:00:20. > :00:27.A warm welcome to the Scottish parliament. The talk is still about
:00:28. > :00:31.the White Paper on independence and the ramifications of that. The
:00:32. > :00:38.latest controversy over the European Union suggestions and from the
:00:39. > :00:43.Spanish Prime Minister that a state would find itself outside the
:00:44. > :00:50.European Union on independence. Let us see if that comes up in questions
:00:51. > :00:57.to the First Minister. Scotland could have to reapply as a
:00:58. > :01:04.new member. What part of the statement does the First Minister
:01:05. > :01:13.not understand? I haven't got a full transcript of Mariano Rajoy's
:01:14. > :01:18.statement. He started the statement saying, I don't yet know what will
:01:19. > :01:29.White Paper says which was presented by the Scottish president yesterday.
:01:30. > :01:41.I've got to say, promotion is always welcome of course, but I would like
:01:42. > :01:46.to make it clear that we make it clear that Her Majesty The Queen
:01:47. > :01:51.will continue as head of state in an independent Scotland. I know the
:01:52. > :01:57.First Minister likes to quote selectively but that takes the
:01:58. > :02:02.biscuit. Looking for a reaffirmation, where does he find
:02:03. > :02:06.it. Letters hear what the Spanish Prime Minister said, I would like
:02:07. > :02:12.that the consequence of that secession be presented with realism
:02:13. > :02:16.to Scots. Citizens have the right to be well-informed and, particularly,
:02:17. > :02:21.when it is about taking decisions like this one. I know for sure that
:02:22. > :02:39.a region that would separate from a member state of the European Union
:02:40. > :02:44.would outside the European Union. And that should be known by the
:02:45. > :02:51.Scots. The Spanish Prime Minister is being straighter with the people of
:02:52. > :02:58.Scotland than the First Minister. Since, in any negotiation, Mariano
:02:59. > :03:08.Rajoy will have a veto, shouldn't the First Minister lesson? I am not
:03:09. > :03:20.president and Scotland is not a region. Scotland is a nation. The
:03:21. > :03:25.difference is that Scotland negotiating its position from within
:03:26. > :03:30.the EU. Can that happen legally? Would that happen? And can the
:03:31. > :03:38.process be completed within 18 months? I have a letter from the
:03:39. > :03:41.head of the European Commission secretariat general addressing
:03:42. > :03:45.that. The ongoing democratic process is a matter for the UK and Scottish
:03:46. > :03:50.government and the Scottish people and it would be legally possible to
:03:51. > :03:56.renegotiate the situation of the UK and Scotland within the European
:03:57. > :04:03.Union. I will put this in spice so that all men are both can have the
:04:04. > :04:08.benefit of it. Can it and would it happen legally? Can I cite the judge
:04:09. > :04:12.at the British Court of Justice for 12 years and the person who knows
:04:13. > :04:17.most about these arguments in Scotland at the present moment. "In
:04:18. > :04:20.accordance with their obligations, the EU institutions and member
:04:21. > :04:25.states, including the UK as existing, would be obliged to enter
:04:26. > :04:29.into negotiations before separation to determine the future relationship
:04:30. > :04:36.within the EU of the separate parts of the former UK and other member
:04:37. > :04:45.states" . So, yes, it would happen because the obligation is to do it.
:04:46. > :04:50.Thirdly and crucially, could the process be completed within the
:04:51. > :04:55.timescale? I cited the European Commissioner, let us cite someone
:04:56. > :05:00.who even the authority, if it cannot be questioned by the better together
:05:01. > :05:05.parties, is Professor James Crawford, the person appointed and
:05:06. > :05:11.paid by the UK Government to dispense legal advice on this matter
:05:12. > :05:16.and asked specifically this question about the 18 month timetable. He
:05:17. > :05:20.said, the Scottish estimate is about 18 months and that seems realistic.
:05:21. > :05:30.So if we have the European Commission, the court of justice and
:05:31. > :05:35.the person appointed by the UK Government to say the timetable
:05:36. > :05:40.looks realistic, then I think that is reasonably substantial evidence
:05:41. > :05:43.that Scotland, as a nation, net can negotiate its position to full
:05:44. > :05:51.membership within the European Union.
