:00:20. > :00:26.Hello and a very warm welcome to Holyrood for our live coverage of
:00:27. > :00:32.First Minister's questions will stop a very busy day but a lot of the
:00:33. > :00:35.action is actually taking place 130 miles north of here in Aberdeen
:00:36. > :00:42.wearing new city deal has been signed. ?500 million of funding for
:00:43. > :00:48.the north-east. Half from the UK Government, half from the Scottish
:00:49. > :00:51.Government. Also, Doctor's leaders have been accusing the Scottish
:00:52. > :00:56.Government saying they think they are dispensable. That may come up
:00:57. > :01:01.to. Let's listen in now two-year what Kezia Dugdale might have to
:01:02. > :01:14.say. We are just finishing general questions at the moment.
:01:15. > :01:19.In terms of any of the issues within the discussion paper, as I said
:01:20. > :01:23.earlier to Paul Martin, none of those issues have been formally put
:01:24. > :01:29.forward for consideration and not to me either. He mentioned backlog
:01:30. > :01:32.maintenance, I think it was, I will write to him on the detail of that
:01:33. > :01:37.but there has been a lot of progress made on the higher risk by
:01:38. > :01:44.prioritising that but I will write to the member with more detail on
:01:45. > :01:51.that particular issue. We now move to First Minister's
:01:52. > :01:55.questions. Kezia Dugdale. To ask the First Minister what engagements she
:01:56. > :02:01.has planned for the rest of the day. I will take forward the Government's
:02:02. > :02:05.programme for Scotland. The ?379 million contribution we are making
:02:06. > :02:14.to the funding package to help boost economic growth in Aberdeen and
:02:15. > :02:19.Aberdeenshire. And that is investment that the Labour Party
:02:20. > :02:24.very much welcomes. The NHS is our most precious public institution.
:02:25. > :02:28.The dedicated staff which helped to work in the service helped to bring
:02:29. > :02:34.us into this world and they care for as in our time of need. The delivery
:02:35. > :02:37.of NHS services depends on having motivated and well supported staff
:02:38. > :02:44.but this week the scale of the pressure on our NHS because of SNP
:02:45. > :02:47.cuts and mismanagement was exposed. The Royal College of General
:02:48. > :02:51.practitioners warned of a deepening crisis and the RCN said they needed
:02:52. > :02:59.to be a change in the health service and quickly. Our NHS is at breaking
:03:00. > :03:05.point. Hard-working, loyal staff are crying out for help. I wonder if the
:03:06. > :03:14.First Minister can tell me how many days were lost in our NHS last year
:03:15. > :03:21.due to staff stress. Firstly, I agree that the NHS is our most
:03:22. > :03:25.valued, most cherished, most precious public service. I also
:03:26. > :03:28.agree that it could not be delivered without the dedication and
:03:29. > :03:33.contribution of the staff working in our National Health Service. That is
:03:34. > :03:37.why I am very proud that since this government took office in 2007, we
:03:38. > :03:43.have seen an increase in the number of people working in our health
:03:44. > :03:50.service of 10,500 people. We are also increasing the budget of the
:03:51. > :03:53.NHS next year by ?500 million. As well as that investment, we set a
:03:54. > :03:57.very detailed plans about how we want to reshape and reform the
:03:58. > :04:04.National Health Service to build a social care, so ?250 million will be
:04:05. > :04:09.invested in social care. We also want to improve primary and
:04:10. > :04:14.community care to keep people out of hospital, but when people have to go
:04:15. > :04:17.into hospital we plan five new treatment centres so they can get
:04:18. > :04:24.back it quickly and efficiently. Kezia Dugdale mention comments from
:04:25. > :04:26.the College of GPs and the RCN and we listened very carefully to what
:04:27. > :04:33.both these organisations have to say. She omitted to mention the
:04:34. > :04:36.comment from yesterday of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine which
:04:37. > :04:41.said that the UK has the best performing A services in the world
:04:42. > :04:45.and Scotland has the best of forming a handy services in the UK. I think
:04:46. > :04:55.we should say a massive thank you to our NHS for that. I asked the First
:04:56. > :04:58.Minister about the stress that NHS staff are under and she just clapped
:04:59. > :05:06.herself on the back as a result of all that. And yet again, that was a
:05:07. > :05:11.long response but not actually an answer to that question I asked. Let
:05:12. > :05:16.media to the answer. Figures obtained by Scottish Labour show
:05:17. > :05:24.that last year NHS staff lost more than 287 thousand days because of
:05:25. > :05:28.stress. That is an increase of 21% compared with just two years ago.
