised if Nicola Sturgeon who is standing

in as the deputy, tries to turn around and put some questions of

Arend to Labour's Juana Lamont. That is after she said to things

like a free bus passes might not be able to be afforded by Scotland in

the future. I bet there is contention in the chamber. Let's

find out. Thank you, Brian. General questions are on going here. We

expect them to wrap up shortly. Christian number one, Joanna Lamond.

To ask the Deputy First Minister what plans she has for the rest of

the day. I will have meetings to take forward the plans for Scotland.

That includes personal care and bus travel for pensioners and

healthcare free at the point of need. The late Campbell Christie

was one of the finest trade Unionists this country has produced.

And man who fought uncaring Tory governments at every turn and

helped deliver this place to protect the people of Scotland. His

commission, his commission on the future delivery of public services,

written for this SNP government said, contentious issues such as

the continuation of universal entitlements must be considered

openly and transparently, rather than in a current polarised terms.

This is about the kind of fairness we want to reach for our

communities. With spending projected not to get even 2010

levels for another 15 years, and Scotland's population ageing, I

agree with Campbell Christie. I believe that debate about how we

made make choices care for people across Scotland must happen before

the referendum. Does Nicola Sturgeon? Deputy First Minister.

Order. That begs the question why a duo Wham Lamont has set up a

commission that reports before 2014. Can I agree with her? Can I agree

about the late Campbell Christie because he did have a tremendous

record about fighting uncaring Tory governments, if only there were

people on the Labour benches today. Presiding Officer, this government

makes its choices. We deliver balanced budgets to this Parliament,

balanced budgets that focus on growth, on protecting public

services and yes, yes, protecting the household budgets of families

who are struggling to make ends meet. We will be proud to protect

the council tax freeze. We will be proud to protect free education for

working-class young people. We will be proud to protect free personal

care and bus travel for our pensioners. If Joanna Lamond wants

to make that the dividing line of Scottish politics, I have one thing

to say to her, bring on. Order, order. For what Nicola Sturgeon

needs to understand, this is not a game about dividing lines. This is

not about her election will future. This is what is happening in our

communities across Scotland. She ought not to believe what has been

doctor tells her. We need an open and honest debate -- her spin-

doctor. If she does not want to agree with Campbell Christie and me,

maybe she will agree with one of her own. With her chief economic

adviser in another report commissioned by her government. He

said free services, concessionary travel, prescription charges, eye

examinations, tuition fees are commendable but simply may no

longer be affordable. But critically, he added a debate needs

to be had on whether those who can afford to pay might be invited to

do so, thus allowing better targeting of those most in need.

The fact of the matter is, her own Minister, Alex Neil, when he got

rid of the universal provision of central heating systems said, it

would be inappropriate to use scarce resources to provide free

central heating systems for some of our retired bankers, for example,

who exceed -- who receive substantial benefits. This is not

an issue of the principle of universality, it is critically a

calculation, and electoral calculation by Nicola Sturgeon. Y

when she have the debate demanded by Campbell Christie and beverage

and make sure we have that debate this side of the referendum?

should make no mistake. I relish this debate. I think she is on

pretty dodgy ground invoking spin- doctors into this debate. Within 20

minutes of her making her brave speech on Tuesday, she had

dispatched her spin doctors to say, she did not really mean police

numbers, she did not really mean bus travel for pensioners, she did

not really mean free personal care, except after midwinter has told the

truth today. He has told the truth today. There are lots of things you

can call that kind of approach from Labour. Shambolic is the word which

springs to my mind. Let me tell Johann Lamont something for free.

It is not brave and it is not honest. Yes, it is not easy to

deliver balanced budgets where those budgets have been cut by the

Tories. That is why we are queue for the control of our own

resources. Joanna Lamond's answer to that is to pass on Tory cuts.

