28/01/2016 Politics Scotland

Hello and a very warm welcome to Holyrood for our live coverage of

First Minister's questions will stop a very busy day but a lot of the

action is actually taking place 130 miles north of here in Aberdeen

wearing new city deal has been signed. ?500 million of funding for

the north-east. Half from the UK Government, half from the Scottish

Government. Also, Doctor's leaders have been accusing the Scottish

Government saying they think they are dispensable. That may come up

to. Let's listen in now two-year what Kezia Dugdale might have to

say. We are just finishing general questions at the moment.

In terms of any of the issues within the discussion paper, as I said

earlier to Paul Martin, none of those issues have been formally put

forward for consideration and not to me either. He mentioned backlog

maintenance, I think it was, I will write to him on the detail of that

but there has been a lot of progress made on the higher risk by

prioritising that but I will write to the member with more detail on

that particular issue. We now move to First Minister's

questions. Kezia Dugdale. To ask the First Minister what engagements she

has planned for the rest of the day. I will take forward the Government's

programme for Scotland. The ?379 million contribution we are making

to the funding package to help boost economic growth in Aberdeen and

Aberdeenshire. And that is investment that the Labour Party

very much welcomes. The NHS is our most precious public institution.

The dedicated staff which helped to work in the service helped to bring

us into this world and they care for as in our time of need. The delivery

of NHS services depends on having motivated and well supported staff

but this week the scale of the pressure on our NHS because of SNP

cuts and mismanagement was exposed. The Royal College of General

practitioners warned of a deepening crisis and the RCN said they needed

to be a change in the health service and quickly. Our NHS is at breaking

point. Hard-working, loyal staff are crying out for help. I wonder if the

First Minister can tell me how many days were lost in our NHS last year

due to staff stress. Firstly, I agree that the NHS is our most

valued, most cherished, most precious public service. I also

agree that it could not be delivered without the dedication and

contribution of the staff working in our National Health Service. That is

why I am very proud that since this government took office in 2007, we

have seen an increase in the number of people working in our health

service of 10,500 people. We are also increasing the budget of the

NHS next year by ?500 million. As well as that investment, we set a

very detailed plans about how we want to reshape and reform the

National Health Service to build a social care, so ?250 million will be

invested in social care. We also want to improve primary and

community care to keep people out of hospital, but when people have to go

into hospital we plan five new treatment centres so they can get

back it quickly and efficiently. Kezia Dugdale mention comments from

the College of GPs and the RCN and we listened very carefully to what

both these organisations have to say. She omitted to mention the

comment from yesterday of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine which

said that the UK has the best performing A services in the world

and Scotland has the best of forming a handy services in the UK. I think

we should say a massive thank you to our NHS for that. I asked the First

Minister about the stress that NHS staff are under and she just clapped

herself on the back as a result of all that. And yet again, that was a

long response but not actually an answer to that question I asked. Let

media to the answer. Figures obtained by Scottish Labour show

that last year NHS staff lost more than 287 thousand days because of

stress. That is an increase of 21% compared with just two years ago.

And this really matters because it was vital NHS services facing SNP

cuts under even more pressure. One of those services is a children's

Ward at St John's Hospital in Livingston which is currently under

review and potentially under threat of closure. I know the First

Minister will tell as it is a decision for the health board but

she has overruled officials before and she should do so again now. I

constituents would like a simple yes or no answer to this question. Can

the First Minister confirm once and for all that she will not allow the

children's ward at St John's to be either closed or downgraded?