:05:29. > :05:35.And this really matters because it was vital NHS services facing SNP
:05:36. > :05:41.cuts under even more pressure. One of those services is a children's
:05:42. > :05:43.Ward at St John's Hospital in Livingston which is currently under
:05:44. > :05:48.review and potentially under threat of closure. I know the First
:05:49. > :05:52.Minister will tell as it is a decision for the health board but
:05:53. > :05:57.she has overruled officials before and she should do so again now. I
:05:58. > :06:02.constituents would like a simple yes or no answer to this question. Can
:06:03. > :06:07.the First Minister confirm once and for all that she will not allow the
:06:08. > :06:14.children's ward at St John's to be either closed or downgraded?
:06:15. > :06:20.Firstly, can I say in response to the point about stress of people
:06:21. > :06:23.working in our NHS, I started my answer to Kezia Dugdale by
:06:24. > :06:29.recognising the contribution of those who work in our NHS. This was
:06:30. > :06:32.a point she chose to ignore but since this government took office,
:06:33. > :06:39.there has been an increase in the number of people working in our NHS
:06:40. > :06:41.of 10,000 500. What we have in this chamber is a divide between the
:06:42. > :06:45.Labour Party will come here and present what they would describe as
:06:46. > :06:50.problems and an SNP government getting on with the job of
:06:51. > :06:54.delivering the solutions for our NHS and other public services in
:06:55. > :06:58.Scotland. And on the question of St John's Hospital, Kezia Dugdale's
:06:59. > :07:03.first question was asking me to listen to the Royal College of GPs,
:07:04. > :07:09.the Royal College of Nursing which I said we always do, but her second
:07:10. > :07:14.question was asking me to say now, before an independent review has
:07:15. > :07:18.concluded, that I will ignore any recommendations for the Royal
:07:19. > :07:23.College of paediatrics, which is the body carrying out the independent
:07:24. > :07:28.review. I will take absolutely no lectures from Scottish Labour when
:07:29. > :07:34.it comes to St John's Hospital in Livingston because when I took
:07:35. > :07:38.office as Health Secretary in 2007, Labour had taken away from St John's
:07:39. > :07:43.Hospital services like trauma orthopaedics and emergency surgery,
:07:44. > :07:47.there were concerns locally that St John's was going to be downgraded
:07:48. > :07:53.from being an Acute Hospital, Sibley even closed as a hospital. Since
:07:54. > :08:00.then, this government has protected A services in St John's with
:08:01. > :08:05.consultant cover extended, we have invested ?3 million on a new MRI
:08:06. > :08:12.scanner, we have invested ?7 million in capital funding, there has been a
:08:13. > :08:19.?300,000 investment in rest between services, we have refurbished the
:08:20. > :08:22.baby unit, we opened a new laboratory medical training school,
:08:23. > :08:28.we invested ?3.3 million in an endoscopy unit, we opened and eating
:08:29. > :08:31.disorders unit and of the five new elective treatment centres that we
:08:32. > :08:39.plan over the next Parliament, one of them is planned to be at St
:08:40. > :08:43.John's Hospital. This government has protected St John's Hospital is from
:08:44. > :08:56.the proposed cuts from the last Labour government. Order! Kezia
:08:57. > :09:01.Dugdale. Presiding Officer, is she so good at protecting services at St
:09:02. > :09:09.John's, why can't cheaper deck the Children's Hospital? Isn't that
:09:10. > :09:14.difficult? -- why can't she protect? The truth is, St John's is not being
:09:15. > :09:19.reviewed or closed, it is just being re-profile. Actually, people can see
:09:20. > :09:32.that this government is pulling the wool over their rise because it was
:09:33. > :09:35.just this week... Order! Just this week we had e-mails uncovered by my
:09:36. > :09:41.colleague Neil Findlay revealing that the Health Secretary had been
:09:42. > :09:46.pressurising officials to delay a decision in St John's until after
:09:47. > :09:50.the election and now we know the First Minister will guarantee that
:09:51. > :09:55.the children's ward will stay open. Taking unpopular decisions into the
:09:56. > :10:00.long grass is becoming a hallmark of this government and it is not just
:10:01. > :10:05.in the Lothians. We know that NHS Glasgow and Clyde is preparing for
:10:06. > :10:10.budget cuts of up to ?16 million including the closure of services