Professor Arthur midwinter will be advising on this issue. The Deputy

First Minister might decide these things sound good in here but it

sounds like a lot of nonsense. Order! I agree with the Deputy

First Minister that the budget has been cut, but if the budget has

been cut, why does she stick with the same priorities that she set

out in 2007? If there are cuts, the dispute is not whether there are

cuts or not which is the way Nicola Sturgeon wants to present it, it is

about which cuts you make in tough times. Let me explain what real

people think. Nicola Sturgeon lives in a household with an income of

more than �200,000 a year. She gets free prescriptions. Free

prescriptions cost �57 million a year. How many nurses is that? Like

me, she will have saved more than �400 from the council tax freeze.

Yet my children's school and schools across the country are

getting to the stage where they cannot even do the basics like

photocopying materials. If spending cuts threaten the kind of free care

for the elderly that we want to deliver, is it fair that women like

her on 200 grand get free prescriptions? Is it fair that the

sturgeon household, on 200,000 a year get universal benefits when

families on average earnings pay more for child care than they do

for their mortgage? Labour are obviously more out of touch than I

thought they were. Let me remind her that under the system of

prescription charges, that she and her party presided over, people

earning as little as �16,000 a year pay prescription charges. That is

why it is fair to abolish prescription charges. On the

council tax freeze, if Labour think the council tax freeze is so wrong,

if they think it is doing so much damage, then why is it that just

five months ago in the local government elections, Labour

promised to continue the council tax freeze. I have it here.

Labour's Glasgow manifesto, 100 things we will do, number one on

the list, continued to freeze council tax for the next five years.

Jawline Lamont likes to talk about honesty but if she was being honest

then, by definition she is being deeply dishonest now. We know that

your council tax freezes underfunded and what we now have to

confront, I have been to too many meetings listening to care workers

describing their lives now and their terms and conditions. I have

listened to many carers mopping up for the fact that budgets have been

cut to stay silent on this issue. Talk about not opening the gas bill

but putting it in the drawer. That is what Nicola Sturgeon is doing

with the nation's bills. And let me tell her, as every decent household

knows, that never ends well. These are serious times. You said you

want a debate, have won. Let the people of Scotland to choose. If

she closes the debate, if she shuts down the debate, she had better

explained to the carer told they can only care for a pensioner for

15 minutes of why that is happening. To the Sun why that is the only

care his mother gets. To the child a cannot have the classroom support

they required to maintain their child in mainstream education.

There is a public spending crisis happening now and it is going to

get worse and she should face up to it. Yes, the Tories are cutting the

budget, but within that budget, we will all be judged about the

choices we make, whether it is our benefits or the needs of the people

of this country. She should get that and she she changed her mind

Can I remind Johann Lamont gently that the people in Scotland did

choose in May 2011, the overwhelmingly chose free

prescription charges, a freeze on the council tax and free university

education for working-class kids. I say that to Johann Lamont that if

she is saying she wants to reverse all these policies, don't set up a

commission, have the guts to say so and that the people of Scotland

choose after that. But don't just listen to me about this, let's have

a look at some of the reaction from Labour posters on a blog site. What

are we doing? Did we learn nothing from the New Labour nonsense? This

is not a speech based on any reasonable interpretation of Labour

values. This is what Labour members have to say. But all is not lost

for Johann Lamont because Murdo Fraser was quick to take to put a.

What he said was, good to see Johann Lamont warming to Tormey

policies. -- to Tory policies. We can laugh, but you know what, it is

actually quite tragic. Johann Lamont, poster girl for the Tories.

Whatever happened to Labour? We used to have New Labour but now we

have got Johann Lamont, New Blair. Question number two. Ruth Davidson.