:05:52. > :05:58.I know what a nation is. The problem is the First Minister doesn't seem
:05:59. > :06:03.to understand what a veto is. It doesn't matter who else you quote,
:06:04. > :06:10.if there are 28 states with a veto they can use it if they choose to do
:06:11. > :06:16.so. But, of course, this is a First Minister who said he had EU legal
:06:17. > :06:23.advice in terms of the debate, which didn't exist in terms of reality.
:06:24. > :06:27.The EU commission president said Scotland would have to reapply to
:06:28. > :06:35.the EU. Now, the Spanish Prime Minister agrees with him. But in
:06:36. > :06:43.Alex Salmond 's world, they are run. Yesterday, he said, " without
:06:44. > :06:52.Scottish electricity England's light would go off" like he is Vladimir
:06:53. > :07:10.Putin. What is the First Minister going to turn off in Spain if they
:07:11. > :07:15.insist Scotland is not in the EU. Is he going to threaten to blockade the
:07:16. > :07:26.North Sea again, like he did in June this year. In terms of... I am sure
:07:27. > :07:30.Johann Lamont wouldn't want to say something that this prime -- Spanish
:07:31. > :07:36.Prime Minister didn't say because there is no mention of a veto in
:07:37. > :07:42.anything he said yesterday. The question has been addressed directly
:07:43. > :07:47.by the Spanish Foreign Minister who said in response to that exact
:07:48. > :07:53.question and let me quoted exactly, "if in the UK, both parties agree it
:07:54. > :07:58.is consistent with the constitutional order, Spain would
:07:59. > :08:08.have nothing to say but that it does not affect us. No one could -- would
:08:09. > :08:11.object to a consented Scottish independence" . That is what the
:08:12. > :08:15.Spanish Foreign Minister said but Johann Lamont has the idea that
:08:16. > :08:21.Scotland is a place no one else in the European Union would want as a
:08:22. > :08:25.member. This nation, with its huge natural resource base would be
:08:26. > :08:32.welcome within the EU and not to realise and understand that point,
:08:33. > :08:35.Scotland is a European nation and we want to be a European nation but the
:08:36. > :08:40.only question about our membership is what is coming from the
:08:41. > :08:49.Conservative Party, many of whom want to get out of Europe. Scotland
:08:50. > :08:55.will be welcome as a member of the European Union. I used to say to my
:08:56. > :09:01.children, what you want is not necessarily what you get. The First
:09:02. > :09:06.Minister needs to understand it is not simply his assertion that
:09:07. > :09:12.matters here, it is what people are entitled to do. If people can't
:09:13. > :09:16.agree, they can also disagree and also agree on conditions. We don't
:09:17. > :09:25.know what those conditions would be because the reality is, this White
:09:26. > :09:32.Paper, so vaunted, is truly historic. No document has become
:09:33. > :09:38.obsolete quite so quickly. What it says about keeping the pound is just
:09:39. > :09:45.plain wrong. Now we know that what it says about Scotland's staying in
:09:46. > :09:48.the EU is just plain wrong. But the First Minister thinks if he asserts
:09:49. > :09:56.things often enough they become true. If he says it is common sense
:09:57. > :10:00.or as night follows day, his next statement will be believed however
:10:01. > :10:05.unbelievable it is in reality. What does it say about Scotland when
:10:06. > :10:15.Scots have to listen to a foreign government to find out the truth?