:10:11. > :10:13.and cuts to staff numbers. The First Minister has it within her power to
:10:14. > :10:19.stop this happening. She can protect the children's ward. She can secure
:10:20. > :10:26.emergency care and protect NHS staff numbers in Glasgow. Can the First
:10:27. > :10:30.Minister give today a 100% guarantee right now that all of these services
:10:31. > :10:40.will be protected in their current form? I hate to be the bearer of bad
:10:41. > :10:48.news, I was the Health Secretary that saved Lightburn Hospital in
:10:49. > :10:53.Glasgow. That is possibly one of the many facts that has just escaped
:10:54. > :10:58.Kezia Dugdale's preparation for today's First Minister's question.
:10:59. > :11:02.It is really good when you are asking questions to be able to adapt
:11:03. > :11:07.the questions in response to the detailed factual answers that you
:11:08. > :11:12.get. The truth is that this is the Government that has protected St
:11:13. > :11:17.John's Hospital, protected it from the cuts that were planned to it by
:11:18. > :11:20.the last Labour administration. We will go on taking the decisions that
:11:21. > :11:28.protect St John's Hospital and hospitals right around our country.
:11:29. > :11:31.Finally, last week, if memory serves me correctly, Kezia Dugdale was
:11:32. > :11:36.asking me to invest more money in local authorities, today she is
:11:37. > :11:40.asking us to put more money into the National Health Service. She is yet
:11:41. > :11:45.to tell us where any of this extra money is coming from. I will issue
:11:46. > :11:51.an open invitation to her today. This is the draft budget. I am happy
:11:52. > :11:54.to pass it over and if Kezia Dugdale wants to send it back to meet
:11:55. > :12:03.marking where Labour wants to cut things in this budget I will be
:12:04. > :12:07.happy to listen. The fact is, we don't get any ideas from Kezia
:12:08. > :12:11.Dugdale or Labour, we just get whingeing from the sidelines. The
:12:12. > :12:26.focus group that Labour tried to suppress this week says voters
:12:27. > :12:31.recall Labour... Order! Order! It is OK, I was not going to quote this
:12:32. > :12:35.for Scottish voters, Labour is indistinguishable from the Tories,
:12:36. > :12:40.just less competent. What I was going to quote is this one, voters
:12:41. > :12:45.recall Labour trotting out a long list of policies with no conviction
:12:46. > :12:50.that they could deliver them. Nothing, absolutely nothing has
:12:51. > :13:00.changed. That shower is not fit for opposition let alone government.
:13:01. > :13:05.Kezia Dugdale. She read one quote from a focus group, the only person
:13:06. > :13:10.acting like a Tory this week is John Sweeney who is forcing posterity on
:13:11. > :13:26.all the councils across Scotland. Order! Order! And again, Presiding
:13:27. > :13:30.Officer, in a very specific question about services in our hospitals
:13:31. > :13:33.across the country, there was no direct commitment to save these
:13:34. > :13:39.services and that will be noted by everyone. The First Minister has the
:13:40. > :13:43.chance to provide much-needed relief to staff and families across the
:13:44. > :13:47.country, she could have guaranteed that the proposed cuts to NHS
:13:48. > :13:51.services would not take place. She did not do that today's order that
:13:52. > :13:56.message go out to people across the Lothians, two patients in Glasgow
:13:57. > :14:00.and Paisley, to families in Dunbartonshire and people the length
:14:01. > :14:05.and breadth of this country. Isn't it the case that while the SNP say
:14:06. > :14:13.they will protect the NHS, they are threatening our local services with
:14:14. > :14:17.the axe. Yet again we have from Labour whingeing about what the SNP,
:14:18. > :14:23.in their view, is doing wrong, with no concrete proposals of what we
:14:24. > :14:27.need to do differently. I am going to be asking Parliament, John
:14:28. > :14:30.Sweeney is going to be asking Parliament in a few weeks' time to
:14:31. > :14:38.vote for a budget that delivers extra funding of ?500 million to the
:14:39. > :14:41.NHS next year, and for the first time the budget for the health
:14:42. > :14:49.portfolio is going to reach ?13 billion. I think when we took office
:14:50. > :14:53.in one ?9 billion. There are 10,500 more people waiting today in our
:14:54. > :14:59.NHS. We protected local services that Labour were planning to close.