Thank you presiding Officer. To ask the Deputy First Minister when she

will next meet the Prime Minister. I have no plans to meet with the

Prime Minister in the immediate future. Thank you. I would like to

thank both of the Honourable leaders for finally, belatedly

bringing the debate on the grounds that the Conservatives have been

talking about since before the last election. Order, let us hear the

member, please. I am pleased the Deputy Presiding Officer wished to

remind the chamber that there was one party which was not taking part

in a Dutch auction in 2011, who had found ideas for prescription

charges, council tax and student funding. But last week, the finance

secretary gave us what he said would be a Budget for growth. He

gave it a quick build up. He took to the newspapers and the airwaves

and said every penny would be put towards the economy. That was a

Budget which fell apart in 24 hours, which has been decried by the

leading economist Professor David Bell. It has been decried by the

construction industry chiefs and even by the Parliament's own

independent service. Let's give the Deputy First Minister a chance to

repair the damage. Can she tell me now, what is the big game changer

in 2013 / 14, to give the Scottish economy the beast which John

I do agree with one thing. The Conservatives have always talked

about cuts and penalising hard- working families. As regards the

Dutch auction, I seem to remember she used to claim credit for at the

council tax threes, so she should never look back at some of her

previous speeches. It was the Budget focused on getting growth in

that our economy - �40 million per year in housing and more funding in

schools, Green Investment, adding to the capital programme we have

this year. That is what we are doing to accelerate construction

and get growth and jobs in that our economy. She mention Michael, he

actually welcomed the steps we are taking and said that the United

Kingdom Government needs to do more. So perhaps she should get on the

phone to the Prime Minister to ask him to do his bit. She clearly to

read the press relief. The �80 million for schools would not taken

until the year after and the money for housing was to compensate for

the funds which had already been taken out of the programme. At the.

The budget was being picked apart, he was speaking to Scholl and's

accountants but what he told on was he was going to correct his own

leaders work in January to say that a separate Scotland would take

called a share of the multi- Chilean banking industry. This

follows the gaffe by Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP's economic

illiteracy. This week has proved that not only does this government

able to make a budget for today, but they have no idea to construct

a financial system for the future. The at the back of the cigarette

packet government and talk about this mythical white paper we are

Rollitt expected to seek at the end of next year. If the Scottish

National Party is asking everyone to trust them, but they will not

tell how they will keep that money saved, it can be Deputy First

Minister tell us in pounds and pennies how much of this they are

willing to take on? I would ask her to listen carefully to my answer.

Not for the first time, Ruth Davidson has got it spectacularly

wrong. Not only has the Scottish National Party, John Swinney,

myself and the First Minister that the Scotland would take their fair

share of any bail-out associated with the banks. The net borrowing

for the bank bail-out, the population share for Scotland, is

already included in the figures. It is already there. These very same

figures show that Scotland has the relative Supplies, in other words,

an independent Scotland would be richer than we are now it - another

good reason to vote yes. Without wishing to prejudge regarding the

death of Mike colleague in Council, six complaints have been upheld by

the care can spectre it, it would appear that too many care companies

are burdened by too many clients. Will we take a look into this

issue? The the death of Mr Gibson, I am sure on behalf of everyone in

the chamber I would pass on the condolences to his family. There is

an investigation been lodged by the police and I think it is important

that we do not pre-empt any decision on that. I think it is

absolutely essential that we have the robust system of inspection.

When I was Health Secretary, I took steps to strengthen the care

inspectorate that we haven't this country. Some suggestions that

Malcolm made were taken for work by this government. We will wait until

the outcome of the investigation and if there is action to be taken,

I can give Malcolm Chisholm an absolute assurance that this

government will not hesitate to take these steps. Catt I asked the

Deputy First Minister, given the recent storms in the likes of

Peebles, what process around place to provide the necessary resilience

to assist the councils in the affected regions? I am confident

that they coped well on this occasion. It was described in a BBC

as the worst September storm for 13 years. We work very closely with

local authorities had a space that those most affected, in the Borders

and Lothians. We want to ensure that at all times we take the

appropriate response. Anna liked to commend both Lothian And Borders

Police and council for the prompt action be to to prevent further

problems for the public. One issues will be discussed at their next

meeting of the Cabinet? Can I first take the opportunity to wish him a

happy birthday. He shares a birthday with the leader of the

Liberal Democrat Party! Can we let the birth the boys beaky, please!