:10:16. > :10:18.The exchange I cited with the head of European Commission to say you
:10:19. > :10:26.can do it legally from within the EU and I have cited the judge from the
:10:27. > :10:32.European Court of Justice and I have cited Professor James Crawford who
:10:33. > :10:37.was paid by the UK Government who says the 18 month timetable is
:10:38. > :10:42.realistic. That is a substantial amount of evidence and the Spanish
:10:43. > :10:46.Foreign Minister says that no one would object to the consented
:10:47. > :10:50.independence of Scotland. That was the precise reason for having the
:10:51. > :10:55.Edinburgh agreement in the first place. I had the one about the
:10:56. > :11:02.catalogue before because she used it last night. Just before she seemed
:11:03. > :11:06.to suggest she was going to means test nursery education under labours
:11:07. > :11:10.plans for Scotland. This question goes to the heart whether unionist
:11:11. > :11:14.parties believe that Scotland would be a welcomed member of the EU and
:11:15. > :11:20.we had a definitive answer on that last night from one of key members
:11:21. > :11:26.of better together, Alistair Carmichael. I wouldn't recommend
:11:27. > :11:31.people watch it because a referee would have stopped that programme
:11:32. > :11:40.when Nicola Sturgeon was bruising the bruiser last night. But there
:11:41. > :11:46.was a comment which some should look at. Alistair Carmichael said we
:11:47. > :11:51.would be welcome and he said it is on the terms. Exactly. I believe the
:11:52. > :11:56.terms of Scottish membership of the EU would not allow 1 billion euros
:11:57. > :12:01.to be taken away from our rural industries as the UK Government has
:12:02. > :12:08.done. Scotland as a European nation and is resource rich and would be
:12:09. > :12:13.welcomed. Anyone who says better together had better embrace the idea
:12:14. > :12:24.that this nation is a European nation and stop the scaremongering.
:12:25. > :12:29.To ask the First Minister when he will next meet the Prime Minister?
:12:30. > :12:34.No plans in the near future. Before I start, I would like to get the
:12:35. > :12:39.Spanish Foreign Minister out of the way because he said, in the
:12:40. > :12:47.hypothetical case of independence, Scotland would have to ask the queue
:12:48. > :12:52.-- join the queue and ask to be admitted. If we're going to squirt
:12:53. > :12:57.the Spanish Foreign Minister, let us do it properly. On the 13th of
:12:58. > :13:02.December last year, the Deputy First Minister made a statement on Europe
:13:03. > :13:07.and in it she told MS peas that she had written to commission president
:13:08. > :13:11.seeking early discussion with him on the process by which an independent
:13:12. > :13:17.Scotland would become a member of the EU. She told the chamber she
:13:18. > :13:22.would give an update once the discussions had taken place. Can the
:13:23. > :13:29.First Minister tell us why, in the intervening 11 and a half months, we
:13:30. > :13:39.haven't had that update? The European Commission have said they
:13:40. > :13:44.need the UK Government to agree. Her government get on the phone to the
:13:45. > :13:50.Prime Minister. Unfortunately, it will not be a Saint Andrews Day
:13:51. > :13:54.reception but get on the phone and asked them to agree and we will go
:13:55. > :13:59.together as the European Commission invited us to look at the legal case
:14:00. > :14:02.for Scotland to be a member of the EU. Do it reversed charges and ask
:14:03. > :14:17.your leader for permission. The First Minister should not be
:14:18. > :14:21.surprised. Anyone who has had any dealings with the European Union
:14:22. > :14:24.would know that they head of commission would only speak to
:14:25. > :14:31.sovereign states on taxation issues, and the question is,
:14:32. > :14:37.sovereign states on taxation issues, settle down please? Why didn't the
:14:38. > :14:44.Deputy First Minister know when she said it? This shows what a shower of
:14:45. > :14:47.rank amateurs the SNP government is when it comes to international
:14:48. > :15:02.diplomacy. Because, deciding Officer, -- the siding officer...
:15:03. > :15:06.They say that they are right and everyone else is wrong on Europe.