:15:00. > :15:07.Does anyone remember A units facing the axe? This SNP government
:15:08. > :15:10.save them. I am more than happy to the health record of this government
:15:11. > :15:13.or the people of Scotland in a couple of months' time and ask them
:15:14. > :15:21.to judge it against the woeful record and the woeful present record
:15:22. > :15:26.of this Labour opposition. Question number two. To ask the First
:15:27. > :15:34.Minister when she will next meet the Secretary of State for Scotland. No
:15:35. > :15:37.plans at present. The long anticipated Aberdeen city region
:15:38. > :15:41.deal will be signed today, paving the way for a ?250 investment
:15:42. > :15:47.package in Aberdeenshire economy. It is good to see the north-east
:15:48. > :15:51.getting the help that it needs to support jobs. So I welcome today's
:15:52. > :15:56.deal and I hope it holds out for a brighter future for the city and
:15:57. > :16:01.Shire. On top of this, the Scottish Government has announced extra
:16:02. > :16:04.infrastructure funding, including ?200 million to increase capacity on
:16:05. > :16:10.Kiwi links between Aberdeen and the Central Belt. That work has been on
:16:11. > :16:14.the books since 2007, the entire lifetime of the Scottish Government.
:16:15. > :16:17.Can the First Minister confirmed that this money is new, when it is
:16:18. > :16:22.raised and when the work will be carried out?
:16:23. > :16:28.All of the money we have announced today will be available to Aberdeen
:16:29. > :16:33.and Aberdeenshire I over the same timescale as the City Deal. There
:16:34. > :16:42.has been a funding package of ?504 million provided today, ?125 million
:16:43. > :16:46.of that is coming from the UK Government and ?379 million is
:16:47. > :16:50.coming from the Scottish Government. There is many transport projects we
:16:51. > :16:55.want to do but in order to do them we have to prioritise them and find
:16:56. > :16:58.the money. What we are doing today is committing the money for
:16:59. > :17:03.improvements that will speed up rail links between the central belt and
:17:04. > :17:10.Aberdeen and I would hope a Ruth Davidson would welcome that. We are
:17:11. > :17:16.also announcing money for road funding, we are also giving
:17:17. > :17:20.certainty to Aberdeen, which other councils don't have, about the
:17:21. > :17:23.housing investment over the next five years, announcing money for
:17:24. > :17:27.housing infrastructure and additional money to help with
:17:28. > :17:31.digital connections. That is a good package. I will be in Aberdeen on
:17:32. > :17:35.Monday committing further announcements about how we will
:17:36. > :17:42.focus on helping oil and gas sector in particular. I would like to thank
:17:43. > :17:46.the First Minister for that reply. Our party is for a healthy
:17:47. > :17:50.competition so I am delighted to see the Scottish Government is trying to
:17:51. > :17:56.outdo the UK Government today. It is imported the two governments work
:17:57. > :18:00.together and this is exactly the kind of partnership most people in
:18:01. > :18:04.Scotland want to see. However, I can't let this moment pass without
:18:05. > :18:07.reason one key point. If the First Minister have a heart week we would
:18:08. > :18:15.brighten up the eight weeks away from separation and I would like to
:18:16. > :18:20.ask in all honesty what situation she thinks is better for Scotland
:18:21. > :18:25.today. The one we currently have with all the resources of our