Firstly, can I say in response to the point about stress of people

working in our NHS, I started my answer to Kezia Dugdale by

recognising the contribution of those who work in our NHS. This was

a point she chose to ignore but since this government took office,

there has been an increase in the number of people working in our NHS

of 10,000 500. What we have in this chamber is a divide between the

Labour Party will come here and present what they would describe as

problems and an SNP government getting on with the job of

delivering the solutions for our NHS and other public services in

Scotland. And on the question of St John's Hospital, Kezia Dugdale's

first question was asking me to listen to the Royal College of GPs,

the Royal College of Nursing which I said we always do, but her second

question was asking me to say now, before an independent review has

concluded, that I will ignore any recommendations for the Royal

College of paediatrics, which is the body carrying out the independent

review. I will take absolutely no lectures from Scottish Labour when

it comes to St John's Hospital in Livingston because when I took

office as Health Secretary in 2007, Labour had taken away from St John's

Hospital services like trauma orthopaedics and emergency surgery,

there were concerns locally that St John's was going to be downgraded

from being an Acute Hospital, Sibley even closed as a hospital. Since

then, this government has protected A services in St John's with

consultant cover extended, we have invested ?3 million on a new MRI

scanner, we have invested ?7 million in capital funding, there has been a

?300,000 investment in rest between services, we have refurbished the

baby unit, we opened a new laboratory medical training school,

we invested ?3.3 million in an endoscopy unit, we opened and eating

disorders unit and of the five new elective treatment centres that we

plan over the next Parliament, one of them is planned to be at St

John's Hospital. This government has protected St John's Hospital is from

the proposed cuts from the last Labour government. Order! Kezia

Dugdale. Presiding Officer, is she so good at protecting services at St

John's, why can't cheaper deck the Children's Hospital? Isn't that

difficult? -- why can't she protect? The truth is, St John's is not being

reviewed or closed, it is just being re-profile. Actually, people can see

that this government is pulling the wool over their rise because it was

just this week... Order! Just this week we had e-mails uncovered by my

colleague Neil Findlay revealing that the Health Secretary had been

pressurising officials to delay a decision in St John's until after

the election and now we know the First Minister will guarantee that

the children's ward will stay open. Taking unpopular decisions into the

long grass is becoming a hallmark of this government and it is not just

in the Lothians. We know that NHS Glasgow and Clyde is preparing for

budget cuts of up to ?16 million including the closure of services

and cuts to staff numbers. The First Minister has it within her power to

stop this happening. She can protect the children's ward. She can secure

emergency care and protect NHS staff numbers in Glasgow. Can the First

Minister give today a 100% guarantee right now that all of these services

will be protected in their current form? I hate to be the bearer of bad

news, I was the Health Secretary that saved Lightburn Hospital in

Glasgow. That is possibly one of the many facts that has just escaped

Kezia Dugdale's preparation for today's First Minister's question.

It is really good when you are asking questions to be able to adapt

the questions in response to the detailed factual answers that you

get. The truth is that this is the Government that has protected St

John's Hospital, protected it from the cuts that were planned to it by

the last Labour administration. We will go on taking the decisions that

protect St John's Hospital and hospitals right around our country.

Finally, last week, if memory serves me correctly, Kezia Dugdale was

asking me to invest more money in local authorities, today she is

asking us to put more money into the National Health Service. She is yet

to tell us where any of this extra money is coming from. I will issue

an open invitation to her today. This is the draft budget. I am happy

to pass it over and if Kezia Dugdale wants to send it back to meet

marking where Labour wants to cut things in this budget I will be

happy to listen. The fact is, we don't get any ideas from Kezia

Dugdale or Labour, we just get whingeing from the sidelines. The

focus group that Labour tried to suppress this week says voters

recall Labour... Order! Order! It is OK, I was not going to quote this

for Scottish voters, Labour is indistinguishable from the Tories,

just less competent. What I was going to quote is this one, voters

recall Labour trotting out a long list of policies with no conviction

that they could deliver them. Nothing, absolutely nothing has

changed. That shower is not fit for opposition let alone government.

Kezia Dugdale. She read one quote from a focus group, the only person

acting like a Tory this week is John Sweeney who is forcing posterity on

all the councils across Scotland. Order! Order! And again, Presiding

Officer, in a very specific question about services in our hospitals

across the country, there was no direct commitment to save these

services and that will be noted by everyone. The First Minister has the

chance to provide much-needed relief to staff and families across the

country, she could have guaranteed that the proposed cuts to NHS

services would not take place. She did not do that today's order that

message go out to people across the Lothians, two patients in Glasgow

and Paisley, to families in Dunbartonshire and people the length

and breadth of this country. Isn't it the case that while the SNP say

they will protect the NHS, they are threatening our local services with

the axe. Yet again we have from Labour whingeing about what the SNP,

in their view, is doing wrong, with no concrete proposals of what we

need to do differently. I am going to be asking Parliament, John

Sweeney is going to be asking Parliament in a few weeks' time to

vote for a budget that delivers extra funding of ?500 million to the

NHS next year, and for the first time the budget for the health

portfolio is going to reach ?13 billion. I think when we took office

in one ?9 billion. There are 10,500 more people waiting today in our

NHS. We protected local services that Labour were planning to close.

Does anyone remember A units facing the axe? This SNP government

save them. I am more than happy to the health record of this government

or the people of Scotland in a couple of months' time and ask them

to judge it against the woeful record and the woeful present record

of this Labour opposition. Question number two. To ask the First

Minister when she will next meet the Secretary of State for Scotland. No

plans at present. The long anticipated Aberdeen city region

deal will be signed today, paving the way for a ?250 investment

package in Aberdeenshire economy. It is good to see the north-east

getting the help that it needs to support jobs. So I welcome today's

deal and I hope it holds out for a brighter future for the city and

Shire. On top of this, the Scottish Government has announced extra

infrastructure funding, including ?200 million to increase capacity on

Kiwi links between Aberdeen and the Central Belt. That work has been on

the books since 2007, the entire lifetime of the Scottish Government.