:15:07. > :15:10.When the commission president says Scotland would have to join the same
:15:11. > :15:15.queue to join as everyone else. That the Spanish prime minister is wrong
:15:16. > :15:19.when he says we would have to join the same due as everybody else. That
:15:20. > :15:22.this foreign ministers of Spain, Latvia, Ireland and the Czech
:15:23. > :15:25.Republic are wrong when they say we would have to join the same due as
:15:26. > :15:30.everybody else, and what the First Minister does not understand is that
:15:31. > :15:35.it does not matter if he gets up to 27 member states on board. He needs
:15:36. > :15:39.the Government of every single one of 28 countries to agree to his
:15:40. > :15:43.demands. Does the First Minister think that he winning friends and
:15:44. > :15:52.influencing people by telling that they are wrong? Judging by the
:15:53. > :15:56.response from her backbenchers that was almost a valedictory question
:15:57. > :16:05.Time from with Everton. Don't go into a debate with Nicola Sturgeon
:16:06. > :16:11.on that sort of area. -- from Ruth Davison. This is an interesting
:16:12. > :16:16.update for the Davidson. Yesterday she said the European commission
:16:17. > :16:20.would not talk to ask after Scotland voted for independence. The European
:16:21. > :16:25.commission are prepared to talk to us now. They say they need the
:16:26. > :16:29.permission and we have to go jointly with the UK Government. We have said
:16:30. > :16:38.that the UK Government, why don't we go jointly, and the UK Government of
:16:39. > :16:41.her political party said they will not renegotiate therefore they will
:16:42. > :16:52.not go. It is not the Spanish veto we have got to worry about, it is
:16:53. > :17:01.the UK Government's beta. -- veto. David Stewart. The First Minister
:17:02. > :17:05.for be aware that fly BA is closing its Inverness -based with the loss
:17:06. > :17:12.of 35 jobs. Does the First Minister share my view that a base closure
:17:13. > :17:16.today could be a rude closure tomorrow. Will you join my fight to
:17:17. > :17:26.save the base and local Highlands and Islands jobs? We have had a
:17:27. > :17:31.number of meetings with FlyBe. The member knows that this has been a
:17:32. > :17:36.general retraction in FlyBe services. I'm sure the member agrees
:17:37. > :17:40.with me that among the reasons they have cited for the difficulty, air
:17:41. > :17:45.passenger duty has been a key part of it. In answer to the constituency
:17:46. > :17:51.MP's question I will gladly meet with him and do what we can to
:17:52. > :17:56.address that situation. To ask the First Minister what issues will be
:17:57. > :18:00.discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet. Issues of importance to the
:18:01. > :18:06.people of Scotland. How many of the list of names that you read out to
:18:07. > :18:10.Johann Lamont have got more power than Mariano Rajoy? It is the
:18:11. > :18:17.Spanish prime minister 's word against his, that Mariano Rajoy has
:18:18. > :18:22.the veto. The First Minister does not need most EU countries to back
:18:23. > :18:27.Scotland, he needs every single one, and they all know that he has got
:18:28. > :18:30.nowhere else to go. At breakfast yesterday there was little doubt
:18:31. > :18:36.over Scotland's place in the EU, yet, by tea-time, there was little
:18:37. > :18:46.certainty. What is he going to trade, to get the Spanish OnBoard?
:18:47. > :18:53.Mariano Rajoy did not say Ibos going to veto. Be said that Spain would
:18:54. > :18:57.not veto because it is a consented independence. If the Lib Dems want
:18:58. > :19:01.to put words into the mouth of the Spanish prime minister, that is a
:19:02. > :19:07.matter for them, but of course his own colleague said last night, and
:19:08. > :19:10.it was repeated by another of his colleagues this morning, that
:19:11. > :19:13.Scotland would be welcome, as a member of the European Union. That
:19:14. > :19:19.is what Alistair Carmichael said last night. If we can get to that
:19:20. > :19:22.first base in the Better Together parties and not have a situation
:19:23. > :19:26.where the Liberal Democrats believe Scotland would be welcome and the
:19:27. > :19:29.Labour Party seem to doubt Scotland would be welcome and the
:19:30. > :19:33.Conservative party seem to doubt the entire European Union, if we can get
:19:34. > :19:38.to the place of acknowledgement that Scotland with be a welcome member,
:19:39. > :19:43.then I accept that this White Paper has been predicated on the basis
:19:44. > :19:47.that Scotland as a European nation would be welcomed by other European
:19:48. > :19:51.nations. We have every possible reason to believe that is the case.
:19:52. > :19:58.And given that Alistair Carmichael has at knowledge that, then surely
:19:59. > :20:04.Willie Rennie can bring himself to support, if not me, then his own
:20:05. > :20:08.colleague. The First Minister should not answer questions I did not ask.