:18:26. > :18:31.Government stepping in to help the oil industry, or the one she
:18:32. > :18:37.supported out with the UK and Scottish finance is about to be
:18:38. > :18:42.blown to pieces. This Government, parliament and this country having
:18:43. > :18:47.all the powers we need to draw our country is by far the better
:18:48. > :18:53.position to be in. -- draw our country. Given the Prime Minister
:18:54. > :18:58.will be in Aberdeen today I can't let this moment passed either. That
:18:59. > :19:04.is a lot of focus on what the Yes campaign said about oil during the
:19:05. > :19:11.referendum campaign. Much to my regret the Yes campaign had not won,
:19:12. > :19:14.the No campaign one. So maybe we should look at what they said about
:19:15. > :19:26.oil during the referendum. This is what David Cameron said in February
:19:27. > :20:01.20 14. ?200 million oil in Aberdeen, in
:20:02. > :20:10.third of the investment that has gone into the net. Does the Bosman
:20:11. > :20:17.is that share my view that Aberdeen deserves more than the 125 million
:20:18. > :21:57.they have allocated, considering the Treasury has benefited
:21:58. > :22:01.they have allocated, considering the would be an undeserved fate to be
:22:02. > :22:08.highly skilled and committed workforce at the client. And indeed
:22:09. > :22:13.to an already fragile Inverclyde economy. A glimmer of hope does
:22:14. > :22:18.exist. We still have time to attract new orders to the client. Will the
:22:19. > :22:23.First Minister take this opportunity to commit the Scottish Government
:22:24. > :22:26.and its agencies to play a full role in the task force set up by
:22:27. > :22:34.Inverclyde Council leader yesterday, in order that we can apply to a new
:22:35. > :22:39.order to secure those jobs and indeed address the underlying
:22:40. > :22:44.fragility of the Inverclyde economy? Yes, I will give those commitments
:22:45. > :22:48.in the field. I appreciate this will be a very worrying time for
:22:49. > :22:53.employees of Texas Instruments and their families. As he rightly points
:22:54. > :22:58.out, they have made clear they want to sell the plant as an ongoing
:22:59. > :23:03.concern and saving as many of the jobs as possible and they made clear
:23:04. > :23:08.they would not anticipate any jobs being lost until late 2017. That
:23:09. > :23:12.does mean we have an important window of opportunity to work with
:23:13. > :23:18.the company to do everything we can to find a buyer that will maintain
:23:19. > :23:21.jobs. We will work with the company to explore all possible options for
:23:22. > :23:24.supporting the bitterness and retaining jobs at the Scottish
:23:25. > :23:33.Government will be fully engaged in their work as well. We have done to
:23:34. > :23:36.the leader of Inverclyde Council, saying the Scottish Government will
:23:37. > :23:40.support the task force in any way we can and suggesting a meeting on
:23:41. > :23:44.Monday of next week so we will do everything we can to preserve this
:23:45. > :23:50.company and the jobs in it and no stone will be left unturned by this
:23:51. > :23:54.Government or our agencies. Can I ask the First Minister what the
:23:55. > :23:58.Scottish Government's response is to the Committee on Climate Change's
:23:59. > :24:06.concerns that climate change spending is set to be reduced in
:24:07. > :24:11.2016-17? We continue to spend significant sums on climate change
:24:12. > :24:16.mitigation, supporting progress toward our world leading targets.