Can the First Minister confirmed that this money is new, when it is

raised and when the work will be carried out?

All of the money we have announced today will be available to Aberdeen

and Aberdeenshire I over the same timescale as the City Deal. There

has been a funding package of ?504 million provided today, ?125 million

of that is coming from the UK Government and ?379 million is

coming from the Scottish Government. There is many transport projects we

want to do but in order to do them we have to prioritise them and find

the money. What we are doing today is committing the money for

improvements that will speed up rail links between the central belt and

Aberdeen and I would hope a Ruth Davidson would welcome that. We are

also announcing money for road funding, we are also giving

certainty to Aberdeen, which other councils don't have, about the

housing investment over the next five years, announcing money for

housing infrastructure and additional money to help with

digital connections. That is a good package. I will be in Aberdeen on

Monday committing further announcements about how we will

focus on helping oil and gas sector in particular. I would like to thank

the First Minister for that reply. Our party is for a healthy

competition so I am delighted to see the Scottish Government is trying to

outdo the UK Government today. It is imported the two governments work

together and this is exactly the kind of partnership most people in

Scotland want to see. However, I can't let this moment pass without

reason one key point. If the First Minister have a heart week we would

brighten up the eight weeks away from separation and I would like to

ask in all honesty what situation she thinks is better for Scotland

today. The one we currently have with all the resources of our

Government stepping in to help the oil industry, or the one she

supported out with the UK and Scottish finance is about to be

blown to pieces. This Government, parliament and this country having

all the powers we need to draw our country is by far the better

position to be in. -- draw our country. Given the Prime Minister

will be in Aberdeen today I can't let this moment passed either. That

is a lot of focus on what the Yes campaign said about oil during the

referendum campaign. Much to my regret the Yes campaign had not won,

the No campaign one. So maybe we should look at what they said about

oil during the referendum. This is what David Cameron said in February

20 14. ?200 million oil in Aberdeen, in

third of the investment that has gone into the net. Does the Bosman

is that share my view that Aberdeen deserves more than the 125 million

they have allocated, considering the Treasury has benefited

they have allocated, considering the would be an undeserved fate to be

highly skilled and committed workforce at the client. And indeed

to an already fragile Inverclyde economy. A glimmer of hope does

exist. We still have time to attract new orders to the client. Will the

First Minister take this opportunity to commit the Scottish Government

and its agencies to play a full role in the task force set up by

Inverclyde Council leader yesterday, in order that we can apply to a new

order to secure those jobs and indeed address the underlying

fragility of the Inverclyde economy? Yes, I will give those commitments

in the field. I appreciate this will be a very worrying time for

employees of Texas Instruments and their families. As he rightly points

out, they have made clear they want to sell the plant as an ongoing

concern and saving as many of the jobs as possible and they made clear

they would not anticipate any jobs being lost until late 2017. That

does mean we have an important window of opportunity to work with

the company to do everything we can to find a buyer that will maintain

jobs. We will work with the company to explore all possible options for

supporting the bitterness and retaining jobs at the Scottish

Government will be fully engaged in their work as well. We have done to

the leader of Inverclyde Council, saying the Scottish Government will

support the task force in any way we can and suggesting a meeting on

Monday of next week so we will do everything we can to preserve this

company and the jobs in it and no stone will be left unturned by this

Government or our agencies. Can I ask the First Minister what the

Scottish Government's response is to the Committee on Climate Change's

concerns that climate change spending is set to be reduced in

2016-17? We continue to spend significant sums on climate change

mitigation, supporting progress toward our world leading targets.

The UK Government, as is widely recognised, it's happening the

renewable energy sector and putting at risk millions of pounds of

investment in the UK and Scottish economy. If they kept their previous

commitments the viability of many projects would not now be in

question. In addition the UK Government's decision to cut the

dream deal of improvement fund directly led to a ?15 million cut in

support for energy efficiency. -- fund. Across the areas we have seen

an overall increase of our budgets of ?13.3 million. The question was

actually about the Scottish budget. Everyone who has looked at her

budget will see climate change funding has been hammered, ?50

million less. In 2013 at the Green budget was released for other

projects and in 2015 funds were reallocated as well. When the First

Minister got off the plane from Paris and said the rest of the world

should be like car, did she want them to hammer the climate change

budgets to? If she had been listening he would have the my

answer was about the Scottish Government budget. If you exclude

the changes to the budget necessitated by changes to UK energy

policy, we can spend money on things that UK energy policy does not allow

us to spend money on. Then you see that Scottish budget is spending as

increased. That is the reality. I would hope that Jim Hume,

notwithstanding his party's previous coalition with the Conservative

Party, with Scottish in arguing the UK Government's changes to funding

is harmful to the environment and also the Scottish and UK economies.