:20:09. > :20:11.He is relying on his powers of persuasion with the Spanish prime
:20:12. > :20:16.minister. But, we'll remember in this Chamber, his sixth red lines on
:20:17. > :20:21.the Scotland Act, that he sold out on every single one of them. And
:20:22. > :20:26.that was only negotiating with one government. That is why he has been
:20:27. > :20:31.called the worst negotiator in the northern hemisphere. When the
:20:32. > :20:37.Croatian ambassador was in this very building, he said, countries have to
:20:38. > :20:42.take pretty much what it is offered. Every country has had to trade
:20:43. > :20:47.things away to secure a place in the EU. Is he going to sell out our
:20:48. > :20:56.Scottish fishermen, for a Spanish vote? What about the rebate? We all
:20:57. > :21:01.know he will say anything to get independence, but just who will he
:21:02. > :21:11.sell out to get the boat is that he needs? -- the votes. In negotiations
:21:12. > :21:16.for joining the European Community as it was then, a civil servant
:21:17. > :21:21.noted bitterly that, in light of Britain's wider European interest,
:21:22. > :21:28.they, the Scottish fishermen are" expendable". An exact quote. I can
:21:29. > :21:28.tell you that for the Scottish Government, Scottish fishermen will
:21:29. > :21:40.never be expendable. And, just in case he thinks that is
:21:41. > :21:44.too dated a quote, I can see his colleague sitting behind them, let
:21:45. > :21:49.us remember that have a Scot had to resign from government in this
:21:50. > :21:52.Chamber cossie did not think of fighting for Scottish fishermen. And
:21:53. > :21:57.let's also remember the information published by Richard Lochhead, that
:21:58. > :22:02.1 billion euros is the cost of British negotiation and attitude to
:22:03. > :22:06.the common agricultural policy and that is a lost Scottish farmers,
:22:07. > :22:11.even if we were getting the minimum support across the community, given
:22:12. > :22:16.that evidence on fishing, farming and other issues, is exactly why
:22:17. > :22:17.this European nation should represent itself at the top table in
:22:18. > :22:31.Europe. Christine Grahame. To ask what
:22:32. > :22:36.action the Scottish Government will take to about reported pressures on
:22:37. > :22:42.social care budgets undermining care services for older and vulnerable
:22:43. > :22:49.people. We have an ongoing FlyBe free personal care. That is the root
:22:50. > :23:00.of ensuring effective care services for older, vulnerable people. That
:23:01. > :23:04.integration will ensure that the resources of Scotland's caring
:23:05. > :23:08.services can be used to best effect. I am aware that the cuts to budgets
:23:09. > :23:13.are having huge impact across this area. But my constituency and
:23:14. > :23:19.elsewhere, in the here and now, pressure on carers looking after the
:23:20. > :23:23.elderly and vulnerable, are increasing to breaking point. Can I
:23:24. > :23:27.ask of the First Minister and Cabinet colleagues will look at
:23:28. > :23:33.whether in very pinched budgets we can look at finding some funding to
:23:34. > :23:37.assist in the here and now? Can I draw your attention to the ?120
:23:38. > :23:43.million integration fund for 2015-16? The final nature of that
:23:44. > :23:47.fund is being determined in partnership with local authorities
:23:48. > :23:53.and the third sector. That fund allows the reshaping of the care
:23:54. > :23:58.fund to make 300 million of change funding available to help reshape
:23:59. > :24:00.care for older people. And the Scottish Borders and other councils
:24:01. > :24:07.working with local health boards can make use of these funds, for
:24:08. > :24:11.example, the Scottish Borders have ?2 million from the change funds
:24:12. > :24:15.this year for projects focusing on support at home, and on care and
:24:16. > :24:20.hospital and then care homes. I hope that answer satisfies Christine
:24:21. > :24:26.Grahame, and that commitment to free personal care is absolute and the
:24:27. > :24:30.change fund and integration fund will make sure that we do everything
:24:31. > :24:33.possible that we can, to make sure that integration between their whole
:24:34. > :24:37.service and local authorities and personal care for the elderly and
:24:38. > :24:49.vulnerable has the best possible passage. Thank you Poseidon officer.