:24:17. > :24:19.The UK Government, as is widely recognised, it's happening the
:24:20. > :24:23.renewable energy sector and putting at risk millions of pounds of
:24:24. > :24:27.investment in the UK and Scottish economy. If they kept their previous
:24:28. > :24:32.commitments the viability of many projects would not now be in
:24:33. > :24:36.question. In addition the UK Government's decision to cut the
:24:37. > :24:41.dream deal of improvement fund directly led to a ?15 million cut in
:24:42. > :24:52.support for energy efficiency. -- fund. Across the areas we have seen
:24:53. > :24:56.an overall increase of our budgets of ?13.3 million. The question was
:24:57. > :25:02.actually about the Scottish budget. Everyone who has looked at her
:25:03. > :25:07.budget will see climate change funding has been hammered, ?50
:25:08. > :25:13.million less. In 2013 at the Green budget was released for other
:25:14. > :25:18.projects and in 2015 funds were reallocated as well. When the First
:25:19. > :25:22.Minister got off the plane from Paris and said the rest of the world
:25:23. > :25:28.should be like car, did she want them to hammer the climate change
:25:29. > :25:32.budgets to? If she had been listening he would have the my
:25:33. > :25:37.answer was about the Scottish Government budget. If you exclude
:25:38. > :25:43.the changes to the budget necessitated by changes to UK energy
:25:44. > :25:46.policy, we can spend money on things that UK energy policy does not allow
:25:47. > :25:53.us to spend money on. Then you see that Scottish budget is spending as
:25:54. > :25:58.increased. That is the reality. I would hope that Jim Hume,
:25:59. > :26:04.notwithstanding his party's previous coalition with the Conservative
:26:05. > :26:12.Party, with Scottish in arguing the UK Government's changes to funding
:26:13. > :26:22.is harmful to the environment and also the Scottish and UK economies.
:26:23. > :26:27.Pat Carvey. The First Minister once again described Scotland's target as
:26:28. > :26:32.world leading, but the world is living from week to themselves is
:26:33. > :26:36.special to the 1.5 Celsius vegetable. The world is moving
:26:37. > :26:42.toward greater ambition and the Scottish budget seems to be going in
:26:43. > :26:48.the other direction. Why can we do get seriously? That is not the case.
:26:49. > :26:50.If we take out the impact of UK Government policy we are increasing
:26:51. > :27:00.our commitment to meeting change targets. I am convinced we have a
:27:01. > :27:02.responsibility to do that. When I was in Paris it was not just me
:27:03. > :27:11.talking about about targets and performance, it was other countries
:27:12. > :27:15.describing Scotland's performance as world leading. We have a
:27:16. > :27:22.responsibility to intensify and accelerate about work if we too are
:27:23. > :27:29.played, play, part in tackling climate change. I am determined we
:27:30. > :27:31.do exactly. Ask the First Minister if the Scottish Government will
:27:32. > :27:37.provide an update on the fiscal framework? The Deputy First Minister
:27:38. > :27:45.met the Treasury to discuss this last week. Discussions have been
:27:46. > :27:47.ongoing all of this week and the Deputy First Minister will be the
:27:48. > :27:51.Chief Secretary to the Treasury next week again to try and get a fair
:27:52. > :27:55.deal for Scotland on the fiscal framework. At what a deal on the
:27:56. > :28:00.fiscal framework and want Scotland to get the additional powers that
:28:01. > :28:06.were promised but I will not sign up to an agreement that is unfair to
:28:07. > :28:14.the people of Scotland. Kenneth Gibson. Does she agree it is of
:28:15. > :28:20.crucial importance to get the balance right and these negotiations
:28:21. > :28:26.to ensure the Smith principle is not a detriment to Scotland. Does she
:28:27. > :28:32.share my astonishment that Tory MSPs have been urging her to sign a deal
:28:33. > :28:35.regardless of not whether it is good for Scotland, showing once again
:28:36. > :28:40.that the Tories always put the interests of London first, over
:28:41. > :28:44.those of Scotland? I agree with that. The Scottish Government is
:28:45. > :28:50.working in good faith to try and deliver a deal but is there to
:28:51. > :28:54.Scotland and the UK on issues like the grand adjustment, setup costs,
:28:55. > :28:58.capital borrowing, dispute resolution, all of these issues are
:28:59. > :29:05.important that we will not sign up to a deal that systematically cuts
:29:06. > :29:09.Scotland's and budgets. The big question now is whether the Tory
:29:10. > :29:13.Government in London is also going to act in good faith to get that
:29:14. > :29:18.deal. I am not sure I am astonished Tory MPs are asking us to sign up to
:29:19. > :29:24.a deal that will not be good for Scotland but I am aghast that Labour
:29:25. > :29:27.appears to be asking us to do that. This is a negotiation between the
:29:28. > :29:31.Scottish Government and public treasury and it is astounding how
:29:32. > :29:39.quickly Scottish Labour defaults to take the side of the Tory Treasury.