Pat Carvey. The First Minister once again described Scotland's target as

world leading, but the world is living from week to themselves is

special to the 1.5 Celsius vegetable. The world is moving

toward greater ambition and the Scottish budget seems to be going in

the other direction. Why can we do get seriously? That is not the case.

If we take out the impact of UK Government policy we are increasing

our commitment to meeting change targets. I am convinced we have a

responsibility to do that. When I was in Paris it was not just me

talking about about targets and performance, it was other countries

describing Scotland's performance as world leading. We have a

responsibility to intensify and accelerate about work if we too are

played, play, part in tackling climate change. I am determined we

do exactly. Ask the First Minister if the Scottish Government will

provide an update on the fiscal framework? The Deputy First Minister

met the Treasury to discuss this last week. Discussions have been

ongoing all of this week and the Deputy First Minister will be the

Chief Secretary to the Treasury next week again to try and get a fair

deal for Scotland on the fiscal framework. At what a deal on the

fiscal framework and want Scotland to get the additional powers that

were promised but I will not sign up to an agreement that is unfair to

the people of Scotland. Kenneth Gibson. Does she agree it is of

crucial importance to get the balance right and these negotiations

to ensure the Smith principle is not a detriment to Scotland. Does she

share my astonishment that Tory MSPs have been urging her to sign a deal

regardless of not whether it is good for Scotland, showing once again

that the Tories always put the interests of London first, over

those of Scotland? I agree with that. The Scottish Government is

working in good faith to try and deliver a deal but is there to

Scotland and the UK on issues like the grand adjustment, setup costs,

capital borrowing, dispute resolution, all of these issues are

important that we will not sign up to a deal that systematically cuts

Scotland's and budgets. The big question now is whether the Tory

Government in London is also going to act in good faith to get that

deal. I am not sure I am astonished Tory MPs are asking us to sign up to

a deal that will not be good for Scotland but I am aghast that Labour

appears to be asking us to do that. This is a negotiation between the

Scottish Government and public treasury and it is astounding how

quickly Scottish Labour defaults to take the side of the Tory Treasury.

It seems the Better Together Alliance is all well. What action is

the Scottish Government taking to assure the late-night ensure every

killer gets a carer 's allowance -- every foster carer it's a carer

allowance. The minimum rates of allowance and the suitable timetable

will be introduced and the work will begin early this year and begin

implementation of a new system as soon as possible, taking into

account any new wealth that powers of the Scottish Parliament. We are

providing ?10.1 million of funding peer here now to councils to ensure

care allowances are set at the same level as foster care allowances,

improving the lives of around 5200 children. Research published last

week by the fostering network in the wide variation in the payments

foster carers received from one local authority to the next, varying

by as much as ?127 per child per week. Last year, more that half of

local authorities in Scotland throws fostering allowances, meaning a real

terms cut. It is nine years since the Scottish Government propose to

develop the minimum allowance but nine years on I feel foster carers

feel short-changed compared to the rest of the UK. Foster carers the

more to act now to end the postcode lottery and delivering real deal for

foster carers. One of the local authorities that

pays under ?100 a week is Fife, which is a Labour minority counsel,

but the key issue is more important here. Scottish Government guidance

already recommends that councils use the fostering networks, annually

reviewed minimum allowances. Cara Hilton is right to raise this issue

because we do need to see a national level of caring allowances so that

foster carers are treated fairly in every part of Scotland. That is why

the work I have described is so important. That is why I hope it has

the support of Cara Hilton and the rest of the chamber.

What role the Government considers that cadet forces play in society.

They make a great contribution to youth work which provides structure

and support and challenging activities for young people who

choose to become in fall. Cadet forces in Scotland contribute to the

implementation of the National youth work strategy. We note the

contribution that the cadet forces located in communities across

Scotland make to the abilities of our young people. Will the First

Minister confirm that the completely unacceptable description of the

recruitment process as Canon fit -- cannon fodder which so angered our

cadet forces is not the view of the Scottish Government. As Liz Smith

knows, I immediately said that was not appropriate language to use

about our cadet forces and I have made that clear to anybody and

everybody who is willing to listen and I do so again. We appreciate the

contribution that cadet forces make and all of us across this chamber

appreciate very deeply the contribution that all of our Armed

Forces make to Scotland and to keeping all of us safe. That ends

First Minister's Questions. That brings us to the end of another

session. Kezia Dugdale choosing to focus on health care, calling for

the First Minister to save children's services at St John's

Hospital in Livingston. The First Minister said she had to wait for an

independent review and Sergei was investing in the health service.

That brings us to the end of our coverage here just now. Let's join

the daily politics. We're joined now by the Conservative

MP Daniel Kawczynski.