:24:50. > :24:53.-- thank you Presiding Officer. Roll the First Minister ensure that care
:24:54. > :24:57.visits are long enough to provide the care and attention that a frail
:24:58. > :25:01.and elderly person requires to allow them to live in security and
:25:02. > :25:09.ignited, and rarely ensure that care visits are not restricted to 15
:25:10. > :25:14.minutes or less? The UK home care Association has a survey that shows
:25:15. > :25:19.that 50% of home care visits in Scotland last longer than 30 minutes
:25:20. > :25:24.compared to just 27% in England. It shows that 89% of visits in Scotland
:25:25. > :25:27.are longer than 15 minutes. There are a range of areas where
:25:28. > :25:31.performance in Scotland, although not perfect and always capable of
:25:32. > :25:35.improvement, is vastly superior to that which is going on elsewhere,
:25:36. > :25:40.and free personal care on these figures, from the UK home care
:25:41. > :25:45.Association is very much a reality. I share the concern, but she should
:25:46. > :25:49.acknowledge that we and local authorities in Scotland are pursuing
:25:50. > :25:54.a policy that is substantially better than colleagues south of the
:25:55. > :25:59.border. To ask whether the Scottish Government considers that there is
:26:00. > :26:05.sufficient capacity in the NHS to deal with demand this winter. Demand
:26:06. > :26:11.for NHS services grows year-on-year, including for accident and emergency
:26:12. > :26:15.services and winter brings increased pressures. This year we will be
:26:16. > :26:21.working with the College of emergency medicine on a ?50 million
:26:22. > :26:23.unscheduled care action plan that is putting more emergency consultants
:26:24. > :26:27.in place to tackle unacceptably long waiting times in accident and
:26:28. > :26:32.emergency. He should remember, under this government, almost 1000
:26:33. > :26:36.additional medical consultants, including doubling the number of
:26:37. > :26:44.accident and emergency consultants, 5.5% increase in another of GPs.
:26:45. > :26:46.Winter brings its challenges. We will work with NHS staff to provide
:26:47. > :26:53.the best possible service this coming winter. I am advised that
:26:54. > :26:56.this week patients at Edinburgh West in general have been languishing on
:26:57. > :27:01.trolleys for up to 18 hours. We found out this week that nine out of
:27:02. > :27:08.14 NHS boards failed to meet waiting times targets. It is only November
:27:09. > :27:12.and the weather is mild, and yet hospitals are struggling despite the
:27:13. > :27:16.immense efforts of NHS staff. Why has the Government failed to heed
:27:17. > :27:22.the warnings from the RCN, the BMA, the union Unison, patient groups and
:27:23. > :27:28.many others who have said, for months and months, that the NHS is
:27:29. > :27:34.not ready for winter? Can I cite Jason Long, Chair of the College of
:27:35. > :27:37.emergency medicine Scotland, who says this is an important initiative
:27:38. > :27:40.that will improve things across Scotland and we welcome the
:27:41. > :27:45.opportunity to collaborate on it. The member should try to get these
:27:46. > :27:48.things in terms of where we are. We have just published this week,
:27:49. > :27:55.showing that the third quarter of 2013, performance against the four
:27:56. > :28:03.our accident and emergency treatment target was 92.5%. Looking back just
:28:04. > :28:07.a few years, the 2006, 87.5% of patients waited less than four
:28:08. > :28:14.hours. Just let me repeat that. 95.2% in the last quarter, 87.5%, in
:28:15. > :28:21.2006. The then health Minister, Andy Kerr, hailed bad performance and
:28:22. > :28:27.said this was the first time we had got brains of data. This shows that
:28:28. > :28:31.the vast majority of A departments are meeting targets and investment
:28:32. > :28:36.is paying off. Every single one of us would like to see that 92.5% at
:28:37. > :28:44.100%, of course we would, what the Labour Party will have to explain
:28:45. > :28:48.how, in 2006, they got 87.5%, and apparently now 95.2% is not good
:28:49. > :28:52.enough. Let us have a look at the reality and figures, and recognise
:28:53. > :28:56.the improvements that have been made and the commitment that there is to
:28:57. > :29:00.cope, as far as we possibly can in goodwill and good judgement, with
:29:01. > :29:04.the coming winter and the pressure on accident and emergency units, and
:29:05. > :29:07.let us also remember the people who serve the public in these units, who