It is good news that the Scottish government is focusing on nursery

education. Save the children tell us that children from disadvantaged

backgrounds have already fallen behind. If we want to give them a

chance, will we increase provision for two year-olds, does the Deputy

First Minister think that her plans to to increase the numbers of two

eels by only one % will be enough to bridge that gap? K A D that

making sure that we are providing education in the early years for

children is of paramount importance. I think our record is extremely

good and that regard. We have expanded three nursery education by

15 % and we have extended the free school meals entitlement to more

children and of course, we have pledged to increase from 475 course

entitlement to a minimum of 600 are worse for all three and four year-

olds. I do believe that is the sound package of support, but I

also accept that the most vulnerable children and the

youngest of those, we always have to be working towards increasing

the support and giving our young children the best possible start in

life. Sandra White knew all that, but has demanded that more needs to

be done. They are going to give nursery education to fork out of 10

to year-old. If it is only so small in Scotland, an entire generation

will miss out. It is the gap in provision and appeal to her that

the government plans should be reviewed so that the younger

children do not miss out. Can I say, the package of a early years here

this government is pledged to deal there is greater than what is being

delivered south of the border. The Government in England is not

providing 600 years at -- $600 per year. But I agreed this is

something we could build some cross-party consensus on. We needed

to as much as possible for our young bomb rubble children. That is

why we have set up the early years Exchange Fund. These things always

be kept under review so that we make sure we have taken all

reasonable steps we can. What progress is being made for reducing

waiting times for drug misuse? waiting time showing that the

target of seen 90 % of patients within three weeks has been

achieved. Await of over six months used to be not uncommon. We are

seeing an increase in from line drugs services and there has been

the �30.2 million allocated to health boards to tackle this,

representing an increase of over one third in the last six years.

do congratulate the professionals for working so hard to achieve it

those targets. Can I ask the First Minister of what the next stage of

this strategy will be? Given the progress we have made for drum-kit

waiting time targets, the next phase of the delivery and recovery

will focus on sustaining the excellent progress which has been

made and that we remain the quality across all services in Scotland. We

have set new standards for drug and alcohol services and these will be

focused on recovery and development. What support as the Government give

to colleges that may urge? -- that may emerge. The Ayr is a 17 %

increase in funding for colleges in 2013-14. Are �15 million College

transformation fund provides significant support support for or

colleges wishing to merge. Through our college exchange team, we are

working closely with individual regions to assist in all issues.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, at this week's meeting of the

Cultural Committee, it was said at the economic recovery will be

stifled by cuts to college budgets. Neil friendly should listen

carefully and look carefully at what we're doing to protect college

places. That is what matters most to young people around Scotland. We

are also doing what we can to ensure that both revenue funding

and capital funding will deliver a substantial investment in

Scotland's colleges. That is what people want from the Government

operating in tough times. That is exactly what this government is

doing. How will the Government ensure that patients with heart

conditions get treatment comparable with those in the rest of the

United Kingdom. In N H S column provides high-quality care in heart

disease. Only today, he told Dr described the cardiology services

in Scotland as "second to none". More patients are getting better

treatment and the waiting times for treatment have fallen. We published

the action pant in 2009 and supported some plummy

implementation. -- and the action plan. Scholl and is lagging behind

the rest of the United Kingdom. One technique of vital benefit is

cardiac rehabilitation -- and in expects inexpensive treatment which

can help prolong life. Will funding be increased for cardiac cardiac

rehabilitation. I absolutely agree. I have been able to visit many

cardiac rehabilitation groups across the country, which is why I

am delighted to say that access for cardiac rehabilitation for heart

attack patients has increased substantially in the last two years.