:29:40. > :29:46.It seems the Better Together Alliance is all well. What action is
:29:47. > :29:53.the Scottish Government taking to assure the late-night ensure every
:29:54. > :30:00.killer gets a carer 's allowance -- every foster carer it's a carer
:30:01. > :30:03.allowance. The minimum rates of allowance and the suitable timetable
:30:04. > :30:07.will be introduced and the work will begin early this year and begin
:30:08. > :30:12.implementation of a new system as soon as possible, taking into
:30:13. > :30:20.account any new wealth that powers of the Scottish Parliament. We are
:30:21. > :30:26.providing ?10.1 million of funding peer here now to councils to ensure
:30:27. > :30:30.care allowances are set at the same level as foster care allowances,
:30:31. > :30:36.improving the lives of around 5200 children. Research published last
:30:37. > :30:39.week by the fostering network in the wide variation in the payments
:30:40. > :30:46.foster carers received from one local authority to the next, varying
:30:47. > :30:56.by as much as ?127 per child per week. Last year, more that half of
:30:57. > :30:59.local authorities in Scotland throws fostering allowances, meaning a real
:31:00. > :31:05.terms cut. It is nine years since the Scottish Government propose to
:31:06. > :31:09.develop the minimum allowance but nine years on I feel foster carers
:31:10. > :31:20.feel short-changed compared to the rest of the UK. Foster carers the
:31:21. > :31:21.more to act now to end the postcode lottery and delivering real deal for
:31:22. > :31:33.foster carers. One of the local authorities that
:31:34. > :31:38.pays under ?100 a week is Fife, which is a Labour minority counsel,
:31:39. > :31:43.but the key issue is more important here. Scottish Government guidance
:31:44. > :31:51.already recommends that councils use the fostering networks, annually
:31:52. > :31:57.reviewed minimum allowances. Cara Hilton is right to raise this issue
:31:58. > :31:59.because we do need to see a national level of caring allowances so that
:32:00. > :32:04.foster carers are treated fairly in every part of Scotland. That is why
:32:05. > :32:08.the work I have described is so important. That is why I hope it has
:32:09. > :32:13.the support of Cara Hilton and the rest of the chamber.
:32:14. > :32:22.What role the Government considers that cadet forces play in society.
:32:23. > :32:25.They make a great contribution to youth work which provides structure
:32:26. > :32:31.and support and challenging activities for young people who
:32:32. > :32:35.choose to become in fall. Cadet forces in Scotland contribute to the
:32:36. > :32:40.implementation of the National youth work strategy. We note the
:32:41. > :32:43.contribution that the cadet forces located in communities across
:32:44. > :32:50.Scotland make to the abilities of our young people. Will the First
:32:51. > :32:57.Minister confirm that the completely unacceptable description of the
:32:58. > :33:00.recruitment process as Canon fit -- cannon fodder which so angered our
:33:01. > :33:07.cadet forces is not the view of the Scottish Government. As Liz Smith
:33:08. > :33:11.knows, I immediately said that was not appropriate language to use
:33:12. > :33:15.about our cadet forces and I have made that clear to anybody and
:33:16. > :33:20.everybody who is willing to listen and I do so again. We appreciate the
:33:21. > :33:24.contribution that cadet forces make and all of us across this chamber
:33:25. > :33:27.appreciate very deeply the contribution that all of our Armed
:33:28. > :33:34.Forces make to Scotland and to keeping all of us safe. That ends
:33:35. > :33:40.First Minister's Questions. That brings us to the end of another
:33:41. > :33:43.session. Kezia Dugdale choosing to focus on health care, calling for
:33:44. > :33:47.the First Minister to save children's services at St John's
:33:48. > :33:51.Hospital in Livingston. The First Minister said she had to wait for an
:33:52. > :33:55.independent review and Sergei was investing in the health service.
:33:56. > :33:57.That brings us to the end of our coverage here just now. Let's join
:33:58. > :34:02.the daily politics. We're joined now by the Conservative
:34:03. > :34:06.MP Daniel Kawczynski.