:29:08. > :29:12.are doing their best for the health of Scotland. To ask the First
:29:13. > :29:15.Minister what the Scottish Government position is on recent
:29:16. > :29:19.comments by the Secretary of State for Scotland regarding the future of
:29:20. > :29:26.the Barnett for Ni La once the economy has stabilised. -- the
:29:27. > :29:30.Barnett formula. I hope he has recovered from the debate last
:29:31. > :29:34.night. This aspect in up in the debate last night. And on Monday,
:29:35. > :29:38.that report from the all-party Parliamentary taxation group, which
:29:39. > :29:43.includes MPs from the Conservatives, the Lib Dems and the Labour Party,
:29:44. > :29:47.will say that the Barnett formula must be replaced as a priority. We
:29:48. > :29:51.know that the commission which was commissioned by the Secretary of
:29:52. > :29:53.State for Wales, who has been lobbied by the Better Together
:29:54. > :29:59.parties when he came to Scotland last week, he forecast a ?4 billion
:30:00. > :30:05.cut in terms of their assessment, so we have all three Better Together
:30:06. > :30:09.parties signed up to a ?4 billion cut in Scotland's finances, or to
:30:10. > :30:21.put it in terms that the Tory party understands, ?1600 for every
:30:22. > :30:26.taxpayer in Scotland. The UK economy remains unstable which suggest that
:30:27. > :30:31.the Barnett formula 's days are numbers stop does he agree with
:30:32. > :30:36.those pressing for substantial cuts to Scotland's budget in addition to
:30:37. > :30:41.those in job in recent years and the only way for Scotland to avoid those
:30:42. > :30:48.cuts is for Scotland to vote yes in next year's independence referendum?
:30:49. > :30:52.This is where we come to it. All three of the genius parties, quote
:30:53. > :30:57.after quote from the three of them, who say, scrap the Barnett formula.
:30:58. > :31:02.Now they have said what they want to replace it by, and we know because
:31:03. > :31:07.the academics concerned told us in the Financial Times, that there
:31:08. > :31:11.estimate was a cut of ?4 billion in Scotland's finances, so that is why
:31:12. > :31:15.when we publish the White Paper, we publish that EDL, and our
:31:16. > :31:18.perspective for an independent Scotland, let us see from the
:31:19. > :31:23.Unionist parties, the reality of what their colleagues are planning
:31:24. > :31:31.in terms of ?4 billion of cuts in Scottish finances. Thank you very
:31:32. > :31:35.much. The Barnett formula is an arrangement for redistributing the
:31:36. > :31:39.sources around the UK, and the person campaigning harvest for the
:31:40. > :31:43.end of that is the First Minister. Does the First Minister understand
:31:44. > :31:54.that if you are not in it, you will not get it? Can I answer that with
:31:55. > :32:03.statistics? We get 9.3% of the spending but we raise 9.9% of the
:32:04. > :32:07.revenue. 9.9% is greater than 9.3%. And it happens to be greater by
:32:08. > :32:11.about 4 billion pounds. Therefore, it would be a good idea if we got
:32:12. > :32:17.control of the revenue as well as the spending. What his colleagues
:32:18. > :32:24.have in mind is cutting the 9.3%, down to 8.3%. ?4 billion less. To
:32:25. > :32:29.put it in terms as simple as I can for Labour backbenchers, if last
:32:30. > :32:34.year we had years about raising revenue of taxation, we would have
:32:35. > :32:38.?4 billion more, under the plans of the Better Together parties, we will
:32:39. > :32:44.have ?4 billion less. Does that complete the calculation?
:32:45. > :32:50.That ends First Minister 's questions. Alex Salmond offering a
:32:51. > :32:54.lesson in arithmetic to some of his counterparts on the Labour benches.
:32:55. > :32:58.The session close with the issue of money. It began with that
:32:59. > :33:04.substantial controversy about the European Union topics. Topics that
:33:05. > :33:08.BBC Scotland will return to encourage throughout the days, weeks
:33:09. > :33:10.and months ahead. But from me, it is time to hand over to my colleagues
:33:11. > :33:24.on the daily politics. Williams. We have gone across the
:33:25. > :33:32.parties. John, do you think uses your moustache? I have been told,
:33:33. > :33:39.almost universally know. My wife is watching today, making sure it comes
:33:40. > :33:44.off. She is absolutely repulsed by. You get grudging admiration from
:33:45. > :33:52.male friends. Not from the ladies. Absolutely. What about responses for
:33:53. > :34:00.you? I have tried many styles, this is the most successful. I do get
:34:01. > :34:02.admiration. I am pleased to say we have